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I’ll likely be back in Blacksburg eventually!

Even though it’s slower, I think the train beats (in terms of quality) I-95 up towards DC, Baltimore, and beyond; it’s a more enjoyable experience!

@@TheGAMWolferz I feel the same way about all day service. Day trips from DC to Harpers Ferry on the train would then be possible! Glad you enjoyed the series, thanks for watching!

And I’m very much still in Newport News! Sure, it’s not perfect, but it has its perks.

@@29downtheline oh, I agree. My city needs a LOT of work, but in areas that aren’t around Patrick Henry Mall.

@@catgirl_eva I think more focus should be on downtown and other areas of south Newport News, so I’m glad at least some stuff is being done (not enough, though).

@@29downtheline Couldn't agree more. The part of Newport News I live in seems to be economically blighted with abandoned motels, abandoned/closed restaurants, and vape shops aplenty. I think there's at least three vape shops less than a mile apart in my area.

Same here! Glad that it’s finally open!

@@rdbarne Did you ever use Lee Hall station on the Colonial?

@@29downtheline not personally but when our family came down from NYC they would get off there as we lived in the northern part of Newport News near Fort Eustis and it was quicker to get to Lee Hall. Downtown Newport News wasn’t the best area I’m not sure how it is now. It’s been about 33 years since we moved from the area.

⁠​⁠@@rdbarne Downtown has certainly seen better days; there are lots of abandoned-looking buildings, but there is also some new development down there. It’s unfortunate that South Newport News and Hampton folks now have to travel further just to get to the train station. They claimed the new one would be more centrally located, but I’m not sure they took Hampton into consideration.

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

@@Shortline819 I’d love if they came back to VA!

@@Robbi496 It’s definitely not the first new station if you count the old C&O stations, since the “old” Amtrak station is newer than them. Amtrak also used to serve Lee Hall, in the northwestern end of the city, for a while, but hasn’t for decades, leaving the station at Lafayette Square as the city’s only option until recently!

@@29downtheline I knew about the old C&O Station, but wasn't there another on Warwick?

@@Robbi496 The station at Lee Hall was also on Warwick, not too far inside city limits, but I’m not aware of any others that saw Amtrak service. Not much is showing up when I try to look it up. Do you know when and in what part of the city the station existed? (Newport News is just weirdly long, so there were a bunch of stations, all not too far off Warwick Blvd/Warwick Rd/Virginia Ave/whatever that road was called at the time).

@@29downtheline I am only aware of the old C & O station, but it seems that Amtrak listed another depot on Warwick with a different address in addition to Lee Hall?

@@Robbi496 I can’t find anything other than Lee Hall and the station that just closed at 9304 Warwick, unfortunately.

That’s really cool! The views from the bridge are definitely amazing!

@@anthonywarrener1881 Glad you enjoyed the video! The P42s are typical for this part of the route, but occasionally we’ll get one in one of the special liveries! As for why HRT would wait until the official grand opening to reroute service? I’ve got no clue. Everyone who would have used the old station is now using the new one, so I don’t think they would have a reason to wait, but we’ll see. 0.3 miles to a bus stop is fine for suburbia, but not for a train station! It’s a long way to carry luggage! Thanks for watching!

Naturally!

@@mxr572 I actually prefer high-floor streetcars and trams over low-floor ones, mainly for aesthetic reasons. The main issue with them is accessibility, though. I think St. Louis did a good job with its MetroLink in making its stations have high platforms for the high-level LRVs. I do still love that SEPTA brought back the PCCs, though. From my understanding of Toronto (never visited), I would guess buses are now faster than the streetcars?

@@johnchambers8528 Thanks for watching! I would have to agree that high level boarding is the most important upgrade in terms of station functionality! The large waiting room is really nice, though, and I’d even go as far as saying I think this station is better than Norfolk’s across the river!

@@Yankee_Doodle_Stacker Ah that makes sense about the service facility. Didn’t even cross my mind until you mentioned it! Regardless, you all did a really nice job with the station! I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!!

Oh awesome! The experience was way better than I expected; I wasn't expecting so many railfans and TV cameras to be there! Interestingly, all the fanfare seemed to be off the train. There didn't seem to be as much enthusiasm on board. The walk to the bus stop actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, since I ended up getting the 108 from Bland & Campbell instead of walking all the way to Warwick Blvd for the more familiar 106 & 107. Not sure when HRT will move bus service, but the stops are already there. They could quite literally do it overnight if they wanted to (but I imagine they'll give us more notice than that). Did you happen to catch the CSX train that came through right before Train 67? It was going pretty fast through Williamsburg while I was waiting to board!

@@29downtheline I imagine the people on board didn't even know the station was opening haha. And no, that CSX train passed long before. I was there since around 9:50 or so so it must've been pretty quick! I also just remembered the HRT signs in the bus loop so that's good to hear.

@@29downtheline doesnt seem right to have HRT bays and pads for their shelters that they demanded and no HRT there huh? conduits run to the building to an HRT IT room for their signage that they demanded but no HRT there? You can lead a horse to water......

@@Yankee_Doodle_Stacker Oh wow. Do you know if they’ve set a date when they want to move service or no?

@@Shortline819 I see what you mean; the glass motif does resemble Lorton a little. I wouldn’t be surprised if the extra space is for another platform, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the platform is where it is simply because of property boundaries. Either way, I’m not sure!

no. CSX wanted it for a future track

@@29downtheline the space is for a future CSX track. There used to be one there until they removed it.

@@Yankee_Doodle_Stacker Doesn't seem likely unless confirmed by CSX. If they wanted a second track, they'd likely build it on the end closest to I-64. There is a nearby double tracked segment just before the station from the northwest where two tracks goes into one so it wouldn't make sense to put a new track on the opposite side of the existing second main. Rather, they would just connect the new track with the existing second main segment. That space could very well be used for a second platform track, perhaps when the Commonwealth Corridor is established, so probably not in the near future. That would kinda stink if CSX does end up building there though.

Just looked it up and apparently it’s actually 6 years late. Discussion started in 2011, and it was supposed to be done in 2018! wydaily.com/news/local/2019/01/03/this-project-has-been-in-the-design-phase-for-nearly-six-years-heres-why/

@@29downtheline FYI a mile of trackwork and a service facility were not part of the scope at the start. It doubled the project cost and extended the time. FYI a design contract wasnt even signed until 2013. Then the scope doubled a year into it with no funding. Engineers execute projects, reporters write articles and they are typically inaccurate. Plans were signed in 2018, advertisement was during the COVID lockdown. Phase 1 of 3 Construction contracts began with masks and social distancing in summer of 2019. The entire thing was controlled by surcharge wait times which are difficult to predict. The project consisted of three separate overlapping construction contracts.

Thanks for watching! The level boarding is really nice! One of the first stations in Virginia to have this feature! (I think the only other one is Roanoke)

@@29downtheline it is Roanoke :)

I bet when they connect Blacksburg to Roanoke, that will get a new platform at level. Still hoping there will be an updated connection between Richmond and Charlottesville, so in theory NPN could easily take you across the state without hitting DC.

@@corbinmckee7158 That east-west route can’t come soon enough! And I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t give a station in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area high level platforms, so that’s probably a good assumption!

Yeah and I had to around that pointless fence to get to it lol

Thanks for watching!

@@StillPlaysWithModelTrains1956 Proper dining on eastern trains would be great!

@@tyleralberico9340 Heard it from you first! I just looked it up (I honestly had no idea they were even considering this) but it would be amazing if ferries between the Peninsula and Southside came back! Looks like they’re considering Hampton as the Peninsula landing site as well as downtown Newport News. A very interesting development, for sure. I’m really not sure why it would take so long for service to start (planning assumes it starts in 2031???), but I’m glad HRT is moving in the right direction. It’s funny this news came out now, since I’m actually in the process of writing a script for a video essay about the future of HRT. This news just kinda came out of nowhere! I also find it hilarious that they list parking availability concerns as a con to running the ferry to Newport News. I’ve watched your video where you talk about downtown NN; evidently they haven’t! (I get that they’re likely more worried about whether passengers can actually use those lots, but I still find it funny). What are your thoughts on the (potential) proposal?

@@29downtheline yeahhhh… I don’t understand why it would take so long to get up and running. I’d be surprised if they choose Hampton to Norfolk because the article I read mentioned they ran that service when HRT began but it wasn’t getting enough riders. I don’t have any other context as to why it failed, but hopefully Newport News will give the route more riders. Still exciting, though!

@@tyleralberico9340 Again totally unrelated, but news just came out for the opening date of the new Newport News Amtrak station! August 22! (I won’t say whether I already have ticket(s) booked)!

@@29downtheline oh my god…. Finally! Opening in 2020 💔

Phew. Thanks for letting me know. For a second there I wasn’t sure haha! Thanks for watching!

I looked on a map and tried to find a Mermaid Ave along the 15, but the closest I could find was a Mermaid in Chestnut Hill, but that was served by the former 23 trolley. Do you know which neighborhood the loop track was in?

They are only on the 15! Other lines use the regular Kawasaki trolleys, so the 15 is pretty unique!

​@@29downthelineok ill be in Philly next year. I hope they are still on the road then

@@keonta81 They should still be there then!

@@keonta81 Currently SEPTA has no plans to replace the PCCs. Rather it's the Kawasaki trolleys that SEPTA plans to replace.

They do look really nice, especially considering they’re over 70 years old!

@@solidaudioTV I never got to experience Kmart before the overall decline of many of these big retail stores, so I really have no benchmark to compare this location to. Maybe someday I’ll get to go to one of the mainland US stores before they close. All those little things sound amazing, though! While I never got to experience Kmart in its prime, I do have fond memories of frequenting a Nordstrom (I know, I know, completely different store) with my family when I was younger, often for shoe shopping. They had a gigantic fish tank in the kids’ shoes department and a live pianist on the first floor of the central atrium. In that location’s final years, the piano was removed, and it just wasn’t as special. It’s been closed for years at this point. So at least in regard to not being able to experience a store as it once was, I think I can somewhat relate!

My guess is that this station was always intended to be pretty much just a park and ride. For a park and ride, however, you need good road connections. Loudoun Gateway is severely lacking in this department. There are very few road crossings over Broad Run between Waxpool Rd and Loudoun County Pkwy. This means that driving to Loudoun Gateway is inconvenient unless you are coming from somewhere on Route 606 (or want to pay a toll for Route 267). I think ridership will jump here if a road connection between Old Ox Rd and Loudoun County Pkwy is built. Shellhorn Road will do this once its extension opens, so I wouldn’t be surprised if ridership at Ashburn takes a hit while ridership here increases when that happens. But yeah, the zoning around Loudoun Gateway is quite odd.

@@29downtheline I don't think it's ever going to jump. There aren't houses within miles. That is the most important area around a metro station is the first mile radius. It's kinda sad Loudon had decades to get this area prepared for metro and rezoning. And yet did nothing with this gift for a huge increase in new people living there in a dense area that doesn't cost much to maintain and brings in a potentially massive amount tax money. In 2023 it averaged 10 riders an hour. There is a garage for 1800 cars and only 10 people an hour use it.

@@letsgoOs1002 Quite frankly I don’t even know why they thought here was a good station location. It’s right in the flight path of IAD; planes fly pretty low overhead coming into the airport. I imagine this is one of the last places they would even want to develop housing. With all those planes, it makes sense why they’d want to put the data centers here. The question is why did they think giving a bunch of data centers a metro station was a good idea. I like this station because of its quirks, but its existence just begs so many questions.

@@29downtheline ask the county supervisors at a meeting

I do hope to get more of the Tide filmed! I actually go to school in Hampton Roads so I’ll be making more HRT content once the school year starts!

@@29downtheline sweet, I ride the tide for work when I can, it’s a shame the starter line has not expanded but if you research the initial project you will see why

@@brettflynn51 That’s cool that you ride it to work! I’m at least aware of how Virginia Beach cancelled its half of the project (even though the right of way already exists!!!) but I’ve been looking into HRT’s ongoing Connecting Chesapeake project. I don’t think it’s being talked about enough, and it could mean the difference between a light rail network extension or a faster, better bus line (either express bus or BRT). Personally, I’m hoping for more light rail!

@@29downtheline I don’t want to spoil it but look into the construction of the original tide line… it did not go well

@@user-pb8yh8bu6r 24/7 service is a great feature! It’s a pretty easy system to use!

@@29downtheline Agreed! Too many train lines poop out too early. Makes it tough if you want to use it to go to a party, a concert, or anything else that keeps you out later than 9 PM.

@@user-pb8yh8bu6r Funny you mention that. When I came back home from this Philly day trip, our train got to Washington later at night (but still before midnight) so I remember checking to see what time the last Metro trains were! We got an outbound train early enough but we passed the last inbound train of the night!

My thoughts exactly

"That's a pizza place!"

“The Bike Car”

@@ryanstevens2722 Cool that you got to see the system in its earlier years! I’m hoping the area above ground there sees some revitalization with the reopening of the station!

I’ll have to make another trip up, but I’d love to! (Thankfully, train tickets aren’t too expensive). Ferry Ave is on my list of stations to visit next time, as is that Tim Horton’s right next to Lindenwold! We couldn’t spend a ton of time on any one line since we had about 10 hours to cram in as much Philadelphia-area transit as possible! (There’s quite a bit we still missed). I definitely want to ride all of the Speedline someday!

I’m glad you’re enjoying the content! The Silver Line is definitely a nice piece of infrastructure; I just wish it ran a little faster! The station at Dulles is pretty unique; I have a whole video on it coming out at some point in the future! Thanks for watching!

@@amyhogarten5038 Good to know! I’m impressed by how fast it runs through Center City, despite stopping every few blocks!

@@JaxBrubaker-po8ld I definitely have mixed feelings about that! (I love the 3000s!)

Yeah, me too! The 2000 got retired this year!

@@JaxBrubaker-po8ld I already miss them!