Santa Fe Railway’s Harvey House Girls Honored

Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 23, 2015 –

 

After Fred Harvey met with Charles Morse (President of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) in 1870s with the idea of setting up Harvey Houses with hotel and dining along the Santa Fe right of way became a reality, a profound change came to the American west. The innovative chain of 84 elegant hotels, lunchrooms and restaurants that predated Route 66, were staffed by single women. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, those women were honored by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez as well as the mayors of Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The anniversary of the Harvey House franchise was celebrated because of what it did for women and the higher standard the Harvey Houses created for the hotel business out west.

Those approximately 100,000 women that staffed the Harvey Houses were frequently immigrants or from small towns that were looking for economic opportunities. Women from farms and small towns earned money and sent it home to help support the family homestead.

The rules the women had to abide by began with not being not married was strictly enforced as well as being clean and well-groomed. The women provided the cooking, cleaning and other upgraded hotel services as these clean and modern establishments offered a superior option to the lower grade nearby hotels. These trackside institutions that were 100 miles apart, flourished until the Route 66 highway was created which gradually eroded the Harvey House luster and ultimately led to their closure when automobile use which no longer limited travelers to hotels near the Santa Fe Railway.

Now, museums along the Santa Fe route dedicated to the Harvey Houses that were actual former facilities. Belen, NM is where the one of the famous 'The Harvey House' establishments once flourished. This museum is dedicated to its history in Belen and is adjacent to the Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) right-of-way.

Amtrak Studies Additional St. Paul-Chicago Rail Service

July 2, 2015 -

Some time ago, Amtrak began to study the feasibility of additional St. Paul-Chicago rail service on behalf of the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation (MnDOT and WisDOT) and La Crosse County, Wisc. The verdict was a clear 'yes'.

The theory is that the second daily train would provide improved eastbound reliability and increased train frequency. An assessment of schedules, ridership, revenue, infrastructure investments, operating costs, and equipment needs associated with adding a second daily train between Minnesota and Chicago closer to midday hours also needed to be examined.

The study assumed the second round trip train would use the same route as the current Empire Builder service between Chicago and St. Paul with the addition of a Milwaukee Airport Rail Station stop.


The study said the St. Paul and Chicago route is the most feasible for initial service with potential extensions to Minneapolis and St. Cloud. It recommends an environmental review of the project, which would have a robust public involvement component and provide eligibility for federal funding. At this time, MnDOT, WisDOT and LaCrosse County are determining how to fund this step.

Annual ridership on the additional daily train, with a morning departure from Chicago and a mid-day departure from St. Paul, is estimated at about 155,000 passengers. This is an increase over the current Empire Builder ridership of approximately 104,000 between St. Paul and Chicago, with departures from St. Paul in the morning and Chicago in the afternoon. The top speed for passenger trains in this corridor is 79 mph.

There are anticipated capital investment costs for infrastructure capacity improvements, with a planning level cost estimate of approximately $95 million for the Chicago to St. Paul scenario. The St. Cloud and Minneapolis scenarios had higher infrastructure costs. If new equipment is required, it would cost an additional $46.4 million.

The study estimates annual state operating support (the difference between ticket revenue and operating and capital equipment costs) for the Chicago to St. Paul initial service would be approximately $6.6 million in 2014 dollars. The cost share among the funding parities for the service would be determined at a later date. Current federal regulations limit Amtrak participation to covering the first 15 percent of the operating cost.

The study is viewable at: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/passengerrail/.

LIRR Massapequa Station Overhaul Is Half Done

Massapequa, LI, NY, August 23, 2014 – The first half of the $40-million reconstruction of the LIRR’s Massapequa station is completed. Beginning on Monday August 25th, the second phase will begin. The project started in the spring of 2013. The current station that was grade separated in 1953.

One of the major features of the project will be the installation of a new pocket track just east of the station as a part of the East Side Access in order to short-turn trains around for the return trip to Manhattan instead of reaching Babylon first.

Currently it serves 6,000 weekday commuters.

Photo caption: A NY Penn Station-bound LIRR M-7 train approaches the 1953 Massapequa station platform after departing from Massapequa Park on Long Island. just to the east of this older platform is where the short-turn track will be built as part of the East Side Access project.

Motorcycle-cade Invades Manhattan With Boots On The Ground

Manhattan, NY, Aug 16 2014 –

A huge throng of motorcyclists that came from around the country entered Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel tonight as the culmination of a three-day ride that began at Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was a rolling memorial from where flight 93 hit the ground on 9-11 twelve years ago. The fund-raising event is part of a support system of families and friends that lost loved ones and co-workers on that tragic day.

The parade of different types of bikes (yes, tricycles too) came out of the Holland Tunnel and turned towards the West Side Highway from Laight Street (2 blocks south of Canal Street) and headed directly into Times Square after turning right near 42 Street.

First Kawasaki M-8 Contract Almost Completed

New Haven, Ct, August 16, 2014 – The initial order of 380 M-8 cars between Metro-North, ConnDOT and Kawasaki is almost completed. To date, 376 have been delivered with another four on the way. A dozen of the 376 are currently being inspected for acceptance testing. The first 38 were built in Kobe, Japan while the rest made in Lincoln, Nebraska.

There are additional add-on orders with some of the last cars possibly could have a bar car configuration.

The ‘Cosmopolitan’ fleet built in the 1970s and 80s has only a handful of emus still in operation but only up until later this year.

As a footnote, Kawasaki is building M-9 commuter emu cars costing $1.83 billion for the MTA’s commuter agencies, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.

Photo caption: A pair of Metro-North M-8 emus in Grand Central Terminal. The initial contract of 380 Kawasaki-built emu cars is almost completed. Note that the destination on one trainset says New Haven while the other says Grand Central.

AIRTRAIN NEWARK SUSPENDED SATURDAY SUMMER NIGHTS FROM 10 PM THROUGH 8 AM

Newark Liberty International Airport’s rail link replaced with free shuttle buses between and terminals

The Port Authority is suspending AirTrain Newark service from 10 p.m. Saturdays through 8 a.m. Sunday mornings for system wide maintenance work during the summer. Free shuttle buses are available for travelers using NJ Transit and Amtrak trains from Newark Liberty International Airport’s rail link station to and from the terminals and parking lots.

During the outage, all buses display appropriate route information on their electronic signs.
For further updates on AirTrain Newark, please check http://www.paalerts.com/recent_airportalerts.aspx.

MTA's Subway Time App Expanded to Staten Island Railway

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Staten Island, August 15, 2014 -  The ability to download 'countdown clock' information has evolved from a nicety into a necessity for some in the New York Metropolitan area. The MTA's Subway Time app which displays real time subway and bus arrival times on their smartphones, now includes the entire Staten Island Railway (SIR).

MTA New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco stated in a press release that, “We want to give our Railway customers more options to get updated arrival information so that they can plan accordingly and get to where they need to go safely and on time. We always like to say, 'Know before you go,' and this Subway Time app update puts that information in the hands of Staten Islanders."

The newly anointed Staten Island Railway vice president and chief officer Frank Jezycki, said, "The Subway Time app has been very successful with our subway customers, and we are happy to bring it to Staten Island. It is part of our ongoing commitment to providing the best service possible while investing in new technology and using it to become more efficient."

The new app is to supplement the four stations on Staten Island utilizing physical LED countdown clocks at Great Kills, Eltingville, Annadale and Huguenot. Staten Island Borough President James Oddo is in favor of expanding the program placing the LED signage or the rest of SIR by allocating $250,000 in capital funding.