philly or baltimore (Philadelphia, Canton, Penn: real estate, taxes, dangerous)

[pman]

Originally Posted by solibs

yeah, good points.
For those that don't know, the Amtrak Clocker ran from 30th St. to NY Penn making stops at Cornwells Heights, Trenton, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick, Metropark, Newark and NYC. The NJTransit version would make all the same stops but would terminate at Suburban Station for a $50 r/t and the trip would take about 90 minutes. ...
A "clocker" to DC is what's needed. 30th St., Chester, Wilmington, Newark, Aberdeen, Baltimore, etc. down to Union Station.

I've taken the Chinatown bus before. Last time it took me a problem free 2:30 to get down there (short stop in Baltimore) but about 4 hours to get back b/c of traffic. A train would be much more reliable.

they never should have gotten rid of the clockers. dumb. I think the city needs to realize that lowering the price on Amtrak's Keystone Service to $50/Rt could pay huge dividends in terms of tourism. and I like the idea of a DC locker, or at least a Baltimore clocker (which is a reinstatement of the train that used to run that route in PRR). once in baltimore, at least you have MARC (during the week) to get to DC. Really, the line needs four tracks to DC. If the Acela's were cheaper adn carried more people, you could have the Regionals stopping in Perryville/Aberdeen (base/chesapeake)...and maybe Newark, dE (UD) and Chester (widener) and charging less.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by pman

they never should have gotten rid of the clockers. dumb. I think the city needs to realize that lowering the price on Amtrak's Keystone Service to $50/Rt could pay huge dividends in terms of tourism.

agreed that it should be 4-tracks all the way through.

You mean $50 r/t from Philly to NYC?

If they did that I think the trains would be overwhelmed with Philadelphians and New Yorkers and people out in Harrisburg and Lancaster would have a hard time reserving seats.

I think once THE Tunnel gets finished we'll start to see more stuff like that.

What I don't understand, and maybe you know . . . A few years ago I took the train from North Carolina back to Philly. It terminated at 30th St. and I could swear that we were diesel the whole way . . . but i thought that the trip through Baltimore required electric locomotives?

Point is, if Amtrak terminated some trains at Hoboken and offered their riders free connections to the PATH and/or Manhattan ferries it seems like they could add a few more trains to the schedule. The two track tunnel under the Hudson seems to be the real choke point and it's the only real need for electrification between Baltimore and Hoboken.

[pman]

Originally Posted by solibs

You mean $50 r/t from Philly to NYC?

If they did that I think the trains would be overwhelmed with Philadelphians and New Yorkers and people out in Harrisburg and Lancaster would have a hard time reserving seats.

I think once THE Tunnel gets finished we'll start to see more stuff like that.

yes, though I don't think THE tunnel is necessary. both NY and Philly are capable of handling 14-18 car trains

Originally Posted by solibs

What I don't understand, and maybe you know . . . A few years ago I took the train from North Carolina back to Philly. It terminated at 30th St. and I could swear that we were diesel the whole way . . . but i thought that the trip through Baltimore required electric locomotives?

Point is, if Amtrak terminated some trains at Hoboken and offered their riders free connections to the PATH and/or Manhattan ferries it seems like they could add a few more trains to the schedule. The two track tunnel under the Hudson seems to be the real choke point and it's the only real need for electrification between Baltimore and Hoboken.

up until maybe five years ago, all Amtrak long distance trains changed locomotives in Philly. now they do it out of necessity. Amtrak gave up the clockers, it was NJT that wanted the slots. times change of course, jersey's broke and Amtrak is still near ridership highs (even without the clockers). Amtrak first needs longer trains, then to take back some slots when THE tunnel is built..all starts with pricing though.

[Tiger Beer]

Is it just me, but do the rowhomes in Philadelphia have way more character and variation? Baltimore's rowhomes have a very uniform look, with very few trees around either. A serious lack of porches as well in Baltimore rowhomes.

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Is it just me, but do the rowhomes in Philadelphia have way more character and variation? Baltimore's rowhomes have a very uniform look, with very few trees around either. A serious lack of porches as well in Baltimore rowhomes.

I think it depends, there is more than a fair share of monotonous rows in Philly as well

Maybe a little more diversity but also probably 2+ times as many to begin with

I know Philly better than Baltimore so is a tough comparison. One thing is they both share some similar looking ones.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Not to get too far off-topic, but that would make things interesting if/when that happens. One would then theoretically be able to take local commuter rail from New Haven, CT all the way down to Fredericksburg, VA.

I know that this is old but everything south of DC will be staying diesel for at least another generation, except light rail.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by solibs

agreed that it should be 4-tracks all the way through.

You mean $50 r/t from Philly to NYC?

If they did that I think the trains would be overwhelmed with Philadelphians and New Yorkers and people out in Harrisburg and Lancaster would have a hard time reserving seats.

I think once THE Tunnel gets finished we'll start to see more stuff like that.

What I don't understand, and maybe you know . . . A few years ago I took the train from North Carolina back to Philly. It terminated at 30th St. and I could swear that we were diesel the whole way . . . but i thought that the trip through Baltimore required electric locomotives?

Point is, if Amtrak terminated some trains at Hoboken and offered their riders free connections to the PATH and/or Manhattan ferries it seems like they could add a few more trains to the schedule. The two track tunnel under the Hudson seems to be the real choke point and it's the only real need for electrification between Baltimore and Hoboken.

Again, this is old. . .but the NC to Philadelphia train was probably either the Piedmont or the Carolinian. Check NCDOT trains. Their website would probably answer the question posted.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Is it just me, but do the rowhomes in Philadelphia have way more character and variation? Baltimore's rowhomes have a very uniform look, with very few trees around either. A serious lack of porches as well in Baltimore rowhomes.

no, you're spot on.

[Cnote11]

Philadelphia hands down.

[beasley106]

Philadelphia has more of a big city feel to it compared with Baltimore, plus it currently has a much better transit system with the SEPTA Regional Rail, Subway/EL, and PATCO with some services operating 24/7 or 24/2.

That being said Baltimore is not a bad place if you know which areas to avoid and there are plenty of nice neighborhoods outside of the Inner Harbor area such as Canton, Fells Point, Mount Vernon, Hampden, Federal Hill/Locust Point, Charles Village, etc. Also the MARC trains now run seven days a week on the Penn Line so access into DC is pretty easy.