CRF 2012: Reports from Albuquerque
#1
Posted 13 July 2012 - 06:43 PM
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#2
Posted 18 July 2012 - 09:57 PM
Now 9 of us are involved. We take up three different hotels in ABQ, with the majority at the Doubletree. We walked a long 5 blocks or so, before finding out upon arrival that there is a shuttle van. We'll make use of it for the remainder of our stay.
Eight of us met for dinner at the Doubletree's Mexican restaurant, and it was not a highlight of our trip. Service was slow, and it raised an issue when we tried to do separate checks, a necessity because some were charging to their rooms, some had discount coupons, and others who were staying in other hotels were paying by credit card. We were there about 2 hours, of which only maybe 20 minutes was spent eating.
We're down for the evening, kind of happy to be on beds that are not rocking with movement of a train.
Tomorrow is our RailRunner day, so stay tuned!
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#3
Posted 19 July 2012 - 09:37 AM
#4
Posted 19 July 2012 - 02:37 PM
Santa Fe was a nice place to stop. Most of us ate at the Flying Star Cafe, and we'll hear where the above "ninth member" ate soon.
RailRunner is a wonderful operation. Nice bilevel coaches, similar to those encountered in California and on Florida's TriRail. Local touch is that the train door chimes go "Meep Meep!".
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#5
Posted 19 July 2012 - 06:20 PM
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#6
Posted 19 July 2012 - 06:55 PM
and surely it would benefit from further extensions.
A logical extension IMO, Kevin, would be to connect with El Paso, TX, a city that desires such a link.
This will require a bi-state compact; probably hard to achieve since New Mexico and Texas have conservative governors.
I'm glad CRF is going well. Last year I was in Santa Fe, but I didn't have a chance to ride Rail Runner. I did see it zipping along in the I-25 median.
I am looking forward to the group's report on the Kenosha Streetcar.
Sloan
#7
Posted 19 July 2012 - 10:48 PM
#8
Posted 19 July 2012 - 11:34 PM
Sloan,A logical extension IMO, Kevin, would be to connect with El Paso, TX, a city that desires such a link.
This will require a bi-state compact; probably hard to achieve since New Mexico and Texas have conservative governors.
Not only Texas. Regional Rail has been proposed for the Front Range in general, possibly running all the way from Cheyenne, WY, down through Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and down through Raton Pass into Albuquerque, and then of course southward as you mention. RailRunner, as known now, would sort of be a subset of the larger system. But this would involve also Colorado and Wyoming. But then to me the resulting line becomes so long it seems Amtrak should be running it, not a local entity.
The northern piece of it is detailed here. The Wikipedia item, always coming with the FWIW warning (for what it's worth!) is here and it does incorporate New Mexico.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#9
Posted 20 July 2012 - 12:24 AM
Now that you've aced the RailRunner system like the rest of us who rode it today, it's possible to ride up there in the morning, spend the day, and ride back to ABQ in the evening. It is a nice place to explore.Had a good day riding up to Santa Fe. I would have stayed to see other parts of town. Maybe on another trip.
And now we know, the trip to Belen is less than half the distance from ABQ that Santa Fe is, and it does offer a close view of the Transcon BNSF line, although it technically does not enter it. Those who like to watch freights would enjoy having more time to spend out there. We were obliged with one passing freight during our brief 15 minute layover today.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#10
Posted 21 July 2012 - 10:00 PM
This is train 3267, 5:43 Long Branch express with connection to Bay Head. South Amboy is next. First and last cars are Quiet Cars. All tickets please.
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