Year: 2007

  • Rail PHOTOS for November

    The Sprinter; The Sacramento RT; and A Metrolink locomotive in need. Oceanside and Folsom in these photos. A Sprinter trainset is at the Amtrak/Sprinter station in Oceanside. Testing of the line is in progress toward a December 28 dedication and opening of service. (Noel Braymer photo) A Sprinter at the new Oceanside Transit Center Sprinter…

  • CAPITOL CORRIDOR JPB MEETING REPORT

    CAPITOL CORRIDOR JPB MEETING REPORT November 14, 2007 Suisun City, California Report and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson Two rebuilt Superliner cars in California Car colors are operating now, and the other five on order will start arriving at about one a month starting in the Spring, providing capacity improvement for the Capitols and the San…

  • Another close call and Metrolink comes through again

    Editorial by Noel T. Braymer On a wet Friday October 12th night we relearned how vulnerable California’s transportation system is. In a truck by-pass tunnel underneath the I-5 freeway one truck hit another truck which created a chain reaction causing several trucks to catch fire. The good news was “only” three people were killed. Working…

  • Well we made it!!! A trip report on the Coast Starlight, the Cascades, and the Empire Builder

    Travel was from Los Angeles to Portland on October 15-16, then Portland to Seattle on October 17, and Seattle to Spokane October 18, 2007. Here are some notes about our “little” journey, with a few comments about the California Zephyr, too! By John Dornoff, RailPAC/InterMountainRail Associate Director Our Coast Starlight ended up arriving in Portland…

  • Senate passes Amtrak Reauthorization bill: the vote

    Report from Russ Jackson Here is the voting on S 294 this week (the Lautenberg/Lott Amtrak reauthorization bill), taken from the US Senate website. Note who didn’t vote: Four of the six Dems were in Philadelphia for that night’s debate. At least their votes weren’t needed. If they had voted they would probably have voted…

  • LOOK! IT’S THE SUNSET LIMITED!!!

    How’s the timekeeping on Amtrak trains 1 and 2? A Report and commentary by Russ Jackson Each month we have been charting on time performances of the Amtrak long distance trains that enter/leave California. This month its the Sunset Limited’s turn. I know, it’s a losing fight, but several items have come to light in…

  • RailPAC promotes weekend Metrolink connections

    Correspondence between RailPAC President Paul Dyson and SCRRA. The original message is at the bottom of this file. Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 11:19:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Dyson Subject: RE: Weekend Connections To: Bob Berger, SCRRA Manager, Passenger Services CC: Art Brown Bob, Thank you for your very prompt reply. Having been through British…

  • Skunk Train trip PHOTO report

    October 16, 2007 Report and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson The California & Western Railroad has been carrying passengers for 100 years! While passengers today are mostly tourists, some travel still occurs to the isolated locations enroute. Our trip on a rainy Tuesday was from Ft. Bragg to Northspur. Currently service from Willits is suspended while…

  • LOSSAN TAC Meeting Report and Commentary

    October 16, 2007, Los Angeles Report and Commentary by Paul Dyson RailPAC President NOTE: An important letter from Mr. Dyson to Caltrans Division of Rail Chief Bill Bronte is included in this report. The technical Advisory Committee for LOSSAN met at Los Angeles on Tuesday 16th October. This was the first full meeting of the…

  • Why we need to protect the Sunset route

    Commentary by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President Those of you who are NARP members will have received a letter from Matt Melzer, former RailPAC director and now Communications Associate at NARP HQ. Matt points out the ongoing threat to the Sunset Limited and calls for action by NARP members to draw attention to the danger to…