What U.S. Rail Line Would You Revive?

[Bob-Fryml]

Omaha, Nebr. - Thursday, 20 Nov. 2008.

Maybe I've spent just a little too much time in Cook, Dupage, and Kane Counties (Illinois) over the past two years chasing the ghosts of electric traction, but I really would have loved to have seen the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin in action.

The C.& N.W. branchline between South Elgin and Crystal Lake, Ill. followed the bucolic Fox River Valley through some beautiful old industrial towns like East Dundee, Carpentersville, and Algonquin.  It surely would have been great if the Illinois Railway Museum would have acquired and operated that line.  Too bad too that the northern extension of this line doesn't go into Lake Geneva and Williams Bay, Wisc. anymore.  That section of right-of-way should have been railbanked! 

  

 

[emd_SD_60]

The IC "Mud Line" from southwest of Murphysboro to Thebes, Illinois

The GM&O from ESL to Cairo, Illinois 

[Modelcar]

ValleyX

 The ROW dipped udner the Big Four/New York Central/Penn Central/Conrail/CSX bridge but the clearances were less under the LE&W/NKP/N&W/NS bridge, tri-levels wouldn't fit under that bridge nor the bridge at Richmond, and I don't believe doublestacks would, either

 

....I forgot the the ROW did have to pass under the current CSX route, and guess I didn't realize either was a bit short in height.

Don't remember of hearing of the '83 or '84 incident you mention of creating lower roofed Fords.  That would have been a bit of trouble.

Of course they could have lowered the track elevation {the floor under the overpasses}, to overcome that problem.

[Modelcar]

....Reviving an old RofW....It would be difficult to do now, {because of highway construction and some buildings since constructed}, but there was a coal hauling line 50-60 years ago {B&O, Boswell Branch}, and the portion I'd like to see would be from Friedens, Pa. to near Boswell....but now it would have to stop where route 30 east - west highway passes as the bridge was removed when that highway was rebuilt.  It would make an excellent tourist line.  It had a half dozen or more horseshoe curves, and about 4 of them were end to end.  One location the railroad crossed a county highway {twice}, within a few hundred feet as it wound around a hillside mound {180 degrees}, simply to gain elevation and retain a good grade.

[SALfan]

MisterPleasant

But my top wish would be for restoration of the old Frisco Kiamichi line, winding through the rugged mountains of SE Oklahoma.
 

Where did this line go?  I'm familiar with the Poteau - Heavener, OK neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

The Cumberland Valley Railroad, or at least the South Penn Branch. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Valley_Railroad

d_cathell.tripod.com/cvrrmain.html

[MisterPleasant]

SALfan

Where did this line go?  I'm familiar with the Poteau - Heavener, OK neighborhood.

From Fort Smith, the line angled southwest through Poteau, Wister, Talihina, Antlers, Hugo, terminating in Paris, TX. 

[Maglev]

I only read the first page of posts, but I think I might even be in the majority by voting for the Royal Gorge route  -- at least as far as passenger is concerned.

For freight, the question is more "what concept of transport would you revive?"  For example; logging trains, mining trains; and obviously economics rule here.

 Mail and

[Maglev]

I only read the first page of posts, but I think I might even be in the majority by voting for the Royal Gorge route  -- at least as far as passenger is concerned.

For freight, the question is more "what concept of transport would you revive?"  For example; logging trains, mining trains; and obviously economics rule here.

Mail and express on passenger trains might even allow Amtrak expansion, like from Concord, NH, to Montreal...  Washington State has bought rail lines for wheat because it's cheaper than repairing truck damage on roads -- sugar cane trains in Hawaii are not far behind!

[Maglev]

I only read the first page of posts, but I think I might even be in the majority by voting for the Royal Gorge route  -- at least as far as passenger is concerned.

For freight, the question is more "what concept of transport would you revive?"  For example; logging trains, mining trains; and obviously economics rule here.

 Mail and express on passenger

[Maglev]

I only read the first page of posts, but I think I might even be in the majority by voting for the Royal Gorge route  -- at least as far as passenger is concerned.

For freight, the question is more "what concept of transport would you revive?"  For example; logging trains, mining trains; and obviously economics rule here.

 Mail and express on passenger trains might

[bedell]

Since I was one of the first to get on the Royal Gorge/Tennessee Pass bandwagon, I will restate my wish for that route to be revived.  We lived in Canon City from 1999 to 2007 and it was a sad sight to see the tracks west of Parkdale gathering rust, weeds and fallen rocks.  I would recommend a drive up US 50 from Canon City to Salida and then on US 285 /24 to Leadville and beyond to apprecaite the beauty of this line in the Arkansas Valley

During the years I was in CO there were rumors about the line such as: BNSF was going to by it to avoid trakage rights on the Moffat Route,  UP was going to reopen it as an alternative for coal etc.  But we left CO with the line still dormant.

Always thought it would be a great extension of the Canon City and Royal Gorge excursion train.

[TheS.P.caboose]

I'd bring back the entire Southern Pacific system.

I enjoyed hearing their dispatchers giving and taking block authority under DTC rule 480.

[Convicted One]

Without question, the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway,  adding in just enough of the former "alphabet route" to make it a worthwhile bridge