Amtrak’s Empire Builder has had a miserable winter. The polar vortex, heavy snow, and a huge increase in freight traffic has resulted in many delays of many hours. The worst area has proven to be in North Dakota, specifically the 120-mile stretch between Devils Lake and Minot. Things got so completely hopeless a couple of…
Yesterday I commented on how no one seems to care about the hardships being forced on passengers aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder – great long delays caused by a huge increase in freight traffic involving 100-car trains carrying North Dakota crude oil to refineries in various parts of the country. OK, so how are things going…
Amtrak’s long distance trains have been under rather continuous attack for a long time. Usually it comes from members of Congress who object to the fact that these passenger trains receive a modest federal subsidy. So far, passenger rail advocates like NARP, the National Association of Railroad Passengers, have managed to fend off efforts in…
(click to enlarge photos) The Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri is a railroad-themed hotel with interesting memorabilia on display throughout the facility. And, within a hundred yards of so of the hotel is this lookout, a small structure, heated in winter and cooled in summertime, that overlooks the Burlington Northern Santa Fe…