Colin Jones
@colincjones.bsky.social
they/he/él 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Transportation Engineering Student in Minnesota.
I write, sometimes (https://streets.mn/author/cjones/).
Transportation Engineering Student in Minnesota.
I write, sometimes (https://streets.mn/author/cjones/).
Reposted by Colin Jones
Literally every railroad's creation, operation, and service is politics.
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
October 9, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Literally every railroad's creation, operation, and service is politics.
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
Was looking up old timetables over the weekend, found this gem. "It gets there when it gets there"-ass railroad.
December 1, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Was looking up old timetables over the weekend, found this gem. "It gets there when it gets there"-ass railroad.
Reposted by Colin Jones
And ripping it all out, as planned, costs as much as operating it for another 15 years! Let’s have rail to St Cloud. It’s in the Legislature and MnDOT to make this happen.
"The truth, then, is that BNSF now has a lot of extra capacity that did not exist when Northstar was implemented. Therefore, there is no reason why multiple round trips to St. Cloud couldn’t be renegotiated with the railroad at this time."
www.startribune.com/northstar-co...
www.startribune.com/northstar-co...
Opinion | Don’t kill the Northstar Line — reconfigure it
A little bit of creativity, and some strategic thinking, could give the Northstar Line — the 16-year-old commuter rail service run by Metro Transit but set to end in January — a whole new lease on lif...
www.startribune.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:44 PM
And ripping it all out, as planned, costs as much as operating it for another 15 years! Let’s have rail to St Cloud. It’s in the Legislature and MnDOT to make this happen.
Reposted by Colin Jones
The Midtown Greenway has never looked so good with the northern lights and recently repairs lights.
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
The Midtown Greenway has never looked so good with the northern lights and recently repairs lights.
Reposted by Colin Jones
#OnThisDay Nov 7, 1938: Majorettes distribute flowers and release pigeons to celebrate new equipment on the Milwaukee Road's "Twin Cities Hiawatha." The streamlined passenger cars with unique "Beaver Tail" end design were pulled by the new F7 steam locomotives, among the fastest in the world.
November 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
#OnThisDay Nov 7, 1938: Majorettes distribute flowers and release pigeons to celebrate new equipment on the Milwaukee Road's "Twin Cities Hiawatha." The streamlined passenger cars with unique "Beaver Tail" end design were pulled by the new F7 steam locomotives, among the fastest in the world.
Reposted by Colin Jones
And this is what it was before it was the bus barn. Behold "Snelling Station", the primary maintenance facility for the Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar system and major regional employer. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad, TCRT built everything in house, from the vehicles to the light poles.
October 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And this is what it was before it was the bus barn. Behold "Snelling Station", the primary maintenance facility for the Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar system and major regional employer. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad, TCRT built everything in house, from the vehicles to the light poles.
Reposted by Colin Jones
If the media is going to keep pushing their crime & inefficiency narrative on public transit then agencies should fight back.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
If the media is going to keep pushing their crime & inefficiency narrative on public transit then agencies should fight back.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Reposted by Colin Jones
we gotta do something about the european peasant mindset which is suddenly prevalent in seats in new amtrak cars
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
Verdict: The train itself is great and long overdue. It’s fast(er), it’s very smooth, it’s clean and inviting.
I HATE the seats. I don’t find them comfortable, like, at all. The “recline” somehow makes them worse since it’s not actually recline, only the seat pan slides forward. It’s so 2010’s.
I HATE the seats. I don’t find them comfortable, like, at all. The “recline” somehow makes them worse since it’s not actually recline, only the seat pan slides forward. It’s so 2010’s.
August 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
we gotta do something about the european peasant mindset which is suddenly prevalent in seats in new amtrak cars
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
A bit late to this, but the most absurd bit of the Northstar fiasco is that Met Council is...paying to demolish existing stations? BNSF I assume, but why waste public money on what is essentially salting the earth for future projects?
August 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
A bit late to this, but the most absurd bit of the Northstar fiasco is that Met Council is...paying to demolish existing stations? BNSF I assume, but why waste public money on what is essentially salting the earth for future projects?
Reposted by Colin Jones
Mammoth-sized marmot spotted in Kamloops park
“It’s the fattest marmot I’ve ever seen.”
infotel.ca
July 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
May or may not have forgotten to do self-promotion on this. 😭
"Today, transit is in a middling state in the city. When I arrived in town in fall 2023, Duluth media were reporting a driver shortage for the Duluth Transit Authority. That likely explains my experience of buses frequently not showing up at all on weekends."
How Advocacy May Transform Duluth’s Streets
Amid state and federal headwinds, urbanism is having a moment in Duluth, led by local elected officials and advocates like Vibrant Streets Duluth.
streets.mn
June 17, 2025 at 12:46 AM
May or may not have forgotten to do self-promotion on this. 😭
For the past year or so I've had this creeping feeling that an American Anni Di Piombo was descending upon us.
And it's here, so now I'm terrified of how much further it will go.
And it's here, so now I'm terrified of how much further it will go.
June 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
For the past year or so I've had this creeping feeling that an American Anni Di Piombo was descending upon us.
And it's here, so now I'm terrified of how much further it will go.
And it's here, so now I'm terrified of how much further it will go.
The debacle with Amtrak’s Horizon cars makes me realize how much time I spend on researching MN’s transportation to the end of making my roommate wish he was dead.
Writing articles isn’t enough, I need to yap for hours on end at least once a month.
Writing articles isn’t enough, I need to yap for hours on end at least once a month.
April 2, 2025 at 4:25 AM
The debacle with Amtrak’s Horizon cars makes me realize how much time I spend on researching MN’s transportation to the end of making my roommate wish he was dead.
Writing articles isn’t enough, I need to yap for hours on end at least once a month.
Writing articles isn’t enough, I need to yap for hours on end at least once a month.
Right after cosponsoring that insane bill which classifies anyone who opposes Trump as “mentally ill”.
Every conservative accusation is an admission of guilt.
Every conservative accusation is an admission of guilt.
GOP state Sen. Justin Eichorn arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 16-year old girl minnesotareformer.com/2025/03/18/g...
GOP state Sen. Justin Eichorn arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 16-year old girl • Minnesota Reformer
Eichorn’s arrest complicates efforts by Senate Republicans to expel DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell from the upper chamber.
minnesotareformer.com
March 18, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Right after cosponsoring that insane bill which classifies anyone who opposes Trump as “mentally ill”.
Every conservative accusation is an admission of guilt.
Every conservative accusation is an admission of guilt.
Reposted by Colin Jones
just want to point out that "privatization of amtrak" does in fact imply forcing the class I railroads to take back their legally-mandated passenger service
Elon Musk suggests that the U.S. government should privatize "as much as possible," including Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service, according to a source.
Musk was speaking in a virtual appearance at a Morgan Stanley technology conference.
Musk was speaking in a virtual appearance at a Morgan Stanley technology conference.
Elon Musk suggests the U.S. should privatize the Postal Service and Amtrak
During a remote appearance at a technology conference in San Francisco, Musk told attendees the U.S. should privatize "as much as possible."
www.nbcnews.com
March 5, 2025 at 9:18 PM
just want to point out that "privatization of amtrak" does in fact imply forcing the class I railroads to take back their legally-mandated passenger service
I’ve been doing a bit of digging at the library and on the internet about the Arrowhead’s rail history, to try and map out historical rail stations, freight depots, etc.
What shocked me is that Duluth had 3 stations in Downtown, including Union Depot, on top of 4+ “suburban” stations.
What shocked me is that Duluth had 3 stations in Downtown, including Union Depot, on top of 4+ “suburban” stations.
March 5, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I’ve been doing a bit of digging at the library and on the internet about the Arrowhead’s rail history, to try and map out historical rail stations, freight depots, etc.
What shocked me is that Duluth had 3 stations in Downtown, including Union Depot, on top of 4+ “suburban” stations.
What shocked me is that Duluth had 3 stations in Downtown, including Union Depot, on top of 4+ “suburban” stations.
Reposted by Colin Jones
Oh how we've fallen. The Japanese used to come to the US to get insights into how to build better railroad infrastructure and electrification
March 1, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Oh how we've fallen. The Japanese used to come to the US to get insights into how to build better railroad infrastructure and electrification
Rather telling that a so-called "transportation" engineering course has the energy of "Oh yeah, pedestrians and bicyclists, those chucklefucks".
March 1, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Rather telling that a so-called "transportation" engineering course has the energy of "Oh yeah, pedestrians and bicyclists, those chucklefucks".
Reposted by Colin Jones
Went to the opening day of Catzen Café in St Paul yesterday 💜
January 3, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Went to the opening day of Catzen Café in St Paul yesterday 💜
Reposted by Colin Jones
Federal government report in 1977: "The amount
of catenary installed in the United States in the last forty years has not been sufficient to preserve and update the installation
techniques and skills developed in the first quarter of the century."
<<stares directly into the sun>>
of catenary installed in the United States in the last forty years has not been sufficient to preserve and update the installation
techniques and skills developed in the first quarter of the century."
<<stares directly into the sun>>
December 10, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Federal government report in 1977: "The amount
of catenary installed in the United States in the last forty years has not been sufficient to preserve and update the installation
techniques and skills developed in the first quarter of the century."
<<stares directly into the sun>>
of catenary installed in the United States in the last forty years has not been sufficient to preserve and update the installation
techniques and skills developed in the first quarter of the century."
<<stares directly into the sun>>
Reposted by Colin Jones
We're headed toward a world run by a loaded roulette wheel where exclusionary systems simply reflect merit and broadly inclusionary ones are per se discriminatory.
December 9, 2024 at 12:23 PM
We're headed toward a world run by a loaded roulette wheel where exclusionary systems simply reflect merit and broadly inclusionary ones are per se discriminatory.
Reposted by Colin Jones
if i can say anything to queer folk in these trying times, be unapologetically petty with your queerness
someone tried to call a video game i did some work for "woke" so in retaliation i gave its cartoon goat mascot a transgender deer girlfriend that is now canon
someone tried to call a video game i did some work for "woke" so in retaliation i gave its cartoon goat mascot a transgender deer girlfriend that is now canon
November 20, 2024 at 7:03 PM
if i can say anything to queer folk in these trying times, be unapologetically petty with your queerness
someone tried to call a video game i did some work for "woke" so in retaliation i gave its cartoon goat mascot a transgender deer girlfriend that is now canon
someone tried to call a video game i did some work for "woke" so in retaliation i gave its cartoon goat mascot a transgender deer girlfriend that is now canon
Reposted by Colin Jones
By 1910, the network of interurbans in the US was so dense that a determined commuter could hop interlinked vehicles from Elkhart, Wisconsin, to Oneonta, NY—a journey of 1,100 miles—exclusively by electric trolley.
🚋🧵
🚋🧵
December 2, 2024 at 4:15 PM
By 1910, the network of interurbans in the US was so dense that a determined commuter could hop interlinked vehicles from Elkhart, Wisconsin, to Oneonta, NY—a journey of 1,100 miles—exclusively by electric trolley.
🚋🧵
🚋🧵
Reposted by Colin Jones
Worth considering
December 5, 2024 at 1:38 PM
Worth considering
