Lubbock Model Railroad Association
Staying on Track - October 2005
Meetings are at the Highland Baptist Activity Center, Quaker Ave. and 34th St. - first Monday of each month at 7:30pm.
Mailing list: groups.yahoo.com/group/LMRA
Web page: railserve.com/lmra
Amtrak said to be planning big fare increase: WASHINGTON, D.C. [09 Sep '05] - Amtrak is preparing to announce a significant increase in fares that will push up the monthly cost of commuting for thousands of riders in the Northeast by as much as 50 percent, according to railroad industry officials, commuter advocates and Congressional staff members, said the New York Times today.
Some commuters who travel regularly on Amtrak between Washington and Boston said ticket agents had warned them of a pending increase that could add hundreds of dollars to the cost of their monthly passes. By yesterday afternoon, people who work on Capitol Hill said Amtrak employees had told them an announcement about a big rise in fares was imminent, probably coming next week.
Representative Robert E. Andrews, a Democrat from Haddon Heights, N.J., said he had heard about the coming increase, which was characterized as a reduction of the discount on multi-trip tickets. In other words, he said, “It would be a fare increase on monthly passes.”
Amtrak officials are under intense pressure in Washington to reduce the federal subsidy their nationwide train service requires. The Bush administration had threatened earlier this year to cut off Amtrak’s financing for its next fiscal year, and Norman Y. Mineta, the transportation secretary, has called for an overhaul.
Representative Michael G. Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Doylestown, Pa., is to meet next week with David L. Gunn, the president of Amtrak, to discuss the planned fare increase and Amtrak’s plan to discontinue service to the Cornwells Heights station in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia.
Amtrak says private companies could bid for routes : WASHINGTON, DC [22 Sep '05] - Some Amtrak routes should be offered to the private sector to help salvage the debt-ridden national passenger rail system, Amtrak's chairman said on Wednesday, according to a story from Reuters. "We will consider every conceivable solution to make it work. We're committed to hold the system together at acceptable cost," David Laney told a hearing of the House of Representatives railroads subcommittee.
The hearing revealed what one senior federal transportation official said was a shift this summer in the debate over Amtrak's future. Lawmakers have begun to move away from criticizing or defending the railroad's finances and performance to exploring options for passenger service to continue.
Blueprints that would provide long-term funding to support operations and improve antiquated track, signals, bridges and tunnels — all in the Northeast where Amtrak owns most of the Boston-New York-Washington trackage and infrastructure — have received bipartisan support from House and Senate lawmakers with influence over transportation matters.
Congressional funding proposals for 2006 include federal subsidies of between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion. Amtrak received just over $1.2 billion this fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. The Bush administration opposes any subsidy until its reform agenda is met. This could range from deep cost cuts to dismantling Amtrak's control over routes and its infrastructure.
Reuters said the Amtrak's board is considering limited reform, including the possibility of jettisoning underperforming long-distance routes, boosting investment by states, and opening some or all of the system to private competition. "Private operators need to be given a shot. Amtrak assumes it will be competing for its future," said Laney, adding that any change should be gradual.
Unions complain that Amtrak and the Bush administration's proposals will hurt the railroad's 20,000 workers. The Transportation Communications International Union says Amtrak wants approval from Congress to do what bankrupt U.S. airlines have done in restructuring — that is, remove workers from pension programs and change contracts to gut work rules.
"The administration together with the Amtrak board of directors have used every argument they can to lay blame on Amtrak and its workers in order to kill Amtrak through privatization," said Robert Scardelletti, the TCIU's president. Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican, planned to introduce a bill to open Amtrak's flagship Northeast Corridor route to competition.
Amtrak will end the fiscal year with $120 million in cash despite the loss of premium high-speed Acela Express service for nearly six months because of a brake problem. But Amtrak's operating loss will exceed $550 million, the Transportation Department said. Amtrak's debt exceeds $3.5 billion.
V&T steam engine returns to Virginia City : VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. [19 Sep '05] - Virginia & Truckee Railroad 4-4-0 No. 18, the “Dayton,” built in 1873 to serve the famous short line during the Comstock mining boom, returned to Virginia City after an absence of more than 70 years, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal. The steam locomotive, which came from the Nevada State Railroad Museum in nearby Carson City, will be a featured attraction in the city’s new Comstock History Center. State officials said the “Dayton” is one of two remaining engines built at the Central Pacific shops in Sacramento, and is the older.
"This is one of the rarest pieces of railroad equipment. The Smithsonian would be happy to have it," said state Historic Preservation Officer Ron James. After Paramount Pictures acquired the engine in 1938, it appeared in "Union Pacific" and 14 other motion pictures, state officials said. The state bought the locomotive in 1974, and restored it in 1982. But it remains non-operational.
"There's no end to the levels of historic significance this locomotive represents," James said. "This is a one-of-a-kind piece of railroad equipment in a one-of-a-kind facility in a one-of-a-kind town," he said of the mountainside tourist-oriented former mining town, which at 6220 feet in elevation is 1500 feet higher than the state capital only 15 miles to the southwest (Reno is 23 miles to the northeast).
The engine will be housed in the Comstock History Center at Union and E streets, site of the V&T yard. The facility, nearing completion, will serve as headquarters for the Comstock Historic District Commission and provide space for interpretive displays on the history of the area. Initially, the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs planned to return V&T steam engine No. 27 to Virginia City. It was on display in the community for 22 years before being taken for restoration in 1993 to the state museum - against the wishes of many residents.
Earlier this year, the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs offered No. 18 for display. James and others pushed for this, emphasizing the Dayton would be a better attraction. (Dayton is the name of another mining settlement in the area). A tourist railroad operates out of Virginia City under the V&T name on restored original V&T right of way, and is in the long-term process of expanding operations toward Carson City.