101 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

One a daily Portland-Boise-Salt Lake City run that runs through Idaho in Daylight(what a novel idea, have at least one Amtrak train pass through during the day, might get some good ridership), and another timed to connect with the California Zephyr in Denver.

You can pretty much forget about service to Boise from the East unless someone finds the money to restore the track that was used by the Pioneer to get to Boise from the east. That track was abandoned a while back. All you will get is a stop in the middle of nowhere with a bus connection to Boise, somewhat like Maricopa for Phoenix or in the past Borie for Cheyenne.

...except that Maricopa never had a bus connection with Phoenix. Passengers are on their own to get to and from the station in Maricopa.

Does the UP mainline go through Nampa? If so instead of a station stop in the "middle of nowhere" they could stop in Nampa. A regional bus company has service between Nampa and Boise: http://www.valleyride.org/

[EvergreenRailfan]

Too bad the era of the branch-line local and the connecting train have passed. That might be what it takes to provide service to Boise. Then again, Northwestern Trailways and Rimrock Trailways might be see an oppurtunity to be the Thruway Bus Connection.

[KevinKorell]

I think that any efforts to bring back the Pioneer should be tied to restoring the Desert Wind as well. Both train-offs happened at the same time. Efforts to establish a high speed service between Las Vegas and Los Angeles have not been fruitful. The excuses have ranged as far as the endangerment of a desert tortoise. One more recent convoluted scheme had the "desert to desert" train, that is, a train starting in Las Vegas but terminating in the middle of noplace in California, necessitating transfer between high speed rail and conventional Amtrak or Metrolink trains to get anywhere near the Los Angeles basin. It is hard to believe that a tourist destination as popular as Vegas is not accessible by Amtrak, save for long Thruway bus rides to/from Los Angeles or Salt Lake City.

[KevinKorell]

Too bad the era of the branch-line local and the connecting train have passed.

Evergreen, come to Princeton Junction here in NJ and I will show you otherwise.

[BillMagee]

Too bad the era of the branch-line local and the connecting train have passed.

Evergreen, come to Princeton Junction here in NJ and I will show you otherwise.

That is a pretty "dinky" little train!

[EvergreenRailfan]

Evergreen, come to Princeton Junction here in NJ and I will show you otherwise.

Forgot about that one, but in the case of the Boise Branch line, it is over. ALthough if a connecting train like the dinky was used, it could have two advantages:

1)Locomotive-Hauled, it could help revive the set-out sleeper.

2)If Multiple Units are used, it could be a showcase for them.

[Sloan]

http://www.railwayag....shtml#Feature3

I know some folks on this board prefer one-seat rides, but I believe—just for the service to get re-started— that a DMU connection would not discourage patronage.

Calling, Senator Crapo! Get your order to Colorado Railcar in now!

Sloan

[KevinKorell]

Kummant said the rail passenger corporation would weigh the feasibility of all or part of the long-distance route between Tacoma, Wash., and Denver.

First off, why Tacoma???? Either it goes all the way to/from Seattle, or its western terminus would be Portland, where there would be connections with Cascades trains.

Secondly, this means service would be restored on the Transcon across Wyoming, rather than meeting the CZ at Salt Lake City as it once did. Of course, there will soon be frequent rail service between Ogden and Salt Lake City (FrontRunner), so there would be a rail connection available.

Moving to the DMU issue, I agree that a DMU-equipped trip is better than none at all. However, unless CRC is manufacturing DMU diners and DMU sleepers, that is going to be a rough trip, especially if the DMU's run as far east as Denver and as far north as Seattle. If it goes Salt Lake City-Portland, that would serve to fill in the long standing gap in the Amtrak map. I don't recall how the schedule was before the Pioneer was discontinued, but I would venture to say it would include one overnight.

[EvergreenRailfan]

I have always wondered about the idea of combining the Pioneer with the Coast Starlight on the Portland-Seattle leg, but Union Pacific and AMtrak would have to ensure both trains were on time for split/merge to work at Portland Union Station. As for DMUs, I was suggesting they be used as a shuttle to connect Boise with the train, assuming it was cheaper than restoring what has been ripped up so the train would be able to serve Boise.

[davekcmo]

here's a "condensed schedule" for the pioneer from my "rail ventures" book (1996): westbound: chicago - midafternoon departure denver - early morning (2nd day) ogden - midevening (2nd day) boise - middle of the night (2nd day) seattle - early evening arrival (3rd day) eastbound: seattle - early morning departure portland - late evening boise - late evening ogden - early morning (2nd day) denver - early evening departure (2nd day) chicago - late afternoon arrival (3rd day) frequency: three times a week, departing chicago sun, tues, thur, and seattle mon, wed, sat. length of trip: 2,662 miles in 53 1/2 hours.