Trains and a Cliff

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Trains and a Cliff
This Cant be Good

• Cliff Cessna
• Senior Undergraduate
• Civil Engineering
• Iowa State University
• cliff.cessna_at_gmail.com

Reg Souleyrette, pe Professor Civil, Construction
and Environmental Engineering Iowa State
University reg_at_iastate.edu
Jerry Rose, pe Professor Civil Engineering Univers
ity of Kentucky jrose_at_engr.uky.edu
Background photo Cliff Cessna
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Brief History

• Prior to May 1, 1971
• Passenger trains operated by private railroads
• 1829 -1920s Most rail lines had passenger
  service
• 1930s 1940s Streamlined era

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Photo by E. M. Bell, railpictures.net
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Photo by Drew Jacksich, railpictures.net
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• May 1, 1971
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation
  (Amtrak)
• Currently
• 21,000-mile network
• 508 stations 46 states (excl. AK, HI, SD, WY)
• 28.7 million passengers in FY08
• Ranks 8th among US airlines

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From amtrak.com
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Superliner
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Classes

• Coach - Standard class
• Spacious, reclining seat with leg- and footrest
• Sleeper - First Class
• Roomette, Bedroom, Family Bedroom, Accessible
  Room
• Free meals in the Dining Car
• Free hors doeuvres on some trains
• Showers for the sure-footed

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Coach
Photos by Nathan Smith
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Sleeping Car Roomette
Diagram and Photos from Amtrak
Photo by Patrick Johnson
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Sleeping Car Bedroom
http//gosoutheast.about.com/od/photoswebcamspodca
sts/ss/auto_train_photos_4.htm
Diagram and Photos from Amtrak
http//media-files.gather.com/images/d610/d978/d74
5/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Benefits of Train Travel

• Relaxing - you can stretch your legs!
• No driving (except to the station)
• Meet variety of people
• Moderately priced
• Greenest way to travel (OSC-SAC .36 tons
  3.58 Entire trip (4605 mi.) 0.88 tons)

Graphic from Amtrak (per passenger-mile)
1 ton of freight can go about 10x further with
same footprint!
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Scenery cant be beat!
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Dining Car
Photo by Patrick Johnson
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Sightseer Lounge
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Ben Hucker
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Gross Reservoir/Dam
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Short Tunnels
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Moffat Tunnel

• Built by Denver Salt Lake Railroad
• Bored 1923-1927
• Opened to trains February 1928
• Now owned by Union Pacific Railroad

Photo by Cliff Cessna

• 24 ft high, 18 ft wide, 6.2 mi long
• Third-longest railroad tunnel in US
• West Portal is at Winter Park, CO

Photo by Louis Capwell, railpictures.net
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Remote Canyons
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Slide Fences
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Slide Fences
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Ben Hucker
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Interstate 70
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Ben Hucker
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Photo by Ben Hucker
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Donner Pass
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Average Snowfall 34 feet!
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Keep It Clear!
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Other Dangers Fire!
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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There it is!
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Patrick Johnson
Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Southern Pacifics Cab-Forward4-8-8-2Steam
Locomotive4294

• Last of its class of 256
• Rated at 124,300 lb tractive effort
• Approx. 6000 HP

Info from www.steamlocomotive.com Photo by Cliff
Cessna
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Photo by Patrick Johnson
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Pacific Parlour Car
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Frazier Landslide
January 18, 2008 Frazier, Oregon
Photo by Cliff Cessna
Map from Trains.com (Trains Magazine)
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Frazier Landslide

• 3,000 feet of track
• 660,000 board feet of timber salvaged
• 700,000 cubic yards / 1 million tons of
  waste material hauled
• 700,000 tons of rock brought in to stabilize
• 30 trains per day hauling material in/out
• Reopened May 6 (105 days later)

Photo by Cliff Cessna Information from Union
Pacific Railroad (www.up.com)
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Portland Union Station
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Seattle
Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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USS Abraham Lincoln
Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Cascade Tunnel

• Constructed by
• Great Northern Railway
• Opened January 12, 1929
• 7.8 miles long (Longest railroad tunnel in US)
• Two 800 HP fans clear exhaust from tunnel after
  each train
• Operate at low-power while train is in tunnel

Photo from Wikipedia
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Izaak Walton Inn Essex, MT
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Photo by Reg Souleyrette
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Glacier National Park
Photo by Cliff Cessna
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Questions?
Thanks for coming!