HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: bjork@telebit.com (Steven Bjork)
Subject: Tehachapi Re:  High Speed Rail in Southern California
Keywords: 1st wonder of railroad world
Organization: Telebit Corporation; Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 14:51:42 GMT

In article <4718@bacon.IMSI.COM> jordan@IMSI.COM (Jordan Hayes) writes:

>Palmdale, then north to Mojave.  The fun part begins when you try to
>get back from Mojave to the main line down the Central Valley (CA/99).
>Travelling due west for about 20 miles, you get to the small town of
>Tehachapi (still with me?).  The track then follows CA/58 for about 12
>miles and just pas the smaller town of Marcel, the track *does a
>circle*, I presume to make it up some weird grade.  Then it does a flat
 ^^^^^^
This is the Tehachapi Loop, a Registered Landmark of the State of
California, and the First Wonder of the Railroad World.

The "Oil Cans" is probably the most impressive train to run this
route. Routinely gets eleven 3000+ horsepower units wailing up
the 2.2% grade...

>S and shimmies it's way northwest.  It doubles back on itself several
>times past Bear Mtn., and has one more big difficulty right at Caliente
>until it can finally make a bee-line to Bakersfield, at Kern Junction.
>
>Whew!  Does anyone know what this particular stretch of roadbed
>looks like?

Yes, I made a pilgrimage there to shoot video. Truly a fantastic
place to visit. It's billed as the busiest single track stretch
of mountain railroad in the world.

There is an engineering study being funded by the State of California
about double-tracking this stretch to accomodate passenger traffic.
This will be super stuff when it happens.

--Steven
From: vlcek@mtl.mit.edu (Jim Vlcek)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: GE spying on EMD? (from Fidonet)
Date: 22 Aug 92 08:37:14 GMT
Article-I.D.: athena.1992Aug22.083714.11834
Organization: MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories

I know Bob Lambrecht from years ago, back in Illinois.  He was just
railfanning, not spying.  He was (and, I presume, still is) a super
fan.

Jim Vlcek
From: romeo@niagara.Tymnet.COM (Michael Stimac)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Employee Timetables - Carl Loucks
Date: 19 Aug 92 22:58:09 GMT
Organization: BT North America (Tymnet)

In article <1992Aug19.203820.13765@col.hp.com> tvervaek@col.hp.com (Tom Vervaeke) writes:
>
>While reading Trains magazine I can across an advertisement for a 
>guy called Carl Louck. In the 9/92 issue it is on page 16 to the
>left. He sells older employee timetables and the like for some
>reasonable. For example, a 1989 vintage BN Denver is $12. Has anyone
>here ever used these things? He claims they contain data on
>railroad operations, stations, signal rules, mileages. etc... Many
> 
Go for it!

>Is it possible to get these things from employees locally on the
>side? I.E "offer" them a few bucks for a current copy? I really
> 
Maybe, maybe not. Many railroads have strict rules which require
the employes to turn in their old TT before they can receive the
new issue.

I've bought stuff from Carl Loucks, and been happy with my
purchases. If what you want seems to be at all 'rare' amke sure
you call and reserve it; most of the stuff is one-of-a-kind
and will be sold to 1st-come-1st-served.

Michael Stimac

-- 
Michael Stimac
(415) 355-8889
romeo@tymnet.com
These opinions are not necessarily anyone's but my own.
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: matthew@cs.su.oz (Matthew Geier)
Subject: Re: RR car height
Reply-To: matthew@cluster.cs.su.oz.au (Matthew Geier)
Organization: Basser Dept of Computer Science, University of Sydney, Australia
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 02:24:08 GMT

In article <D11ToB2w165w@1776.COM> bob%1776.UUCP@XAIT.Xerox.COM (Robert Coe) writes:
>But it's possible to design double-deck cars to run within eastern clearances.
>The MBTA's new commuter rail cars, for example, are exactly the height of a
>diesel loclmotive.  And these are true double-deckers, not "gallery" cars
>like the commuter cars in Chicago.

 Sydney , Australia has been running DD EMU's for 25 years , with a much lower
clearance than is common in Nth America. ( ie Lower than the roof line of an
SD series diesel ! ).
 There are a limited number of seats in the 'vestibule' area's for people
who cant get up/down the stairs.
 Sydney railway stations arnt generally suitable for people in wheel chairs
anyway. Many stations have long flights of stairs as their only access.
 A few are equiped for wheel chairs and marked in the time-tables..


Matthew Geier
matthew@cs.su.oz.au
Xref: sparky rec.railroad:6520 ba.transportation:2004
From: brennan@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Joseph Brennan)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad,ba.transportation
Subject: Re: RR bridges, was Cost of transit systems vs highways
Date: 15 Aug 92 18:18:17 GMT
Reply-To: brennan@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Joseph Brennan)
Distribution: na
Organization: Columbia University

In article <1992Aug15.051323.19656@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I.
Petrich) writes:

>	Actually, the Bay Bridge was once used for multiple-car trains
>for the first few years of its existence, after its construction in
>1938 or so, but its engineers worried like hell over whether the
>bridge could support these trains.

Roebling was concerned about the Brooklyn Bridge too, and used a cable
system to avoid running even small steam engines on it.  The weight
allowed increased over the years.  The problem is the concentrated
weight of a moving train putting stress on the cables and the bridge
deck.  The lighter the better.

>I haven't yet seen any proposals for light-rail
>service across the Golden Gate bridge, however.

They have a big problem at the Golden Gate.  It is terrifically deep,
so a tunnel would require very long approaches, and I don't think one
has been proposed.  Building a second bridge for rail, even if it
could be financed, would probably be opposed on aesthetic grounds (you
wonder how they ever got the Golden Gate Bridge built, for that matter;
it's hard now to think what it looked like without the bridge there).

--Joe Brennan
From: lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Rail Access to Airports
Date: 13 Aug 92 23:46:28 GMT
Organization: LLNL


	Here is a somewhat comprehensive list, gleaned from postings
here and personal research:


The Bay Area: San Francisco International Airport
	~30m bus ride from the Daly City BART station
	~30m bus ride from the Transbay Terminal area (connections to
BART, Muni Metro (light rail and cable cars), and Amtrak)
	Several minutes bus ride from one of the CalTrain stations
	A BART extension is planned to this facility.

	Oakland International Airport
	A short bus ride away from the Oakland Coliseum BART station
	An Amtrak station is planned for near the BART station

	San Jose International Airport
	Buses to the Santa Clara Light Rail system and the Cahill St.
Amtrak/CalTrain station


Los Angeles: LA International Airport
	Bus through lots of L.A. traffic to Union Station (if there is one!)
	The Green Line light-rail line (due to open in the next couple
of years)


Philadelphia:
	SEPTA commuter-rail line to the airport; it stops at Amtrak's
30th St. Station and at two stops in Center City.


New York City: JFK International Airport
	Situation unclear; probably a subway line, I'm not sure about LIRR

	LaGuardia Airport
	???

	Newark Airport
	~30m bus ride from Newark Amtrak / NJ Transit Station


Washington, DC: Washington National Airport
	Metro stop nearby/inside (?)

	Baltimore-Washington International Airport
	There is an Amtrak / MARC station near the end of one of the
runways; I presume that there is a shuttle bus.

	Dulles International Airport
	Probably nothing really close.


London: Heathrow Airport

	London subway


Of these, my direct experience has only been with the SF airport (pain
in the butt!), Philadelphia (very nice!), and Newark (only once, in
both directions; I got really worried about the bus making it in time
for my plane, but it did)
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: VIA's excellent, Amtrak sticks bigtime
Summary: they said it couldn't be done
Date: 15 Aug 92 23:10:18 GMT
Organization: The Helen Keller Bondurant High Performance Driving School for the Blind

In article <5471@transfer.stratus.com> btarbox@sw.stratus.com (Brian Tarbox) writes:
>I just returned from a circle America trip:
>VIA rail from Montreal to Vancouver,
>Amtrak from Vancouver to San Fran. to Boston.

Really?  I had heard that they had shut the VIA transcontinental service down
(sorry if this is an old topic here; I've never followed the newsgroup before).
The PBS series _Travels_ had a two-part feature called "The Last Train Across
Canada", where they took one of the last possible ocean-to-ocean rail trips.
(Good shows, BTW; if you missed it, buy or borrow a tape.)  They said that the
passenger VIA service was shutting down except for a few lengths that would be
operated as pricey tourist packages.  A couple of friends from Canada more or 
less confirmed this at the time...

>I would travel VIA again in a flash and would travel Amtrak again
>if the alternative was walking.  The difference between the two
>system was amazing.

Do you have an address or phone number for VIA for info?


--
Alan Denney      aland@informix.com      {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland

"For they looked in the future, and what did they see
 They saw an iron road running from the sea to the sea."  -- G.L.
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: johnm@hpmcaa (John Mosbarger)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Restroom Closings on Amtrak (Was: My Amtrak Vacation)
Date: 17 Aug 92 19:28:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: hpmcaa.1992Aug17.192807.12403
Distribution: usa
Organization: HP Cardiology Business Unit - McMinnville, OR
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Garth G. Groff (ggg9y@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU) wrote:
> Yes, most Amtrak toilets flush directly onto the roadbed.
> Some of the older Heritage Fleet cars still have holding
> tanks (or had until recently), but the newer equipment 
> lacks them (surprisingly).  It has something to do with
> the electro-chemical system which supposedly treats the
> waste before dumping it.  Many towns have ordinances 
> against dumping this "stuff" in their towns, especially
> where the trains is stopped and it would build up on the
> tracks.  A friend once mentioned that it was a real
> problem for fishermen down in Florida who frequently got
> showered while passing under bridges.  Seems the fish
> thought the best place to hang out was under these 
> bridges (wonder why!).
> ~S
> --
> Garth (Haridas) Groff
> "Not yet famous author"
> ggg9y@poe.acc.virginia.EDU         Chant "Govinda Bohlo Hare"

     There used to be an annual trip using chartered Amtrak equipment that
made a run from Portland to Chemult on the SP, then north to the Columbia R.
on the Oregon Trunk, and onto Portland down the Gorge via UP.  The state of
Oregon was getting so much flak regarding Amtrak dumping their toilets into
the rivers that they would not allow the train to dump, so the trip was can-
celled.

     I was in Willamette Pass a couple of years ago and was talking to the
foreman of a private contracting firm that was doing bridge repairs for SP.
He told of an instance when they were working on the Willamette Draw (BN's
track north from Portland to Vancouver, WA) and Amtrak dumped their toilets.
One worker was hit in the face by a used sanitary napkin, and the crew 
promptly walked off the job.

--
John Mosbarger
HP McMinnville, OR
johnm@hpmcaa.mcm.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Heathrow to London (was: Any Britrail experts out there?)
Followup-To: poster
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 02:00:54 GMT

> #  Others have said that the Underground takes about 50 minutes (more or
> #  less depending on where you're going) while the Airbus is more like 80
> #  minutes.
> 
> True.  But you can't enjoy the ride.  Or, at least, I can't. 

That's better; *this* time, facts and opinions are separated.  Please
continue to do so.

Followups directed to email.
-- 
Mark Brader		    "'A matter of opinion'[?]  I have to say you are
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto	      right.  There['s] your opinion, which is wrong,
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com      and mine, which is right."  -- Gene Ward Smith

This article is in the public domain.
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: M00209@MBVM.Mitre.Org
Subject: Re: Bay Ridge Line and possibly other NYC lines.
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford MA 01730
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 19:30:43 GMT

In article <Bt8r52.K3A@acsu.buffalo.edu>
v106qhlw@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Poster Child Against Meal Plan) writes:
 
>
>Anyone know anything concrete about LIRR's Bay Ridge Line?  I know that
>it's a freight operation with a few small trains a day.  It's freight is
>building materials, ash, packaging products and things of that nature.
>It's ROW, I believe, is from the Fresh Pond Junction in Queens, around
>into Brooklyn, and to the waterfront in Bay Ridge where it turns over to
>the NY/NJ Crossharbor Railroad.
>
What are you asking??  What you say is correct. The Bay Ridge Route was
traditionally a heavy freight line used by the New Haven Railroad (and I
think also by the Long Island but I'm not sure) to interchange with the Pennsy
via car floats across the harbor to Greenville Yard in Jersey City (and maybe
other "Joizee" points as well).  As far as I know it never had passenger
service, but it may have before the Hudson River Tunnels were built, though the
only floating of passenger trains across New York Harbor that I'm aware of took
place from Harlem River Terminal rather than Bay Ridge.  Certainly if there was
passenger service to Bay Ridge earlier, it had disappeared by the mid-twenties.
 
As freight routing patterns changed in the Post World War II era, the Bay Ridge
line and the cross harbor routing became less important, and Penn Central (I
believe) finally put it out of its misery, and the expensively built Bay Ridge
line became just a dead-end to a few small customers.  About ten(?) years ago,
the New York Cross Harbor Railroad was formed, and the whole thing was
"re-invented", albeit on a significantly reduced scale.  I understand that the
NYCHRR is profitable though no gold mine.
 
>The line seems like the perfect opportunity to create a true Brooklyn-
>Queens Crosstown line, connecting the Brighton, Culver, and West End lines.
>It could continue into Queens, hitting the Canarsie line first and then
>connecting with the Queens Blvd line with a little more ROW.  There is some
>type of station at Roosevelt Avenue (oriented to the south, I believe) that
>might serve as a terminal.
>
I'll let the Subway experts field that part of your query!
 
 
Len Bachelder        Archives Committee, Boston and Maine RR Historical Society
MITRE Corp.           Secretary, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
Bedford MA 01730      Member, 470 Railroad Club
<M00209@mbvm.mitre.org>
 
"Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, should'st die for me!"
                                                 - Charles Wesley
From: che238n@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Any Britrail experts out there?
Date: 18 Aug 92 11:40:25 +1000
Organization: Computer Centre, Monash University, Australia

In article <1992Aug17.215606.242@unixg.ubc.ca>, banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji) writes:
> 		Any Britrail experts out there?
> 
> PROBLEM: To travel from Vancouver to Bradford.
> 
> SOLUTION #1: Fly to Manchester, take a train to Bradford
 If you want adventure.

> SOLUTION #2: Fly to Heathrow, take tube to King's Cross, and IC to Bradford.
> 	     If nothing direct is available, take an IC to Leeds and change
> 	     to a local there.
 Best solution. 

> SOLUTION #3: Fly to Heathrow, take a bus to Stevenage, and take northbound
> 	     IC from there as in #2.
 Bus? What sort of railfan are you?

> 
> 	The choice between #1 and #2/#3 depends on the relative air fares
> to Manchester and Heathrow. My question relates to option 3. Does anyone
> know about the frequencies of buses to Stevenage? Do they go to the
> railway station or somewhere else? More importantly, do the ICs to Leeds
> and Bradford stop at Stevenage? This information was not given in Thomas
> Cook's timetable.
> 	Thanks in advance.
  No probs, that's what us heros are here for.

Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: cal@ee.ryerson.ca (Calvin Henry-Cotnam)
Subject: Re: VIA's excellent, Amtrak sticks bigtime
Organization: Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 14:54:35 GMT

In article <20AUG92.09908687.0064@VM1.MCGILL.CA> CZ94 <CZ94@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA> writes:
>In article <25032@castle.ed.ac.uk> dtm@castle.ed.ac.uk (D Muxworthy) writes:
>>At least four messages in the last day or two have said that the Canadian
>>runs through from Vancouver to Toronto, so by Lewis Carroll's rule it must
>>be true.  However in Jasper station last week there were references only
>>to Vancouver - Winnipeg trains and Jasper - Prince Rupert trains.  Maybe
>>the VIA staff there should be told.
>
>There is no VIA train from Vancouver terminating in Winnipeg.  The only
>train on this route is the Canadian, which continues through to Toronto.
>

In a sense, both are correct.

The train that starts in Vancouver, ends in Toronto, and vice-versa.

VIA's national timetable has a full page chart showing the three trains
per week all the way from Toronto to Vancouver.

However, the same national timetable divides the country up into sections:

Atlantic, Corridor (Quebec City to Windsor),
Winnipeg to Toronto, and Winnipeg to Vancouver.
(I forget if the last two have "region names" like the firt two)

In a sense, the timetable refers to one service from Vancouver
to Winnipeg and another from Winnipeg to Toronto, even though
physically it is the same train.


Calvin Henry-Cotnam, CATE            |    MY CANADA INCLUDES CANADIANS!
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute      | I would really like this to include
Toronto, Ontario, Canada             | Quebec - but I won't hold my breath.
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: wes@uf.msc.edu (Wes Barris)
Subject: Re: Operating READING T1 engines (was Bi-centennial steam engines?)
Reply-To: wes@msc.edu
Organization: AHPCRC, Minnesota Supercomputer Center
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 13:50:39 GMT

In article <1992Aug13.172255.10986@cbnewsm.cb.att.com>, cab@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (carl.a.benevit) writes:
|> 
|> To change the subject... since 2101 is a cosmetic exhibit now (and a NICE
|> one 8`)) that leaves only 2 T1's operating, one of which is the much
|> publicised 2102 at Hamburg PA on the Blue Mountain & Reading. The other
|> T1 is the 2100. The last time I saw anything on it was about 2 years
|> ago. It was made operational by the 2100 corporation and had some shake-
|> down runs to be done. I thought I heard that since then it had passed
|> to a new controlling body. Does anyone know what's new with the 2100?
|> I had hoped for a doubleheaded T1 excursion but at this point I'm not
|> holding my breath.

The last I heard, the 2100 was at the Wheeling & Lake Erie shops in
Brewster, OH.  I remember seeing a small blurb on this in TRAINS a couple
months ago.
-- 
                                       o O O O O o o o o o o o o . . . . . . .
 __________    ___           ___      __                _
/_______|--`--|_ _|--=-==---|_ _|--,_|__|_             |-+-------`____________,
| ||_| /        -  |        / - \  |      || ________  |                      |
|_|___/------------|----__---------|------|||__|__|__| |Southern Pacific Lines|
|_|____________/-------{__}---------------{__}_______|=|_________     ________|
/_(o)=(o) ( )( )( )( ) [__]  ( )( )( )( ) [__]--(o)     (o)(o)(o)-----(o)(o)(o)
===============================================================================
Wes Barris                                                   PH: (612) 626-8090
Minnesota Supercomputer Center                               Email: wes@msc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: CZ94 <CZ94@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA>
Subject: Re: VIA's excellent, Amtrak sticks bigtime
Organization: McGill University
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 21:56:26 GMT

In article <16847C6F9.M00209@MBVM.Mitre.Org> M00209@MBVM.Mitre.Org writes:
>
>The "Atlantic" runs three days a week between Halifax and Montreal on (mostly)
>the CPR route through Maine and Saint John, New Brunswick.  The "Ocean" runs
>three days a week between Halifax and Montreal on the CNR (former Intercolonial
>Railway) route via Campbellton.

This is just nitpicking, but the majority of the Atlantic route is
over CN track.  It goes 278 miles on CN from Halifax to Saint John,
then 369 miles on CP from Saint John to Lennoxville, then 101 miles
on CN from Lennoxville to Montreal.  So the total is 379 miles on CN
and 369 on CP.
>
>Between Montreal and Vancouver, contrary to reports of its death, the
>"Canadian" still runs three days a week.  What happened in 1990 was that where
>previously you had the "Canadian" running daily via the CPR route AND the
>"Super Continental" running daily via the CNR route, you now have only the
>"Canadian" three days a week and it uses the CNR route.  Confusing, yes, but
>it still possible to ride across Canada by train, and in the same CARS as
>before, though on a DIFFERENT route that where they formerly ran.  In fact, the
>trip has been speeded up by about a half a day, and the cars have been TOTALLY
>rebuilt, with showers and head-end power.  VIA is making a very serious effort

The Canadian now runs only from Toronto to Vancouver, not from
Montreal.

It's been speeded up by half a day only after being slowed down.
My winter 1963-64 CN timetable shows the Super-Continental leaving
Toronto at 1830 ET and arriving in Vancouver at 0800 PT, for a
travel time of 64.5 hours.  The current VIA timetable shows the
Canadian, over almost exactly the same route, leaving Toronto at
1245 ET and arriving in Vancouver at 0800 PT, for a travel time of
of 70.25 hours.  Of course, nobody taking this train today is going
to be in a great hurry, and I suppose we should be grateful it's
running at all.

   The current timetable also offers better daytime viewing of the
Rockies.  In 1963-64, the westbound train left Jasper at 1745 MT,
so you would pass through the most spectacular scenery at night in
winter, or even in summer if the train was running late.  Now
it leaves Jasper at 1530 MT.

Tom Box
CZ94@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA

Newsgroups: rec.railroad