REGIONAL PASSENGER TRAINS with MAP

[Ocklawaha]

Okay y'all, here is a "TOY" to play with, just imagine JTA, CITY HALL and FDOT were awake! Though I don't claim to have published flawless schedules, (I'm going cross-eyed from this excercise) these are REAL TIMES and based on REAL TIMETABLES published by CSX and it's forerunners. Stations are where stations should be, times reflect the real operations of real trains, bottom line, this is completely doable.




JTA would want us all to remember, BRT is "Just like rail, only cheaper..."
 
Don't confuse these (with the schedules and names) with "pure" commuter trains, as these would fall under REGIONAL PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE. They could be operated by Amtrak, JTA, a RAIL AUTHORITY, the state or a shortline contractor such as First Coast.



Equipment is what I would propose in leu of the standard commute train crap. It is said that more high dollar business deals have been made in the lounge cars of the New York commuter trains then any other place on earth. Imagine that, New York does NOT follow standard commute practice of cramming as many seats into a small space as possible and leaving the passengers dry. Could that be a key to the New York City success? Historically the Jacksonville railroads had some of the best lounge cars in the world... SEABOARD AIR LINE had their famous sun lounges (believe it or not, some of these have come up for sale recently!) Now picture your done with a long day in the office, thinking about several big deals, you retire to the lounge car for your favortie adult beverage and a sandwich. The guy in the booth next to you is the very guy you want to make the deal with... click, clack, click, clack, sip, BINGO...



Proposed route and schedules for regional passenger train system:

STATIONS..........GULF BREEZE.............GULF WIND.............SEMINOLE

Jacksonville ...........6:45 PM..................8:45 am..........................6:45 am
Baldwin................ 7:00 pm...................9:00 am..........................7:00 am
Macclenny............ 7:11 pm...................9:11 am..........................7:11 am
Lake City.............. 7:39 pm...................9:39 am..........................7:39 am
Live Oak............... 7:58 pm...................9:58 am..........................7:58 am
Madison............... 8:24 pm..................10:24 am.........................8:24 am
Tallahassee.......... 9:30 pm..................11:30 am.........................9:30 am
Quicny................10:07 pm..................12:07 PM
Chattahoochee.....10:35 PM EST............12:35 PM
Chattahoochee.....  9:45 PM CST............11:45 AM
Marianna..............10:25 pm...................12:25 PM
Chipley.................10;54 pm...................12:54 pm
De Funiak Springs...11:42 pm.....................1:42 pm
Crestview............. 12:17 AM.....................2:17 pm
Milton..................  1:05 am......................3:05 pm
Pensacola..............1:40 am.......................3:40 pm
Flomaton...............3:05 am........................5:05 pm
Atmore..................3:24 am........................5:24 pm
Bay Minette............3:57 am........................5:57 pm
Mobile....................4:45 am........................6:45 pm
Pascagoula..............5:51 am.......................7:51 pm
Biloxi......................6:16 am........................8:16 pm
Gulfport..................6:39 am........................8:39 pm
Bay St. Louis...........7:02 am........................9:02 pm
New Orleans...........*8:35 AM.......................10:35 pm
*connects with Sunset Limited with through cars to and from Los Angeles and the west

GULF BREEZE: Operates with double deck superliner cars.
coaches....Jax-New Orleans
coach.......Jax-Los Angeles
sleeper......Jax-New Orleans
sleeper......Jax-Los Angeles
dining car...Jax-New Orleans
lounge.......Jax-New Orleans
baggage....Jax-New Orleans

GULF WIND: Operates with double deck superliner cars.
coaches.....Jax-New Orleans
lounge/Grill car..Jax-New Orleans
baggage.....Jax-New Orleans

SEMINOLE:
coaches......Jax-Tallahassee
Lounge........Jax-Tallahassee





........................GULF BREEZE...............GULF WIND..........................SEMINOLE

New Orleans...........4:15 PM..........................7:15 AM
Bay St. Louis..........5:38 pm..........................8:38 am
Gulfport...................6:07 pm..........................9:07 am
Biloxi......................6:31 pm..........................9:31 am
Pascagoula.............7:03 pm.........................10:03 am
Mobile....................8:00 pm..........................11:00 am
Bay Minette............9:00 pm..........................12:01 pm
Atmore...................9:23 pm..........................12:23 pm
Flomaton................9:50 pm..........................12:50 pm
Pensacola.............11:05 pm...........................2:05 pm
Milton....................11:46 pm...........................2:46 pm
Crestview...............12:32 am...........................3:32 pm
De Funiak Springs....1:08 am...........................4:08 pm
Chipley....................1:58 am...........................4:58 pm
Marianna..................2:22 am...........................5:22 pm
Chattahoochee.CST..3:05 am...........................6:05 pm
Chattahoochee.EST..4:15 am...........................7:15 pm
Quincy.................... 4:38 am...........................7:38 pm
Tallahassee..............5:15 am...........................8;15 pm..............................5:15 PM
Madison...................6:05 am...........................9:05 pm..............................6:05 pm
Live Oak...................6:35 am...........................9:35 pm..............................6:34 pm
Lake City..................6:45 am...........................9:45 pm..............................6:45 pm
Macclenny................7:15 am..........................10:15 pm.............................7:15 pm
Baldwin....................7:30 am...........................10:30 pm.............................7:30 pm
Jacksonville..............7:45 AM...........................10:45 pm............................ 7:45 pm





GATOR    SILVER GATOR  GROWLIN GATOR                               GATOR      SILVER GATOR  GROWLIN GATOR
6:00 pm...... 8:00 am  ............9:40 pm...........Jacksonville...............9:42 am........ 7;42 am........7:42 pm
6:20 pm.......8:20 am..............10:00...............Baldwin....................9:22 am.........7:22 am.......7:22 pm
6:39 pm.......8:39 am..............10:19...............Lawtey....................9:03 am.........7:03 am........7:03 pm
6:47 pm.......8:47 am..............10:27...............Starke.....................8:55 am..........6:55 am........6:55 pm
7:17 pm.. ....9:17 am..............10:57...............Alachua....................8:25 am.........6:25 am....... 6:25 pm
7:42 pm.......9:42 am..............11:22 pm.........Gainesville..................8:00 am..........6:00 am.......6:00 pm

Silver Gator, Growlin Gator,  train service operates with coaches and lounge service.
The GATOR operates with coaches, lounge and baggage service







Ocklawaha

[Ocklawaha]

Another view of a similar train, this one called the "LIBERTY LIMITED" was scheduled as a rolling veterans center and carried veterans to and from the hospital. This is one of the little mentioned HUGE markets here in Jacksonville. As we are one of the largest cities in America WITHOUT a full VA hospital. All new VA facilities are connected to teaching hospitals, so until UF/Shands builds the Northside center, there is no hope of getting the needed school/hospital facility needed to add a VA hospital to our fair City. Yet Gainesville has one of the largest and best VA facilities in the USA, Lake City also has one, which while smaller, functions as a branch of Gainesville. (Lake City pre-dates the teaching hospital rule). So a solution? Add a train and allow for a special coach just for the veterans, we could even revive the old Seaboard Railroad promotion of having an RN aboard the train...


LIBERTY LIMITED

Ocklawaha

[JeffreyS]

Thanks for the visuals of the lines. 

[Ocklawaha]

Glad you like it Jeff, hope others "key in to it" and let us know what they think.

Otherwise, I mentioned the famous Seaboard SUN LOUNGE CARS which could be purchased and rebuilt for regional and commuter service in the Jacksonville area. There is one interior photo in the thread from a Sun Lounge rebuild, but I have found some others to give an idea of what a neat piece of business class equipment we could have:













WANT TO BUY A TRAIN CAR?

Ocklawaha

[Jason]

Man, I really like the sun lounge car!

[RiversideGator]

Ock:  Is there any chance whatsoever that we will see restored Amtrak service from Jax to Atlanta and/or New Orleans any time soon?

[Ocklawaha]

Yes, IF the City get's off the stick and starts working toward that end. We should host a meeting of the Gulf Coast corridor and the Georgia Transportation officials here in Jax. Our theme would be the "Jacksonville the locomotive pulling passenger rail..." Even our citizens would make a huge diffeence by leting these transportation leaders know what we want and need. I'd suggest we don't want the Sunset Limited back, at least not on the former schedule. Leaving Jacksonville late at night and running through the panhandle and gulf in the wee hours was just stupid. No wonder no one rode, but even at 3 or 4 AM it still did better then our Skyway. Tie us to New Orleans with a day train, the old "Gulf Wind". Atlanta would probably support two daily trains each way. Another possibility is to split them in Manchester or Macon Georgia, and sending 1/2 over to Birmingham and Memphis, and the other 1/2 to Atlanta - Chattanooga - Nashville. With new funding going into place Amtrak would boom. The town of Marshal Texas is largely responsible for the Texas Eagle, still running. The train has been upgraded from the worst in system to one of the best, the towns people even started a web site, suport group and linked it all together. Other markets already have associations to bring back their trains and as usual we are sitting on our collective hands. Georgia wants Jacksonville - Atlanta service, even voted the money into a fund several years ago. Savannah has nearly convinced them that THEY should be the terminal... I disagree, Jacksonville - Valdosta - Macon - Atlanta is the best and fastest way to tie the knot.

Ocklawaha