the cost of fuel

[vferrera]

I see over in the US the cost of fuel is a major issue at the moment, how easy would it be for corps to travel by train and just the uniform, food and souvie truck just hit the road ??

Another problem is that there is very little express service. For example, if you want to go from CHI to NYC, it takes something like 28 hours for what should be a 15 hour trip. It's because of all the stops.

Then there are the breakdowns.

Sadly, rail service in US is just not as good as Europe. If we had the equivalent of a TGV, it would be a no-brainer. You could do CHI to LA in under 24 hours and for about half the price of a plane ticket. Then Madison, Phantom and Cavaliers could tour the west coast every year. Unfortunately, the US is not likely to get high speed rail in the near future. The best we've done so far is the Acela, which is nice, but nothing compared to the TGV.

[afd]

i believe BD is using (or used) amtrack for part of the season..

Yes they are. After the Stockton show, their last on the west coast on July 1st, they all board the train and head to the midwest on Amtrak.

[PhantomR]

let's just make em walk.

:P

~>conner

[ChicagoFan]

Yes they are. After the Stockton show, their last on the west coast on July 1st, they all board the train and head to the midwest on Amtrak.

What will they do for transportation once they arrive in the midwest?

[cire]

What will they do for transportation once they arrive in the midwest?

they will probably have their busses, or rent buses. i do know they had rented buses in socal.. but they did have their new staff bus with them. im not sure if its just $ reasons, or if the main buses were getting repaired.

but i did see some bus rocking before they got out.. so i doubt it really matters to them what bus they are on..

[Iplaytimpani]

This would never work. I mean, who knows all the rules to the train? Is the game still in effect? I would be so confused. b**bs

[MN DCI Fan]

To my understanding, the game is always on.

[gdisney]

they will probably have their busses, or rent buses. i do know they had rented buses in socal.. but they did have their new staff bus with them. im not sure if its just $ reasons, or if the main buses were getting repaired.

but i did see some bus rocking before they got out.. so i doubt it really matters to them what bus they are on..

Do they have their own busses anymore? They've been chartering for several years now; I guess it workd out cheaper than having to maintain your own fleet? Regardless, it wouldn't make sense to send their busses to the Midwest empty to meet up with them after they get off Amtrak.

[MiamiSun76]

My late father told of several junior corps from Philadelphia chartering a train in the '30s to go to nationals. Each corps had their own train car(s).

Also, who needs buses. In 1964 we (Miami Vanguards) chartered a plane for the trip to nationals in Dallas. Did a run through right on the tarmac at Love Field then boarded our.....................cattle truck. It rained all week.

[kusankusho]

Yeah. 50 years ago, something like that might have worked. Nowadays, you've got rails being torn up and turned into nature paths in a lot of places. There just wouldn't be enough track to cover all the places DCI goes.

OT - ironic. I was at an archaeological dig a few weeks back at a ghost town that disappeared when the railway replaced the nearby canal as the next great thing and bypassed the town entirely. Now the railway is being replaced by trucking. I wonder what the next big thing will be and will if force drum corps to abandon busses.

Just musing out loud....