FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2002 - LITTLE ROCK TO FORT WORTH
 
LEFT-UP freight at Little Rock Union Station, 122 a.m. March 15, 2002. RIGHT-Late night at Union Station, done with handheld slow shutter, so these predawn photos will be a little blurry, but I wanted to show them anyway.

 
LEFT-Amtrak 22, Texas Eagle northbound, arriving at 219 a.m. in Little Rock a little over 2 hours late. RIGHT-Ticket Agent Richard in the Amtrak office.

 
Amtrak 21, the southbound Texas Eagle, arrives in Little Rock at 626 a.m. March 15, about an hour and a half late. Note that it stops on UP's south main instead of on the Amtrak siding since that siding was knocked out by a small UP freight derailment 2 weeks earlier and UP has not replaced the switch.

 
LEFT-The Eagle stopped for passengers at Little Rock Union station, about 630 a.m. RIGHT-In the dome car of the Eagle, 926 a.m. on our way to Fort Worth.

 
LEFT-Travis Hinton, Western Region Vice President, Amtrak InterCity, was on board the train on his way to give a speech at our convention. RIGHT-A National Tie Plant industrial locomotive at National, Texas (outside Texarkana), taken from the train, 933 a.m. March 15.

 
LEFT(L-R)-Jake Commer, Channel 7 (Little Rock) reporter Paul Junge (who rode the train and attended the convention to get a report on saving the long distance passenger train network), Bill Pollard and Bill Eldridge in the dome car, 935 a.m. RIGHT-Part of the pleasures of riding trains...the dining car.

 
LEFT-Great salad in the dining car for lunch. RIGHT-Reporter Junge and his camerman interviewing Bill Pollard, 203 p.m.

 
More of the TV interview.

 
Arrived in Dallas at 231 p.m. after "making up" some time. The Trinity Railway Express was across the platform, taken from a window in our train. The TRE goes from Dallas to Forth Worth on the old Rock Island right-of-way.

 
LEFT-TRE #566 taken from the Eagle at Dallas Union Station, 250 p.m. March 15. RIGHT-From the train going across rush hour traffic outside of Dallas on our way to Fort Worth.

 
We eventually pulled up at the T&P station in Fort Worth (some rare mileage riding for sure) then backed around a wye to the south to eventually head into the Intermodal Transportation Center station in Fort Worth. The Eagle was annulled between Fort Worth and San Antonio for 5 days due to track work on that line - buses took passengers to San Antonio and cities between. This wye-ing moves took us over an hour, so we were once again an hour and a half late when we reached the station about 455 p.m., March 15. We were in front of the T&P station at 417 p.m.

 
LEFT-At the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center, 455 p.m. RIGHT-The Heartland Flyer awaits its' time to enter the ITC for its' run to Oklahoma City.

 
LEFT-The other engine on the Hearland Flyer. RIGHT-The Texas Eagle we just departed from at the ITC.

We ate out of the Cattleman's Steak House in north Forth Worth Saturday night.

BELOW WERE TAKEN SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2002 - THE MEETING AND TRE RIDE
 
LEFT-Tim Geeslin, President of the Texas Association of Railroad Passengers and National Association of Railroad Passengers Region IX Director, gives the opening welcome, 10:00 a.m. March 16, 2002, at the Clarion Hotel in Forth Worth. His young son (sorry, I didn't get his name) did an excellent job of operating the overhead projector, something us adults always have trouble with. Also his son had a whole lineup of HO Amtrak Superliner and other equipment at the convention.   RIGHT(L-R)-Ray Dunbar and Wes Reeves.

 
LEFT-Part of the record 120 who attended this event at this crucial time for Amtrak. RIGHT-Longtime NARP member and board member John Mills, 1001 a.m.

 
LEFT(L-R)-NARP leaders for Region IX, Ray Dunbar, Tom Geeslin, John Mills and Bill Pollard. RIGHT-Dr. Dan Monaghan, a member of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board and long-time long-distance passenger train advocate.

 
LEFT-Lunch keynote speaker James P. RePass, President and CEO, National Corridors Inititative. I thought he was a great motivational speaker and he was given a standing ovation when he finished. He said he is NOT a railfan by definition, but likes trains and that we need both long distance and corridor trains in this country to prevent a transportation catastrophy. RIGHT-Part of the lunch crowd. Time was about 1250 p.m. March 16.

 
LEFT-More of the lunch crowd, which was a good catered lunch. RIGHT(L-R)-Ronald Aldis and Texarkana Amtrak agent Murrel Hogue, 146 p.m.

 
LEFT-Travis Hinton, Western Region Vice President, Amtrak InterCity gave a talk at 200 p.m. RIGHT-Joy Smith of Amtrak gave a great motivational speech. She said there ain't anything we can't do if we stay together and keep the faith. There was a general feeling of guarded optimism at this meeting, at least that's the way I felt.

 
LEFT-Arkansas crowd Bill Pollard, Bill Eldridge and Jake Commer, 239 p.m. The meeting was over. Numerous door prizes were given away. RIGHT-Getting ready to board the Trinity Railway Express to Dallas. This scene is looking northwest toward Fort Worth from the Intermodal Transporation Center. Time was 413 p.m. March 16.

 
LEFT-The Commers at the ITC. RIGHT-View of the now-not-used Santa Fe station from the ITC. Amtrak had used this station up until a few weeks ago but left for the new Fort Worth ITC. The Santa Fe station had been the oldest continuously operated, active passenger train station in Texas, having served train passengers over a hundred years without a break.

 
LEFT-The Trinity Railway Express train arrives to take us to Dallas at the advertised 420 p.m., March 16. RIGHT-Station sign on board the TRE.

 
On board the TRE to Dallas. Also a view from the front. This line is on the old Rock Island right of way.

 
At the Dallas Union Station. The train was crowded. It left Fort Worth at 420, arrived in Dallas at 524 p.m., exactly on time.

 
LEFT-More scenes of the TRE train. RIGHT-DART train took us to the West End where we ate at Spaghetti Warehouse, 532 p.m.

 
Views from the West End district in Dallas after getting off DART.

 
Back at Fort Worth, 751 p.m. The Texas Eagle is shown on the another track at the ITC - this is the one we will take back on Sunday (it stayed at Fort Worth until the track work was finishted between Fort Worth and San Antonio).

BELOW IS SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002 (Old Santa Fe Depot FTW, Texas Eagle  Trials and Tribulations and Greatness)

LEFT-Old east-west tracks Calhoun St, Fort Worth, Sunday morning, March 17. What were these tracks used for? Going straight ahead, they will reach the  main Santa Fe track complex that runs north-south. RIGHT-Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center.

The old Santa Fe Freight House on Jones Street in Fort Worth will become a public market in the Spring of 2002.

Up until the early part of March, 2002, this Santa Fe Depot in Forth Worth was the oldest continuously opereated passenger train station in Texas, over 100 years. Amtrak has moved to the Intermodal Transportation Center just a short walk north.

LEFT-Santa Fe Division Office in the old Santa Fe freight house, Fort Worth. This will be part of the public makert. RIGHT- View looking south at the old tracks in front of the Santa Fe Depot in Fort Worth. Our train, the Texas Eagle, on the left, was being switched for its move into the ITC when I happened to be there.

LEFT-One of the old tunnels that used to go under the tracks at the Santa Fe depot. I remember they had signs for Track 3-4, Track 1-2, etc inside the tunnel, then you would walk back up to track level with your train sitting there (Texas Chief). RIGHT-All right...the train chasing part of me had to take this picture of a UP freight across from the ITC.

LEFT-Amtrak 176 with UP freight in distance at the ITC. RIGHT- The T&P refurbished station in Fort Worth Sunday morning, March 17. This is the south  terminal of the Trinity Railway Express, which didn't run on Sunday, so I couldn't go in.

LEFT-Front of the T&P station. RIGHT-Taken through a glass door of the old concourse of the T&P station.

LEFT-Barnes & Nobel Bookstore across from the Clarion Hotel in Forth Worth. RIGHT-Restored Interurban/trolley sitting at the ITC.

The Texas Eagle gets ready to leave Fort Worth about 245 p.m. March 17. A sleeping car hostess posed for a photo.

LEFT-Eagle on the right and Heartland Flyer on the left at the ITC, about 255 p.m. March 17. RIGHT-Tower east of Union Station in Dallas taken from the eastbound Eagle about 430 p.m.

LEFT-Handheld 3 second exposure of the Texas Eagle sitting at Malvern about 230 a.m. March 18. We were on time to Marshall but was held at Malvern for a small derailment of a UP freight about 10 miles ahead in Benton just a couple of hours before. A courteous Amtrak crew and the station agent in Little Rock obtained taxi vans to take the Little Rock passengers the short 40 miles to Little Rock so we wouldn't have to sit at Malvern all night waiting for the unknown. It was raining, too. There were about 15 Little Rock bound passengers, including one lady who came from California on her first train trip and two retired Air Force B52 radar technicians. All of them were impressed with the responsiveness and helpfullness of the Amtrak crew. RIGHT(L-R)- Appearing to have way too much fun in Malvern were Jake Commer and his wife and Bill Eldridge and his wife. They were part of the group of 6 that went to the TXARP convention from Arkansas.