FormerOBS
Conductor
Did I tell you about the Legend of the Seminole Yeti (AKA the Abdominal Snowman)? We made a point of bringing fun to our work.
Tom
Tom
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You have the time zones figured correctly. I wouldn't call it "extremely" slow when compared to the entire route, but it is indeed slower between Atlanta and Birmingham. When the times for the six scheduled stops with arrival and departure times are deducted from the total elapsed times between NYP and NOL (in both directions) you'll find the average speed between Atlanta and Birmingham is about 19% (9mph) slower than the average speed of 48 mph for the entire trip.
Another way of looking at what straightening the line with tunnel would do is see how much actual time it would save. If the tunnels increased the speed from Birmingham to Atlanta to the average speed for the remainder of the total trip (49.8mph) the reduction in travel time for that 162 mile stretch would be about 56 minutes.
And while I've never taken the Crescent I've taken it vicariously via Google Earth and topo maps and the stretch between Birmingham and Atlanta looks the most interesting to me. 39mph seems about my speed. I also wonder how long it would take for the increased revenues to pay for all the tunnels needed to increase the speed 9mph and save an hour through that twisty section. My guess would be...uh...550 years.
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Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
It's near Cook Springs/Chula Vista
jis
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Not to mention the Southwest Chief and Raton Tunnel.
Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
Tunnels wouldn't help. The route was designed for 40mph freight and 45 mph passenger in the late 1880s. The goal was to keep the grades low and speeds steady, curves were added to accomplish this. The result was great for a single steam engine with a heavy freight. In the modern age taking the curves out and using more diesels per train makes more sense.You have the time zones figured correctly. I wouldn't call it "extremely" slow when compared to the entire route, but it is indeed slower between Atlanta and Birmingham. When the times for the six scheduled stops with arrival and departure times are deducted from the total elapsed times between NYP and NOL (in both directions) you'll find the average speed between Atlanta and Birmingham is about 19% (9mph) slower than the average speed of 48 mph for the entire trip.
Another way of looking at what straightening the line with tunnel would do is see how much actual time it would save. If the tunnels increased the speed from Birmingham to Atlanta to the average speed for the remainder of the total trip (49.8mph) the reduction in travel time for that 162 mile stretch would be about 56 minutes.
And while I've never taken the Crescent I've taken it vicariously via Google Earth and topo maps and the stretch between Birmingham and Atlanta looks the most interesting to me. 39mph seems about my speed. I also wonder how long it would take for the increased revenues to pay for all the tunnels needed to increase the speed 9mph and save an hour through that twisty section. My guess would be...uh...550 years.
NS and Southern have made changes and straightened track and raised speeds, but it's still a railroad designed for slow steady running with a consolidation or mikado leading a heavy train.
T
twa904
Guest
Thanks, I found the tunnel on the Google maps.
Instead of drilling more tunnels to straighten the track, Wouldn't it cost less to just cut the hills down. And they could double track it while they are at it? Years ago they made a cut in Red Mountain in Birmingham for the Red Mountain Expressway that is at least 300 ft deep.I would say there is nothing along the Crescent route between Birmingham and Atlanta that would require a cut that deep.
Instead of drilling more tunnels to straighten the track, Wouldn't it cost less to just cut the hills down. And they could double track it while they are at it? Years ago they made a cut in Red Mountain in Birmingham for the Red Mountain Expressway that is at least 300 ft deep.I would say there is nothing along the Crescent route between Birmingham and Atlanta that would require a cut that deep.
Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
They are slowly adding double track between Atlanta and Meridian for the intermodals, but cost of double tracking is high and a lot of trouble when you have to make cuts and build bridges. So far NS has gone to a predictive train management system that is designed to essentially dispatch the trains and get as high of a throughput as possible.
jis
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Is that the same dispatching system that caused utter chaos on the Chicago Line last summer? I guess at issue was the fact that the NYC River Line was not built to operate at steady slow speed.
WoodyinNYC
Conductor
It's another place where Corridor service could rescue LD service. Why not have, say, 8 trains a day each way between Birmingham and Atlanta? Especially when SEHSR stretches down from Charlotte thru Spartanburg and Greenville, SC, to Atlanta.You have the time zones figured correctly. ... it is indeed slower between Atlanta and Birmingham … about 19% (9mph) slower than the average speed of 48 mph for the entire [NYC-NOLA] trip.
… increase[d] the speed from Birmingham to Atlanta to the average speed for the remainder of the total trip (49.8mph) the reduction in travel time for that 162 mile stretch would be about 56 minutes.
... wonder how long it would take for the increased revenues to pay for all the [upgrades] needed to increase the speed 9mph and save an hour through that twisty section. My guess would be...uh...550 years.
When you get the number of departures up nicely and start to carry hundreds of thousands of passengers a year, the payback period is shorter. Such a corridor could easily pay back its construction investment before the Interstate Highway system does. LOL. Meanwhile having 8 trains a day sharing station costs, advertising and marketing, and the mysterious pile of "overhead" allotted to each LD train would substantially reduce costs and help move the Crescent to break-even or positive results.
Those with an aversion to RR tunnels can be thankful Amtrak doesn't use the old Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio route heading South from the little town of Spruce Pine, NC.. There's a 14 mile stretch where the track goes through 18 tunnels as it twists & turns its way through the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a bit difficult to follow along using Google Earth but it all shows up clear as a bell on a topographical map like this... https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=35.87385&lon=-82.03052&datum=nad83&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomin&size=xl ...or the scrollable one here (when Spruce Pine NC and Topo Map are entered): http://www.mytopo.com/maps/index.cfm
Built relatively late in the game, the ex-Clinchfield is one of the best engineered railroads in the South. I have heard that it sees fewer trains now because of reductions in coal traffic.The last regularly scheduled passenger train on the Clinchfield was in 1954.
In terms of another route that crosses the Eastern Continental Divide, there are seven tunnels on the ex-Southern route into Asheville. The route has seen a few excursion trains in recent years, and there are still people pushing for passenger service to Asheville -- although I believe it will be a long time before it happens.
In terms of another route that crosses the Eastern Continental Divide, there are seven tunnels on the ex-Southern route into Asheville. The route has seen a few excursion trains in recent years, and there are still people pushing for passenger service to Asheville -- although I believe it will be a long time before it happens.
Ooh - ooh! Another scenic armchair trip in the offing using Google Earth and topo maps. I must be part gopher - sure love them tunnels. Thanx for the info.
Thanks for the idea for a road trip! I live only a few hours away from the Stevens Pass area.
If you like hiking, prepare yourself for a hike up the Iron Goat Trail. There's tons of stuff online about Stevens Pass, but whet your whistle on this: http://www.irongoat.org/documents/guidebook.pdf
Edit: This has some clearer maps... http://www.scn.org/sbtp/swbks-gn.html ...especially of the original (before either of the two tunnels) maze of switchbacks needed to get over the top. I don't think too many Empire Builder passengers know much of the history above them as they go through the present Cascade Tunnel. I've pieced together a fairly large topo map of the area showing both tunnels and the original switchback route over the top. When in the mood for a good dose of "WOW" I take it out and......
Edit: This has some clearer maps... http://www.scn.org/sbtp/swbks-gn.html ...especially of the original (before either of the two tunnels) maze of switchbacks needed to get over the top. I don't think too many Empire Builder passengers know much of the history above them as they go through the present Cascade Tunnel. I've pieced together a fairly large topo map of the area showing both tunnels and the original switchback route over the top. When in the mood for a good dose of "WOW" I take it out and......
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I have thought about hiking on part of the trail too. The thinking about it is as far as I've gotten. LOL
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