I received my flyer from the Friends of the 261 yesterday, and there are Fall Color Excursions planned for October 4th and 5th, 2003, from Minneapolis Junction to Winona, MN. Plus a local round trip from Winona to La Crescent, MN. Coach $99, First Class $199, Luxury (in the Cedar Rapids) $299. Side trip $29, $59, $89.
Great to know that this treasure will be out and about again. But I have a question- What is it that this group has been able to do, in order to afford insurances, etc? That others cannot put together...? Boxcab E50
Steve Sandberg, at the tender age of 37 or so, is a brilliant leader. He arranged these trips to run under the jurisdiction of Amtrak. The Friends of 261 have quietly purchased some ex-Amtrak cars plus some of their older ones comply with Amtrak standards. This may be the future (unless the fed funding dries up).
Interesting. Does sound like some very smart positioning. Are they now restricted to pulling just these cars of Amtrak heritage? Or can they still use others? Such as the restored Milw Skytop they've had before? Boxcab E50
That depends on where they run and under who's jurisdiction. Amtrak will allow cars other than their own to run as long as they meet Amtrak standards. Same criteria as the PV that Amtrak drags around behind regular trains for $$$ per mile.
