THE 6=53 A$0CIRION OF A41LR01D 94$ENGERS

,......

''C,"' .... '·~1\- '

B '4I~.ZJA R D S AND DE~AlLMENTS AFFECT A!IIT~AK O~ERATIONS IN OHIO

. 1'ftl2 JVlN rER ..................... Pg. J (Photo: Columbus Dispatch)

TOLEDO IIIEETING REPORTS

.,....-'\JEW FEATURES STARTING IN ~ §fli~ 1I~SlJE:

1 ~C~li~4LtDISTRICT ~ ~U}IjJI} BOARD ............... Pg,

BUSINESS CAR ................. Pg.

Post Office Box 653 ·Xenia, Ohio 45385

Thomas R. Pulsifer, President and Editor

ISSUE 23 ~+MAR .1978

OARP's ANNUAL MEETING and ELECTION OF OFFICERS IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 15th.

DETAILS & BANQUET ~ RESERVATION FORMS ....... Pg. 22 ··

DUES INCREASE PROPOSED FOR C

. • .... '.:J."''. p g • ~.J.. ·~ . ·;"" ;; '"' ..

DIRECTORY of the OHIO ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS corrected to March l, 1978

PRESIDENT THOMAS R. PULSIFER 1751 Wilshire Drive, Box 371, Xenia 45385 513-372-9868 VICE--PRESIDENT RODGER J. SILLARS 2521 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights 44106 216-932-2781 SECRE'IARY JOSEPH F. BROVE 3902 Valley View Drive, Lorain 44053 216-282--2130 TREASURER DAVID S. l\lARSHALL 1024-A Courtney Drive, Dayton 45431 513-252-0481 MEMBERSHIP GARY D. AIY"!ATORE 527-H Berlin Road, Huron 44839 419-433-·3279 REGIONAL COORDINATORS: Your local contact person representing the organization as a whole. NORTHEASTERN REGION: --

CLEVELAND AREA AKRON-CANTON AREA YOUNGSTOWN-WARREN AREA ASHTABULA-CONNEAUT AREA

NORTHWESTERN REGION: TOLEDO AREA LI!VIA AREA

CENTRAL REGION: MANSFIELD AREA COLUMBUS AREA HOCKING-SCIOTO AREA

SOUTHWESTERN REGION:

BILL SNORTELAND J, HOWARD HARDING G. DOUGLAS HUDSON BILL HUTCHISON

WILLARD B. EDSON JOHN H. KELLER

RICHARD A, FRY KARL J. GELFER DAVID LEBOLD

2122 Overbrook Avenue, Lakewood 44107 489 Overwood Road, Akron 44313 3981 Greenmont Drive, S.E., Warren 44484 5851 South Ridge West, Ashtabula 44004

1008 Eton Road, Toledo 43615 721 Woodward Avenue, Lima 45805

P.O. Box 381, Bellville 44813 87 East 14th Avenue, Columbus 43201 343 Lynwood Lane, Lancaster 43130

216-221-1722 216-867-·5507 216--856-2557 216-969-·1364

419-536-0643 419-224-9936

419-886-2875 614-291-9246 614-653-0721

WESTERN OHIO AREA JAMES W. LEWIS 3134 East Leffel Lane, Springfield 45505 513-325-4727 513-444-3098

45219 513-861-2864 "' OHIO VALLEY AREA RONALD D. GARNER R.R. #2, Box 105, Mt. Orab 45154

CINCINNATI AREA ROBERT D. GOLDSTEIN 4 East Rochelle Avenue, Cincinnati

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS 417 New Jersey Ave., SE, Wash., DC 20003 202-546-1550 NARP REGIONAL DIRECTORS (Region VI) from OHIO: DEAN E. DENLINGER, Smith & Schnacke, 2000 Courthouse Plaza, NE, Dayton 45402 WILLIAM SNORTELAND, 2122 Overbrook Avenue, Lakewood 44107

5l3-226-6S:)7 216-221-1722 216- J6 5--82 Jl ROBERT G. WICKENS, 637 North Abbe Road, Elyria 44035

Please keep in mind that OARP is an organization of volunteers. We have no "business office" with a full-time "secretary". We do have the centralized mailing address (Box 653, Xenia 45385) to ex­

dite the handling of organizational mail and materials. Generally, the best time to contact our o1ficers and coordinators by phone is in the late afternoon and early evening hours.

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CHHONOLOGY OF WINTER WOES

1/17

1/18

1/19

/1/21

r

Drawbridge at Indiana Harbor on Conrail (ex-PRR) mainline stuck open. EB Broadway held near Whiting, then detoured over B&O trackage to Gary. 8 hour delay.

1/19 1/20 EB Lake Shore Limited running very late so sleepers, diner and lounge are cut out and turned at Albany to protect the WB Lake Shore schedule each day.

Conrail freight derails at Orr­ville detouring WE Broadway Al-liance-Cleveland-Crestline with a J~ hour delay.

Conrail freight derails at Elida (nr. Lima) and the WE Broadway i~ detoured to Chicago via Cleve­land and Toledo, J hour delay.

1/22 Failure of HEP-apparatus on the

./

1/::' 3

locomotive of the EB Cardinal causes train to terminate at Cincinnati. Passengers bussed on eastward.

Conrail freight derailment at l,awrence establishes Massillon­Warwick-Orrville detour for the WE Broadway (delayed 5 hours) and the EB Broadway (delayed 10~ hours, terminated at Pitts­burgh- pa~~3engers bus;;ed on to the east).

EB Cardinal rerouted between Cincinnati and Washington via Parkersburg account Chessie de­railment at Sewell, WV. The Shenandoah ~s annulled,

1;1/24 Two Conrail freights derail simultaneously at Lucas (Way

J

to go, CR!) detouring EB and WE Broadway Limi teds Crestline­Cleveland- Alliance.

Conrail freight derails near Trinway and the WE National is terminated at Pittsburgh with passengers bussed on westward.

25 EB and WE National Limiteds are detoured over the Chessie-B&O between Newark and Pittsburgh account CR derailment near Trin­way. EB delayed 5 hours. WB delayed 1~ hours by detour.

1/26 THE DAY OF THE BLIZZARD!

3

Chessie HQ ln Cleveland is shut down for two days when only 4 of 200 employees could make it to work, Major Chessie yards at Wil­lard, Columbus and Cincinnati are shut down for J days. Some Ches­sie freights reportedly stuck in drifts up to 20' deep in parts of Ohio. Massive drift t mi. long blocks E-W Chessie-B&O mainline near Attica Junction. In Putnam County two Chessie diesels provide the only available transportation for law officials, utility repair crews and Red Cross workers.

Southern Railway diesel engine and a caboose collect J5 people from stalled autos along U.S. 62 near Evansville, IN.

L&N provides engine and caboose to transport heart patient from Owensboro, KY, to Nashville in height of the storm.

Conrail snowplow, engine and cab­oose transporting prematurely­born baby from Bellefontaine to Springfield forced to turn back due to badly drifted cuts. 2nd attempt made the following day, but infant died on the weekend.

Conrail cancels all operations in Columbus- Dayton- Cincinnati ter­ritory at J:OOpm. Limited oper­ations resume by mid-morning the following day.

WB Broadway terminated at Canton then pulled back to Pittsburgh,

WB National terminated at Colum­bus. 85 passengers and Amtrak personnel put up at the Central "Y", Train, with engines left running, remained parked at the Amtrak station until Saturday.

WE Lake Shore 8 hours late into Chicago,~able to complete scheduled run.

EB National terminated at St. Louis.

EB Cardinal annulled at Chicago, WE Cardinal terminated at Cin­cinnati.

By evening ALL Amtrak service in Ohio is annulled.

1/27

1/28

Conrail's Columbus- Union City "Beeline" blocked by huge snow drifts "as high as the loco­motive headlights" according to a CR employee, and by a 135-car freight derailment at Plain City which blocks every grade cross­ing in town, Priority freight is detoured via Dayton and Rich­mond over the line CR said they "would never need again"!

SB Floridian with 2 engines and 7 cars rams snowdrift higher than locomotive near Roachdale, IN and gets stuck in wee hours of the morning, 45 passengers and 15 crew personnel crowded into one heated coach for 12 hours. L&N sent rescue locomot­ives north from Bloomington but could not free the train which was then frozen to the rails, Sheriff's deputies hand-shoveled snow so passengers could crawl through Amtrak engines and get to cab of rescue engines for transfer/shuttle to shelter at Bainbridge, IN, a tiny commun­ity which was itself snowbound.

NB Floridian stranded in Lafay­ette, IN, but passengers have adequate food and heat. On 1/29 passengers transferred to Holiday Inn at W, Lafayette,

Cardinal is annulled through Indiana, EB train originates at Cincinnati.

WB Lake Shore terminates at Buf­falo.

EB National is run, but sits at New Paris (E, of Richmond) for 5 hours as Conrail freight PR19 breaks down on single track at West Manchester, Freight had reported problems before leaving Dayton (Findlay Street) but was dispatched westward anyway,

Conrail dispatches two special trains with up to 60 workers and snow-fighting equipment aboard, from DeWitt (Syracuse) to Elk­hart and Buffalo to Toledo, CR assigned JOOO of its own people in addition to contract labor to fight the snow.

EB and WB Nationals are running. Broadway is not running, 4

1/29

1/30

1/31

2/02

2/05

EB National annulled account lack of equipment.

NB Floridian service resumes out of Louisville.

EB Lake Shore runs in two sections handlingBraadway passengerc; all the way to New York via Buffalo.

Full service resumes on Floridian route north of Louisville.

1st WB Broadway west of Pittsburgh since the Blizzard.

All Conrail mainlines open except for 14 mile stretch near Bowling Green, OH,

lst EB Broadway out of Chicago since the Blizzard.

) ,...-._

Conrail's Stanley (Toledo Yard able to operate at 50% of capacit" after being shut down completely during the worst of the storm.

Conrail freight derailment at Uhrichsville detours both EB and WB National Limiteds Columbus­Crestline -Pittsburgh. EB delayed 7 hours, WB 5 hours.

EB National detours Indianapolis­Columbus via Union City as Conrail freight derails at West Manchester interlocking, CR still running priority freight over the Richmond line,

2/06 EB Shenandoah delayed 3 hours at Cincinnati when Amcoach derails at River Road Station, Train de­parts east with one engine and one car.

2/07 Boston section of the Lake Shore is annulled.

2/08 Engine breakdown on the EB Lake Shore forces termination at Ossin­ing, NY, All passengers transfer to CR local to complete trip into Grand Central,

WB Washington section of the Na­tional Limited cancelled due to ,.-.. shortage of motive power.

1111111111111111111111

This Chronology came from many, many varying sources. We have attempted to verify the items for accuracy, but in some cases there may be reporting er­rors of a minor nature,

)

OARP !V!Elv!BERS AT TC

TO BE VOTED UPON l

OARP members in a1 unanimously recoru ed on at our Annw

membership categOJ with May 1978 me~ for ~ minimum of ~ that by keeping tl tracted to join. OARP, they would minimum for dues 1

should the dues ct be necessary with bership category 1

OARP's Constitutic

(~ICLE III - l\leml

A~l peTsons wh? w: passenger serv1ce bers. All regulaJ subject to annual $5.00, The organ: such other classe! will assist in thE passenger service,

Each regular merr:bE to one vote on aL brought to a vote meeting.

DOOR PRIZE t'IJINNER;

Tom Pulsifer dona· Calendar as a dom Amtrak Sales donated three add Howard Harding dm for Club Car Empl1 ly suggested that ual and distributE employees! But n1 of registration s: afternoon NARP meE prizes to five lw ~hn D. Keller, .

1me !" H. ~; tevens1 ll\lilliar1 P. Sanze1 Albert E, 'll\lolf, Paul 'V'Joodring,

ms

•gh

l r

'

OARP illE!dBERS AT TOLEDO rviEETING RECOMMEND JVIE!VIBERSHIP DUES INCREASE

TO BE VOTED UPON BY JVIEU!BERSHIP AT ANNUAL JVIEETING ON APRIL 15th $$ OARP members in attendance at our Midwinter Meeting in Toledo on February 4th unanimously recommended proposing a change in OARP's dues structure to be act­ed on at our Annual Meeting in April.

The proposal will retain the ~ Regular membership category for new members only, Then, any and all renewals (starting with May 1978 membership renewals if the proposal is approved in April) will be for£ minimum of tlQ per year, which is our Contributing category. It was felt that by keeping the new member rate at $5, more potential members would be at­tracted to join. Then, after they had the benefit of a year's membership in OARP, they would get a good idea of what we are doing and not object to the $10 minimum for dues renewal.

It was also recommended that the officers of OARP, should the dues change be approved, study its effects and, if they feel it to be necessary within a 12 to 18 month period, recommend raising the Regular mem­bership category to a $7.50 minimum,

Since a dues change involves a change in OARP's Constitution, here is the present wording and the proposed wording:

r·rcLE III - Jlilembers (Present) ARTICLE III - Members (PROPOSED)

A~l persons who wish to promote rail All persons who wish to promote rail passenger service in Ohio can be mem- passenger service in Ohio can be mem-bers. All regular members will be bers. Any and all new members will be subject to annual membership dues of subject to annual membership dues of $5.00. The organization may create $5.00. The organization may create such other classes of membership as such other classes of membership as will assist in the promotion of rail will assist in the promotion of rail passenger service. passenger service. Effective May 1_,

121Q, all membershi renewals will be

Each regular member will be entitled to one vote on all matters which are brought to a vote at any duly called meeting.

for£ minimum of 10.00 annually. Each (delete regular member will be entitled to one vote on all matters which are brought to a vote at any duly called meeting.

DOOR PRIZE WINNERS AT TOLEDO NARP MEETING!

Tom Pulsifer donated a 1978 Amtrak Wall Calendar as a door prize. Fred Frayer, Amtrak Sales Manager for northern Ohio, donated three additional calendars. J. Howard Harding donated an Amtrak Manual for Club Car Employees. Someone joking­ly suggested that OARP reproduce the Man­ual and distribute it to Amtrak Club Car employees! But no, we drew from the box of registration slips at the end of the afternoon NARP meeting and awarded door prizes to five lucky people:

,.._,hn D. Keller, Lima Calendar r 1mes H. Stevenson, Parma ~illiam P. Sanzenbacher, Toledo Albert E. Wolf, Dayton Paul Woodring, Stow Manual

5

SEVENTY ATTEND TOLEDO JIIIEETINGS!

Though the infamous BLIZZARD was fresh in everyone's mind, and despite forecasts of possible snow flurries that day, seventy OARP, NARP and MARP members and guests converged on Toledo for the meetings on February 4th,

Many from northeastern Ohio who had planned to ride Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (it arrived in Toledo about 2:30pm!) elected instead to drive, or to ride the bus to Toledo and take the train back that night (and that train was nearly 2 hours late into Cleveland!).

All in all, we had a great day!

REGION VI NARP DIRECTORS ELECTED

At the February 4th Annual Member­ship Meeting of Region VI (Ohio & Michigan) of the National Associa­tion of Railroad Passengers, the results of the election of five regional directors was as follows:

JOHN DE LORA 1649 Brys, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236

DEAN DENLINGER 2000 Courthouse Plaza, N. E", Dayton, OH 45402

BILL SNORTELAND 2122 Overbrook, Lakewood, OH 44107

JOHN D. THOMAS 122 Nesbit, Rochester, MI 48063

ROBERT G. WICKENS 637 N. Abbe Rd., Elyria, OH 44035

lll',llllllllllllilillll',ll',

In other NARP action •••••••"''

,,, Recommended nomination of RON VANDERKOOI of Grand Rapids, MI, as a NARP Director-at-Large.

••. Directed Regional Directors to seek change in NARP's Constitution so that annual regional meetings and elections do not fall in mid­winter months"

,,, Directed Regional Directors to seek inclusion of the State of Ind­iana in NARP Region VI (possibly with the exception of counties in the N.W. corner of that state) as, by and large, Indiana's rail prob­lems are similar to Ohio's and to Michigan's. It was noted there are about 85 NARP members in the entire State of Indiana"

••• Passed a resolution deploring the deterioration of Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited services. ----

••• Passed a resolution requesting the General Accounting Office (GAO) to audit Amtrak billings from con­tract railroads for any three-month billing period. MARP officers re­~orted two Amtrak auditors found $400,000 in overcharges after just one day of investigation in the De­troit District. And it was also learned that for a period of time, three ICG 403-b trains in Illinois were being billed to the State of Michigan! An incredible gaffe!

6

TOM DOUGHERTY, FROM SENATOR GLENN'S WASHINGTON OFFICE, IS GUES'l' SPEAKER

Though we tried to get the Senator himself to address the Region VI NARP Meeting, this was not possible, due to prior commitments. But the Sen­ator's Legislative Assistant, Tom Dougherty, and Press Secretary Steve Avakian did come and Dougherty's ad­dress was very well received by all in attendance.

Some excerpts:

"I think it's about time those of us ~ who have had pleasant experiences on trains are heard. The press today on rail passenger service is almost uni­formly bad. I've yet to read a story in the past two years that didn't '~' a preponderance of criticism over praise. I certainly admit there's a lot to complain about, but let's get some balance into our regional and national publications."

"The Senator and I have seen a lot of cooperation during his efforts to con­tinue the National Limited over its current route through Dayton. He ex­perienced the strong support of OARP, ORTA, NARP, Dayton Chamber of Commerce and other concerned individuals and organizations. The combination of constant pressure, legal maneuvering and some legislative sleight-of-hand produced the happy result-- the train was saved. I feel sure that where we failed in keeping our collective acts together was when we failed to commun­icate. I know there were times when instead of making sure everyone knew what was going on, what the next pol­itical move might be, and how everyone could be helpful, I just moved ahead. I think this victory taught us all that we need each other-- including Amtrak. We realize that perfectly legitimate stirrings to compose our own individual marching tune should best be left to a time when the stakes are not so high and we can afford ~ luxury of independent experimentat We've learned from a victory, fortu, .. ately. Let's make sure this is the beginning of a winning streak-- to­gether we can."

(continued on next page)

"I believe tt1e ·:o· Repre;Jentatives, 1

plGmental growinlc': re AmericarL; do want trains, and are ~! ical battle :.·or ti have to insist tn~ Administration t~ ic;Lically or an e; and imagi n wf.c.~ without~ rail ua:;sE thic; nation."

"God help Wl i:' RE

Lhe :ohift to raih

" ena tor GlGnn anc ~ po:Je>~bl~ -.- wi"

( the. Jhlm.LEl3 ~r::: , .Aer;; ln lJoth r:Iec;sagl' -- the mec;c ican people do no1 LraiE:l -·-and their not on the good c] gia; but rather ic re:;earched, t:oc;ci c

"TLle r1 i .. ;c rPJJ'mc y :: railroad :~pend to which oun; has r:.obile econc:r,J," --· Root;. Rot'\, ['f,;,

RA'I'ES REDUCED O'i ic

?rorn i"eb, lO, t!te co:c>t of ArE~?J' U .. 2.A. Rf..IL H::; i to ~1 c;9; t'1e 1--d3

; ~end the JO-d to 5~J. Th i :-~ r.u-,. RA TL PA:j:: cne G~ t

in tiw U::' ce

~Ll'cck' :; Ro:::nl .r. ,.

.~ell ?nd to lL're .trgc:; r;~; $1 cr: :

1l p t () ,j) 9 . 9 9 ' t () ::;; : r;o::Li:"" :j)i\0 cr r;:Gr

[)c;comr::: 8f'tecti'l8 i cr-lar:;~:-:; (Jr: 1 1

) rcu~

crc::J l rjE;y~l(]f',d ill 3

~p

DOfTl~f1E R'TY (from previous page)

"I believe tile vote in the House of Reprec;entati·ves, recommitting the sup­plemental appropriations bill, shows a grow realization in Congress that Americam; do Wd.nt their passenger traim3, and are prepared to do poli t­ical battle for them. We absolutely have to insist that Congress and the Administration start thinking real-istical an energy-scarce future, and whd.t it would be like without rail passenger service across this nation."

"God help u~; if we are not ready for the ;;l1if"i: to rails which is coming."

"~~ena tor Glenn :::md I will help in any FJ poc3~3ible --with both the Congress ~ the Administration. Decision . ·"erc3 in both places must get the rr""'3sage -- the me,;,:age that the Amer­ican people do not want to lose their trainCJ --- anci their reaHoning is based

od old times-- on nostal-a; but r is based on thoroughly

rec·;earched, IJ'OOd old common senf3e,"

"The cli:;crPlJancy between highway and railro:Jcl ,;pc~nd reflects the extent to which ours has become an auto­mobile econorqv," --·Robe. Roth·, Philadelphia Bulletin)

RATES REDUCED ON AhiTRAK USA RAIL PASS

~rom Feb, lO, J978 thru May 15, 1978, the cocot of Amtrak':::; popular 14--day U •• A. RAil, PAS i~; dropped from $185 to $1~o; ~he 21-rtay pass from $250 to

lS; :u1d the ')0-day ]Jal3S from $295 to ;ji;~ 'o. 'Th i !llove hac3 made the USA RAIL PA:3:: onP o t the best travel bar­

in tf1,~ Ur:i ted tates,

~rak', ,; Bo:1;·d r i Direc ton3 vo~ed on r ch c'lld '~0 tncrease peak perlod

__,_rp;o:; 1J;; $1 on ticl,etc; now priced :.111 to .j;'l,CJ9, to ,:tJS on a ticket now co:' t :j)cW or rr'ore, 'The new fares beconw ef':or:ti';e in h!ay 1978. Extra cl:ac,u:e:' c) 1 '! route:J with heavy seas­Gr.ai demarrl will apply, 6-15- 9-5,

7

A NEW AMTRAK BILL IS INTRODUCED ! ! ! !

Senator Russell Long, on January JOth, introduced a bill which will eventually become the 1978 Amtrak Authorization Act. Long's bill includes $550 million for nationwide operations, $200 million for capital grants, and $83 million for Northeast Corridor operations.

The dead­line for the USDOT Amtrak Route Struc­ture Study is now set back to May 1st, from a previous March 1st deadline.

Sen. Long stated: "Obviously, since it will take almost a year to put the new route structure in place, we will need sufficient authorizations to operate the existing system until such time as we can make the changes to a new sys­tem,"

The release of the DOT Study is to be followed by a period of three to four months during which the public would have an opportunity to examine and comment upon the Secretary's pro­posal. Public hearings would be held across the nation by the ICC's Rail Services Planning Office.

The Secretary would then have an as~c3igned period of time (pos ibly 90 days) in which to prepare a set of Final Recommendations. If neither the House nor Senate dis­approve within 60 days of the Plan's release, then the Secretary's Plan becomes the new Amtrak system and Am­trak would be directed to implement it.

If rejected by either the House or the Senate, the Administration would have 45 days to revise and resubmit the Plan to Congress.

Meanwhile, President Carter's budget for FY 1979 recommends an Amtrak operating subsidy of $510 million (Amtrak requested $61J mil­lion), $101 million for capital im­provements (Amtrak requested $341.4 million), $25 million for debt retire­ment and $24 million for Northeast Corridor purchase payments, The total is $363.3 million less than Amtrak says it needs!

OARP will be gearing up for the public hearings on Amtrak which will probably take place during the summer months. And in the mean-~ ~ime we wjll be watching all develop­ments quite carefully,

CAPITAL DISTRICT -- by OARP Columbus Area Coordinator KARL J. GELFER 614-291-9246 87 E. 14th Ave., Columbus 4J201

BULLETIN lllllllllllllllllllll

I hope all "6:53" readers will find this column an interesting and informative addition to our newsletter, 0

A R D

Probably the biggest rail news item to come out of the Columbus area this winter was the release of Ohio Rail's High-Speed Passenger Plan for the State of Ohio. The Phase I Report was released January 1Jth at a Statehouse press conference in which our own Tom Pulsifer par­ticipated along with Ohio Rail Board members Ted Kauer and DaveWeir, plus Ohio Rail Director Nat Simons, Sen. Anthony Calabrese and Rep. Art Wilkowski. Ohio Rail has so far conducted additional press con­ferences in Toledo and Youngstown. Briefings on the Pas,~enger Plan are slated for Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland and Akron.

Public hearings on the Ohio Rail Passenger Plan (Phase I) Report are reportedly to begin sometime this spring, conducted by a joint Se~. ate/House Committee of the Ohio General Assembly" As I write th5 ·

official notice of these public hearings has not yet been made. It could be made anytime now. For current information, OARP members migh-c call either my­self, or Pres. Tom Pulsifer (513-372-9868), or their own State Representative.

OARP plans to participate in these public hearings. Since our President Tom Pulsifer is a member of the Ohio Rail Transportation Authority Board, it was decided at our February 4th meeting in Toledo that HOWARD HARDING (489 OVERWOOD ROAD, AKRON, OH 44313 - 216-867-5507) would serve as a central person to assem­ble input from OARP members, organize it into a formal presentation, and deliv­er this testimony from OARP on behalf of the organization to the joint Senate/ House Committee.

OARP members should direct their comments to Howard as soon as possible. For a copy of the Phase I Ohio Rail Passenger Plan, write or call Ohio Rail, Suite 3414, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus 43215, 614-466-5816. This does not prevent in­dividual OARP members from participating in the public hearings, but we felt a coordinated presentation would be moPt effe~tive and efficient,

The National Limited has been rerout- In the wake of the recent, nationally-ed a number of times this winter over publicized, railroad tank car derail-the former NYCRR mainline from Colum- ment/disasters, I think OARP should bus to Crestline, thence over the PRR support a long-overdue Federal probe Broadway route to Pittsburgh. One of railroad tank car safety in the Sunday morning I saw #31 coming down handling of dangerous toxic and flam-this line just south of Weber Road in mable cargoes. To come a little clos-Columbus' North End with two A units er to home, Conrail has had two costly back-to-back and only four revenue derailments recently east of Columbus cars, three coaches and a diner- involving ammonia spills. A cannister lounge, No sleeping car that day. or radioactive material fell off a N&W

On March 15th, two Ohio legislators, Sen. Anthony Calabrese from Cleveland and Rep. Arthur Wilkowski of Toledo, officially become Ohio Senate- and House-appointed members of the Board of the Ohio Rail Transportation Auth­ority. Both legislators are well­known for their pro-rail attitudes. Rep. Wilkowski is known as the prime force behind the legislation which created the Rail Authority, 8

train south of Columbus. I have even seen juveniles trying to tamper with valves on cars of liquid propane, vin­yl chloride and ethylene oxide park~ in unprotected locations right here the City of Columbus! Just imagine what might happen if ••. And since Am­trak trains share the tracks which carry these hazardous substances, it's our duty, I think, to insist on im­proved safety standards in this regard.

Ohio native and ~AF well recently prep~ the USDOT a plan fc the nationwide Amt! bluntly; the plan l has already antagor iL also exhibitc3 sc thinking on what c~ Amtrak's got on har

OARP has ordered a is publishing the E this time we haven' thanks to a summarj published in RTN, ' Plan will affect Or

BOSTON-ALBANY-CHICJ

(~s~on section. uraln. Run c onnE Shore, Albany to

NEW YORK-CHICAGO:

in daylight acroc pair of present l into JOth ~areet instead of at Hal Cleveland-Pi ttsb1 burgh with the lli train via Cumber: Run a Ft. Wayne~ Limited, both w~

NEW YORK-DETRO IT:

with the Broadw~

NEW YORK-KANSAS CI

land-Columbus-D~ at Cleveland. fu ing with the Bro:

;~HENANDOAH-CARDINA.

:>eparate day tra Hill topper a:; a ·, ern Railway thru

CHlCA:;O-.?LORlDA:

~cember 1979 vi; · J.con--:;avannah t

train now. The "Ha;;well Plan" are and to the pla' overnight and vice be expanded o

I

THE "HA;),oJr~LL PLAN" ---HOW IT AFFECTS OHIO

Ohio native and NARP founder Anthony Has­well recent prepared and c3ubmi tted to the USDO'J' a plan for the restructuring of the nationwide Amtrak system. To put it bluntly; the plan is controversial. It has already antagonized many people. Yet it also exhibits some very innovative thinking on what can be done with what Amtrak's got on hand at this time.

OARP has ordered a copy (Rail Travel News is publi:;hing the entire plan) and at this time we haven't received it. But thanks to a summary which was recently published in RTN, here's the way Haswell's Plan will affect Ohio:

BOSTON-ALBANY-CHICAGO: Discontinue Lake

(Js~on 'vraln. Shore,

Shore Limited'S c;ec tion, Run a Bm;ton-P i ttsfield

Run connecting bus from Lake Albany to Pittsfield.

HASWELL NOMINATION IS DELAYED

A Senate committee has approved four of President Carter's nom­inees to seats on Amtrak's Board of Directors, and has tabled the nominations of two others.

Those approved are UTU President Emeritus Charlie Luna, Washington Attorney Ron Nathan, University of Michigan law professor Harry Edwards, and California State Sen­ator James R. Mills.

The committee declined to act on the nominations of Carter buddy Frank Neel, the heating and air­conditioning contractor from Thomasville, GA; and Anthony Has­well, attorney and founder of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

NEW YORK-CHICAGO: Reroute and reschedule Broadway Limited via Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo, Reschedule Lake Shore Limited to run

in daylight across New York State. Consolidate Lake Shore Limited with one pair of present Buffalo-New York trains. Speed up schedules. Run Broadway into 30th treet Station in Philadelphia and make Washington connection there instead of at Harrisburg. Run connecting train from the Lake Shore Limited, Cleveland-Pittsburgh with thru cars, Chicago-Pittsburgh, connecting at Pitts­burgh with the National Limited for New York. Run a Pittsburgh-Washington, DC, train via Cumberland, meeting the Lake Shore Limited connection at Pittsburgh. Run a Ft. Wayne-Chicago train. Run a bus connection, Canton to the Broadway Limited, both ways.

NEW YORK--DETROIT: Discontinue the Niagara Rainbow. Run Toronto-Buffalo-New York train. Run Pontiac-Detroit-Toledo train connecting

with the Broadway Limited at Toledo.

NEW YORK-KANSAS CITY: Discontinue the National Limited between Pittsburgh and St, Louis; also its Washington connection, Run a Cleve­

land-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati train, connecting with the Broadway Limited at Cleveland, Run a Pontiac-Detroit-Toledo-Lim~-Indianapolis train, connect­ing with the Broadway Limited at Toledo.

SHENANDOAE-CARDINAL-HII,LTOPPER: Discontinue the Shenandoah west of Clarksburg. Divide the Cardinal at Charleston, WV. Run

separate day trains, Charleston-Washington and Charleston-Chicago. Run the Hilltopper a:J a Williamson-Washington day train via Lynchburg and the South­ern Railway Lhru CharlottesviJ,le.

CHICAGO--i~'LORIDA: Su,,pend the Flor.idian temporarily, Run it tri-weekly next winter via Nashville-Chattanooga-Atlanta and daily starting

,.,...ecember J979 via Indianapolis-Cincinnati-Chattanooga, etc, Run Atlanta-' J.con-:;avannah t~ain now, Run Detroit-Indianapolis-Louisville-Nashville

train now.

The "Haswell Plan" strec3ses that trains should be routed where the most people are and to the places most people want to go, that less emphasis be placed on overnight and long-distance trains, and that any remaining long-distance ser­vice be exranded or contracted according to seasonal tourist travel demands,

9

FEBRUJ (TOP: One of was Pearl Dei temporary Amt trackside at RIGHT: Friend nounces the a trak's Lakefr Chronicle-Tel

It was a happ ebrated the o ficial, Rober cutting cerem member/NARP r locate an Amt Amtrak agent

switch thrown. A waste in time and waste in ef­ficiency. And we don't dare ask where the sig­nal maintainer lives! He's the guy who gets called out of bed at 2:00am a~ter word has fin­ally filtered down through the chain of command that a switch is frozen, or crossing gates are stuck down, or something. You can bet that he doesn't live within ten miles of his work site!

111111111111111111111

Yet another rail passenger group is following our example with How-To-Find-The-Station maps, Citizens for Rail California. They've done a good one for Fullerton, CA. Our friend, Harry Sova, is now very active with that organization on the West Coast. ~'

111111111111111111111

Demand for our OARP Station Maps has decreased to almost nothing. And at this time we are a bit hesitant to do a lot of reprinting (supply of most maps is quite low) until we see what will happen to the "Amtrak System". Some ideas on this matter would be appreciated.

111111111111111111111

Membership is stable (at a little over 400) and [ we are growing slightly. weare trying to take advantage of every opportunity possible to get OARP before the publico Maybe we need to have a definite "membership drive" for our Fifth Year! Our treasury is ••• well, we're able to meet the normal bills (postage & printing take the biggest chunk every two months) but we've got almost nothing left over for special pro­jects, etc. Additionally ••• We're investigat-ing some discrepancies between what Conrail says and what Conrail does that could have ser­ious implications on Amtrak service in Ohio. Several of our northern Ohio letter-writing mem­bers are squaring-off, in the press, with Grey­hound's V -P Ballard Peyton. We're learning a- ~. bout something called "wheel slip" and its ef-fect .Qn self-propelled rail car performance. All to help bring better passenger train ser-vices to Ohio! ~ V~-

14

NINE THOUSANG ~I~ ON AN!Tl\AK ANJ J'i-E SOtliE SURPRI:~£::J -.~m;JE DISAPPOINTI,ill BUT THE HORRO~ '~'

Los Angeles o--~Flagsta'

Ph ()... c oenlx

~~' S vmERE PAUL

SEND FOR A COPY Kindly send us stamp;J if that'; and mail your n OARP I p. 0. BOX (

PAUL'S BEST AND';/(

ly on the specific

Best ON-TIME Perfc Sunset Limited, Montrealer, E~p:

Best TRACK Condit: Conrail (NY-Wasr ATSF (Flagc;taff­BN (Seattle--Min'

Best DINING & LOll Sunset Limited, Lake Shore Limi i

Best CONDUCTORS SP (Sunset Ltd. SP (Coast Starlj BN (Empire Builc ATSF (Southwest CR (Chicago-Bufj

-~ Shore ~Ltd,) st FEATURES Excellent meals prices -· A notal cleanliness of c

r

NINE THOUSAND !1iiLE,; ON t, U.S.A. RAIL PASS ON MlTHAK AND 1'HE :;OUC:l'J-LERN RAILWAY -· SOf,1E SURPHL)E::; --SOME DISAPPOIN'l'lilEN'l':; -3U'r 1'HE HORROR STORIES AREN'T TRUE

Los Angele~>

o---n Flagstaff

by Paul Bunting

Montreal

OARP member and former Daytonian, Paul Bunting of Churchville, PA, embarked last September on a 15-day cross-country rail trip using a 14-day U.S.A. RAIL PASS.

Paul, who is a radio newscaster, has written a well-organized and detailed account of his rail ex­periences. It goes beyond being "just another trip report", For Paul's rail knowledge and his news reporting background helped him write an in-depth account of his trip experiences, procedures encountered, and why things are the way they are, Paul's manus­cript as submitted to OARP was 24 pages of single-spaced copy!

r:.E' S WHERE PAUL BUNTING WENT ...•. , .•..•

Rather than to cut any of it (for the whole work is an enter­taining and thought-provoking account of long-distance rail travel in the U.S. today) we de­cided to reproduce it in its en­tirety and make it available at no charge (except for postage donation) to anyone who requests a copy.

SEND FOR A COPY OF PAUL'S REPORT! Kindly send us 35¢ postage, or three 13¢ stamp:l if that as easier, for each copy and mail your request to: OARP, P. 0. BOX 6')], XENIA, OH 45385 Below, a summary of his trip:

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

PAUL aS BEST AND WORST OF A!VlTRAK AND THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY The choices listed here are based on­

on the specific days he rode them: ly on the specific trains he rode, and

Best ON-TIME Performar>c::e Sunset Limited, Southwest Limited, Montrealer, Empire Builder

Best TRACK Conditions Conrail (NY-Wash, Chi-Toledo) ATSF (Flagstaff--LA) BN (Seattle-Minneapolis)

Best DINING & LOUNGE CREWS Sunset Limited, Coast Starlight, Lake Shore Limited, Montrealer

Best CONDUCTORS SP (Sunset Ltd. in Texas) SP (Coast Starlight) BN (Empire Builder) ATSF (Southwest Ltd.) CR (Chicago-Buffalo on the Lake

,... Shore Ltd,) st FEATURES Excellent meals and at reasonable prices - A notable improvement in cleanliness of coaches and restrooms.

15

Worst ON-TI!VlE Performance Southern Crescent, Coast Starlight, Lake Shore Limited

Worst TRACK Conditions SP (New Orleans-Beaumont) SR (in North Carolina) MILW (Minneapolis--Milwaukee) B&NI (White R. Jct.-Springfield)

Worst DINING & LOUNGE CREWS no award given here

Worst CONDUCTORS SR (but keep in mind they have a

morale problem) CR (Buffalo to Syracuse on the

Lake Shore Ltd.) Worst FEATURES

Car attendants - Scratched, fogged Lexan windows - Poor maintenance on leg-rest coaches - Conductors turn­ing on lights during the night.

(continued on next page .. : • , • , •• )

PAUL'S BEST & WOR~;T ... (continued from previouu pa~~e)

DISAPPGlNTr,JENTS No dome as advertised on the Coast Starlight and the Southwest Limited. The Adirondack.

BEST OVERALL TRAIN=; Sunset Limited Montrealer

HONORABLE MENTION Coast Starlight Empire Builder

UNEXPECTED PLEASURE

SURPRISE;; Five domes on the Empire Builder. The Montrealer (The bad press this train receives wasn't true.)

WOR;:;T OVERALL TRAINS Adirondack Southern Crescent

BAD ENOUGH, BUT NOT THE WORST Lake Shore Limited

Finding yourself seated next to C. Bruce Sterzing (former president of the D&H, now with the Rock Island) in the lounge car on the Lake Shore Limited!

HERE'S ONE EXAMPLE OF WHY OARP NEEDS A DUES INCREASE---WHERE DOES YOUR $5 GO?

This information was presented to the OARP meeting in Toledo by your OARP Pres~

Of your $5 annual regular membership dues

$1.10 (22%) is for PRINTING & FOLDING "the 6:5J", based on 6 issues, 1000 copies each issue @ $182.88 for each issue . . 0 0 • 0 • 0 •• 0 ••••• 0 •• a 0 0 0 0 [) • n (l ••••

$.78 (16%) goes for "6:5J" POSTAGE, based on 6 issues@ 1J¢ each,,,,,,,,,

For each issue we send a member, we also send a SUBSIDIZED SUBSCRIPTION to other ARP's, Ohio legislators, Amtrak officials, etc, •.••••.••••.• ----~

$.21 (4%) is for PRINTING & POSTAGE of MEMBERSHIP IVIATERIALS such as your . II! membership card, renewal letter, etc, ·······~I'

And all this leaves just $1.04 (21%) remaining for other purposes; stationery, envelopes, printing ~ station maps, printing and mailing press releas-es, official business phone calls, postage for routine mail, just to name a few necessities ••.••

/

/

Note: Those checking the arithmetic will find that the percentage and dollars and- cents figures in "Pulsifer's Pie" are rounded orL.

THINK OF ALL THE MORE GOOD WE COULD DO \rJITH A MORE SOUND FINANCIAL BASE!

WHEN WRITING TO M1ITRAK ... REf•lEMBER Afvl~RAK HAS MOVED! The Amtrak new address of Amtrak'~' headquarters L~ now

400 N. Capitol St. N.W. Washington, DC 200~.

ON POLITICAL ~~TTERS write to BRUCE PIKE, V-P Government Affairs ON NEW ROUTES or ROUTE CHANGES write to JOHN CLARKE, V-P :C~xr;cul.ive Pl:mning ON ADVERTISING write to AL MICHAUD, V-P !Vlarke ting, or JO~)EPH FALSF:TTI, Director

of ~arketing Services ON CONSUMER SERVICE~; (including requec;ts for refund;;) write to DENNI1 VORBAU,

Mana~Pr, Fonsumer Relations ON EQUIPMENT D.P;:;JGN and 1'ATION CONDITION,; wrl Le ro JAP>l:t<::c; COJJF:LL, V--P Oper­

ations .)upport 16

(continued .. ")

D

WHEN WRITING TO AI:>

ON COMPLAINTS ABOl DITIONS, ON-TH> QUALITY OF SER\ ABOARD TRAINS v MAN, V-P and GE tional Operatic Northeast Corri Springfield, ivlJ PA) write to AI V -P and Gene raJ Corridor,

COMMENTS regardine includin~ SONNEL zj TRAINMEN, to H. RE1 On-Board

~PUBLIC AFFAIRS (

For thbse visitin" Headquarters is lc the street from Ur

(informatic

WOOSTER UPDATE: S r

quiry in the Janua the fate of the Co WoocJter.,

The passen ed as an Ohio Hist damaged August 7, cars from a derail slammed into it. in 1890, was demol after as it could

Our thanks to all and sent clippings

IF YOU'RE

MOVING, & as soon as you Ji know your NEW ~RESS,

T US KNOW!

You can use USPS Form J576 for this purpose.

Don't become aloE

r

D

WHEN WRITING TO AMTRAK .. , (continued)

ON COMPLAINTS ABOUT EQUIPMENT CON­DITIONS, ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, AND QUALITY OF SERVICE AT STATIONS OR ABOARD TRAINS write to ROBERT HER­MAN, V-P and General Manager, Na­tional Operations, or, within the Northeast Corridor (including Springfield, !VIA, and Harrisburg, PA) write to ALBERT M. SCHOFIELD, V-P and General Manager, Northeast Corridor.,

COMiv!ENTS regarding ON-BOARD SERVICES, including MENUS and ALL PER-· SONNEL EXCEPT CONDUCTORS and 'I'RAINiv!EN, should be directed to H. REX HOLLAND, Director, On-Board Services.

~PUBLIC AFFAIRS write to EDWIN E. ( EDEL, V-P, Public

Affairs.

For those visiting Washington, Amtrak Headquarters is located almost across the street from Union Station.

(information courtesy of NARP)

WOOSTER UPDATE: Several OARP members responded to our in­

quiry in the January issue regarding the fate of the Conrail (PRR) depot at Wooster,

The passenger depot, designat­ed as an Ohio Historical Landmark, was damaged August 7, 1977, when piggyback cars from a derailed Conrail freight slammed into it, The structure, built in 1890, was demolished shortly there­after as it could not be repaired.

Our thanks to all who wrote in on this and sent clippings for our files.

IF YOU'RE

MOVING,

as soon as you know your NEW ~RESS,

r T US KNOW

You can use USPS Form 3576 for this purpose.

I I II I

I Don't become a lost member! 17

OARP PURSUES STAT ION CONDI'riON GRIPES

In our last issue we reported that one of our OARP members had his car towed from the supposed Amtrak park­ing lot at Crestline and advised our membership to use caution when long­term parking at that site to avoid the same fate.

We wrote a letter de­tailing the incident to Amtrak's De­troit District Manager Bob Runnels.

Runnels replied, "As to your letter of January 10, 1978, concerning parking at the Crestline Station, I have checked out the parking situation and I find that our lot is really behind the station and not to the front as shown on the OARP map. I also found that the State D.O.T. had erected signs that do show parking as the map indicated. A request was sent to the Ohio D.O.T. some time ago to make the necessary corrections in signage, and Amtrak received a reply that it would be changed. I will have to say that this is not an ideal situation, but neither is having passengers cross over main line tracks in order to reach the station. I am open for sug­gestions from any of your members as to a better method of operation at Crestline."

OARP members with sug~estions on this may contact (Robt, W.) Runnels direct­ly at Amtrak's Detroit District office, 2405 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit, MI 48216, 313-965-7436, or may channel input through OARP.

OARP Mansfield Area Coordinator Dick Fry has recently not­ed further deterioration of the shel­tered waiting area at Crestline.

lllllllllllllllllllll

After receiving letters of complaint from two individuals (not even OARP members) in the Portsmouth, Ohio, re­gion, we have queried Amtrak as to why no attempt was made to shovel snow from the station platform at South Portsmouth, KY, or plow open the short access road from Rte, 10, for a two­week period of time! Amtrak has not yet responded to OARP's inquiry! The South Portsmouth statio~, served by the Cardinal, is an unmanned facility with a small shelter for passengers.

FROM NEWS AMTRAK

THE TWELVE h:L:)lNG iHLE:::: WILL RETURN Construction of 1:~.6 mllo;3 of track between Ren;3;3elaer and Po;~-c Road, NY, to be used by Amtrak' Ijake ,;[wre Limited-Boston ~ection, was approved by Amtrak'" Board on January ;) 5th. This line, the former Boston-Albany passenger main line, was abandoned by Penn Cenlral in 1972. It will re­duce the operating time of the Amtrak service by J2 minutes at a cost of $4.1 million.

LAKE SHORE LIMITED TO BE RE-EQUIPPED A conversion program to re-equip 59 cars and 9 locomotives to all-elect­ric heating and air-conditioning was approved January 25th by Amtrak's Board of Directors. The equipment is to be used on the Lake Shore Limited route between Chicago and Boston/ New York. The work, to be done at Beech Grove Shops, will vastly improve the reliability of equipment on a route which is subjected to severely cold weather. The conversion program in­cludes 9 SDP-40 locomotives, 5 bag­gage cars, 4 dormitory/baggage cars, 27 coaches, 6 lounge cars, 5 diners, 8 sleeping cars, and 4 Slumbercoaches. The entire project should be complete about one year after the program's inception upon approval of $11.9 mil­lion in supplemental capital funds.

EXEC. V-P, CHIEF OPER. OFFICER NANlliD Martin Garelick, 5J, has been named Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Amtrak, a new position which coordinates activities of four department~~; Northeast Cor­ridor, National Operations, Market­ing and Operations iupport. Garelick is the former Vlce Presider;t of' Oper--1 ations of the Milwaukee Road where he was employed since 194/. I TURBOCLUB FEATURES FREE J,IEAL) II'\ ny

1

Complimentary meal service IS now be-1

1

ing provided for fin~~ -c1c1 JlZ':'SPn,. 1 gers on Amtr~lk' ,~:".] t Expce;O:'' 1

and Empire :_;tate rbol ine;;,, I' 18

hlt'l'Hi-X CJI~i~·· R;. liF:H--:;r~.ED LOCO'c:OTIIJE,; ArnLraY: ha:~ c:cm'Y':lcc:ed with Uw Electro~~· t.iu i.i ve [;i vi 1.on c1 Gh< co builc1 the :f'in;t uerie::; o!· YJL'W fleet of hi r;peed, lightwe t electric locomotive;; which will be used to pull trains oF up to 8 aru at speeds up to 120 in che Northea:~t Corridor. The new units are based on the Rc4a engine built by ASEA of 3weden, which Amtrak tested successfully last winter. The units will eventualJy replace the famed GG-1 locomotives from the Pennsylvania R.R.

NORTHERN OHIO GEl'S SPECIAl, TOLL-FREE NiETROLINER RESERVATION INFORf/JAlliON LINE Ohioans in the 21 19 area code~ can now make toll--free call:3 for Jv;etorO-· liner (only) re;3ervac:iom; and in:Corm­atior:. Ohioan:; in these area:; can no 1N

dial 8 00-· )2 J-·B '!6 0 for this c3erv ice. -.

Af,JTRAK OFFEm:c; BARGA IN FARES ON l'WEN':c ONE ROUTES TO BOOST OFF-PEAK TRAVEL The excursion fares, most of which ap­ply only to round-trip coach travel, offer ''aving" of up Lo 1+6/o off regular fares. Variou fare plans are in effect on all routes serv Ohio. Amtrak agent or authorized Am­trak travel agenciec; EJhould bG con:;ul t-· ed for complefe information.

NATIONAL OPERATION~:; RE3TRUCTURED, SEVEN DISTRICllS FORJV' ~ ·i~i", REGIONS An+;rak' s National Opera tiom; DerJartt•ien~ hHs been restruc~Jred, and Amtrak ser­vices in Ohio now come under two juris­dictions. The Shenandoah and Cardinal operations in Ohio come under the East­ern Region- Southern Di:3trict, Wl lliarn Grimmer, . , Miami, FL. The Broad-· way, National and Lake :3hore Limited:; fall under jurisdiction oi the Central Region-Great Lakes Di trict, Richard L. Tower, Supt., Chica~o, IL.

HOWCJM" The Dec. ?0, trak NEW~ Teatured,

appropriate seasonal ~reeL of C~R Hteam locomotive 6060 stor~! How about an Amtrak

in a cc:no /,'-· ;;cene"

IN CASF:! Conrail's current ope. ati tir~etable (.)ou th-

ern Rl'"ion) ';how:; t f'le;; for the Natiorj-al Li 1:' i :.ed 'i ia both !Jayt.on route cYld t r:c TJn ion :: it:/ ~.e ! And A:n trak

f·11 h1 ~ .-~hPd f'tr'f' '/0 r' ~qua, OH, r.:11

clec ";ci ArJ:lPcscrc, .nr LhP lli:ltional!

\I

CHESSIE STEAM SPr

Chessie System's with ex-Reading : American Freedom are scheduled for this year. OARP general schedule, individual trips bus are slated fc

Su Apr JO Baltimc Sa May 06 Bal time

Harper Su May 07 Baltimc

Martir Fr May 12 Baltimc Sa May 1J Cumber] Su May 14 Cumber]

1~ !Vlay 16 Cumber] \ May 17 PARKER~ 0d May 20 CINCINt S u May 21 C INC INt Sa Jun OJ CINCINf Su Jun 04 CINCINt Mo Jun 05 CINCINr Sa Jun 10 Chicagc Su Jun 11 Chicagc Sa Jun 17 Chicagc Su Jun 18 Chicagc Sa Jun 24 Open He Su Jun 25 Grand F Sa Jul 08 Grand F Su Jul 09 Grand F Sa Jul 15 Grand F Su Jul 16 Detroii Sa Jul 22 Detroii Su Jul 2J Detroii Sa Jul 29 Nl\!RA 3]: Su Jul JO repeat

patror !Ylo Jul J1 DETROn

(continued in ne~

REC OM!VlENDED READJ

"The End of the F Guide to Transpor solving" is an e~ illustrated, qual ·~lished by' anc

IRONMENTAL AC ~ lNC., 1 J46 C onnec Washington, DC ~ copy is just $]._:; payment with your actively-involvec should read this

• 0-·

es up

s

NE

'0-·

1\'.f

r 1-

rEN

~nt

pt-·

t:::=d

Pt;; ~-:;o pv. -·

r h-~--i ~ ~--~!

CHESSIE STEAM SPECIAl SCHEDULE IS SET FOR 1..2lQ OARP members interested in specifics on individual Chessie Steam Special ex­cursions should write to:

Chessie System's popular passenger excursions with ex-Reading T-1 #2101, which pulled the American Freedom Train in many eastern states, are scheduled for systemwide operation again this year, OARP has received a copy of the general schedule, but as yet no specifics on individual trips, Several trips out of Colum­bus are slated for this year's specials.

t CHESSIE STEAM SPECIAL DEPT. CJ CHESSIE SYSTEM 2 NORTH CHARLES STREET BALTIMORE, MD 21201

Su Apr JO Baltimore-Hagerstown RT Sa May 06 Baltimore-Silver Spring-

05 COLUMBUS-ASHLAND RT 06 COLUMBUS-TOLEDO RT

Harpers Ferry-Martinsburg RT Su May 07 Baltimore-Harpers Ferry-

Sa Su Sa Su Sa Su Sa Su Sa Su Fr Sa Su Sa Su

Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep

12 COLUMBUS TO CLEVELAND OW 1J CLEVELAND:WILLARD RT @ 19 CLEVELAND-WILLARD RT @ Martinsburg via Old Main RT

Fr May 12 Baltimore to Cumberland OW Sa May 13 Cumberland-Rockwood RT Su May 14 Cumberland-Terra Alta RT

,.... May 16 Cumberland to Parkersburg OW ~ May 17 PARKERSBURG TO CINCINNATI OW

0ct May 20 CINCINNATI-ASHLAND RT Su May 21 CINCINNATI-CHILLICOTHE RT Sa Jun OJ CINCINNATI-NORTH VERNON RT Su Jun 04 CINCINNATI-ASHLAND RT Mo Jun 05 CINCINNATI TO CHICAGO OW Sa Jun 10 Chicago-Hartford RT Su Jun 11 Chicago-Garrett RT Sa Jun 17 Chicago-Peru RT Su Jun 18 Chicago to Grand Rapids OW Sa Jun 24 Open House at Grand Rapids Su Jun 25 Grand Rapids-Plymouth RT Sa Jul 08 Grand Rapids-Plymouth RT Su Jul 09 Grand Rapids-Hartford RT Sa Jul 15 Grand Ranids to Detroit OW Su Jul 16 Detroit-Clio RT Sa Jul 22 Detroit-Clio RT

Su Mo

0 Sa .P Su 6 Sa OJ Su

'r:> .o Sa

20 CLEVELAND TO PITTSBURGH OW 26 Pittsburgh-Rockwood RT 27 Pittsburgh-Wheeling RT@ 09 Pittsburgh-Pt. Marion RT 10 Pittsburgh-Rockwood RT 15 Pittsburgh to Cumberland OW 16 Cumberland-Harpers Ferry RT 17 Cumberland to Baltimore OW 23 Baltimore-Philadelphia RT 24 Baltimore-Silver Spring-

Harpers Ferry-Martinsb'g RT Sep JO Baltimore-Harpers Ferry

via Old Main Line RT 01 Baltimore-Hagerstown RT 02 Baltimore to Richmond OW 07 Richmond-Balcony Falls RT 08 Richmond-Balcony Falls RT 14 Richmond to Clifton ForgeOW 15 Clifton Frg. to Huntington OW 21 Huntington-Hinton RT 22 Huntington-Hinton RT

Su Jul 23 Detroit-Grand Ledge RT Sa Jul 29 NMRA Spl. Detroit-Saginaw Su Jul JO repeat of Jul 29 trip if

~ Su Sa Su RT ~

:::>

Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct

28 Huntington-Hinton RT 29 HUNTINGTON-COLUMBUS RT

patronage warrants !Ylo Jul 31 DETROIT TO COLUMBUS OW

(continued in next column ... )

RECOMMENDED READING , , , , , , , .

"The End of the Road: A Citizen's Guide to Transportation Problem­solving" is an eye-opening, well­illustrated, quality paperback ~lished by, and available from, r IRONMENTAL ACTION FOUNDATION, lNC., 1346 Connecticut Ave,, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. A single copy is just $3.50. Send your payment with your order. Every actively-involved OARP member should read this manual.

'Zii RT- Round trip from lst named point, .c: OW - One way (ferry move) trip only. g @- Open window and premium-fare cars

only on this trip.

OHIO RAIL HOLDING PUBLIC MEETINGS OUTSIDE OF COLUMBUS ON PASSENGER PLAN . , ....

The Ohio Rail Transportation Authority is holding a series of public meetings on the Rail Passenger Plan. Meetings have already been held in Toledo (Feb, J) and Youngstown (Feb. 24), Upcoming meetings are set for Cincinnati (Mar, 31), Dayton (Apr, 14), Cleveland (Apr. 28), and Ak­ron/Canton (May 12). Contact OHIO RAIL (Suite 3414, JOE. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215 (614)-466-5816) for specific location and time.

19

ALL ABOARD FOR INDIANAPOLIS

Take the FAMILY on a one-day excursion on the NATIONAL LIMITED!

Convenient schedule makes INDIAN­APOLIS an IDEAL destination, The Indianapolis Amtrak Station is right downtown! Handy!

Why not have breakfast in the DINING CAR on the way over, and din­ner in the diner on the way home?

Departs COLUMBUS 6:50a daily Departs DAYTON 8:40a daily Arrives INDIANAPOLIS 11:40a daily

Departs INDIANAPOLIS 7:10p daily Arrives DAYTON 9:30p daily Arrives COLUMBUS 11:15p daily

ROUND-TRIP COACH EXCURSION FARES: from COLUMBUS $20.00 from DAYTON $12.50

Children under 12 go half-fare!

Use your Kellogg's Coupons for your kids and save even more!

The Children s Museum 30th & Mer1d1un lndiat~opolis lnd1ana 46208

Thl'rl''s nothing quitl' likl' it.

Tiw ( ~hildn n's l'v1rl~l'lllll, rlw brgL·st ()tits Lind in tiw wmid. iLlS tlw \\'ckollll' m:11 out f(1r l'H'r\(llll'. lll'

lll:lttn \viLli ;Jg,· :\t;d, \\'hi],. t!wr,.'s .1

ch:1rgc for somv ·:JCti,·itil·s, tnLht'llm

:1drnission is alwa\·s tr,'c.

Museum hours: 1 Oa - 5p Tue s-Sa t 1p- 5p Sundays

Closed Mondays, New Years Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, Xmas.

For details, CALL AMTRAK in COLUMBUS at 614-224-0440, in DAYTON at 513-228-3070, or toll-free at 800-621-0317, or your AMTRAK travel agent.

1 9 7 8 OARP CALENDAR STILL AVAILABLE!

We still have plenty of calendars left, even though we're well into 1978. Each calendar measures approx. 9" x 12" and features a full-color photo of an Amtrak (Rohr) Turboliner while on a press run through central Ohio in 1976, Our calen­dars are printed on heavy white card stock.

We'd like to MOVE these calendars, so ef­fective right now, we'll send you TWO of our CALENDARS for each $1.00 donation that you send OARP!

How can you beat that?

Well .•• if you pick up calendars at an OARP meeting or display (so we don't have to mail 'em to you) we'll let you have THREE for a dollar, -Act now! Get a quantity to give out to your associates or as a public relation~ gesture.

Make your donation payable to OARP and send it to us at P.O. Box 653, Xenia, OH 45J85o

AND HOW ABOUT THOSE

OARP COFFEE MUGS!! We started

out with 12 cartons of

OARP mug::; (288) and we've already sold the contents of one carton since we received them on the 17th of February. They look real good! Our mugs feature our logo, association name and address, plus a detailed drawing of a mod­ern passenger train, all done in deep blue. The mugs are white-glass

GET YOUR OARP COFFEE MUG FOR JUST ~ PER MUG BY MAIL, We'll pack yours carefully in those"styrofoam peanuts" for safe shipment to you.

OR ••• IF YOU GET YOUR rviUGS AT AN OARP IVTEET­ING OR DISPLAY, WE'LL LET YOU HAVE 'EM FOR JUST $2.00 EACH.

Note: If you don't use your mug for coffee or tea, our mugs make neat desk--top pencil/ pen holders!

YOUR DONATIONS HELP OUR TREASURY! Make ~t your check to OARP and mail to us at Bo 65J, Xenia, OH 45385.

ELYRIA's AJ\iiTRAK STATION is now STAFFED from 7:JO-lO:JOam and from 9:00pm-Midnight daily. TICKETS SOLD & CHECKED BAGGAGE HANDLED!

20

BAGGAGE~ Amtrak systemwide r an 11% drop in Nove

·lllilllll!>.l I

OARP member, NARP 1

Hobert G. Wicken" v TRAVELMART TOUR of York City from Elyr is $1JO.OO. InterE should contact Wicl Rd., Elyria 440J5) (111 Cedar St., El;

·tt-t+IH+tt+tm

Amtrak restored 'thE F1~ on February 2c s~ time modified the ~ilver Meteor '

llllilllllllt!

A major step towarc liability of Ar:Jtra}

r Chicago area was rn;o with the dedicatior building for Amtra~ fueling and servicl St. Yards in Chic a"

-t+IHttttt+t+t-:

Amtrak's Montrealer with new Amfleet cc bished electric sle February 27th. The Amfleet equipment v operating reliabili comfort and interic

llllilllllllll

In conjunction witt ing at Cincinnati'c iseum, Amtrak promc on the Shenandoah, with passengers per round-trip to Cinci licothe, Athens or just $1 above the c Discount coupons fc fq~otel accor:1odai i 1 ded in the spE

1',11 1 :11111!.1.

Error in Amtrak's '2 table, form 7 of 1-#Jl at DAYTON shouJ stead of 9:00am as repeated in the Na~

•

BAGGAGE & EXPRESS Amtrak systemwide ridership suffered an 11% drop in November 1977!

11'1'1111 1\illill 11

OARP member, NARP regional director Robert G. Wickens will escort a TRAVELIVIART TOUR of 56 people to New York City from Elyria, May 4-8. Cost is $130.00. Intere8ted OARP members should contact Wickens (637 N. Abbe

'Rd., Elyria 44035) or TRAVELIVIART (111 Cedar St., Elyria 44035).

+t+ttt++llillllllllil

~ Amtrak restored the Champion (NY-1 F:~ on February 26th and at the s~ time modified the schedules of the Silver Meteor and Silver Star.

-lllllliillllllllll I It

A major step towards increased re­liability of Amtrak traim; in the

~ Chicago area was made February 9th with the dedication of a new heated building for Amtrak locomotive re­fueling and servicing at the 16th St. Yards in Chicago.

+t+ttt++tt+t+t--t+t-t+tt

Amtrak's Montrealer began operating with new Amfleet coaches and refur­bished electric sleeping cars on February 27th. The conversion to Amfleet equipment will mean improved operating reliability, passenger comfort and interior decor,

II HIll', H 'illilllllll

In conjunction with a Rodeo perform­ing at Cincinnati's Riverfront Col­

I" iseum, Amtrak promoted DOLLAR DAYS ! I, on the Shenandoah, Feb. 24-25-26,

with passengers permitted to make a round-trip to Cincinnati from Chil­licothe, Athens or Parkersburg for just $1 above the one-way fare. Discount coupons for the Rodeo and fo~otel accomodations were also ir ded in the special promotion.

1111111111111111111-f+t-

Error in Amtrak's East-Midwest time­table, form 7 of 1-8--78; time for #Jl at DAYTON c"lhould read (3 :i~Oam in­stead of 9:00am as shown. Error is

1 repeated in the National Timetable. 21

The Public Service Commission of Indi­ana has voluntarily extended subsidy of the Conrail Chicago-Valparaiso com­muter trains until the end of March, while measures to save the service are discussed"

1111111111111111111

The Lake Shore Limited, on January 14, was detoured via the old Nickel Plate (N&W) between Cleveland and Toledo via Lorain and Bellevue due to a Conrail accident. This put it into Chicago 11 hours late,

11111111111111111111

We hear rumors that the Southern Rail­way is actively considering joining Amtrak, and may do so sometime between July and December of this year. We are also getting reports that "service" on the Southern Crescent is rapidly de­clining; that SR wants out of the pas­senger business (except for the famed steam train excursions) as soon as pos­sible.

11111111111111111111

We understand that Amtrak intends to proceed with the planned reroute of the Floridian from Nashville to Chat­tanooga-Atlanta-Macon-Savannah-Jackson­ville, etc. and that the reroute might come about as soon as April JOth. The train may temporarily operate Nash­ville-Birmingham-Atlanta-Macon, etc. as the L&N is still balking at having Amtrak use its line thru Chattanooga.

1111111111111111111

Twenty-four persons were injured, none seriously, when 20 cars of the Auto­Train derailed near Florence, SC, re­cently. The train was carrying 503 passengers. All cars remained upright.

1111111111111111111

FINIS: Among the cars recently dis­posed of by Amtrak were America's very first vista-dome, Silver Dome (which we saw on our OARP tour to Beech Grove last summer), and restaurant-lounge Dix­ie Journey (ex--Maine Central "Arundel", last of the stainless-steel streamlined cars built for B&M-MeC by Osgood Bradley Div. of Pullman-Standard and which your OARP Pres. remembers well from his boy­hood years in New England and it was on the Riley the last time he rode it be­fore it was Amfleeted).

OUR IvlEE:I'ING & BANQUET WILL HELP KICKOFF

NATIONAL RAIL PASSENGER WEEK OARP SPRING

BANQUET

(April 17- 2J) ac; designated by the Executive Committee of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of RAILROAD PASSENGERS,

Let's make this our best show of support to date!

PLAN NOW TO ATTEND' ----

TENTATIVELY. OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER WILL BE

BOB CASEY Amtrak's Central Region Director of Public Affairs, Chicago

NATIONAL LIMITED NOW OFFICIALLY SAFE THRU DAYTON UNTIL EARLY 1979

Late in the afternoon of February 23rd, OARP Pres. Torn Pulsifer re­ceived a phone call from Senator John Glenn's legislative assistant Tom Dougherty that the Amtrak rail passenger service between Columbus and Indianapolis via Dayton and Richmond was now safe until such time as the outcome of the USDOT Amtrak System Study is known, prob­ably sometime in early 1979 after all the study processes are comple­ted.

This is, of course, further good news for all of us who have been fighting to keep the National Limited in Dayton.

Latest ridership figures are thanks to Joe Vranich, Amtrak/Public Affairs:

Dec £g Dec 76 Columbus 2,0 1,179 Dayton 1,446 796 Indianapolis 2,448 1,745

Columbus Dayton Ind'polis

Calendar Year 19F 19£6

l7,J 2 9.9~2 14,382 7,499 22,350 l5,L~57

Increase up 73.5% up 81.7% up 1-J-O. J%

up 74.6% up 91.8% up 44,6%

AND

ANNUAL MEETING

-SAT., APRIL 15, 19', -J

in C 0 L U NJ BUS at the HOLIDAY INN/ DOWN­TOWN, 175 E. Town Street, just off Fourth Street.

Easy access to or from I-70 and I-71.

COME BY AMTRAK! We understand some of our friends with the

Keystone ARP are planning to come in on the National Limited that day.

CO!VIE BY (ahem!) GREYHOUND! The Bus Sta-­tion is

right acrocos Fourth Street from the Holiday Inn/Downtown.

WE'LL HAVE: DISPLAYS FREE MATERIALS MU'RAK :r'IMETABLES

LITERATURE AND

OARP's CONTINUOUS DISPLAY SLIDE ~3HOW(many new slides in this one)

OARP' s NEW COFFEE lviUGS, 1978 COLOR CAL-­ENDARS, "ALL ABOARD" BALLPOINT PENS AND OARP BADGES will be available for all who don't have these items yet.

WE'LL AWARD A DOOR PRIZE (or two) at­Lhe end of the afternoon, drawing t names of lucky winners from among tr1,c re stration slips. Door prizes are donated itemr-;,

REfiiE~lRER! YOU DON' 1' HAVE 'rO BE AN OARP We are now watching with interest [vlENJBER TO CONJ.2. BRING A FRIEND ALONG! the increasing u::;e of the Richmond y d h t b 1: t t th

22 ou _Q ave o e 8 rnem Jr~r o vo e, . o. line by Conrail for freight trains.

:SANQUi':'I N!;c;NU !'or ~

Your choice of YAN ~RDINIERE or Bh

And NOWFLAKE POTA PEARL ONION~, GA CREAM, ROLL:; and

WE MUST RECEIVE yc ar

'::ou mw;t re ster lhis Banquet and

WE REGRET THAT NO AFTER APRIL 12th,

Question? Call OA 513-372-9868 bet~

~6.00 per person In­cludes:

* your meal * gratuity *:;tate/local

taxes * small donation

to OARP to help cover expenses con­nected with this meeting.

TO PREVENT MI:;UN­DERSTANDING: We will hold your banquet ticket(s) and your receipt (if you requested one) unles" you r-;end us a self­addre::;sed stamped envelope with your registration and payment.

'ro avoid cuLl '-vour "6: s-3",

can make a 'raccoimile or the regir1trat ion form~--~ ••.••••

~E2, YOU fcPRIL 1'

3ANQU:2:T 1i11~NU lor the APRIL 15th f,lcE'I'lW.:: SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

Your choice of YANKEE POT ROA:;T OF BEEF, JARDINIERE or BAKEII r'ALIBUT ;)TEAK

lO:)Oa - Registration & Displays Open. Your OARP offic­ers will be on hand to meet and talk with you. This is a good chance to get acquainted.

And ~:NOW FLAKE POTATO:t:,;, GREiN PL<:AS AND PEARL ONION::, GARI;EN GREEN SALAD, ICE CREAN\, ROLLS and BEVERAGE,

12:JOp- BANQUET 'o'JE !'dUST RECEIVE your re stration form( s)

and payment by APRIL 12!

~ou muc:t register and pay in advance for this Banquet and OARP Meeting.

1: 15p - K E Y N 0 T E ADD RES S

2:15p- OARP Business Meeting & Election of Officers.

WE REGRET THAT NO REFUNDS CAN BE MADE AFTER APRIL 12th"

J:JOp - Film Presentation by Fred Neusser of Akron.

Question? Call OARP Pres. Pulsifer at 4:00p- Award door prize(s).

513-372-9868 between 4:00p and 9:00p. Adjournment.

~6.00 pei' person in­cludes:

* your meal *gratuity * state/ local

taxes * small donation

to OARP to help cover expenses con-· nectecl with this meeting.

TO PREVENT MI:;UN­DERSTANDING: We will hold your banquet ticket(s) and your receipt (if you requested one) unless you send us a self­addressed stamped envelope with your registration and payment.

To avoid cuttin~ ·-vour "6 : 5 J" ;· , can make a racsirnile of the

'~tration forms • ,< • , ••

:~Et: ':"OlJ H'RTL 1'

Kindly make your check payable to the OHIO ASSN. OF R.R. PASSENGERS and mail with this registration form to OARP at P.O. BOX 653, XENIA, OH 45)85,

Register ONE person per form, please!

NAiv!E -----------------------------ADDRESS ------------------------------CITY ______________________________ _

STATE/ZIP ----------------------------PHONE ____________________________ ___

Need a receipt? If so, check (

Kindly make your check payable to the OHIO ASSN. OF R.R. PASSENGERS and mail with this registration form to OARP at P.O. BOX 653, XENIA, OH 45)85.

Re ster ONE person per form, please!

NJ'.f\lE ______________ __

t.DDRES:: -----------------------------CITY ----------------------------

Ir ----------------------------tl!ONE. ---------------------------

23

PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHOICE OF ENTREE:

Yankee Pot Roast of Beef, Jar­ 0

0 diniere

Baked Halibut Steak

$6.00 enclosed (per person)

PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHOICE OF ENTREE:

Yankee Pot Roast of Beef, Jar- O diniere

Baked Halibut 0 teak

:))6. 00 enc l Ocied (pPr per,~ on)

OARP WILL RENEW FIGHT FOR BETTER CONDI'riONS FOR DAYTON RIDER:':

Now ~hat we've received the word that ~he National Limited i~ going to cotay on ~he Day~on- Richmond route uncil at lea:;t early 1979, OARP is going to renew its e~forts to gain better station conditions for Amtrak passengers at Dayton.

Dayton is the only Amtrak stop in Ohio that does not have any signage along I-75, U.S. J5 and major city streets directinc motorists to the Amtrak station. This is a resul~ of a bureau­cratic problems which have gone on for several years.

There is still no parking space set al;;ide for Amtrak patron:3, Conrail now owns the Dayton Union Station property, and there is plenty of space available. But Conrail has mosL of it rent­ed out on a long-term basis to area businesses. The rest 1s used by Conrail maintenance and signal crews now based in the Dayton station"

The station building itself is not being adequately maintained by Conrail c The excellent attention to detail which had bee.!J..... carried out by Dayton Union Railway Company Superintendent Paul Poole has been dropped, and the station maintenance st~ , now under Conrail control, has been drastically cut. And there is little the Amtrak agents can do about the problems. Burned out lightbulbs are increasingly more evident. The outside Am­trak sign is dark every night. The Amtrak office air condition­er has been out-of-order since early last summer. Water is all you can get to drink or eat, and there are no nearby desirable restaurants. The baggage elevators get less and less reliable. And the overall building, by no means decrepit or filthy, is getting dirtier and shows lack of adequate attention.

OARP will also pressure Amtrak to conduct an advertising pro­gram in the greater Dayton area and also will urge Amtrak to reconsider establishing a station stop in Springfield, Ohio. Amtrak has admitted a Springfield stop would be feasible"

OHIO ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS

Post Office Box 653 Xenia1 Ohio 1-S_3~~

53 51 ,)(:U ?H ,A, ill ".1~ i~ ~J lj J~i~ ~

:li.'J~~: ~: .:~:s ~~ ~

\..<YL ~J;..,LO,~).t~

FIRST CLASS u._

I I