YAY. Thanks for the photos, although I can't see them without registering.Took a walk through St, Paul Union Depot on July 20 and got a couple of photos of the work on the track connections. Looks promising for service to begin later this year.2013 Beerfest & Brian Wilson Concert 046.JPG2013 Beerfest & Brian Wilson Concert 033.JPG
I'm guessing it's cheaper, and also it's a slow speed going into the station, so ride smoothness isn't an issue.Showing my ignorance once again, but why wood ties opposed to concrete?
[Floods of March-May 1965 in the upper Mississippi River Basin (Anderson & Burmeister GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLYPAPER 1850-A) page A17]
I found some other photos, and of course I didn't bookmark them.Looking at the second photo and wondering about the operational consequences of exactly where the station track will tie in.
Will serve Amtrak 7 and 8. And the Jefferson Lines buses to Duluth and Rochester and such (already stop there) And the casino buses that already stop there. And the local light rail when it starts. And a few local transit buses that already terminate there including express service to the airport.When the depot starts full service, what exactly will it serve? Will the trains now go through downtown? And is the Transfer Road station open for some years to come?
Don't think a backup move into the congested wye would save time. The short line is almost always clear - the slow time through the MNNR yard is small. (about 12 minutes for the 2 miles)My understanding is that train will follow its current route on the Minnesota Commercial between the CP and BNSF and the short-haul coach will still be cut off there at Midway yard, but it won't be a passenger stop.
Seems a waste because that is a slowwww way to go, when from St. Paul Union Station, they ought to be able to get back out on the BNSF main (Staples sub?) directly and that is a much faster route.
I'd rather be sitting on a siding waiting for a freight train rather than sitting in a car stuck in the ditch on an icy night, waiting for the Highway Patrol.Some of the benefits of a train are lost, true. But you also don't sit for an indefinite time wondering when the freight train will clear the track so you can continue. Everything is a tradeoff.
I don't factor that in because I've never come close to anything like that. I wonder what are the reasons it happens to drivers crossing North Dakota. And just to be clear, I've driven both ways many times. I tend to do it on cruise control. The wide open spaces are not an invitation to me to "open her up". Fuel costs matter to me.I'd rather be sitting on a siding waiting for a freight train rather than sitting in a car stuck in the ditch on an icy night, waiting for the Highway Patrol.Some of the benefits of a train are lost, true. But you also don't sit for an indefinite time wondering when the freight train will clear the track so you can continue. Everything is a tradeoff.
I have traveled along the Hi Line for more than 40 years, mostly between Shelby and the Twin Cities. Any way you look at it, if you're on that route, you're going to be sitting an indefinite time. I'd rather be reading in my sleeping compartment than driving a 2-lane highway filled by oil trucks, morbidly counting the crosses Montana puts up to mark fatal accident locations. I'd be perfectly happy never to drive US 2 again. YMMV.
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