Seaboard92
Engineer
Well here is a report that's majorly overdue
Part 1 June 12/13 the Silver Meteor
As many of you guys know I work on private rail cars and on steam trains as part of my job. And as part of that I was working on the Joliet Rocket out of Joliet, IL this last June. What some of you know and many of you don't know is that I was also dating Kathleen of Seattle, WA at the same time. So I merged the two trips into one and missed my grandmothers 84th birthday. This trip took me on 3 Amtrak services, 6 commuter trains, one steam train, and one private train; as well as three airlines.
So I packed my bags the day before I traveled for a change and was ready to catch Train No. 98 the Silver Meteor to travel to Washington, DC. I looked on the ASM maps at five and saw that it was stopped in rural Georgia and shortly thereafter learned it was a collision with a log truck. So now with my extra time I went to a trampoline park with my sister, and my honorary sister her best friend for a few hours.
My ride to the train station was my dad who didn't want to drive me at the revised time of three AM for my train which I understood so we left the house at nine and I was at the station by ten ten several hours before the train. I stood outside of the station in the well lit area to FaceTime my girlfriend Kathleen as the auto-pain pulled in for its service stop.
She was very surprised that I didn't care that the auto pain had pulled in because my back was to it so she could see it on her phone passing behind me. And then after about thirty minutes she went to work which is a nurse at a hospital. On one of her last night shifts.
So I just sat and waited around the station. I wrote up part of a trip report I never finished posting to AU and just passed the time. The train pulled in around three AM and I promptly walked out to my sleeper in car 9812. I went into the heritage diner to take some empty interior photos knowing this would be my last heritage car trip.
I noticed a lovely new feature to my room a little card welcoming me to the silver meteor. By routine I am a night owl and three AM is my normal bedtime so I then went to bed. I woke up as we pulled into Petersburg, VA around seven in the morning.
I then changed into my suit to eat breakfast. Yes I travel like the golden era of travel in a suit and tie. I got some fresh air at Richmond while they refueled the single P42 on our train. Upon Reboarding I went to the dining car and had a lovely breakfast. I was seated with several people traveling from Florida to New York and they were fascinated by the concept of private railcars.
After breakfast o then gathered my things and prepared to detrain in DC. Upon arrival in DC I walked to my senator's office's to tell them why we need Amtrak funding. There was a fascinating protest going on outside the station with paper cut outs of world leaders. After meeting with my elected officials I went down to my favorite railfaning vantage point in DC where one can photograph the Capitol dome and trains.
It was a very hot and humid DC day so then I walked to the Tune Inn for lunch. For those who don't know what the Tune Inn is; it's a West Virginia themed bar with amazing food at cheap prices on Capitol SE. After that I decided it was much to hot to walk around, but didn't want to waste time in the club Acela in a world class city. So I went to the postal museum.
Now I thought I knew everything possible about the post office because my dad is a letter carrier but the museum proved that otherwise. And I took the guided tour which I highly recommend if you want to see the highlights in a short amount of time. I walked back to Union station at 3:15 got my dinner reservation in the lounge then boarded the train on track 15 I believe.
Part 1 June 12/13 the Silver Meteor
As many of you guys know I work on private rail cars and on steam trains as part of my job. And as part of that I was working on the Joliet Rocket out of Joliet, IL this last June. What some of you know and many of you don't know is that I was also dating Kathleen of Seattle, WA at the same time. So I merged the two trips into one and missed my grandmothers 84th birthday. This trip took me on 3 Amtrak services, 6 commuter trains, one steam train, and one private train; as well as three airlines.
So I packed my bags the day before I traveled for a change and was ready to catch Train No. 98 the Silver Meteor to travel to Washington, DC. I looked on the ASM maps at five and saw that it was stopped in rural Georgia and shortly thereafter learned it was a collision with a log truck. So now with my extra time I went to a trampoline park with my sister, and my honorary sister her best friend for a few hours.
My ride to the train station was my dad who didn't want to drive me at the revised time of three AM for my train which I understood so we left the house at nine and I was at the station by ten ten several hours before the train. I stood outside of the station in the well lit area to FaceTime my girlfriend Kathleen as the auto-pain pulled in for its service stop.
She was very surprised that I didn't care that the auto pain had pulled in because my back was to it so she could see it on her phone passing behind me. And then after about thirty minutes she went to work which is a nurse at a hospital. On one of her last night shifts.
So I just sat and waited around the station. I wrote up part of a trip report I never finished posting to AU and just passed the time. The train pulled in around three AM and I promptly walked out to my sleeper in car 9812. I went into the heritage diner to take some empty interior photos knowing this would be my last heritage car trip.
I noticed a lovely new feature to my room a little card welcoming me to the silver meteor. By routine I am a night owl and three AM is my normal bedtime so I then went to bed. I woke up as we pulled into Petersburg, VA around seven in the morning.
I then changed into my suit to eat breakfast. Yes I travel like the golden era of travel in a suit and tie. I got some fresh air at Richmond while they refueled the single P42 on our train. Upon Reboarding I went to the dining car and had a lovely breakfast. I was seated with several people traveling from Florida to New York and they were fascinated by the concept of private railcars.
After breakfast o then gathered my things and prepared to detrain in DC. Upon arrival in DC I walked to my senator's office's to tell them why we need Amtrak funding. There was a fascinating protest going on outside the station with paper cut outs of world leaders. After meeting with my elected officials I went down to my favorite railfaning vantage point in DC where one can photograph the Capitol dome and trains.
It was a very hot and humid DC day so then I walked to the Tune Inn for lunch. For those who don't know what the Tune Inn is; it's a West Virginia themed bar with amazing food at cheap prices on Capitol SE. After that I decided it was much to hot to walk around, but didn't want to waste time in the club Acela in a world class city. So I went to the postal museum.
Now I thought I knew everything possible about the post office because my dad is a letter carrier but the museum proved that otherwise. And I took the guided tour which I highly recommend if you want to see the highlights in a short amount of time. I walked back to Union station at 3:15 got my dinner reservation in the lounge then boarded the train on track 15 I believe.