Minnesota Dreaming

[schlimm]

The population numbers I cited were for the MSA which includes Superior and all other nearby towns.

If Minnesota wants a corridor with potential to serve many people, try one to Rochester.

[CMStPnP]

schlimm

The population numbers I cited were for the MSA which includes Superior and all other nearby towns.

If Minnesota wants a corridor with potential to serve many people, try one to Rochester.

If going to Rochester means a price tag of $300 million or less for MN, then they might consider it.     My read of the article is they thought Duluth to Superior was more attainable at $600 million with a 50/50 split with Wisconsin.    When you think of it in terms of the larger budget, $300 million over three to four years is nothing for Wisconsin when it's spending $2+ Billion on it's University system annually.

[Euclid]

I understand that there is a study under way for an HSR line beween Twin Cities and Rochester.  It is based on the plan being privately funded. 

[Boyd]

I know,,, take a set of rail axles off of a RR right of way weed spraying truck and put them on a Greyhound bus. 

[UChicagoMatt]

schlimm

Please explain how such a service makes sense.  Duluth itself has a population of only 86,265 and in decline since 1960.  Duluth (Twin Ports) MSA has a population of 279,711.  The RoW is inadequate; it is paralled by I 35 and there are few communities of any size in between.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/our-view/3955686-our-view-train-duluth-when-not-if

 

I agree. Perhaps one train a day if the train is extended to and from Chicago on a schedule opposite of the Empire Builder. This is the key to developing a more enhanced MSP-CHI market. 

[Wizlish]

Boyd

I know,,, take a set of rail axles off of a RR right of way weed spraying truck and put them on a Greyhound bus.

That starts out being no more 'high speed' than the original spraying truck was, and goes downhill as you arrange the drive and braking via the only two tires that are accessible (the inside duals on the drive axle).  The steering and tag axles will have to be raised up enough to clear any self-guiding frogs and so forth, which means that the lateral and roll stability of the thing is going to be interesting.  Special tires may have to be provided as the fundamental issues that made the 'Micheline' railcars non-successful here would still apply -- perhaps dramatically so if all the power and some of the braking for high speed have to go through just those two tires, with heat and perhaps friction conditions between their outer walls and the adjacent duals...

I'm sure by early April, in time for the TIGER VIII grant review, the Velocibus people (who I understand are still smarting over not getting the big contracts for HSB around 2010) will present a way to provide 165-mph drive and suspension to its vehicles.  Or say they have.*  The most interesting part of this is probably going to involve grade crossings, armed drones, and the use of diverted TSA personnel for safety inspections of vehicles making crossings on the 'random basis but without hint of proscribed profiling' that has worked so well to prevent grade-crossing accidents in the airline industry.

 

*this references some of our earlier discussions, for example about Duluth, concerning how a certain amount of 'careful gyratory contextual presentation' might be utilized to nose up to the TIGER trough...

[Boyd]

My previous reply on this subject was sarcasm. 

[Wizlish]

Boyd

My previous reply on this subject was sarcasm.

Pity you didn't notice that so was mine.

 

What's the code for the emoticon version of a 'whooooosh!'?

[Boyd]

My palm slap to my forehead. 

[Wizlish]

No problem.

[jrbernier]

MSP to Rochester? There are two shuttle services with departures between 5:30 AM & 10 PM. Fares are $29 - $36 one way. They stop at major Rochester hotels, and for an extra $10 - They will have a Rochester taxi meet you when arrive at the hotel and take you to your home if it is in the Rochester city limits! This includes free Wi-Fi as well.

  Now, if you want this 'train' they are talking about - They still need to buy ROW and build it,  The old CGW main line out of St Paul is long gone.  The state funding gave up(Zip Rail) and they are leaving it to a 'private' investor.

  I have used the Rochester Airport shuttle service many times to get to MSP - It is not 'Business Club', but the trip only takes an hour...

Jim

[MidlandMike]

The big draw in Rochester, MN is the Mayo Clinic, which gets patients from across the country.  Many fly in via a network of volunteer private pilots.  For people coming by train, a route from the SE toward LaCrosse and Chicago would probably be more useful.

[schlimm]

MidlandMike

The big draw in Rochester, MN is the Mayo Clinic, which gets patients from across the country.  Many fly in via a network of volunteer private pilots.  For people coming by train, a route from the SE toward LaCrosse and Chicago would probably be more useful.

 

The C&NW used to do exactly that.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

North Western had such a service with the "Dakota 400", which later became the "Rochester 400".  The service died in 1962 for lack of patronage.

[Deggesty]

The C&NW even had two sleepers that were especially built for the overnight service between Chicago and Rochester: there was an exterior door opposite the door of each of two bedrooms so that a stretcher could be carried into each bedroom.

[Boyd]

If the coal hauling upgrade had happened a Rochester to Winona passenger train would have better track to go on. Plus I'd guess the track going down into the Mississippi valley would have some great daytime scenery. I once took a long Greyhound type bus ride in Australia in 1985. Aside from using the bathroom, getting up to move around was against the rules. I'd rather ride a train than get sandwiched into a bus seat.