Fun Facts about Amtrak’s Network

[west point]

Not used anymore but the NS station at Charlottesville and C&O station in same town less than a mile that Cardinal stopped at both stations.

 

[railiner]

Way back when the Keystone's terminated at Suburban Station, Philadelphia....the distance between PHS and PHL (30th Street Station), is about a half mile....

 

[Ryan]

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

No it's not, sea level is referenced to mean sea level; roughly speaking the average between high and low tides.

Mean High Water is the average of all high tides, which is obviously higher than MSL by roughly 1/2 of the tidal range for that location.

 

[rms492]

WAT is Amtrak's Shortest train? How many cars?

 

[CCC1007]

WAT is Amtrak's Shortest train? How many cars?

springfield shuttle at a locomotive and two coaches.

 

[PRR 60]

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.

Today's standard for determining elevations for the US is the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). NAVD88 is a fixed datum derived from a simultaneous, least squares, minimum constraint adjustment of Canadian/Mexican/United States leveling observations. In English, it is pretty much as Ryan described, and used lots of different measuring locations.

The NAVD88 tidal elevations at The Battery, New York Harbor are:

Mean Low Water - Elev 2.98'

Mean High Water - Elev 7.51'

 

[Woodcut60]

Well, for what it's worth, here's the list. I've enjoyed this little exercise. Thank you very much Forum members for all your contributions.

[SIZE=16pt]Fun Facts about Amtrak’s Network[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Train Stations in the U.S.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Northernmost station: Bellingham, Washington[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Southernmost station: Miami, Florida[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Westernmost station: Albany, Oregon[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Easternmost station: Brunswick, Maine[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Oldest station still in use: Martinsburg, West Virginia[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Highest station: Fraser-Winter Park, Colorado[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Busiest station: New York, New York[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Busiest station, long-distance trains: Chicago, Illinois[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Least busy station: Sanderson, Texas[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Highest point in Amtrak network: Moffat Tunnel, Colorado[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Lowest point in Amtrak network: Salton Sea, California[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Longest tunnel: Cascade Tunnel, Washington[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Longest bridge: Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, Louisiana[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Highest bridge: Pecos River High Bridge, Texas[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Longest train: Auto Train[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Shortest train: Springfield Shuttle[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Oldest train with a name that has not changed: Sunset Limited (1894)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Longest stretch of straight railroad, without any curves: Toledo-Bryan, Ohio[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Longest distance between station stops: Auto Train (Lorton-Florence-Sanford)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Shortest distance: Boston (South Station)-Boston (Back Bay Station)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Route with the most number of guaranteed stops: Empire Builder[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Route with the least number of guaranteed stops: Hiawatha and Pere Marquette[/SIZE]

 

[Ryan]

Least number of stops should be the Auto Train.

 

[railiner]

Least number of stops should be the Auto Train.

Agreed...the stop for crew change at Florence should not count as a station stop...

 

[fairviewroad]

Least number of stops should be the Auto Train.

Agreed...the stop for crew change at Florence should not count as a station stop...

Auto Train would be least number of stops regardless of whether you count Florence or not. [i would not, since it's not a bookable station stop.]

That said, I think the Hiawatha/Pere Marquette answer is more interesting.

 

[LookingGlassTie]

Would the AutoTrain be considered an "express" train given that it's probably the longest route with the fewest number of stops?

 

[stappend]

This could be worded multiple ways. But Boston has 3 Amtrak stations, 2 of which (South Station and BackBay) can't get to the third (North Station) for revenue service. Via a circuitous route via Cambridge equipement can be moved.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

This could be worded multiple ways. But Boston has 3 Amtrak stations, 2 of which (South Station and BackBay) can't get to the third (North Station) for revenue service. Via a circuitous route via Cambridge equipement can be moved.

There are are a few other cities with multiple stations:Los Angeles, CA (3)

Milwaukee, WI (2)

Newark, NJ (2)

New York, NY (2 temporarily)

Oakland, CA (2)

Philadelphia, PA (2)

San Diego, CA (3)

Santa Clara, CA (2)

Stockton, CA (2)

A few other cities appear to have two stations, but one of them is outside of city limits:

Baltimore, MD

Buffalo, NY

Richmond, VA

In addition to these, there are many cases nationwide where people in a city will use a nearby station outside of city limits despite one existing within city limits. For example someone travelling north out of the northern section of the Bronx may use New Rochelle or Yonkers rather than New York Penn Station.

I also have some other random trivia facts about Amtrak.

1. On average, the coldest Amtrak station is Fraser-Winter Park, Colorado.

2. On average, the hottest Amtrak station is Miami, Florida.

3. The busiest segment of track for revenue Amtrak trains is the western approach to New York Penn Station.

4. The busiest segment of track (not including station approaches) is from New York, NY to Philadelphia, PA.

5. 21 of the 26 US commuter railroads directly connect to Amtrak. The NICTD South Shore Line (Chicago area), Northstar Line (Minneapolis area), Westside Express Service (Portland area), and A-Train (Dallas area) can be reached via local light or heavy rail. Capital MetroRail (Austin area) is just over a mile walk the Amtrak station, while the Music City Star (Nashville area) is nowhere near any Amtrak stations.

 

[tim49424]

Least amount of guaranteed stops for a multi time zone route: Pere Marquette.

Grand Rapids, Holland, Bangor & St. Joseph/Benton Harbor are all on Eastern time, Chicago is on Central.

 

[Eric S]

There are are a few other cities with multiple stations:

Los Angeles, CA (2)Milwaukee, WI (2)

Newark, NJ (2)

New York, NY (2 temporarily)

Oakland, CA (2)

Philadelphia, PA (2)

San Diego, CA (3)

Santa Clara, CA (2)

Stockton, CA (2)

Don't Los Angeles and San Diego each have 3 stations?

LA - Chatsworth, Los Angeles, and Van Nuys (not counting Northridge which, at one point at least, was served by an Amtrak train making Metrolink stops and accepting Metrolink tickets)

SD - Old Town, Santa Fe Depot, and Sorrento Valley

 

[the_traveler]

Perhaps Miami may be the hottest at train time, but I would say it is Needles, CA. Temperatures during the day of 115°+ are not uncommon! The SWC stops there @ 1-2 am, and when I lived in the area and went to see it come thru (yes I'm crazy :giggle: ) temps in the 90's were not uncommon!

As far as LA, why not consider Burbank in there?

 

[Eric S]

I'd imagine "hottest" and "coldest" refers to average annual temperature, in this case

 

[TinCan782]

There are are a few other cities with multiple stations:

Los Angeles, CA (2)Milwaukee, WI (2)

Newark, NJ (2)

New York, NY (2 temporarily)

Oakland, CA (2)

Philadelphia, PA (2)

San Diego, CA (3)

Santa Clara, CA (2)

Stockton, CA (2)

Don't Los Angeles and San Diego each have 3 stations?

LA - Chatsworth, Los Angeles, and Van Nuys (not counting Northridge which, at one point at least, was served by an Amtrak train making Metrolink stops and accepting Metrolink tickets)

SD - Old Town, Santa Fe Depot, and Sorrento Valley

Also in the LA area: Burbank-Bob Hope Airport (Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner) and Glendale (Pacific Surfliner)

 

[jebr]

5. 21 of the 26 US commuter railroads directly connect to Amtrak. The NICTD South Shore Line (Chicago area), Westside Express Service (Portland area), and A-Train (Dallas area) can be reached via local light or heavy rail. Capital MetroRail (Austin area) is just over a mile walk the Amtrak station, while the Music City Star (Nashville area) is nowhere near any Amtrak stations.

The Northstar commuter rail in MSP, while running almost entirely on track shared with Amtrak, has no shared stations with Amtrak (Northstar terminates at Target Field Station in Minneapolis, where Amtrak stops at Union Depot in St. Paul.)

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

I'd imagine "hottest" and "coldest" refers to average annual temperature, in this case

Yes, I was referring to annual average temperature.

5. 21 of the 26 US commuter railroads directly connect to Amtrak. The NICTD South Shore Line (Chicago area), Westside Express Service (Portland area), and A-Train (Dallas area) can be reached via local light or heavy rail. Capital MetroRail (Austin area) is just over a mile walk the Amtrak station, while the Music City Star (Nashville area) is nowhere near any Amtrak stations.

The Northstar commuter rail in MSP, while running almost entirely on track shared with Amtrak, has no shared stations with Amtrak (Northstar terminates at Target Field Station in Minneapolis, where Amtrak stops at Union Depot in St. Paul.)

Yes, I forgot that one. The Northstar should be grouped with the South Shore Line and A-Train, as light rail connects the North Star to Amtrak. That means the total number of commuter rail systems with direct Amtrak connections is 20/26, not 21/26.

There are are a few other cities with multiple stations:Los Angeles, CA (2)

Milwaukee, WI (2)

Newark, NJ (2)

New York, NY (2 temporarily)

Oakland, CA (2)

Philadelphia, PA (2)

San Diego, CA (3)

Santa Clara, CA (2)

Stockton, CA (2)

Don't Los Angeles and San Diego each have 3 stations?

LA - Chatsworth, Los Angeles, and Van Nuys (not counting Northridge which, at one point at least, was served by an Amtrak train making Metrolink stops and accepting Metrolink tickets)

SD - Old Town, Santa Fe Depot, and Sorrento Valley

I forgot Chatsworth, so Los Angeles does actually have 3 stations.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

There are are a few other cities with multiple stations:Los Angeles, CA (2)

Milwaukee, WI (2)

Newark, NJ (2)

New York, NY (2 temporarily)

Oakland, CA (2)

Philadelphia, PA (2)

San Diego, CA (3)

Santa Clara, CA (2)

Stockton, CA (2)

Don't Los Angeles and San Diego each have 3 stations?

LA - Chatsworth, Los Angeles, and Van Nuys (not counting Northridge which, at one point at least, was served by an Amtrak train making Metrolink stops and accepting Metrolink tickets)

SD - Old Town, Santa Fe Depot, and Sorrento Valley

Also in the LA area: Burbank-Bob Hope Airport (Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner) and Glendale (Pacific Surfliner)

Yes, but I was only factoring in stations within city limits. Multiple metropolitan areas have over 10 stations in total.

 

[PerRock]

The current Dearborn, MI station & the former Greenfield Village station are about 2000ft apart... probably record for shortest distance, however the two stops were never in service concurrently.

The distance from the former Dearborn, MI station the GFV is ~1.5 miles. I'm not sure if a group could ever actually book travel between the two. GFV was always a Group booking only stop.

peter

 

[jis]

Isn't the distance between Boston South Station and Back Bay just one mile or something like that?

 

[railiner]

Or 30th Street Station, Philadelphia to Suburban Station (a former terminal for the Keystone trains) is less than that...

 

[dogbert617]

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.

That's super bizarre, to learn that Vancouver, BC services more Amtrak trains vs. VIA Rail! Even though yes I know all the Amtrak trains it services are Cascades corridor trains, and nothing else.

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.

Speaking of this, I wonder if you count the Texas Eagle and the old route of the Sunset Limited(when it used to run east into Florida, I think to Orlando) separately, which of those 2 trains had the most stops it serviced? Doesn't matter if a station is a flag stop or not, it'd be interesting to know which of those 2(if counted separately) had more stops. Later on, I should check timetables.org , to see which of those 2 trains had more stops.

Plus, it's interesting to learn Martinsburg, WV is an older station, vs. Jackson, MI. Former was constructed in 1848 btw, and Jackson was constructed in 1876.