News Briefs - October, 2003
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Moves at the E&LS...
The E
& LS has been moving some passenger cars around lately. For a
long time 3 ex-VIA sleepers, 2 ex-NP baggage cars, 1 ex-Soo bunk car,
and 1 ex-Amtrak car were at Wells. There were/are also 4 ex-VIA sleepers
outside the car shops in Escanaba.
Last weekend, the ex-Soo bunk car, ex-Amtrak car, and 2 of the ex-VIA
sleepers from Wells had been shoved to the end of the Escanaba branch,
by the K-Mart parking lot. About 10 miscellaneous freight cars awaiting
repairs blocked them in. Today, these cars are on the other end of the
line. 3 covered hoppers and a boxcar are by K-Mart, and the passenger
stuff is coupled on the north end. The wooden ex-LS & I caboose at
Wells is also gone, as are the 3 old hoppers by the Esky power plant. It
may be stored inside.
CSX Mishap in Grand Blanc...
A CSX ballast train derailed
in the City of Grand Blanc at 0830 AM EDT today, October 17. The
cleanup is underway by R. J. Corman Derailment Services. From
Greg.
Amtrak ridership is
highest ever...
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Amtrak recorded its highest annual rider- ship in
its history during Fiscal Year 2003 ending September 30 by carrying more
than 24 million passengers. Despite a number of adverse conditions
this year, including a lagging economy, Iraq, the Presidents' Day
blizzard, the Northeast blackout and Hurricane Isabel, Amtrak's
ridership topped the previous record of 23.5 million passengers set in
FY 2001 and was 2.7% better than last year's 23.4 million riders.
Long-distance trains showed substantial improvement over last year, with
those in the Eastern region of the country improving ridership by 3.8%
and those in the Western region improving by 6.6%. The most substantial
increases were experienced by the Pennsylvanian (up 64%) due mostly to a
change in routing; the Texas Eagle (up 20%); the Silver Meteor (up
15.2%); and the City of New Orleans (up 14.5%).
Ridership on shorter distance routes in the West increased by 11.7% over
last year, while decreasing slightly in the East (-1.6%). The Pacific
Surfliner, serving southern California, showed the largest increase
among these trains, with a gain over last year of 26.3%. Several Midwest
trains,
the Pere Marquette (up 22.1%),
the State House (up 13%) and the Illini (up 11.4%) experienced the next
largest increases in passengers. In the East, Regional
trains carried more passengers than any other Amtrak service in
the country, increasing from 5,760,499 last year to 5,974,806 -- an
increase of 3.7%. While a reduced number of departures (7,686 in
FY '03 vs. 8,272 in FY '02) resulted in a decrease in Acela Express
ridership from 2,473,921 to 2,363,454, per-departure ridership on Acela
Express actually increased slightly from 299 to 307. From the
trains.com Newswire.
Jack Lousma to speak at Steam Institute event...
The Steam Railroading
Institute in Owosso is pleased to welcome retired NASA astronaut Col.
Jack Lousma as the keynote speaker for its 2003 Annual Dinner. The
dinner will be held at the Comstock Inn in Owosso on Saturday, November
1st, beginning at 6:30 pm. The event is open to the public, and will
include a review of past activities and upcoming plans for the Steam
Railroading Institute. Reservations are required, and the cost is $25
for SRI members, $35 for non-members. For more information or to make
a reservation please email
dpyers@aol.com or visit
www.mstrp.com.
Bluewater gets another dining car...
Recently Bluewater was donated another dining car: the ex-CN 1363 "Moose Lake". This car will need extensive renovations, similar to what our other dining car "Silver Lake" was given in 1998, before it can return to our fleet. I have posted pictures of this car on Bluewater's web page in the "news" section. From Chris Jacks via Dave Williamson.
396 Hits in September...a new record...
A new monthly record of 396 visits per day has been set by www.MichiganRailroads.com during the month of September, 2003. This exceeded the last record of 363 hits per day, which was set in February, 2003. MichiganRailroads.com has been in operation since February, 2001 and has had 183,000+ home page "hits" since its start up, making it one of the most visited railroad web sites in the country. The site contains over 352 contemporary photographs of railroads in Michigan, as well as a history section which includes over 1,000 historical photographs. The web page is a true cooperative effort, with photos, news stories, and historical information contributed by a large and diverse group of rail fans and railroad employees who have a common interest in Michigan railroads - past and present. Congratulations to everyone, who makes this site "Your home page for Michigan Railroading"!