Rep. Gene Taylor

[Richard L. Friedman]

While working on the website, I discovered that Rep. Gene Taylor has his Bay St. Louis office in the train station formerly used by the Sunset.  I sent him this note.  I had to put a dummy address in his email so it wouldn't be ignored immediately.  Fortunately, I had the zip code of the station in BSL.

Here's the note:

"OK, I lied.  I'm not in Mississippi.  I'm in California, but I ride the Sunset Limited whenever I can to get to the east coast.  Thanks to Amtrak's Board, I can't do that now, despite the reopening of the tracks right by your office.

The train sits in New Orleans, when it could make the short trip to Bay St. Louis, bringing tourism dollars to the casinos, hotels, and other attractions.

In fact, the equipment could probably make daily trips to BSL, while the dining and sleeper cars are prepared for the next trip west.  Imagine, rebuilding the Gulf Coast with tourist, rather than tax, dollars.

The budget has been signed.  Please "suggest" to Amtrak that they bring back the nation's only transcontinental passenger train!

Thanks for your help."

[Webster Tucker]

Thanks Richard - I sent Gene an invite and did send it to his BSL office.  I figured he'd be home for the holidays and probably touch base with them.  You did good!!

Barbara

 

[Richard L. Friedman]

I found a preK Amtrak schedule in my files of (semiuseful) stuff.  According to that schedule, the Sunset took about 1.5 hours to go from NOL to BSL, and 4 hours to return westbound. Obviously a pad function.  If the 1.5 hours is correct, the Sunset could easily go as far as BSL,  turn, and return to NOL within half a day, before being replenished for the return trip west.

My though (now) is that the sleepers and the diners could be cut off in NOL for servicing, then the snack car and coaches run to BSL.  They could even stay overnight (if there were facilities there), and return the next day on a good schedule for service to NOL.  Maybe make a turn the next day (BSL - NOL -BSL) and  early morning leave for NOL, where the cars are cleaned, the sleepers and diners reattached, and the westbound Sunset leaves for California.

How about that? Corridor service between NOL and the casinos in BSL daily, and service to the west coast three days a week!  All with the same equipment, and no need for additional money.  Plus we can get red hat ladies to go gamble almost every day!

[Jerry Sullivan]

I fail to find that supportive though - how about FLORIDA.

 

Jerry Sullivan

[Richard]

Yeah I gotta go along with Jerry on this.  Where's Florida in this plan?  I would support a plan to expand Amtrak service anywhere, but returning the Sunset only as far east as Bay St. Louis still leaves hundreds of thousands of people without Amtrak service, and still leaves this huge hole along the Gulf coast.  We've got to return service to Mobile, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Jacksonville so we can connect with Silver Service. 

Richard - Gulf Breeze, FL

[Jerry Sullivan]

Lott is no longer in the picture as of Dec. 18, the date of his resignation.  The MS governor was to appoint a replacement today.

 

Jerry Sullivan

----- Original Message -----

From: Richard L. Friedman

To: Jerry H Sullivan

Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 4:47 PM

Subject: Fw: [Sunset Un-Limited] Re: Rep. Gene Taylor

Florida or bust!  That's the goal.  But to get a Rep who actually uses a station for an office is a significant plus.  Get him to support the train one stop.  Have him talk to the next Rep about the next stop.  Get Lott and Cochran to think for a moment about the business interests in Mississippi who will profit  by increased service.

Caltrans has made significant progress with Amtrak service by taking an incremental approach to service improvement.

But I agree with you.  The prize is Florida.  The goal is transcontinental.  The time is now!

[Richard L. Friedman]

Of course the goal is Florida.  I've said that in nearly every one of my missives.  The Sunset IS the nation's ONLY transcontinental train.  And we DO need it back now.

But an extension to Bay St. Louis only asks a tiny bit from someone who uses an Amtrak station as an office.  He is an obvious first ally.  The goal is Florida NOW, but within our grasp now are Bay St. Louis, and Biloxi, and Pascagoula at the same time we convince the Florida legislators that the Sunset should go there?

I've seen the incremental approach work.  It's not perfect, but it works. 

----- Original Message ----
From: Richard <richard...@mchsi.com>
To: sunset-u...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 11:38:47 AM
Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] Re: Rep. Gene Taylor

Yeah I gotta go along with Jerry on this.  Where's Florida in this plan?  I would support a plan to expand Amtrak service anywhere, but returning the Sunset only as far east as Bay St. Louis still leaves hundreds of thousands of people without Amtrak service, and still leaves this huge hole along the Gulf coast.  We've got to return service to Mobile, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Jacksonville so we can connect with Silver Service. 

Richard - Gulf Breeze, FL

Jerry Sullivan wrote:

[Richard L. Friedman]

As soon as anyone hears of the replacement, let me know, so I can fix the web pages.  It might be worthwhile for the group leader to send a "welcome" letter to him/her  as soon as he/she's installed and try to get some awareness of the situation.

----- Original Message ----
From: Jerry Sullivan <jhsu...@comcast.net>
To: Richard L. Friedman <rfri...@pacbell.net>
Cc: sunset-u...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 1:50:00 PM
Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] Re: Rep. Gene Taylor

Lott is no longer in the picture as of Dec. 18, the date of his resignation.  The MS governor was to appoint a replacement today.

 

Jerry Sullivan

----- Original Message -----

From: Richard L. Friedman

To: Jerry H Sullivan

Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 4:47 PM

Subject: Fw: [Sunset Un-Limited] Re: Rep. Gene Taylor

Florida or bust!  That's the goal.  But to get a Rep who actually uses a station for an office is a significant plus.  Get him to support the train one stop.  Have him talk to the next Rep about the next stop.  Get Lott and Cochran to think for a moment about the business interests in Mississippi who will profit  by increased service.

Caltrans has made significant progress with Amtrak service by taking an incremental approach to service improvement.

But I agree with you.  The prize is Florida.  The goal is transcontinental.  The time is now!

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Jerry Sullivan <jhsu...@comcast.net>

To: sunset-u...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 11:11:15 AM
Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] Re: Rep. Gene Taylor

[Allan Thomas]

Richard, Happy New Year!
The new Senator for Ms. is Roger Wicker of
Tupelo

P.O. Box 1482
108B East Main Street
Tupelo, MS 38802
Telephone: (662) 844-5437
Fax: (662) 844-9096

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/washington/01senator.html


On Dec 31 2007, 12:12 pm, "Richard L. Friedman" <rfrie...@pacbell.net>
wrote:

[Richard L. Friedman]

I don't want to unduly characterize him as anti
anti-Amtrak, but the Times story doesn't give me much
confidence.

Nonetheless, anyone who is an enemy of my enemy is
(at least for now) my ally.

Barbara, can you send him an invite to the meeting or
a fact sheet on what our group hopes to accomplish?

[Richard L. Friedman]

Thanks Allan. I've updated the MS stations info. You
wouldn't know who the Mississippi State Senator and
Rep is for the cities in MS? TIA if you do. If not,
anyone in one of the MS cities, do you know YOUR reps?

Sen Wicker sounds like a Bush-clone retred. Hope I'm
wrong. Let's try to get him on our side.

--- Allan Thomas <harl2...@yahoo.com> wrote: