Batimore City Law says that Amtrak must allow stopovers

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The Coors mystique was in full force while I was an undergrad at NIU.  I knew of several people who went on extended beer runs to Colorado, bringing back multiple cases of the stuff.  I had heard that the Coors family did not want to open another brewery at another location since they could not guarantee that the available water would not be the same as the water used at the brewery in Golden.  I personally thought that Coors was really not that good.

I found out in 1976 about the basis of the Coors mystique: UNAVAILABILITY.  I was working for the Immigration & Naturalization Service at Grand Portage, MN for the summer.  I was going back to Chicago for a few days to stand up to my brother's wedding and a few of the full-time Immigration and Customs Inspectors asked me to bring back some Stroh's since you couldn't get it in Minnesota.

[gardendance]

My Texas Eagle experience was in Texas. The lounge attendant sold wine and beer, but he said no hard liquor because of the county. That was somewhere around 1986, northbound. Since I very rarely drink alcohol before 5pm it must have been northeast of Dallas.

At that time Coors was not available east of the Missisippi. I don't know why, at any rate I turned 21 in 1980, I had heard stories about how wonderful Coors was, so much so that truckers would smuggle it east, apparently Mr. Coors deliberately didn't want it sold in the east. My train mates also told me what a treat I was in store for. After tasting it I kind of felt like Tonto's remark about being privileged to look under the Lone Ranger's mask "No big deal".

[al-in-chgo]

gardendance :Some Federal judge voided the Kansas blue laws with respect only to AMTRAK don't know when or where.

The Southwest Chief (or maybe they were calling it "Southwest Limited") had its bar raided by Kansas police, in, IIRC, the late 1970s.  Upset a lot of people!  Also IIRC Kansas is officially dry unless local ordinance supercedes.  So they did have the right in certain counties if not in all the State to raid the train until Amtrak found a way to keep that from happening again. 

 

[blue streak 1]

gardendance :Some Federal judge voided the Kansas blue laws with respect only to AMTRAK don't know when or where.

[matthewsaggie]

Well they won't starve anyway- best crab cakes on the east coast is just a short walk or LRT ride away from the station at Lexington Market.

[ndbprr]

This is just phase one.  If it works and they get away with it phase two will be, "all passengers must detrain for 48 hours in Baltimore".

[gardendance]

Since AMTRAK is a quisi federal agency I do not believe that a baltimore city law would be enforceable. remember AMTRAK voided all state temperance laws that said no liquor on trains in (xxxx) jurisdiction.

What's this about voiding temperance laws? I remember riding the Texas Eagle and being told that the loungeman could not sell hard liquor because we were in a dry county. Was that an on again-off again situation, did Amtrak succesfully void those laws all the time?

[blue streak 1]

Since AMTRAK is a quisi federal agency I do not believe that a baltimore city law would be enforceable. remember AMTRAK voided all state temperance laws that said no liquor on trains in (xxxx) jurisdiction.

[timz]

What you've quoted refers only to tickets-- a passenger is supposed to have the right to stop off in Baltimore. It doesn't say he must be able to ride any train. Now that tickets are reserved, maybe one could claim that a ticket for a nonstop train was illegal-- okay, so apparently the lawmakers didn't conceive of all-reserved nonstop trains. So maybe an amendment is in order, to make it clear they're not ruling out nonstop trains.

[alphas]

Reminds me of the old Florida law that all passenger trains had to stop at every station.  Don't remember the details but it lasted for a long time before it was repealed. 

[Amtrak77]

Someone find the guy who rote that down, tie him to track 1 of the BWI Rail station and let the Acela hit him where that idea came from. 

[Anonymous]

  1969?  Now the question I will have to ask Julie and Amtrak reservations is

       Can I have a stopover in Baltimore without paying extra?

       Is a ticket from DC to Baltimore to Albany NY more $$$ then a ticket direct with no stopovers?

[matthewsaggie]

Did anyone notice that the bottom the original adoption date for this ordinance- 1902. A different world back then. The last amendment date is 1969- way before Amtrak.

[DMUinCT]

   Too bad a city can't tell a Railroad how to manage its interstate operations.  If Amtrak was to agree to it, they could then bypass Baltimore with the Acelas, saving another ten minutes.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

This statute appears on its face to violate the commerce clause of the Constitution and as a result would be unenforceable.

[al-in-chgo]

§ 18-2. Tickets for passage through City - stopover privilege.

In issuing or selling all tickets for passage in this State through the City of Baltimore, or making

agreements with other railroad companies outside of this State to issue or sell tickets for passage

through the City of Baltimore, the said tickets shall permit the holders thereof to a stopover privilege

of at least forty-eight (48) hours in the City of Baltimore; provided, that nothing in this section shall

prohibit railroad companies from issuing and selling tickets without this stopover privilege in the

City of Baltimore, for special occasions, when the tickets for passage are good only on excursion

trains not on the regular schedule of the railroad.

(P.L.L., 1915, §792B; 1927, §792B; 1930, §792B; 1938, §975:1949, §603; 1969, §18-2.)

(1902, ch. 615.)

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What prompted this and do municipalities really get to call the shots on this kind of thing??

 

[Anonymous]

§ 18-2. Tickets for passage through City - stopover privilege.

In issuing or selling all tickets for passage in this State through the City of Baltimore, or making

agreements with other railroad companies outside of this State to issue or sell tickets for passage

through the City of Baltimore, the said tickets shall permit the holders thereof to a stopover privilege

of at least forty-eight (48) hours in the City of Baltimore; provided, that nothing in this section shall

prohibit railroad companies from issuing and selling tickets without this stopover privilege in the

City of Baltimore, for special occasions, when the tickets for passage are good only on excursion

trains not on the regular schedule of the railroad.

(P.L.L., 1915, §792B; 1927, §792B; 1930, §792B; 1938, §975:1949, §603; 1969, §18-2.)

(1902, ch. 615.)

§ 18