FROM: P. O. Box 9007 Berkeley, CA 94709 USA

EDIATE MAILING - - VOL, IV - - 1978 - 1979

Ratiway Passenger Car Annual

At long last we have finished compiling Volume 4 of the RAILWAY PASSENGER CAR ANNUAL. Our printer has been co-operative and we have the book in stock ready for immediate mailing.

As in past issues this valuable compilation contains a listing in numerical order of all Railroad, Operating Authority, and Transit passenger cars in active service during 1978 showing prior owners, names and numbers, builder and year built.

Besides showing disposition of all cars retired in the past couple of years, we have a special feature in this volume showing the complete disposition of over 400 Amtrak cars sold since the energy crises in 1974.

Note: The amount of material to be included in the Private Owner and Museum section has become so great that this willhave to be covered in a separate Volume from now on. You will be advised of this volume and the price as soon as we can schedule a publication date. Our goal is to have this out before Christmas 1978,

168 pages......$6.75....-.6x9".......Softbound. CONTAINS FLOORPLAN AND

CUTAWAY SIDE DIAGRAMS

(itlinois residents please Order From: OF AMTRAK'S NEW add 5% sales tax), RPC Publications SUPERLINER CARS P.O. Box 296

Godfrey, lilinols 62035

F irst Class FIRST CLASS

U. S. POSTAGE PAD : PERMIT NO. 1083

BERKELEY, CA.

To:

‘Letters =e

What is there left for us to do to help stop the Administration's present 434 sutback of Amtrak? A person feels so helpless this week. 1 wrote the entire Senate (except Herman Talmadge) and over 50 members of the House. The replies for the most part have been negative--against Amtrak.

Either the Congress is (1) grossly wisinformed, (2) totally stupid, or (3) bought off by the aute/petro industry. Their answers are amazing.

Senator William S. Cohen's reply today is the most alarsing: "...The Depart- sent of Transportation has concluded that without substantial restructuring, the rail passenger service might have to becose nationalized by 1985 if the railroads are to remain a viable systen. OOT ostimates that without its program, American taxpayers could be charged an additional 4 billion a year to eaintain passenger and freight rail service... Senators Leahy and Schaitt have introduced such resolutions (to overturn the DOT proposal), but the Commerce Committee failed to report then for floor consideration, It appears at this tine that this issue will not come to a vote by the full Senate."

Is that the end of it? This is shocking! What can we do? Would you advise your readers what we can do? The responses are dumbfounding and this last one is alaraing, Is there any point in writing the Commerce Consittee at this tine?

Jeffrey E. Wetmore

Hovard, Ohio (Ed. note: As promised, the main theme of this issue is vhat to do about the cut- back threat at this tine.)

As | write this letter on June 1, the size of Amtrak's network after Oct 1 is still a question mark. There is hope that the full Senate and House could restore uost if not all of the trains preposed for discontinuance. Let's hope they do. However, whatever the size of Amtrak cose Oct 1, the problems that plague Amtrak will remaia. Our energies thus far have been attempts to prevent trainoffs. We have had ne choice this year. We had to place all our efforts into preserving what fow passenger trains ve have, | certainly hope Congress will restore money to maintain Amtrak's services so that we need not devote all our energies all suaner to fighting for the preservation of these trains...

Ron Kilcoyne San Francisco, California

It beats me that any U.5, Senator or Representative who is aware of the energy crisis could Jet the Amtrak wreckers have their way... Amtrak is not perfect by a long shot, but an integrated, scdern passenger train network and bus network can be an iaportant part of the answer to an effective energy policy. NOW is the time for creative thinking about our public transportation is we are to save im- ported fuel and fight inflation at the same tine...

Elwyn Seelye iI Rosemont, Pennsy] vania

| an happy that Mr. Adler (last issue) agrees that | have a gripe, but | deeply resent his remark that | am exaggerating. | did not exaggerate ay experiences this past February in any aanner as | ae not in the habit of doing such a thing. | reported everything exactly as it happened to my Scouts and me aboard the MONT- REALER and the ADIRONDACK, Weither do | travel via Amtrak once a year as fr. Ad- iia

Rail Travel Hews, Vol. 9, No. 7. June, 1979. Whole number 189,

Copyright © 1979 by Message Media. Published twice monthly by Message Media, P. 0. Box 9007, Berkeley CA 94709. Subscription $12.00 por year; single copy S0¢. Overseas and institutional rates on request, STAFF: James Russell, Editor.

Paul Rayton, Editor-at-Large. Regional Correspondents: Peter Putnam Bretz, Los Angeles: Jack Ferry, Chicago; Kenneth Maylath, Baltimore; Peter Rocha, Boston.

ler insinuates. | travel it often both with my family as well as in my position as a Scoutmaster. Rarely on any of these Yong or short distance trips have | met Amtrak or Conrail employees who were conscientious and who cared about the welfare of their passengers...

Or. Alian H,. Toub

Hiliside, New Jersey

ON THE COVER

Amtrak Superliner coach no. 34035 in a fisheye lens view as it was on display at Oakland CA on May 17, The new bilevel coach, having been displayed at the Los Angeles depot anniversary (see last issue) was moved to San Jose for a May 16 dis- play and then proceeded northward. Al] Amtrak Superliners were out of service for a time starting in late May when cracked bolts were discovered in trucks on the new cars. Amtrak said the problem was remedied by tightening bolts so they would not move laterally, {In addition, it was found that one bolt on the truck pointed upward so that it would fall out if the nut were lost. The bolt was reoriented to face downward. On June 13 the first Western revenue runs of Supertiner coaches

- were made. On the 5:30pm MOUNT RAINIER leaving Seattle for Portland (train 797)

the following Superliner consist was used: F40 engine #217 and coaches 34040, 34037, 34015 and 34016. One of the coaches had some lower-level seats removed and a cold-snack counter installed for food service. The consist was scheduled to re- turh to Seattle as train 796 on June 14. Superliner cars are also scheduled to go on the PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL as soon as enough are available. Amfleet cars dis- placed from the Seattle area are reportedly shifted to the crowded SAN DIEGAN runs. Photo by RIN,

AS AMTRAK RIDERSHIP SOARS, ADMINISTRATION HAS "SECOND THOUGHTS" ABOUT ROUTE CUTBACK PLAN

The Carter Administration is reportedly having "second thoughts" about the 43% Aatrak route cutback it planned. Reporting in the Washington Post June 12, Bill Jones wrote that the Carter Administration the previous day had said that later in June the DOT and Amtrak wil] meet to review rising ridership figures and consider the possibility of saving some routes that have shown strong increases recently. The article noted that the White House was responding to letters from Senators and Congressmen "piling up" about the obvious discrepancy between planned passenger train cutbacks and the present energy crisis.

Altho the deadline of May 23 passed without Congress passing a foraal rejection of the DOT plan, the strategy being taken by legislators is to wait and watch the evidence of Amtrak's usefulness mount as the gasoline shortage and other transport- ation problens lead more people to try the train. Rail supporters in Congress are taking the strategy of restoring individual routes by increasing Amtrak's budget rather than rejecting the DOT plan outright. The Senate will be finishing work on its version of the Amtrak bil] this month, while the House is not expected to act until July or possibly later in the summer.

But a DOT spokesman, according to the Post, said that the agency is still happy with the 43% cutback plan, and questioned how long the present rail ridership surge will last. Amtrak's Alan Boyd (according to the article) stated that it won't be until September ridership figures are in that the true picture of ridership changes can be seen. He predicted "greater and greater" demands upon the Amtrak system as the energy crunch continues,

Senator Frank Church of Idaho was preparing to propose an amendment to the Am-

page 3

trak funding bill that would freeze the present system for one or two years.

One of the main reasons for the growing support for Amtrak is the vastly in- creased business Amtrak has been experiencing this spring in the wake of the cur- rent gasoline shortage (and assisted also by airline problems). For the month of May, Amtrak found dollar value of sales from new reservations up 72.5% above May of 1978 (estimated $33,000,000 against $19,128,342)--these sales being those by Cent- ral Reservations Offices only. otal Amtrak tickets sold by the Automatic Ticket Machines in May was 1,105,913, compared to 922,655 in May, 1978--a 19.9% increase (Automatic Ticket Machines represent about two-thirds of all Amtrak tickets sold). Telephone call volume in May was also record-breaking: there were 6.8 million at- tempts to call Amtrak reservations centers, compared to 1./ million a year earlier; 4,8 million busy signals were recorded, compared to 92,000 in 1978; 1.9 million customers completed their calls, compared to 1.6 eillion before; and in both months 4.5 million calls were handled by an Amtrak agent (Amtrak said the number handled was actually down 3% because the average call length was longer this May--4 minutes compared to 2.5 to 3 minutes in May 1978--a fact that probably reflects the lack of experience with train travel of many callers this yo

Chicago Union Station is the only major station that counts passenger volume, and it tallied 40.62 wore passengers on the Memorial Day weekend than it did the same weekend of 1978, On the rapidly-growing Les Angeles-San Diego line, the six daily roundtrips in May carried 148,324 passengers, an average of 4784 per day. This ridership figure appears te break the previous sonthly record for the route set by Santa Fe in 1947, when about 125,000 passengers were carried. At the pre- sent rate, Caltrans is estimating over 1 million SAN DIEGAN passengers this calen- dar year, likely to break the previcus yearly record of 1,026,389 set in 1947 (ac- cording to Public Utilities Commission racords), The May 1979 SAN DIEGAN rider- ship alse compares to 88,826 in May 1978-ean increase of about 60,000 passengers.

The Wall Street Journal called this summer Amtrak's “busiest summer", and noted that its car fleet has shrunk from 2000 when it began operations in 1971 to about 1400 now. Ouring the month of May Amtrak turned away 756,000 potential customers (of those who were able to get thru to a ticket clerk) because of its equipment shortage. "If we nad another 1000 cars, we could fill them up today" Amtrak's Joe Vranich told a UPI reporter. The 756,000 turned away was a record for Astrak, and clearly points up the need for more passenger cars.

in the last issue of RTN it vas noted that Aatrak was putting up a number of conventional passenger cars for sale, with bids to close May 30. However, shortly before bids were to close, Amtrak president Alan Boyd learned of the car sale and placed a moratorium on such sales, except for cars very badly damaged. Most of the cars on the May sale list were described as only "minimal work required.” The list included cars of all types, including four doses, #9351, 9355 (ex-SUPER CHIEF cars), ex-SP lounge 9372, and dome coach 9420,

On June 7 the House approved a supplemental appropriations bil] for the present fiscal year for Amtrak, in the amount of $90 aillion (last year $600 million was authorized, but only $510 willion appropriated). This amount, to carry Amtrak thru this September, includes §29 million for purchasing eleven AEM-7 lomotives from General Motors for the Northeast Corridor, bringing the total on order from

15 to 26. The Senate Appropriations Committee was expected to act on the bill soon.

But the supplemental bill is separate from the Amtrak Improvement Act which will deal with the DOT's cutback proposal. Legislators have already made moves that will sost likely save several routes from extinction. Those most likely to be retained include the MONTREALER, the CARDINAL, and one of the two NY-Florida trains planned for extinction. In addition, a Los Angeles-Las Vegas-Ogden train seems assured, and the SAN FRANCISCO ZEPHYR and SOUTHWEST LIMITED are expected to remain in the system, in part because of high startup costs of the DOT's proposed combination and cereus a of the two. The CRESCENT seems safe also. page

It is usually stated also that "perhaps" one of the trains to Texas might be saved--presumably either the LONE STAR or the INTER-AMERICAN. Senator Frank Church vows that he will save the PIONEER. And Senator Robert Ouncan (see our item regarding his anti-passenger train stance in last issue) on June 12 offered an amendment for joint federal-state funding in the amount of $10 million to keep the PIONEER running in the state of Oregon.

The most highly threatened trains include the FLORIDIAN, NORTH COAST HIAWATHA, HILLTOPPER, SAN JOAQUIN, NATIONAL LIMITED, MOUNT RAINIER, PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL, and LONE STAR. The fight in Congress over the Amtrak Improvement Act of 1979 is expected to run well into the summer, and rail supporters can help now by contin- uing to write their Senators and Congressmen in support of threatened train service. Time appears to be on the side of rail supporters, because it is generally agreed that the longer the legislation takes to completion, the more pressure there wil] be to avoid rail cutbacks. The gasoline shortage is expected to continue at least thru the suamer, and Amtrak ridership should be setting records. Altho occasional optimistic notes about gasoline availability appear in the press, the most authori- tative analyses of the situation, such as the Wall Street Journal's suamary of June 15, indicate that oi] production is a touch-and-go matter, and that the political situation in Iran could at any time set off an increasingly difficult worldwide shortage that would have many negative features but one that would help supporters of rail passenger service.

Two threatened trains side-by-side at St. Louis on May 6: the INTER-AMERICAN (Jeft)

Thus the energy problem is expected to remain with us, and will continue to be one of the most effective arguments for supporting train service.

Besides focusing on route retention, rail supporters will emphasize the question of Amtrak equipment. The Amtrak car shortage is critical, and is frequently cited as the major stumbling block to new service or expansion of existing service (or even to maintenance of traditional service, as in the case of the reduction from daily operation on the two Chicago-Seattle routes). Amtrak itself is lobbying for more capital funding for new equipment, and seems to be hearing the voices of rail lobbyists who are calling for retention and rebuilding of existing conventional passenger cars. The above-cited Washington Post article reported that Alan Boyd has asked his company's officials to contact the Budd Company to datermine how long it might take to obtain new cars from them. And Amtrak has also contacted Canadadian and Mexican railroads and Western European car manufacturers in a search for additional equipment. A Wall Street Journal article of June 5 is an important public documentation of Amtrak's car shortage. It notes that the Amtrak car fleet has declined by an average of about 75 cars per year since Amtrak's inception. This year the fleet will be about 125 cars fewer than last year, while passenger demand wil] be much higher. Amtrak will have only 379 coaches in service by Laber Day, the article reports, compared to 401 in summer 1978; only 72 diners compared to 92; and 135 sleepers compared to 191. These figures take into account the new Superliner cars being delivered, of which 47 should be running by September.

Rail supporters will be pressing for capital funds and route retentions for Am-

page 5

and the NATIONAL LIMITED, At far left is trailer used as station, Pete Bratz photo,

trak by keeping pressure on their legislators. Several weeks remain for the bulk of this work to be done. Bayond that, other strategies for rebuilding our rail passenger system will be needed. RIN will continue reporting on this matter in the following issues.

Se Sr ES ESRI, EE ELE DPE TT I TE TLS EN OEE LEI ED

AMTRAK CUTBACKS: A CARTOONISTS' FIELD DAY

Editorial cartoonists have long played a significant role in shaping public opinion on political matters, and in the current debate over whether to cut back Aatrak, newspaper cartoonists have found an appealing subject matter, and their results have doubtlessly been influential in putting pressure on legislators and the Administration to retain rail service.

Perhaps the most widely reprinted anti-cutback cartoon is the Herblock creation we described previously, showing Jimay Carter nailing a "closed" sign on a rail- road station, while motorists in a gas line to a service station marked "closed" look on in dismay, Other notable cartoons include:

***\ Kansas City Star cartoon shows a family at an Amtrak station where a sign reads "No more trains by order of Congress." The father hands his car keys to his son, saying "So auch for pleasant, fuel efficient surface mass transit--go hone and get ‘guzzler'*,

***Another Herblock carteon pictures a jammed Amtrak train (passengers on the roof, etc.) and a station sign reading "No more tickets; passenger trains all sold out." Nearby, two Administration officials carrying a sheet of "Planned cuts in Leeks sorvice® scowl: "it's another example of people trying to make us look rid-

culous,

***4 cartoon from the Kansas City Times has an Amtrak ticket agent telling a prospective passenger: "Aw, your flight got cut for lack of fuel and your little car car got no gas gas... like te help you, Bunky, but they done made off with your choo-choo's,"

***Another Kansas City Times cartoon, like the above, by Dan Lynch, has a voice from a car. in a long gasoline line saying: "Clever of you to kill off Amtrak, Mr. Adams... Now we can appropriate that money to rebuild the nation's highways."

A Denver Post cartoon by Keefe pictures an Amtrak train on a trestle which is baing demolished by a wrecker labelled "Congressional Wrecking.” Oblivious to the impending wreck, someone on the train is saying "With all these of] shortages and gas station lines all | can say is thank goodness we still have the train!*

(continued on page 20)

B CALIFORNIA PROPOSES NEW RAIL PLAN

California's Governor Brown on May 31 announced a new plan for funding rail travel projects in the state. Brown proposes to fund new passenger and commuter train projects with an excess profits tax on of] companies operating in the state, and by increased state revenues from gasoline taxes, resulting from the increasing cost of gasoline. These sources would raise $500 million and $610 million respect- ively, while $353 million would come from the state's highway account. Other sour- ces would oring the total budget to $1.8 billion over a 5-year period. The money would be used as follows: $112 million to expand rai] conauter service in Southern California; $20 million for expanding intercity rail service; $150 million for build- ing aore commuter rail lines; $44 million for new transit stations and commuter park- ing lots; $600 million for subsidies and bus purchases for transit systems; $149 nillion for new bus and car-pool freeway lanes; $12 million for expanded bicycle fac- ilities; and $200 million for energy developaent and research.

The Southern California rail commuter service would run between L.A, and Oxnard and between L.A. and San Bernardino, using SP and ATSF lines respectively. Caltrans page 6

Se

envisions two trains each way to begin with on these routes, required about 30 cars to be leased or purchased--perhaps GO trains from Toronto. Later, 3 trainsets for each corridor would be desired.

Intercity rail service improvement would include the planned overnight Sacramento- Southern California train and two daily Sacramento-San Jose runs.

Commuter rail line construction would cover improvements to the San Francisco Muni Railway, construction of a rail transit system in Sacramento, and a Wilshire Boulevard rail line in Los Angeles.

Additional rail commuter service between Orange Sounty and L.A. would also be funded. The state legislature must now approve the transportation plan.

& AMTRAK DROPS RAIL PASS SALES

Amtrak suspended sales of its U.S.A. Rail Pass effective June 4, "until further notice." The present heavy train ridership lead to suspension of the Pass. Amtrak indicated that because of full trains, Pass riders could not always be accommodated. \t was clear to observers that the passenger trains had become a seller's market, and the Pass was not presently needed to fill Amtrak runs.

w ICC SAVES RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR RUN

The Interstate Commerce Commission on May 31, at the last possible date, ruled that the D&RGW cannot drop the segment of the RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR between Salt Lake City and Grand Junction. The ruling came on a 4-1 decision, with Commissioner Rob- ert C. Gresham dissenting. Public reaction in the discontinuance case was felt by an ICC attorney to have been the deciding factor in saving the famed passenger train run. The ICC criticized the railroad for presenting alleged loss figures that cannot be documented. A railroad attorney said his company might appeal the case. The railroad must continue running the train over the full route until at least May 31, 1980, at which time it can again apply for discontinuance. The ICC said that it can order only one year's continuation at a time. A check by RIN locally revealed that in late May the railroad was not accepting reservations beyond the expected termination date, and travel agents were unable to confire a nueber of customers! itineraries. The ZEPHYR still departs Salt Lake City at fam, just ten minutes before Amtrak's PIONEER/SAN FRANCISCO ZEPHYR connection arrives eastbound

: <a ~‘., 3 On the RGZ's scenic run. Aerial photo by Paul Rayton, (A correction: The RGZ photo on pages 12-13 of issue 187 was taken at Soldier's Summit, Utah.)

only three blocks away. This lack of connectivity with Amtrak discourages patronage

eastbound, and particularly on the Utah portion of the route. Some rail supporters are studying the strategy of bringing a suit against Rio Grande to change its east- bound departure time at Salt Lake to a slightly later time to allow connections.

The ICC in its decision noted that "The record indicates a complete lack of promo- tion of the ZEPHYR. There has clearly been a lack of affirmative effort to encour- age patronage... Such promotion must be an indispensible part of any serious prograa

page 7

trak by keeping pressure on their legislators. Several weeks remain for the bulk envisions two trains each way to begin with on these routes, required about 30 cars

of this work to be done. Beyond that, other strategies for rebuilding our rail to be leased or purchased--perhaps GO trains from Toronto. Later, 3 trainsets for

passenger system will ba needed. RIN will continue reporting on this matter in each corridor would be desired.

the following issues. Intercity rail service improvement would include the planned overnight Sacramento-

or ene et eee eo Southern California train and two aly Sacramento-San se Pte Sas ei

AMTRAK CUTBACKS: A CARTOONISTS! FIELD DAY Commuter rail line construction would cover improvements to the oan Francisco Muni Railway, construction of a rail transit system in Sacramento, and a Wilshire

Editorial cartoonists have long played a significant role in shaping public Boulevard rail line in Los Angeles. opinion on political matters, and in the current debate over whether to cut back Additional rail commuter service between Orange County and L.A. would also be

Amtrak, newspaper cartoonists have found an appealing subject matter, and their funded. The state legislature must now approve the transportation plan. results have doubtlessly been influential in putting pressure on legislators and : AMTRAK DROPS RAIL PASS SALES

the Administration to retain rail service. Perhaps the most widely reprinted anti-cutback cartoon is the Herblock creation Amtrak suspended sales of its U.S.A. Rail Pass effective June 4, "until further

we described previously, showing Jinay Carter nailing a "closed" sign on a rail- notice." The present heavy train ridership lead to suspension of the Pass. Amtrak road station, while motorists in a gas line to a service station marked "closed" indicated that because of full trains, Pass riders could not always be accommodated. Lote ini dismay." Other notable: cartoons include: It was clear to observers that the passenger trains had become a seller's market,

A Kansas City Star cartoon shows a family at an Amtrak station where a sign and the Pass was not presently needed to fill Amtrak runs.

ICC SAVES RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR RUN

af Herb] : The Interstate Commerce Commission on May 31, at the last possible date, ruled SAT Hey ele etoeie rictares, 2 lemed tele. trate (oseeeiaers ig that the DARGW cannot drop the segaent of the RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR between Salt Lake out." Nearby, two Administration officials carrying a sheet of "Planned cuts in City and Grand Junction. The ruling came on a 4=1 decision, with Commissioner Rob- train service” scowl: "It's another example of people trying to make us look rid- ert C. Gresham dissenting. Public reaction in the discontinuance case was felt by

son, saying "So much for pleasant, fuel efficient surface mass transit--go hone

reads "No more trains by order of Congress." The father hands his car keys to his and get ‘guzzler'". we

ficulous.* an ICC attorney to have been the deciding factor in saving the famed passenger ***A cartoon from the Kansas City Times has an Autrak ticket agent telling a train run. The ICC criticized the railroad for presenting alleged loss figures prospective passenger: "Aw, your flight got cut for lack of fuel and your little that cannot be documented. A railroad attorney said his company might appeal the car car got no gas gas... like te help you, Bunky, but they done made off with case. The railroad must continue running the train over the full route until at your choo-choo's," least May 31, 1980, at which time it can again apply for discontinuance. The ICC

See said that it can order only one year's continuation at a time. A check by RIN

from Soden er a oriher 1 ratte see ee aint eer ‘— locally revealed that in late May the railroad was not accepting reservations beyond

Adars... Now we can appropriate that money to rebuild the nation's highways." the expected termination date, and travel agents were unable to confire a number of ***A Deaver Post cartoon by Keefe pictures an Amtrak train on a trestle hich custoners' itineraries. The ZEPHYR stil] departs Salt Lake City at 7am, just ten

is being demolished by a wrecker labelled "Congressional Wrecking." Oblivious to ___ Sinutes before Autrak’s PIONEER/SAN FRANCISCO. ZEPHYR connection arrives eastbound

the ispending wreck, someone on the train is saying "With all these oi] shortages ee er ste

and gas station lines all | can say is thank goodness we still have the train!*

(continued on page 20)

Ba CALIFORNIA PROPOSES NEW RAIL PLAN

California's Governor Brown on May 31 announced a new plan for funding rail travel projects in the state. Brown proposes to fund new passenger and commuter train projects with an excess profits tax on of] coepanies operating in the state, and by increased state revenues from gasoline taxes, resulting from the increasing cost of gasoline. These sources would raise $500 million and $610 million respect- ; eas Po aga : Mk . FA ively, while $353 million would come from the state's highway account. Other sour- Sa aac Olea ; e 3 ces would bring the total budget to $1.8 billion over a 5-year period. The money On the RGZ's scenic run. Aerial photo by Paul Rayton. (A correction: The RGZ would be used as follows: $112 million to expand rai] commuter service in Southern photo on pages 12-13 of issue 187 was taken at Soldier's Summit, Utah.)

California; $20 million for inten intercity rail service; $150 million for build- ‘only three three bl ocks away. This lack of connectivity with Amtrak discourages patronage

fa oc cme rl Ties, aon for no tant atationy and come park= Gath a particularly on th tah partion of the route, Som rail supertr nillion for new bus and car-pool freeway lanes; $12 million for expanded bicycle fac- are studying the strategy of bringing a suft against Rio Grande to change its east- iVities; and $200 million for energy devel sed and Pasesech bound departure time at Salt Lake to a slightly later time to allow connections.

‘ é gy 2 The ICC in its decision noted that "The record indicates a complete lack of promo-

The Southern California rail commuter service would run between L.A, and Oxnard * mils tion of the ZEPHYR. There has clearly been a lack of affirmative effort to encour- and between L.A. and San Bernardino, using SP and ATSF lines respectively. Caltrans age patronage... Such promotion aust be an indispensible part of any serious progran

Te page 7

to maximize revenues." One reader reports that Amtrak's computer terminals carry no information on the RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR. The train is the last remaining non-Aatrak long distance passenger train in the U.S.

aS RAIL CANADA x

CANADIAN TURBO DESTROYED NEAR MONTREA

One of VIA Rail Canada's three TurboTrains was destroyed by fire at lroquois, Ontario, about 135 kilometers from Montreal, the evening of May 29, The after- noon train from Montreal to Toronto suddenly caught fire in an isolated area, pos- sibly because of faulty wiring fn the front power car. The fire began in the power car and spread to the next two cars before it was extinguished. The 205 pas- sengers and 6 crew members escaped without panic, and had to walk about 3 kilonet- ers to a rail crossing and wait 3 hours before being picked up by a Rapido train, The three cars were damaged beyond repair, the thin aluminum skin selting in the blaze, as it did in previous fire incidents with the UAsbuilt Turbos, VIA Rail suspended its Turbo service, at least temporarily, indicating it could not operate the service with only two trainsets. VIA contacted Amtrak to inquire about buying its Turbo equipment. Awtrak has 3 trainsets in mothballs at Philadelphia's 308 St. station. |t was the third time a Canadian Turbo had caught fire. In Sept 1975 a Turbo power car burned near Riviere Beaudette, Que., and on Jul 20, 1973 a CN Turbo being delivered to Amtrak was sideswiped by a freight train and was destroyed by fire at Lachine, Que. (see photo and report ia RTN #64). Observers are concerned thatshe..Jatest incident might mean the end of Turbo service for VIA.

SUMMER TRAIN SCHEBULES effective from Jun 17 to Oct 27 were available in Canada about a month before the effective date. VIA put out a 52-page system timetable with full-color cover picturing the SUPER CONTINENTAL in the Rockies. Major sche- dule changes were reported here previously. The timetable also lists connecting Aatrak trains, the Seattle-Victoria "Princess Marguerite", and the Vancouver-Nan- aiao "Princess of Vancouver".

TRANSPORT 2000 CANADA (Alberta branch) advises that a Western Canada toll-free number has been arranged for Canadians to make Amtrak reservations and get infora- ation. The nuaber is 1-800-263-8776.

VICTOR IA-COURTENAY DAYLINER has been hit with a massive 20% fare increase. VIA Rail's fare structure consists of code numbers which are applied to a table giving the fare. The racent "5% average" fare increase produced little or no change in chargss aboard the E&N Dayliner, so VIA decided to u the code numbers. This boo- sted the one-way Victoria-Courtenay fare froa $8 to #10, and the popular 3-day ex- cursion fare from $10 to $13, a 30% increase! Additionally, the boost in the min- jaune fare from $3 to $4 has hurt local traffic.

eee

VIA RAIL CANADA plans to operate dome cars on the Montreal -Gaspe train out of Central station starting next fall, it has been learned. The train's dome, prob- ably one of the Skyline series, will run part-way due to clearance restrictions. It is also expected that a Park car will run from Central Station to St. John, NB. and on to Halffax on the new Maritine rail route. This represents an exten- sion of the ATLANTIC LIMITED route, formerly CP Rail, now running only as far as St. John from Windsor station. Two tracks in Central Station have been aodi fied by the removal of catenary to accept done equipment.

SOUTHERN RAILWAY PASSENGER cars 835, 834, 837, 3787 and dome 1613 have shown up on the Montreal waterfront, destination unknown.

ACP RAIL sulpher train derailed in Fraser Canyon on May 20, causing traffic to be detoured over CN until] about midnight. The same weekend, a VIA Rat] passenger train was being blamed for causing sparks that started a number of brush fires

page 8

along the CP Rail line northwest of Renfrew, Ont., tho no faults were reported fn the VIA equipment. The fires occured May 18. And VIA passengers were bused around a freight derailment, between Moncton and Sackville N.B, on the 18% and 19%,

CANADIAN TRANSPORT COMMISSION has confirmed Transport 2000's contention that not all of last winter's passenger train delays were related to adverse weather. The CIC reported that last Nov, Dec and Jan only 8.7% of VIA's delays were weather- caused. It said that "32.4% were due to operating factors, such as meets, switch- ing and traffic congestion, In addition 32.9% of the delays related to servicing tize and bad order equipaent, 12.2% were related to passenger associated delays, connections, etc., 5.1% were caused by accidents, including sishaps to other trains, and 8.7% were due to plant aaintenance and signal failures."

ONTARIO NORTHLAND RAILWAY runs its POLAR BEAR EXPRESS from Cochrane to Moosonee ("Gateway to the Arctic") daily except Friday from Jun 23=Sep 3. Excursions into this area inaccessible by highway leave at 8:30am and return by 9:20pm, Adult fare is $20, children 5-12 and senior citizens $10. Phone 705~472~4500 ext 217.

VIA RAIL'S CANADIAN derailed about 45 kilometers east of Revelstoke 8.C. early on Jun 3 due to a rock and mud slide. There were no injuries among the 240 aboard, Three cars were reportedly derailed, including one sleeper.

NEW TRANSPORT MINISTER for Canada, following the May national election, is Don Mazankowski, who replaces Otto Lang.

URBAN-SUBURBAN TRANSIT

HEARINGS ARE SET on Conrail's proposed discontinuance of the Chicago-Valparaiso commuter trains. The ICC's hearings will be in Chicage on Jun 25, 26 & 27; in Whi- ting IN on Jun 27; in Gary IN Jun 28; fn Hobart IN Jun 29; and in Valparaiso Jun 30.

THE GASOLINE SHORTAGE was felt in California first, and then began spreading eastward. increased public transit ridership has followed the gas Vines around. SP's comaute line reports a 10% ridership gain, and for a time an extra car, an ax~ SHAST A DAYLIGHT coach, was added to the trains. The American Public Transit Assoc- ijation reports jumps in ridership "all over the country", SEPTA and the Long Island Rail Road reported 5% gains. While transit ridership is up, highway travel is drop- ping, reports the DOT. The DOT said California had 10-15% less travel on highways in the early months of 1979. Since the 1973 energy crisis, highway traffic for the nation as a whole has increased 164. The recent Memorial Day weekand saw the Tow- est travel counts. The DOT surveyed the rural Interstate system (reflecting long- distance travel) and found Arizona down 22%, Georgia down 6%, Michigan off 16.5% and North Dakota down 232. ,

THE LONG ISLAND Rail Road's president appeared on nationvide TV news Tate in May and told of heavy ridership with no new cars in sight, The LIRR told us that the nostly pre-1930 MU cars have been scrapped. Their roster now includes 764 of the latest Budd Metropolitans in electrified MU service, plus 224 modernized cars in diesel-haul service (75 trailers, 138 push-pull, 11 miscellaneous). Forty-five of the diesel-train cars are converted from the 1955-and-later MU cars, with 27 await- ing conversion to push-pull,

ATLANTA'S MARTA ANNOUNCED May 31 that it may start operations on its East Line on Jun 30 instead of Jul 1; starting under the old Federal budget will qualify it for an extra $500,000 in Federal money. The West Line is now being tested with cars,

THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT of Transportation on May 24 asked approval for light rail studies for Sacrasento (Sacramento-Folsom) and for the Santa Clara Valley Cor- ridor (central San Jose-Almaden/Edenvale). At the same time Caltrans said it will accept applications from agencies for projects to improve multi-modal transfer, as jn the Richmond CA Amtrak-BART-bus station project.

SAN FRANCISCO'S CABLE CARS are down for repairs, will operate again on July 4,

page 9

NARP REFUTES RAIL ENERGY REPORT

atrak's national passenger network is saving energy now, and within

a few years will save about 1700 BTUs of energy for every passenger

mile it handles OUTSIDE the Northeast Corridor. This claim is sup-

ported in a 22-page document released June 5 by the National Assoc-

ation of Railroad Passengers. The critique, prepared for NARP by

its executive director, Ross Capon, refutes claims made earlier by a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. NARP found:

*##080 labelled 1977 data as "current" and therefore did not take into ac- count the record-breaking ridership increases Amtrak began experiencing during the current fiscal year even before the gas shortage began;

***CB0 assumed the efficiency of air and rail equipment would improve at the same rate even tho airlines now operate modern equipment and most long-distance trains stil] use 30-year-old cars;

***C80 examined buses and trains solely as competitors, ignoring the fact that ridership on both modes is now near the limits of available equipment.

CBO also neglected to consider the axtent to which Amtrak, as a connecting car- rier, is and can bring business to bus routes they might not otherwise get;

***"(BO acknowledged that it did not examine individual routes outside the Northeast Corridor, and our appendix lists the 'dogs' which drag down the sys- tem average for spacific, correctable reasons";

***8Rail is the only energy-efficient mode attractive enough to win people in large nuzbers from automobiles. ...WHEREVER rail services hava been discon~ tinued to date, the automobile fas been the big winner, ...No matter how effic- jent the automobile becomes, its negative impact on development will continue to provide a strong basis for public policies limiting its use";

***Accurate predictions of the rate at which Amtrak usage, and thus its en- ergy savings, would increase cannot be made. “We believe our results are very conservative and iaprecise, and CBO's results are even more conservative and even less precise. We are talking about a fundamental change in domestic transportation, The American public, according to current Amtrak and bus rid- ership trends, is accepting this change far more readily than various Washing- ton offictals who continue te advocate major curtaflments of heavily used Amtrak services. ...¥e belfeve public transportation ridership will snowball] in response both to deterioration of the gasoline situation and as improvesents are made in Amtrak, intercity bus, and urban transit services and the intercon- QUOTES OF THE WEEK***

“We finished our journey on the HIAWATHA feeling refreshed, and a little

angry. for 40 years, America's railroad passengers have been undesirable alfens, taking up space better filled by coal and dog food. First the railroads and now the governaent has made thes feel unwanted and somehow subversive, as if the only thing that stands between America's boon or bust is a coach ticket to Omaha. No other Western nation has dared to treat its paying customers so shabbily. Ameri- cans have already paid for their railroads three or four times in the past hundred years. Tha sad thing is sost likely Americans will have to pay to get their pas- senger trains back sometime soon, the bil] for that golden spike come due one more

Pie --CBS Corraspondent Richard Threlkeld on CBS-TV's “Sunday Morn- ing", May 13. SLIP OF THE MONTH CLUB*** ; "Monitoring devices showed that 916,935 calls were lost because the caller got a busy signal; 448,657 got through to the Amtrak reservations centers and 330 were

answered and handled by reservations clerks." --lratfic World, May 21.

(Who ere very busy counting lost calls.) page

SUING TO SAVE THE AMTRAK TRAINS

On May 14 the California Dept. of Transportation filed suit to stop the DOT Amtrak cutback plan. Here is the complete text of Caltrans Director Adriana Gianturco's statement of May 14 regarding the lawsuit.

There are many states and millions of people in this country who are disillusi- oned, disappointed and confused at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's intent to begin dismantling the nation's passenger rail service, our most energy-efficient mode of transportation, in the midst of an energy shortage--a shortage that shows every indication of becoming a cri- sis before any solutions are developed. This being the first day of National

Transportation Week, proclaimed by Pre-

sident Carter, it's particularly ironic that Congress has failed to take action to

keep a crucial component of our transpor-

tation system intact. President Carter's proclamation reads, and I quote, "Trans- portation enriches our economy... be- cause of transportation's importance, and to encourage greater safety and efficiency in the ways we develop and use it...I urg the governors of our states and other of- ficials...to join with the U.§. DOT in observing this day and week..." I fail to see how eliminating nearly half of the na- tion's passenger rail system would be re- sponsive to the President's call for pro- viding safe and efficient transportation.

In observance of National Transporta- tion Week, the State of California is today filing suit against the U.S. Dept. of Tran- sportation, Amtrak, and the Federal Railroad Administration to prevent im- plementation of Secretary Adams' Amtrak route restructuring report on October 1.

The grounds for our lawsuit are as follows:

(1) The U.S. DOT report does not in- clude an environmental impact statement as required by the National Environment- al Protection Act. Altho a negative dec- laration is part of the report, it does not adequately address the adverse environ- mental effects that will result from the proposed cutbacks in the Amtrak system. These negative impacts include increased energy consumption by diversion of rail passengers to private automobiles and a corresponding increase in air pollution; the elimination of all modes of public intercity transportation in some cities of the U.S,; the displacement of about 5800 Amtrak employees nationwide and de-

creased business for small businesses which operate as satellite services to the railroad; and the conversion of some tracks to rail freight standards, which would make the reinstitution of passenger service on those tracks subject to future costly capital improvements.

In California, in particular, the U.S. DOT report would eliminate over 300 miles of passenger rail service including the SAN JOAQUIN service between Oak- land and Bakersfield. The report would also restructure the SOUTHWEST LIMIT- ED, the L.A. -Chicago train, so that the trip would take 11 1/2 hours longer than it does now. The report would not pro- vide for additional train service which is needed in the L.A. -San Diego corridor due to increasing ridership and the cur- rent energy shortage, and would not pro- vide adequate service on the COAST STARLIGHT..between L.A. and Seattle.

(2) The U.S. DOT proposal violates the National Historic Preservation Act. Twen- ty-three of the many railroad stations that would be closed have historic significance. (Four of these stations are already includ- ed on the National Register of Historic Places, 17 are potentially eligible for in- clusion--and these include stations in Stockton, Merced, Hanford, and River- bank, California--and two stations are listed on local historical registers. ) Under the DOT plan, a portion of the first transcontinental railroad route in the U.S. would also be eliminated. The National