Tracking Rail News . . . for March 2010 March 9th, 2010
PHOTOS and Comments by Russ Jackson
. . . Amtrak Western On Time Performance. On February 19, Train #1, the Sunset Limited arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 8:20 AM. Nothing remarkable about that since its due at 8:40, but as crew members will tell you they consider that arrival time as being late as they usually arrive in the 7 o’clock hour these days.
Trip Report: To “Sacramento Rails” on the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited February 1st, 2010
Report and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson
Yes, I know those trains don’t go to Sacramento, but on January 13 we boarded Texas Eagle # 21 at Ft. Worth and headed for San Antonio, then on to Los Angeles and drove up the Valley to Sacramento, combining a winter vacation with attending the very successful RailPAC-NARP meeting on the 16th. Departing Ft. Worth was on time, but two minutes later we waited 15 minutes for clearance to cross the infamous “Tower 55″ controlled BNSF-UP junction.
TRACKING RAIL NEWS . . . for December, 2009 December 14th, 2009
. . . Commentary and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson
. . . On Time Performance. How’s this for an OTP for the first 20 days of November: Zephyr 85%, Starlight 85%, Builder 87.5%, CHIEF 97.5%, Sunset 88.9%, Eagle 92.5%.
Tracking Rail News . . . November 5th, 2009
PHOTOS . . . and Commentary by Russ Jackson
. . . November, 2009.
. . . An important observation by RailPAC Sacramento Director, Marcia Johnston: 
On October 16 I stopped at the Davis Amtrak station to check out the southbound Coast Starlight, which was on time. It sat for some time, and I saw the station agent run into the station to pull out the manual wheelchair lift. There was one person attempting to board with an oversized wheelchair. The present long distance cars cannot board this type of vehicle, and neither can the manual wheelchair lift. The rider couldn’t be boarded unless a regular size wheelchair was utilized. When the person and a companion left she was observed crying. Her companion explained that the train was the only option and that they could not afford to fly, as the cost was too great.
TRACKING RAIL NEWS September 30th, 2009
. . . PHOTOS . . . and Commentary by Russ Jackson
. . . October 1, 2009.
(Photo right) California Zephyr waiting to depart Sacramento station.
. . . On Time Performance and other Amtrak news:
. . . Good news for travelers! . . . Amtrak Guest Rewards is offering double points on all routes, all fall, until December 19. You must register in advance by using Amtrak.com or calling Amtrak.
. . . Isn’t it great when there is good OTP consistently? This summer has seen outstanding performance.
TRACKING RAIL NEWS . . . September 10th, 2009
. . . PHOTOS and Commentary by Russ Jackson
. . . California.
. . . The Solano County city of Vallejo had some good economic news this month when Caltrans announced that Althom will open a Mare Island facility in October to overhaul all 66 California cars on a $13.1 million contract. Door replacement, wheelchair lift upgrades and one wreck repair. The deal will take two years at the 112,000 sq ft facility on that closed Navy base. Photo shows Capitol Corridor Managing Director, Gene Skoropowski, boarding a Capitol train at the Suisun station.
TRACKING RAIL NEWS . . . August 10th, 2009
. . . Commentary by Russ Jackson, and PHOTOS by Trainweb’s Carl Morrison and Russ Jackson
TRACKING RAIL NEWS for July. . . July 5th, 2009
and PHOTOS from everywhere!
. . . Commentary by Russ Jackson
July, 2009. Summertime and the living is easy, right? It is for people who go on vacations, and for some that means riding Amtrak.
Tracking Rail News for June June 19th, 2009
TRACKING RAIL NEWS . . .
. . . and Commentary by Russ Jackson
June, 2009. On Time and other performances. Yes, it’s the economy that can be charged with the recent on time performance improvements of Amtrak’s western long distance trains. Freight traffic has dropped over the past months which coincides with the increase in Amtrak trains arriving on time or early.
TRACKING RAIL NEWS for April April 6th, 2009
TRACKING RAIL NEWS . . .
. . . PHOTOS and Commentary by Russ Jackson
Let’s start with good news. On Time Performance of some Western long distance trains. For the two weeks, March 8 to 20:
