Amtrak, TXDOT to study new service between Shreveport and D/FW
May 1, 2012 / Updated August 29, 2012
Passenger Rail
Amtrak, its Texas Eagle seen here in Longview, TX, and TXDOT are studying the feasibility for new service between Bossier City-Shreveport and Dallas/Fort Worth. – CHRISTOPHER FOX/Cowcatcher Magazine
Amtrak and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have agreed on the scope of a feasibility study for new Amtrak service between Bossier City-Shreveport in Northwest Louisiana and along the Interstate 20 corridor to Dallas and Fort Worth.
TxDOT and Amtrak officials joined members of the East Texas Corridor Council in March to recognize the start of work to study new service by conventional trains with a maximum speed of 79 m.p.h..
Amtrak will estimate order-of-magnitude capital requirements and operating costs needed to provide state-sponsored passenger rail service, with trains making up to seven intermediate stops and operating up to two daily round-trips.
The study will consider potential schedules, operating costs, revenue and ridership, railcar and locomotive requirements, and capital needs for infrastructure improvements.
Union Pacific Railroad, which owns much of the route, will determine rail capacity.
The rail segment between Marshall, TX, and Fort Worth is served now by Amtrak’a Texas Eagle as part of its Chicago-San Antonio/Los Angeles route with one daily frequency in each direction and intermediate stops.
An operating session on the Split Rock Mining Co. Railroad is pretty straightforward. A three-person crew works the freelance HO-scale railroad with the sole purpose of transporting iron ore mined in Northern Minnesota to a freighter on Lake Superior. Instructions for the operators can be communicated in a few words before the shift begins. Pull all loads at the mine. Take them to the boat. Take all empties from the boat back to the mines. Rinse and repeat. There are no car cards or manifests. Switching is done by colors, and, yes, there is a rhyme and reason on this Alco-driven layout based on railroading on the Iron Range in Minnesota.
A new generation of freelance railroads is taking model railroading by storm, gaining prominence through online videos and social media. The ages-old modeling technique is attracting young modelers and unlocking creative license in veteran hobbyists.
In Southern Wyoming, OmniTRAX is handling switching for two mines in a region known for its prolific coal mining operations. The mines deliver about 17 million tons of trona, a sodium carbonate compound that is processed into soda ash or bicarbonate of soda, and OmniTRAX is increasing safety and managing efficiencies in moving inbound and outbound cars.
G&G Model Shop in Southwest Houston credits flexibility and personalized service for its 80 years serving the model railroad community. Rapido Trains delivers an N-scale replica of the Santa Fe Railway’s storied SFRD RR-56 refrigerator car, reviewed in this issue. Also, the romance of the circus and railroads united in the circus train, which endured as the greatest shows on earth’s sideshow. And more!
