Amtrak vote in the Senate today

[Ocklawaha]

The last time guns got on a train in JAX, was when our famous
cowboy star, Tom Mix, rode to fame and we WERE Hollywood!


Here tis, both Florida Senators voted PRO-GUN.

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September 16, 2009, 5:24 pm
Senate Votes to O.K. Checked Guns on Amtrak
By Bernie Becker

The Senate voted on Wednesday to allow Amtrak passengers to carry unloaded and locked handguns in checked baggage, even though Amtrak officials had raised concerns that the proposal could present “numerous challenges.”

The provision, which was introduced by Senator Roger Wicker, Republican, as an amendment to a housing and transportation spending bill, is the latest in a string of Senate votes aimed at expanding gun rights. It passed 68-30, with a group of 27 Democrats and one independent, mostly from states where gun rights are widely supported, joining all 40 Republicans in voting for the measure.

Under the Wicker amendment, Amtrak would lose the funds earmarked for it in the must-pass spending bill if it did not comply with the new regulations. In a statement released after the amendment passed, Mr. Wicker stressed that the guidelines laid out in the provision â€" which would also insist that a passenger notify Amtrak that he or she is transporting a handgun and that only that passenger could unlock the secure container holding the gun â€" are roughly the same ones used by airline passengers.

“Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America’s federally subsidized rail line,” Mr. Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said in the statement.

In a letter to the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that deals with transportation, Thomas C. Carper, the chairman of Amtrak’s board, said airlines and railroads currently have different abilities to screen for weapons. He said that unlike airlines, Amtrak did not already have a uniform system in place for screening and added that Amtrak’s baggage cars are more easily accessible.

“As a result of these significant differences with the airline industry, Amtrak would need a significant amount of time and funding to properly address this congressional mandate,” wrote Mr. Carper, who is not to be confused with the current Democratic senator from Delaware.

Senate opponents of the provision had similar concerns.

The Democrats who voted for the gun amendment were Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester of Montana, Michael Bennet and Mark Udall of Colorado, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall of New Mexico, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Bill Nelson of Florida, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Harry Reid of Nevada and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. (The full vote breakdown in a graphic.)

Amtrak used to allow passengers to check licensed guns, but ended the practice after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

The Senate has already approved separate provisions this year that would allow properly permitted gun owners to carry in national parks and would loosen gun laws in Washington. Additionally, a July proposal that would have allowed permitted gun owners in one state to carry concealed weapons in another fell just two votes short in the Senate.

The House has already passed the spending bill without the gun amendment, so it remains to be seen whether the provision will make it into the final version of the legislation.

Makes me wonder how long the wait will be for light field artillery? Certainly some of the coffee that I've had in South America, could qualify as chemical warfare agents. (Of course that only happens on the Brasil or Peruvian side of the river).


All you sharp eyed, wanna-be railroaders, this recent scene has a HUGE,
MASSIVE error in it, can you spot the blooper? The Movie editors and producers
as well as the historian all missed it! REALLY FUNNY TOO!



OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Double boilered?

[Ocklawaha]

All you sharp eyed, wanna-be railroaders, this recent scene has a HUGE,
MASSIVE error in it, can you spot the blooper? The Movie editors and producers
as well as the historian all missed it! REALLY FUNNY TOO!



Here is your answer, check out that train of "passengers" from another direction! Top speed maybe 5 mph, this is a geared logging locomotive called a SHAY. Some built on the US West Coast were called Willamette Shays. Other classes of locomotives for these special jobs Heislers, and Climax.



OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Ock........I did notice the lack of a "Cow Catcher" but did not think twice about it.........unusual rig for sure!