No, This Blog Is Not Turning Into A Bird Blog.

Pelicans Seek New Spots

Today's outing generated two more images of birds at White Rock. It's nesting season--give me a break, please. From the trip today, the wrap around cloud cover of a very strong low-level low returned more clouds today, although, there were a few brief patches of blue sky about the size of a frying pan on a world scale. At one point there was one spot on the lake's surface seen from one of the high roads that lends a view of the entire length of the lake and a skyline view of downtown.That  spot of sunshine was absolutely amazing. At the time, I was driving from one of the broken section to the next and recall thinking that I should get a shot of that. When I got onto the second section of roadway, the spot was gone. It's like the old rule at Costco----when you see it you had better buy it because when you go back to get it, it's going to be gone. Well, I didn't get the shot and when I got to where I could shoot a better advantage point, the spot was gone. Hence, the Costco story in illustration.

To back up the story from yesterday about the pelicans being displaced and seen in spots where I have not observed them before, today, I found three that were on an inlet pretty far from the main shoreline of the lake. One, was even bathing, which means that they were pretty far into their daily routine and might even have spent the night there last night. While it may be interesting for the pelicans, it's not a good thing for the people who like seeing the ole pelicans in their normal spots.

And, while the weather will change from this below average temperatures we are having at the moment, shooting up to sunshine and 73 by Thursday when an Arctic air mass is heading this way and will give us 30 MPH north winds and 20 degree F temps driving the wind chill into the very low single digit to mid teens. Things like this can also cause a sudden movement in the migrating visitors that could change their home-away-from-home base as well. It is something that needs to be watched and monitored.

 I'm anxious to ride the new TexRAIL on it's 27-mile trip from T&P station in Ft. Worth to Terminal B at DFW Airport. The train got approved after a couple of days being  delayed because of the government shut-down and is now active, live, hot and rolling. Theoretically one could start at terminal A on DART's light rail and ride it into Union Station in Downtown Dallas, change to either Trinity Rail Express or Amtrak there and then riding it into T& P in Ft. Worth. Finally, change to TexRAIL and ride it into Terminal B at DFW, then walk from Terminal B to A or ride the airport's tram from terminal B to terminal A to complete the circle. That trip, would be more than the 27 miles from Ft. Worth into DFW Terminal B, but boy would it be fun for a train and plane geek!! Least we forget the Cotton Belt Train from Plano across the north sector of the city to DFW Airport Train Hub has been given the go ahead also. THEN!! grab hold of this!

If that isn't exciting enough, just wait. The bullet train from Houston to Dallas and then  Ft. Worth T&P is nearing the horizon for construction. The Tube from Dallas to Ft. Work from Elan Musk is also on that horizon to travel from Dallas to Ft.Worth in 7 minutes or so and of course, the Lyft or Uber Air Taxi from Bell Helicopter's films are just absolutely awesome with prototype models coming soon.  Transportation in the Metroplex is going to make George Jetson seem like he was riding a bicycle all those years ago. I might even still be able to draw a breath on this planet and see this all working---that's how close to completion all this is approaching. We are not talking years as in decades, but within a decade or sooner. It's time to Get Excited About Transportation in Dallas and Ft. Worth. The time is at hand and it's going to be another big shot in the arm like DFW was 40-odd years ago. So don't be caught sleeping behind the wheel or you might miss all the excitement.

Great Blue Heron

Red Shoulder Hawk Take Flight.

Publish Via Remote: TEXrail Cars Are Here

Basically, I'm a geek when it comes to trains and planes. Put me at a rail station or an air field and I can zone in happiness all day long. Put me in an area where rail and planes mix and I am in geek heaven. Like the friendly Welcome! at Walgreen's, I got my Welcome! with a view of the new TEXrail cars built by Stadler of Switzerland. It is Stadler's first American order for a model outside the GTW product line. The cars are being built in Salt Lake City under the Buy American Agreement.

The 27-mile commuter rail owned by "the T" in Ft. Worth, will service Tarrant County and Terminal B at DFW. DART, the Dallas light rail, has been arriving at Terminal A for three years already. Unlike light rail, the Stadler cars are DMU's or Diesel Multiple Units and will be WI-FI ready when they begin service sometime in November, 2018. They are standard guage at 4 feet 8 and one-half inches or 1435 mm metric. They also have crash bumpers for better safety in event they are in a crash.

The video presentation on the TEXrail site explains how the two muni-operated systems will interchange with each other allowing passengers from Ft. Worth to ride the DART light rail to downtown Dallas. With so much international traffic at DFW and more to come, the customers are used to having rail service to the central business districts. With DFW being a joint venture between the two cities already, the separate rail systems  bring a unity of rail transport to the Metroplex. The Cotton Belt that DART will bring by 2022 will connect the northern sections of Dallas and Tarrant Counties from Plano to Ft. Worth. Least we forget the TRE that runs from the T&P in Ft. Worth to Dallas' Union Station many times a day and the A-Train from Frankfort Station on DARTS Green line to Denton, is also part of that same unified rail commuter system.

The rail road is very much a part of history in this part of Texas. It is only natural to have a lot of support for the railroads. With the future construction of the Bullet Train from Houston to Dallas/Ft. Worth growing closer and closer, the further transportation of  riders on a modern rail system coupled with a wold-class international airport, brings even more reasons to live in this great part of the US as yet another link is under construction. These cars are part of that link known as the TEXrail.Welcome,Aboard!!

DMU's

Service November,2018

New Platforms at Grapevine Station for TEXrail. The Vintage Railroad Train in Grapevine, is also running special trips for the holidays

Bullet Trains

Having traveled both The Lake Shore Limited between Boston and Chicago along the Great Lakes and The California Zephyr between Chicago and Emeryville, California  about three decades ago, I became a fan of Amtrak as a passenger rail service immediately. Since then, I have wanted to ride the rails again. I love riding the TRE and DART but not to the extent a high-speed trip would be like. Given the choice of going by plane or by train, the choice will always be rail over plane today.

Recently, it was announced that the TRE, or Trinity Railways Express, would be busy putting a TRE-type train into Terminal A or B at DFW International. The switch off the Dart light rail line is already in place on the way into terminal A. It will connect Ft. Worth to DFW via the TRE directly as DART has done already with Terminal A in connecting Dallas with DFW with light rail.

In the meantime, The FEC or Florida East Coast Industries, the parent of Florida East Coast Railroads announced that with state and private money, they would begin building a high-speed train between Miami and Orlando, running between 79 and 125 MPH over upgraded tracks the FEC already owns, operates and manages. It must be pointed out here, as well, that Florida Power and Light already owns and runs the largest windmill farm in the US here in Texas. In short, the energy derived from Texas wind is controlled by Florida Power and/or the biforcated-biforcated businesses that fall under that umbrella. Soon, they will top us as a high-speed rail route in their state while Texans are still discussing the ins and outs of why not to go ahead with the project.

That brings me to the crux of this post. Texas has been planning and talking about the Bullet Train between Houston and Dallas that would truly be a bullet train--the same as the Japanese shinkansen that runs between Tokyo and Kyoto currently at about 215 MPH.  No more than 24 hours after the media aired the story, fellow Texans against the train were stirring the pot with all kinds of negative instruments laid out ready to cut the threads the Train planners were holding up to be another economic boom for Texas.

First and foremost, these Texans, as loyal as they are, need to put the state as a whole above their self-centered interest and get this train built. Already Texas is looking to be number three behind Florida and California instead of being the leader of high speed rail for the next generation of Texans.Which ironically would be the grandchildren of those that want to stop the progress.

Florida, on the All aboard Florida website have already posted that  their service begins in 2017. And least we forget that the original high speed is the east coast route of Amtrak's Acela, which FEC plans to equal in their Miami to Orlando run.

And, as Vice-President Biden just stated on his trip to Dallas, that you can do all you can do to get new business growth brought to Texas but once they are here, if you don't have the things like a high-speed rail, you are not going to keep those businesses here in the state of Texas.  He is soooooo right!

The TRE inbound to Irving Station

TRE on its way to Ft. Worth. Seeing this at DFW Terminal A or B will absolutely get the word out to the rest of the world that Dallas means business in a First Class Way

You want to see an economic engine at work, just imagine a 215 MPH bullet train from Houston pulling into South Side on Lamar Station by 2018 tops!