The case of the roof sign missing from Albany Station was not a great mystery but, alas, a case of incomplete reporting.
With one exception caused by a thief in California, Amtrak trains have been arriving in Albany more or less on time this week. But the mayor is worried that a proposed change in federal regulation would weaken the law that says railroads must give passenger trains preference on their tracks.
Saturday was Amtrak Railroad Day in Albany, as the video shows, and at Albany Station people could look at a few displays and pick up some swag. But the future of expanded passenger rail in the Willamette Valley is anything but a sure thing.
Amtrak may not make sense in dollars and cents, but I’d hate to see Albany and much of the country lose passenger train service. So I’m glad the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed HR 749, the Amtrak funding bill. As Oregon’s Congressman Peter DeFazio said on the floor of the House, without passenger trains we’d […]
Things are happening on the passenger rail front in the Willamette Valley, one right away and the other in the indefinite future. Oregon’s two new Talgo train sets start revenue service on Monday (Jan. 6), when the number of southbound trains stopping in Albany on weekdays increases from three a day to four.
Luxury on the Starlight’s tail
As I was passing Albany Station on my bike Thursday, the sight of two rail cars with a red and white paint scheme drew my attention. The cars were attached to the tail end of Amtrak’s Train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight. Later, I looked them up online and learned they represent pretty much the height of luxury in rail travel in […]
Tags: Albany Station, Amtrak, Coast Starlight, Northern Sky Rail Charters