LMRA Newsletter
Lubbock Model Railroad Association
Staying on Track - September 2005
Meetings are at the Highland Baptist Activity Center, Quaker Ave. and 34th St. - first Monday of each month at 7:30pm.
That is the general rule. The exception is when the first Monday falls on a holiday. So the Sept. meeting will be Sept. 12th instead, since Sept. 5 is Labor Day.
Mailing list: groups.yahoo.com/group/LMRA
Web page: railserve.com/lmra
Holiday meetings: It was decided at the July meeting that in the future, when meetings fall on a holiday, to have them the second Monday of that month.
Cowboy Symposium:
Sept. 8 Thurs. - 8am meet at Noah's Storage storage to load the club pike. Noah's is about 2 blocks west of the intersection of Quaker Ave. and Clovis Hwy. (north of the Loop). 9am setup at the Civic Center.
Sept. 9-10 Fri. and Sat. - run trains 9am to 9pm. Take down at 9pm Sat.
This was what was planned at the last meeting. Take down might be earlier. There might also be changes in plans due to the Civic Center being a possible refugee center for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Stay tuned to local news.
Illinois' Amtrak ridership at all-time high: CHICAGO, IL [26 Aug '05] - Each of the four state-funded Amtrak routes to and from Chicago hauled a record number of riders during Illinois' most recent fiscal year and posted sharp ridership growth for fiscal year 2005, which ended June 30, transportation officials announced Wednesday, according to an Associated Press story in the Chicago Tribune. The trains include: the Ann Rutledge, trains 303 and 304 between Chicago and St. Louis on the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City route; the Illini, trains 391 and 392 between Chicago and Carbondale, Ill.; the Illinois Zephyr, trains 347 and 348 between Chicago and Quincy, Ill.; and the 14 Hiawathas, numbered 329-342, between Chicago and Milwaukee (seven in each direction daily except Sunday, with six on Sunday).
Amtrak and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) officials credited the record numbers to stronger marketing, improved service, and higher gas prices, which likely prompted many would-be drivers to take the train. Officials seized on the record numbers to bolster their case for federal Amtrak funding, which President Bush has proposed to eliminate in his fiscal 2006 budget. "This is clear evidence that passenger rail is a portion of our transportation system we can't do without," IDOT Secretary Timothy Martin said in a statement Wednesday.
Ridership on the routes serving Milwaukee, Carbondale, and St. Louis each grew 11 percent over fiscal 2004, to 494,075, 121,311 and 120,852 riders, respectively. The Chicago-Quincy line, which like the St. Louis and Carbondale routes serves several on-line universities, was up nearly 8 percent to 113,086 passengers. The figures only include Amtrak service paid for by the state. IDOT pays $12 million a year in salaries, fuel costs, and other expenses for Amtrak to operate those routes.
Amtrak also operates national service on the same routes. These include the Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans on the route through Carbondale; the Chicago-San Antonio-Los Angeles Texas Eagle on the St. Louis route; the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder on the Milwaukee route; and the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief and Chicago-Denver-Emeryville (Calif.) California Zephyr on the Chicago-Galesburg portion of the Quincy route.
Ridership on the state-funded Amtrak routes peaked in 2000 before sagging for three years. It rebounded in fiscal 2004 before reaching new highs in 2005.
UP 4-6-6-4 Challenger off to the Pacific Northwest for a series of displays:
OMAHA, NE [23 Aug '05] Union Pacifics 4-6-6-4 "Challenger" No. 3985, the worlds largest operating steam locomotive, will be on a six-state, 2,800-mile tour from its home in Cheyenne, Wyo., to Portland, Ore., to celebrate railroad heritage, the company said.
During this tour, the 62-year-old locomotive will be on display in seven cities: Ogden, Utah, August 26-28; Portola, Calif., Aug. 31-September 1; Roseville, Calif., Sept. 3-4; Eugene, Ore., Sept. 8; Portland, Ore., Sept. 10-21; Boise, Idaho, Sept. 25; and Pocatello, Idaho, Sept. 27. The locomotive will not haul the public on any of its moves.
The Challenger, which has an articulated, or hinged, frame to allow it to negotiate curves, is 122 feet long. Built in 1943 by Alco for freight service, it was retired in 1959, and displayed in Cheyenne. In 1981, it was removed from display and restored to running condition by UP employee volunteers for special events.
A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the cars that travels with 3985. The GPS system has been integrated with a map on UPs Web site, at www.up.com, for fans to follow the engines travels. Enter the word "Steam" in the search box on the homepage for a shortcut to the map. Web site visitors will be able to access route maps with varying amounts of detail. The GPS system will update the map every five minutes showing 3985s location.