...with new trains! (Let's hope)
We've been saying this for years. America needs better trains.
As many of you are aware, I live and breathe trains and will stop at nothing to talk about them any chance I get. Whenever I post something railroad-related online, someone somewhere will say "You and your trains!" Can I blame them? Nope. Frankly, I'm addicted everything about them. Both old and new types. Different locomotives, passenger and freight cars, spans of tracks heading miles into the distance, old stations, photographs, etc. You name it. If it involves trains in some way, I want to be involved. And I often think of what made America classically glamorous in the past. Passenger trains. The New York Central, New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Burlington Zephyr, The Hiawatha and more.
Of course the technology has changed.
So when I decided to see if Amtrak had added any new locomotives to its rolling stock, aside from the ACS-64, now currently the face of the Northeast Corridor line, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are upgrading it's fleet for the Cascades Route from Seattle to Vancouver, BC with brand new Siemens Charger Locomotives. Certainly a step in the right direction.
This cool new video from Siemens on train restoration in the state of California made me think for a moment about the importance of having a viable rail system in this country. The people in this video clearly take pride in their work and the equipment is manufactured right here in this already great country.
THIS is moving America forward.
Siemens. “Made In America” Video. YouTube 20 June 2014 16 March 2016.
