Diaspora's Greatest Hits 4

How anyone could oppose this is way beyond me but the people on the Railroad.net board have exposed themselves yet again

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/a-two-amtrak-concept/?RAchannel=passenger
http://www.railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=170434
https://discuss.amtraktrains.com/threads/railway-age-column-on-splitting-amtrak-to-two-operations.76294/
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4882035

Diaspora's Greatest Hits 1

Diaspora is shutting down the diasp.org server at the end of the month, so I'm republishing my best posts from that server here.

Thinking Beyond Commuter Rail

The S-Bahn model

The RER model

Mastodon

Given what Twitter is, I have avoided it from the beginning but in the four years since Google shut down Google Plus, I have been on the lookout for a suitable replacement. Currently, Diaspora has been what I've been using. However, I've been using it less and less as railfans have been difficult to find on that forum.

Around last summer, some rail advocates launched a rail-oriented server on Mastodon, and it looks like it's future-proof.

As a result, follow me at https://rail.chat/@therailenthusiast to keep up with short-form views.

Scaling back

It's time for another overhaul. Last month, Google+ was shuttered four months ahead of schedule due to another bug that was noticed in November. 

What now?

Given that G+ was the social media platform for me, it's a deep loss. Rather than getting lost on Facebook with its politics and the overall echo chamber, I have migrated to Diaspora. If you're so inclined, this is my page over there. I have also decided to take my advocacy over to Diaspora as well. This now means that my Tumblr will become a photos only page.

What about the blog?

I am taking a step back on this forum as blogging itself has lost its buzz and also because I have a lot of things going on in my personal life. My posts will be more like special attractions--for instance, I have reversed course and my next Tackling the Headlines column will be the last.

Passenger rail has moved at a snail's pace over the last few years as states have added the last of stimulus based corridor service and the current administration in D.C. has talked the talk about China having faster trains than us but has taken steps to defund Amtrak and revoke CAHSR money. 

Meanwhile, new Amtrak management is doing more damage than anything that might come out of the White House. Its CEO refuses to talk to the media and alienates just about everybody by continuing Boardman era practices of destaffing stations and also new stuff by eliminating charter service for example. The states are no closer to being innovative and continue with their inside the box thinking while continuing to ignore other operators who could provide better service than Amtrak offers. Also, where are all those new cars?

Virgin Trains USA may be a bright spot but we are now 13 months removed from the Saratoga & North Creek folding, meaning that we still have not had more than one privately operated passenger carrier at the same time since both the Georgia Railroad and the Rio Grande ceased services in April of 1983. Oh, did I mention that the only semblance of direct competition with Amtrak is a commuter route between Springfield, MA and New Haven, CT?

Google+ to be discontinued

On October 8, Google announced that it would be shutting down by the end of next August due to private user information being made public and low usage.

What it means for this blog:

• The ban on cross-posting between G+ and the blog is lifted retroactively to October 9
• The same also applies to Tumblr
• I had planned on retiring my Tackling the Headlines feature after the 100th entry, but now, it will continue
• Massive overhauls of the blog and Tumblr will occur early next year and will be completed by late summer 2019

Overhaul

Over the last few months, I've wondered about where I should take the direction of this blog amid stories that blogging in general was obsolete due to advances in social media.

After a lot of reflection, I have decided to do a serious restructuring.

Here's a list of what's staying

• Tackling the Headlines 
• State and national news with intercity routes 
• Maps 
• Schedules 
• Reactions to magazine articles

What's gone (i.e. what's shifted to social networks)

• Random thoughts (Google+)
• Specific news items (Google+)
• Detailed analysis on a major topic as it relates to passenger rail (Tumblr)
• Personal advocacy (Tumblr)
• Interesting links and stories (Tumblr)

I have been posting entries on this blog for the last 66 months straight and I've been proud to do so but at the same time, if there's the chance that I'm not keeping up, then I won't be afraid to change things up. I will take some time off in the summer depending on how the Hoosier State situation plays itself out. 

Nothing new on this blog will appear on Tumblr and vice versa. Speaking of Tumblr, here's my new page.

Social networking

I have joined Google Plus. Anyone who has an account or plans to get one, here's my page. Over there, I plan to:

• Expand on blog posts. I will provide additional input on my posts if I feel that the topic is very important.
• Provide more personal views on rail topics. I also plan to provide my ideas on how passenger rail in America can be made better.
• Deal with news as it breaks. This could save me from posting others' blog entries and providing too little of an opinion. I will also deal with more local issues like streetcars and light rail--areas I have given little or no coverage.
• React to other viewpoints. If there is anyone who defends the status quo, I plan to refute it if the circumstances warrant me to do so.
• Provide random thoughts on issues that are too short for posts. This will allow me to retire the random thoughts blog entries as I have sometimes waited weeks to provide my opinion on stories that fade out of the public's view.