Well, here's a subject that's never, ever before been discussed in these forums!
MY opinion (!) is that the public through their (so far) duly elected representatives, has for over half a century supported LD trains, and Amtrak recently received an encouraging vote of confidence from Congress in a concrete form we all know about. So I'd say, Checkmate.
Lithonia Operator: Trains at night are certainly romantic. Ever notice how two people in a roomette or bedroom don't necessarily require all the bunks to be in use? Talk about cosy! And while we're at it, how about being upstairs in the dome of the Capitol Limited when it carried a dome car, and riding through a thrilling and vivid electical storm!
Flintlock: Agreed! But without belaboring the point, Frimbo was a hard-headed, realistic Manhattan executive. He knew all too well the chapter and verse of why passenger trains in his day didn't pay and the many and varied reasons the railroad companies themselves contributed to that state of affairs. His essays consistently showed he was under no illusions about anything.
No worries. Amtrak's long distance trains aren't going away anytime soon.
Lithonia OperatorThink I'm a romantic ... ?
Either that or you're channelling Rogers E. M. Whitaker!
The preceding posts seem to support my opinion that LD trains should be related to tourist trains.
The RM looks like a great experience.
But I like being in a room/roomette on a moving train at night. It's true you miss a lot at night, but there is something magical to me about looking out at night. Especially waking up in the dark to find you're stopped and wondering where and why. Or what station you're at. Etc. There is nothing quite like being in a dark compartment and being able to see out well, and watch all these mysterious, sometimes hardly-lit, vignettes flash by. Just lights in house windows seem to tell a story. Grade crossing red flashers rushing by suggest an almost emergency urgency.
Think I'm a romantic ... ?
Still in training.
Enzoamps I have been searching for a reasonable train vacation for my upscale sister. Something lke VIA maybe. Problem is when it comes with a $10,000 pricetag, they lose interest.
I have been searching for a reasonable train vacation for my upscale sister. Something lke VIA maybe. Problem is when it comes with a $10,000 pricetag, they lose interest.
Rocky Mountaineer is the best choice in North America. It's expensive but well worth the price.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
If the automakers had to pay for the highways, and the airlines had to pay for airports and air traffic control, those modes would not be profitable either.
Winter is when I travel on those trains. When I ride the Capitol, I see families, young folks (like college kids), and I see darn few "upscale" looking riders. To us it is a reasonably priced way to get somewhere. At a leisurely pace.
I have been searching for a reasonable train vacation for my upscale sister. SOmething lke VIA maybe. Problem is when it comes with a $10,000 pricetag, they lose interest.
243129 I am of the opinion that Amtrak should suspend running their long-distance trains in the winter and run them as tourist trains, with all the attendant amenities of the days of yore, in the better weather. Coast to coast on a train is not a convenient form of travel for any other reason but sightseeing. Regional service for heavily populated urban areas. can be established as needed
I am of the opinion that Amtrak should suspend running their long-distance trains in the winter and run them as tourist trains, with all the attendant amenities of the days of yore, in the better weather. Coast to coast on a train is not a convenient form of travel for any other reason but sightseeing. Regional service for heavily populated urban areas. can be established as needed
Amtrak is the political solution that has kept passenger rail running for the last 50 years. Your solution is wishful thinking that will lead to the political erosion of support for subsidies, and virtual elimination of all passenger rail.
In the world of PSR railroading - the freight carriers ought to shut down during periods of Winter weather - they don't employ sufficient personnel to be able to sustain reliable operations.
Only one thing holds Mother Nature at bay during the Winter - Manpower in mass quantities.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Most LD routes should be modified or eliminated totally. Why should tax payers subsidize land cruises?
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