Gettin' Ready to Roll!

[George Harris]

Bill,

Not sure what you mean about the "bridge that orignates very near the Union Station Hotel." The address on mapquest for the Union Station Hotel is 1001 Broadway, which should be the same as the old L&N-NC&StL Union Station. it is about 3/4 mile from there to the Cumberland River. The only bridge near the hotel / Union Station is the viaduct over the tracks. If you walk the 3/4 mile toward the river on Broadway which is generally northeast and away from I-40, then turn right when you get to First Avenue, which is the end of Broadway, you should be looking at the new Riverfront Station, or at least be within a block or two of it. I have not been to Nashville since this work started, but the new station should be fairly close to where the old Tennessee Central Station was, a landmark which probably means nothing to those who do not have some familiarity of Nashville as it was 50 years ago.

George

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Bill,
Not sure what you mean about the "bridge that orignates very near the Union Station Hotel." The address on mapquest for the Union Station Hotel is 1001 Broadway, which should be the same as the old L&N-NC&StL Union Station. it is about 3/4 mile from there to the Cumberland River. The only bridge near the hotel / Union Station is the viaduct over the tracks. If you walk the 3/4 mile toward the river on Broadway which is generally northeast and away from I-40, then turn right when you get to First Avenue, which is the end of Broadway, you should be looking at the new Riverfront Station, or at least be within a block or two of it. I have not been to Nashville since this work started, but the new station should be fairly close to where the old Tennessee Central Station was, a landmark which probably means nothing to those who do not have some familiarity of Nashville as it was 50 years ago.

George

Thanks, George for the reply.

That pretty much tells me "yes", that it is doable for a person who likes to walk. By "bridge" I did mean the viaduct.

You mention the old Tennessee Central. I knew the liine existed but did not know anything about where its terminal was. I didn't know it didn't share the termnal with NC&StL and L&N.

As to the old Union Station Hotel/former terminal, I really do like that cool old bulletin board it has retained.Or at least had the last time I was there, probably about ten years ago.

Guess I will be going again one of these days, to check out the new service. Hope it does well.

Bill

 

[Superliner Diner]

Those spiral staircases in the Gallery cars have to be unsafe if used when the train is coming to a stop. I hope there haven't been too many injuries. Also the makeup of the upper level sort of encourages kids to try to crawl across, making for a very dangerous situation.

 

[George Harris]

The Tennessee Central was the last line into Nashville, opened in 1902 according to one history I have seen. Before that, it only ran from Lebanon east, which is the reason for the rather peculiar track alignment through Lebanon. Before that time, the TC connected at Lebanon with an NC&StL branch from Nashville, which was abandoned in the 30's. Part of its roadbed can still be seen from I40 if you know where to look. The first part of the TC was opened in 1888, from Lebanon to Carthage, reached Monterey 1894, and Emory Gap, connecting with the Southern for Knoxville in 1901. The line into Nashville was built along the river so it could get close to downtown with having to buy any high priced land. Since this last segment cut out the NC&StL, they were not exactly interested in assiting them iwth access to their new Union Station. Before the TC, Nashville was 100% in the hands of the L&N and the NC&StL, which it owned. The TC was so hilly, crooked and slow, it was actually as fast by train to go through Chattanooga. In fact, there was a through Pullman on this route after the TC night train to Knoxville was discontinued. It ran up to the mid 1950's at least.

George

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

The Tennessee Central was the last line into Nashville, opened in 1902 according to one history I have seen. Before that, it only ran from Lebanon east, which is the reason for the rather peculiar track alignment through Lebanon. Before that time, the TC connected at Lebanon with an NC&StL branch from Nashville, which was abandoned in the 30's. Part of its roadbed can still be seen from I40 if you know where to look. The first part of the TC was opened in 1888, from Lebanon to Carthage, reached Monterey 1894, and Emory Gap, connecting with the Southern for Knoxville in 1901. The line into Nashville was built along the river so it could get close to downtown with having to buy any high priced land. Since this last segment cut out the NC&StL, they were not exactly interested in assiting them iwth access to their new Union Station. Before the TC, Nashville was 100% in the hands of the L&N and the NC&StL, which it owned. The TC was so hilly, crooked and slow, it was actually as fast by train to go through Chattanooga. In fact, there was a through Pullman on this route after the TC night train to Knoxville was discontinued. It ran up to the mid 1950's at least.
George

I remember that through sleeper well though I never rode it. As I am sure you know it was carried by the Southern Railroad's Tennessean from Bristol to Chattanooga(via Knoxville) , then put on the night local from CHA to NASH.

This involved a switch of stations as well as a switch of trains in Chattanooga. I was always intrigued by the thought of that switcher moving that lone sleeper once in each direction every night between the two stations in CHA. Somehow I never asked my father if he could drive me in to town (1a.m. ish-to Nashvilele 3-4 a.m.ish from Nashville) to see that action. I think he would have disowned me.

 

[Superliner Diner]

I note from the schedules Superliner Diner posted one could only ride part of the way out to be assured of getting a train right back in iin a few minutes. Otherwise you would get stuck at the end of the line. .

Bill, believe me, as soon as they posted schedules on their site, I was checking them out to see if they were railfan friendly. They aren't at all. It is possible during the morning or afternoon rush hours to ride out to an intermediate station called Mount Juliet and back downtown again. However, if you ride out to the endpoint station, Lebanon, in the morning rush hour, you wait until the afternoon rush to get back. If you ride outbound in the afternoon, you don't come back until 12 hours later.... the next morning (assuming you didn't go out on a Friday!).

 

[MrFSS]

I note from the schedules Superliner Diner posted one could only ride part of the way out to be assured of getting a train right back in iin a few minutes. Otherwise you would get stuck at the end of the line. .

Bill, believe me, as soon as they posted schedules on their site, I was checking them out to see if they were railfan friendly. They aren't at all. It is possible during the morning or afternoon rush hours to ride out to an intermediate station called Mount Juliet and back downtown again. However, if you ride out to the endpoint station, Lebanon, in the morning rush hour, you wait until the afternoon rush to get back. If you ride outbound in the afternoon, you don't come back until 12 hours later.... the next morning (assuming you didn't go out on a Friday!).

I noticed the problem, too. We have friends in the area and would like to ride out and back (or, in and back). Can't do it. We think we'll have someone drop us at the station and then drive to the other end to pick us up. Only a rail fan would do that!

 

[Glenn W]

Hello, I'm Glenn & I live in Bellevue/Nashville. That's the west side of Nashville, along I-40 (CSX).

The Music City cars are ex-C&NW cars. Nashville got them for $1.00 per car. The govmnt lets Metra sell old cars to new startups. THe changes to them were mostly exterior paint. You should have seen the condition when they arrived. (maybe not, if you don't like rusty green/yellow cars) Apparently some were letterd for Chicago & Great Western. Perhaps they had been used in a movie? THe interior may have been redone in 1999 to restore them to as built in 1960's, complete with leather seats.

The bridge you see near Riverfront station is Shelby Ave. It is pedestrian only, and leads to the LP FIELD or Titan Football Stadium. The pld Union Station hotel is not close, but you could use a city bus. A new bridge to the south will be the site of the new Sounds baseball stadium. THe Country Music Hall of Fame & new symphony hall are nearby. You could use the train to go to the Hall of fame. The schedule isn't set up yet for frequent service.

There were some reports the first day ridership was near 700. A lot of that was for first day riders only, with second day down some. I think the first week may have been for about 1,000.

It will take time for the Music City Star to catch on. Three reporters left the waffle shop to get to work. Naturally, there were no early traffic delays so the drivers arrived first. Peak rush hour in Nashville is about 7-9am WB then 5-7pm EB on this section of I-40.

Y'all come ride our new train. Ex-C&NW riders will feel most welcome!

 

[MrFSS]

Hello, I'm Glenn & I live in Bellevue/Nashville. That's the west side of Nashville, along I-40 (CSX).
The Music City cars are ex-C&NW cars. Nashville got them for $1.00 per car. The govmnt lets Metra sell old cars to new startups. THe changes to them were mostly exterior paint. You should have seen the condition when they arrived. (maybe not, if you don't like rusty green/yellow cars) Apparently some were letterd for Chicago & Great Western. Perhaps they had been used in a movie? THe interior may have been redone in 1999 to restore them to as built in 1960's, complete with leather seats.

The bridge you see near Riverfront station is Shelby Ave. It is pedestrian only, and leads to the LP FIELD or Titan Football Stadium. The pld Union Station hotel is not close, but you could use a city bus. A new bridge to the south will be the site of the new Sounds baseball stadium. THe Country Music Hall of Fame & new symphony hall are nearby. You could use the train to go to the Hall of fame. The schedule isn't set up yet for frequent service.

There were some reports the first day ridership was near 700. A lot of that was for first day riders only, with second day down some. I think the first week may have been for about 1,000.

It will take time for the Music City Star to catch on. Three reporters left the waffle shop to get to work. Naturally, there were no early traffic delays so the drivers arrived first. Peak rush hour in Nashville is about 7-9am WB then 5-7pm EB on this section of I-40.

Y'all come ride our new train. Ex-C&NW riders will feel most welcome!

Have any rail fans posted pictures anywhere we could see?

 

[Glenn W]

musiccitystar.org

This is the home page for the Music City Star. They have a gallery section with pictures of stations, cars & locos. Some Amtrak / Metra sites may bee good to see the equipment in their former state.

Also, check out sites like Railimages.

http://www.nashvillentrak.org/

The second site is NashvilleNtrak.org or the Tennessee Central RR Museum. The TC museum is located on the site of the TCry shops about 2-3 miles east of downtown. The TCMry operates several weekend excursions on the former TC railway to Lebanon & Watertown. Sept is their turn for Thomas Days.

NashvilleNtrak hosts 2 train shows/NMRA open house at the museum site. THis is where I first saw the Music City Star cars & locos. THe Museum owns another pair of F40's for excursions. THe former NYC E's must be too far gone to be rebuilt? THey bought 2 ex-BN/Metra green units. THey still sport the Desert Storm US flags on the pilots! Unfortunately, they appear to be too rusty to be rebuilt.

I'll be taking a couple days off soon. I'm going to be riding the train! I don't expect much. Mostly a 2 car set pushed/pulled by the F40. S/b plenty of power to make 60mph! Previous, the line had been running 30 at best. DuPont keeps the rails alive with some industry in Lebanon.

 

[Guest]

I note from the schedules Superliner Diner posted one could only ride part of the way out to be assured of getting a train right back in iin a few minutes. Otherwise you would get stuck at the end of the line. .

Bill, believe me, as soon as they posted schedules on their site, I was checking them out to see if they were railfan friendly. They aren't at all. It is possible during the morning or afternoon rush hours to ride out to an intermediate station called Mount Juliet and back downtown again. However, if you ride out to the endpoint station, Lebanon, in the morning rush hour, you wait until the afternoon rush to get back. If you ride outbound in the afternoon, you don't come back until 12 hours later.... the next morning (assuming you didn't go out on a Friday!).

The schedules are meant to ride INBOUND in the AM & OUTBOUND in the PM. Most of the outlying stations have FREE parking. Most lots average 100 cars. I doubt if they would be all full at this point. I did not see any parking near the downtown Riverfront station. Most lots charge $10 on weekdays, $5.00 other times. The route curves about & isn't easy to follow. Best bet would be to get a ticket for the TCry Museum trains. They use the same route from the TCMry site east to Lebanon & beyond, usually to Watertown.

Then you mau use the Star to ride from Lebanon into Nashville. See the Country Music Hall of Fame, then go back. They do have a shuttle bus to other downtown locations & Vandyland.

Not sure when the Titans may play in LP field again. THe Star may schedule some shuttles for games. You could always go to watch the other teams play the Titans!

 

[TVRM610]

Just as an update, the schedule is now much more railfan friendly, you have a choice of afternoon departures from Lebannon, and then an early evening return. Later departures are now available on Fridays as well. It is very easy to ride from Lebannon to Nashville, have dinner at the Hard Rock, or Big River Grille (both across the street from the Riverfront Station) and then return to Lebanon. All in all a very nice operation, I was impressed.

 

[Glenn W]

Perhaps the "railfan friendly" bit means "visitors to Nashville". The "New Schedule" moves times up 5-10min in the AM. The big change is the Friday Nite Train. The MCS has a very small staff, typical of a short line where jobs may be shared. Conductor one day, engineer the next, & so on.

Recent developments show the MCS would need to triple ridership to meet first year projections. Without a promotion & ads, this may not happen. It is an issue in the upcoming mayor's race. (Mayors here are term-limited to 8 yrs or 2 terms). The Friday Nite Trains will help some. There also needs to be more developments from online stations. There's not much to do while waiting for a train.

The best news may be the safe operation. The N&E has a very good safety record with the slow freights. I have heard of some incidents with the faster commuters. It is a nice ride for a $10 round trip. The high platforms & bridge arrangement could be the future for ADA requirements.

 

[George Harris]

I have been very concerned about them achieving their ridership. They are fairly slow. With a maximum speed of 60 mph, you can drive faster until you hit backups. Also never did understand the decision to stop in the center of Lebanon. It would have seemed obvious to all but the most blind that the thing to have done was to have extended on to the vicinity of the US70-I40 interchange and put in a humongous parking lot. This would have meant about another 2 miles of upgrading but it should have tapped a considerable "I don't want to have to park in Nashville" crowd.

 

[jg greenwood]

Will be taking the grandsons to North Carolina in June for our annual rafting trip. We break the trip up into 5-hour drives, and usually stay at the Drury on Donelson Pike (north of I-40) both coming and going.. Is this within walking distance of the commuter line? Thanks for any info.

 

[Glenn W]

I doubt that the Drury on Donelson Pike is close enough to be able to walk to the station. Have the folks at the Drury find you a new Nashville tourist map. At least LebanonPk (US70) is N of I-40. It appears Lebanon Pk may be 2-3 miles N of I-40.

From Donelson turn L (West) & look for the train station marker, turn L. There is a traffic light at the parking entrance. You may find a Kroger in the vacinity that sells tickets at the service counter. That can save you from extra charges at the ticket machines. Or you can use Elm Hill Pike & McGavock Pike to get to Lebanon PK, turn R (East) till you get to the station, this time on your R.

Breaking your trip into 5hr bits is a good idea. Rush in the stretch of I-40 from 440 & east past the Airport can get crazy, especially if some truck flips & blocks the road. Please be aware next weekend, June 7-10 is our Fan Fair CMA Country Music Fest. Downtown will be jammed then. I'd like to see all the fairgoers ride the train at least one time & help boost ridership!

Yes, at 60mph, the line is slow. It is higher than the 40mph freight. This is a short line that could have been ripped out years ago. The TC from what I can see never made much money. I agree they could have put another station on the SE side of Lebanon near I-40. It is a single track RR with LOTS of curves & hills. I doubt if it could ever be made into a high speed line. Frankly, I'm more concerned with the idiot Nashville driver that will go around the gates & get themselves killed by the train. If I read the data from the federal DOT, we may have a problem waiting for the slow freight. THe onloy other passenger line is the CONO/IC-CN lines. Yet TN ranked 15th.

 

[jg greenwood]

I doubt that the Drury on Donelson Pike is close enough to be able to walk to the station. Have the folks at the Drury find you a new Nashville tourist map. At least LebanonPk (US70) is N of I-40. It appears Lebanon Pk may be 2-3 miles N of I-40.
From Donelson turn L (West) & look for the train station marker, turn L. There is a traffic light at the parking entrance. You may find a Kroger in the vacinity that sells tickets at the service counter. That can save you from extra charges at the ticket machines. Or you can use Elm Hill Pike & McGavock Pike to get to Lebanon PK, turn R (East) till you get to the station, this time on your R.

Breaking your trip into 5hr bits is a good idea. Rush in the stretch of I-40 from 440 & east past the Airport can get crazy, especially if some truck flips & blocks the road. Please be aware next weekend, June 7-10 is our Fan Fair CMA Country Music Fest. Downtown will be jammed then. I'd like to see all the fairgoers ride the train at least one time & help boost ridership!

Yes, at 60mph, the line is slow. It is higher than the 40mph freight. This is a short line that could have been ripped out years ago. The TC from what I can see never made much money. I agree they could have put another station on the SE side of Lebanon near I-40. It is a single track RR with LOTS of curves & hills. I doubt if it could ever be made into a high speed line. Frankly, I'm more concerned with the idiot Nashville driver that will go around the gates & get themselves killed by the train. If I read the data from the federal DOT, we may have a problem waiting for the slow freight. THe onloy other passenger line is the CONO/IC-CN lines. Yet TN ranked 15th.

Thanks for the info, Mr. W. Decided long ago to avoid I-40/I-24 between 0500-0900 and 1500-1700.

 

[Glenn W]

Ridership rising on commuter train

By KATE HOWARD

Staff Writer

Ridership on the Music City Star commuter rail rose by about 75 to 100 people daily in April and May, Regional Transportation Authority officials said.

“Ridership has been trending upward all year,” project manager Allyson Shumate said in a release today.

Between January and March, there were roughly 450 average daily riders on the Lebanon-Nashville commuter train. That grew to an average of 523 in April and 558 in May, and June numbers are predicted to be higher, according to RTA officials.

When Music City Star kicked off last fall, officials set a goal of reaching more than 1,000 daily riders by the one-year anniversary.

Gas Price Alert. Gas Prices got to $3.09-3.19 in the last month. Today, average price is back below $3.00

 

[MrFSS]

Gas Price Alert. Gas Prices got to $3.09-3.19 in the last month. Today, average price is back below $3.00

I paid $2.60 in Central Kentucky yesterday!

 

[GG-1]

Gas Price Alert. Gas Prices got to $3.09-3.19 in the last month. Today, average price is back below $3.00

I paid $2.60 in Central Kentucky yesterday!

How much to ship it here, paid 3.43 yesterday! :angry:

 

[Brian UK]

How much to ship it over here instead? pay approx £4, which is $8, a gallon n the UK, so you got nothing to complain about! and as for rail fares, I see that Lebanon to Nashville is $5 one way for 32 miles. Try $20 for the same distance here (mind you for that we get all day, 7 day high frequency service). When I look on other transit websites the fares are also obscenely cheap (LA Metrolink, Tri Rail, MBCR). I suppose fares are all relative to gas prices, but they dont have to be - Spain has European gas prices but US rail fare levels, which I think is the right way.

 

[gswager]

How much to ship it over here instead? pay approx £4, which is $8, a gallon n the UK, so you got nothing to complain about! and as for rail fares, I see that Lebanon to Nashville is $5 one way for 32 miles. Try $20 for the same distance here (mind you for that we get all day, 7 day high frequency service). When I look on other transit websites the fares are also obscenely cheap (LA Metrolink, Tri Rail, MBCR). I suppose fares are all relative to gas prices, but they dont have to be - Spain has European gas prices but US rail fare levels, which I think is the right way.

Most of them are being paid by US taxpayers as a subsidies, through federal, state, and even local gov't. I think most of them is like 50% and rest of them are by passenger fares.