Maybe some will find this interesting?
What an Amtrak ride to Pete Buttigieg’s home town taught me about America’s railroads
What an Amtrak ride to Pete Buttigieg’s home town taught me about America’s railroads
Yup, with those MARC Sleeping Cars in the consist to boot!Wow, so it's come to this? Amtrak is borrowing MARC multilevel cars for use on the Capitol Limited? No wonder the author was less than impressed with the ride, although, to be honest, I was able to sleep fine on the MARC cars, though I needed a good eyeshade and I didn't really doze off until after we left Odenton.
You're are absolutely right... this paper needs to do some proofreading and editing... especially the ??? photos!Yup, with those MARC Sleeping Cars in the consist to boot!
I am afraid Guardian is as bad as the rest of them in fact checking the photos they include with articles. At least they did get two rows of windows right, and got everything else wrong as far as the lead photo goes.
Wow, so it's come to this? Amtrak is borrowing MARC multilevel cars for use on the Capitol Limited? No wonder the author was less than impressed with the ride, although, to be honest, I was able to sleep fine on the MARC cars, though I needed a good eyeshade and I didn't really doze off until after we left Odenton.
Except it's The Independent, not The Guardian.Yup, with those MARC Sleeping Cars in the consist to boot!
I am afraid Guardian is as bad as the rest of them in fact checking the photos they include with articles. At least they did get two rows of windows right, and got everything else wrong as far as the lead photo goes.
Which would indicate that I need to proof read my posts more carefully tooExcept it's The Independent, not The Guardian.
And I just noticed: the photo caption says the photo is of "a train at the platform in Washington", but not the Capitol Limited. So technically it's correct. The photo is credited to the author; he may not have been aware of the difference at the time.Which would indicate that I need to proof read my posts more carefully too
They could have gotten a getty or Wikimedia run of the mill photo of the Cap in 15 different forms even at Washington DC Union Station. This is just lazy journalism. But these days that is par for the course of course, so why complain? Just IMHO of course.And I just noticed: the photo caption says the photo is of "a train at the platform in Washington", but not the Capitol Limited. So technically it's correct. The photo is credited to the author; he may not have been aware of the difference at the time.
You beat me to it."A train waits on the platform in Washington DC. A little way up the platform, the Amtrak Capitol Limited waits to begin a 17-hour journey to Chicago."
Yeah, normally when I write an article about a Boeing 787 flight, I do post a leading photo of a Puss Moth, and then in the article point out that it was sitting at a stand away from the 787 that the article is about. Of course. How could I possibly miss this wonderful editorial trick!"A train waits on the platform in Washington DC. A little way up the platform, the Amtrak Capitol Limited waits to begin a 17-hour journey to Chicago."
And so do they!Which would indicate that I need to proof read my posts more carefully too
Mediocrity & the great bureaucracy go hand in hand. Such as the streamlined 'efficiency' of the US post office.What amazes me is how many people rise to the defense of mediocrity. I guess that is the theme of the age.
Are Texans allowing themselves to go to territory purchased by big bad Washington DC now, while they prepare feverishly to secede?I love those city pairs "Miami and Orlando", "Dallas and Texas". Since when did Texas become a city? Damn, for 70 years I was taught it was a state! So when Texas had the big power failure, why didn't everyone just drive a short way out of town to Louisiana or New Mexico? Oh, I forgot, New Mexico is a foreign country - or at least a lot of Americans think so. Well, Louisiana and Oklahoma, then?
I don't understand all the stuff that's going on there in Texas... they're throwing away their masks now??? Don't they understand that this pandemic can only be stopped when the virus has no more hosts to take it in? That's heard immunity. We gotta hope that they pick up their act... including expanding passenger service.Are Texans allowing themselves to go to territory purchased by big bad Washington DC now, while they prepare feverishly to secede?
I love those city pairs "Miami and Orlando", "Dallas and Texas". Since when did Texas become a city?
Good stuff as usual Jamie!Is that the Mother of all Freudian slips?
My view is the attraction of all the Amtrak LD routes is it's vaguely out of date equipment jogging along at the speeds they run at now, but that said the equipment should be in good order.
Again my personal view is the dinner is the absolute heart of any Amtrak LD train and should be reinstated to levels of say 5 years ago. Without a fully functioning dinner half the pleasure is gone. Where else can you on any other form of transport enjoy reasonable meals sat at a table, meet strangers who you will never have approached in other circumastances, and sit next to a picture window watching a fabulous country glide by your dining seat.
I do think that for business users they need high speed trains to make the journey effective and speedy. The city center to city center aspect is or should be ultra convenient, the overall time taken from departure to destination should rival planes, the sense of space is almost impossibe to create in other transport which should lead to a more relaxed and effective journey.
I'm not an expert but I do see how in mainland Europe so many business travellers use high speed train in place of planes, plus Europe is returning to night trains in increasing numbers for business folk too.
I think that could be duplicated in the US if as a country the US looked at 3 or 4 of the most popular shortish plane routes (say up to 1000 miles) and duplicate them with HSR, it will spread if it became very desirable or at least turn a profit in selected locations. Adding possible feeder rail routes on existing track for medium speed trains would enhance HSR.
That would leave Amtrak to cater for all other rail journeys aimed at a mixture of economic safe and comfortable travel and leisure and enthusiast travel, basically doing what it does now.
Having ridden 5 types of 200 +/- mph trains I sometimes leave the train slightly disappointed. They do what they say on the tin, they are fast, it looks fast out of the window and feels fast when accelerating, but there are three drawbacks. The interiors are in the main boringly modern. Not ultra comforatble compared to Amtrak. It is not a device to use to see the country you are travelling through, it all passes so fast that it's gone before you can take a second look.
For business possibly it's brilliant, for enjopyment of the rail journey less so.
Please accept when reading my comments that I know nothing about rail in compared to most on this forum. I just enjoy travelling on trains that can take us comfortably to somehwere else, through a landscape we don't know and there being a good chance (especially on Amtrak) of meeting someone interesting. Using those criteria rail is impossible to beat.
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