http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/culver-092409
Iowa’s Governor rode the southern route delivering rail partnership proposals.
A tip of the hat to the IA Gov.!
The Governor rides the BNSF/Amtrak route (Creston-Mt Pleasant-Burlington) to promote rail travel, but the proposal on the table is to extend the Illinois-sponsored service from Chicago to the Quad Cities to Iowa City on the Iowa Interstate using the federal dime to upgrade the route.
However, according to the Governor, the Iowa City application has a major advantage in the race for federal bucks, namely: “Culver said that green line, and others that may come after it, will use biodiesel and soy lubricant; its conductors will punch paperless tickets; and the depots will be certified as energy efficient.”
Oh, well, at least he got a train ride and his name in the local paper.
It’s really good to see Governor Culver doing so much for promoting rail passenger service in my home state of Iowa. My only thing is that any new service from Chicago to (possibly) Omaha should be on the UP’s “Overland Route” mainline. The costs invovlved with getting the IAIS (former RI) mainline back in shape again for 79 mph service would be staggering. With the Overland Route mainline, you get a mainline that is pretty much ready right now that can handle that service.
What a crock!
You’re being too kind.
Why? Because the state of Iowa finally has a Governor that is pro-passenger rail and your state doesn’t?
Was the ex-ROCK main through Iowa ever at 79 MPH condition? I doubt it ever was from the early 60’s forward to the 1980 bankruptcy shutdown.
BTW - has anyone ever eaten at the restaurant that is in old ROCK depot in Grinnell, IA? I’ve often thought of parkin’ myself in there to see what rolls-by on the UP (ex-M&StL) and the IAIS for a day but I never got to it when I lived in Iowa.
It may have been back in the day; not sure as I really didn’t grow up very close to it. My point is that it’s going to take a lot of $$$$$$$ to get that mainline back in shape for passenger service again. Which is why I think the former CNW “Overland Route” mainline has to be strongly considered.
Actually much cheaper to put the trains onto the proposed BNSF-IAIS route than on UP. There is not a lot of freight traffic on IAIS, but there is on UP. Track upgrade costs are not high on IAIS; it’s already Class III and would not need much to go to Class IV. Public documents show the cost estimates.
RWM
Where do the voters live? Compare the size of communities on each route. Forget me not the State of Illinois which is to pick up part of the tab. Key to both states is the Quad Cities. The University Iowa has a lot of Chicago area students roughly 50 miles into Iowa.
Iowa City maybe where the additional service terminates, but not support to keep going west.
With political support as the prime mover, next stop Des Moines. Iowa’s largest City and State Capital sees the return of rail passenger service after nearly 40 years. Improving the old Rock Island for passenger service also stands to improve freight service. Online shippers probably will not protest and local quasi government economic development agencies will pitch freight connections along with passenger timetables.
Omaha, ho? If it happens, the Omaha/Chicago corridor has three rail lines capable of 79 MPH passenger service and fast freight. Voters are more numerous along route of the old Route of the Rockets. Incumbent office holders will remind them who made it happen.
If the Union Pacific would agree to host passengers not all that far to the north, there are considerations other than just the dollars to start the service.
Strictly in terms of upgrading from Class III to Class IV perhaps. However, the other two considerations to keep in mind are sidings and signaling. The former RI signal system was gutted/vandalized after bankruptcy in 1980 and I would have to think that any new signaling system would be staggering in cost. Also, sidings could be a problem as well between the Quad Cities and Iowa City.
If service would be on UP’s “Overland Route”, you still get Clinton, Cedar Rapids (just 22 miles north of Iowa City), Marshalltown, Ames (home of Iowa St. - and I’m an Iowa grad!), Boone, Carroll, and Denison so you’ve still serving some decent sized towns that are not that far away from the IAIS route.
How eerie it is that the argument over which route for new Amtrak service across Iowa seems almost like 1955 again when the “Cities” streamliners got switched to the MILW from the CNW for the Chicago - Omaha segment. Deja vu, indeed.
I’m aware of the signal and siding costs. “Staggering” was not a word that came to my mind as I looked at the numbers a few minutes ago, but I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder.
Lines with heavy freight traffic and an existing wayside signal system are often by far the highest cost lines on which to place passenger trains. The signal system may need 100% replacement because it is incorrectly spaced, doesn’t have enough aspects, isn’t PTC-compatible, and is obsolete. And it will be much more expensive to replace a signal system under traffic, and on a multiple-main track railroad, then it is on a line that can run TWC right up to cut-over and doesn’t have nearly the number or complexity of control points or operations as the high-density railroad. Also, the high-density railroad will likely needs lots of crossovers and sidings to weave the passenger trains around the freight, whereas the low-density railroad has so few meet-pass events that the number of sidings it needs is very few.
That’s just speaking from experience, which like photographic film, may change with time.
RWM
Yes the Rock Island main could handle 79MPH. According to the Rock Island schedule in 1964; the Rocky Mountain Rocket left Davenport Iowa at 4:23 PM CST and arrived at Iowa City at 5:25 PM CST. I make that just about 83 MPH for the run. The distance between Davenport Iowa and Iowa City is 84 miles according to the Rock Island timetable.
Davenport is MP 183.5, Iowa City MP 236.9, or 53.4 miles, which is 52.5 mph. But that’s not important – the geometry of the main track between those two fine Iowa cities was at that time good for 79 mph, except for a couple of restrictive curves.
RWM
This is why I am increasingly losing interest in this forum. Expression of personal opinion about politics and politicians is not of interest to me.
RWM
I’m with you, RWM. I may be conservative-minded and not agree with alot my governor does or stands for, but I don’t consider him a moron. It’s comments like that that have lowered my personal rating of this site to #3 on my list of favorite social sites.
I have deleted the more objectionable post of the two by this author, accompanied by my usual private explanation to him. His first is merely a relativistic opinion and can be left as is… don’t feel the need to either expound upon it or to challenge it…please, and thanks.
And thanks for your patience…I have been away most of the day, as have apparently the other mods.
And kudos to those of you who have managed to keep it from coming off the rails.[:D]
-Crandell
Sidings west of Bureau are Atkinson 9500’, Silvis 12000’, Moline 6000’ (may be on the BNSF trackage), Walcott 6520’, Twin States (west of Durant) 4980’, North Star (west of Wilton) 12272’ and West Liberty 4200’. At one time this line had two main tracks, all but the last 15+ miles between Iowa City and West Liberty lasted up to the 1980 shutdown.
The last RI employee time table that still had passenger trains west of the Quad Cities (1969) still allowed a maximum speed of 70mph. Looking at the times between stations it seems schedule was figured about 60mph. A few places speed would have been a bit higher than 60 to maintain the schedule.
Jeff
Well, just put me down as convinced that any money spent on such a project would certainly be wasted. And we don’t have any money to waste.
But it is amazing to look at the passenger train service that Iowa once had. Good, fast trains that went where people wanted to go, or at least to places such as Chicago and Kansas City where they could connect to where they wanted to go.
I’m partial to the the Rock Island Rockets. CRI&P #506, the Des Moines Rocket, left its namesake city at 7:15 AM. It carried a first class parlor lounge, a full dinner, and coaches. It made 10 scheduled and 2 conditional stops en route to Chicago but still covered the 358 miles in 360 minutes.
If you needed to be in Chicago early for a business meeting you could always board a sleeper in Des Moines anytime after 9:30 PM and retire. #8, the eastbound Rocky Mountain Rocket would pick you up at 2:30 AM and have you at La Salle Street Station by 8:50. Of course, a full breakfast was available in the dining car.
Want to go to Los Angeles from Des Moines. Just board a coach or sleeper on #507, the Twin Star Rocket leaving DM at 4:58 PM. These cars will be switched to #3, the Golden State at Kansas City and you’ll be in LA second Morning. This was one of 3 daily trains each way between the Twin Cities and Kansas City that served Des Moines (two with continuing service to Texas.)
I could go on. Other communities in Iowa also had very good rail passenger service on the IC, Milwaukee, C&NW, and CB&Q. But you get the idea. (These examples are from a 1956 Official Guide)
When good roads and air travel became available people (at least most people) got off the trains and either drove or flew.
Now just what makes the Governor of Iowa or anyone on this discussion bo