Passenger Trains > "Wisconsin Gov. Evers proposes funds to expand Milwaukee-Chicago

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/amtrak/news/Wisconsin-Gov-Evers-proposes-funds-to-expand-Milwaukee-Chicago-Amtrak-route--57075

"The project's total cost is approximately $195 million."

I think this is much more worthy per dollar than Duluth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 09:43 by joemvcnj.

Ten roundtrips would be good.

We have a pro-Amtrak governor here again in Wisconsin.

Interesting. Wonder how the CPR will respond to THAT? Especially with all the resistance from those really rich communities in Northern Illinois, that don't want any additional tracks nor trains through their towns.

I know where they could get a great deal on a couple of Talgo trainsets...

They run 7 frequences with 2 train sets. I guess they would need only a 3rd set to run 10 frequencies.
They could get creative and run a frequency jointly with Metra using a diverted Fox Lake train, but I don't think Metra wants anything to do with Amtrak. Can't blame them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 11:44 by joemvcnj.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interesting. Wonder how the CPR will respond to
> THAT? Especially with all the resistance from
> those really rich communities in Northern
> Illinois, that don't want any additional tracks
> nor trains through their towns.

There are rich people in Illinois?

CPRR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HotWater Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Interesting. Wonder how the CPR will respond to
> > THAT? Especially with all the resistance from
> > those really rich communities in Northern
> > Illinois, that don't want any additional tracks
> > nor trains through their towns.
>
> There are rich people in Illinois?

If not, who would you fleece.  Local  radio station details house sales and property taxes.  People on North Shore are taking a hair cut on their housing values.  Lot of status living there and getting kids in the right schools. At some point.......

Bob Jordan

I wonder why there is never discussion about increasing speed to at least 90 MPH (which the Milwaukee had until the early 1960s)
If time CHI-MILW time could be reduced to about 1 hr 15 min each crew could make about two round trips, which would really increase crew and equipment efficiencies along with attracting more riders from the highways.
Andy

And the Hiawatha ridership is still growing:

+5% for the 1st 4 months of 2019

(the Milwaukee Road used to call this "The natural high-speed route between Chicago and Milwaukee")

Just wondering -- did they go 90mph with steam engines?

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And the Hiawatha ridership is still growing:
>
> +5% for the 1st 4 months of 2019
>
> (the Milwaukee Road used to call this "The natural
> high-speed route between Chicago and Milwaukee")
>
> Just wondering -- did they go 90mph with steam
> engines?

I believe the unofficial speed restriction at the crossing with EJ&E at Rondout was 100 mph. Take a look at some of the posts in this thread:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,1158038



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 13:48 by ts1457.

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And the Hiawatha ridership is still growing:
>
> +5% for the 1st 4 months of 2019
>
> (the Milwaukee Road used to call this "The natural
> high-speed route between Chicago and Milwaukee")
>
> Just wondering -- did they go 90mph with steam
> engines?

Knowing little about the Milwaukee Road, I'll still bet that they allowed the steam locomotives speeds well over 90 MPH.

Aging I guess, at one time I thought every railfan had a copy of Jim Scibbins, "The Hiawatha" story.
Books do have value and over the years many magazine articles.

online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Road_class_A

Speeds of 100 were probably typical.  But the envronment is much different.  Population density and traffic along the line has increased so much but the line itself is much the same.

Really nothing in it for Illinois communities long the line to hve even more trains.  As far as speed you have to fit them in with all the Metra and CP traffic.

Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 15:55 by robj.

When then there were many MILW road intercity trains, "dummys" (or whatever they called them) were few and far between, especially offpeak, when they could be just an E8 and a gallery cab car. 

Looking at a a May 1940 timetable.  Chicago to Milwaukee. Two trains at 75 min,  three at 80 minutes, three at 85 minutes, three at 90 minutes.
The 85 and 90 min made one stop, others non-stop.  Most of these were using home built lightweight equipment.

The heavyweight Olympian took 95 minutes with one stop, enroute to Seattle.

The two 75 min trains were the morning and afternoon Hiawatha's to Minneapolis.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 16:39 by mundo.

They also had to compete with the C&NW. Both were happy to leave the local business to the North Shore Line. We can now only serve the northern end of that service area with Sturtevent and Milw Airport. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/19 16:47 by joemvcnj.

The C&NW battled it out with the Milw for the fastest-best service for many years.

 

I think you would get more bang for your buck, by upgrading track for passenger service between Kenosha and Milwaukee on the C&NW route.
Doubt if you could get increased speeds to 90mph on the ex-Milwaukee Road with all the freight traffic.
Before they spend all this money on a third track at Glenview, they should first do something about Edgebrook, and all the multiple road crossings there.
Then there is the ex-Soo Line route which, which if iextended North from Antioch, could directly serve the Western Suburbs of Milwaukee.
I bet @ 25% of Hiawatha passengers are destined to this area already.  A lot of them use the Milwaukee airport stop because of the acess to I-894.
 

I welcome any improvements to the Hiawatha Route but might I add some suggestions. Some of these were discussed by officials in the past.
1. Having Amtrak trains stop at a station near where the Fox Lake Line separates-Lake Forest. I know that that was brought up by officials before.
2. Extend some of the Hiawathas to Green Bay.

I laud Minnesota and Wisconson for strongly supporting Amtrak to extend one of its Hiawathas to the Twin Cities. It will be great for people heading from the Chicago area and Milwaukee as well as cities in between to have another daytime option for traveling by train.

robj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Aging I guess, at one time I thought every railfan
> had a copy of Jim Scibbins, "The Hiawatha" story.
> Books do have value and over the years many
> magazine articles.
>
> online:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Road_class
> _A
>
> Speeds of 100 were probably typical.  But the
> envronment is much different.  Population density
> and traffic along the line has increased so much
> but the line itself is much the same.
>
> Really nothing in it for Illinois communities long
> the line to hve even more trains.  As far as
> speed you have to fit them in with all the Metra
> and CP traffic.
>
> Bob

Pages 67 & 68 of The Hiawatha Story provide the log of a February 2, 1939 run of the Hiawatha pulled by a Class F-7 4-6-4.  Speeds for all stations between Chicago Union Station and Minneapolis are listed.  At Glenview and other locations, speeds over 90 mph were recorded and at a few spots, the train hit 100 mph.

I feel that The Hiawatha Story is one of the best railroad books ever published.  Kalmbach stopped printing the hardcopy edition, but the University of Minnesota Press publishes a paperback edition. 

https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-hiawatha-story