Big, big Alco power for the layout: finally swapped a DCC/sound chassis under one of the custom-made high-nose C-628 shells I picked up a while back. CNW quickly found out these ex-N&W brutes were too heavy for Midwestern branch lines and put them into iron ore service.

I can't stop thinking about this. We're pursuing zero fire risk in multifam, while tolerating much more in single-fam. People respond by building and living in single-fam, where they're exposed to not only one of the highest fire death risks in the developed world, but also TONS more car crash risk

Lots of cool MBTA jobs up right now! Several in the vein of data analysis and planning. www.governmentjobs.com/careers/mbta...

Here are the Subway/Metro Station design guidelines that were compiled by UMTA/USDOT in the 1970s in an attempt to prevent WMATA-style cost overruns again. It got shelved when everyone at UMTA got laid off and we forgot it. But it's prescient about cost drivers -- rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/11352

🚛 The Netherlands is seeing a major shift in urban freight thanks to zero-emission zones for freight in 18 of its cities. By early 2025, 78% of new vans were electric -- compared to just 9% across the EU. 📑 New @cleancitiescampaign.org briefing: bit.ly/431I7al

The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...

Totally random connection, but this is shockingly similar to the effect in left-of-Orthodox American Judaism where a huge % of people who're remotely interested in serious practice/learning gets pressured into being a rabbi or Jewish educator--& many others self-segregate into "serious" minyanim.

Happy "Jews build huts and start a million text chains about upcoming meals" day

FRA emergency order about SEPTA's Silverline IV fleet. Doesn't order them immediately out of service but mandates various training and inspection changes and makes it clear this is a Very Big Deal www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...

My little end-of-Yom Kippur miracle was that game being delayed enough that I got to listen to the end #FlytheW

There is exactly one way to rapidly cut pollution at scale, save money both at the govt and household level, and do it without federal help. The best fastest thing to do on climate is to just make cities safer for walking and biking. That's it. Every climate person should be working on this.

#FlytheW! Guess digging out this ancient Cubs kippah worked

Floooof

Fun, pretty new layout additions that wouldn't have run together in real life: a C&NW FP-9 and a Milwaukee Road Super Dome

Probably the quote that most sticks with me from my readings in rail planning is this one, “we concluded that increasing operating performance and achieving high-speed operation would mean using electric or diesel railcars with power distributed along the cars.” www.ejrcf.or.jp/jrtr/jrtr03/...

Both building owners and agencies here would have massive headaches trying to deal with respective alterations. SEPTA doesn't even share trolley poles with city utilities beyond small signs

Have always wondered why we don't do this more these days. Gotta assume it's mostly to avoid complexity of dealing with all the land/building owners.

ADUs passes 46-0 I'm shocked

Discrimination against transients, but leftishly

🚌 Strategies used to turnaround Akron’s bus system: 1. CEO used to be a bus driver, now rides the bus with customers 2. Run buses every 15 minutes, 7 days a week 3. Concentrate on most needed services 4. Reduce job requirements “If we’re not using our product, why should anybody else use it?”

Climate change is giving us new birbs (new hybrid jay just dropped) www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

A study in an utter lack of political courage and governing on instinct, vibes, and paranoia all around.

This is a well-reported deep dive into the movement to turn academic Jewish Studies into the junior partner of Christian nationalists by creating bad scholarship on "Judeo-Christian civilization," a project now being supported by the Trump administration. arcmag.org/the-mind-of-...

The NYT takes on the question of whether freight railroads are serious about growing their mode share: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/b...

Are there still people out there insisting left-NIMBYism isn't a thing?

Oh lawdy, the MetroTransit Gold Line, which cost $500 million and was forecast to carry 5900 daily riders in the build year (and 6500 by 2040) is carrying less than 25% of that.

I would ask these people if they've ever seen a single depiction of warriors from the ancient world but I guess they're not the museum-going type are they

The scheme EMD used on SD-24 demonstrators went HARD

Cornhole concerns at the zoning committee: "The cornhole game leads to a continuous thunking noise as the beanbag hits the target. When one goes in the hole there's a loud cry of success."

This is not to say that we can't go faster but, the schedule is also a lot denser and there are more stopping patterns with more stops. The 503pm to NHV makes most stops beyond Port Chester in 2h3m. The 1955 equivalent (507pm, roughly) took 2h10m. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

Sounds like a fascinating conversation!

It's true that Chicago is much bigger than Boston population-wise, but it blew me away how much the other people in the Boston group I was at this conference with, especially those who unlike me hadn't spent much time in Chicago, were like "wow. Now this is a city. Why can't we have this?"

Threading some pics I didn't share previously from Chicago--Loop Link congestion

Bump!

one of the things about to happen is that Ben Shapiro thinks he's the natural heir to Charlie Kirk, and is about to find out how many of Kirk's people are anti-semites.

"A sharp drop in U.S. soybean exports to China could impact more than just farmers — it may soon begin putting pressure on trucking jobs, rail shipments, and port operations across the country." share.google/v9ayR5Av2ip6...

SB79 maps, take 2: what got upzoned near the California Ave Caltrain in Palo Alto, where a 1275 square foot bungalow will cost you over $2.5 million. This is why SB79 is a huge deal - it opened up a whole bunch of areas that were previously off-limits. (attn: @nextdoorsv.bsky.social )

If anyone is in town for #aptatransform25, let me know! I may be able to get to the conference tomorrow afternoon.

Mazal tov to all of the California YIMBYs and others who spent years fighting for this moment. I hope it sparks a national trend.

Transition from legacy structure to RPM-modernized viaduct just north of Wilson

Old C&NW Navy Pier branch ROW from Merchandise Mart NB platform

🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober) - When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over - Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

[BILL ALERT] SB 79, which broadly legalizes more homes near high quality transit stops, has passed the Assembly floor! The bill now goes to the Senate for concurrence, then the Governor’s desk. cayimby.org/legislation/...

Pink Line train perfectly framed on the Lake St bridge

"This is Merchandise Mart. Doors open on the right at Merchandise Mart"

The green roof on the Old Post Office is extremely cool.

Discovered today that the Chicago Board of Trade Building has a museum

Chicago is just bigger than Boston

Good morning CTA!