Fun Facts about Amtrak’s Network

[tommylicious]

This reminds me of "Fun with Flags" from Big Bang Theory...

 

[afigg]

The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle goes through Bombay Beach, CA, a small town next to the Salton Sea.

The elevation relative to sea level of Bombay Beach is an average of -223 feet.

While that is almost certainly the lowest elevation in the Amtrak system, I'm wondering how far below sea level is the lowest point of the Hudson River tunnels? Same question for the East River tunnels. I expect the center of the Hudson River tunnels to NYP would be the lowest elevation in the east, but I don't know how deep that is.

 

[fairviewroad]

Longest distance between station stops?

Same for 'shortest' distance.

Boston South Station and Back Bay, I would think. Offshoot: Shortest distance one can actually buy tickets between. Possibly Berkeley and Emeryville?

While normally you cannot book tickets between Boston-South (BOS) and Boston-Back Bay (BBY) there is actually a loophole, of sorts. On days when the Boston section of the LSL is being bustituted, you can book a ticket (on the bus, obviously) between BOS and BBY (or vice-versa).

This one-mile bus ride will cost you the princely sum of $18 each way.

Check out the weekend of June 25/26 for an example.

 

[ainamkartma]

The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle goes through Bombay Beach, CA, a small town next to the Salton Sea.

The elevation relative to sea level of Bombay Beach is an average of -223 feet.

Eugene, OR is the westernmost Amtrak stop.

In the US

The Eugene Amtrak station is at -123.092344 longitude.

The Vancouver Amtrak stop - Pacific Central Station - is at -123.097903 longitude, a tiny bit more westerly than Eugene.

And Albany, Oregon is at -123.1024. East corner of the building! The west facade of Pacific Central is at -123.0982.

All according to the google, of course.

Ainam "Nearly kissing, except for a few hundred miles of north-south difference" Kartma

 

[ainamkartma]

The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle goes through Bombay Beach, CA, a small town next to the Salton Sea.

The elevation relative to sea level of Bombay Beach is an average of -223 feet.

While that is almost certainly the lowest elevation in the Amtrak system, I'm wondering how far below sea level is the lowest point of the Hudson River tunnels? Same question for the East River tunnels. I expect the center of the Hudson River tunnels to NYP would be the lowest elevation in the east, but I don't know how deep that is.

According to NOAA chart number 12335, the depth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of the tunnels is roughly 50 feet, and that of the East River is about 40 feet. I have no idea how far below the river bed the tunnels are located.

Ainam "Deeper than the length of a ship's anchor, I hope" Kartma

 

[jis]

I would presume not too far below since both tunnels had blowout issues when they were being dug.

 

[HighBall]

Just thought I'd find some real short distances and throw in ones that were mentioned as candidates here just for kicks.

Boston South - Back Bay is 1 mile

Berkeley - Emeryville is 2 miles

Newark - Newark Airport is 3 miles

Oceanside - Carlsbad (Village) is 3 miles

Carlsbad (Village) - Carlsbad (Poinsettia) is 4 miles

Encinata - Solana Beach is 4 miles

Downingtown - Coatsville is 4 miles

Exton - Downingtown is 5 miles

Carlsbad (Poinsettia) - Encinitas i 5 miles

Sorento Valley - San Diego (Old Town) is 5 miles

Wilmington to Newark DE is 12 miles

I am sure there are others. I did not do an exhaustive search. Just those that randomly occurred to me.

Portland OR - Vancouver WA - 10 miles

Seattle- Tukwila WA - 11 miles

 

[Woodcut60]

I was more thinking of Amtrak stations on American soil. I do not think of Vancouver's Pacific Central Station as a 'real' Amtrak station. I know that Amtrak's Cascades trains go to this station but isn't it a Canadian (VIA Rail) station?

FWIW, Amtrak operates far more rail departures out of Pacific Central Station than VIA Rail.

And if your yardstick is station ownership, then many Amtrak stations would be disqualified, including Bellingham WA, which is operated by the Port of Bellingham.

Actually I was more thinking of stations in America (not abroad) served by Amtrak. But I do appreciate your knowledge and that's the good thing here on this Forum; I learn a lot. For instance, I didn't know that Amtrak operates more rail departures out of Vancouver, BC, than VIA Rail.

 

[Woodcut60]

My other "fun facts" (tunnels, bridges, the easternmost station served by Amtrak), are those correct? Just curious.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Isn't Vancouver BC farther north than Bellingham?

For that matter, isn't Montreal even further north?

Vancouver is farther north than Montreal and is the northernmost Amtrak station

Once beyond St. Paul (44.95 latitude)……every station on the Empire Builder route is farther north than Montreal (45.50) Portland is at 45.52.

Cut Bank, Montana (48.63) on the Empire Builder is further north than any station on VIA’s Ocean route. (Halifax is at 44.64....further south than Portland)

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Amtrak’s Acela and Superliner II’s began life at the Bombardier plant at La Pocatiere, Quebec 225 miles east of Montreal along VIA’s Ocean route. They were completed at facilities in NY and VT because of ‘Buy American’ provisions.

http://history.amtrak.com/archives/transition-sleeper-no.-39005-in-the-snow-1990s

 

[Eric S]

Just thought I'd find some real short distances and throw in ones that were mentioned as candidates here just for kicks.

Boston South - Back Bay is 1 mile

Berkeley - Emeryville is 2 miles

Newark - Newark Airport is 3 miles

Oceanside - Carlsbad (Village) is 3 miles

Carlsbad (Village) - Carlsbad (Poinsettia) is 4 miles

Encinata - Solana Beach is 4 miles

Downingtown - Coatsville is 4 miles

Exton - Downingtown is 5 miles

Carlsbad (Poinsettia) - Encinitas i 5 miles

Sorento Valley - San Diego (Old Town) is 5 miles

Wilmington to Newark DE is 12 miles

I am sure there are others. I did not do an exhaustive search. Just those that randomly occurred to me.

Portland OR - Vancouver WA - 10 miles

Seattle- Tukwila WA - 11 miles

Royal Oak, MI - Troy, MI is 4 miles

Milwaukee - Milwaukee Airport is 8 miles

Pontiac, MI - Troy, MI is 8 miles

Kansas City - Independence is 10 miles

Detroit - Royal Oak is 11 miles

Chicago - Summit is 12 miles

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Just thought I'd find some real short distances and throw in ones that were mentioned as candidates here just for kicks.

Boston South - Back Bay is 1 mile

Berkeley - Emeryville is 2 miles

Newark - Newark Airport is 3 miles

Oceanside - Carlsbad (Village) is 3 miles

Carlsbad (Village) - Carlsbad (Poinsettia) is 4 miles

Encinata - Solana Beach is 4 miles

Downingtown - Coatsville is 4 miles

Exton - Downingtown is 5 miles

Carlsbad (Poinsettia) - Encinitas i 5 miles

Sorento Valley - San Diego (Old Town) is 5 miles

Wilmington to Newark DE is 12 miles

I am sure there are others. I did not do an exhaustive search. Just those that randomly occurred to me.

Portland OR - Vancouver WA - 10 milesSeattle- Tukwila WA - 11 miles

Royal Oak, MI - Troy, MI is 4 milesMilwaukee - Milwaukee Airport is 8 miles

Pontiac, MI - Troy, MI is 8 miles

Kansas City - Independence is 10 miles

Detroit - Royal Oak is 11 miles

Chicago - Summit is 12 miles

New York, NY-Newark, NJ is 10 miles

Washington, DC-Alexandria, VA is 9 miles

Raleigh, NC-Cary, NC is 8 miles

Delray Beach, FL-Deerfield Beach, FL is 10 miles

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Hollywood, FL is 8 miles

 

[ainamkartma]

I would presume not too far below since both tunnels had blowout issues when they were being dug.

Interestingly, the East River vicinity of the tunnels is listed on the chart as a "Pipeline Area", which essentially means "Don't anchor here", but the Hudson is not.

Ainam "Deep waters, indeed, Watson" Kartma

 

[lo2e]

Some pretty short distances along the Downeaster:

Old Orchard Beach (ORB)* - Saco (SAO) : 4 miles

Dover (DOV) - Durham/UNH (DHM) : 6 miles

* - Seasonal station, May-October only

Edit to add: When/if the Kennebunk station is taking passengers (haven't heard a recent update on this), it will probably be roughly 8 +/- miles from either Saco or Wells.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

When the new Niagara Falls NY station opens it will be less than a half-mile from Niagara Falls ON. Amtrak will sell you a ticket for $15 ($26 Business Class) currently the stations are about two miles apart..

Montreal to St Lambert is 4 miles on the Adirondack but no local tickets are sold and the St. Lambert stop will probably be eliminated when Pre-clearance is established at Central Station.

 

[CCC1007]

When the new Niagara Falls NY station opens it will be less than a half-mile from Niagara Falls ON. Amtrak will sell you a ticket for $15 ($26 Business Class) currently the stations are about two miles apart..

Montreal to St Lambert is 4 miles on the Adirondack but no local tickets are sold and the St. Lambert stop will probably be eliminated when Pre-clearance is established at Central Station.

Will that put the stations in the same signal block?

 

[FreeskierInVT]

Short distances on the Vermonter/Ethan Allen Express:

Waterbury, VT (WAB) - Montpelier, VT (MPR) - 9 miles

Windsor, VT (WNM) - Claremont, NH (CLA) - 9 miles

Berlin, CT (BER) - Meriden, CT (MDN) - 7 miles

Rutland, VT (RUD) - Castleton, VT (CNV) - 9 miles

 

[PRR 60]

The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle goes through Bombay Beach, CA, a small town next to the Salton Sea.

The elevation relative to sea level of Bombay Beach is an average of -223 feet.

While that is almost certainly the lowest elevation in the Amtrak system, I'm wondering how far below sea level is the lowest point of the Hudson River tunnels? Same question for the East River tunnels. I expect the center of the Hudson River tunnels to NYP would be the lowest elevation in the east, but I don't know how deep that is.

According to NOAA chart number 12335, the depth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of the tunnels is roughly 50 feet, and that of the East River is about 40 feet. I have no idea how far below the river bed the tunnels are located.

Ainam "Deeper than the length of a ship's anchor, I hope" Kartma

The top of rail (T/R) in the Hudson (North) River tunnels reaches a depth of about 93 feet below mean high water (MHW). That corresponds to a USGS elevation of something like -89 feet. There is about 25 feet of cover between the top of the tunnel rings and the riverbed.

The East River tunnels are slightly shallower - 89 feet below MHW, or a T/R elevation of about -85 feet. Since the East River is deeper than the Hudson (at least at the locations of the tunnels), there are points where there is only 10 feet of cover between the top of the tunnel rings and the river bed under the East River.

 

[wjh2]

Which route has the most number of stops?

Excluding the Auto Train, which route has the least number of stops?

 

[fairviewroad]

Which route has the most number of stops?

Excluding the Auto Train, which route has the least number of stops?

For least # of stops, I believe that's a tie between the Hiawatha corridor and the Pere Marquette, each of which serve 5 stations.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

The Crescent goes through the largest number of states at 12. There are 8 routes that remain in one state: Empire Service (New York), Piedmont (North Carolina), Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg (Illinois), Illini/Saluki (Illinois), Missouri River Runner (Missouri), Pacific Surfliner (California), Capitol Corridor (California), San Joaquin (California). Some Keystone Service trains terminate at Philadelphia, therefore remaining in the state of Pennsylvania, but I did not count them because most trains continue on to New York.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Which route has the most number of stops?

Excluding the Auto Train, which route has the least number of stops?

For least # of stops, I believe that's a tie between the Hiawatha corridor and the Pere Marquette, each of which serve 5 stations.

Technically the 3 routes with the most stops are:

1-Northeast Regional-53 stops

2-Empire Builder-45 stops

3-Texas Eagle-43 stops

This includes all branches of both the Empire Builder and Northeast Regional. On the Empire Builder, the Seattle branch makes more stops than the Portland branch. The Portland branch has 5 stops so the number of stops between Seattle and Chicago is 40. On the Northeast Regional, the Boston to Newport News route has the most stops. This means the 7 stops on the Springfield branch, 5 stops on the Lynchburg branch, and 2 stops on the Norfolk branch must all be subtracted. Even if a Boston to Newport News regional was to stop at all Amtrak stations on the way, this leaves only 39 stations. If we count stations this way, only counting stops on one possible routing, the routes with the most stops are as follows:

1-Texas Eagle-43 stops

2-Empire Builder-40 stops

3-Northeast Regional-39 stops

One could also argue that the Texas Eagle terminates in San Antonio and is a separate train to Los Angeles, leaving the Empire Builder as the route with the most stops. Therefore the Northeast Regional, Texas Eagle, and Empire Builder could all be argued as the Amtrak route with the most stops.

 

[fairviewroad]

Which route has the most number of stops?

Excluding the Auto Train, which route has the least number of stops?

For least # of stops, I believe that's a tie between the Hiawatha corridor and the Pere Marquette, each of which serve 5 stations.

Technically the 3 routes with the most stops are:

1-Northeast Regional-53 stops

2-Empire Builder-45 stops

3-Texas Eagle-43 stops

This includes all branches of both the Empire Builder and Northeast Regional. On the Empire Builder, the Seattle branch makes more stops than the Portland branch. The Portland branch has 5 stops so the number of stops between Seattle and Chicago is 40. On the Northeast Regional, the Boston to Newport News route has the most stops. This means the 7 stops on the Springfield branch, 5 stops on the Lynchburg branch, and 2 stops on the Norfolk branch must all be subtracted. Even if a Boston to Newport News regional was to stop at all Amtrak stations on the way, this leaves only 39 stations. If we count stations this way, only counting stops on one possible routing, the routes with the most stops are as follows:

1-Texas Eagle-43 stops

2-Empire Builder-40 stops

3-Northeast Regional-39 stops

One could also argue that the Texas Eagle terminates in San Antonio and is a separate train to Los Angeles, leaving the Empire Builder as the route with the most stops. Therefore the Northeast Regional, Texas Eagle, and Empire Builder could all be argued as the Amtrak route with the most stops.

The Texas Eagle is the winner IMO in the sense that you can board in Chicago and ride all the way to Los Angeles without changing trains. (I realize this is only true three days a week.) As such, your train journey will include 43 stops (including origin and destination stations). This is more than any other scheduled Amtrak train (assuming your data is correct).

Of note, however, is that 7 Eagle stops are flag stops, whereas just one Builder stop (Essex) is a flag stop. So the Empire Builder would be the train with the most guaranteed station stops. [Personally, I've never been on a Builder that has skipped Essex.]

If you extend this to all of North America, both the Texas Eagle and the Empire Builder are exceeded by several VIA Rail routes, though those numbers are padded considerably by a very high percentage of flag stops.

Of course, if you base it on potential flag stops, then I suppose the Alaska Railroad has everyone beat.

 

[KmH]

The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle goes through Bombay Beach, CA, a small town next to the Salton Sea.

The elevation relative to sea level of Bombay Beach is an average of -223 feet.

While that is almost certainly the lowest elevation in the Amtrak system, I'm wondering how far below sea level is the lowest point of the Hudson River tunnels? Same question for the East River tunnels. I expect the center of the Hudson River tunnels to NYP would be the lowest elevation in the east, but I don't know how deep that is.

According to NOAA chart number 12335, the depth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of the tunnels is roughly 50 feet, and that of the East River is about 40 feet. I have no idea how far below the river bed the tunnels are located.

Ainam "Deeper than the length of a ship's anchor, I hope" Kartma

The top of rail (T/R) in the Hudson (North) River tunnels reaches a depth of about 93 feet below mean high water (MHW). That corresponds to a USGS elevation of something like -89 feet. There is about 25 feet of cover between the top of the tunnel rings and the riverbed.

The East River tunnels are slightly shallower - 89 feet below MHW, or a T/R elevation of about -85 feet. Since the East River is deeper than the Hudson (at least at the locations of the tunnels), there are points where there is only 10 feet of cover between the top of the tunnel rings and the river bed under the East River.

How far above/below sea level is the mean high water (MHW)?

As it is sea level is notional. Sea level in Japan is about 2 feet higher than it is in California because the Earth's rotation piles ocean water up on Japan's eastern shoreline.