I'm thinking you could add some left over Delorean parts from those "Back to the Future" movies to the bus, add a flux capacitor, fill it with vegetable oil, and travel in celery time. But then again, I just ate some ice cream way too fast.

Oh no. Terrie please don't learn any more about anything! You wouldn't be half as much fun and interesting knowing more about anything. I reserve the right to change my mind about everything as soon as it's no longer as interesting as it was a moment ago.

So I was thinking.... The Swiss and the Germans have trains that are famous for running on time. Their sense of humor runs along the same lines. Even they know they're rarely funny. How many Swiss comedians do you know?

So, don't go thinking we need to know more about anything, it'd wouldn't be nearly as much fun arguing and jumping up and down about everything. Come to think of it, we are like the train systems we fund (or neglect to fund). We're adventurous, romantic, thrilling, with stretches of long boring monologues to fill the lonely hours. I'm good for that part...

Saw an ad on t.v. earlier for the new trains. 4 hours from Scotland to London. That's half the time it used to take. Will be interesting to see how much that will cost. I wonder if Richard Branson might consider buying the City of Orleans? It's worth a try.

I think you just defined "congress".

China still manufactures and sells steam locomotives for about $1,000,000 apiece.

Cheaper than using diesel.

Mmm, steam lokies... my favorite!

Oh, speaking of trains... in honor of Gordon's newest CD, Arlo's Last Train and CONO, I was going to make "steam lokie" cookies.... but I dislocated a few ribs and have been in way too much pain, so there won't be any train cookies this weekend, as I had originally posted a few weeks ago on another thread that I'm too tired to go searching for. Maybe in October.

Soooooo...how to get 'em the rest?

Arlo, you might remember May 2000 in Pittsburgh, doing a concert in the Chevrolet Amphitheatre. It's an outdoor venue (actually a glorified tent) located smack near a set of railroad tracks. Trains chug by loudly, blowing their whistles, during concerts. Wouldn't make a difference if we were listening to, say Hendrix or the Sex Pistols, but it's been known to disrupt many acoustic performances.

Anyways, I remember the train rolling by & interrupting one of your monologues. You waited for the train to go by & much to the audience's amusement, you waved to it & told it, "I'll do that one later!"

In the summer of '03 I saw Peter Paul & Mary there. Every time the train rolled by, they'd completely stop what they were doing & start singing a song about trains---a different one each time.

A long-winded way of saying that the venue would be the perfect setting for a multi-artist benefit concert, maybe a live CD of the show on Rising Son, with proceeds going to the railroad industry! How about it---Arlo, PP&M, maybe Ramblin' Jack, et. al.

I'll waive my usual fee I charge for coming up with brilliant ideas.

Thank you Arlo for starting thread.

I have not read all the posts, but I will. And then I will be back with more organized thoughts. But for now, I want to through these items out:

I believe when Amtrak was set up, it was not supposed to be a profitable "business" it was set up as something else. (I dont know the legal or political term) Then that was changed mid-stream and they were told to opperate as a business and had X amount of years to show a profit.(and please - more informed people chime in with the proper details until I can look up specifics.)

I read a poster in Penn Station a few years ago, that said that for 6 straight years (even back then) the planes support by the government had been increased (at one point doubled)...and Amtraks support had been decreased. Im not going to guess at the numbers (memory fails for specifics) but the difference were astronomical - in both directions. That also doesnt count all the governmental "perks" that the airlines enjoy that the trains to not get.

People with disabilities, old people who cannot see well, who dont have the dexterity to drive any longer. Trains go to little towns and communities that planes fly over. The trains are their best and sometimes only freedom. Do we just forget them? Im on the trains all the time and have heard all the stories of "seeing the grandbaby" for the first time.

I'll throw in the obvious - profit and pollution. Fossil fuels and Pres. Bush's cronies. Of course they want the long distance trains dismantled. They are the only REAL competition to the airlines. Clean, non or at least less polluting and not dependant on Bush's buddies (American and ?Otherwise?).

Everyone should treat themselves to a ride over the Sierra Nevada's on a train. See things no car, can get to. Look down on snow covered trees in June. Breathtaking! Catch a glimpse of the mountains in the distance and then watch the grow more impressive - larger and larger -over the course of 24 hours until you start your climb. Some things have nothing to do with money.

And my best case for the trains...for the first 3 days after 9/11, (Maybe our President and "Leader" didnt notice, because he was in hiding for the first 2 1/2) you couldn't get anywhere by air - The Planes were grounded NATIONWIDE... Except for the immediate NY area - the first day - THE TRAINS RAN. The trains...Amtrak long distance trains...were how many people, including myself were THE ONLY WAY to be able to get home during a national emergency.

About htat hydrogen, there was an ad in FHM magazine about a new motorcycle that runs on a hydrogen cell. you can go 50 mph and a couple hundred miles before you need to charge it again.

i wonder what it costs to charge?

If you wipe out will you explode like an h-bomb?

Joe Bloggs has a great idea about doing a benefit concert, but in case this is still unclear to people, THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY is doing fine, having let their passenger service run into the ground years ago. It's AMTRAK that needs the support and the funding, and unfortunately that can only be done through those same politicos.

Maybe if the proceeds from the concert could be spent on some good lobbyists or getting some more of the right people elected, we'd get someplace.

...."I'm changing my name to Chrysler
I'm going down to Washingon DC..." (rest under lyrics).....

it keeps running through my head.....so join me.....i hate solos running through my head....
so Amtrak needs Lee Iacocca....

...though i'm not sure politically i love trains and have taken them many times instead of those flying machines.....the Montrealer, from DC to Montreal was an amazing trip....piano car, folks singin and talkin, playing cards .... wakin up in the AM in Vermont....breakfast in the dining car travellin through the mountains......at 4am the engineer misses the station and has to back up and everyone laughs....makes me nearly old enough to remember when travellin was part of the trip, not just something to get through....

...so i can get behind the money from anywhere thing...i don't know if it's politically correct or not......they're too important to lose....

but Reg, on the disabled thing....true as it is, there are alot of stations now, smaller ones (including Pittsfield) that are unmanned...or unwomanned....so you can't take a wheelchair off.....sad, eh.....

support your local trains....early and often....

"Long-distance Amtrak routes saved"
http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cf ... -05&cat=WW


I rode the CONO back in 1962 on my senior class trip. It was great because we could start relaxing and having fun the minute we left the St Louis train station (we connected to CONO in Carbondale Illinois). The train environment allowed us plenty of time to move around and talk with everybody in the class, not just close friends. New Orleans was wonderful, but I'll always remember how our senior class bonded as one group on the train.

hey ADG what you wrote here: I'm not afraid of the future... I'm looking forward to thinking about the past. would make a great song. Hint, Hint...

I'm an Amtrak train dispatcher in NYC so I'm a bit biased on this issue. Arlo, thank you so much for your informed and in my opinion enlightened thoughts on Amtrak's funding. It means a lot to this railroader that you're in our corner. I suppose I should be happy the House has voted to fund us at $1.17 billion but I really have mixed feelings. There's a sense of relief that my employment situation will remain relatively stable for another year, but beyond that no real satisfaction. Amtrak has been down this road so many times before. This country's leaders can't seem to decide whether America should have a true state of the art rail passenger network. but they lack the will (guts) to shut Amtrak down, so instead, year after year, they allocate only enough money to barely maintain the system, leaving nothing to expand or improve service. I'm amazed we're able to provide the consistently high levels of service we do with the resources we have. But the fight is only half over. The Senate will consider Amtrak's appropriations request after the 4th of July recess and they can agree with the House or come up with their own number. So please contact your Senators and show your support for Amtrak. Thanks!