Just got a suprise! I am riding the Crescent northbound in two weeks New Orleans to Philadelphia. Just thought I would check how late it is to Phila. today to see how it might be in two weeks. What a shock to see it was in DC when it should have been in Phila., and not only that it was ahead of schedule! Guess what, the schedule changed yesterday. According to Amtrak "In cooperation with Norfolk Southern, the primary host railroad carrier for the Crescent, a new schedule has been developed to improve customer satisfaction and on-time performance." WOW! Northbound the Crescent leaves NO at 9:15 instead of 7 AM., 2 hours and 15 minutes later. But, it arrives in Phila. at 4:37PM, 4 plus hours later than before. Sounds like a lot of padding to me. Oh well, I can hardly wait to arrive into Phila. during rush hour. We'll have to see how this new schedule pans out in the long run. (Southbound it appears there is only about a half hour added).
GS
GeoffSJust got a suprise! I am riding the Crescent northbound in two weeks New Orleans to Philadelphia. Just thought I would check how late it is to Phila. today to see how it might be in two weeks. What a shock to see it was in DC when it should have been in Phila., and not only that it was ahead of schedule! Guess what, the schedule changed yesterday. According to Amtrak "In cooperation with Norfolk Southern, the primary host railroad carrier for the Crescent, a new schedule has been developed to improve customer satisfaction and on-time performance." WOW! Northbound the Crescent leaves NO at 9:15 instead of 7 AM., 2 hours and 15 minutes later. But, it arrives in Phila. at 4:37PM, 4 plus hours later than before. Sounds like a lot of padding to me. Oh well, I can hardly wait to arrive into Phila. during rush hour. We'll have to see how this new schedule pans out in the long run. (Southbound it appears there is only about a half hour added). GS
Even in the 'Glory Days' of private passenger service - there were no 'run time' schedules. When schedules are made to be published to the public there have to be some allowances for unforseen, but relatively normal happenings.
When operating on single track railroads - allowances have to be built in for expected train meets - the busier the railroad the more meets have to be accounted for.
I believe a significant part of NS's route from New Orleans to Arlington, VA is single track.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
See Bob Johnston's TRAINS analysis "Lengthened Crescent schedule diminishes it's usefulness." In my first post I was so used to getting into NO around 8:30 that I forgot to notice 9:05 pm is a hour and a half later not a half an hour from the old schedule.
Single track? No way to run a railroad!!
charlie hebdoSingle track? No way to run a railroad!!
If you build the 2nd track they will come!
charlie hebdo Single track? No way to run a railroad!!
Even so the frieght railroads have declined significantly since the days of the private passenger train and can't even run their own freight trains on time to schedule, even if the freight train is a "hotshot" they bust the schedules frequently because of lack of investment in their own track infrastructure and the general attitude that profits matter over speed and reliablity.
I remember a while back when Santa Fe was attempting to run the "Super Chief" from Chicago to LA as a hotshot intermodal train. My goodness, all Santa Fe track for 98% of the route and they could not reliably adhere to the "hot shot" schedule over any length of time. Their attempts to charge a premium for traffic carried by the train ultimately failed because it would not stick to the timetable there was always somewhere on the line things would get gummed up and the train would lose it's schedule.
Look at the Milwaukee's Thunderhawk and XL Special, geesh, we are talking empty track and empty schedule of competing trains from the Twin Cities to Seattle for the most part and still it ran late in the 1960's and 1970's.
The crisp frieght railroad management of the 1950's and before in the time keeping department is long gone and I don't think we will ever see it again as long as railroad management doesn't see any money to be made in speed or reliability of schedule. I don't think you will even see it under PSR. Railroad management just does not care anymore and the customers can go pound dirt if they don't like how things have slipped.
charlie hebdoSingle track? No way to run a railroad!! Add Q
Agree, and I hold up CP's outstanding record of hauling Amtrak trains on it's Chicago to Twin Cities mainline to compare with any other Class 1 in the country. Is CP mismanaged? Or is it just the former Milwaukee Road employees that care? Hate to paraphrase Al Pacino in the movie "The Irishman", it says something to shippers when your late with a passenger train and they are on the passenger train.
I still remember my long ago experience on the Rocky Mountaineer (RM) on the great circle route over the Canadian Rockies. CN vs CP. Guess which host railroad blew it substantially by at least half a day and blamed track capacity and we all know the RM average speed and schedule.....should not have been that big of problem to handle the RM and CP did not have even a small fraction of the issues CN did with time keeping. Of course the RM ride was just a single data point in time so who knows what the annual record is. Then there is the record of the VIA Rail Canadian......guess whose track?
The present Crescent schedule seems to be working. I hope it continues. The later departure from New Orleans IMO needs changing. Either return to the old 0700 time or even better 0600. 0600 allows an ATL departure of 2015, CLT - 0215 make Carolinian conection almost always, Charlottesville - 0730, arrive WASH - 1030 can do business for day, NYP 1500 before rush.
Leave the southbound schedule the same. That will require Amtrak to adjust the crewing of the train. The Meridian - NOL turns to the next morning's departure of 19. So even now if 19 is very late then the departure of 20 will be delayed even with the present schedule. That is #20's departure is still dependent on 19 not being too late. 1381 miles to cause a nex day's departure of #20.
Since Amtrak is already planning on making ATL a mini hub it may be time to use NOL and ATL as crew locations for Crescent to enable this more reasonable schedule.
blue streak 1Since Amtrak is already planning on making ATL a mini hub
More opinion: Bad idea unless they plan to spend $100 million fixing the station and the track arrangements. Or just move the Atlanta station to a better area that serves the public better. The current Atlanta station is crap and can barely handle one train a day efficiently from what I read. The station itself is not worthy a city the size of Atlanta.
CMStPnPMore opinion: Bad idea unless they plan to spend $100 million fixing the station and the track arrangements. Or just move the Atlanta station to a better area that serves the public better. The current Atlanta station is crap and can barely handle one train a day efficiently from what I read. The station itself is not worthy a city the size of Atlanta.
I agree completely. I used the Atlanta station years ago, and even then it was more like an old stop on a transit line than a major city station. Of course, with the Amtrak service, that's probably all it needed to be. But if Amtrak wants to provide more and better service, it may need to get Atlanta to chip in to expand the station or build a better one in a better place.
York1 John
I agree completely. I used the Atlanta station years ago, and even then it was more like an old stop on a transit line (which it was) than a major city station. Of course, with the Amtrak service, that's probably all it needed to be. But if Amtrak wants to provide more and better service, it may need to get Atlanta to chip in to expand the station or build a better one in a better place.
York1 CMStPnP More opinion: Bad idea unless they plan to spend $100 million fixing the station and the track arrangements. Or just move the Atlanta station to a better area that serves the public better. The current Atlanta station is crap and can barely handle one train a day efficiently from what I read. The station itself is not worthy a city the size of Atlanta. I agree completely. I used the Atlanta station years ago, and even then it was more like an old stop on a transit line (which it was) than a major city station. Of course, with the Amtrak service, that's probably all it needed to be. But if Amtrak wants to provide more and better service, it may need to get Atlanta to chip in to expand the station or build a better one in a better place.
CMStPnP More opinion: Bad idea unless they plan to spend $100 million fixing the station and the track arrangements. Or just move the Atlanta station to a better area that serves the public better. The current Atlanta station is crap and can barely handle one train a day efficiently from what I read. The station itself is not worthy a city the size of Atlanta.
Maybe start where the light rail (MARTA) and Amtrak can share a station.
York1 CMStPnP More opinion: Bad idea unless they plan to spend $100 million fixing the station and the track arrangements. Or just move the Atlanta station to a better area that serves the public better. The current Atlanta station is crap and can barely handle one train a day efficiently from what I read. The station itself is not worthy a city the size of Atlanta. I agree completely. I used the Atlanta station years ago, and even then it was more like an old stop on a transit line than a major city station. Of course, with the Amtrak service, that's probably all it needed to be. But if Amtrak wants to provide more and better service, it may need to get Atlanta to chip in to expand the station or build a better one in a better place.
It was a Southern Railway suburban stop. Most locals called it Brookwood Station, though officially it is Peach tree. To call it crap is ignorant. It's too small and needing a better location, but it is a very attractive Italian Renaissance architectural style with palladian windows!
charlie hebdoIt was a Southern Railway suburban stop. Most locals called it Brookwood Station, though officially it is Peach tree. To call it crap is ignorant. It's too small and needing a better location, but it is a very attractive Italian Renaissance architectural style with palladian windows!
If you've ever been there, ignorant or not, you won't notice the windows or the architectural style.
You will notice the stairs, the tiny parking lot, the stairs, the tiny building, the couple of vending machines, the stairs, the poor seating, the stairs, etc.
It does have neat-looking windows, though.
charlie hebdo It was a Southern Railway suburban stop. Most locals called it Brookwood Station, though officially it is Peach tree. To call it crap is ignorant. It's too small and needing a better location, but it is a very attractive Italian Renaissance architectural style with palladian windows!
Spot on! I have been there several times and found the architectural style to be very appealing. I confess to not knowning much about architecture, but appealing is appealing even for the uninformed.
York1If you've ever been there, ignorant or not, you won't notice the windows or the architectural style.
He has not been there I'll bet....lol.
I look at the whole package when it comes to terminals not just the gift wrap. I think Joilet Union Station isn't exactly a model station either but they sure spent a lot of money preserving it for another use.......whatever that use is.
CMStPnPHe has not been there I'll bet....lol.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/atlanta/pea.htm
I note, pointedly, that they don't go into detail about the stairs.
As a kind of neoclassical Amshack, Brookwood ought to be an inspiration for architects looking to build more postage-stamp excuses shoehorned into unlikely plots to 'serve' major metropolitan areas unwilling or unable to afford more convenient or commodious facilities.
I had never realized the pun on 'tolist' before and I thank you (I think) for bringing it to my attention.
OvermodHe wouldn't need to be; you can see all you need to know about it here:
Slide it down the tracks a little ways to behind Atlantic Station, commercial and retail development. Use the vacant land there or buy out a small company for tear down. Room for 4 or more tracks, a decent sized building, parking structure nearby and room to build another. So back to the original point. They could do better on location, track space, etc before they attempt to make that tiny station a hub and create more issues.
https://www.railfanguides.us/ga/atl/
York1 charlie hebdo It was a Southern Railway suburban stop. Most locals called it Brookwood Station, though officially it is Peach tree. To call it crap is ignorant. It's too small and needing a better location, but it is a very attractive Italian Renaissance architectural style with palladian windows! If you've ever been there, ignorant or not, you won't notice the windows or the architectural style. You will notice the stairs, the tiny parking lot, the stairs, the tiny building, the couple of vending machines, the stairs, the poor seating, the stairs, etc. It does have neat-looking windows, though.
I lived in Atlanta seven years. It's too small and not suited to be a major station in the future, if rail service expands. But it was fine for one train each way daily or three times per week.
And yes, the windows are noteworthy.
Every time I see Brookwood now it reminds me of the part of the Virginia Lee Burton story about the Little House where the city grows up all around it. It is hard to appreciate the architectural features when there's almost no safe way to see them.
For major traffic Amtrak would have to establish some kind of satellite parking with van shuttle... and there would still be those stairs. What do they use for ADA compliance now?
Overmod For major traffic Amtrak would have to establish some kind of satellite parking with van shuttle... and there would still be those stairs. What do they use for ADA compliance now?
Normally it is the out of service freight elevator. Amtrak still expecting it to be back in service July 1 but ???? No one has reported as to how ADA is being handled and I have not had time to check it out. ( 3 hours at least RT )
York, so move a little bit west down the tracks from your current view, next to and behind the Atlantic Station commercial development. It looks like there is both the vacant land and room for more tracks for a better facility.
I cannot believe Atlanta tore down two large rail passenger stations downtown, leaving nothing today. Just unbelieveable.
CMStPnPIt looks like there is both the vacant land and room for more tracks for a better facility.
OvermodI know at least two house-moving firms that could move the Brookwood building out of its disastrous site and locate it at Atlantic Station as the 'nucleus' of a new facility there...
I think that would be a good idea and probably cheaper than a new build. Though I think at the new location, stairs would no longer be necessary as it looks like the Atlantic Station development is at track level. Though if necessary they could perhaps relo it on a berm to access the tracks from the top or relo at track level and tunnel under the tracks to access from below.
The additional advantage of course is you could both surround the station with retail and possibly bring retail into the station and make it self-sufficient vs a money pit.
Trains should stop where the people are.
The people are largely to the north of the Brookwood Station, along I-85, I-75 and GA 400. If you want to serve this population, you need a suburban stop in Gwinnett County (population 970,000. Poplulation when the Southern was running this train. 165,000). Somewhere between Norcross and Buford would work. Perhaps right at the Southeastern Railroad Musuem in Duluth.
Even a stop at Doraville to allow easy transfer to MARTA would be a help.
Completly agree with others about Brookwood stop edging south to Atlantic Station. Much better integration with the booming Midtown part of the city.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
The new schedule from Atlanta is really going to be a bummer for Atlanta north ppassengers.
Link to derailment.
Train derails in Pickens County: South Carolina officials | Charlotte Observer
BlueStreak,
For some reason my computer isn't displaying your post about the Atlanta Amtrak schedule. All I get is jumbled mess.
Is it possible you could direct me to where that info is?
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