Vancouver to Montreal: 3003 miles (mostly in the US)

And from Montreal it a long day's drive to the East Coast. Map Quest makes Vancouver to Halifax as 3854 miles, again taking the short cut through the US. This is a big place!

The Canadian freight railroads route their trains through the US because it's shorter and easier than going north of Lake Superior. Canadian Pacific, which has lines to New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania, would route anything from BC into the US in North Dakota, across Minnesota and Wisconsin to Chicago, use trackage rights on Norfolk Southern to Detroit, back into Canada, and then into the US again in upstate New York.

Via stays in Canada because its purpose, after all, is to serve the Canadian people. (I think Via crews take over the Amtrak Maple Leaf from New York at Niagara Falls for the run to Toronto.)

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

BREAKING NEWS: STB grants the exemption sought by the CHSRA (really, really long URL):

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/3da3d75a2453dd2685257b8900680856?OpenDocument

That’s a big hurdle cleared. Once Judge Kenny sends the NIMBY’s packing (again) and the last EIR’s for the segment are complete, we’re off and running…

At the risk of getting these posts moved to Politics, I say Don't bet on it. A lot of the route is still not finalized, so not much of the right-of-way has been acquired. I expect a lot of eminent domain court fights. (Some of my friends could have their properties cut in half by the HSR tracks, depending on which route options are finally approved.)

---

Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

WE have the same controversy in the UK regarding HS2. Anyhow more cheerfil news is here. Mallard

Great shame it is no longer "steamable" and has to be hauled to Grantham!

---

BREAKING NEWS: STB grants the exemption sought by the CHSRA (really, really long URL):

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/3da3d75a2453dd2685257b8900680856?OpenDocument

That’s a big hurdle cleared. Once Judge Kenny sends the NIMBY’s packing (again) and the last EIR’s for the segment are complete, we’re off and running…

At the risk of getting these posts moved to Politics, I say Don't bet on it. A lot of the route is still not finalized, so not much of the right-of-way has been acquired. I expect a lot of eminent domain court fights. (Some of my friends could have their properties cut in half by the HSR tracks, depending on which route options are finally approved.)

If their counting on CEQA, part of that may be moot soon SB731 passed the CA state Senate 39-0 and is off to the CA Assembly for a vote.

CEQA review would no longer include project aesthetics for mixed use and transit priority areas, and unsubstantiated opinion would no longer be allowed as new evidence in court. The proposed law would also speed up legal challenges and standardize state thresholds for Environmental Impacts Reviews (EIRs).

Maybe I should have put Eminent Domain in bold. California Environmental Quality Act reviews are a whole different issue, and any proposed changes may not become law, and could not be applied retroactively.

The ONLY section where the route is finalized and property aquisition has begun is the section just north of Fresno. All of the proposed routes through the San Joaquin Valley invole 100s of farms that would be cut in half by the right-of-way, and with the proposed grade separation, many of those farmers would lose effective access to the other half of their land. The Eminent Domain court battles are expected to be long and costly once they start. California High Speed Rail is NOT a done deal, and may never be.

Now I suggest we end this discussion of a train that may never be, and stick to trains that actually are.

---

Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

4464 Bittern a sister engine of the A4 Pacific engine Mallard has done a run down the same track, near Grantham, where Mallard set the world record for a steam engine 75 years ago.

There are only six of these engines left and they will all be at the National Rail Museum in York on anniversary day the 3rd July.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23109971

There are only six of these engines left and they will all be at the National Rail Museum in York on anniversary day the 3rd July.

Two of them were shipped over from North America for the event.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Good news! The Virginia Transportation Museum has found that if it can raise $3.5 million by the end of October, N&W 611 can be restored to service once again.

For more details, this article on the Trains Magazine Newswire is viewable without a subscription to the magazine. You can also visit http://fireup611.org to donate.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

The poor old Flying Scotsman 4472 isn't doing too well though. Basically they are saying that repairs in the past have been bodged and it now needs to be done properly.

SCotsman

Seems it's a bit of a curse as it nearly bankrupted two previous owners

---

The latest entry in Illinois Railway Museum's blog. Steam Department Update

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I can't believe I haven't posted about this earlier, but here it is.

My best friend is a service attendant, soon to be promoted to conductor, for Pullman Rail Journeys. He also does other work for the parent company, but it all involves passenger trains. Pullman is bringing back to the rails the luxury experience of the heyday of passenger rail travel. This video is a quick overview of the Pullman service. (No, the guy being interviewed is not my friend; I've never met him, but I'd like to.)

I'm hoping to get a ride on it myself sometime soon (taking advantage of his friends and family discount, of course). I just wish they went someplace where the temperature isn't 95 with humidity to match.

I have tagged along on deadhead moves of some of their cars, and toured more of them in the Amtrak yard in Chicago (virtually all of their trips, either Pullman or other charters, run on the back of regular Amtrak trains or under Amtrak's operating authority (and liability shield)). These cars are beautiful inside.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

If you are going to go Pullman then there is only one proper way to do it.

Pullman

I'd love to do that, but I can't really even afford the heavy discount off an upper berth in an open section (which won't stop me from doing it anyway).

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

And for one that is in service today:

http://www.orient-express.com/web/vsoe/venice_simplon_orient_express.jsp

A few months ago we tried blagging breakfast or lunch off one of their crews while trying to sort out a problem nearby. Best bacon roll ever ;-)

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Here's another video about the City of New Orleans. Most of it is about the Pullman service, but the last couple minutes are on the regular Amtrak cars.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Here's yet another video about Pullman Rail Journeys and the trip to New Orleans. My friend will soon be promoted to the same position this guy has.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

WE have the same controversy in the UK regarding HS2. Anyhow more cheerfil news is here. Mallard

Great shame it is no longer "steamable" and has to be hauled to Grantham!

I saw Tornado towing it to Shildon last time it was moved, that was quite a sight.

If i had the laptop i'd pull some photos up.

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Good news from Illinois Railway Museum.

I hear from a friend who volunteers there that 1630 may be operating by the end of August.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

It has finally happened. Union Pacific is buying a Big Boy back from the museum they donated it to in 1961 and will restore it to operation. Presumably, the target time for restoration is the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Good news from Illinois Railway Museum.

I hear from a friend who volunteers there that 1630 may be operating by the end of August.

I've read this and part of the latest entries there on the 1630, quite fascinating, it's a St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 2-10-0 "Decapod" Frisco #1630, I had to google a few fact that I knew to figure that out, She's almost 100 years old. Still glad the locomotive is being overhauled. :)

The IRM roster page about 1630. She was built for the Russian railways, but after the revolution the order was canceled.

More information about Russian Decapods.

IRM also has another locomotive built for Russia (actually, the Soviet Union) in 1946, but not allowed to be exported due to the Cold War. Little Joes were electrics and informally named for Joe Stalin after the South Shore Line bought three, five were sold to Brazil, and the Milwaukee Road bought the rest.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

It has finally happened. Union Pacific is buying a Big Boy back from the museum they donated it to in 1961 and will restore it to operation. Presumably, the target time for restoration is the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

Holy smokes, that's quite a machine.

Why do American locos always have every piece of pipework on the outside? Makes them look really ungainly.

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Seems it's time for a reprise of Guthrie's song......eh?

---

"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."