Longest Amtrak System Straightaways

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KmH

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Is this heaven? No. It's Iowa.
About 9.3 miles South of the station in Savannah, there's a stretch that seems to be about 46.3 miles of straight track according to the Rule Tool of Google Earth. The FRA map mileposts show it to be only 37.8 miles or 18% less! But my test measurements of runways using the Rule on Google Earth show it has an error of only about 0.01%, so I'm sticking with the Google Earth measurements.

Then there's one that seems about 57.2 miles long between Okeechobee and West Palm Beach FL. And for this stretch of track, the FRA map mileposts show it as about 57.5 miles. Happy happy, joy joy!

[Lordy, I've just got to get a life! :p ]
 
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Isn't there a long straight set of tracks from east of Petersburg to a turn west of Norfolk? I've never been there, so just a suggestion.

Maybe worth mentioning is a stretch west of Houston on the Sunset Ltd., ah, between Rosenberg-East Bernard-Eagle Lake. My road atlas shows about 41 miles there, apparently straight for up to 20 miles for either segment. Well, it's been a few years since I drove down Hwy 90-A, but railroad and paralleling road are straight for an impressive distance thru coastal plains and rice paddies. Daylight both directions.

Not in the current system, there's a long straight stretch thru NW Ohio, breaking off from the Lake Shore/Capitol Ltd route to head southwesterly toward Ft. Wayne. It's been mentioned to possibly be upgraded to high(er) speed rail, or even HSR, if and when a Cleveland-Toledo-Ft Wayne-CHI corridor gets serious.
 
There are some highway segments that are long and straight like that also. First I road on the late 1950's was the Seney Stretch -- about 25 miles on Michigan state highway 28 in the U.P.
 
[i just hope nobody starts a quest for the longest stretch of track with NO straight sections!]
 
[i just hope nobody starts a quest for the longest stretch of track with NO straight sections!]
Wouldn't that be a circle? Infinite length and no straight sections. :)
I would argue that although you could go infinitely around a circle, it does not have infinite length. There are rail systems that have a loop on each end so a train could theoretically run around indefinitely yet the track length is not infinite. However, a very large circle would qualify for the title. :)
 
There are several 30+ mile straight sections on the CONO in Illinois. As far as curves go, the longest continuous railway curve in the world in on the CONO's route in Louisiana. The south end of the curve in at the Bonne Carre Spillway near where the tracks go under I-10 and the north end of the curve is just south of Pass Manchac in Ruddock.
 
I would think some place in the Midwest would be earning this title maybe on the Hiawatha route.

For a random fun fact the longest straight stretch of any railroad In the USA is the Ex Seaboard Airline Railroad's route from Hamlet to Wilmington NC. Somewhere in that section of track is 78 track miles of due straight track. I want to say Amtrak has detoured over part of this once or twice.

The longest straight stretch in the world is in Australia and it is 297 miles long. I would hate to run that.
 
Somewhere in that section of track is 78 track miles of due straight track. I want to say Amtrak has detoured over part of this once or twice.
That straight section starts about 8 miles from Hamlet NC at MP 262 and were it not for that very short curve at MP 341, the straight section would be about 98 miles long.

If Amtrak had ever detoured there it could have used only about about 24 miles of that 78 mile long straight section. Once past Pembroke, heading ESE, there's no outlet.
 
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Longest one yet is between Butler IN and Toledo OH. FRA milepost distance is about 68.6 miles and Google Earth Rule tool says about 68.5 miles.
 
Seaboard92 mentions the line to Wilmington as having the longest straight stretch. The link below is for the 2015 NC DOT study that includes passenger rail in that state. It targets expansion of rail service to Wilmington from Charlotte and Raleigh between 2020 and 2035. However that will be via the former original NS RR line through Goldsboro. But it does show a proposed study for the direct route Charlotte to Wilmington via Hamlet. A proposed study means I won't see it in my lifetime!

That line has always been a secondary route and rated on only a diesel powered motor car (with mail/baggage compartment) with rider coach. Average speed from Hamlet to Wilmington in 1950 was a leisurely 39mph for the 111 mile trip. Not a very good use of all that straight track.

https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/RailPoliciesDocument/2015%20Comprehensive%20State%20Rail%20Plan-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf
 
Thanks for bringing attention to the non-Amtrak straightaway in NC.

Possible or previously used detour routes don't count since they aren't a regular part of the Amtrak system.

Is the 52 mile straight Petersburg to Suffolk the Longest straight on the Amtrak system?

Or just the longest mentioned so far?
 
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Is the 52 mile straight Petersburg to Suffolk the Longest straight on the Amtrak system?

Or just the longest mentioned so far?
Neither. See Post #3 for a 57 mile straight stretch and Post #17 for a 68 miler.
 
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About 9.3 miles South of the station in Savannah, there's a stretch that seems to be about 46.3 miles of straight track according to the Rule Tool of Google Earth. The FRA map mileposts show it to be only 37.8 miles or 18% less! But my test measurements of runways using the Rule on Google Earth show it has an error of only about 0.01%, so I'm sticking with the Google Earth measurements.

Then there's one that seems about 57.2 miles long between Okeechobee and West Palm Beach FL. And for this stretch of track, the FRA map mileposts show it as about 57.5 miles. Happy happy, joy joy!

[Lordy, I've just got to get a life! :p ]
I would say that section is about 42.7 miles. According to the schedules, it is 52 miles from Savannah to Jesup, and the track curves perhaps half a mile south of the Jesup station, So subtracting 9.3 miles, you get 42+ miles. CJ
 
About 9.3 miles South of the station in Savannah, there's a stretch that seems to be about 46.3 miles of straight track according to the Rule Tool of Google Earth. The FRA map mileposts show it to be only 37.8 miles or 18% less! But my test measurements of runways using the Rule on Google Earth show it has an error of only about 0.01%, so I'm sticking with the Google Earth measurements.

Then there's one that seems about 57.2 miles long between Okeechobee and West Palm Beach FL. And for this stretch of track, the FRA map mileposts show it as about 57.5 miles. Happy happy, joy joy!

[Lordy, I've just got to get a life! :p ]
I would say that section is about 42.7 miles. According to the schedules, it is 52 miles from Savannah to Jesup, and the track curves perhaps half a mile south of the Jesup station, So subtracting 9.3 miles, you get 42+ miles. CJ
The track curves about 5 miles north of Jesup station, which when added to the curved section just south of Savannah station would equal about 14 miles. If you subtract 14 from 52 (the distance between the stations), it would equal 38 miles, or roughly the distance the FRA map shows. However, the straight section continues northeast into Savannah after the Amtrak line diverges to approach the station. This section is about 8-9 miles, which when added to the 38 equals 46-47 miles, or roughly the Google Earth distance. To summarize, the straight section is 46.3 miles (Google Earth measures distance). However, Amtrak only operates over 37.8 miles of this straight track (FRA distance).
 
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Longest one yet is between Butler IN and Toledo OH. FRA milepost distance is about 68.6 miles and Google Earth Rule tool says about 68.5 miles.
This is correct, the longest tangent track regularly used by Amtrak, but it isn't the longest tangent track in the US. In addition to that segment mentioned in North Carolina, there is a longer tangent segment on the ex Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific's "Golden State Route", somewhere in the vicinity of Enid, Oklahoma.
 
Longest one yet is between Butler IN and Toledo OH. FRA milepost distance is about 68.6 miles and Google Earth Rule tool says about 68.5 miles.
This is correct, the longest tangent track regularly used by Amtrak, but it isn't the longest tangent track in the US.
It's not the longest in the world either, but KmH's quest was for the "Longest Amtrak System Straightaways". If you sniff around here... http://www.openrailwaymap.org/ ...you might even find one longer than Seaboard92's 297 mile groaner in Australia. This is, after all, a forum about Amtrak.

Regards
 
However, Amtrak only operates over 37.8 miles of this straight track (FRA distance).
Your 37.8 miles is correct. I got lost somewhere and came up with an erroneous 46.3 miles using Goggle Earth. Found the way, thanks to your post, and came up with about 37.9 miles this time using either the FRA map or Google Earth. Those curve transitions sure do make it hard to tell where the tangent point is.

Does that stretch between Butler IN and Toledo OH look like about 68.5 to 68.6 to you?
 
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