Courtesy of the Milw RR group:
Well, it's hard to believe, but the date of the 75th anniversary of
the Empire Builder passenger train is almost upon us. June 11, 2004
is the diamond anniversary of this, the second-longest continuously
operated passenger train in the United States.
With regard to celebrating this event, here's some of the events
planned and items that will commemorate it:
Amtrak has commissioned a painting by noted railroad artist J. Craig
Thorpe. It features the Amtrak version of the eastbound Empire
Builder crossing the Two Medicine Bridge east of Glacier National
Park and is available for $15 at the Amtrak store at
http://store.amtrak.com/75yecoembupo.html.
A similar (but not the same) painting by Mr. Thorpe adorns the cover
of the new (effective April 26) Amtrak Spring/Summer 2004 timetable.
The Great Northern Railway Historical Society will be selling a T-
shirt that commemorates the anniversary.
While Amtrak has not specifically released any information about
this, continuing rumors are that they will actually be providing
extra equipment for departures of the Empire Builder on June 11 from
Chicago, Portland, and Seattle. Supposedly, Amtrak's lone remaining
dome car, ex-GN full length lounge "Mountain View" (Amtrak 10030) is
supposed to be on No. 7 out of Chicago on June 11, with as yet
undetermined extra rolling stock out of the western origin cities.
I have also heard that Montana governor Judy Martz will be boarding
the westbound Empire Builder in Havre on June 12 and riding to
Seattle, and that there will be other Amtrak dignitaries on board.
Between the Washington Association of Railroad Passengers, the Great
Northern Railway Historical Society, and the State of Washington,
there will likely be events commemorating the anniversary at several
stations in Washington, as well as in Portland, Oregon.
The James J. Hill Library in St. Paul is planning events near the
date of the anniversary.
In the middle of the Empire Builder route in Montana and North
Dakota, where the service it provides is so vital, local residents
are well aware of the anniversary. I've heard that events are
planned in places like Whitefish, Shelby, Havre, Minot, and Rugby,
but nothing specific.
I've been in contact with numerous people at BNSF with regard to this
event. So far, everyone thinks that BNSF participation is a good
idea, but I see no commitment to date. With the train operating
mostly on BNSF trackage and the fact that corporate headquarters in
Fort Worth is named for James J. Hill, the Empire Builder,
participation by BNSF would seem to be a given, but we'll see.
For those of you keeping track, all passenger trains in this country
are again threatened at the end of 2004 fiscal year (end of
September) as the current administration/Congress is proposing only
half of the funding that's necessary to keep the system running.
Amtrak proponents have been fighting this battle for the 33 years of
its existence (33 years to the day here on May 1, by the way).
Whether or not you are a fan of the Great Northern or the Empire
Builder specifically is really not the main point of supporting this
anniversary. The Empire Builder is unique among long distance Amtrak
trains in the way it fills a public need. While traversing a route
with the least amount of online population, the train regularly
places second in total ridership of all Amtrak trains (only the
Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight carries more, usually). Over the
past several years, the train has usually posted the best on-time
performance of any long distance Amtrak train (truly a source of
pride and incentive money for CP and BNSF), which is in stark
contrast to trains like the Orlando-Los Angeles Sunset Limited that
regularly post a monthly ontime performance of zero percent!
Commemorating this event will only serve to show (though the media,
hopefully) that passenger trains are not a thing of the past, but are
forms of transportation that are still needed and used in this
country. With Amtrak's limited funding resources and equipment, it
appears that the only way expand the skeletal network of passenger
trains in this country is increase awareness of the advantages of
passenger train travel, and I can't think of a better opportunity to
get the message out than this upcoming anniversary.
I would urge those of you in the states served by the Empire Builder
to contact your local cities and chambers of commerce and urge them
to participate in the celebration. For those of you that are members
of a railroad historical association, especially the GN bunch, it is
hoped that an information brochure will be produced and that
volunteers available to distribute it on board the train and in the
stations. Actually, this request goes to everyone, even in places
like Staples, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Dells. While not on a former
Great Northern route, the Empire Builder has been serving Staples for
25 years (a whole generation), and on the former Milwaukee Road
between St. Paul and Chicago, 33 years - almost as long as did the
Hiawathas!
For so many reasons, participation by everyone that values passenger
train service in this country is important, and will be appreciated
by many. Thanks for your time! --Mark Meyer
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/8ZCslB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CBQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|