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Interesting. Being a Montanan, again, I notice the bifurcation of the potential/planned Hiawatha route, i.e. from Fargo, through Miles City, Billings, then either Helena or Butte and finally up to Sandpoint. Butte has always been larger population-wise than Helena, and Helena, though smaller...

I have never seen photos of the Rocky Mountaineer so that open air platform looks VERY cool, no pun intended! Getting photos of the train as you go around corners would be a great extra. The paint job looks great with the stripes matched up, pity that it sounds like the cars are not in their...

I rode the Metro to work in the late 1980's and early 1990's and the lighting was always good. You could easily read a print newspaper and I frequently did. I quit that job and did not ride the metro for 20 years until I went into DC by Metro in 2016. When I did I was dumbfounded by how dark it...

Irv, I do not think that travelers who use couchette or hard sleeper options abroad lose any dignity, or feel that they are being subjected to any hassle or face any anxiety in sleeping in a railcar. Amtrak coach passengers sleep in the same state of a semi-public area, but they do so very...

If your choice is a seat vs a bed in a couchette or "hard sleeper" car/room you share with others vs a Roomette, the couchette/"hard sleeper" might be something people would want to upgrade to if the price is less than a Roomette? I think it would be a self selecting group that chose to opt for...

Maybe a bit of schedule padding to accommodate unforeseen delays for the first couple months? Plus the reduced top speeds that Joel noted? Bright wants to gain a reputation for on-time service, I am sure, so starting out at a "brisk walk" may be a good way to do so. They can get up to running...

The obligatory, "And now, in French, if you please!" from Canadian Bacon.

I agree with you, but.... The frustrating part of gates is that they go down what seems like ages before the train gets to the crossing, I know 20 seconds is the minimum required but it seems like it is closer to 30 seconds sometimes. And a freight train can take a LOOONNNNGGG ARGHHH! TIME...

Bourbon. It is a hard drinking group in the Amfleet. Seriously, though, that is a cool set up. I did not know about O gauge. We used to have an HO set that was nice, done by my oldest brother when he was a Boy Scout.

I usually fly about 30 to 40 legs a year on United, 4 on American Airlines every other year and 8 to 20 on foreign airlines in my international travel years, which tend to be every 3 or 4 years. Airlines in the US are not very good, but I have had most of my good experiences here with United...

If you are coming to the USA in early September you are still in a "thunderstorm possible" month so try to time your take off before 1pm local time to avoid the crazy delays. You may get shaken, not stirred, en route but you will probably get there on time. If your 3pm or later flight gets...

It sounds like Wiscasset is on the route, but I am not sure if the line then goes through Damariscotta or Jefferson? I do not know the area well but Damariscotta is a town I have always wanted to see. And being able to ride the train past Wiscasset without getting stuck in that backup that is...

Yep, that would be me! LOL! My thoughts on safety cages are pretty amateurish, but when I look at locomotives with bashed in windshields I think one thing. When I saw photos of the Cascades loco on its side I think another. And that one was that I would not want to be a "little pea rattling...

Jis, when I looked at the Pelican link, I noticed this nugget of just how complicated routing the Pelican must have been: In 1957, the Pelican carried:[3] A New York to New Orleans 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom sleeping car; A New York to Knoxville 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car; A...

I remember reading the transcript of the engineers radio report that his train was "on the ground". It sounded like his heart was broken. But as you say, he survived with minimal injuries.

300 does look pretty bad. How was the engineer? I believe that there have been a lot of steps taken to protect the crew but that windshield looks like the locomotive had its work cut out for it to protect him. I always wondered if there was a way to make the area under the engineers "work...

Excellent! Ridership/Revenue both looking outstanding to this rookie. 2023 is looking at more than double the Tot. Revenue numbers for the months in the prior year! Thank you for posting this info, Anderson!

"According to the OECD it costs 90% more to build tracks for trains going 217 mph than 155 mph." Is that close to being true in the US? Nearly double the price for a 40% increase in speed? I wonder what the price differential is between tracks rated for 155 mph vs. 79 mph?

I use "people filters", too! Mine are the old fashioned kind. Time of day and patience. LOL! I try to get to sites early (the light is better then, too) and when I see a vista I like I wait until the tides of tourists temporarily wash away and then take the photo. It does not work every time...

I used to live in Miami and most of my local friends were kind of vague about everything outside of Dade County. Kind of like that New Yorker's map of the world but with alligators and swamps. 😄