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Paleoanthropology

Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines within the family Hominidae, working from biological evidence (such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints) and cultural evidence (such as stone tools, artifacts, and settlement localities).

The field draws from and combines primatology, paleontology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. As technologies and methods advance, genetics plays an ever-increasing role, in particular to examine and compare DNA structure as a vital tool of research of the evolutionary kinship lines of related species and genera.

Etymology
The term paleoanthropology derives from Greek palaiós (παλαιός) "old, ancient", ánthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος) "man, human" and the suffix -logía (-λογία) "study of".

Hominoid taxonomies
Hominoids are a primate superfamily, the hominid family is currently considered to comprise both the great ape lineages and human lineages within the hominoid superfamily. The "Homininae" comprise both the human lineages and the African ape lineages. The term "African apes" refers only to chimpanzees and gorillas. The terminology of the immediate biological family is currently in flux. The term "hominin" refers to any genus in the human tribe (Hominini), of which Homo sapiens (modern humans) is the only living specimen.

18th century
In 1758 Carl Linnaeus introduced the name Homo sapiens as a species name in the 10th edition of his work Systema Naturae although without a scientific description of the species-specific characteristics. Since the great apes were considered the closest relatives of human beings, based on morphological similarity, in the 19th century, it was speculated that the closest living relatives to humans were chimpanzees (genus Pan) and gorilla (genus Gorilla), and based on the natural range of these creatures, it was surmised that humans shared a common ancestor with African apes and that fossils of these ancestors would ultimately be found in Africa.

19th century
The science arguably began in the late 19th century when important discoveries occurred that led to the study of human evolution. The discovery of the Neanderthal in Germany, Thomas Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature, and Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man were both important to early paleoanthropological research.

The modern field of paleoanthropology began in the 19th century with the discovery of "Neanderthal man" (the eponymous skeleton was found in 1856, but there had been finds elsewhere since 1830), and with evidence of so-called cave men. The idea that humans are similar to certain great apes had been obvious to people for some time, but the idea of the biological evolution of species in general was not legitimized until after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859.

Though Darwin's first book on evolution did not address the specific question of human evolution—"light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history," was all Darwin wrote on the subject—the implications of evolutionary theory were clear to contemporary readers.

Debates between Thomas Huxley and Richard Owen focused on the idea of human evolution. Huxley convincingly illustrated many of the similarities and differences between humans and apes in his 1863 book Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature. By the time Darwin published his own book on the subject, Descent of Man, it was already a well-known interpretation of his theory—and the interpretation which made the theory highly controversial. Even many of Darwin's original supporters (such as Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Lyell) balked at the idea that human beings could have evolved their apparently boundless mental capacities and moral sensibilities through natural selection.

Asia
Prior to the general acceptance of Africa as the root of genus Homo, 19th-century naturalists sought the origin of humans in Asia. So-called "dragon bones" (fossil bones and teeth) from Chinese apothecary shops were known, but it was not until the early 20th century that German paleontologist, Max Schlosser, first described a single human tooth from Beijing. Although Schlosser (1903) was very cautious, identifying the tooth only as "?Anthropoide g. et sp. indet?," he was hopeful that future work would discover a new anthropoid in China.

Eleven years later, the Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson was sent to China as a mining advisor and soon developed an interest in "dragon bones". It was he who, in 1918, discovered the sites around Zhoukoudian, a village about 50 kilometers southwest of Beijing. However, because of the sparse nature of the initial finds, the site was abandoned.

Work did not resume until 1921, when the Austrian paleontologist, Otto Zdansky, fresh with his doctoral degree from Vienna, came to Beijing to work for Andersson. Zdansky conducted short-term excavations at Locality 1 in 1921 and 1923, and recovered only two teeth of significance (one premolar and one molar) that he subsequently described, cautiously, as "?Homo sp." (Zdansky, 1927). With that done, Zdansky returned to Austria and suspended all fieldwork.

News of the fossil hominin teeth delighted the scientific community in Beijing, and plans for developing a larger, more systematic project at Zhoukoudian were soon formulated. At the epicenter of excitement was Davidson Black, a Canadian-born anatomist working at Peking Union Medical College. Black shared Andersson’s interest, as well as his view that central Asia was a promising home for early humankind. In late 1926, Black submitted a proposal to the Rockefeller Foundation seeking financial support for systematic excavation at Zhoukoudian and the establishment of an institute for the study of human biology in China.

The Zhoukoudian Project came into existence in the spring of 1927, and two years later, the Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China was formally established. Being the first institution of its kind, the Cenozoic Laboratory opened up new avenues for the study of paleogeology and paleontology in China. The Laboratory was the precursor of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Science, which took its modern form after 1949.

The first of the major project finds are attributed to the young Swedish paleontologist, Anders Birger Bohlin, then serving as the field advisor at Zhoukoudian. He recovered a left lower molar that Black (1927) identified as unmistakably human (it compared favorably to the previous find made by Zdansky), and subsequently coined it Sinanthropus pekinensis. The news was at first met with skepticism, and many scholars had reservations that a single tooth was sufficient to justify the naming of a new type of early hominin. Yet within a little more than two years, in the winter of 1929, Pei Wenzhong, then the field director at Zhoukoudian, unearthed the first complete calvaria of Peking Man. Twenty-seven years after Schlosser’s initial description, the antiquity of early humans in East Asia was no longer a speculation, but a reality.

Excavations continued at the site and remained fruitful until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. The decade-long research yielded a wealth of faunal and lithic materials, as well as hominin fossils. These included 5 more complete calvaria, 9 large cranial fragments, 6 facial fragments, 14 partial mandibles, 147 isolated teeth, and 11 postcranial elements—estimated to represent as least 40 individuals. Evidence of fire, marked by ash lenses and burned bones and stones, were apparently also present, although recent studies have challenged this view. Franz Weidenreich came to Beijing soon after Black’s untimely death in 1934, and took charge of the study of the hominin specimens.

Following the loss of the Peking Man materials in late 1941, scientific endeavors at Zhoukoudian slowed, primarily because of lack of funding. Frantic search for the missing fossils took place, and continued well into the 1950s. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, excavations resumed at Zhoukoudian. But with political instability and social unrest brewing in China, beginning in 1966, and major discoveries at Olduvai Gorge and East Turkana (Koobi Fora), the paleoanthropological spotlight shifted westward to East Africa. Although China re-opened its doors to the West in the late 1970s, national policy calling for self-reliance, coupled with a widened language barrier, thwarted all the possibilities of renewed scientific relationships. Indeed, Harvard anthropologist K. C. Chang noted, "international collaboration (in developing nations very often a disguise for Western domination) became a thing of the past" (1977: 139).

1920s – 1940s
The first paleoanthropological find made in Africa was the 1921 discovery of the Kabwe 1 skull at Kabwe (Broken Hill), Zambia. Initially, this specimen was named Homo rhodesiensis; however, today it is considered part of the species Homo heidelbergensis.

In 1924 in a limestone quarry at Taung, Professor Raymond Dart discovered a remarkably well-preserved juvenile specimen (face and brain endocast), which he named Australopithecus africanus (Australopithecus meaning "Southern Ape"). Although the brain was small (410 cm3), its shape was rounded, unlike the brain shape of chimpanzees and gorillas, and more like the shape seen in modern humans. In addition, the specimen exhibited short canine teeth, and the anterior placement of the foramen magnum was more like the placement seen in modern humans than the placement seen in chimpanzees and gorillas, suggesting that this species was bipedal.

All of these traits convinced Dart that the Taung child was a bipedal human ancestor, a transitional form between ape and human. However, Dart's conclusions were largely ignored for decades, as the prevailing view of the time was that a large brain evolved before bipedality. It took the discovery of additional australopith fossils in Africa that resembled his specimen, and the rejection of the Piltdown Man hoax, for Dart's claims to be taken seriously.

In the 1930s, paleontologist Robert Broom discovered and described a new species at Kromdraai, South Africa. Although similar in some ways to Dart's Australopithecus africanus, Broom's specimen had much larger cheek teeth. Because of this difference, Broom named his specimen Paranthropus robustus, using a new genus name. In doing so, he established the practice of grouping gracile australopiths in the genus Australopithecus and robust australopiths in the genus Paranthropus. During the 1960s, the robust variety was commonly moved into Australopithecus. A more recent consensus has been to return to the original classification of Paranthropus as a separate genus.

1950s – 1990s
The second half of the twentieth century saw a significant increase in the number of paleoanthropological finds made in Africa. Many of these finds were associated with the work of the Leakey family in eastern Africa. In 1959, Mary Leakey's discovery of the Zinj fossin (OH 5) at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, led to the identification of a new species, Paranthropus boisei. In 1960, the Leakeys discovered the fossil OH 7, also at Olduvai Gorge, and assigned it to a new species, Homo habilis. In 1972, Bernard Ngeneo, a fieldworker working for Richard Leakey, discovered the fossil KNM-ER 1470 near Lake Turkana in Kenya. KNM-ER 1470 has been interpreted as either a distinct species, Homo rudolfensis, or alternatively as evidence of sexual dimorphism in Homo habilis. In 1967, Richard Leakey reported the earliest definitive examples of anatomically modern Homo sapiens from the site of Omo Kibish in Ethiopia, known as the Omo remains. In the late 1970s, Mary Leakey excavated the famous Laetoli footprints in Tanzania, which demonstrated the antiquity of bipedality in the human lineage. In 1985, Richard Leakey and Alan Walker discovered a specimen they called the Black Skull, found near Lake Turkana. This specimen was assigned to another species, Paranthropus aethiopicus. In 1994, a team led by Meave Leakey announced a new species, Australopithecus anamensis, based on specimens found near Lake Turkana.

Numerous other researchers have made important discoveries in eastern Africa. Possibly the most famous is the Lucy skeleton, discovered in 1973 by Donald Johanson and Maurice Taieb in Ethiopia's Afar Triangle at the site of Hadar. On the basis of this skeleton and subsequent discoveries, the researchers came up with a new species, Australopithecus afarensis. In 1975, Colin Groves and Vratislav Mazák announced a new species of human they called Homo ergaster. Homo ergaster specimens have been found at numerous sites in eastern and southern Africa. In 1994, Tim D. White announced a new species, Ardipithecus ramidus, based on fossils from Ethiopia.

In 1999, two new species were announced. Berhane Asfaw and Tim D. White named Australopithecus garhi based on specimens discovered in Ethiopia's Awash valley. Meave Leakey announced a new species, Kenyanthropus platyops, based on the cranium KNM-WT 40000 from Lake Turkana.

21st century

In the 21st century, numerous fossils have been found that add to current knowledge of existing species. For example, in 2001, Zeresenay Alemseged discovered an Australopithecus afarensis child fossil, called Selam, from the site of Dikika in the Afar region of Ethiopia. This find is particularly important because the fossil included a preserved hyoid bone, something rarely found in other paleoanthropological fossils but important for understanding the evolution of speech capacities.

Two new species from southern Africa have been discovered and described in recent years. In 2008, a team led by Lee Berger announced a new species, Australopithecus sediba, based on fossils they had discovered in Malapa cave in South Africa. In 2015, a team also led by Lee Berger announced another species, Homo naledi, based on fossils representing 15 individuals from the Rising Star Cave system in South Africa.

New species have also been found in eastern Africa. In 2000, Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford described the species Orrorin tugenensis, based on fossils they found in Kenya. In 2004, Yohannes Haile-Selassie announced that some specimens previously labeled as Ardipithecus ramidus made up a different species, Ardipithecus kadabba. In 2015, Haile-Selassie announced another new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, though some scholars are skeptical that the associated fossils truly represent a unique species.

Although most hominin fossils from Africa have been found in eastern and southern Africa, there are a few exceptions. One is Sahelanthropus tchadensis, discovered in the central African country of Chad in 2002. This find is important because it widens the assumed geographic range of early hominins.

Renowned paleoanthropologists

 * Robert Ardrey (1908–1980)
 * Lee Berger (1965–)
 * Davidson Black (1884–1934)
 * Robert Broom (1866–1951)
 * Michel Brunet (1940–)
 * J. Desmond Clark (1916–2002)
 * Carleton S. Coon (1904–1981)
 * Raymond Dart (1893–1988)
 * Eugene Dubois (1858–1940)
 * Johann Carl Fuhlrott (1803–1877)
 * Yohannes Haile-Selassie (1961–)
 * Sonia Harmand (1974–)
 * John D. Hawks
 * Aleš Hrdlička (1869–1943)
 * Glynn Isaac (1937–1985)
 * Donald C. Johanson (1943–)
 * Kamoya Kimeu (1938–2022)
 * Jeffrey Laitman (1951–)
 * Louis Leakey (1903–1972)
 * Meave Leakey (1942–)
 * Mary Leakey (1913–1996)
 * Richard Leakey (1944–2022)
 * André Leroi-Gourhan (1911–1986)
 * Peter Wilhelm Lund (1801–1880)
 * Kenneth Oakley (1911–1981)
 * David Pilbeam (1940–)
 * Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald (1902–1982)
 * John T. Robinson (1923–2001)
 * Jeffrey H. Schwartz (1948–)
 * Chris Stringer (1947–)
 * Ian Tattersall (1945–)
 * Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955)
 * Phillip V. Tobias (1925–2012)
 * Erik Trinkaus (1948–)
 * Alan Walker (1938–2017)
 * Franz Weidenreich (1873–1948)
 * Tim D. White (1950–)
 * Milford H. Wolpoff (1942–)
 * Bernard Wood (1945–)

title: Paleoanthropology


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Hiawatha Service

The Hiawatha Service, or simply Hiawatha, is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to several different routes that extended across the Midwest and to the Pacific Ocean. As of 2007, twelve to fourteen trains (six round-trips, five on Sunday) ran daily between Chicago and Milwaukee, making intermediate stops in Glenview, Illinois; Sturtevant, Wisconsin; and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The line is partially supported by funds from the state governments of Wisconsin and Illinois. The line utilizes the CPKC Railway's C&M Subdivision and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line.

The service carried 636,854 passengers in fiscal year 2023, a 26.9% increase over FY2022. It is Amtrak's sixth-busiest route, and the railroad's busiest line in the Midwest. Revenue during FY2011 totaled $14,953,873, a 6.1% increase over FY2010. Ridership per mile is also very high, exceeded only by the Northeast Regional and the Capitol Corridor. A one-way trip between Milwaukee and Chicago takes about 90 minutes. In the 1930s, the same trip took 75 minutes on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad's Hiawatha. In 2014, free Wi-Fi service was added to the Hiawatha Service. The service is especially popular with fans attending games involving baseball's Brewers–Cubs rivalry using mass transit, with trains before and after games at either American Family Field or Wrigley Field often filled to capacity.

The route is augmented by Amtrak Thruway routes connecting Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac with Milwaukee and Madison, Janesville, and Rockford with Chicago.

On April 24, 2020, the Hiawatha was temporarily replaced by bus service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Partial service resumed in June 2020, and full service in May 2021.

Milwaukee Road
Historically, the Hiawathas were operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the "Milwaukee Road"), and initially traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The first Hiawatha trains ran in 1935. By 1948, five routes carried the Hiawatha name: Chicago–Minneapolis; Chicago–Omaha; Chicago–Wausau–Minocqua; Chicago–Ontanogan; and Chicago-Minneapolis-Seattle.

The Hiawathas were among the world's fastest trains in the 1930s and 1940s, and these trains reached some of their peak speeds on this stretch, directly competing with trains from the Chicago and North Western Railway which ran on roughly parallel tracks. A 90-minute non-stop service between Chicago and Milwaukee was first introduced in the mid-1930s, and this later fell to 75 minutes for several years. A self-imposed 100 mph speed limit was routinely exceeded by locomotive engineers, until the Interstate Commerce Commission rules imposed a stricter limit of 90 mph in the early 1950s. The train slowed to a schedule of 80 minutes, although an added stop in Glenview also contributed to a longer travel time. Ultimately, the speed limit fell to 79 mph in 1968 because of signaling changes, and the scheduled duration went back to 90 minutes end-to-end.

Amtrak
Under Amtrak, which assumed control of most intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, the Hiawatha name survived in two forms. The first was a Chicago–Milwaukee–Minneapolis service, known simply as the Hiawatha. This would be renamed the Twin Cities Hiawatha, then extended to Seattle and renamed the North Coast Hiawatha. This service ended in 1979.

The second was a Chicago–Milwaukee corridor train known as the Hiawatha Service (as opposed to Hiawatha). Although Amtrak had retained Chicago–Milwaukee service during the transition, it did not name these trains until October 29, 1972. At this time both Hiawatha and Hiawatha Service could be found on the same timetable. On June 15, 1976, Amtrak introduced Turboliners to the route and the name Hiawatha Service left the timetable, not to return until 1989. The Chicago–Milwaukee trains were known simply as "Turboliners" (as were comparable trains on the Chicago–Detroit and Chicago – St. Louis corridors) until October 26, 1980, when Amtrak introduced individual names for each of the trains: The Badger, the LaSalle, the Nicollet, and the Radisson. This practice ended on October 29, 1989, when the name Hiawatha Service returned as an umbrella term for all Chicago–Milwaukee service.

A resurfacing project on Interstate 94 led to a three-month trial of service west of Milwaukee to Watertown, Wisconsin beginning on April 13, 1998. Intermediate stops included Wauwatosa, Elm Grove, Pewaukee, and Oconomowoc. Amtrak extended four of the six daily Hiawathas over the route. The Canadian Pacific Railway, which owned the tracks through its American subsidiary Soo Line Railroad, estimated that the route would require between $15–33 million in capital investment before it could host the extended service permanently. Money was not forthcoming and service ended July 11. The three-month trial cost $1.4 million and carried 32,000 passengers.

Between 2000 and 2001, Amtrak considered extending one Hiawatha Service round-trip 70 mi north from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Potential stops included Elm Grove, Brookfield, Slinger, and Lomira. Travel time would be nearly two hours. Amtrak hoped to attract mail and express business along the route as part of its Network Growth Strategy, similar to the short-lived Lake Country Limited. Amtrak abandoned the idea in September 2001.

In 2005, another station opened on the line, the Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The expansion was intended to facilitate travel to and from the airport, with shuttles running between the station and the main terminal. The new station also gave residents on the south side of Milwaukee easier access to the service, along with an alternative to the central station in downtown, which is now fully accessible after completion of the Marquette Interchange. The station was primarily funded and is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

It is proposed that the Hiawatha Service, along with the Empire Builder, would shift one stop north to North Glenview in Glenview, Illinois. This move would eliminate lengthy stops which block traffic on Glenview Road. This move would involve reconstruction of the North Glenview station to handle the additional traffic, and depends on commitments from Glenview, the Illinois General Assembly, and Metra.

The route is coextensive with the far southern leg of the Empire Builder, Amtrak's long-distance service from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. The Empire Builder stops at Glenview and Milwaukee, but normally does so in both cases only to receive passengers northbound and discharge passengers southbound.

COVID-19 pandemic
The Hiawatha Service was reduced to four daily round trips on March 19, 2020, and a single round trip two days later, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Empire Builder added stops at Sturtevant and Milwaukee Airport on the 21st, and temporarily allowed local travel between Chicago and Milwaukee. That single round trip was suspended on April 24, 2020, and replaced with an Amtrak Thruway bus (an extension of the existing Green Bay–Milwaukee bus route) making the same stops.

The Hiawatha returned on June 1, 2020, with a single round trip: a morning departure to Chicago and an evening return to Milwaukee. Three additional daily round trips and two additional weekend round trips returned on June 29. The Hiawatha had long run with a mix of reserved and unreserved seating, but Amtrak temporarily required reservations for passengers without multi-ride tickets in order to maintain social distancing. Amtrak also required facial coverings and stopped accepting cash. The Empire Builder ceased making the additional stops on June 29. On May 23, 2021, Hiawatha Service and the Milwaukee–Green Bay Thruway route returned to their full pre-pandemic schedules.

In November 2023, Amtrak ceased offering monthly passes for the Hiawatha Service, instead selling 10-ride passes. The change significantly increased the cost for daily commuters.

Corridor names
This table shows the names given to trains which operated over the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor under Amtrak. It excludes long-distance trains such as the Empire Builder and North Coast Hiawatha whose local stopping patterns were restricted. The Abraham Lincoln and Prairie State were Chicago-St. Louis services which Amtrak extended through Chicago to the north in the early 1970s.

Ridership
Due primarily to the route's popularity, its northern terminus, Milwaukee Intermodal Station, is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide and second-busiest in the Midwest.

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Equipment
Three trainsets are required to operate the service. The usual Hiawatha train sets are formed of one Siemens SC-44 locomotive on the southward end, an EMD F40PH derived "control car" on the northward end, and six Horizon Fleet 68-seat coaches. One car at the rear end in the direction of travel is designated a "quiet" car with limitations placed on cell phone usage and loud conversations. During winter months, an Amfleet coach is normally used on each end in lieu of a Horizon coach to serve as quiet cars.

On July 17, 2009, the State of Wisconsin announced it would purchase two new train sets from Spanish manufacturer Talgo in preparation for the enhanced-speed service that received funding in early 2010. However, Governor Scott Walker rejected the federal funding and cancelled the project. Talgo opened a manufacturing plant in Milwaukee to construct the trainsets for the Hiawatha Service, and the company hoped the plant would also build trains for future high-speed lines in the region. The two sets built were stored in the former Talgo plant until May 2014, when Amtrak moved them to its maintenance facility near Indianapolis, Indiana. They will remain stored there pending their possible use on other Amtrak routes. The unpowered tilting trainsets are 14 cars long including a cab car, eleven coaches (five of which have restrooms), one bistro car, and one end car including a bicycle rack. The cars wear a red-and-white livery in homage to the University of Wisconsin. The trains would have initially been pulled by the same GE Genesis locomotives used at the time, which have a top speed of 110 mph. In 2022, the two trainsets were sold to Nigeria for use on the Lagos Rail Mass Transit.

In August 2019, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded WisDOT up to $25.2 million to purchase six new coaches and three new cab cars for the route, allowing the replacement of the NPCUs. The new equipment was expected to enter service in 2022, but, reliability issues with the NPCUs combined with the new equipment not yet having been assigned to the route resulted in the suspension of checked baggage and trainside bicycle service.

Proposed extensions
In 2021, Amtrak proposed adding three new Hiawatha Service round trips by 2035. This would bring the total frequency between Chicago and Milwaukee to ten daily round trips. All trips would extend beyond Milwaukee, with four daily trains to Madison, three to Saint Paul, and three to Green Bay. In December 2023, the FRA accepted the Hiawatha Service route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program. The move grants $500,000 toward studying additional frequency and prioritizes the corridor for future federal funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021.

Madison
In 2009, Wisconsin applied for funding from an $8 billion pool allocated for rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Chicago–Milwaukee–Madison–Minneapolis/St. Paul corridor was allocated $823 million. $810 million of that was to support extending Amtrak services to Madison, which had not seen direct intercity service since 1971. Another $12 million would have been used to upgrade the line between Chicago and Milwaukee, and an additional $600,000 was granted to study future alignments to the Twin Cities.

The Madison extension was initially planned to include stops in Brookfield, Oconomowoc, and Watertown, but Oconomowoc and Brookfield were reluctant to move forward with station planning due to cost concerns. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) dropped Oconomowoc from the planned route in August 2010, and Brookfield was waiting to see the outcome of elections in November before making a decision on whether to build a station. The nearby cities of Hartland and Wauwatosa had expressed interest in hosting stations. The extension was expected to begin service by 2013.

The project became a political issue in the 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. Republican candidate Scott Walker promised he would stop the project and return the money the state received if elected.

At the end of October 2010, Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle and the federal government signed an agreement that bound the state to spend the federal funds granted to construct the route, regardless of the results of the 2010 gubernatorial election. On November 4, two days after Scott Walker won the gubernatorial election, however, Doyle ordered work on the line to be temporarily halted, and on November 9 said that he planned to leave the choice of whether or not to operate the train to Walker. On December 9, 2010, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that much of the $810 million that Wisconsin was supposed to get would be redistributed to other states, including California, Florida, and Washington.

The Madison extension was included in the 2022 Amtrak Connects Us initiative, with the goal of establishing service by 2035. An extension to Madison has been cited by the US Department of Transportation as “critical to operational viability of the Core Express corridor between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul” and that it should be “included on any mainline route alignment.” As such the City of Madison has renewed work on establishing a location for a passenger rail terminal.

Twin Cities
There had long been proposals to extend one or more Hiawatha trips from Milwaukee to Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, which would double service frequency on the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) corridor.

A 2015 feasibility report by Amtrak looked at extending one round trip as a "second train" along the route of the Empire Builder through La Crosse. Annual ridership was forecast between 117,800 and 155,500 if the service ended at Saint Paul Union Depot, and higher if it extended to Target Field, Fridley, or St. Cloud.

The total cost to extend one round trip to Saint Paul was placed at $53 million. In May 2020, a $12.6 million federal grant was awarded to offset the first three years of operations. A $31.8 million grant followed in September 2020 for final design work and construction. Amtrak provided $5 million in matching funds, Wisconsin $6.2 million, and Minnesota promised $10 million.

In its 2020-2035 expansion vision, Amtrak proposed extending three Hiawatha trips from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities. One would complement the Empire Builder, while two would take a new route with stops in Camp Douglas, Eau Claire, Menomonie, and Hudson. The Milwaukee–Saint Paul trip time is estimated at 6 hours 45 minutes.

On May 21, 2024, Amtrak's new Borealis train offering one round-trip per day between Chicago and Minneapolis–Saint Paul was inaugurated. It complements the long-distance Empire Builder in providing additional frequency on the corridor.

Green Bay
Amtrak has proposed extending three Hiawatha trips from Milwaukee to Green Bay by 2035, with stops in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton. The Milwaukee–Green Bay trip time is estimated at 2 hours 50 minutes.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Hiawatha Service


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Lake Shore Limited

The Lake Shore Limited is an overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the southern shore of Lake Erie.

The train is descended from the New York Central Railroad's train of the same name, which operated on nearly the same route from 1897 to 1956. Amtrak briefly revived the train as the Lake Shore from 1971–72 before initiating the modern Lake Shore Limited in 1975.

East from Chicago, the Lake Shore Limited follows the former main line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to South Bend, Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo. From here the train takes the Empire Corridor through Rochester and Syracuse to Albany–Rensselaer station in Rensselaer, New York. At that station, the train divides, with one section continuing to Springfield and Boston in Massachusetts, with the other continuing along the Empire Corridor to New York City. The roughly 1000 mi route takes around 21 hours to complete.

During fiscal year 2023, Lake Shore Limited carried 351,049 passengers, a 10% increase from FY2022.

Prior service
The Lake Shore Limited is named after one of its predecessors that ran on the famed Water Level Route of the New York Central Railroad (NYC). Like the present day Lake Shore Limited, the NYC edition offered service between New York and Boston and Chicago, although the New York Central used LaSalle Street Station. The New York Central annulled the Lake Shore Limited in 1956 as part of a system-wide reorganization. Service over the Water Level Route continued until the formation of Amtrak, with the last route being the New England States and an unnamed Penn Central successor.

Lake Shore
Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity passenger trains in the United States on May 1, 1971, including those of Penn Central. Service west of Buffalo was not included in Amtrak's initial system map. Instead, Chicago–New York traffic was handled by the Broadway Limited using the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line via Pittsburgh, while Albany–Boston did not have any train service.

Just nine days later, on May 10, 1971, Amtrak debuted the Chicago–New York Lake Shore on the former route of the New York Central's Lake Shore Limited. The 960 mi daily service was scheduled for 17 hours 30 minutes and carried train numbers 60 and 61. The Lake Shore was the only train to serve Cleveland, Ohio, which had been the largest city left out of the initial system. Amtrak introduced the route on the understanding that Ohio and New York would assume two-thirds of the cost of the train. The plan included a Michigan-funded connection between Toledo and Detroit, but this was cancelled due to poor track conditions.

The Lake Shore was the last long-haul train to use Cleveland's Union Terminal, with the last departure occurring on December 31, 1971. For the last week of the Lake Shore's runs Amtrak used a temporary platform near the Detroit–Superior Bridge, west of the terminal, to avoid incurring a year's fees ($250,000) for a week's use. Amtrak discontinued the train on January 6, 1972, after New York failed to meet its funding obligations.

Lake Shore Limited
The present-day Lake Shore Limited began running October 31, 1975, with both New York and Boston sections. The initial timetable served Cleveland during daytime hours, westbound travelers arrived at 7:30 AM and departed for New York City at 11:20 pm. Amtrak's October 1981 timetable pushed the westbound Cleveland departure to 12:35 AM.

On October 15, 1979, the Lake Shore Limited became the first Amtrak service to use rebuilt Heritage Fleet equipment with head end power. The Lake Shore Limited was the last train to use the decaying Buffalo Central Terminal, departing on October 28, 1979. Since then it has used Buffalo–Depew. Its New York terminus changed from Grand Central Terminal to Pennsylvania Station in 1991 following the opening of the Empire Connection.

On the night of August 3, 1994, around 3:45 am, the westbound Lake Shore Limited, with two locomotives and fifteen cars, and carrying roughly 320 passengers, and nineteen crew members, derailed on Conrail-owned tracks (now owned by CSX) near Batavia, New York. The initial derailment of the wheels of the third car on the train, occurred at milepost 403.7, and the train traveled for another three miles, until the general derailment of the train, at milepost 406.7. In all, fourteen cars derailed, with some sliding down an embankment, and 118 passengers and crew members were injured. However, there were no fatalities. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause were the wheels coming off a section of flattened rail.

Low demand and cost-cutting led Amtrak to drop through service to Boston between 2003 and 2008; passengers made a cross-platform transfer to a shuttle train. Service to Poughkeepsie began on November 8, 2010. In 2010–11, Amtrak studied restoring the Hammond–Whiting station stop just east of the Illinois-Indiana border (which had been dropped in 2003), but ultimately did not restore it due to the difficulty of routing trains to the station's single platform.

Due to planned repair work on the Freedom Tunnel, Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, and Track 19 in New York's Penn Station, the New York section was discontinued from May 26 to September 3, 2018. Passengers traveling to New York City could transfer at Albany–Rensselaer to Empire Service trains, which operated into Grand Central Terminal during the outage.

In January 2019, Amtrak removed the baggage car from the Boston section of the train, thereby eliminating all checked baggage and bike service between Boston and Albany. The New York section retained its baggage car. From October 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, daily service was reduced to three trains per week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dining changes
During the 2000s and 2010s the Lake Shore Limited carried either a Horizon Fleet or Amfleet lounge car. Between November 2007 and December 2009, maintenance problems led Amtrak to withdraw the Heritage diners and substitute Amfleet Cafe-based diner-lites, a move that became a source of passenger displeasure and a liability for the route, as the Heritage cars could prepare fresh food on board. In July 2016, Amtrak once again replaced the Lake Shore's full-service dining car with an Amfleet II diner-lite. This was due to Heritage shortages, as well as a multi-year delay in delivery of the new CAF Viewliner II cars, including 25 diners.

In June 2018, Amtrak replaced the Amfleet II diner-lites with Viewliner II diners and adjusted the on board service by serving a selection of primarily-cold, exclusively pre-packaged boxed meals. The dining car is also now available as lounge space for sleeping car passengers even outside of meal times, but is closed to coach passengers. In January 2019, Amtrak significantly updated the boxed meal service to offer a full continental buffet at breakfast, and multiple hot entrées for lunch and dinner.

In October 2019, Amtrak again modified the on board dining service for sleeping car passengers by serving the pre-prepared meals on new reusable trays instead of in single use boxes to improve the meal presentation along with a refresh of the entree choices.

Possible future
Amtrak published its Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for the Lake Shore Limited in September 2011. One idea was to change the train's eastbound departure time from Chicago to be earlier. It currently departs at 9:30 pm, to facilitate connections from often-late West Coast trains. The improved departure time would add $2 million in yearly revenue. Amtrak considered more radical changes to the operations of the Lake Shore Limited, including a re-route over the Chicago–Detroit Line to Dearborn, but rejected them. This would be the first full New York City to Chicago train via Michigan since the New York Central's Wolverine.

In the late 1990s, Amtrak considered adding an infill station at Dunkirk, New York, between Buffalo and Erie. Dunkirk was listed as a stop with service "to commence on a date to be announced" on several timetables, but the stop was never added. In 2021, Amtrak again proposed adding a station between Buffalo and Erie in Chautauqua County, New York, in either Dunkirk or Westfield. Plans moved forward in 2022 to study the exact placement of the stop.

Route
The Lake Shore Limited consists of a New York section (train number 48 eastbound, 49 westbound) and a Boston section (448 eastbound, 449 westbound), which run combined between Chicago and Albany. The distance between Chicago and New York is 959 mi, while the distance between Chicago and Boston is 1017 mi.

The train operates over the trackage of five railroad companies. From Chicago to Cleveland, the train rides the Chicago Line, which belongs to Norfolk Southern Railway, and is also used by Amtrak's Chicago-Washington, DC, train, the Capitol Limited. From Cleveland to Hoffmans, the Lake Shore Limited rides on trackage belonging to the following CSX Transportation subdivisions: Cleveland Terminal, Erie West, Buffalo Terminal, Rochester, Syracuse Terminal, Mohawk, Selkirk, and Hudson.

The New York section operates on Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line from Poughkeepsie to Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx. Amtrak tracks are used twice: between Hoffmans and Poughkeepsie; and from the Bronx to Penn Station. The New York section only stops to discharge passengers southbound. Northbound trains only stop at Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie to receive passengers.

The Boston section runs on the trackage of several companies as well. The train travels on Amtrak's Post Road Branch from Rensselaer to nearby Schodack, from Schodack to Worcester on CSX's Berkshire and Boston subdivisions, and from Worcester to South Station on the Framingham/Worcester Line track owned and operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). This section only stops eastbound to discharge passengers from Worcester eastward, while westbound trains only stop to receive passengers at Back Bay and Framingham.

There is a short distance of trackage between Hudson and Schenectady that allows for 110 mph operations. The Boston section is frequently delayed to the high amount of freight traffic on the single-track railroad between Albany and Worcester.

Consist
As of February 2019, the Lake Shore Limited typically has two P42DC locomotives (or one P32AC-DM locomotive between New York and Albany), one Viewliner baggage car, three Amfleet II coaches, one Amfleet I split Business/Cafe car, one Viewliner II diner (exclusively accessible to sleeper passengers), and three Viewliner Sleepers. , Viewliner II sleepers were expected to be added to the Lake Shore Limited that September.

In normal service, at Albany, the train splits into its Boston and New York sections. The New York section uses a single dual-mode P32AC-DM for third-rail power in Pennsylvania Station. West of Albany, power is provided by two or three GE Genesis P42DC or P40DC diesel locomotives, which continue on to Boston.

Ridership
During fiscal year 2019, the Lake Shore Limited carried 357,682 passengers, an increase of 5.9% from FY2018. In FY2016, the train had a total revenue of $28,563,624, an increase of 0.2% over FY2015.

In FY 2010, only fifteen percent of passengers traveled between endpoints (Chicago and Boston or New York), although those travelers contributed 27 percent of ticket revenue. The remainder traveled to and from intermediate stations. According to Amtrak, passengers making connections in Chicago accounted for "a significant portion" of the Lake Shore Limited 's ridership and revenues.

title: Lake Shore Limited


text:
Burak Eldem

Burak Eldem (born 1961) is a Turkish writer/researcher, a former radio and TV programmer, web developer and journalist. He is the author of "2012: Rendez-vous With Marduk" (also known as 2012: Appointment With Marduk - 2003), Fraternis: Lost Books, Secret Brotherhood (2006) and Talismans Protect Thee (2004). The first two titles belong to a trilogy about the history of civilization, which he named "The Hidden History". The latter is a science-fiction novel on immortality, ancient secrets and international conspiracies. His latest work Sunset Fandango, sequel to "Talismans", was published in November 2007.

Early life and journalism
Eldem spent his early childhood in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. His father, Atilla Eldem, was a well-known actor of the Ankara State Theatre and his mother was a high school literature teacher. He is also a great-grandson of İbrahim Edhem Pasha, Grand Vizier (Sadrazam) of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. Eldem moved to Istanbul in 1975 when his father died and continued his high school education in this city. Graduated from Boğaziçi University's Tourism Management department and then Marmara University's Business Administration Faculty, but never intended to be a business executive; his main interests were writing and history.

His journalism career began in 1984, writing feature articles for Turkish arts and culture magazines; among them were "Gösteri", "Sanat Olayı" and "Milliyet Sanat", the most popular publications of the early eighties. His writings mostly concentrated on post-World War II counter-culture movements in Western World, particularly the avant-garde literature of the fifties and particularly in rock music. His colorful analysis on the Beat Generation literature and the Flower Power movement of the sixties, were welcomed by young urban intellectuals. In 1985, his first book was published by Imge Publications, titled "Bob Marley and Reggae"; a biography of Jamaican reggae star and a summary of the Rastafarian movement, slightly emphasising its politics, its elements of anti-imperialism. The same year he published "The History of Rock Music"; a research on the roots of jazz, blues and rock music, as a sociological and political phenomenon of the twentieth century capitalist world.

Eldem was among the founders of the monthly music and counter-culture magazine "Studyo Imge" (now considered as a cult) and became its first editor in early 1985. In 1986, his third book came: "From May Flower to the Song of Peace"; a work on American protest folk music of sixties, centered around the singer Joan Baez. The same year he began to write for the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet (The Republic) and became its one of the most popular freelance writers. In early 1988, he was hired for Playboy magazine's Turkish edition as the editorial director and ran that position until 1990. Between 1991 and 1996, he prepared and presented documentary music programs for Turkish television (TRT).

In 1997, he shifted his career towards "new media" working as a contributing editor and a columnist at ZDNet's Turkish edition; then in 2000, he became the portal manager of the leading internet content provider and ISP "Ixir". He also ran a personal web site named "Atlantis", where he shared his research on humanities and particularly on ancient history.

Researcher and novelist
Eldem has published dozens of articles and essays on archaeo-astronomy, along with unorthodox interpretations of sacred texts and papyri. His writings on ancient Mesopotamian cosmology and Mayan astronomy eventually became the basis and nucleus of a trilogy, named "The Hidden History". The first volume was published in 2003: the best-selling "2012: Rendez-vous With Marduk".

Examining, adapting and developing the work of Zecharia Sitchin, the book refers to the hypothetical Planet X, and suggests an orbital period of 3661 solar years with a return date in 2012. Eldem also suggests that the number 3661 was written as "three wedges" with cuneiform in Mesopotamian sexagesimal mathematics: One wedge each for 3600's, 60's and units digits. This cuneiform sign, claims Eldem, was misinterpreted by Jewish exiles in Babylon and the enigmatic 666 was created: the Number of the Beast was actually the number of solar years in Marduk's orbital period.

The book became a best-seller in Turkey in 2004 and Eldem was criticized by religious writers for being an atheist, denying the Old Testament prophets such as Moses, promoting the theory of evolution, accusing Moses and Aaron of inventing the concept of God in order to reassure themselves following natural disasters such as floods.

On the other hand, his works had very positive critics from some of the outstanding writers and journalists of the Turkish Press, like Engin Ardıç and Serdar Turgut, the editor-in-chief of daily newspaper Akşam (The Evening). Ardıç, a very popular writer, columnist and former TV commentator, also contributed to "2012: Rendez-vous With Marduk" by writing its foreword.

The same year came his first novel, Seni Tılsımlar Korur "Talismans Protect Thee"; a semi-fantastic fiction on immortality, a five thousand years old dark secret which had been hidden from humanity, a dark international conspiracy and a top secret research on human DNA. "Talismans" became one of the best-selling novels of 2005 in Turkey.

Eldem's second book of "The Hidden History" trilogy, Fraternis: Lost Books, Secret Brotherhood was published in April 2006. "Fraternis" focuses on alleged lost records of ancient wisdom; a mysterious, legendary collection of writings, traces of which he says can be found under various names like "The Sibylline Books", "Corpus Hermetica" or "The Lost Books of Phoenicians".

Eldem prepared an eight-days article series in April 2005 for the daily newspaper Akşam, which presented a mini summary of "2012: Rendez-vous With Marduk". Since then, he publishes his articles only at his official website and once in a month contributes to the online magazine "Derki".

title: Burak Eldem


text:
Carbon–carbon bond

A carbon–carbon bond is a covalent bond between two carbon atoms. The most common form is the single bond: a bond composed of two electrons, one from each of the two atoms. The carbon–carbon single bond is a sigma bond and is formed between one hybridized orbital from each of the carbon atoms. In ethane, the orbitals are sp3-hybridized orbitals, but single bonds formed between carbon atoms with other hybridizations do occur (e.g. sp2 to sp2). In fact, the carbon atoms in the single bond need not be of the same hybridization. Carbon atoms can also form double bonds in compounds called alkenes or triple bonds in compounds called alkynes. A double bond is formed with an sp2-hybridized orbital and a p-orbital that is not involved in the hybridization. A triple bond is formed with an sp-hybridized orbital and two p-orbitals from each atom. The use of the p-orbitals forms a pi bond.

Chains and branching
Carbon is one of the few elements that can form long chains of its own atoms, a property called catenation. This coupled with the strength of the carbon–carbon bond gives rise to an enormous number of molecular forms, many of which are important structural elements of life, so carbon compounds have their own field of study: organic chemistry.

Branching is also common in C−C skeletons. Carbon atoms in a molecule are categorized by the number of carbon neighbors they have:
 * A primary carbon has one carbon neighbor.
 * A secondary carbon has two carbon neighbors.
 * A tertiary carbon has three carbon neighbors.
 * A quaternary carbon has four carbon neighbors.

In "structurally complex organic molecules", it is the three-dimensional orientation of the carbon–carbon bonds at quaternary loci which dictates the shape of the molecule. Further, quaternary loci are found in many biologically active small molecules, such as cortisone and morphine.

Synthesis
Carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions are organic reactions in which a new carbon–carbon bond is formed. They are important in the production of many human-made chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and plastics. The reverse reaction, where a carbon-carbon bond is broken, is known as carbon-carbon bond activation.

Some examples of reactions which form carbon–carbon bonds are the aldol reaction, Diels–Alder reaction, Grignard reaction, cross-coupling reactions, the Michael reaction and the Wittig reaction.

The directed synthesis of desired three-dimensional structures for tertiary carbons was largely solved during the late 20th century, but the same ability to direct quaternary carbon synthesis did not start to emerge until the first decade of the 21st century.

Bond strengths and lengths
The carbon-carbon single bond is weaker than C-H, O-H, N-H, H-H, H-Cl, C-F, and many double or triple bonds, and comparable in strength to C-O, Si-O, P-O, and S-H bonds, but is commonly considered as strong. The values given above represent C-C bond dissociation energies that are commonly encountered; occasionally, outliers may deviate drastically from this range.

Long, weak C-C single bonds
Various extreme cases have been identified where the C-C bond is elongated. In Gomberg's dimer, one C-C bond is rather long at 159.7 picometers. It is this bond that reversibly and readily breaks at room temperature in solution:
 * Gomberg dimer dissociation.png

In the even more congested molecule hexakis(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)ethane, the bond dissociation energy to form the stabilized triarylmethyl radical is only 8 kcal/mol. Also a consequence of its severe steric congestion, hexakis(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)ethane has a greatly elongated central bond with a length of 167 pm.

Twisted, weak C-C double bonds
The structure of tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene (TDAE) is highly distorted. The dihedral angle for the two N2C ends is 28º although the C=C distance is normal 135 pm. The nearly isostructural tetraisopropylethylene also has a C=C distance of 135 pm, but its C6 core is planar.

Short, strong C-C triple bonds
On the opposite extreme, the central carbon–carbon single bond of diacetylene is very strong at 160 kcal/mol, as the single bond joins two carbons of sp hybridization. Carbon–carbon multiple bonds are generally stronger; the double bond of ethylene and triple bond of acetylene have been determined to have bond dissociation energies of 174 and 230 kcal/mol, respectively. A very short triple bond of 115 pm has been observed for the iodonium species [HC≡C–I+Ph] [CF3SO3–], due to the strongly electron-withdrawing iodonium moiety.

title: Carbon–carbon bond


text:
Talk:List of United States radio networks

Untitled
There's also a partial list of U.S. radio networks at Radio network -- I almost started to edit it, but very quickly found out how little I really know about who really owns what -- with all the mergers and complex corporate relationships (e.g., NBC Radio has nothing to do with NBC TV). Bkonrad 02:20, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Where was the discussion of the renaming of this article? RickK 04:55, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * There wasn't one, as far as I know. But the original title (Major Radio Networks) was just so obviously wrong that I thought it was all right to move it without discussion. I moved it to List of US radio networks, but then noticed that we already had List of American television networks, so I moved it to List of American radio networks for consistency with that. It's now been moved to List of United States radio networks. As long as List of American television networks is moved similarly, I don't suppose it matters. Where would you like it to be? -- Oliver P. 05:04, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * At List of American radio networks, where it belongs. RickK 05:06, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I assume you mean my moving it from "American" to "United States". It looked to me like it was only dealing with the networks of one American nation; if it is intended to deal with networks of all American countries, I'll move it back, but we should still probably have a specific article for networks in the USA. (Note: this is an ancient ongoing discussion over vague/precise/appropriate terms, as has been going on at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (US vs American) and elsewhere for some time.) -- Infrogmation 05:08, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * And since it has not been resolved, your unilateral move is inappropriate. RickK 05:09, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Your opinion has been noted, and in this case disagreed with. -- Infrogmation 05:17, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Should everything with the words "England" or "Britain" in their titles be renamed to "United Kingdom"? RickK 02:21, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Hunh? If you lived in some strange alternative universe where there were over a dozen nations outside of the UK which considered themselves part of England, you might have reason to do so. Back in reality, it sounds to me like you're just talking nonsence. Was there some actual meaning to your comment, or were you just fantasizing about some imaginary slippery slope? Wondering simply, -- Infrogmation 05:37, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * There is only one American country...I am most emphatically not an American. Adam Bishop 02:23, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Hm. I've lived in more than one country whose inhabitants considered it American, and I am an American in either sense. -- Infrogmation 05:37, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I moved that television article to List of United States television networks to provide the consistency requested by Oliver P. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 16:59, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Spanish language radio?
I was wondering how to find out more about Spanish language radio in the United States, especially with the recent activities connected to the immigration issue (illegal or otherwise). I had read that Spanish language radio has been behind the organization of street protests in this country. 69.6.162.160 20:13, 12 April 2006 (UTC)Brian Pearson

= "Defunct" = Considering the Section is titled "Former Networks No Longer Operating", is it necessary to label "defunct" after each one? Isn't it implied by the title of the section?

Comprehensive?
Is this article intended to be comprehensive, or are there missing smaller networks? A note at top should indicate which it is. Jd2718 15:00, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Major?
What makes a network major? Sounds pretty subjective to me, so I propose that the Major English-language commercial broadcasters and networks and Other commercial radio broadcasters and networks be folded together into a single Commercial broadcasters and networks section. -- RoySmith (talk) 17:15, 23 December 2017 (UTC)


text:
Southwest Chief

The Southwest Chief (formerly the Southwest Limited and Super Chief) is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 2265 mi route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff mostly on the BNSF's Southern Transcon, but branches off between Albuquerque and Kansas City via the Topeka, La Junta, Raton, and Glorieta Subdivision. Amtrak bills the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the Painted Desert and the Red Cliffs of Sedona, as well as the plains of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

During fiscal year 2023, the Southwest Chief carried 223,654 passengers, a 13.5% increase from FY2022. However, this is a 25% decrease from its pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of 338,180 passengers in FY2019. The route grossed US$43,184,176 in revenue during FY 2018, a 3.8% decrease from FY 2017.

History
The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, which was inaugurated in 1936 as the flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. For most of its existence, it was "all-Pullman", carrying sleeping cars only. The Santa Fe merged the Super Chief with its all-coach counterpart, the El Capitan, in 1958. The merged train was known as the Super Chief/El Capitan, but retained the train numbers used by the Super Chief, 17 westbound and 18 eastbound.

Amtrak retained the Super Chief/El Capitan after taking over passenger rail service on May 1, 1971. During summer 1972, it was complemented by the Chief, reviving the name of another notable Chicago–Los Angeles sleeper train operated by the Santa Fe. Amtrak truncated the name to Super Chief in 1973 and, on March 7, 1974, renamed it Southwest Limited after Santa Fe forced Amtrak to discontinue using the Chief brand on its former trains because of a perceived decline in quality after the Amtrak takeover. After subsequent improvements, the Santa Fe allowed Amtrak to change the name to Southwest Chief on October 28, 1984.

The western portion of the Pasadena Subdivision was converted to the Gold Line in the 1990s, requiring the Southwest Chief to be rerouted to the San Bernardino Subdivision between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Eastbound service was rerouted on November 28, 1993, replacing the stops at Pasadena and Pomona with Fullerton. Westbound service was rerouted on January 15, 1994. An additional stop at Riverside was added on April 29, 2002.

Between 1997 and 1998, Amtrak operated the Southwest Chief in conjunction with the Washington–Chicago Capitol Limited. The two trains used the same Superliner equipment sets and passengers traveling on both trains could remain aboard during the layover in Chicago. Originally announced in 1996, Amtrak planned to call this through service National Chief and assign it its own numbers (15/16), but the name and numbers were never used. Amtrak dropped the practice with its May 1998 timetable.

Incidents
On October 2, 1979, the Southwest Limited derailed at Lawrence, Kansas. Of the 30 crew and 147 passengers on board, two were killed and 69 were injured. The cause was excessive speed on a curve. Underlying causes included the engineer's unfamiliarity with the route and speed restriction signage having been removed during track repairs.

On August 9, 1997, the eastbound Southwest Chief derailed about 5 miles northeast of Kingman, Arizona, when a bridge whose undergirding had been washed out by a flash flood collapsed under the weight of the train, which was traveling close to 90 mph. While the lead locomotive stayed on the track, the three trailing locomotives, nine passenger cars, and seven baggage and mail cars derailed. All stayed upright. Of the 325 passengers and crew aboard, 154 were injured and none were killed.

On October 16, 1999, the westbound Southwest Chief suffered a minor derailment near Ludlow, California, following the Hector Mine earthquake. All the cars stayed upright and four passengers were injured.

On March 14, 2016, the Southwest Chief derailed 3 mi from Cimarron, Kansas. Of 14 crew and 128 passengers, 20 were injured. Investigators determined the train derailed after the tracks were knocked out of alignment by a runaway truck from a nearby farm operation that had rolled down a hill and struck the tracks after its owners failed to secure the parking brake.

On June 27, 2022, the eastbound Southwest Chief derailed after striking a dump truck at a level crossing near Mendon, Missouri. Of 12 crew and 275 passengers, 3 deaths and 150 injuries have been reported; the driver of the truck also died.

Operations
The Southwest Chief runs up to 90 mph along a significant portion of its route, made possible by automatic train stop systems originally installed by the Santa Fe Railway. Of Amtrak's long-distance routes, only the Texas Eagle runs faster (with a maximum speed of 100 mph through much of Illinois).

During the spring and summer, volunteer rangers with the Trails and Rails program from the National Park Service travel on board and provide a narrative between La Junta, Colorado, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Beginning in May 2013, Trails and Rails volunteers also boarded to provide narration between Chicago and La Plata, Missouri.

From June through August, the Southwest Chief is used by Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch via the Raton station. During those months, Raton station is staffed by Amtrak employees and handles checked baggage.

This route was one of five studied for possible performance improvements by Amtrak in FY 2012.

Equipment
The Southwest Chief runs Superliner train sets. Trains typically consist of two P40 or P42 locomotives, a baggage car, three or four sleeper cars, a dining car, sightseer lounge and three coach cars. If demand warrants, a fourth coach is added between Chicago and Kansas City. Private cars or deadhead cars also sometimes ride along.

As is already happening on all its long-distance routes, Amtrak will replace the P42DCs with modern Siemens ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.

Route
In 1979, the Southwest Chief route between Kansas City and Emporia was shifted in order to maintain service to Topeka and Lawrence, which would otherwise have lost service when the Texas Chief was discontinued.

Prior to 1996, the Southwest Chief operated in Illinois between Chicago and Galesburg via the ATSF's Chillicothe Subdivision, stopping at Joliet, Streator, and Chillicothe. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe in 1996, BNSF constructed a connector track at Cameron, Illinois, which allowed freight and passenger trains to transfer between the BN Mendota Subdivision and the Chillicothe Subdivision. The Chief was rerouted on the old Burlington Northern through Naperville, Princeton, and Mendota to Galesburg, a route shared with the California Zephyr, Illinois Zephyr, and Carl Sandburg. This combined with the amendment of track vital getting to Chicago Union Station, causing Amtrak to move all operations in Galesburg to the present station, and the station building along the former Santa Fe line was closed and later demolished.

In January 1994, the Southwest Chief was rerouted between San Bernardino and Los Angeles onto the Santa Fe Third District via Fullerton and Riverside. Previously, it served Pasadena and Pomona via the Santa Fe Pasadena Subdivision, which was closed to all through traffic following damage to a bridge over the eastbound lanes of Interstate 210 in Arcadia during the Northridge Earthquake.

There were plans to add service to Pueblo and connecting with the proposed Front Range regional rail service between Denver and Pueblo. It would have also run along former Colorado & Southern tracks through Walsenburg, reconnecting with its current alignment at Trinidad. A more recent plan is to run a section of the train to Colorado Springs, Colorado, via Pueblo.

In May 2022, the Missouri General Assembly approved $1 million of state funds to establish a Southwest Chief infill station in Carrollton, between the Kansas City and La Plata stations. If approved by the governor, the state funds would have to be matched by local agencies.

Issues on midsection of route
The part of the Southwest Chief's route in western Kansas, southeastern Colorado, and northeastern New Mexico faced uncertainty throughout the 2010s.

In 2010, BNSF said that Amtrak would have to pay for all track maintenance on the portion of the Southwest Chief' route between La Junta and Lamy (Raton and Glorieta Subdivisions), because BNSF does not run any freight trains over this segment. BNSF also said that they would be lowering the track class on the portion of the Southwest Chief's route between Hutchinson and La Junta from Class IV to Class III and decreasing the passenger train speed limit from 79 mph to 60 mph.

In return, BNSF proposed rerouting the Southwest Chief from the affected sections of track to its Southern Transcon via Wichita, Amarillo, and Clovis—the same route once used by the San Francisco Chief. To avoid a reroute, Amtrak sought help from the affected states—Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. The states eventually contributed money toward rebuilding and rehabilitating the tracks—much of it obtained from federal transportation grants—and the route was not changed.

However, this same part of the Southwest Chief's route was threatened again in 2018 when it became the focal point of a struggle to determine whether to continue Amtrak as a national network or to operate regional stand-alone networks. The issue arose when Amtrak introduced new requirements for the third renewal grant and raised previously undiscussed technical issues. A letter dated May 31, 2018, co-signed by 11 Senators, condemned the action and urged providing the match. In an open letter, former Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman said, "The Southwest Chief issue is the battleground whose outcome will determine the fate of American’s national interconnected rail passenger network".

In June, Amtrak announced that it was considering the replacement of rail service along the Kansas portion of the Southwest Chief with Amtrak Thruway buses between Albuquerque and Dodge City, where train service east to Chicago would resume. Senators in the affected area succeeded in offering an amendment to a funding bill. Per a press release from the office of co-sponsor Senator Jerry Moran, "This amendment would provide resources for maintenance and safety improvements along the Southwest Chief route and would compel Amtrak to fulfill its promise of matching funding for the successful TIGER IX discretionary grant ... In addition, this amendment would effectively reverse Amtrak’s decision to substitute rail service with bus service over large segments of the route through FY2019".

title: Southwest Chief


text:
Aldol

In organic chemistry, an aldol is a structure consisting of a hydroxy group (-OH) two carbons away from either an aldehyde or a ketone. The name combines the suffix 'ol' from the alcohol and the prefix depending on the carbonyl group, either 'ald' for an aldehyde, or 'ket' for a ketone, in which case it referred to as a 'ketol'. An aldol may also use the term β-hydroxy aldehyde (or β-hydroxy ketone for a ketol). The term "aldol" may refer to 3-hydroxybutanal.

Aldols are the product of a carbon-carbon bond-formation reaction, giving them wide applicability as a precursor for a variety of other compounds.

Synthesis and reactions
Aldols are usually synthesized from an aldol addition reaction using two aldehydes or an aldehyde and a ketone for a ketol. These reactions may also be done intramolecularly to form 5 or 6 member rings or for stereoselective syntheses in the active area of asymmetric synthesis.

Aldols may also undergo a condensation reaction in which the hydroxy group is replaced by a pi bond. The final structure is a reactive α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound, which can also be used in a variety of other reactions:
 * RC(O)CH2CH(OH)R' →  RC(O)CH=CHR'  +  H2O

Applications
Aldols synthesized from two aldehydes are usually unstable, often producing secondary compounds such as diols, unsaturated aldehydes, or alcohols. Hydroxypivaldehyde is a rare example of a distillable aldol. The aldol 3-hydroxybutanal is a precursor to quinaldine, which is a precursor to the dye quinoline Yellow SS.

Aldols are also used as intermediates in the synthesis of polyketide natural products and drugs such as Oseltamivir and Epothilone.

title: Aldol


text:
Texas Eagle

The Texas Eagle is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a 1306 mi route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, the train joins the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and continues to Los Angeles via El Paso and Tucson. The combined 2728 mi route is the longest in the United States and the second-longest in the Americas, after the Canadian.

Prior to 1988, the train was known simply as the Eagle.

History
Amtrak's Texas Eagle is the direct successor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Texas and Pacific Railway train of the same name, which was inaugurated in 1948 and ultimately discontinued in 1971. The route of Amtrak's Texas Eagle is longer (Chicago to San Antonio versus St. Louis to San Antonio), but much of today's route is historically a part of the original Texas Eagle route. St. Louis to Texarkana and Taylor, Texas, to San Antonio travels over former Missouri Pacific Railroad trackage, while the Texarkana to Fort Worth segment traverses the former Texas and Pacific Railway. The T&P merged with MoPac in 1982; in turn MoPac was acquired by Union Pacific in 1986.

The Eagle began on October 2, 1981, as a restructuring of the Inter-American, which had operated a daily schedule from Chicago to Laredo, Texas, via San Antonio since 1973. From 1979 onward, it operated a section to Houston, Texas, which diverged at Temple, Texas. The new Eagle dropped the Houston section, while its southern terminus was cut back from Laredo to San Antonio. The new train carried Superliner equipment, replacing the Amfleet coaches on the Inter-American. In addition, the new train ran on a thrice-weekly schedule with a through car on the Sunset Limited to Los Angeles, although the latter was not announced until the April 1982 timetable.

On November 15, 1988, Amtrak revived a Houston section, this time diverging at Dallas and running over the route of the Southern Pacific's Sunbeam. It was the first time passenger traffic had served that route since 1958. Amtrak had intended to operate the Lone Star over this route back in the 1970s, but dropped the plan in the face of obstruction from the Southern Pacific. With the change, Amtrak revived the name Texas Eagle for the thrice-weekly Chicago-San Antonio/Houston train, while the off-day Chicago–St. Louis train remained the Eagle. This section would be discontinued on September 10, 1995. On April 4, 2013, Amtrak opened a new station in Hope, Arkansas, the hometown of former U.S. president Bill Clinton. Arcadia Valley was added on November 17, 2016, serving Iron County, Missouri.

In August 2023, Amtrak approved construction of a new station in De Soto, Missouri for trains to stop at between St. Louis and Arcadia Valley.

COVID-19 pandemic
As part of Amtrak's response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in greatly depressed ridership, service was reduced to tri-weekly throughout the corridor October 11, 2020. In March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return the Texas Eagle to its pre-pandemic schedule on May 24, 2021. However, the train began operating on a five days per week schedule in January 2022 due to a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant and remained so until March 2022.

Proposed changes
In the August 2009 issue of Trains, Brian Rosenwald, Amtrak's chief of product management, noted that the Sunset Limited might be replaced by an extension of the Texas Eagle to Los Angeles: "We projected the revenue and looked at the logistics, and with a little bit of rescheduling came to the conclusion that we can make this happen with the equipment we have, and the additional revenue the train earns will more than cover the increased operating costs". The move would restore a connection to the Coast Starlight in both directions, and move boarding in Maricopa and Tucson, Arizona, to civilized times. "We are putting a stake in the ground: Triweekly needs to disappear," Rosenwald said. While the route of the Sunset Limited would not be entirely replaced, the performance improvements listed explain what will happen:
 * Conversion to daily Chicago–Los Angeles train
 * Shortening of the schedule by 9 hours
 * San Antonio–New Orleans stub service on a daily basis to connect with this train
 * Use of the Diner-Lounge on the stub service

These changes would, in turn, create a through-car change similar to that of the Empire Builder. Such service would originate from Los Angeles and split at San Antonio, and vice versa from New Orleans.

Route
, the southbound Texas Eagle (train 21) departs Chicago 1:45 pm, running between Chicago and its first station stop in Joliet, parallel to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, along first the Canadian National's Freeport Subdivision and then Joliet Subdivision, which is also used by Metra's Heritage Corridor and Amtrak's Lincoln Service. From Joliet, the train travels along Union Pacific rails, often parallel to Interstate 55, making station stops in Pontiac, Bloomington–Normal, Lincoln, Springfield, Carlinville (a flag stop), and Alton before crossing the Mississippi River to make its stop at St. Louis' Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, scheduled for 7:13 pm. After St. Louis, the train skirts the Ozark Mountains, stopping in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, before crossing the state line into Arkansas. In Arkansas, the train stops in Walnut Ridge, the state capital of Little Rock, and the stations at Malvern, Arkadelphia, Hope, and Texarkana, on the Arkansas–Texas border.

Continuing into Texas, the train makes station stops in Marshall, Longview (bus connection with Houston), Mineola, Dallas and Fort Worth, which has connections to Oklahoma City via Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, and from there the train travels on BNSF trackage. The train continues on, making stops in Cleburne, McGregor, Temple (where the train resumes traveling on the Union Pacific), Taylor, the state capital of Austin, and San Marcos, with a scheduled arrival into San Antonio at 9:55 pm (the next day). A sleeping car and a coach (designated internally as train 421) are conveyed to the Sunset Limited on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, departing San Antonio at 2:45 am.

The northbound Texas Eagle (train 22) leaves San Antonio at 7 am, splitting from the eastbound Sunset Limited (train 422) on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The train arrives in Chicago at 1:44 pm the next day.

Equipment
The normally assigned consist on the Texas Eagle includes:

Three times a week, one coach and one sleeping car from the Texas Eagle are connected to the Sunset Limited and travel between San Antonio and Los Angeles as train #421/422. To provide extra capacity, an additional Superliner coach operates between Chicago and St. Louis as train #321/322.
 * GE Genesis locomotive
 * Superliner Sleeper
 * Superliner Diner-Lounge (Cross Country Café)
 * Superliner Coach

The train formerly included a Superliner Sightseer Lounge car. It was removed from the train in October 2020, but is planned to be re-added by October 2024. Amtrak plans to replace the P42DCs with modern Siemens ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.

Ridership
During fiscal year 2019, the Texas Eagle carried 321,694 passengers, a 4.2% decrease from 2018. In FY2016, the train had a total revenue of $22,323,171, an 8.5% decrease from FY2015.

title: Texas Eagle


text:
User talk:Robert Southworth

American Eskimo
Thanks for the nice American Eskimo photo! Also added here. 64.173.10.20 18:06, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC) (Sorry--that was me--WikiP's been logging me out mysteriously. Elf | Talk 04:47, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC))

 * Elf: you're most welcome. I'm glad you liked the picture. Robert Southworth 00:34, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC)

American Eskimo Dog.jpg
Hello, Robert! I've nominated this image as a featured picture candidate. I hope you don't mind. ^_^ You can vote on it here if you'd like. Cheers, Sango  123  23:10, May 11, 2005 (UTC)

Pic of the day
Hi Robert,

Just to let you know that your photo Image:American Eskimo Dog.jpg is due to make an appearance as Pic of the Day tomorrow. You can check and improve the associated caption at Picture of the day/August 2, 2005. -- Solipsist 19:07, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

American Eskimo Dog picture nominated for DE-listing as Featured Pic
In a mass delisting effort, your picture Featured_picture_candidates/Eskimodog has been recommended for delisting, not by me, but by AJ24, who should've told you him/herself.--Bagginz 22:12, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the tip. -- Robert Southworth 02:21, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Nomination for Delisting (American Eskimo Dog)
Hello. Very recently I was pointed out to the "courtesy call" of informing the original nominator if his/her image is being nominated for delisting. I admit, I was somewhat aware of the practice, but I seemed to miss the boldfaced notice saying that it was necessary. At the time of the nominations, I was also very busy and unable to continue perusing Wikipedia. Just now I read the comments under the subject's page and the FPC Discussion page and I felt obliged to respond. In no way were my inactions intentional and I apologise for the delay in my responding and the inconvenience it catalysed. Thank You. -- AJ24 01:29, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but I have renominated "American Eskimo Dog" for delisting. I do not feel that it meets the quality currently demanded by featured pictures. Thank you, J     Are you green? 20:36, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Robert Southworth


text:
Jie of Xia

King Jie (traditionally 1728–1675 BC) was the 17th and last ruler of the Xia dynasty of China. He is traditionally regarded as a tyrant and oppressor who brought about the collapse of a dynasty.

Around 1600 BC, Jie was defeated by Tang of Shang, bringing an end to the Xia dynasty that lasted about 500 years, and a rise to the new Shang dynasty.

Etymology
Jié 桀 (variant: 傑) (< Old Chinese: *grad) (ZS) means "outstanding" and later "hero"; with regards to Chinese, it is cognate to qiè 朅 (< OC *kʰrad) (ZS) "martial"; with regards to languages other than Chinese, it is cognate to either "strength; champion, athlete", or Mizo: hrât "brave, resolute".

The rime dictionary Guangyun later associates this Xia king's name (or epithet) Jié 桀 with 磔 zhé "to dismember, to cut asunder". Kangxi dictionary states that 磔 (zhé) is synonymous with 疈辜 pìgū "to cut asunder and open up", in Rites of Zhou; and that "the ancients asserted that the fierce and devious (桀黠 jiéxiá) ones are brutal and violent (凶暴 xiōngbào), as if they were cutting [things] asunder (磔 zhé)."

Historian Pei Yin (裴骃) cites Rules for Posthumous Names (謚法/諡法 Shìfǎ) (attributed to the Duke of Zhou), that Jié 桀 was meant for those who harmed and killed numerous people.

Early years
Jie is generally known as Xia Jie (夏桀) or Jie of Xia. His given name was Lü Gui (履癸). Jie ascended to the throne in the year of Renchen (壬辰). Initially, his capital was in Zhenxun. He lived there for three years and constructed his tilt palace. About the same time, he destroyed the pyramid of Rong (容台), and quelled a rebellion by the Quanyi people (aka Fei Barbarians) after they entered Qi, near Fen.

His parents were Fa of Xia and his wife.

Ruling
Jie is known to have lived a lavish lifestyle with slaves and treated his people with extreme cruelty. His style of ruling was reckless and filled with sex, luxury and entertainment. He generally disliked people who criticized him, and many were indeed afraid of him.

In the sixth year of Jie's regime, he entertained envoys from vassals and neighbors. He received an envoy from the Qizhong barbarian people (歧踵戎). In the 11th year, he summoned all his vassals to his court. The Youmin Kingdom (有緡) did not come, so Jie attacked and conquered it.

In his 13th year of the ruling, he moved his capital from Zhenxun to 'South of the river' (河南). About that time, he began using the Nian (輦), or sedan chair, on which he was carried by servants.

The next year, he led an army to Minshan. There, he found two of the King of Minshan's daughters, Wan(琬) and Yan(琰). They were unmarried and very beautiful, so he took them as his wives, renaming them Zhao (苕) and Hua(華). He abandoned his original wife Mo Xi (妹喜) and built a pyramid on top of the Tilt Palace for them to live in.

Alcohol lake
According to Liu Xiang's book Lienü zhuan written much later, around 18 BC, Jie was corrupted by his infatuation with his concubine Mo Xi (妺喜 or 末喜), who was beautiful, but completely lacking in virtue. Among other things, she liked to drink, enjoyed music, and also had a penchant for jugglers and sing-song girls. Apparently, she had Jie order a lake of wine made. They both sailed about in the alcohol lake in an orgy of drunken naked men and women bathing and drinking. She then commanded 3,000 men to drink the lake dry, only to laugh when they all drowned. This event was also recorded in Han Ying's book Han shi waizhuan.

Jie's cuisine
A great deal of effort was spent on Jie's cuisine and his requirements. Vegetables had to come from the northwest, fish had to be from the East Sea, seasonings and sauces had to come from ginger that grew in the south, sea salt had to come from the north. Several hundred people were employed just to supply Jie with his meals. Anyone that got his meal wrong was beheaded.

Jie was also a known alcoholic, but he did not drink regular wine. He drank a type of pure alcohol wine (清醇). The people working for him who could not supply this drink were killed. Many people died because of this. And while he was drinking wine it was required that he ride on someone's back like a horse.

In one incident Jie was riding the back of a top chancellor like a horse. After a while the chancellor was tired to the point that he could no longer crawl or move. He asked Emperor Jie to spare him. Jie immediately dragged him out to be executed. Another chancellor, Guan Longfeng (關龍逢), told the emperor that he was losing the trust of his people along with the Xia dynasty's rivers and mountains (江山). After yelling at Guan, he too was dragged out to be killed.

The rise of Shang
The Xia dynasty held suzerainty over a number of kingdoms, one of which was the Kingdom of Shang. During Jie's reign, Shang grew in power, initially at the expense of Xia's other vassals. A person by the name of Zi Lü was able to win many supporters from as many as 40 smaller kingdoms. Tang of Shang recognized that Jie mistreated the people and used this as a way to convince other supporters. In one speech Tang of Shang said that creating chaos is not something he wanted, but given the terror of Jie, he has to follow the Mandate of Heaven and use this opportunity to overthrow Xia. He also pointed out that even Jie's own military generals would not obey his orders.

In the 15th year of Jie's reign, Tang of Shang began moving Lü (履) to the capital Bo. About two years later Shang sent his minister Yi Yin as an envoy to Jie. Yi remained in the Xia capital for about three years, before returning to Shang.

The Shang's power continued to grow. In the 26th year of Jie's reign, Shang conquered Wen. Two years later, Shang was attacked by Kunwu (昆吾), and several years of war between Shang and Kunwu followed. Despite this setback, Shang continued to expand on a number of fronts, gathering vassal troops in Jingbo (景亳). The Shang army and allied forces conquered Mixu (密須) (today's 密縣), Wei, and attacked Gu (顧), which was also conquered the following year. Around the same time Zhong Gu, chief historian of Jie, fled from the Xia to the Shang.

Natural disasters
As Jie's reign went on, the histories record unusual and increasingly dire natural phenomena. These began in the 10th year of Jie's reign, when five stars were seen in the sky in alignment and a meteor shower occurred, followed by an earthquake.

In the 29th year of Jie's reign he tried to dig a water-tunnel through the Qu mountain, but the next year the mountain collapsed with a landslide. There was also a disaster at Linsui (聆隧) in the winter.

Records from the later Qin dynasty say that during the last year of Jie's reign, ice formed during the summer mornings and frost occurred through July. Heavy rainfall toppled buildings, hot and cold weather arrived in disorder, and crops failed. Some scientists correlate this event with a volcanic winter, possibly due to the Minoan eruption of Thera at around 1600 BC.

Battle of Mingtiao
In the 32nd year of Jie's reign, Tang of Shang dispatched troops from Er (陑) to simultaneously attack Xia and Kunwu. Kunwu was quickly defeated. By this time, the Xia were getting weaker near the Yellow River while the Shang were becoming stronger.

Jie's forces fought with the Shang forces at Mingtiao in a heavy thunder storm and were defeated.

Jie himself escaped and fled to Sanzong. The Shang forces, under their general Wuzi (戊子), pursued Jie to Cheng, captured him at Jiaomen and deposed him, bringing the Xia dynasty to an end. Eventually, Jie was released in Nanchao. Jie eventually died of illness. Tang of Shang succeeded as king by Tang, who inaugurated the Shang dynasty.

Family
King Jie had a wife named Mo Xi (妺喜) who was blamed for the fall of the Xia dynasty, but he later abandoned her for the King of Minshan's daughters Wan and Yan whom Jie renamed Zhao and Hua. King Jie had no known children with his wives. It is alleged that Chunwei, the possible ancestor of the Xiongnu ruling elite, was his son.

title: Jie of Xia