It would be nice to see the North Coat Hiawatha return. Its also a sad state how primitive our country is with rail travel. People complain about the pollution, global warming, and the traffic on the highways, but yet, they choose to forget about rail transportation as a necessity to resolve these issues or at least slow them down.
Look at the trains bounce along all that bad track.
The railroads were looking for any way to save money. Amtrak was a convenient way to do it. Other railroads, like Santa Fe, showed that Amtrak was a cop-out and really wasn't necessary, but after a few years the free money from the government was too much for even them to pass up.
It was a awful time. These companys were in a race to get out of business. Every month we lost trains. Which meant less connections and less revenue for the remaining trains. What a nightmare! The public demanded and the railroads demanded congress do something! So we got Amtrak which was to be gone in 2 years, Santa Fe was OK, BN and IC I'd give a "C" Penn Central was awful service. A sandwich in a PC snack bar was $2 which today is like $20.. it was awful too! Broken windows, dirt, PC bad!
@intercityrailpal Penn Central was fine before it enveloped the New Haven with it's merger. The congressionally forced merger eminently caused the certain doom of the Nations 2 greatest railroads.
The had no revenue to keep the rolling stock in good repair so, there have you the reason for the ridiculous operation standards and it is the main reason the merger was the death of the company.
@Amtrak1194 The main reason is what continues today. Over investment of railroad taxes in other forms of transportation by the government. You have what the goverment invests in. That's why we have some many excellant roads and airports and waterways. And a downsized, out of date rail system.
@intercityrailpal Were you on the PC when they still lit and air conditioned the cars?
By the time the merger was closing to the Amtrak and Conrail relief they had no lights or air conditioning on trains to drive away customers. They wanted so bad to be out of passenger business they tried to scare people away from their trains. Back then passenger service was like a cancer to everybody except Amtrak. The longer they carried passenger trains the deeper in debt they went.
@Amtrak1194 This type of service or NO service was on the National Limited, and train to major cities in the midwest. NY-Pittsburg-Columbus-Indianapolis-St.Louis-Kansas City. I remember riding ex PC cars, nice cars except the AC was broken (what railroaders call "bad order") It was over 100 degrees in the cars. People got on and walked off before the train left the station! Or got off at the next station. After studies of ridership were completed. Then Amfleet cars were placed on the train.t
@intercityrailpal But it was too late...they wanted to drive the numbers down. So they not only got rid of the train but the track too! (just my opinion) But today that major Pennsy line to St. Louis is GONE! All that business across Ohio on the highways. Each train station replaced by tens of conveinece stores. And lines of traffic. Just the way they planed it!
@intercityrailpal i know but one is still there whitehall station in green bay & wester railroad in wisconsin it was turned into a museum in 2006 walthers has a model in ho scale also
Yes, isn't it great? the Amtrak trains were detoured away from the major cities of the Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor (Then the connecting embankment track ripped up between the two railroads C&NW-Milwaukee just north of the Union Station)Found on the C&NW Kenosha-Racine. Hopeing the corridor would fail. The Hiawatha was run tri-weekly. Seven days of fixed expenses and 3 days of income, plus NEC costs.
The rainbow trains are very intersting. Its almost like AMtrak tried to mismatch the trains. At least modeling that era is easy. just close your eyes and pick out some engine and cars.
@AMTKnumber4 There were many railroads which had mismatched trains. DL&W-NKP for one. LV-RDG and on the night trains CN-RDG-LV The Star, The Major, The Interstate Express a Philly-Syracuse-Buffalo train. RDG-DL&W-CNJ train. So Amtrak was not the first.
@sepersr The cars are not better than Superliner cars. Just different. We should work for new Domes to be run ahead of the Superliners. The idea was to get rid of Amtrak and passenger rail everyway they could. Trillions were spent on highways and airports, train tickets were taxed untill 1965. Well it didn't work did it? Ridership records have been broken every year for 6 years now.
There are a few around. And sold from time to time. Some guys do own them There are dealers that sell railroad cars. You can get one for about $10,000 If I remember right there's a few for sale on a short line in eastern South Dakota and Iowa. There perhaps are more. This is as of 2010 February. You're need an other $10,000 to get it up to railroad standards to move, plus shiping costs.
It's just criminal that they canceled most of those wonder full trains. Reducing the Hiawatha route to a dinky corridor route? That's an insult to the train. But at least we have the Empire Builder. Let's hope nothing happens to that!
Routed away from the populated cities, The Builder avoids the State Capitol of Wisconsin Madison. Stops at Columbus. Think this is a accident? The highway and airline lobby is running the government transportation policy. I'm also sure Badger Coach and Greyhound lobbys against Amtrak still! They get grants to run their buses. They use public roads, and stations or Amtrak stations.
Remember most of the income of these trains was hauling the US mail. Which the highway lobby got transfered to their trucks on their highways. Mail became snail mail. Postage went from 3 cents aletter to what's it now?
Chicago-Milwaukee is 85 miles. You're going to fly that? The airport is 20 to 40 miles away from where some people live. They're going to drive that? the get on a jet for 85 miles? What about Mitchell field which is 30 miles SOUTH of Milwaukee. O'hare and Mitchell are perhaps 60 miles apart and you'll going to fly that at 600 miles ahour? 600 miles per hours is alot of fuel. Alot of foreign oil In a few years the air service for the most part will be gone! A victim of high fuel costs.
Flights now are being reduced on the bankrupt airlines. People are being layied off, smaller planes, 2 hour security lines, expensive parking. The airlines have no future except for very long distance travel, like across the ocean.
Even going to the Twin Cities 300 miles doesn't make sense to fly anymore. Not with 2-3 hour waits for security at the airport. And everytime there's bad weather the whole system fails. Some people were in the airports for 3 days after the last snow storm.
Most people on trains do not travel from end point to end point. That's the airlines because they can only serve end points. Only about 20% of your rail business is end point. The rest is at all the stops inbetween. The seats flip with people getting on and off, to most places that do not have bus or air service anymore. Small citys can out load big cities because of lack of other transportation choices.
@doomhalopatsfreak So if that's true, why isn't it true in the rest of the world. Where trains do 200 and now 300 mph in China? Maybe it's because we're too busy building waste full highways and airports. To invest in high speed trains. Our transportation policy is run by oil companys and overseas investors. Some from the middle east. Our companys have American names, but were sold off along time ago to overseas investors. Conveinence stores that sell gas hate passenger trains some reason.
It is running on the grass or should I say weeds. Some of the tracks are like that were I live most of the tracks are still used but some have been ripped out. Which sucks if only I had Hank Hills lawn mower to get rid of the DAMN weeds.
read Don't laugh at this! Just do it Start thinking something you really really want cause this is astounding the person that sent this to me said their wish came true 10 mins after they read the mail so I thought what the heck You have just been visited by DrSuess's Cat in the Hat. He will grant you one wish Make your wish when the count down is over 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 MAKE A WISH Send this to 10 videos within the hour you read this. If you do, your wish will come true
"When Amtrak began, only the Empire Builder and Chicago-to-Milwaukee corridor service were spared, and the Builder was rerouted from the BN onto the Milwaukee's Twin Cities line."
The same is true today. There is no other passenger service in Wisconsin (other than fan trips and excursions).
Update February 2010 Madison service is coming. There's hope for the KRM corridor. Too bad you didn't get to ride the Soo Mixed that ran untill the 1980's right out of Neenah.
This train will be back, and it will be a fleet! I don't know why trains teminate in downtown Milwaukee. They could be run thru to the suburbs as commuter service. With park and ride lots along the trilion dollar interstate highway system.
When I first lived in Milwaukee in 1968 I did a Oconomowoc turn.A nice afternoon train ride. In a few years,I'll be able to do it again!But I don't live in Milwaukee anymore.Why they have Milwaukee equipment just laying over at the depot burning fuel, when they could run it out to the suburbs and give one seat service to the airport now? Is there a strong taxi lobby? That would be part of the road lobby right? One seat, free parking, to airport or 500 cities Amtrak goes to. Something wrong here.
no amtrak paid the railroads to use their trackage, former private railroad crews operated amtrak trains in the early days before amtrak started hiring their own crews, and later in 1975 own amtrak started to buy their own equipment to replace the aging heritage passenger cars & locos
I think originally Amtrak simply used railroad passenger cars in their original livery; however, you may have seen some cars in the video that were in Amtrak colors. Eventually, most of the equipment looked the same, at least on the outside. As rando points out, however, in 1975 (or thereabouts) Amtrak started buying new equipment (probably Amfleet), painted of course in Amtrak colors, and the Superliners came out in 1979-80.
Yes, but a smaller Amtrak is a better Amtrak. To get the Superliners we had to lose about 8 trains. "The National Limited" The Mountaineer" "The North Coast Hiawatha" "The Floridian" and as they say more.
The railroads are paid very, very well. Because they didn't lose money anymore on passenger service. Then they allocated every cost they could to the trains, and track maintaince. Amtrak could buy new Locomotives every year for what the railroads charged renting their 40 year old worn out engines. So they did! The crews had a management surcharge on their heads. Plus management fees. Amtrak avoided this by having their own.
People demanded the trains be saved. The railroads started loseing money when the highway lobby got the profitable mail service put on trucks. They replaced 20 car trains with 50 trucks with 50 drivers. Which today with less volume and high fuel is killing the Post Office. Stamps for letters were 3 cents then! With old equipment, and high labor costs the railroads lobbyied congress, to kill the trains. The airlines,bus,highway people stepped in to stop it. Amtrak was the result.
Today 2010 with bankrupt airlines high costs of fuel. Traffic jams, security at airports 2-3 delays.Amtrak has so much business on the long distance trains, they don't know what to do. They don't dare release the numbers turned away anymore to the press. High Speed Rail has really put the lobbys against this into action. They are useing misinformation on radio and other media outlets they control to kill this project. We now spent a trillion dollars on foreign oil. They do not want this stopped.
I rode my 1st Amtrac train behind some E3s. The cars were a mix of old and new, the air conditioning didn't work in some of the cars and the employees were rude. As much as I loved the trains, I never took photos because I didn't think how much would change by 1980.
Bought this DVD and Empire Builders to Milwaukee on Sat. and totally enjoyed them both. Hopefully, the photog has more footage.
Yes, thats the Southern 4501 on the Schlitz Circus Train. My mom, 5 year old sister and 7 year old me were standing unknowingly right next to the guy shooting the movie as it passed through our hometown of Waterloo, WI. at Harrison St. My sis lets out a brief scream as the train approaches that can be heard on the DVD.
Why does Amtrak get so little funding ?? Is there no passenger rail lobbyists??
indyfan22k 7 months ago
3:53, I railfan that place all the time! Mazon, IL!
TommyBNSF 8 months ago
It would be nice to see the North Coat Hiawatha return. Its also a sad state how primitive our country is with rail travel. People complain about the pollution, global warming, and the traffic on the highways, but yet, they choose to forget about rail transportation as a necessity to resolve these issues or at least slow them down.
historyboy08 10 months ago
BN's final Empire Builder was a true Rainbow Fleet, one that I think makes it the most interesting. And my favorite to model.
BlackWolfessUSCM 1 year ago
Look at the trains bounce along all that bad track.
The railroads were looking for any way to save money. Amtrak was a convenient way to do it. Other railroads, like Santa Fe, showed that Amtrak was a cop-out and really wasn't necessary, but after a few years the free money from the government was too much for even them to pass up.
kjrehberg 1 year ago
Sure brings back memories! I live right off the old Northern Pacific..
JDeereGP 1 year ago
This was a lovely presentation of how Amtrak grew to be America's rail carrier
distantsignal1 1 year ago
Early Amtrack engines were orange as video shows...
2222554 1 year ago
We railfans used to drive to Oconomowoc (an hour drive) to watch the Hi' blast through town in the snow at 90 + mph... what a thrill
d65fitzer 2 years ago
It was a awful time. These companys were in a race to get out of business. Every month we lost trains. Which meant less connections and less revenue for the remaining trains. What a nightmare! The public demanded and the railroads demanded congress do something! So we got Amtrak which was to be gone in 2 years, Santa Fe was OK, BN and IC I'd give a "C" Penn Central was awful service. A sandwich in a PC snack bar was $2 which today is like $20.. it was awful too! Broken windows, dirt, PC bad!
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
@intercityrailpal Penn Central was fine before it enveloped the New Haven with it's merger. The congressionally forced merger eminently caused the certain doom of the Nations 2 greatest railroads.
The had no revenue to keep the rolling stock in good repair so, there have you the reason for the ridiculous operation standards and it is the main reason the merger was the death of the company.
Amtrak1194 1 year ago
@Amtrak1194 The main reason is what continues today. Over investment of railroad taxes in other forms of transportation by the government. You have what the goverment invests in. That's why we have some many excellant roads and airports and waterways. And a downsized, out of date rail system.
intercityrailpal 1 year ago
@intercityrailpal Were you on the PC when they still lit and air conditioned the cars?
By the time the merger was closing to the Amtrak and Conrail relief they had no lights or air conditioning on trains to drive away customers. They wanted so bad to be out of passenger business they tried to scare people away from their trains. Back then passenger service was like a cancer to everybody except Amtrak. The longer they carried passenger trains the deeper in debt they went.
Amtrak1194 1 year ago
@Amtrak1194 This type of service or NO service was on the National Limited, and train to major cities in the midwest. NY-Pittsburg-Columbus-Indianapolis-St.Louis-Kansas City. I remember riding ex PC cars, nice cars except the AC was broken (what railroaders call "bad order") It was over 100 degrees in the cars. People got on and walked off before the train left the station! Or got off at the next station. After studies of ridership were completed. Then Amfleet cars were placed on the train.t
intercityrailpal 1 year ago
@intercityrailpal But it was too late...they wanted to drive the numbers down. So they not only got rid of the train but the track too! (just my opinion) But today that major Pennsy line to St. Louis is GONE! All that business across Ohio on the highways. Each train station replaced by tens of conveinece stores. And lines of traffic. Just the way they planed it!
intercityrailpal 1 year ago
@intercityrailpal i know but one is still there whitehall station in green bay & wester railroad in wisconsin it was turned into a museum in 2006 walthers has a model in ho scale also
tom618ful 1 year ago
Yes, isn't it great? the Amtrak trains were detoured away from the major cities of the Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor (Then the connecting embankment track ripped up between the two railroads C&NW-Milwaukee just north of the Union Station)Found on the C&NW Kenosha-Racine. Hopeing the corridor would fail. The Hiawatha was run tri-weekly. Seven days of fixed expenses and 3 days of income, plus NEC costs.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
The 1994, And Diesel Powered 1995 Sunset Circus Trains Appear!
bobmartin3 2 years ago
The rainbow trains are very intersting. Its almost like AMtrak tried to mismatch the trains. At least modeling that era is easy. just close your eyes and pick out some engine and cars.
AMTKnumber4 2 years ago
@AMTKnumber4 There were many railroads which had mismatched trains. DL&W-NKP for one. LV-RDG and on the night trains CN-RDG-LV The Star, The Major, The Interstate Express a Philly-Syracuse-Buffalo train. RDG-DL&W-CNJ train. So Amtrak was not the first.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Yes I figured there was some other ones like that but Amtrak is the first one I saw that way. I am as old as Amtrak is.
AMTKnumber4 2 years ago
Whoaa 3:38 - 3:44 creepy light O__O
admydragon 2 years ago
Uh...
0:50
LOL same number of engines as cars
UberNoobtard 2 years ago
1 engine per car lol
TEMPLE7D 2 years ago
That last Santa Fe train was just flying!!!!!
moon47mars 2 years ago
Those Burlington Northern Cars were much better than any Superliner equipment.
sepersr 2 years ago
@sepersr The cars are not better than Superliner cars. Just different. We should work for new Domes to be run ahead of the Superliners. The idea was to get rid of Amtrak and passenger rail everyway they could. Trillions were spent on highways and airports, train tickets were taxed untill 1965. Well it didn't work did it? Ridership records have been broken every year for 6 years now.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Interesting how on early Amtrak "rainbow" consists you have everything from SP to BN to Union Pacific and others. Weird!
micmac99 2 years ago 2
up what those were Milwaukee road cars
Trainmasterkreks 2 years ago
There are a few around. And sold from time to time. Some guys do own them There are dealers that sell railroad cars. You can get one for about $10,000 If I remember right there's a few for sale on a short line in eastern South Dakota and Iowa. There perhaps are more. This is as of 2010 February. You're need an other $10,000 to get it up to railroad standards to move, plus shiping costs.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
@micmac99, hey it is even weirder for me because I remember getting on an amtrak train like that sometime in the '70's.
b5kalad 2 years ago
National Train Day May 9!
I'll have my 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette (painted like an Amtrak SDP40F) at Los Angeles for the event.
SHADOWNADO 2 years ago 7
@SHADOWNADO where is train day?
matchettkid 1 year ago
It's just criminal that they canceled most of those wonder full trains. Reducing the Hiawatha route to a dinky corridor route? That's an insult to the train. But at least we have the Empire Builder. Let's hope nothing happens to that!
traindude80 2 years ago 2
Routed away from the populated cities, The Builder avoids the State Capitol of Wisconsin Madison. Stops at Columbus. Think this is a accident? The highway and airline lobby is running the government transportation policy. I'm also sure Badger Coach and Greyhound lobbys against Amtrak still! They get grants to run their buses. They use public roads, and stations or Amtrak stations.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Remember most of the income of these trains was hauling the US mail. Which the highway lobby got transfered to their trucks on their highways. Mail became snail mail. Postage went from 3 cents aletter to what's it now?
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Yup, people want to get places faster these days..... That's why Jets beat trains....
doomhalopatsfreak 2 years ago
Chicago-Milwaukee is 85 miles. You're going to fly that? The airport is 20 to 40 miles away from where some people live. They're going to drive that? the get on a jet for 85 miles? What about Mitchell field which is 30 miles SOUTH of Milwaukee. O'hare and Mitchell are perhaps 60 miles apart and you'll going to fly that at 600 miles ahour? 600 miles per hours is alot of fuel. Alot of foreign oil In a few years the air service for the most part will be gone! A victim of high fuel costs.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Flights now are being reduced on the bankrupt airlines. People are being layied off, smaller planes, 2 hour security lines, expensive parking. The airlines have no future except for very long distance travel, like across the ocean.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Even going to the Twin Cities 300 miles doesn't make sense to fly anymore. Not with 2-3 hour waits for security at the airport. And everytime there's bad weather the whole system fails. Some people were in the airports for 3 days after the last snow storm.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
I didn't mean Milwukee - Chicago I ment longer dşstances like Chicago - LA
doomhalopatsfreak 2 years ago
Most people on trains do not travel from end point to end point. That's the airlines because they can only serve end points. Only about 20% of your rail business is end point. The rest is at all the stops inbetween. The seats flip with people getting on and off, to most places that do not have bus or air service anymore. Small citys can out load big cities because of lack of other transportation choices.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
@doomhalopatsfreak So if that's true, why isn't it true in the rest of the world. Where trains do 200 and now 300 mph in China? Maybe it's because we're too busy building waste full highways and airports. To invest in high speed trains. Our transportation policy is run by oil companys and overseas investors. Some from the middle east. Our companys have American names, but were sold off along time ago to overseas investors. Conveinence stores that sell gas hate passenger trains some reason.
intercityrailpal 1 year ago
Yeah - try Fargo/Moorhead in the dead of Winter... then the long flat stretch to & though Eastern Montana...
murphicus 3 years ago
You're right, they should credit the trains in Alaska. :D
traindude80 2 years ago
Whoa!!!!! grate, grate video!!!!!!!!!!
SentinelKnight26 3 years ago
I have the CB&Q California Zephyr plus the GN Empire Builder. Good video. Its a shame we don't see trains as beautiful as that today!
LocalRailfan 3 years ago
At 3:16 it looks like the circus train's running right on the grass...you can barely see the track LOL
Crocfan20 3 years ago
lol yup, its pretty cool, kind of a hidden route
dawkinsdude2019 3 years ago
It is running on the grass or should I say weeds. Some of the tracks are like that were I live most of the tracks are still used but some have been ripped out. Which sucks if only I had Hank Hills lawn mower to get rid of the DAMN weeds.
trainguy91 3 years ago
Yeah,that's a bummer
Crocfan20 3 years ago
That is so wierd becauz wher I live there iz no grass by the traks and its a old railroad.
louis1313131313 3 years ago
The 1972 And Steam Powered 1973 Milwaukee Circus Tains Appear!
bobmartin3 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
PeaceLoveAbercrombie 3 years ago
"When Amtrak began, only the Empire Builder and Chicago-to-Milwaukee corridor service were spared, and the Builder was rerouted from the BN onto the Milwaukee's Twin Cities line."
The same is true today. There is no other passenger service in Wisconsin (other than fan trips and excursions).
VespineVid2 3 years ago
Update February 2010 Madison service is coming. There's hope for the KRM corridor. Too bad you didn't get to ride the Soo Mixed that ran untill the 1980's right out of Neenah.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
i gotta get this dvd. i remember going to chicago's union station as a child during the early amtrak.
bellydancer1970 3 years ago
It looks like around the time they got the new eqipment, it went slower. LOL I was Born in 1981
danielday36 3 years ago
Great classic passenger train footage! 5*****
DJGENEX71 3 years ago
trains rock
tool1661 3 years ago 17
Cannonball commuter: "old-cast" Nathan P-5
Abraham Lincoln: Sounds & looks like a "old-cast" P-5, but it has several bells fouled.(not sounding properly)
L324RT12 4 years ago 2
This train will be back, and it will be a fleet! I don't know why trains teminate in downtown Milwaukee. They could be run thru to the suburbs as commuter service. With park and ride lots along the trilion dollar interstate highway system.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
At 2:27 the old cast P5 is amazing! That is a sound that is gone for ever..
L324RT12 4 years ago 3
AGREED MAN
Trainmasterkreks 4 years ago 4
back when the rails had flavor to them. Now they all look alike.
rmadrid2000 4 years ago 3
Very interesting. Thanks.
savtasaba 4 years ago
this is a cool video got any more like it love amtrak like old amtrak stuff the most
mcminn2000 4 years ago
at the 3:20 mark, watch out for the smoke, haha
nels1jac 4 years ago
haha, nice
TexasPacific 3 years ago
I used to go up to Oconomowoc to watch the Hiawatha roll through at 90 + mph
d65fitzer 4 years ago
sounds fun
TexasPacific 3 years ago
When I first lived in Milwaukee in 1968 I did a Oconomowoc turn.A nice afternoon train ride. In a few years,I'll be able to do it again!But I don't live in Milwaukee anymore.Why they have Milwaukee equipment just laying over at the depot burning fuel, when they could run it out to the suburbs and give one seat service to the airport now? Is there a strong taxi lobby? That would be part of the road lobby right? One seat, free parking, to airport or 500 cities Amtrak goes to. Something wrong here.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
WHAT TYPE OF hORN DID THE eNGINE ON THE aBRAHAM lINCOLN HAVE AS WELL AS WHAT TYPE OF hORN ON THE cANNONBALL COMMUTER
Trainmasterkreks 4 years ago
a GOOd OnE
TexasPacific 3 years ago
Looks like a pretty good video.
RCdash9 4 years ago
I saw some pick where Amtrak engs...
GM&O E 7 or E9,got to Milwaukee,Wis. 197X
And then TMR used the GMO engine on the
Cannonball to Watertown and back.
H
gyralih 4 years ago
Beautiful Trains! Congratulations!
Jamnts 4 years ago
I did not mean to flag this video. There is nothing like seeing the City of New Orleans for the first time!!!!
54andholding 4 years ago
it didn't get flagged.
TexasPacific 3 years ago
so amtrak came in and took raillines trains and made them ther own? is this because there government?
boeingLL747 4 years ago 2
no amtrak paid the railroads to use their trackage, former private railroad crews operated amtrak trains in the early days before amtrak started hiring their own crews, and later in 1975 own amtrak started to buy their own equipment to replace the aging heritage passenger cars & locos
rando4038 4 years ago 4
I think originally Amtrak simply used railroad passenger cars in their original livery; however, you may have seen some cars in the video that were in Amtrak colors. Eventually, most of the equipment looked the same, at least on the outside. As rando points out, however, in 1975 (or thereabouts) Amtrak started buying new equipment (probably Amfleet), painted of course in Amtrak colors, and the Superliners came out in 1979-80.
decline2state 4 years ago
Yes, but a smaller Amtrak is a better Amtrak. To get the Superliners we had to lose about 8 trains. "The National Limited" The Mountaineer" "The North Coast Hiawatha" "The Floridian" and as they say more.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
The railroads are paid very, very well. Because they didn't lose money anymore on passenger service. Then they allocated every cost they could to the trains, and track maintaince. Amtrak could buy new Locomotives every year for what the railroads charged renting their 40 year old worn out engines. So they did! The crews had a management surcharge on their heads. Plus management fees. Amtrak avoided this by having their own.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
People demanded the trains be saved. The railroads started loseing money when the highway lobby got the profitable mail service put on trucks. They replaced 20 car trains with 50 trucks with 50 drivers. Which today with less volume and high fuel is killing the Post Office. Stamps for letters were 3 cents then! With old equipment, and high labor costs the railroads lobbyied congress, to kill the trains. The airlines,bus,highway people stepped in to stop it. Amtrak was the result.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Today 2010 with bankrupt airlines high costs of fuel. Traffic jams, security at airports 2-3 delays.Amtrak has so much business on the long distance trains, they don't know what to do. They don't dare release the numbers turned away anymore to the press. High Speed Rail has really put the lobbys against this into action. They are useing misinformation on radio and other media outlets they control to kill this project. We now spent a trillion dollars on foreign oil. They do not want this stopped.
intercityrailpal 2 years ago
Some very interesting Power to bad its not around anymore
kreeks2010 4 years ago 5
oh yeah
patmix 4 years ago
I rode my 1st Amtrac train behind some E3s. The cars were a mix of old and new, the air conditioning didn't work in some of the cars and the employees were rude. As much as I loved the trains, I never took photos because I didn't think how much would change by 1980.
Bullettube 4 years ago
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i was born in the 60s or something so i could have seen these clasic desiels....
SWASTAFIX 4 years ago 2
That was a cool video.
1980sfan 4 years ago
A BN F45.
chessie93 4 years ago
Bought this DVD and Empire Builders to Milwaukee on Sat. and totally enjoyed them both. Hopefully, the photog has more footage.
Yes, thats the Southern 4501 on the Schlitz Circus Train. My mom, 5 year old sister and 7 year old me were standing unknowingly right next to the guy shooting the movie as it passed through our hometown of Waterloo, WI. at Harrison St. My sis lets out a brief scream as the train approaches that can be heard on the DVD.
evad1 4 years ago 2
Love the horn at 1:02 in this vid! Anyone know which type of locomotive this one is that you can hear(its horn) at this point in the video?
prfsnlwannabe 4 years ago
That locomotive was GM&O E7. The train was the Abraham Lincoln.
ricnic1002 4 years ago
I believe the horn is an old cast Nathan P5.
dasmikey1964 4 years ago
P01235. only known to be used by amtrak. uses 0 in place of a 4 bell:)
tipdrip215 3 years ago
was that steam southern engine 4501
akatrain 4 years ago
Yeah it is. Look closely and you can see the word, "southern" on the tender.
NCStL576 4 years ago
This is great! E units, SDP40fs, BN, UP, Milwuakee....too much good stuff! Thanks so much for sharing:)
ACLTony 4 years ago
WOW!
LAMetro714 4 years ago