Comments on: Passenger Rail Roundup (II): South of Seattle

By: Oran Viriyincy

Oran Viriyincy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:02:13 +0000

That’s like only 30 minutes more than my one-way commute into downtown. If I lived in NYC, I could have lunch and go watch football matches in London and be back for bed!

Back to ships, did you know you could hitch a ride on a cargo ship to almost any port in the world? It isn’t cheap but it is quite an experience.

By: Erik G.

Erik G. — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:52:43 +0000

Convert the parking lot into a structure (or “parking ramp” as they say in the Midwest) and voila: More private property storage on half the space!

Meanwhile, more capacity to move people in and out of Seattle-King Street.

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:27:57 +0000

The Vac-train in a submerged floating (or Archimedes) bridge across the Atlantic concept is awesome. A submerged floating tunnel is a tunnel that is suspended underwater low enough that ships can easily pass over but not all the way at the bottom of the ocean. That would be combined with the vacuum train concept where they would suck all of the air out of the tunnel and put in maglev technology, making the train go 2000+ mph, making the NYC-London trip in like an hour and a half. Awesome.

By: Mike Orr

Mike Orr — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:04:40 +0000

My friend’s family took a cruise on the Seattle-Alaska ferry, which is a cruise ship. The cost was less than $150/day, or less than a hotel and meals. Budget hotels are going for $75 nowadays (Atlanta 2009). It’s hard to find a $50 hotel that isn’t a hooker trap.

Zeppelins maybe would be more efficient; I don’t know.

Trains are out until they invent a trans-ocean bridge or tunnel.

By: Zach Shaner

Zach Shaner — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:51:54 +0000

I know of a certain Qwest Field surface parking lot that I wouldn’t mind blowing up to add a few tracks… =)

By: Bernie

Bernie — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:14:01 +0000

Not when you figure in the “hotel” costs. There was a recent show on the QM2 that showed what was going on. Even if you tried the Motel 6 approach it would be hard to justify the oceanliner. HSR has to target the 300+/- distance for the next several decades. It’s not like we don’t have at least 20 years of work on the books that would improve freight and passenger rail.

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:00:17 +0000

Are passenger ships really that more fuel efficient based on distance than planes? I’m all for zeppelins for intercontinental traffic myself :)

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:58:34 +0000

Yeah where exactly were the interurban tracks down there?

By: Ken Baker

Ken Baker — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:10:28 +0000

Andy, I believe that you are correct…I remember discussing the subject with you years ago…

By: poncho

poncho — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:18:56 +0000

what happens if/when more tracks need to be added at king street station, same with portland union station? i hope we are not limiting future capacity by redeveloping the land around the station including former rail yards and platforms.

By: Tim F.

Tim F. — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:55:39 +0000

Anyone have beter pictures (or better yet a track diagram) of the area double of union station? How many tracks were on the east side of the building? How far north did they go? Were there tracks south of the station under whenever Paul Allen built all those buildings on the site now? The current busway was former UP row I heard, any more info on that?

Can’t wait till we have a better coach yard and all the construction means a flagged which means more work for everyone.

By: Lloyd

Lloyd — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:07:52 +0000

Those fabulous dome cars (similar to those the Great Northern had on the Empire Builder) ended up on Canadian National from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s – I rode in them several times on cross Canada trips while in college and grad school. I read somewhere not too long ago that there are still 2 or 3 of them around.

By: Tim F.

Tim F. — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:45:29 +0000

Stanwood station is tentatively scheduled to open November 11th but there are issues with a road crossing that needs to be closed.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:13:27 +0000

I don’t know, I stared at that picture for like an hour and the clock definitely did not move.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:12:24 +0000

Fall back one week and one hour?

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:10:22 +0000

There used to be when there was a “High Line” interurban… I think.

By: Brian Bundridge

Brian Bundridge — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:08:45 +0000

Its the wooden bridge just North/East of Freighthouse Square

http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/4/9/6/9496.1123265580.jpg

By: D T Nelson

D T Nelson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:47:15 +0000

I am pretty sure the clock is not stopped, but is running about an hour-and-a-half slow. I waited for the bus at 4th & Jackson yesterday from about 4:50 to 5:05 and watched the clock move from about 3:20 to 3:35.

By: Norton

Norton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:27:44 +0000

I think it may be a bit later than ‘55. The Norton Building looks completed in that picture, and that wasn’t opened until 1958

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:21:57 +0000

replacement of the old Milwaukee Road single track bridge to a new double track steel structure

Where is this bridge located?