By Mick Bailey

Our cars have been the preferred mode of transportation for well over a century. Cars provide convenient personal transportation and give the owner of the car great independence. Our love of cars has grown over the years, but unfortunately problems have grown too. Expensive repairs, congestion on our highways, loss of urban space, air pollution causing public health problems and carbon emission adding to the trend of global warming are all consequences of excessive use of the automobile. In addition, we face record high gasoline prices with no end in sight.

The following are 10 alternatives to driving your car. Some have been with us longer than the car itself and others are new technologies.

By Mick Bailey

Arriving to the airport 2 hours before our flights is just one of many ways our lives have changed since 9/11. To insure nothing goes wrong when we pass through security we have accepted it as an added cost to air travel. If time is money, then the price of air travel is going up again thanks to the national budget sequester. According to the travel industry be prepared to add up to another hour of wait time thanks to the mandatory spending cuts coming from Washington DC on March 1, 2013.

Jim Wilson - Chief Operations Officer - Rail Operations

The Vegas X Train route from Fullerton to Las Vegas covers the highest population area in Southern California to the lowest population of the high desert and arriving in the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas.  As the railroads moved into Las Vegas and California in 1887 in Fullerton and 1905 in Las Vegas they made a huge contribution to moving immigrants into the area and moving commerce in to support the growth of the population.  While moving people and goods was the purpose of the railroad, getting from Las Vegas to Fullerton was highly influenced by the geography and availability of water for the grades and support for steam engine operations.  Image yourself as a railroad civil engineer peering over the summit at Cajon or Cima Hill and trying to figure out where the railroad is going to go.  The movement of water points most of the route as over the years water shaped the course of the routes for the railroads to follow. 

Fast forward to the 21st century on the Vegas X Train riding in luxury and cool comfort on one of the most highly developed, highest capacity, and technological state of the art rail corridors in the United States.  Originating in Fullerton, California you move east through Corona, Riverside, and San Bernardino to the foot of Cajon Pass.  All of this area was inhabited by Native American’s from several tribes and then came the Spaniards and Anglo’s into the area trading with the population, starting settlements, and towns.  In 1851 a group of Mormon settlers from Salt Lake City led by Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich traveled through Cajon Pass and the area where the Mormon Trail and Santa Fe Railway merged was a rock grouping that became known as Mormon Rocks.  This area became a much photographed venue with the famous photographer Herb Sullivan taking many train pictures there and became known as Sullivan’s Curve.

See next week's blog for part 2 of the historic Vegas X Train Route

By Mick Bailey

This Sunday, February 3, 2013 is the big day; Super Bowl XLVII. San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens will be doing battle in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. If you are not lucky to be at the party in the Superdome then where is the next best place to have a Super Bowl party? Answer: Las Vegas; the Party Capital of the World.

Every weekend is a party in Las Vegas, but Super Bowl weekend is special. Las Vegas goes all out for the tourists that arrive just to enjoy the game. Fans can stay home and certainly find Super Bowl parties at their local bar or maybe at a neighbor’s house. Fans that make it to Vegas find the Super Bowl party goes from one end of the Strip to the other. In addition, the party starts Friday afternoon and goes on late into Sunday night, long after the last play of the game. Best part is all the bets you make are legal.

 By Mick Bailey

Stories of women and World War II often include images of Rosie the Riveter with her sleeves rolled up. Women were for the first time doing jobs traditionally held by men such as building airplanes, tanks or other war equipment. This was new to our country and became a vital part in the effort to win the war. Women entering the World War II workforce were key to our winning, but few people today realize the biggest contribution to the war effort by women was to the railroad industry.

  By Mick Bailey

There is no question Las Vegas is the best city in the world to party. The Entertainment Capital of the World, open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. If you are looking for a fun time collect your friends, book your travel arraignments to Vegas and get ready for the time of your life.

We know Las Vegas is the best place in the world to party, but which party in Las Vegas is the best. Is it New Year’s Eve? Many people prefer fireworks from the top of the Vegas casinos to the dropping of the ball at Time Square. On New Year’s Eve the Las Vegas Strip closes two miles for the night. The street is packed solid with party goers waiting for the stroke of midnight. Live bands on every corner help get the Vegas crowd in the mood. If you think the fireworks at midnight signal the end of the party think again. Tens of thousands of people keep the party going until dawn.

By Mick Bailey

The Las Vegas X Train, the luxury passenger train with planned rail service between Southern CA and Las Vegas has begun work with award winning engineering firm, Walker Engineering, LLC for the development of their Las Vegas station.  The local firm is a woman-owned engineering firm headed by President Jody Walker Belsick, P.E., MBA, LEED AP.  The well established firm lists among its previous projects: The Rainbow Sunset Pavilion, Cimarron Square and CDW at Logisticenter. Civil engineering services provided by Walker Engineering include, but are not limited to Boundary Survey, ALTA Survey, Existing Topography, Utility Research, Entitlements, Tentative Map, Hydrology Study, Water Network Analysis, Grading Design, Utility Design, Traffic Control Design, Horizontal Control Plans, Storm Drain Design, Street Plan and Profile Design, Quantity Estimates, Earthwork Calculations, Parcel Mapping, Commercial and Residential Subdivisions and Project Processing.

By Mick Bailey
The X Train is making traveling from Southern Cal to Las Vegas closer to reality by welcoming on board Mr. Jim Wilson. Jim will serve as the Chief Operations Officer-Rail Operations . He comes from an extensive railroad background and will be in charge of the day to day operations of the train. He will make sure that the Las Vegas Station and the Los Angeles station move passengers on and off the trains quickly, efficiently and on time. While traveling between stations Jim Wilson will insure guests on the X Train will enjoy excellent service bringing travelers back again and again.