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With ETOPS 330 and 370, there is basically nowhere on earth that you can't fly with a twin. The one exception being flights to Antarctica: https://simpleflying.com/etops-banned-areas/ I've been working on the 747 program for the past 15 years, and it was definitely bittersweet going through...

No one pays list price for aircraft, and many budget airlines get started with used aircraft. For used, you're looking at $10-$30 million. In some cases, budget airlines have made large orders at the right time and have snagged new builds for less than $30 million. Keep in mind that they also...

Major ice storm forecasted for Portland and the Columbia Gorge later this week, so I imagine we will see more cancellations, at least on that leg.

We did the same trip earlier this year. It was a totally full spring break train, and honestly, it would have been an unpleasant experience if we had been in Coach. By day two, the coach cars and the observation car were noticeably stinky, and people camping in the observation car was an...

The North Spokane Corridor may not be entirely pointless, but I don't know if it's the best way to spend $1.5 billion taxpayer dollars: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/07/11/highway-boondoggles-north-spokane-corridor/ After going billions over budget, the SR99 tunnel through downtown Seattle...

This is all a great idea, but I don't hold much hope that WSDOT is going to prioritize it. They are running horrible short Horizon cars on the existing Cascades corridor. The trains are jammed but they aren't adding more service and have announced no plans to do so in the future. It seems...

Do an overnight in Portland. Depending on the day of the week, you may be able to fit in a visit to the Oregon Rail Heritage museum.

Better pictures here: https://thepointsguy.com/news/first-look-orlando-international-airport-terminal-c/ On our last Florida trip, we flew direct to Orlando and rented a car to get down to Miami and the Keys. I think a direct airport link will have people looking at the train as an option...

Has anyone been able to confirm this little blurb? https://www.axios.com/2022/09/14/railroad-unions-marty-walsh-rail-strike

I think they need to just shut down that website. They are really bad about updating information in a timely matter. It can definitely confuse people.

By "bounced back and forth", I'm meaning that they would move back and forth to see the scenery. No actual bouncing was done, and we usually kept the doors closed. Families shouldn't feel like they need to be segregated to the lower level.

Have you considered doing 2 Roomettes? We had one on each side of the Starlight earlier this year, and it worked out really well. It was cheaper overall than the family bedroom, we were on the upper level, and we had big windows on both sides. The kids bounced back and forth across the aisle...

I'm sure that will be the ongoing solution in the interim. Seattle passengers arriving on the Builder can transfer to Cascades or a bus to get to Seattle in just a few hours. Doesn't really help anyone between Seattle and Spokane, though. Edit: Looks like the 7 just made it through Stevens...

Looks like a delay to train 11 due to the fire today. From the video update I saw this morning, they are using a fire fighting train on the corridor today.

I saw that. The fire update just now said that they investigated heat signatures south of the highway but did not find any spot burning. However, the fire is very close to the rail line in the McCredie Springs area, and we are still seeing very dangerous winds today and tonight. Hopefully...

That's good to hear. I assumed the tracker was behind or in error. I'm sure those folks got quite the view of the fire as they climbed up towards the pass yesterday evening.

According to the tracker, the southbound Starlight is shown stopped just east of Oakridge, near the leading edge of the fire. I really hope this is a tracking error, because this is very concerning otherwise.

This fire has been burning since early August near Waldo Lake. We've had extreme fire weather today with a major east wind event, and it looks like the fire has reached the UP mainline east of Oakridge...

The Cedar Creek fire exploded today and has jumped the UP mainline and highway 58. Expect major disruptions to the Starlight in the coming days. Latest IR satellite data...

I don't think I've ever been on a train that would permit someone in a power chair to traverse the entire length. I do recall seeing perhaps one car (usually business class) that has 1+2 seating, a special tie-down area for power chairs, and enlarged bathrooms on Cascades. Amfleet, Horizons...