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…
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…
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…
September 24, 2016 | 10:00 – 3:30 PM The East Theater of the California State Railroad Museum
Dear Passenger Rail Supporter: RailPAC has endeavored over the past thirty eight years to advocate investment in and the greater use of passenger in California, Nevada and the west. The campaign continues with publications, online news briefings, visits to Sacramento and DC, and with local officials. We believe that we have made a difference, and…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Report and Commentary by Russ Jackson with Ralph James Amtrak likes to tout its end points and the volume of traffic it gets between those departures and destinations on all of its routes, but while some passengers do that it is the intermediate station travel that fills up the trains. Can you imagine, as RailPAC…