Train Travel

Not yet. Here's some perspective for you....There have been three California Muni Bankruptcies in the last 50 years...Now, we have three in a few months...including the largest in US history. Several more are preparing for it....while we waste billions on a High Speed Rail to Fresno.

California, like the rest of the nation, experienced an obscene housing bubble that burst in late 2008. We still haven't recovered from its aftermath.

Because local governments in California are primarily supported by property taxes, the collaspe of property values has caused local tax revenues to collapse. We're now seeing cities that managed to muddle through years of slashed revenues run out of options.

The problem that has thus far caused 0.62% of California's cities to declare bankruptcy is another feature of the housing burst of 2008, part of that year's unbelievably bad, widespread economic collapse.

alan leroy: apology accepted and thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. And it was not completely needed. I did make political statements in my initial post.

I will chime in briefly on the muni bankruptcies. I did some really brief reading on these recently. I suspect we'll be seeing more of this in the years to come. I have a work connection to a government agency that may similarly be facing similar issues.

Having done just a little reading on the bankruptcy process for cities, my point is that I don't think it's all bad. It's chance for the cities to bring all stake-holders together in front of a judge and put the city on a sustainable path. It's really a chance to re-organize where everyone is present. One of the problems for a city is they are trying to deal piecemeal with a variety of interest who each are waiting for someone else to move. This puts everyone at the table.

The problem you and I both have is that sustainable path is partly impacted by a state that is committing billions to a high speed rail of dubrious benefit. I especially have a problem when there are much better documented needs that would require much less money and could provide faster benefits, in some cases in less than a year (see the above comments on an improved LA-San Diego corridor).

Hey TB,

The other day I was looking through the July/August 2012 issue of Westways Magazine (from the Auto Club of Southern California) and there's an article about Trains in Hawaii.

If you're interested and can get to this website, try https://www.aaa.com/westways

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Thanks! I look forward to checking it out. I only know of one train in Hawaii, on Maui. I'm not sure if it even still exists. I know they're talking about a subway system or light rail for Honolulu. Years ago when trying to use the mass transit system in Honolulu, a group of us figured the reason it was called "The Bus" is because there was only one... for the entire island.

I finished the book on train travel in the US. I'll report on it in my next book report posting.

Hey TB,

You're welcome and I'm now looking at the article once again. It's called "IRON GIANTS: Lovingly tended, some of Hawai'i's railroad history lives on" By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi. It speaks about a bunch of Hawaiian rail history and then lists five different websites and the actual physical locations which recapture and celebrate Hawai'i's golden age of railroading. All but one of these places charges for Fare/Admission.

The sites are as follows:

1). Laupahoehoe Train Museum, Hawai'i Island. https://www.thetrainmuseum.com ;

2). Sugar Cane Train, Maui -- https://www.sugarcanetrain.com (I think that this is the train that you're thinking of);

3). Kaua'i Plantation Railway -- https://www.kauaiplantationrailway.com ;

4). Train Day, Kaua'i -- https://www.grovefarm.net and https://www.kauaitrains.com (this one is Free and happens on the second Thursday of each month);

and 5). Hawaiian Railway Society, O'ahu -- https://www.hawaiianrailway.com

Enjoy!

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I couldn't access Westways magazine, even though I'm a AAA member (but of Northern California. Our magazine is now called "Via" and has its own website.

I've got several tourist train guides. They list 3 railways in Hawaii, so I'm happy to get an extended list. Gives me an excuse to go to Hawaii. These lists go out of date pretty quickly. Like travel guides to Las Vegas.

This last recession hit some organizations/museums hard and they shut down. Trips I'll never be able to take. Rails are being ripped up, equipment scrapped.

Well you can try to get to the article (although I don't know for sure if it will work for you since I think that you are beyond Tulare County) through: https://www.calif.aaa.com/westways/2012/07-08/Pages/iron-giants-railroad-history.aspx?refsrc=Publications&list=ProductPromoSliderXMLPublications_SoapBox_0712AIronGiants_ImageLink and hopefully that will work.

I did find the article very interesting reading about the history of the railroad throughout the Hawaiian Islands! And I'm happy that I could provide you with the other links that you say that you didn't know about.

I also should add in that if you can see the article that I now posted you the entire link of, it is missing the website addresses that I gave you. Those came from the actual physical article. I wonder why they are not included in the website placed article!

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The original bond measure had a cost estimate of $33b and a completion date of 2020. It mandated that the trip from LA to San Fran would take 160 minutes. Due to enviromental lawsuits the 160 minute goal is history.

The california legislature passed by 1 vote a new bond because the estimate is now $68b with a 2032 completion date. Some people are estimating that the cost will come at $100b and a completion date north of 2040. Indications are that the federal govt will not kick in more than $3b.

The first leg of the rail line will be from Bakersfield to Madera and will serve only 3% of the potential ridership.

With the state teetering on bankruptcy this project should be scrapped

Keeping with the Vegas theme the proposed train line to Vegas would start in Victorville (which is the last town before hitting the desert). People would still have to drive from LA (thru all the traffic), so there is little point to the train

Yes, I saw this train stuff here in California from the get-go to be an unfortunately big waste of money that would not justify itself costwise.

And as for the Vegas train starting at Victorville and going North, that would be a waste as well because (at least from Los Angeles), Victorville is still (if I'm remembering correctly) about 80 or so miles away which would still involve a bunch of driving.

And so I think that starting at a place other than at Union Station in Downtwon Los Angeles I think would otherwise be a big waste of money!

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