cb@hlwpc.UUCP (Carl Blesch) (05/20/85)
I recently saw a news photo item in trains of a disabled Amtrak train on a Madison (Wisconsin, of course!)-to-Milwaukee run. It's been nine years since I've lived in Wisconsin, and I recall railroad die-hards wanting to restore Madison service (both to Chicago and Milwaukee) back then. Wisconsin, however, had some kind of law forbidding the state to invest in capital improvements for transportation -- a law that was comveniently amended to make exceptions for highways, airports and waterways. The last year I lived in Wisconsin (1976), the issue of amending the law to make it possible for the state to invest in or float bonds for RR improvements, lost. The result -- no Amtrak 403B service would ever be possible. I know how bad the track was between Milwaukee and Madison -- certainly no good for running times that would compete with Badger Coaches on I-94 -- so if such trains run today, someone must have put some bucks in the track. Can any Wisconsinites or others nearby bring me up-to-date? Carl Blesch "You can take the Badger out of Wisconsin, but you can't take Wisconsin out of the Badger"
wrmoe@houxf.UUCP (W.MOE) (05/21/85)
Here's a fairly recent data point on the purported existence
of Madison - Milwaukee rail service. I grew up in 'Tosa
where the old gang remains but the folks are now in Madison.
I've got Mileage Plus on Badger Bus!
As of last Christmas time there was no rail service between
Wisconsin's leading metropoli nor were there any plans to
start any up. (The New Year's snow forced me to take the train
down to Chicago to get back East so I actually visited Amtrak's
Milwaukee base.)
Mom reports, too, that Greyhound is now serving Milwaukee to
Madison making it less likely that Amtrak would jump in.
Too bad, isn't it?
-Warren Moe
houxf!wrmoe