Gone with the Railroad

Lastly, there were several car transfer trains from the Samuel Rae Shops in Hollidaysburg as well as a local from Roaring Spring, Bedford, and Duncansville. During the summer we slept with the windows open because, amongst other things, we could not afford an air conditioner. And in the mornings I could see the brake shoe smoke waffling over the curve. When I was off from school, sometimes with official approval and sometimes without it, I would frequently ride my bike up to the curve. My guess is that there were 75 to freight trains of all descriptions that went through Altoona every day, but it is only a guess.

I will keep looking to see if I can come up with a freight schedule, although it would not be an absolute indicator because so many of the trains were classified as extras. Yeah, I read that Amtrak dead heading passenger equipment and other stuff out of their New Orleans maintenace facility that we could have put people and other stuff on.

Amtrak is essentially what I would call the black sheep of America's publicly funded transportation industry. It was set up to make a profit on train travel from railroads that were losing tons of money on passenger trains. Did I miss something there? I mean take a look at it from the get go.

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But Congress has also held them in a bind. If you think about, every means public transportation is funded by the government and it all comes down to how much. It's also worth keeping in mind that the number of RR passenger-service employees was not commensurate with the plunge in passenger travel. Limited was carrying people, it probably needed seven or eight of the above employees -- maybe six after rail postal contracts were pulled starting in about Many New Orleans Amtrak employees and possibly other railroaders did use the dead head equipment move as an evaculation train.

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But it was mostly empty. Ironically I think now they want Amtrak to keep some equipment available as an evactuation train. Not that wikipedia is the best source, Labor Day Hurricane of That's the last time I know of the US attempting an evacuation train for a natural disaster. Read about the FEC evacuation train.

It left Miami late cause the FEC didn't keep equipment ready to go during hurricane season. It takes a while to build up steam in the locomotive, then time to switch cars, etc They were used to move some ill and elderly up to DFW Metroplex. Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Sign up for our email newsletter. Login or Register Customer Service. COM Enter keywords or a search phrase below: Where have all the people gone. Order Ascending Order Descending. Member since May, From: South Dakota 12, posts.

Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, September 09, 4: I'm reading Twilight of the Great Trains, by Fred Frailey, about the end of the railroad passenger era. It seems like, from about , until Amtrak, huge numbers of passenger trains were eliminated. When that happened, where did all the people go, who worked on, or supported these trains? Member since April, , posts. Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, September 09, 5: On the Jet Plane or stuck in traffic on the freeway.

Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, September 09, 8: I guess I meant the railroad employees. Were they just plain downsized out the door?

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 10, 8: Member since July, 16 posts. Posted by josephr33 on Monday, September 10, I don't know exactly, but I'm guessing most the passenger service folks were layed off as the trains contracted. Operations employees might have been reassigned to freight trains. Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 10, Pullman was it's own "Railroad" with thier own employees wasnt it?

Member since August, From: Antioch, IL 3, posts. Posted by greyhounds on Monday, September 10, 8: I went to work for the ICG in , five years after Amtrak took over. There was an effort to keep 'em around until retirement. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US.

And I'm gosh darn proud of that. Posted by Murphy Siding on Monday, September 10, The subject matter is definately interesting. Sometimes, though, I find that some authors could write fairly good books about boring things and do well. Fred Frailey is one of those authors. Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 17, 6: Member since September, From: Posted by CG on Tuesday, September 18, 3: People ask where all the passengers went?

Our parents and grandparents voted with their tax dollars and through their choices to do away with the passenger trains. Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, September 19, 9: May I ask how many freights went through Altoona then? Member since October, From: Posted by lvt on Thursday, September 20, On the Pennsy they simply did virtually no hiring. You didn't see too many youngsters running around in train service back then.

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THe earlier posts are right There were still a number of mail trains on the PRR for bulk mail all the way to the PC; those trains were considered as passenger runs. Service crews in some cases went from being waiters on trains to waiters in executive dining rooms or snack bar coach attendants on PRR corridor trains. Retirements, bumping and other methods allowed some to stay on and there was a mandatory retirement for a number of years Charlotte, NC 6, posts. Posted by Phoebe Vet on Friday, September 21, 7: Dave Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow. Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 21, Member since July, From: You really see nothing of interest, the seats are almost worn out, and without tour buses I doubt the have many riders.

Deb was great at helping get our trip arranged, and Diana with support staff made sure everyone enjoyed the entire experience. Thanks to all who helped us along the way. An enjoyable relaxing trip with great views and helpful staff.

Train cars gone from tracks in Ashland's Railroad District | Daily Tidings

A good way to see the fall colours at your leisure. Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more. All of your saved places can be found here in My Trips. Log in to get trip updates and message other travelers. Log in Join Recently viewed Bookings Inbox. Scenic Railroads , Tours. Reviewed February 13, Roger K Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. See what travelers are saying: Reviewed October 17, Martha T Huntsville, Texas. Old Train with No comfort to it. Reviewed October 9, Bland C Albany, Georgia.

Wonderful train ride with great views and excellant staff to help along the way too. Reviewed September 23, Reviewed October 26,