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Ann Rutledge/KC
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by zephyr: [QB] A reveiw of timetables (hey, ya' got somethun' better to do?) also shows variations in train velocities mid-route. Especially between podunk oh-dark-thirty stops (I call it the "slop zone" on the schedules). Take Chico, CA (considered by many as the Amtrak stop with the very best station-side entertainment thanks to all the college kids who wander by after "closing time"). From Sacramento to Chico, the NB CS (14) takes 1'56" (scheduled CIC ETA 1:55 a.m., the "closing time" per Calif liquor laws is 2:00 a.m., ergo the entertainment). SB CS (11) to SAC slows down, taking 2'25" (30 minutes longer) per timetable. It seems the published timetable ETA's in the "slop zone" are, let's say, optimistic. In best case scenarios, the Coast Starlight can arrive on time in Chico (to board/detrain a very small number of passengers). About as often as pigs fly, but it can theoretically arrive as advertised. It's like: there's a remote possibility we'll be there at X:XX a.m., so you better be there then (but call Julie for an update). Now, if you were a timetable author, you'd probably do the same thing. You would publish the most "optimistic" ETA for Chico and like towns. An early arrival would be "unacceptable." It would require the Starlight to linger (bad manners to [i]leave[/i] earlier than advertised) in Chico and cause delays in getting to "there" (Sacramento and other "important" stops). Besides, you're tying up the main (no siding at CIC). And the train is a nuisance to the locals as it blocks downtown streets during it's stop (to say nothing of hindering the progress of the students staggering back to the dorms). You'd want to get 'em off, get 'em on, and get. No holdun' for "runners" in Chico. The priority for 11 is SAC, where we're talking bigger crowds, service stop, connections, and toilet repairs. If it wasn't for some silly safety considerations, I suspect Amtrak would prefer to keep the wheels rolling through Chico and other small towns in the "slop zones." Just throw the passengers off (say, into a thickly padded area) and snag a sack of boarders hanging from an old mail hook (like a variation of the bygone RPO days). But they stop. Almost never at the time advertised. And not for long. But they stop, and I'm so glad they do. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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