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Home , Champion (train), Floridian (train), Merchants Limited, Vacationer (train)

Amtra ~

A Newsletter for Employees

VOLUME 2-ISSUE 16 November 15, 1973 president nixon signs amtrak bill; notes conserve energy The Amtrak Improvement Act of senger services. In the future, any 1973, covering federal financial as­ organization, with the exception of sistance to Amtrak in fiscal year rai Iroads outside the Amtrak system, 1974 and several important amend­ wishing to establish auto-ferry serv­ ments to the Rail Passenger Service ice must be issued a certificate of Act of 1970, was sign ed into pub lic approval by the Inter sta te Com­ law by Pres ident Nixon November 3. merce Com mission . Approval will In signing the bill, the Presidentsaid be conditioned upon a finding by it is in the national interest to en­ the ICC that there is a public need courage Americans to "choose a for such additional servi ce and that tra in when they make travel plans" institution of the se rvice will not because "railroads ca n carry more impair Amtrak's ability to reduce its pass engers over greater distances losses or increase revenues. This amtrak invites per gal lon of fuel than automobiles provision does not apply to con­ skiers or airlines are able to do, while add­ tracts for auto-ferry service entered ing few pol lutants to the air." into before October 30, 1970. to "ski west" The bi ll, a confere nce committee The newly signed bill makes it This winter Amtrak' s "Ski West" resolution of differences between mandatory that Amtrak initiate at tour packages offer economy-priced House and Senate versions, in­ least one experimental route each vacations at six top Western ski creases the $227 mil lion authoriza­ year. The route or routes will be areas: Colorado, Montana, Idaho, tion contained in the 1972 amend­ designated by the Secretary ofTrans­ California, New Mexico and Utah. ment to the Rail Passenger Service portation and will be operated for All packages include lodging, Act of 1970 to $334.3 m illion. Be­ a minimum of two years. Under the round-trip coach accommodations, sides this increase of$107.3 million, original 1970 act and its 1972 and transfers . Some also include the newly signed bill frees $47 mil­ amendment, Amtrak was given the meals, lift tickets and ski lessons. lion of the 1972 authorization which option of instituting additional serv­ Groups can be organized on re­ had not been appropriated (actu­ ice, within or outside of the basic quest. ally received by Amtrak). This gives system, based on the company's de­ The 13 Amtrak Western ski vaca­ Amtrak a total of $154.3 million in termination that such service was tions for the ' 73 /'74 season are available federal funds. In addition, justified. sponsored in conjunction with Ski­ loan guarantee authority is increased Both the 1970 act and its 1972 America, Gentry TourSki-Pak, Travel from $200 million to $500 million. amendment left unanswered the ' 76, Wanderlust Travel, Inc. and Federal funds authorized under question of who has preference in American Rail Tours. the Amtrak Improvement Act of use of existing railroad tracks - Colorado tour packages include 1973 are to be spent in accordance freight or passenger trains. However, 8-day vacations at Aspen / Snowmass, with spending plans approved by the Amtrak Improvement Act of Vail, Steamboat, Winter Park, and Congress at the time of appropria­ B recken ridge. 1973 states that passenger trains In addition to " Ski West" vacation tion and with guidelines es­ will have preference "in the use of packages, Amtrak is offering a new, tablished annually by the Secretary any given line of track, junction or Saturday express bus service from of Transportation. crossing" except in an emergency Denver to Vail and Aspen. Reserva­ One significant amendment to the situation. A railroad may petition tions may be secured only with the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 the Secretary of Transportation to purchase of a round-trip ticket authorizes Amtrak to provide auto­ consider particular circumstances. Continued on page 2 ferry service as part of its basic pas- (Continued on Page Two, Co/., One) amtrak bill (Continued from Page 1) amtrak announces Amtrak may also apply to the Secretary of Transporta­ fall and winter schedules tion for an order requiring a railroad to permit accelerated speeds on tracks used by passenger trains. Schedules on many Amtrak routes changed October Another amendment establishes quality of service pro­ 28 as the nation returned to standard time. Winter vided as a criteria in determining the amount of schedules for trains operating between the Northeast compensation Amtrak will pay to participating railroads. and Midwest and will take effect December 14. Amtrak's board of directors was increased from 15 to 17 Service improvements are also planned. members, and consumer representatives from 1 to 3. In October 28 Changes addition, vacancies on the board must be filled within 120 In the East, service between and days. Washington increased from 14 roundtrips a day to 15. This means that Amtrak now has hourly Metroliner amtrak invites skiers service between New York and Washington from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. northbound and from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to "ski west" southbound. All northbound Metroliners leave Washing­ Continued from page 1 ton on the hour; southbound all Metroliners now depart to Denver. Cost of reserved seat round-trip bus ticket New York on the half hour. toAspen IS S25; S15 rouncl=rflp roVeri . A't113 os tm, dep artcrre-s- are- n oWClt4-e-m i n utes past- tone Montana ski areas include: Big Mountain, Red Lodge, hour during the day along the coastal route to New Bridger Bowl, Missoula Snow Bowl, and Big Sky, Seven York except for the . or eight day packages are available. The Merchants Li mited, Southern and Sena­ Ski groups to Snowbi rd, Powder Mountai n, Sn ow tor have been significantly upgraded in quality, and all Basin or any of the other well-known sk i areas in Utah fea ture sp ecialty ca rs for improved food service, bar are now accessible via Amtrak. Groups of 30 or more cars and parlor cars. These trains are designed to supple­ from San Francisco are provided special "set-off" car ment the Metrofiners, especially for businessm en un­ arrangements at Ogden, Utah where charter buses oper­ able to get reservations on the popular Metroliners. ate direct to Ogden/ Salt Lake City ski areas known as An additional New York-Washington Metroliner is "the greatest snow on earth." operating on Sundays only, leaving New York at 9:45 Amtrak's "Ski West" program also offers 8-day pack­ p .m . an d arriving in Washington at 12:45 a.m. ages to Schweitzer Basin, Idaho and Taos Ski Valley, A new train, the Valley Forge, operates Monday New Mexico and a 5-day Squaw Valley, California through Friday between and Harrisburg, package. Pa., to provide improved service and relieve the Broad­ In addition, Amtrak is offering a special 8-day rail / way Limited of local traffic requirements. When the drive package. A skierized Dollar-A-Day car will be Valley Forge went into service October 28, the Broadway available upon arrival at Amtrak stops for any of these Limited ceased carrying local traffic between New York leading rocky Mountain ski areas: Aspen, Vail, Winter and Lancaster, Pa. Park, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Crested Bu tte, New Yo rk- trains have been spaced out to Snowmass, Reno, Purgatory, Telluride, , Cop­ provide departures each half hour all day. per Mountain and Taos, New Mexico. All Dollar-A­ As su mmer traffic pressures have reduced, Amtrak is Day cars are equipped with ski racks, chains, and fully now able to operate some refurbished cars on all Bos­ winterized. ton-Washington trains and most other trains operating The special 8-day rail/ drive package includes a skier­ in that corridor. ized sedan for 8 days with unlimited mileage (insurance Amtrak's popular / Washingtonian now pro­ and gas not included), seven nights' lodging at the lodge vides better arrival times at Vermont and New Hamp­ of your choice (when accommodations are available), shire ski areas. Additional equipment will be added on six days' lift tickets, round-trip rail fare and all taxes. weekends for skiers. The skierized car may be rented without the lodging The , Amtrak' s Northeast-St. Petersburg, Fla . package when an Amtrak ticket. is purchased from Ski­ train, became a New York-Sf. Petersburg train via Or­ America. Cost is S95, plus tax for 8 days. lando, Fla., home of Walt Disney World. Although schedules remain the same on Amtrak's Important notice to all employees. Many Amtrak , major changes in equipment are taking of you will be receiving white Rail Travel Privilege place. All of the passenger cars in service have been Cards this month. This card does not supersede renovated, and round-end observation cars have been your present blue and white card. Keep your pres­ added to the New York-Buffalo trains. ent card and send the new white card to the fol­ Beginning October 28, the stops lowing address: at Truckee, California, gateway to Lake Tahoe and Amtrak Pass Bureau nearby winter and summer resort areas. Both the San 955 L'Enfant Plaza North, S.W. Francisco Zephyr and the continue to Washington, D.C. 20024 operate daily throughout the winter. Please note that the white Rail Travel Card is still valid for railroad employees. Continued on page 5 2 Vlelcolning the french turbos

Top left: Springfield, Ifl. pre-school children inspect Amtrak's new French-built turbo train. Top right: Mayor Richard A. Daley at the controls. Cen ter: Charles Luna, memberAmtrak's Board of Directors (far left); Harold Graham, Amtrak's Vice President­ Marketing, and Philippe Olivier, French Consul General in Chicago, watch as Tippy Gillies christens the turbo. Bottom: Bloomington, Ifl., residents greet the French turbo. This Lounge/ Entertainment Car currently in service on the was designed for the entire family. It's a combination lounge/ pub and children's playroom/ theatre. The lounge/ pub section (not shown) features an automatic liquor dispenser and snack service. The children's playroom/ lounge (above) has rotating fiberglass seats and a convertible projection screen . new equipment ordered schedules

Amtrak recently placed new equipment orders total­ Continued from page 2 ling $63.5 million-including one for 57 new Metro­ December 14 Schedule and Service Changes liner-type passenger cars for use in the densely popu­ Changes in schedules on Amtrak' s Florida trains will lated Washington- corridor. coincide with on-board service improvements. Enter­ The new cars will make it possible to increase daily tainment, special complimentary refreshments, and two Metroliner-type service almost 100% between New York dining cars or a diner and tavern-lounge will be fea­ anGl Washington and also extend such service to Boston . tured on all five trains operating to and from Florida. All Florida trains will also feature the following: Amtrak also ordered seventy 3,000 hp. diesel electric -An on-board service director and/ or passenger service locomotives and eleven 6,000 hp. eiectric locomotives. representative. The electrics will be manufactured by General Electric -Hospitality hours and champagne punch. Company in Erie, Pa., while the diesels will come from -Complimentary wake-up coffee and orange juice. the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors at La -Special entertainment hours in the evening. Grange, III. Delivery of the electrics will start in Novem­ -Complimentary morning and evening newspapers. ber of 1974, while the diesels will be delivered early next summer. A winter season-only train, the , returns to the rails December 14 between New York and . The will build the 57 passenger cars The Vacationer will carry a 48-seat diner and bar-lounge at its Red Lion, Pa., plant with first deliveries slated to diner, plus a . Popular, budget-priced slum­ Amtrak within 15 months. bercoaches will be featured on the Vacationer, as well The new cars, capable of bei ng pul led by ei ther elec­ as the New York-St. Petersburg Champion and the Silver tric or diesel-electric locomotives, will have in teriors Sta r, which operates to both Florida coa sts. similar to the current self-propelled Metroliner cars, in- The Meteor and Champion will carry through cars to . cluding food service and electrical heating and air con­ and from Boston, and theSilverStarwil1 provide through ditioning system s, but with improved ride characteris­ service to and from Montreal in conjunction with the tics. Li ke the present Metroliners, the trains will be Montrealer / Washington ian. ca pable of operating up to 120 miles per hour. The , Silver Star and Champion will con­ tinue their current schedules. As to other new passenger car orders, proposals are Amtrak's premier Florida train will once again be the due this month from two firms in competition to de­ New York-Miami Silver Meteor, whic~ will carry two sign a new generation of standard rail passenger ca rs. 48-seat diners, a recreation car and a lounge car. A Once selection is made, requests for bids on an initial passenger service representative will be aboard each order of at least 100 new cars will go out. These cars train to act as hostess for movies, bingo and other would be used on all Amtrak non-corridor routes. games, a fashi on show, and door and game prizes. Earlier this year, Amtrak took delivery on 40 new die­ The Champion will carry a full plus tavern­ sel electric locomotives. They are now in use on Amtrak lounge cars featuring economy meal service. routes in Chicago, Houston and the West Coast. An The Sil ver Star will carry two dining carsand a tavern­ additional 15 electric and 40 diesel electric locomotives lounge car and will have a passenger service representa­ are now being manufactured for summer 1974 delivery. tive aboard. Continued on Page 6

------~------HAVE YOU MOVED????? (1JJ [pXQJ@~® Please let us know so that you can continue to re­ Update is published bi-weekly by Amtrak's Public Re­ ceive UPDATE. lations Dept. It is distributed free of charge to Amtrak Name ______employees and employees of participating railroads Old Address ______who are engaged in passenger service. City ______State _____ Zip _ _ President ROGER LEWIS' NewAddress ______City ______State ____ Zip _ _ Vice President Public Relations Edwin E. Edel

Amtrak Employee? _ __ Railroad Employee? __ Senior Writer Susan Dwyer Railroad? ______Editor Ronnie Daly Mail to: Amtrak Public Relations 955 L'Enfant Plaza North, S.w., Wash., D.C. 20024 5 He has found the overall reaction to Amtrak to be en­ couraging. " People really want to take the train and business is up" he says. Amtrak statistics bearout Leon's observation. Ridership on the all refurbished Coast Star­ profile light/ Daylight is estimated to be up 125 percent over last year which resulted in continued daily operation through the winter. Amtrak's lead ticket Mr. Amon says the scenery between Seattle and Los clerk in Seattle, Leon Angeles is among the most beautiful in the country. Amon, has been with the ' Since ridership has been so good and the train to Los railroad for overaquarter Angeles so popular, Leon is hoping Amtrak will some of a century-with time day be able to increase the number of trains between out to pu rsue an opera the two cities. career. After military service during World War II , he heard the railroad needed help. He went down to app ly;- was hi red and has been there ever since.

Leon started in the mail schedules and baggage department (Continued from page 5) in early 1947 when passenger t rains were in t heir prime For the first time, the Flo ridian will carry a fu ll pack­ and Seattle' s King Street Station was a scene of constant age of activities similar to those on the New York-Florida activity. trains. A passenger service representative and service director w ill be aboard each and the train will In 1951 , Leon took a leave of absence from the carry two dome coaches and a f ull lounge ca r. rail road to sing with San Francisco's Opera Chorus for The Floridian wi ll also feature ful l dining service, one season with his wife who is also a musician. He bingo and card games with prizes, a children' s hour, studied music in New Yo rk and has sun g in numerous and complimentary blankets for coach passengers and productions in Sea ttle. Despite his love for music, rail­ complimentary continental breakfast for all roading was in the tenor's blood and he eventually re­ passengers. A recreation car is scheduled to be added to turned to the Burlington Northern. t he Floridian before the end of the winter season . About a year ago Leon became an Amtrak employee. Also effective with the start of the winter season, the As lead ticket clerk he takes remittances, sells tickets, Floridian reverts to the traditional two days-and-a-night handles correspondence and supervises the ticket office. schedule, servin g both Florida coasts.

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