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Arturo Leonard Lloyd, Jr.
May 21, 1925 – December 4, 2016 On Sunday, December 4, Arthur Lloyd left this world with dignity and grace, surrounded by his children, grandchildren and caregivers in the living room of his home in Menlo Park. He was a powerful presence in our lives even as a series of strokes diminished his ability to…
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Bye Bye Joe; Welcome to Wick
Here it is the first of September, 2016, and a new Amtrak era begins at the top of the ladder. Wick Moorman, 64, until last year the CEO of the Norfolk Southern Railway and a 40 year career there, has taken the reins of the leaderless horse called Amtrak and been given a list of…
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Steel Wheels: July – September 2016
Dear members: By now you will have received your latest Steel Wheels magazine. In the rush to meet the deadline for mailing the conference registration a few errors crept in, for which I apologize. Andy Selden’s excellent account was spoiled somewhat by missing captions. Andy took the photos which are in order of appearance Denver…
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Annual Steel Wheels in California Conference
September 24, 2016 | 10:00 – 3:30 PM The East Theater of the California State Railroad Museum
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Thanksgiving Ride on Train 4, the “Roughwest Chief”
During this past Thanksgiving holiday I had a privilege to a ride on the eastbound Roughwest Chief, from Los Angeles to Chicago… I’ve traveled on the Chief before, and it seemed to be fine. However, this past trip will probably be my last.
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Bullet Train will Start in the Bay Area
The Rail Passenger Association of California welcomes the decision of the CHSRA to construct north from Bakersfield to link with an electrified Caltrain at San Jose. At the same time money will be spent on the long overdue modernization of Los Angeles Union Station, especially permitting through services between the north and south of the…
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Amtrak Long Distance News in the New Year … the good, some bad, and the expected “ugly”
Let’s start with the ugly status of the Dining car removal from the Silver Star train, since it’s the hottest news. On January 28, just as this is being written, URPA learned that Amtrak employees were told the day before that the Star’s dining car is PERMANENTLY gone. As predicted here since this “experiment” was…
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Western Long Distance Trains at the End of 2015: A Positive Report
Here we are, Christmastime 2015, and lo and behold the Amtrak long distance trains continue to roll and to some extent thrive despite the negative publicity that they are “money losers.” In recent posts this writer has talked about the positives that are being accomplished on the Coast Starlight, and the opposite effects that are…