Author: Russ Jackson

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • San Joaquin Meeting Report and News

    SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY RAIL COMMITTEE Meeting Report, October 11, 2007 Bakersfield, California Reported by Russ Jackson RailPAC was well represented at the quarterly meeting of the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee, led by Director Bruce Jenkins, and Associate Directors George Gaekle, Mike Barnbaum, and this writer. What made the meeting important was some news that…

  • San Joaquin train station PHOTOS

    From Sacramento to Bakersfield: two round trips daily on Amtrak California’s San Joaquin Valley trains. Here’s a look at all 10 intermediate stations, Lodi to Wasco, on this route. Photos were (mostly) taken 10/11/07 from the door of train 702, southbound, which departs Sacramento at 6:35 AM. That day ridership was light until Modesto. Photos…