I have a need - a need for speed.

[KmH]

I used the Search and entered Southwest Chief and read through 10 pages of threads.

Am I remembering right that it's been said there are portions of the Southwest Chief route where the SWC is allowed to go 90 mph, or slightly faster?

If so, what sections of the route?

Having been no faster than 79 mph ( CZ- OTM to SAC, and maybe the CS, SAC - EUG) I look forward to the possibility of satisfying my need for speed on the SWC.

 

[the_traveler]

Western NM/eastern AZ on the BNSF trans-con is 90 mph running.

 

[wjh2]

There are parts in Northern Missouri that the SWC goes 90.

 

[Acela150]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

 

[William W.]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

 

[oldtimer]

How about taking any of the Michigan trains from Chicago to Kalamazoo. Once you leave Porter you turn off the old NYC on to the now Amtrak owned tracks until just west of Kalamazoo. You can cruise along at 105+ mph about 400 miles from your home in central Iowa.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I read that the areas where the SWC runs 90MPH are actually shrinking over time due to deteriorating track conditions and continuing retirement of the requisite signaling systems. Is this correct?

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

In my view speed is often about perception and in my experience the sensory profile of the SWC traveling at 90MPH can substantially exceed that of an NER traveling at 125MPH. Which is another way of saying that slower speeds at a higher center of gravity over rougher track can create an experience that feels substantially faster to the average human.

Even along the best maintained segments the Acela struggles to reach mid-range sports car speeds and averages a rather lackluster 65MPH over the length of the NEC. Nonetheless all the rocking and jostling over the NEC's ancient ROW feels substantially faster than most of the world's true HSR systems that maintain actual speeds far in excess of anything Acela will ever reach.

When average people talk in terms of speed they're often referring to what they can sense rather than how fast they are actually traveling. If humans had a need for actual speed then the rotation of the Earth, the spin of the solar system, the spin of the galaxy, and the movement of the galactic cluster would presumably meet that need many times over.

Who needs High Speed Rail or Supersonic Jets when you're already being flung thousands of miles per hour in multiple axes every day of your natural life? ^_^

 

[Triley]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

Yes, but even the Regionals top out at 110mph between NYP and WAS, if I'm not mistaken (125 between NYP and BOS). The Acelas get up to 135 at some point down there too, I believe.

 

[the_traveler]

Just south of PVD, from Cranston to just north (east) of Westerly , in RI is a 150 mph zone also.

 

[jis]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

Yes, but even the Regionals top out at 110mph between NYP and WAS, if I'm not mistaken (125 between NYP and BOS). The Acelas get up to 135 at some point down there too, I believe.

Oh my. You are actually quite mistaken. Regionals get upto 125mph in many sections over the entire NEC except between New York and New Haven. Acelas get upto 150mph in a few sections in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They also get upto 135mph in NJ and Delaware/Maryland.

 

[Triley]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

Yes, but even the Regionals top out at 110mph between NYP and WAS, if I'm not mistaken (125 between NYP and BOS). The Acelas get up to 135 at some point down there too, I believe.

Oh my. You are actually quite mistaken. Regionals get upto 125mph in many sections over the entire NEC except between New York and New Haven. Acelas get upto 150mph in a few sections in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They also get upto 135mph in NJ and Delaware/Maryland.

The only thing I was wrong on was on was the Regionals topping out at 125 vs 110 on the southern part of the corridor. I never said anything about the Acela reaching 150 because it was just mentioned by someone else. But the southern part of the corridor was called out for being faster than 90mph, so I thought I would chime in (incorrectly) with the top speeds for that part of the corridor as the main part of my post. And saying I'm incorrect because I said the Regionals get up to 125 between NYP and BOS? That's not a lie, is it? The Acela also gets up to 150 between BOS and WAS if we want to be vague.

I apologize for my poor choice of wording, though. When I made the post I had been awake for almost 23, and had just spent 17 hours onboard an Acela. I was a wee bit tired.

 

[TinCan782]

Western NM/eastern AZ on the BNSF trans-con is 90 mph running.

Also some areas in western AZ and eastern CA.

I'll add, the Pacific Surfliner runs 90 through the Camp Pendleton area.

 

[jis]

Redacted after unsuccessfuly arm wrestling with the partially broken interface which simply keeps getting confused about where a quote begins and where it ends. A really amateur piece of software here, which actually after the last bugfix makes the job of the poster a little bit harder. Oh well....

 

[jis]

The only thing I was wrong on was on was the Regionals topping out at 125 vs 110 on the southern part of the corridor. I never said anything about the Acela reaching 150 because it was just mentioned by someone else. But the southern part of the corridor was called out for being faster than 90mph, so I thought I would chime in (incorrectly) with the top speeds for that part of the corridor as the main part of my post. And saying I'm incorrect because I said the Regionals get up to 125 between NYP and BOS? That's not a lie, is it? The Acela also gets up to 150 between BOS and WAS if we want to be vague.

I apologize for my poor choice of wording, though. When I made the post I had been awake for almost 23, and had just spent 17 hours onboard an Acela. I was a wee bit tired.

Don't worry and no need to apologize. Happens to the best of us from time to time. Just wanted to set the entire record straight in a single post, and sorry for having worded it in a way that appeared to say that you were wrong on all counts. Indeed the only real mistake was about the top speed of Regional south of NY. Peace!

 

[KmH]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

On the SWC , yes.

I'm going to see the Grand Canyon, so the NEC isn't an option.

 

[jis]

If you really want to experience speed, go to Europe, Japan or China. Forget about it as long as you a restricted to US. We sort of barely scratch the surface in rail speed department. Though it does feel like it is going faster than the fastest trains in Europe, Japan or China due to poor ride quality, for reasons that I don;t understand.

 

[KmH]

Yep. Our US passenger rail system is pretty antiquated when it comes to speed - the Acela included.

I have experienced speed over the years.

From driving a variety of race cars, to flying with my uncle in his vintage, restored, WWII airplanes.

 

[GG-1]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

On the SWC , yes.

I'm going to see the Grand Canyon, so the NEC isn't an option.

Aloha

If you book your travel in the same maner as The_Traveler you can include the 150mph segement on the way to the Grand Canyon. On one trip from RI to Phily, I joined him il LAX

 

[Acela150]

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

Yes, but even the Regionals top out at 110mph between NYP and WAS, if I'm not mistaken (125 between NYP and BOS). The Acelas get up to 135 at some point down there too, I believe.

Oh my. You are actually quite mistaken. Regionals get upto 125mph in many sections over the entire NEC except between New York and New Haven. Acelas get upto 150mph in a few sections in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They also get upto 135mph in NJ and Delaware/Maryland.

The only thing I was wrong on was on was the Regionals topping out at 125 vs 110 on the southern part of the corridor. I never said anything about the Acela reaching 150 because it was just mentioned by someone else. But the southern part of the corridor was called out for being faster than 90mph, so I thought I would chime in (incorrectly) with the top speeds for that part of the corridor as the main part of my post. And saying I'm incorrect because I said the Regionals get up to 125 between NYP and BOS? That's not a lie, is it? The Acela also gets up to 150 between BOS and WAS if we want to be vague.

I apologize for my poor choice of wording, though. When I made the post I had been awake for almost 23, and had just spent 17 hours onboard an Acela. I was a wee bit tired.

Not a big deal Triley! If you were a T&E Employee I'd be a bit worried!

90 is you're need for speed??? Come to the NEC that will be fulfilled less then 5 minutes out of DC heading North!

Wouldn't that be between PVD and BOS (the 150 MPH zone)?

Yes. But speeds pick up right out of the gate out of DC. I don't have my Amtrak Employee Timetable close by right now so I can't give you an exact speed for the Acela Sets, Regionals, etc. I don't want to give out bad information either. I'll have to take a look.

 

[railiner]

I have experienced speed over the years.

From driving a variety of race cars, to flying with my uncle in his vintage, restored, WWII airplanes.

Speed, or rather its perception, is....well relative...

I have had the good fortune to fly across the Atlantic at Mach 2, on BA's Concorde (G-BOAD), and I have coasted down a 20 percent grade hill on a bicycle with no brakes.....which do you think felt "faster"?

 

[Bob Dylan]

My greatest sense of "Speed" came during "free falling" while skydiving during my young and stupid days!

As was said, Speed is relative!

 

[KmH]

I have experienced speed over the years.

From driving a variety of race cars, to flying with my uncle in his vintage, restored, WWII airplanes.

Speed, or rather its perception, is....well relative...

I have had the good fortune to fly across the Atlantic at Mach 2, on BA's Concorde (G-BOAD), and I have coasted down a 20 percent grade hill on a bicycle with no brakes.....which do you think felt "faster"?

No doubt: Going down hill on the bike with no brakes.

My single gear racing kart at 70 mph on a 1/2 mile road track will feel faster than the SWC railing down the tracks at 90 mph.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I read that the areas where the SWC runs 90MPH are actually shrinking over time due to deteriorating track conditions and continuing retirement of the requisite signaling systems. Is this correct?

Just curious if anyone here knows if this is true and correct. If so will PTC eventually be enough to bring the speeds back up again in some areas? Will PTC be deployed to the full length of the route?

 

[TinCan782]

You want speed? How's this for a cab ride?

https://www.facebook.com/themeparkreview/videos/10152925312618566/

 

[amtkstn]

It take more then just PTC for the chief to run 90. BNSF has to keep the tracks to class 5 standards which is not cheap and does freight trains no good.