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COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

Midwest rail needs long-term planning, FRA official says

May 1, 2012 / Updated August 29, 2012

Passenger Rail

KANSAS CITY, MO — Speaking at the Northern Flyer Alliance’s Passenger Rail Symposium in April, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo stressed the need for long-term planning to create market-driven passenger rail corridors.

At the symposium, at Kansas City’s Union Station, was held to create a venue for public officials, business owners, community leaders and other stakeholders from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to discuss the expansion of passenger rail as a fiscally sound approach to the region’s transportation issues.

With population expected to grow by 100 million in the next 40 years, America’s economic competiveness in the 21st century will require its highways, airports, railways and public transit systems to work together seamlessly in a way that moves people and goods faster and more efficiently, Szabo said.

“Progress doesn’t happen overnight – it becomes a reality after each state lays a solid foundation through good planning and analysis,” he said. “I am pleased to see the planning work currently taking place in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, proving that strong, long-term planning leads to the creation of a market-driven rail plan that benefits communities throughout the corridor.”

With more than $10 billion in funding, the FRA and 32 state partners are proceeding with 154 High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program projects. A federal investment of $2.5 billion thus far has allowed the Midwest region to improve reliability, trip times and station development in the last three years.

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Katy Flavor

Growing up in Central Texas in the 1980s, David Heyde loved big machinery. Only natural for a boy surrounded by a mighty river complemented by steamboats, an active Army airfield and regional airport, and equipment that tended row upon row of corn, soybeans and other grains. What loomed largest, though, was the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. Heyde’s MKT Central Texas Subdivision, a compact but bold HO-scale layout, captures on two levels around the walls the zest of the iconic railroad that ran from Kansas City and St. Louis to Galveston, TX, and the Gulf of Mexico. All while maximizing space in what once was a one-car garage.

Holding Steady

This year’s National Narrow Gauge Convention is coming home, where it all began 45 years ago. The Mudhens will once again have a large presence at the convention Sept. 3-6 in St. Louis. Over the last four decades, their rise has been rather circuitous. While developing national appeal in narrow-gauge circles, these dedicated modelers from St. Louis to Arizona to Texas have persevered.

Personal Switcher

The Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad (KCRR) debuted in early March, with no small impact on a parcel of track along the former Missouri Pacific Railroad near the Kansas-Missouri line. What’s turning heads, says KCRR president Rich Duncan, is that the tiny Class III short line is rewriting the railroad marketing narrative on first-mile, last-mile service with a new level of dedicated switching so its three customers can better connect to the Union Pacific.

Plus

Columnist Michelle Kempema writes that model railroaders and railfans can preserve their legacy for a good cause, railroads once ran special trains in enormous size and variety and autonomous battery-electric rail cars are being piloted on two Georgia short line railroads. Also, one modeler looking for something unique for his layout found just the thing in an old model railroad magazine - plans to scratch build a rock bunker. And more!