Overmod As a dumb question: is there significant congestion on the Interstate routes north of Milwaukee toward Green Bay, or substantial congestion outside 'rush' times around Green Bay itself? Because for a very insignificant fraction of the cost to provide PRIIA 125mph equipment for that part of the route you could provide high-speed articulated 'luxury buses' instead of the Amtrak Thruway horrors, and run them with a full set of amenities, and operate at high sustained speed over an infrastructure already fully built out and Government-maintained. Yes, you have to change at Milwaukee. Is a one-seat ride to Green Bay offered many times a day worth the incremental cost to provide it over a guaranteed-connection exchange of the kind Amtrak now advertises? (An additional point: I see Amtrak now advertises that 'over a million people a year' ride (or are made to ride) Thruway service. I'd suspect that better buses for a great number of these services would be a decided advantage, particularly as dedicated 'feeders' for longer-distance high-speed or sleeper trains.
As a dumb question: is there significant congestion on the Interstate routes north of Milwaukee toward Green Bay, or substantial congestion outside 'rush' times around Green Bay itself?
Because for a very insignificant fraction of the cost to provide PRIIA 125mph equipment for that part of the route you could provide high-speed articulated 'luxury buses' instead of the Amtrak Thruway horrors, and run them with a full set of amenities, and operate at high sustained speed over an infrastructure already fully built out and Government-maintained.
Yes, you have to change at Milwaukee. Is a one-seat ride to Green Bay offered many times a day worth the incremental cost to provide it over a guaranteed-connection exchange of the kind Amtrak now advertises?
(An additional point: I see Amtrak now advertises that 'over a million people a year' ride (or are made to ride) Thruway service. I'd suspect that better buses for a great number of these services would be a decided advantage, particularly as dedicated 'feeders' for longer-distance high-speed or sleeper trains.
I-41 through Appleton is much more heavily traveled than I-43. Day to day congestion in the big city sense is not an issue on either of the routes. From the south end of Oshkosh where Hwy 26 from Madison joins 41 to the north side of GB, 41 is six lanes except for between Appleton and De Pere. Six laning that is in the plans. A 30+ year state assemblyman from GB nicknamed Concrete Clete specialized in obtaining road funding for the region. Creating a bus travel experience that mirrors a quality rail experience and is seamlessly connected seems like a very good idea to me. It would have to be built from scratch by passionately motivated people to set it apart from the norm.
So out of curiousity I did a Google Earth flyover of the Milwaukee Road North line that heads NE then North from the junction by the Stadium. WSOR I think owns most of this line what is interesting is they built a new connection to the ex-C&NW line to West Bend, WI just west of Donges Bay Road at a new CP called Donges Bay Junction. The ex-Milwaukee Road line is a little circuitous but is free of grade crossings and is either elevated or depressed below street level. I could only see maybe 3-4 grade crossings in far North Milwaukee. One freight yard limit to negogiate though. It would seem to be an existing high speed route out of Milwaukee North towards Fond Du Lac alternate to the CN routing via Duplainville. They would have to relay track between West Bend and Fond Du Lac however. Probably track rehab along most of the North Line though from Google it looks like a 45 mph line already.
What is encroaching or built out in the ROW between West Bend and Fond du Lac? Are there road or other grade crossings in that stretch?
Overmod What is encroaching or built out in the ROW between West Bend and Fond du Lac? Are there road or other grade crossings in that stretch?
It's a picturesque, bucolic route. It is a bike trail now. Very well integrated into downtown improvements in West Bend. Doubt the city would be happy relinquishing that. https://cf-store.widencdn.net/widnr/4/a/9/4a995c4b-aac5-4538-b05c-501bc73a35e6.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Eisenbahn_Map.pdf%22&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&Expires=1628983054&Signature=BbO5dYTvjDW8tIubjpc8jt~MQbsMV8icEJegAhxsYeJtxwdAaaNfWFdAb7BUK8H8xhrXBRdKuHKBip9tbd6f-ycD3m6rer8tBqRqgGxLZfC5g2622bmzslFkR5wIfoLjhNBqZX1hGJwKw1XxNnpwaevodRmTFxLqKV9W3CEFaAVFyhvVHLieIkeXObjJGdrDOM6PKCosaf135tdy3HZN83aNuf92bL3C8z~TaHQyuOaTKVjoaRBxjBxm-KDjHyO2pmM9QlU1GZsLvYa77-T7JAe1OQgr30BhKuU15D4QlPwV3edkh8hsAlPRKHYRBGhw4yMdjce~sOemYIdnLh1zaQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJD5XONOBVWWOA65A
A connection between the Milwaukee Road and the Northwestern in north Milwaukee was built for Fox Valley trains to use when the C&NW moved to the new downtown MR station from its station on the lakefront back in the 60s.
GrampA connection between the Milwaukee Road and the Northwestern in north Milwaukee was built for Fox Valley trains to use when the C&NW moved to the new downtown MR station from its station on the lakefront back in the 60s.
It is not the same connection, that one was removed, this is a new connection with new ballast and far less track.
OvermodWhat is encroaching or built out in the ROW between West Bend and Fond du Lac? Are there road or other grade crossings in that stretch?
It's open if they wanted to relay the rail. There are some grade crossings though they eliminated some more after they tore up the rail out in the country. Not saying this project is realistic but the ROW is still intact for the most part as an alternate. As I stated earlier would need grass roots support to happen.
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