Colin Jones
@colincjones.bsky.social
they/he/él 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Transportation Engineering Student in Minnesota.
I write, sometimes (https://streets.mn/author/cjones/).
Transportation Engineering Student in Minnesota.
I write, sometimes (https://streets.mn/author/cjones/).
Two pictures from today’s protest in Woodbury against ICE.
January 17, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Two pictures from today’s protest in Woodbury against ICE.
Reposted by Colin Jones
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
Reposted by Colin Jones
America has a housing shortage. Every single housing proposal you see that is not "build more housing" will have the primary effect of pushing up the prices of existing housing, and is therefore, in reality, a plan to enrich current homeowners. In conclusion, build more housing.
President Trump will issue a plan next week for letting Americans tap their 401(k)s for a down payment on a home, a senior White House official said Friday.
Trump Plan Would Let Americans Use 401(k)s for Down Payments on Homes, Official Says
President Trump will issue a plan next week for letting Americans tap their 401(k)s for a down payment on a home, a senior White House official said Friday.
on.wsj.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
America has a housing shortage. Every single housing proposal you see that is not "build more housing" will have the primary effect of pushing up the prices of existing housing, and is therefore, in reality, a plan to enrich current homeowners. In conclusion, build more housing.
Reposted by Colin Jones
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
January 15, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
Reposted by Colin Jones
#OnThisDay Jan 11 1909: Widely regarded as the first environmental agreement, the US and Canada sign the Boundary Waters Treaty. The Treaty remains notable today for its uncommonly good approach to governance of resources along the border, particularly in Minnesota and around the Great Lakes.
January 11, 2026 at 6:02 PM
#OnThisDay Jan 11 1909: Widely regarded as the first environmental agreement, the US and Canada sign the Boundary Waters Treaty. The Treaty remains notable today for its uncommonly good approach to governance of resources along the border, particularly in Minnesota and around the Great Lakes.
Reposted by Colin Jones
Got inspired
January 10, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Got inspired
Reposted by Colin Jones
"...making Northstar a successful service would require a massive investment...however not fixing it and shutting it down sets a bad precedent. After what happened with Northstar, we may never have the chance to build regional rail."
streets.mn/2026/01/08/n...
streets.mn/2026/01/08/n...
Northstar: Never Given a Chance
With the Northstar Line now shut down, I reminisce about our short-lived commuter rail, how history is repeating itself with this shut down, and what the future holds for the transit system of the …
streets.mn
January 9, 2026 at 1:55 AM
"...making Northstar a successful service would require a massive investment...however not fixing it and shutting it down sets a bad precedent. After what happened with Northstar, we may never have the chance to build regional rail."
streets.mn/2026/01/08/n...
streets.mn/2026/01/08/n...
Reposted by Colin Jones
Add another one to the great big board of "Urban Planning Debates: Academic Research vs. Some Guy"
January 8, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Add another one to the great big board of "Urban Planning Debates: Academic Research vs. Some Guy"
Reposted by Colin Jones
Even in this dark hour, the @nytimes.com simply cannot locate their moral compass. The @defector.com didn't have any trouble.
January 7, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Even in this dark hour, the @nytimes.com simply cannot locate their moral compass. The @defector.com didn't have any trouble.
Reposted by Colin Jones
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
January 7, 2026 at 8:26 PM
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
TIL that Metro Transit uses a proprietary font. 😭
January 7, 2026 at 1:03 AM
TIL that Metro Transit uses a proprietary font. 😭
Here are some photos from my first (and third-to-last) Northstar trip, from November of last year. I feel that I have some nuanced thoughts on the train, but I'd be remissed if I didn't say I'm sad to see it go.
January 6, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Here are some photos from my first (and third-to-last) Northstar trip, from November of last year. I feel that I have some nuanced thoughts on the train, but I'd be remissed if I didn't say I'm sad to see it go.
Reposted by Colin Jones
This is what this very same spot looked like in 1869 and 1970
January 5, 2026 at 12:25 AM
This is what this very same spot looked like in 1869 and 1970
My first ever HO-scale locomotive!! Could not have been more perfect, I absolutely love the E-units and early Amtrak equipment.
December 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
My first ever HO-scale locomotive!! Could not have been more perfect, I absolutely love the E-units and early Amtrak equipment.
Reposted by Colin Jones
the idea that lawyers are the sole interpreters of the Constitution is dangerous because it allows to spew shit like this without popular correction. The Constitution is our collective republican inheritance, and we all must engage in meaning making on the basis of it
December 30, 2025 at 4:57 AM
the idea that lawyers are the sole interpreters of the Constitution is dangerous because it allows to spew shit like this without popular correction. The Constitution is our collective republican inheritance, and we all must engage in meaning making on the basis of it
Transit/rail advocates are right to harp on about average speed being most important, but WOW that conversation has made me forget how fast 79 mph really is. I will post the associated video of Northstar once I get home and reformat the files.
December 30, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Transit/rail advocates are right to harp on about average speed being most important, but WOW that conversation has made me forget how fast 79 mph really is. I will post the associated video of Northstar once I get home and reformat the files.
Reposted by Colin Jones
This is completely unacceptable!
AC Transit’s hydrogen fleet has 43%-64% availability depending on model, leading to canceled bus runs and stops in the middle of service.
They must address this to retain/grow riders. Transit reliability is even more important to riders than speed or frequency.
AC Transit’s hydrogen fleet has 43%-64% availability depending on model, leading to canceled bus runs and stops in the middle of service.
They must address this to retain/grow riders. Transit reliability is even more important to riders than speed or frequency.
Was just riding on a @rideact.bsky.social 12 bus on Grand and Euclid at 7:30pm and the bus just stopped working in the middle of the road 😨
Bus operator says this is the 4th time today for him, and the Fuel Cell New Flyers do this all the time. Just going over a bump will knock them out!
Bus operator says this is the 4th time today for him, and the Fuel Cell New Flyers do this all the time. Just going over a bump will knock them out!
December 13, 2025 at 4:38 PM
This is completely unacceptable!
AC Transit’s hydrogen fleet has 43%-64% availability depending on model, leading to canceled bus runs and stops in the middle of service.
They must address this to retain/grow riders. Transit reliability is even more important to riders than speed or frequency.
AC Transit’s hydrogen fleet has 43%-64% availability depending on model, leading to canceled bus runs and stops in the middle of service.
They must address this to retain/grow riders. Transit reliability is even more important to riders than speed or frequency.
Reposted by Colin Jones
Literally every railroad's creation, operation, and service is politics.
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
October 9, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Literally every railroad's creation, operation, and service is politics.
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
I'm flabbergasted when modelers say otherwise, it's foolish.
See ALT text below
Was looking up old timetables over the weekend, found this gem. "It gets there when it gets there"-ass railroad.
December 1, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Was looking up old timetables over the weekend, found this gem. "It gets there when it gets there"-ass railroad.
Reposted by Colin Jones
The Midtown Greenway has never looked so good with the northern lights and recently repairs lights.
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
The Midtown Greenway has never looked so good with the northern lights and recently repairs lights.
Reposted by Colin Jones
#OnThisDay Nov 7, 1938: Majorettes distribute flowers and release pigeons to celebrate new equipment on the Milwaukee Road's "Twin Cities Hiawatha." The streamlined passenger cars with unique "Beaver Tail" end design were pulled by the new F7 steam locomotives, among the fastest in the world.
November 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
#OnThisDay Nov 7, 1938: Majorettes distribute flowers and release pigeons to celebrate new equipment on the Milwaukee Road's "Twin Cities Hiawatha." The streamlined passenger cars with unique "Beaver Tail" end design were pulled by the new F7 steam locomotives, among the fastest in the world.
Reposted by Colin Jones
And this is what it was before it was the bus barn. Behold "Snelling Station", the primary maintenance facility for the Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar system and major regional employer. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad, TCRT built everything in house, from the vehicles to the light poles.
October 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And this is what it was before it was the bus barn. Behold "Snelling Station", the primary maintenance facility for the Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar system and major regional employer. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad, TCRT built everything in house, from the vehicles to the light poles.
Reposted by Colin Jones
If the media is going to keep pushing their crime & inefficiency narrative on public transit then agencies should fight back.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
If the media is going to keep pushing their crime & inefficiency narrative on public transit then agencies should fight back.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Car dominance is personally and societally unpleasant, transit is by-and-large convenient, affordable, and socially beneficial. No more needless concessions to big auto.
Reposted by Colin Jones
we gotta do something about the european peasant mindset which is suddenly prevalent in seats in new amtrak cars
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
Verdict: The train itself is great and long overdue. It’s fast(er), it’s very smooth, it’s clean and inviting.
I HATE the seats. I don’t find them comfortable, like, at all. The “recline” somehow makes them worse since it’s not actually recline, only the seat pan slides forward. It’s so 2010’s.
I HATE the seats. I don’t find them comfortable, like, at all. The “recline” somehow makes them worse since it’s not actually recline, only the seat pan slides forward. It’s so 2010’s.
August 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
we gotta do something about the european peasant mindset which is suddenly prevalent in seats in new amtrak cars
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
i'm gonna be sitting there for maybe six hours or more, i need a fucking throne
A bit late to this, but the most absurd bit of the Northstar fiasco is that Met Council is...paying to demolish existing stations? BNSF I assume, but why waste public money on what is essentially salting the earth for future projects?
August 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
A bit late to this, but the most absurd bit of the Northstar fiasco is that Met Council is...paying to demolish existing stations? BNSF I assume, but why waste public money on what is essentially salting the earth for future projects?