To All the Trains I've Loved Before

[spenser1058]

6 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Not to further poke an open wound but the Pilgrims actually didn’t land in Plymouth first (so not only is the rock a useless plug of American history it’s also not even Pilgrim history).

The Pilgrims first set foot in present day Provincetown on Cape Cod. When they felt that the bay in Provincetown was not suitable and the terrain of the area was too difficult for habitation they moved up to Plymouth.

Let Plymouth  keep it’s rock and it’s tourists. Provincetown does not need them!

I’m glad they left Provincetown for the fabulous folk!

[HankStrong]

22 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Not to further poke an open wound but the Pilgrims actually didn’t land in Plymouth first (so not only is the rock a useless plug of American history it’s also not even Pilgrim history).

The Pilgrims first set foot in present day Provincetown on Cape Cod. When they felt that the bay in Provincetown was not suitable and the terrain of the area was too difficult for habitation they moved up to Plymouth.

Let Plymouth  keep it’s rock and it’s tourists. Provincetown does not need them!

I loved whale watching from Provincetown.  It was amazing and you save the entire ride from Boston to get to the good spots.

[spenser1058]

The Jaxson checks out the amazingly rapid growth of Salt Lake City’s light rail system:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/im-smaller-than-jax-and-i-have-rail-salt-lake-city

It puts the lie to the notion that a medium-sized, low-density city can’t use fixed transit. (In 2021, SLC was the 46th largest MSA with a pop of 1.67m, per wiki).
 

Edited August 18, 2022 by spenser1058

[HankStrong]

On 8/18/2022 at 8:18 AM, spenser1058 said:

The Jaxson checks out the amazingly rapid growth of Salt Lake City’s light rail system:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/im-smaller-than-jax-and-i-have-rail-salt-lake-city

It puts the lie to the notion that a medium-sized, low-density city can’t use fixed transit. (In 2021, SLC was the 46th largest MSA with a pop of 1.67m, per wiki).
 

It was an extremely nice system.  Loved it.

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

It was an extremely nice system.  Loved it.

When you have Moroni and Mitt looking over you, how can you go wrong!?!

[prahaboheme]

Union Station DC Metro — rare occasion to take a picture when empty:

[HankStrong]

On 6/21/2022 at 8:32 AM, JFW657 said:

I've ridden MARTA in Atlanta before a long time ago.

It was really nice.

Convenient too.

Friend and I were camping at Stone Mountain about 20 miles or so east of downtown. Caught a bus at the entrance to the campsite, took us to the train station which I believe was/is in Doraville (made famous in song by the Atlanta Rhythm Section) then the train carried us into Five Points in the heart of DTA.

My next system will be MARTA!

Much like @JFW657I found it to be nice & convenient.  Another similarity is that I haven't ridden it in a very long time now because I haven't bothered to visit the ATL in a long time.  It's not one of my favorite cities and is home to my least favorite airport I've ever been to.

 

The MARTA system is 4 lines that run both above and below ground.  In 2009 they switched to color name (Red, Gold, Blue, and Green) but when I was last there they had actual names.  The colors put them more in line with the rest of the planet.  There are really only 2 full lines and 2 spurs, but as I have specifically complained about Boston's spur lines keeping the same line names,  how they do it in Atlanta is how I prefer it to be.  I'm fine knowing I probably want the Blue line if I'm going E/W and the Red line if I'm going N/S but knowing that for almost any trip inside the city center I can also use Green with the Blue and Gold with the Red.

The hours are solid.  The rolling stock are the typical stout wide-body Hitachi/Breda trains that are so popular around the world.  They are generic and provide a generic amount of comfort with a slightly higher capacity than some sleeker rolling stock.  These are the Toyota Camry/Honda Accords of trains.  They won't wow you, but they are everywhere and they do a great job at what they are supposed to do.  Supposedly, they are being replaced with Stadler, who make virtually all the trains in Switzerland and all the regional trains in that general area of the world.  They *can* make a generic stout wide-body rectangular train, but their normal trains are much sleeker and cooler.  Their custom trains in Berlin are the saddest looking ones you'll ever see.

MARTA also runs the Atlanta Streetcar, which I've never had the chance to use.  I've read about it and love the Siemens S70 rolling stock they use.  Those are great trains (Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Salt Lake City) that I've discussed before.  It runs in a 2.7 miles loop around downtown, but they are planning to expand it, but nothing has been funded or designed. 

 

 

 

Atlanta is having a ton of trouble with their huge project called The Beltline which is a multi-use trail that will eventually do a 22 mile loop around the neighborhoods surrounding downtown.  I actually read a lot of the website and it doesn't get a lot clearer because they use a lot of dream words instead of action words.  They are supposed to be making a 22 mile loop around downtown to connect neighborhoods that were cut off from each other.  That sounds awesome.  This project is supposed to connect the 5 most used hiking trails and a bunch of parks in the area via this new loop and there are supposed to be art installations on the entire route.  That also sounds awesome.  There is also supposed to be a streetcar route.  That is another awesome sounding project.  Basically, you could walk, bike, roll, skate, dance, ride a streetcar, or whatever around this 22 mile loop and use it however suits you best.  However, it sounds like instead of being handled by engineers OR hikers OR artists, they hired a hik-ineer-ist  instead.  It's all over the place.  It reads like some of it will be done in 5 or 6 years and it might be complete in about 2075.

The best part is that it could connect to all 4 lines of the subway and the streetcar if they want.

[spenser1058]

Everybody sing!

https://youtu.be/ggGzE5KfCio

[spenser1058]

Let’s all get aboard the MARTA Happy Train!
https://youtu.be/TZvbGGebSBo

Edited August 26, 2022 by spenser1058

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, HankStrong said:

However, it sounds like instead of being handled by engineers OR hikers OR artists, they hired a hik-ineer-ist instead.  It's all over the place.  

That's what I wanted to be when I was growing up, but no universities in Florida offered a program in it and I didn't want to go out of state.  

[HankStrong]

Let us take a journey to the other side of the world.

The Shanghai Transrapid Maglev Train (otherwise known as the current fastest train on Earth)

 

There isn't a ton to write about this experience as it only went from one station in Pudong (where our hotel was) called Longyard Station to the Shanghai Pudong Airport.  As we flew in to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, I didn't get to take the maglev both directions.  It cost us around $10 each for VIP (1st class) seats one-way because you get a discount for having airline tickets which is a bargain.  I believe this is now around $12 one-way and $20 round trip.  It's a few bucks more without an airline ticket, if you just wanted to ride the train.  The train actually goes different speeds depending on your trip.  The slow trip is 300kph (186mph) and the fast trip is 431kph (268mph) and there was a zero-percent chance I was riding the slow one if I had a choice.  I did and we arrived a bit too early for our flight because of it, but I'd rather have what was likely my only shot riding it be on the fast version.

We got out of the station and didn't seem to be moving that fast.  We got around a bend and TOOK OFF.  We were up to 200kph in seconds.  250kph.  300kph.  This is when I got worried that we were misled (not speaking Mandarin) because it stayed solid at 300kph for at least 30 seconds.  I thought we were done.  It turns out we just had to get past some section and suddenly we were hitting 350kph and 400kph in a matter of seconds.  According to the sign in our car our ride capped out at 429kph, but I suppose that's not too bad.

The seats were very comfortable in VIP and unless you are Chinese-sized you might want to consider it.  The train was insanely smooth.  At top speed you didn't feel any vibration and I stood a coin on end on the window sill without it even threatening to fall over.  It definitely didn't go top speed for the bulk of the trip, but I would guess it was about half of the trip.  We took the curves a bit slower and the Wiki page says the average speed is ~250kph and I'd agree with that.  The entire trip was less than 8 minutes long.  I'd guess from boarding to disembarking was ~15 total.  If traffic is bad, this trip is about 45-90 minutes in a car.

The guide/translator we had hired faked me out and told me "Mr. Hank, the train is broken today.  We must drive." because she knew I was extremely excited to go on it.  I was sad and she said (and this is a quote) "Mr. Hank, I have made an Aston Kutcher on you!  You are now punked!"  Even in 2017 this was a very dated reference, but I laughed so hard at it.  The wife thought I was insane for laughing that hard at this joke, but I didn't care.

 

It was an amazing experience that train lovers everywhere will enjoy.

 

[spenser1058]

Ready to go leaf-peeping by rail? The Washington Post has some suggestions:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/scenic-train-routes-amtrak-canada/?itid=hp-top-table-main

[HankStrong]

My next journey is a double threat.  The Tokyo Metro and the Kyoto Metro!  (Shinkansen coming next!)

The Tokyo metro is the cleanest system I've ever been on in the entire world.  Let's start there.  It's amazingly clean and amazingly efficient.  I love using it.  They use custom rolling stock made by several different companies, but they are all virtually identical inside.  They are (as expected) very functional and efficient.  The main system will take you almost anywhere in the entire metro area.  I've been to Tokyo three times and this was absolutely the best way to get around town.

The slightly confusing thing is that there are actually two competing subway companies in Tokyo.  If you ever visit and just buy a ticket, this will be an issue.  If you (like me) tend to buy a rail pass when visiting cities with these systems, you won't have any issues.  I hopped back and forth with no trouble, although most of my travels were on the Tokyo Metro (the other is the Toei Metro).  My least favorite part about the metro was that it doesn't connect to Narita Airport.  If you are coming to/from the airport you have to take a completely separate express train, hire a cab, or take a bus.  I've actually determined that if you are staying near the center of downtown the absolute fastest option is the bus.  That may vary depending upon where you stay, but I love the heart of town and intentionally stay near the main Tokyo Station in Chiyoda.  That's the easiest place in town to get anywhere from.  EVERYTHING is in both English and Japanese.  It is absolutely easy to around and the trains run like clockwork.

There are 9 TM lines and 4 Toei lines.  The main station connects to all of their national roadways, including the Shinkasen.

The Kyoto Metro was a little less nice and they only have 2 lines.  Everything else about I said about the Tokyo lines is still true.  It's clean and efficient.  The stations and the trains themselves were a bit more dated, but still wonderful.  There were a few places where English was harder to find, but still everywhere had some English for everything.  Instead of being on every sign, English might only be one every other sign.  You just have to look a little more.  The main station in Kyoto is awesome, though.  It's beautiful and home to some amazing restaurants.  Kyoto is an amazing city and well worth it.   I went to Osaka, Kobe, and Nara, but didn't use any public transportation there.  I don't know what sort of systems they have.  I can tell you that Mt. Fuji doesn't have good public transportation and was a large disappointment in that regard.  It was an expensive and annoying day trip that (except for the beauty of the mountain) wasn't worth it at all.

Edited October 27, 2022 by HankStrong

[spenser1058]

The Jaxson rides El Paso’s streetcar system:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/el-pasos-heritage-streetcar-system

One unique feature is that they restored cars from the city’s original system way back when.
 

[spenser1058]

7 Major Projects Changing the Face of Rail Travel 

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/7-major-projects-changing-the-face-of-rail-travel

From The Jaxson 

[HankStrong]

It's weird they added the Elizabeth line to a bunch of American projects.

It was less informative than I would've liked, but it's nice they are spotlighting the projects.

[spenser1058]

@HankStrong, I don’t know if you’re interested in the freight side of railroading, but I found this column by Peter Coy about how the railroads ended up in a pickle  kind of fascinating. Logistics have always been interesting to me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/opinion/railroad-trains-labor.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

From The New York Times

When I was in Junior Achievement as a kid, we did a tour of the SCL headquarters in Jax (now CSX) and they had huge electronic boards showing movement of trains on their lines. For the 1970’s, the technology was really cool.
 

[spenser1058]

CNN looks at 12 new or upgraded trains they liked in 2022:

https://apple.news/AmD2YadwNQHC-Dg17r6PR4A

[spenser1058]

A first look at the trains that will replace Amtrak’s 50-year-old rail cars
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/12/15/amtrak-new-siemens-trains/

From The Washington Post 

The equipment is quite similar to that used by Brightline and can reach speeds up to 125mph.

Everybody sing!

”All Aboard America… All Aboard Amtrak”

https://youtu.be/0m7ira-z5TI
 

Edited December 16, 2022 by spenser1058

[HankStrong]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:20 AM, spenser1058 said:

A first look at the trains that will replace Amtrak’s 50-year-old rail cars
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/12/15/amtrak-new-siemens-trains/

From The Washington Post 

The equipment is quite similar to that used by Brightline and can reach speeds up to 125mph.

Everybody sing!

”All Aboard America… All Aboard Amtrak”

https://youtu.be/0m7ira-z5TI
 

These Siemens Charger trains are a major upgrade from the old GE Genesis beasts of a by-gone era.  There are still over 225 of the GE units in service and they are beasts.  They are the old style box locomotives with the poor visibility and no aerodynamic features to speak of.  The Siemens are much more efficient and have a lot of upsides with new tech and being able to be flexible to overhead electrical charging, as well.  They are almost identical to the Brightline trains.  I doubt you could tell them apart if you weren't looking super closely.

 

Of note, the new Amtrak Acela trains by Alstrom are nice upgrades over the current units.  Don't know if you saw those.

 

 

[prahaboheme]

Rode Charlotte’s Lynx Blue line from UNC Charlotte to Uptown yesterday. I couldn’t help but wonder what Orlando would be like today if the short sighted, politically motivated decision to deny Orlando light rail never happened (much to Charlotte’s benefit) and today Orlando was reaping the benefit of nearly 2 decades of light rail from I-Drive to downtown and points beyond.

I guess I don’t have to “wonder” rather can just look out my Charlotte hotel room on a rainy Thursday onto a Blue Lin station. 
 

Edited December 22, 2022 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

One of my favorite trains in the country is back after a four-year hiatus:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/577841-after-4-year-pause-disney-world-railroad-is-back-this-holiday/

From Florida Politics 

Look for a new track and upgrades to the Walt Disney World Railroad which began taking guests on a grand circle trip around the Magic Kingdom at the park’s opening in 1971. The Disney Parks blog also promises a new narrator on the trip.

As a former conductor and engineer back in the ‘70’s , I heartily recommend this relaxing journey on your next visit.

All aboard!

[orange87]

We spent Christmas in New York City this year. We drove to New Haven Union Station and took the Metro North to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Took an hour to drive to New Haven and under two hours for the train to get to Grand Central.

Here's New Haven Union Station.

Edited December 27, 2022 by orange87

[HankStrong]

Great shots!  Love it.

[prahaboheme]

18 hours ago, orange87 said:

We spent Christmas in New York City this year. We drove to New Haven Union Station and took the Metro North to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Took an hour to drive to New Haven and under two hours for the train to get to Grand Central.

Here's New Haven Union Station.

I hope you stopped to enjoy New Haven pizza!