& Bristish Columbia Rail Adventure


Canadian Rockies & British Columbia


Aug. 10–18, 2013 with tour host


Railroading Columnist & Author Director of the Center for Railway Tourism at Davis & Elkins College


JIM PORTERFIELD


Travel across British Columbia aboard the Rocky Mountaineer and experience some of the most dramatic scenery in the world of rail travel!


All airfare, 11 meals, all hotels, Banff & Jasper National Parks, Whistler, Vancouver & much more.


Call or Your FREE Brochure! TM


holidayvacations.net | Keyword: jim 1-800-826-2266 Great Destinations! Mo nt n R Mountain Rail Adventur ountain R Rail Advent sture Adven ur


Four Unique Trains Depart


Two Historic Depots April-Dec


866.820.9487 mtn-rail.com


For Advertising information Call Toll Free


1-888-526-5365 dventres


As seen on HGTV “Building Character” and “reZONED”! Newly restored “Coal Heritage Trail” Inn on NS Pocahontas rail- way line in scenic, southern WV. Railview guest rooms, balcony and patio cafe. Call about our Railfan weekends. 14 guest rooms, claw-foot tubs, fireplace, vintage quilts, art, antiques & gift shop/museum room. Meals available. TV VCR, slide-viewer, studio & Wi-Fi internet. On Route 52, 30 minutes from Bluefield WV/VA. See our “railfan” pages on our web site. Local phone: 304-862-2031


email elisse@elkhorninnwv.com


Elkhorn Inn and Theater


POB 100, Eckman, WV 24829 Tel/Fax: 304-862-2031


lots more on our website: elkhorninnwv.com


Steam, Diesel Trains, Electric Cars


HOME OF THE NEBRASKA ZEPHYR


Send $3.50 for 32 page Guide Book or #10 SASE for Color Brochure with schedule &


discount coupon.


Located in Union, IL (McHenry Co.) near Marengo exit I-90 • 35 miles from O’Hare. Info: Schedules (taped):


(815)923-4000 Lodging: (847)695-7540


RAILWAY MUSEUM PO Box 427•Union, IL 60180


http://www.irm.org/ ILLINOIS


800-708-2040


Kingsley Inn in Fort Madison, Iowa and enjoy a front row seat on BNSF and Amtrak traffic (60-


Stay at


90 trains daily). Spectacular view of Mississippi River barge and railroad activity on largest double-decker swingspan bridge in the world. Scanner picks up all voice communication. Phone 319- 372-7074 for Railfan package or log on to: www.kingsleyinn.com


135-mile section of state-owned Railroad from Kalamazoo to Dearborn. That action is aimed at supporting 110 m.p.h. service on the Blue Water route.


Amtrak this year is also dealing with Pos-


itive Train Control, a mandate that Con- gress imposed on the industry following the 2008 crash in California that killed 25 and injured many more. Though the freight rail industry has expressed some cautious opti- mism about its ability to meet the PTC dead- line of December 31, 2015, Amtrak has listed full implementation on its (much shorter) owned and operated right-of-way as one of its goals for 2013.


Other programs advancing this year in-


clude the Gateway Project with additional capacity for Amtrak inter-city and New Jer- sey Transit services to operate into New York’s Penn Station; new electric locomo- tives facilitating more 110 m.p.h. service on the Keystone Corridor between Philadel- phia and Harrisburg; replacement of the 1873 vintage B&P tunnel in Baltimore; re- placements of bridges on the Niantic River in Connecticut and the Susquehanna River in Maryland; and improvements on the Hudson River and Springfield lines. That


last one (New Haven-Hartford-


Springfield) includes building a second track on the line. As one who had occasion to visit Hartford several times in the late ’80s/early ’90s, it was painfully obvious that the Am- trak management at the time saw fit to eliminate the second track that was already there. The action was an economy move. Now we are witnessing the expense of more or less reinventing the wheel — literally.


Train With a Mission A special train in January carried a group along the Santa Fe route of BNSF. Included on board were Amtrak and BNSF officials as well as with city officials of every stop on the Southwest Chief between Newton, Kan., and Trinidad, Colo. Bottom line: In early 2016 when the BNSF/Amtrak contract expires, the freight line plans to downgrade mainte- nance because of reduced freight business. That means unacceptably slow speeds for passenger traffic.


Cost of the passenger-friendly upgrade: $100 million over ten years. Who’s going to pay? Maybe some from Amtrak and state gov- ernments. A coalition of towns on the route is trying to figure out if or how the affected cities will chip in. Either a plan is developed or Am- trak may re-route the train through Oklaho- ma instead of Kansas. That would leave the Kansas stops from Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City, and Garden City, along with the Colorado stops of Lamar, LaJunta, and Trinidad without any passenger service. What to do? Who will pay? Stay tuned.


An Historical Note Gettysburg, Penn., council members are seeking to facilitate the ultimate sale of the “Lincoln station” to the National Park Serv- ice, to be used as a museum. This is the sta- tion where Lincoln arrived the day before his Gettysburg Address. Some movies de- picting the era have shown Lincoln deliver- ing the speech from the rear platform of a soon-to-be-departing train. Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.


Landgraff, WV Route 52


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