Superliner Diner
Conductor
I happened to be aboard Amtrak Train #648 yesterday (Monday) afternoon, going from Philadelphia to Trenton. For a 34-minute, 33-mile trip, they gave me a lot to write about! 
First off, a couple who had also boarded at Philadelphia-30th Street Station sat down across from me. The man went back to look for the "parlor car" which I think he meant the cafe car. He came back cursing, because he never found one. The truth is, Keystone Service trains don't have cafe cars. I strongly believe they should, but I know personally to smuggle food aboard if I think I might need to eat during the trip. I was enjoying my warm Philly pretzel and they had to starve. C'est la vie!
Then, as the conductor was collecting my ticket, a woman came up to him almost in tears, and asked if this train goes to Atlantic City. He said "No, this train goes to New York." We were already running for a couple of minutes, and were around the Zoo Interlocking. He got on his radio, and called the dispatcher. I whipped out my scanner so I could listen in. He said he had a passenger who had gotten on the wrong train, and he was requesting permission for #648 to stop at North Philadelphia, and that it would make this lady very happy if they could do that. Permission was granted, and the dispatcher said he would tell the NJ TRANSIT train going to Atlantic City to stop there as well to pick her up.
When we did stop, I saw it was not just one lady, but at least three people, presumably a family. Now this lady and her family were indeed happy. Personally, I would never be happy being let off a train in North Philly. :blink: I only hope they all lived long enough to see the NJ TRANSIT train pick them up, considering that they probably had some cash on them if they intended to gamble once they got to Atlantic City. They would have to wait roughly a half hour.
These people waited on a long line in 30th Street Station for the Keystone train to New York, ignored the annoucements and signs within the station, ignored the shouts by two crew members on the platform that this was a New York train, and did not hear the on-train annoucement before we departed from the platform. They even boarded a train run by a different operator, and one that departed 1/2 hour earlier than their train was due to leave. Amtrak was able to do right by this family, and the few seconds it took to make the stop at North Philadelphia was a very minor inconvenience to the other passengers. But had we been beyond North Philly they would probably have had to be taken all the way to Trenton, to catch another train back. Obviously common sense tells us that you need to check what train you're getting on, and listen to the annoucements that are made both on and off the train just for the purpose of making sure everyone intends on going where the train goes.
First off, a couple who had also boarded at Philadelphia-30th Street Station sat down across from me. The man went back to look for the "parlor car" which I think he meant the cafe car. He came back cursing, because he never found one. The truth is, Keystone Service trains don't have cafe cars. I strongly believe they should, but I know personally to smuggle food aboard if I think I might need to eat during the trip. I was enjoying my warm Philly pretzel and they had to starve. C'est la vie!
Then, as the conductor was collecting my ticket, a woman came up to him almost in tears, and asked if this train goes to Atlantic City. He said "No, this train goes to New York." We were already running for a couple of minutes, and were around the Zoo Interlocking. He got on his radio, and called the dispatcher. I whipped out my scanner so I could listen in. He said he had a passenger who had gotten on the wrong train, and he was requesting permission for #648 to stop at North Philadelphia, and that it would make this lady very happy if they could do that. Permission was granted, and the dispatcher said he would tell the NJ TRANSIT train going to Atlantic City to stop there as well to pick her up.
When we did stop, I saw it was not just one lady, but at least three people, presumably a family. Now this lady and her family were indeed happy. Personally, I would never be happy being let off a train in North Philly. :blink: I only hope they all lived long enough to see the NJ TRANSIT train pick them up, considering that they probably had some cash on them if they intended to gamble once they got to Atlantic City. They would have to wait roughly a half hour.
These people waited on a long line in 30th Street Station for the Keystone train to New York, ignored the annoucements and signs within the station, ignored the shouts by two crew members on the platform that this was a New York train, and did not hear the on-train annoucement before we departed from the platform. They even boarded a train run by a different operator, and one that departed 1/2 hour earlier than their train was due to leave. Amtrak was able to do right by this family, and the few seconds it took to make the stop at North Philadelphia was a very minor inconvenience to the other passengers. But had we been beyond North Philly they would probably have had to be taken all the way to Trenton, to catch another train back. Obviously common sense tells us that you need to check what train you're getting on, and listen to the annoucements that are made both on and off the train just for the purpose of making sure everyone intends on going where the train goes.
