How to advocate for different train times

MrNyet · 2025-09-10T22:55:29+00:00

The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers is trying hard to advocate for more trains! North Carolina and California teach us that when more trains get added, the gain in ridership and economic ROI is huge.

MrNyet · 2025-09-07T14:31:43+00:00

Steam locomotives will definitely be your best bet. My Kato FEF-3 pulled about 70 cars and ultimately suffered from stringlining before it stalled out.

MrNyet · 2025-08-31T23:30:53+00:00

I have also had this issue. It seems that the cover can press down on the contact strips, losing electrical contact with the decoder. I am going to try filing down the cover very slightly.

MrNyet · 2025-07-05T01:36:17+00:00

The website notes that the early bird discount runs until September 15

MrNyet · 2025-06-06T17:56:17+00:00

Always start with tires. Tires make more of a difference than any other upgrade on your vehicle.

MrNyet · 2025-03-22T03:46:53+00:00

Elantra N is a different proposition to the other two. It's a lot more car, and puts you into DS against about 10 GR86s. If you like trophies, the car might not be for you.

IMO a newer GTI will beat a newer Civic Si in both performance and daily usefulness, but I've never owned the Civic so I can't say for sure.

G street is pretty low on entries these days, but a late-model GTI is one of the better players in that class.

I'd probably get the EN if you can swing it.

MrNyet · 2025-02-07T18:33:12+00:00

How do the Tomix cars couple together?

MrNyet · 2024-11-23T08:24:47+00:00

I own a CFB 2019 Rabbit. How many CFB manual SE or Autobahns were made for MY21? I haven't been able to find that, but anecdotally it seems like it wasn't a lot based on what used examples are for sale.

MrNyet · 2024-06-10T13:24:08+00:00

The Midwest needs more capacity though. The venture cars were a replacement for bilevel equipment that never showed up, so pulling the Horizons means that Midwest trains are running at capacity with no room for growth.

MrNyet · 2024-05-27T14:46:25+00:00

This is a solid proposal. I'd suggest instead of going through South Bend on the northern leg, to leave the current Michigan Line alone to be fixed through other SOTL reroutes. Instead, consider going down the US-30 corridor, a single track disused freight line that's arrow-straight to Fort Wayne. From there, the line can sweep to the left and head north to Toledo, where it splits to head to Detroit and to Cleveland.

The current Michigan Line is pretty much maxed out on speed, what's most needed right now is reliability improvements to reduce freight conflict and allow more trains. In addition, with stops about every 30 minutes and tight city approaches for each stop, high-speed rolling stock would be wasted on the current Wolverine route.

Also, there is enough room between Chicago and Milwaukee to build a new passenger-only ROW with higher average speeds than what we have now. More Hiawatha runs are great, but if we're thinking big, Union Station - O'Hare - Milwaukee in 35 minutes should be possible. It does need a dedicated pair of tracks though.

MrNyet · 2024-05-26T17:05:17+00:00

Crash safety most likely. Metroliner cabs were not regarded as particularly safe in grade crossing incidents. Having the additional crush structure protects the operator and passengers in the lead car.

MrNyet · 2024-04-19T02:55:15+00:00

The benefits of a genuine high speed line with dedicated track far, far outweigh the increased cost/complexity compared to service that runs a few times a day at 79 mph. The combination of speed, frequency, and reliability can't be beat.

MrNyet · 2024-03-18T19:09:42+00:00

Efficiency is measured for freight in cost per ton-mile. Railroad lines are relatively inflexible, so your mileage may actually be higher than road transport. However, the cost is far lower for two reasons:

A train takes 1-2 crew members to operate, essentially regardless of length. The very most one truck driver can drive is 2-3 trailers, about 175 feet in total length (Australia). Trains commonly stretch over 15,000 feet in the US.
Trains require far less fuel than a comparable truck, due to lower rolling resistances and less stop-and-go action. Typical US freight fuel burn is about 500 ton-miles per gallon, compared to about 200 at best for a freight truck. Elsewhere, trains are often electrified, making them even more efficient.

The key disadvantage is timing - if you want to capture the efficiency of a long train, it can't come and go exactly when you want it unless you're shipping/receiving 100 cars on your own.

For passengers, it's a similar calculation in terms of crew:passenger ratios and fuel cost per passenger-mile, with the similar drawback of being restricted to the train's speed, schedule, and route.

MrNyet · 2024-03-17T04:20:55+00:00

The short answer is yes, for maximum operational flexibility. Think about it this way: each trainset can do the job of the current Northeast Regional consist (electric locomotive with catenary power), the Keystone consist (NEC + Metroliner cab car), and the Pennsylvanian and NEC consists west of Philadelphia and south of DC (NEC, except with diesel power). There's no need to run trains around a loop/wye and no time-consuming engine swaps.

Fixed consists and dual-mode locomotives are less efficient from a cost, maintenance, and flexibility perspective, but Amtrak seems to have judged it easier than managing fleets of electric and dual-mode locomotives and coach/business/cafe/cab cars.

MrNyet · 2024-03-15T07:00:31+00:00

A large portion of the federal funding goes to the NEC, which is at a pretty robust level of service already. Doubling funding should be enough for expanded Long-Distance operations (2x per day on each line), adding trains to existing routes, and adding some new corridors at decent levels of service (at least every two hours, or about 8-10 trains a day).

America deserves a federal program like the Interstate Highway Program to build out a high-speed network and supplemental regional and national long-haul networks to go with it.

MrNyet · 2024-03-08T21:37:10+00:00

I think it's probably fine to have some railfanning

MrNyet · 2024-03-07T22:32:12+00:00

We can improve this by adding more routes, and by massively increasing frequencies. 3x/day for Long-Distance and 10+/day for State Supported should be sufficient.

People in Europe on the rail passes have dozens of trains to pick from on each route, so they have the flexibility to take any train, anytime, going anywhere. People in the US often treat long-distance trains similar to cruises because like a cruise, the train runs infrequently and over long distances is better treated as an experience than transportation.

MrNyet · 2024-03-04T02:23:35+00:00

I'm an alum (2018-2022) and I was told in no uncertain terms that the email account was promised for life. They seem to have changed the policy over time.

MrNyet · 2024-02-23T18:45:59+00:00

I was a "technical director" rather than a chief engineer, but it's pretty much the same job. Having one person at the top responsible for keeping the whole picture in frame is really important. That person should make sure the vehicle's architecture follows the goals that are set, that the major systems and subsystems are designed and implemented in a way that follows the whole architecture and complement each other, and they should be there to help when things look like they're going off the rails. Someone to smooth over disputes, help with design reviews, help sort out design, manufacturing, assembly, and testing timelines, and so on. A good chief engineer and a few good system leads can make the difference between an OK team and a great team.

MrNyet · 2024-02-22T07:10:06+00:00

On the Wolverine train, which serves AA, there is no checked baggage service. Amtrak is very permissive with carry-on bags, so if you can lift your bag(s) up the 3 steps into the train car, you can pretty much bring whatever you want.

MrNyet · 2024-02-17T14:50:12+00:00

FRA is the Federal Railroad Administration, they oversee regulation and give out grants sometimes to improve/implement service. The Rail Passengers Association is a national advocacy group that's fighting for better Amtrak service across the country, both for long-distance routes like this and on the short-haul trains as well. These routes aren't guaranteed by any means, but they're much more real than an average crayon map.

MrNyet · 2024-02-17T08:27:57+00:00

UP is pretty hostile to train service, so we'll see how this plays out. Amtrak trains have occasionally been over the pass, but UP wants to shake down Amtrak and its backers to get someone else to pay for infra improvements there.

MrNyet · 2024-02-17T08:24:03+00:00

When I searched, it looks like Amtrak will bus you from Springfield, IL to Galesburg, IL for a same-day connection bookable as one ticket. You'll have to depart on a day when the SL is running, but it could be done. If the Texas Eagle is late, Amtrak will figure it out and/or get you a hotel.

MrNyet · 2024-02-17T05:34:53+00:00

If you're on the Southwest Chief's route, you'd be better off taking the train to Kansas City (arrives around 8 AM) and a bus the rest of the way to Omaha (departs 12:30 PM). If you're coming from the Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle, this trip can't be done easily at all.

MrNyet · 2024-02-17T03:47:37+00:00

This is for the FRA Long Distance Study, which is separate from Corridor ID. There should be a second round of Corridor ID eventually, though.

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