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DART marks 250,000,000 light rail passenger trips in June

July 3rd, 2012

DALLAS, TX — Don Johnson wasn’t quite sure what to expect when a small group of people and a gaggle of news cameras converged on him as he got off the Red Line at Union Station on an early June Monday morning. What he soon found out was he was making history and the crowd was on hand to help celebrate.

Johnson was the 250 millionth customer on Dallas Area Rapid Transits’ light rail system. The daily rider was greeted by DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas and Michael Melaniphy, president and chief executive officer of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), who was is in Dallas for the annual APTA Rail Conference. Johnson was also congratulated by Cathy Rigby, who will appear in “Peter Pan” July 10 at Fair Park.

“I started riding DART because of gas prices about 10 years ago,” Johnson said. “But it’s comfortable and gives me a chance to read while I’m on the train so I stayed. I love DART.”

Johnson, who is from DeSoto, TX and works at Vent-a-Hood in Richardson, was randomly selected from commuters by DART staff to represent all riders of the 72 mile, 55-station system that began 16 years ago. DART Rail ridership is calculated on a variety of factors, including statistical sampling.

As part of the recognition, DART will award the customer four monthly Regional passes good for use in July, along with tickets to popular destinations such as the Dallas Zoo, Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park, Hawaiian Falls, Dallas Summer Musicals and the Museum of Nature & Science.

“This is a great day and a neat milestone for us,” Thomas said. “But I’m also thinking about the individual trips and special moments that preceded this one. School kids made their first trips to the zoo, or a Mavericks’ or Stars’ game on DART. People have met, gone on first dates and found their spouses on DART. Our customers plan special outings around our service. We’ve really become woven into the fabric of the region and that’s what’s exciting to me.”

  • Light Rail / Commuter
  • November/December 2019

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  • Going Somewhere

    When Ken Jaglinski drew up layout plans for the Ashland, Superior & Pacific in the early 1980s he fashioned them so trains would run in and out of view across the landscapes much like prototypes. “I like it when trains seem to be going somewhere and you lose continuous sight of them,” he said.  That’s just one illusion created by Jaglinski on the layout that is a Milwaukee-area fixture and was featured on the NMRA’s 75th Anniversary National Convention layout tour in 2010.

  • Isn’t that neat

    The “What’s Neat This Week in Model Railroading” and “What’s Neat” podcasts are attracting a legion of YouTube viewers. Depending on the time of year, some podcasts – which talk about anything model railroading – generate 28,000-50,000 views.

     

    – Courtesy Ken Patterson

     

     

  • PLUS…

    Greenbrier Companies’ new Tsunami Gate grain hopper debuted in September at the Minneapolis Railway Interchange with lightning-fast unloading speeds…

     

    Illinois Central’s Panama Limited basked in the glory of the Panama Canal by offering all-Pullman service…

     

    Curing electrical pickup issues on one HO-scale locomotive is possible by soldering wheel rivets…

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS!

     

     

    BONUS WEB COVERAGE: Adding a little clutter to right of ways adds realism without overdoing it on the Cowcatcher’s project layout, the Northwest Tarrant & Pacific Railroad…

     

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    WALTHERS HO MODERN YARD OFFICE

     

     

    Walthers’ recently introduced HO-scale Modern Yard Office kit is an example of today’s common practice of converting industrial shipping containers into living spaces. Containers can be used for a variety of applications on model railroads, including offices, apartments and storage buildings.

     

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