Green Maned Lion
Engineer
I never noticed just how absolutely huge Joe Boardman is until I was standing right next to him, said hi, and was greated with a return hi and a solid whack on the shoulder in greeting. My shoulder still hurts. Other than that, he seems a nice guy. I had plenty of fun today, especially on the steam excursion to Moscow. They did a nice photo run by with the engine belching thick clouds of dark smoke everywhere- and Boardman leaning out the window with a ****-eating grin on his face in the process. (No, he wasn't driving.) I still feel covered in soot from it. Great fun.
However... what I'm really posting about is his speech in the opening ceremony he was grand-marshaling. He said a variety of things, most of them a general pep-talk about passenger rail in this country that amounts to general political hot-air and none of that aspect we don't already know about- the 110 mph service initiative and so forth. Boardman is a consumate politician, but with his heart in the right place. Which is good- he needs to be one to hold on to the helm for a while, and what Amtrak really needs is Claytor-like stability. Nothing at all indicated he was worried about the I-G debacle.
One point stuck out. It was nicely buried, and said almost in passing- or atleast it was meant to sound that way. There were a lot of us transit advocates around today, though, and a bunch of people from ESPRA, NARP, and so on did take notice of his statement. I think it was intended to sound like very little to the majority of people to which it means little.
Paraphrased as close as I can remember it as follows: "[i've been lucky enough to have a lot of experience working for governement transporation] ... In fact, I was with New York State when we managed to rebuild the Turboliners, which Amtrak stole. I've had a chance to look at them, and they aren't in useable condition. They won't be coming back."
Given Boardman's vehement objection to David Gunn's "theft" at the time, I think we can reasonably conclude that any hope on the part of various people that Boardman might resurrect the Turboliners at some point can be laid to rest. IF this man says they ain't coming back, they ain't coming back.
However... what I'm really posting about is his speech in the opening ceremony he was grand-marshaling. He said a variety of things, most of them a general pep-talk about passenger rail in this country that amounts to general political hot-air and none of that aspect we don't already know about- the 110 mph service initiative and so forth. Boardman is a consumate politician, but with his heart in the right place. Which is good- he needs to be one to hold on to the helm for a while, and what Amtrak really needs is Claytor-like stability. Nothing at all indicated he was worried about the I-G debacle.
One point stuck out. It was nicely buried, and said almost in passing- or atleast it was meant to sound that way. There were a lot of us transit advocates around today, though, and a bunch of people from ESPRA, NARP, and so on did take notice of his statement. I think it was intended to sound like very little to the majority of people to which it means little.
Paraphrased as close as I can remember it as follows: "[i've been lucky enough to have a lot of experience working for governement transporation] ... In fact, I was with New York State when we managed to rebuild the Turboliners, which Amtrak stole. I've had a chance to look at them, and they aren't in useable condition. They won't be coming back."
Given Boardman's vehement objection to David Gunn's "theft" at the time, I think we can reasonably conclude that any hope on the part of various people that Boardman might resurrect the Turboliners at some point can be laid to rest. IF this man says they ain't coming back, they ain't coming back.
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