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Comparing Amtrak with airlines and LD buses is an apple/orange situation. Airlines fly in airspace controlled by government employees using government owned equipment, between government owned and maintained terminals. Buses operate on government owned and maintained roads, between government...

I ate in 8400 about 20 years ago when it was assigned to the Crescent. The larger main windows and upper windows made it feel more open and friendly than heritage diners. I was disappointed that Amtrak didn't have the funding to manufacture a fleet of this design.

19/20 delays between ATL and NOL are caused by the convergence of the KCS freight line from Shreveport/Dallas with the NS ATL/NOL freight line at Meridian. If you follow the in route status of 19/20, you'll see the arrival/departure times between Laurel and Tuscaloosa, Meridian being between...

I can only speak for what has happened within the city limits of Gulfport, MS, but speed limits within the city were set, then eliminated by city ordinances. Prior to the mid-1990s, there were grade crossings every two blocks within two miles either side of downtown, sometimes every block...

Amtrak press release, 25 Jan, with the Gulf Coast inspection train schedule, 18-19 February. Apparently there may be a ray of hope for restoration of the SL, or extension of the CONO, or restoration of the Gulf Coast Limited, or something new. Keep your fingers, toes, and anything you have...

Would car 4910 be between 4911 and the diner?

Yesterday, as in many previous days, I waited at a crossing for a four-way stop to clear on the other side, only to have the car in front of me stop on the tracks, completely blocked by the car in front of them. Y'all are correct in that most drivers of all ages have no clue where they are. I...

Please consider dropping by Preservation Hall if you enjoy New Orleans Dixieland Jazz. You can enjoy the Gulf of Mexico beachfront by leaving Interstate-10 at Exit 2 in Mississippi and taking Highway 90 along the beach from Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs. You can return to I-10 at Exit 50 from...

We (Sunset Limited #1) were held somewhere in mid-Texas while a severe thunderstorm passed over the tracks about 10 miles ahead. We started moving slowly after about 15 minutes. Then a short while later saw a massive, and very black storm cloud 5-10 miles distant moving away rapidly. Having...

The pre-Amtrak railroads sure did. During a blizzard in December 1947, my father arrived home the next morning after spending 12 hours in the only car out of five that still had steam heat. But the New York Central employees did everything they could to get those folks to their destinations...

"The state governments are uninterested -- which is probably a dynamic in these states, where the state capitols are in the interior and the Gulf Coast is culturally distinct. Upstate/downstate divides, maybe? I don't think the Gulf Coast will have any luck getting money from those state...

The CONO is still daily round trip in both directions

I didn't know of the 6-hour single engineer rule, but that explains the northbound Crescent's (20) one person crew changes at Hattiesburg, Birmingham, and Atlanta 10-20 years ago when you could set your watch by Crescent's time keeping. Currently both 19 and 20 are being delayed by up to 2-hours...

Ten years ago, I returned to my sleeper one car back from the engines before the change was complete and found the vestibule door was shut. Fortunately I was able to hike up and reach the door handle, but a shorter person would not have been able (I'm 6'2"). The SCA appeared after I opened the...

I don't know about Amtrak specifically, but it is common for private companies, of which Amtrak is one, to contract for outside specialty skills. These skills may be required for short term (one month to a few years) one-time projects. Our company did it all the time, from draftsmen and...

This topic reminds of an embarrassing incident with SL 15+/- years ago when it was still running east of NOL. As #1 was about to leave its base in Florida, its power, one of the new Genesis engines, went belly-up. Fortunately, there was an older F-40 in storage, which was fired up and coupled...

I have ridden Viewliners (Crescent) dozens of time, usually in Roomettes 1-6, except once in Bedroom H. The ride in H was very uncomfortable because the room is directly above the truck bolster. We were continuously jerked around, both up and down, and sideways, which made sleeping extremely...

To those saying the private railroads got out of passenger trains solely because they were not profitable. Yes, that is true, but for far more complex reasons than as simply stated here. First, advances in air travel after WW-II sucked passengers away from railroads due to SPEED of travel...

Thanks. Neither the Amtrak Status site, nor the Status Maps site show updates, so I was curious.

Does anyone know what happened to #20 (Crescent) today, 5/14? It departed Laurel, MS (LAU) @ 10:05 on time, but service was "disrupted" before arriving Meridian (MEI), and no postings for Meridian and beyond.