| Commuter Trains | ||
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| (Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight) |
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New commuter cars to NY Central in 1965. Picture in corner shows NY Central president Al Perlman talking to commuters (Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight) |
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Commuter rail now versus 1970
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing How are your disaster recovery plans for a hurricane? Talk to us! We can design a plan to provide you temporary housing, office, manufacturing or warehouse space. We design your solution, then we store it for you. If a disaster hits, we move it into your site, assemble it, and maintain it. On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! |
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Railroads On The Rebound |
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Over the last 50+ years, railroads have changed a lot. Now they are about to change again.
It is all about a combination of economic factors and climate factors. Since 1950 , railroads have consolidated. Freight moved from a "box car mentality" to a "unit train,mentality". Passenger went from a robust business to a "caretaker" arrangement called AMTRAK. This happened as everybody could drive for free on the Interstate Highway System or fly on an airline system where the government subsidized both airlines and airports. In the meantime, railroad express and railroad post offices went "down the tubes". The old Post Office Department and the Railway Express Agency could not adjust to the new way. UPS and Fex Ex could. |
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Carbon Calculator
What's the most environmentally-friendly way to transport goods? The answer is freight rail. The EPA estimates that every ton-mile of freight that moves by rail instead of by highway reduces greenhouse emissions by two-thirds. But what does that really mean? Our easy-to-use carbon calculator will estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be prevented from entering our environment just by using freight rail instead of trucks. We'll even tell you how many seedlings you'd need to plant to have the same effect. |
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| Corridor One in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | |
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This map shows Capital Area Transit's (CAT's) web site for the Corridor One project.
This site provides information on the preliminary engineering and environmental
analysis phase of this project.
CAT and the Modern Transit Partnership (MTP) share a vision of a regional rail network beginning with Corridor One, the first phase of the system, which would link communities between Harrisburg and Lancaster. Corridor One would be a significant asset by: Connecting people, communities, and jobs. Enhancing travel mobility choices. Fostering economic development while enhancing our quality of life. Initiating the critical "first step" of a regional rail network. The Corridor One project consists of the development of regional rail service within the Corridor One area -- between Harrisburg and Lancaster -- as an alternative to passenger vehicle travel to reach employment and destination areas within the corridor. The regional rail service would use existing or improved tracks for the entire length of the corridor; no expansion of the existing rail corridor right-of-way is proposed. The project would provide regional rail service to five stations between Harrisburg and Lancaster, PA. Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC) Middletown Elizabethtown Mount Joy Lancaster Additional stops may be available at the Harrisburg International Airport, and at a new, privately-funded station west of Lancaster in the future. Now, the real trick would be to get SEPTA to expand local service from Philadelphia to connect at Lancaster! |
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| What is the difference between regional rail and light rail systems? | |
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Regional Rail Systems Provide connections from suburban areas to urban cities Typical headways – 30 to 60 minutes Can share rail infrastructure with rail freight Can use diesel or electric power Typical systems are 20 to 50 miles in length Station spacing typically 2 to 10 miles Is usually accommodated on existing intercity rail facilities Riders typically utilize park and ride facilities at stations or bus connections to access system |
Light Rail Systems Serve trips within dense urban cities Typical headways – 1 to 15 minutes Requires separation from all rail freight Generally only use electric power Typical systems are 5 to 15 miles in length Stations spacing typically ¼ to 1 mile Typically requires the acquisition and development of exclusive track within a metropolitan area Riders typically walk or use bus connections to access system |
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There is a
"Snow Belt"
in New York State that runs above Syracuse and Utica.
It goes East from Oswego to at least Boonville. Here's the station at Boonville.
Find out more about Weather around the World Ominous Weather is about more than weather. Its about our environment. Its about our social issues that need to be surfaced if we want to save our environment. See Champions of our Environment like Al Gore SAS le Prince Albert II de Monaco John R. Stilgoe Ralph Nader. We have addressed several railroad-related projects that will conserve fuel and lessen pollution. Our Window on Europe spotlights projects that can help the rest of the World. We have other environmental sites on garbage trucks and Rapid response temporary shelters / portable housing. |
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FRANCE: NICE WILL OPEN TRAMWAY LINE 2 in YEAR 2016!
In a surprise move, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi changed his mind about running Line 2 up the Promenade des Anglais and instead went with a plan that provides an 8.6 kilometer "tram/metro" with 3.6 kilometers below ground. It will cost €'450,000,000 and carry 110,000 - 140,000 daily passengers. It will run between Gare de Riquier and new? Gare Multimodal Saint-Augustin. Boulevard Rene Cassin / Avenue Californie at the Champion/Carrefour food market has a tramway in its future. Fifty-three years after the closure of the Tramway de Nice et du Littoral, the Tramway de Nice began to serve its Northern and Eastern sections. 2007 saw the completion of Line 1 serving the North-South needs of the city. Line 2 now addresses the East-West needs. This WebSite will be updated continuously until completion of Line 2 in Year 2016. |
| Ridership up in 2005 | |
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9.7 Billion Trips Taken; Light Rail Continues to Have Highest Percentage of Growth.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced that people took more than 9.7 billion trips on U.S. public transportation systems in 2005, with public transportation growing at a faster rate than highway travel (1.3 % vs. 0.1%). Since 1995, public transportation use increased 25.1% -- faster than the rate of highway vehicle miles traveled (22.5%). Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) had the highest percentage of increase among all modes, with a 6.0% increase in 2005. Some light rail systems showed double digit increases in ridership: Minneapolis (168.9%); Houston (38.0%); New Jersey (17.8%); Salt Lake City (13.3%); Sacramento (12.8%); and Los Angeles (10.5%). Ridership on commuter rail posted the second largest increase at 2.8%. The top five commuter rail systems with the highest ridership increases for 2005 were: San Carlos, CA (12.5%); Chesterton, IN (7.3%); Harrisburgh (6.7%); Philadelphia (5.4%); and New Jersey (5.3%). Other modes saw modest increases in ridership. Heavy rail ridership increased by 2.3%, despite work stoppages in Philadelphia and New York City. Demand response (paratransit) ridership increased by 2.5% and transit bus ridership increased 0.4% in 2005. However, there were major increases by some large bus agencies in the following cities: Minneapolis (14.5%); Dallas (7.5%); the Pace system in suburban Chicago (7.4%); and San Antonio (5.8%). Trolleybus ridership decreased by 1.9% in 2005. |
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| Year 1970 | Railroad | No. of Routes | Route Miles | Riders / day | Status |
| Montréal | Canadian Pacific | 3 | 109 | 16,000 |
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| Montréal | Canadian National | 3 | 58 | 49,000 |
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| Montréal | TOTAL | 6 | 167 | 65,000 | Now operated by Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) |
| Toronto | GO Transit | 1 | 60 | 16,100 | Current |
| Detroit | Grand Trunk | 1 | 26 | 2,800 | Gone! |
| Detroit | Penn Central | 1 | 36 | 180 | Gone! |
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee | 1 | 46 |
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Gone! |
| San Francisco | Southern Pacific | 1 | 47 | 11,000 | Now Caltrain |
| Chicago | CNW | 3 | 222 | 90,000 | Now METRA |
| Chicago | Milwaukee | 2 | 111 | 22,000 | Now METRA |
| Chicago | Burlington | 1 | 38 | 19,000 | Now METRA |
| Chicago | Rock Island | 2 | 56 | 26,000 | Now METRA |
| Chicago | Illinois Central | 3 | 37 | 78,000 | Now METRA/td> |
| Chicago | Gulf, Mobile & Ohio | 1 | 37 |
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Now METRA |
| Chicago | Norfolk & Western (Wabash) | 1 | 23 |
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Now METRA |
| Chicago | Penn Central | 1 | 44 | 375 | Gone! |
| Chicago | TOTAL | 14 | 568 |
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| Chicago/Indiana | South Shore | 1 | 89 | 12,000 |
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| Boston | Boston & Maine | 8 | 251 | 24,000 |
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| Boston | Penn Central (B&A) | 1 | 44 | 5,500 on both lines |
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| Boston | Penn Central (NH) | 4 | 109 | 5,500 on both lines | no more Old Colony |
| Boston | TOTAL | 13 | 404 | 29,500 | Now MBTA |
| New York | Penn Central | 4 | 205 | 140,000 | Excludes Chatham, Waterbury? Now Metro North |
| New York | Penn Central | 1 |
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New London-New Haven now Shore Line East |
| New York | Long Island | 12 | 334 | 260,000 |
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| New York | Erie-Lackawanna | 7 | 238 | 65,000 | Now NJT |
| New York | Penn Central | 2 | 125 | 42,500 | New Jersey lines now NJT |
| New York | CRRofNJ | 3 | 118 | 12,000 | Now NJT |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore | 5 | 277 | 700 | All the way to Cape May! Now NJT |
| NJ Transit | TOTAL New Jersey | 17 | 1092 | 120,200 |
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| Philadelphia | Reading | 7 | 228 | 43,800 | Now SEPTA |
| Philadelphia | Penn Central | 6 | 256 | 70,000 |
Includes
Harrisburg Now SEPTA |
| Philadelphia | TOTAL | 13 | 484 | 113,800 |
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| Cleveland | Erie-Lackawanna | 1 | 66 | 300 | Gone! |
| Pittsburgh | B&O | 1 | 18 | 1,300 | Gone! |
| Washington | B&O | 2 | 110 | 1,650 |
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| (a- Trains operate into four downtown Chicago terminals: |
| Ogilvie Transportation Center (formerly the North Western Station) |
| Union Pacific North Line. Daily service to Waukegan, with limited daily service to Kenosha, Wis., 51.6 miles from Chicago. Serves 26 stations. |
| Union Pacific Northwest Line. Daily service to Crystal Lake, with limited daily service to Harvard, 63.1 miles from Chicago. Limited weekday rush-hour and Saturday service operates on a 7.4-mile branch to McHenry. Serves 21 stations on weekdays, 19 on Sundays. |
| Union Pacific West Line. Daily service to Geneva, 35.5 miles from Chicago. Serves 16 stations, fewer on weekends. |
| LaSalle Street Station lines |
| Rock Island District. Daily service to Joliet via two parallel routes that split at Gresham and rejoin at Vermont St., Blue Island. The 46.8-mile district serves 24 stations on weekdays, 22 on weekends. |
| Union Station lines |
| North Central Service. Weekday rush-hour service to Antioch, 53 miles, plus one midday round trip. Serves 13 stations. No weekend or holiday service. |
| Milwaukee District North Line. Daily service to Fox Lake, 49.5 miles from Chicago. Serves 20 stations. |
| Milwaukee District West Line. Daily service to Elgin, with weekday service to Big Timber Road, 39.8 miles from Chicago. Serves 22 stations on weekdays, 16 on weekends. |
| Burlington Northern Santa Fe Line. Daily service to Aurora, 37.5 miles from Chicago. Serves 26 stations on weekdays, 21 on weekends. |
| Heritage Corridor. Limited rush-hour service to Joliet by way of Summit and Willow Springs, 37.2 miles. Serves 5 stations. No weekend or holiday service. |
| SouthWest Service. Limited weekday service to Orland Park, 25.2 miles from Chicago. Serves 9 stations. No weekend or holiday service. |
| Randolph Street Station lines |
| Metra Electric. Daily service to University Park, 31.5 miles from Chicago, and on a 4.7-mile branch to 91st Street in South Chicago. Serves 41 stations. A second branch to Blue Island, 4.4 miles with 7 stations, sees service Monday–Saturday. |
| (b- NJ Transit commuter trains operate on a 471-mile system comprised of nine lines and three branches serving 162 stations. Seventy percent of NJ Transit’s rail passengers travel through New York’s Pennsylvania Station. NJ Transit rail operations are arranged in three divisions: Hoboken, Newark, and the Atlantic City Line (which is disconnected from NJ Transit’s lines in northern New Jersey.) Trains operate into four terminals. Electric trains on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Morris and Essex lines, provide direct service to New York City’s Pennsylvania Station, where connections can be made to Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, and New York City Transit subway and bus lines. From the Hoboken Terminal diesel-powered trains serve passengers on the Pascack Valley, Main, Bergen County, Port Jervis, Boonton, Morris & Essex, and North Jersey Coast Lines. Electric Morris & Essex Line trains also operate into Hoboken Terminal. At Hoboken, passengers can reach Manhattan via PATH rapid transit trains or NY Waterway ferries, and will soon be able to connect to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line. At Pennsylvania Station in Newark, passengers can board electric Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line trains, as well as diesel-powered trains serving the Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast Lines. Newark passengers can also connect to Amtrak, PATH trains to lower Manhattan, and the Newark City subway. Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is the western terminus for diesel-powered Atlantic City Line trains. Passengers can connect to Amtrak, SEPTA Regional Rail trains, the Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated Line, and Subway-Surface trolleys. |
| (c- In Maryland, Passenger service on the 187-mile MARC system is distinguished by the need to serve commuters working in two different metropolitan areas. Rush-hour trains operate both ways on two separate routes between Baltimore and Washington: Amtrak's electrified Northeast Corridor via New Carrollton (the Penn Line), and CSX's Capital Subdivision via Jessup and University Park (the Camden Line — the oldest rail passenger route in the U.S., first operated by Baltimore & Ohio in 1830). A third line, the Brunswick Line, provides commuter service on CSX's Cumberland and Metropolitan Subdivisions between Martinsburg, W.Va., and Washington, D.C. |
| (d- Montreal as of 2004 has grown to five lines and will continue to increase the number of daily passengers as new equipment arrives and new routes/extensions are added. |
| Route from Montreal | Daily passengers | Notes |
| Deux-Montagnes | 32,210 | Electrified |
| Dorion/Rigaud | 14,230 | New equipment now arriving to replace equipment placed in service in 1953 |
| Blainville | 9,530 | Extension in progress to St-Jerome. New station complete. |
| Saint-Hilaire | 5,660 | New |
| Delson | 2,150 | New |
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Several years ago I wrote a story on the major railroads of 1950 and what happened to them.
Now I am following up with a closer examination of the New York Central Railroad. This railroad only lasted until 1968 when it merged into Penn Central. But, what was the NY Central Railroad like in 1950? You will also be interested in "What if the Penn Central Merger Did Not Happen" |
| REFERENCE |
| Commuter Railroads |
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Greenland's ice caps are melting! Find out more about Global Warming at our Ominous Ecology WebSite. |
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Head End Railway Express and Railway Post Office |
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On passenger trains, railroads operated lots of equipment other than
sleepers, coaches, dining cars, etc. This equipment was generally
called
'head-end' equipment, these 'freight' cars were at one time
plentiful and highly profitable for the railroads.
In the heyday of passenger service, these industries were a big part
of the railroad's operations, and got serious attention. We have text and pictures not found elsewhere on the Web. |
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| New York Central Harmon Wrecker at New York Central Museum in Elkhart, Indiana |
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