We have been discussing our ages recently. I am 57, Mike is 58, several are in the 14-15-16 range. Some 41 and 42. People my age, who were in the first grade by 1950 or 1951, had a grand and glorious world of trains to grow up in. Streamliners were at their peak, we tried to think all was well. In truth, the business was actually beginning to erode but it still "looked good enough on the outside"for us to be in a pleasant denial of the upcoming days. We lived to see the almost desmise, then the resurrection by Amtrak.This all IF we were interested in trains from our earliers days.(as I was).. BUt also, those of you in the 14-15-16, etc range were also born in to a gloroius world of hope---yeah, it has been really scarey at times, this last summer in partricular. But we still have a lot to be proud of and thankful for. So what is my point? Those who were children in the 60's and IF they were interested in trains....had a pitiful world....things were going bonkers all around them....the airways and highways were getting better all the time...the railroads lost the postal mail contract....trains were being dropped altogther or least being shortened(their equipment, also, sometimes, their routes) Their was NO GLORY TO REMEMBER FROM THE PAST and also NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE-- NO AMTRAK TO LOOK FOR. Must have been a very bleak time for railfanners...probably is a dearth of them from that age range. That would be like Miami Joe and ALan B's age range... Probably very few fans from that era of the 1960's. Any thoughts?Any kind of statistic info out there about the age range of railfans....I would bet there are comparatively few who were in grammer scholl in the 1960-1970 range.
Been thinking about our ages....
- Thread starter Bill Haithcoat
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I was born in 1960. My uncle worked for the Burlington railroad in and around the Ottumwa, Iowa area from the time he graduated from high school in 1946. He was a station agent in different small towns around Ottumwa for many years. I can remember visiting him at one of these stations when I would have been 5 or 6 years old. That was probably in Fairfield.
My first train trip was Ottumwa to Chicago and back with my grandfather in October of 1971. Obviously, that would have been after Amtrak took over but I seem to remember the train still being Burlington livery. Man, were those Vista-Dome cars great! At that age, and certainly the few years before (middle to late 1960's), I would have been as much a "railfan" as anyone who simply liked to go down to the depot and watch trains come in and go out. Heck, what did I know of any problems with the railroads or what Amtrak was?
I just liked the trains-- then and now!
seajay
My first train trip was Ottumwa to Chicago and back with my grandfather in October of 1971. Obviously, that would have been after Amtrak took over but I seem to remember the train still being Burlington livery. Man, were those Vista-Dome cars great! At that age, and certainly the few years before (middle to late 1960's), I would have been as much a "railfan" as anyone who simply liked to go down to the depot and watch trains come in and go out. Heck, what did I know of any problems with the railroads or what Amtrak was?
I just liked the trains-- then and now!
seajay
Way to go Seajay....hey, maybe I'm complicating the whole thing too much...it is, after all, about enjoyment...pure enjoyment.And, yes, I think quite a bit of CB&Q equipment would have been on the CZ in the early Amtrak days. And, I, too, loved those vista domes.As you say, you did not really know the background...so sure....it would still have been a good thing...I feel better already, hearing your perspective.
A
Amtrak Watcher
Guest
I’m one of the older readers of this forum; old enough to remember Vice President Johnson going to the Middle East during the Kennedy administration in the early 1960’s only to see a camel on the side of the road accommodating his motorcade. We watched on black & white TV as he jumped out of his open-topped car and climbed up for a ride. I remember this because as a young European I was one of just about everyone who admired the U.S., its people, and everything it stood for. We were always aware of everything the U.S. did, no matter how trivial or where, and longed for the day we could visit.
Today, U.S. embassies are armed fortresses everywhere in the world, and the only admiration other people have for the U.S. are its movies, munchies, and its excesses. I moved to the U.S. in 1980, but had visited this country often since the 1950s. Today, I am amazed how things have flipped over. Even with all its riches and advantages, the U.S, is reviled almost everywhere. There are more murders in large U.S. cities than in the so-called “hot spots” of the world. While Europe and many parts of Asia have modernized their railroads during the past 40 years to the present vast networks of comfort and convenience, the equivalent “modernization” in the U.S. is the SUV, chocking traffic, pollution, drive-by shootings, and ever-escalating personal expenses for insurance, fuel, security and wasted time. You don’t even need a car in most European and Asian cities, but you can scarcely survive without one in the U.S. It’s as if the U.S. has slowly become everything its admirers were trying to escape from: mean, dirty, snarled, isolated and fearful.
I’m not a “train buff.” I ride the train only when I can, which given the thin network and even thinner schedules is only seldom. But I watch this forum for a hint of hope. High quality passenger rail is one of the hallmarks of a civilized society. U.S. air transport is dissolving into busses with wings. The only difference between a bus ride and one with the airlines is you have a good chance of being “felt up” by a stranger before boarding a plane. No people on earth travel more than Americans. It’s a shame that so much of it has to be done in crowded silence as we regard strangers with fear. I watch this forum for signs of hope; hope that civility, good manners, and quiet good times will return. The rail experiences of the 1950s and 1960s Bill Haithcoat refers to were a treasure. To the extent they can return, American society will be better for it.
Today, U.S. embassies are armed fortresses everywhere in the world, and the only admiration other people have for the U.S. are its movies, munchies, and its excesses. I moved to the U.S. in 1980, but had visited this country often since the 1950s. Today, I am amazed how things have flipped over. Even with all its riches and advantages, the U.S, is reviled almost everywhere. There are more murders in large U.S. cities than in the so-called “hot spots” of the world. While Europe and many parts of Asia have modernized their railroads during the past 40 years to the present vast networks of comfort and convenience, the equivalent “modernization” in the U.S. is the SUV, chocking traffic, pollution, drive-by shootings, and ever-escalating personal expenses for insurance, fuel, security and wasted time. You don’t even need a car in most European and Asian cities, but you can scarcely survive without one in the U.S. It’s as if the U.S. has slowly become everything its admirers were trying to escape from: mean, dirty, snarled, isolated and fearful.
I’m not a “train buff.” I ride the train only when I can, which given the thin network and even thinner schedules is only seldom. But I watch this forum for a hint of hope. High quality passenger rail is one of the hallmarks of a civilized society. U.S. air transport is dissolving into busses with wings. The only difference between a bus ride and one with the airlines is you have a good chance of being “felt up” by a stranger before boarding a plane. No people on earth travel more than Americans. It’s a shame that so much of it has to be done in crowded silence as we regard strangers with fear. I watch this forum for signs of hope; hope that civility, good manners, and quiet good times will return. The rail experiences of the 1950s and 1960s Bill Haithcoat refers to were a treasure. To the extent they can return, American society will be better for it.
warbonnet
Service Attendant
Hi all...
As an early 50's guy too, I wanted to kick my 2 cents in as well. Growing up here in Southern California, the Santa Fe's El Capitan departed Los Angeles Union Station midday, and the Chief and Super Chief (2 seperate trains) both left L.A. about 8:00 Pm. About 9:00PM, myself and train buddy would sneak out the window, hop on our bicycles (we were suppose to be doing homework as high schoolers we were!!) and ride about a mile to the mainline to watch the Chief come through. Back then it stopped (eastbound) first in Pasadena, then Pomona, San Berdo, etc. We would watch it in the Glendora (Ca.) area. I guess getting "snakebit" early by trains has kept my interest through the years. So, I can relate to the younger members here as to their interest. As a weekly business flyer now, I wish I could take the train more often than I do. Happy Days!!
As an early 50's guy too, I wanted to kick my 2 cents in as well. Growing up here in Southern California, the Santa Fe's El Capitan departed Los Angeles Union Station midday, and the Chief and Super Chief (2 seperate trains) both left L.A. about 8:00 Pm. About 9:00PM, myself and train buddy would sneak out the window, hop on our bicycles (we were suppose to be doing homework as high schoolers we were!!) and ride about a mile to the mainline to watch the Chief come through. Back then it stopped (eastbound) first in Pasadena, then Pomona, San Berdo, etc. We would watch it in the Glendora (Ca.) area. I guess getting "snakebit" early by trains has kept my interest through the years. So, I can relate to the younger members here as to their interest. As a weekly business flyer now, I wish I could take the train more often than I do. Happy Days!!
I see why you call yourself warbonnet---that was an old Santa Fe term...didn't it refer to the style of some of the locomotives??? I am more of a passenger car freak than a locomotive freak....I just know the term was a Santa Fe term.
warbonnet
Service Attendant
That's correct, It really was a reflection of the red paint scheme the F-7 locomotives were painted in at the time, and the Southwest Indian theme the Santa Fe used with the "Chief and Super Chief"
Well,
I was born in 1966. My parents took me and my sister on the Texas Chief (I think) so that we could experience an overnight train ride. I still remember the bedroom we had, and riding in the observation car as we crossed the Mississippi at Ft. Madioson. In 1974, we took a family trip to the West Coast on the San Francisco Zephyr, the San Joaquin, and the Southwest Limited back to Galesburg, IL. I rember the dome cars, watching hour after hour as the signal lights changed. I remeber the seeing a tornado as we crossed Wyoming, and I remember the Sierra Nevadas. This trip ensured many more trips by train in the future. When I was ten, I traveled solo from Harrisburg to Chicago on the Broadway Limited. In the seventh grade, I negotiaged a ride in a slumbercoach on the Broadway again, when I was reluctant to take ballroom dancing classes. Throughout highschool and college, I have managed to cover every route on the Amtrak system, and many in Canada and Europe and Austrailia. Some of these years were bad years for Amtrak, but everytime I headed to Union station with Amtrak tickets, I was excited about the futre trip.
I rambled alot in that passage, but I gues I am saying that I will always enjoy train travel and railfanning. We should be careful to never let anyting or anyone to take that joy out of our lives.
I was born in 1966. My parents took me and my sister on the Texas Chief (I think) so that we could experience an overnight train ride. I still remember the bedroom we had, and riding in the observation car as we crossed the Mississippi at Ft. Madioson. In 1974, we took a family trip to the West Coast on the San Francisco Zephyr, the San Joaquin, and the Southwest Limited back to Galesburg, IL. I rember the dome cars, watching hour after hour as the signal lights changed. I remeber the seeing a tornado as we crossed Wyoming, and I remember the Sierra Nevadas. This trip ensured many more trips by train in the future. When I was ten, I traveled solo from Harrisburg to Chicago on the Broadway Limited. In the seventh grade, I negotiaged a ride in a slumbercoach on the Broadway again, when I was reluctant to take ballroom dancing classes. Throughout highschool and college, I have managed to cover every route on the Amtrak system, and many in Canada and Europe and Austrailia. Some of these years were bad years for Amtrak, but everytime I headed to Union station with Amtrak tickets, I was excited about the futre trip.
I rambled alot in that passage, but I gues I am saying that I will always enjoy train travel and railfanning. We should be careful to never let anyting or anyone to take that joy out of our lives.
I'm really enjoying these posts on early train remembrances.
I'm 59, and my earliest memory of train travel was through the eyes of a then seven year old boy walking across the concourse of Toronto Union Station with my mother to stow our "Grips" at the baggage counter. I still remember how nifty the gate conductor's silvery ticket punch was and how I wished I had one. The steam train of the Ontario Northland Railway was waiting for us hissing and puffing at the top of what seemed to be a mountain of stairs. I remember how excited everyone was. Why, there was even an Indian on the train, the first I'd ever seen.
Before the conductor came, mother told me to hide my long legs under her coat, and if asked, I was to say I was 5 years old for she had purchased a discounted ticket for me. The conductor was old in my memory, but was probably only 40. He smelled of tobacco as most people did except my parents but brandished the ticket punch and put our seat checks above our heads. I sat with him later and he allowed me to do some heavy duty punching of cards.
A man came through the car calling for seating in the dining car. Mother, of course, brought out her little valise full of her favorite fruit and sandwiches..the dreaded egg salad and salmon. She relented later and we went for pie and drinks.
We were going to my grandfather's funeral in Iroquois Falls, Ont. and it being Februrary, was bitterly cold when we left the warm train. I can recall the faces looking down at us from the train as we boarded a small bus for town.
More than 50 years have gone by and I can remember more about that trip than I can about the trip I took to go off to college.
I had never, until last April, done much in the way of rail travel by VIA, and I took a 30-day AMTRAK NARPass/backpack/hostelling trip around the USA. I'm glad to see that AMTRAK hired David Gunn as President, who recently, ran among other things, the Toronto Transit Commission. He enjoys a fine reputation here as a manager and I wish him the best because I do plan to do more rail travel in the future.
I'm 59, and my earliest memory of train travel was through the eyes of a then seven year old boy walking across the concourse of Toronto Union Station with my mother to stow our "Grips" at the baggage counter. I still remember how nifty the gate conductor's silvery ticket punch was and how I wished I had one. The steam train of the Ontario Northland Railway was waiting for us hissing and puffing at the top of what seemed to be a mountain of stairs. I remember how excited everyone was. Why, there was even an Indian on the train, the first I'd ever seen.
Before the conductor came, mother told me to hide my long legs under her coat, and if asked, I was to say I was 5 years old for she had purchased a discounted ticket for me. The conductor was old in my memory, but was probably only 40. He smelled of tobacco as most people did except my parents but brandished the ticket punch and put our seat checks above our heads. I sat with him later and he allowed me to do some heavy duty punching of cards.
A man came through the car calling for seating in the dining car. Mother, of course, brought out her little valise full of her favorite fruit and sandwiches..the dreaded egg salad and salmon. She relented later and we went for pie and drinks.
We were going to my grandfather's funeral in Iroquois Falls, Ont. and it being Februrary, was bitterly cold when we left the warm train. I can recall the faces looking down at us from the train as we boarded a small bus for town.
More than 50 years have gone by and I can remember more about that trip than I can about the trip I took to go off to college.
I had never, until last April, done much in the way of rail travel by VIA, and I took a 30-day AMTRAK NARPass/backpack/hostelling trip around the USA. I'm glad to see that AMTRAK hired David Gunn as President, who recently, ran among other things, the Toronto Transit Commission. He enjoys a fine reputation here as a manager and I wish him the best because I do plan to do more rail travel in the future.
I was born in 1959. My family would go to the station in downtown Miami to pick up relatives from New Jersey. This was in 1966. I was always mesmerized by the sounds and the smells. Little did I know, that years later, I would end up working on trains.
When I was 10, my father and I would walk by a local hobby shop and always look at the used Lionel trains for sale. On Christmas, there they were!! ! One engine and tender, five cars, four electric switches and track. We put up a 4 by 8 sheet up in the garage outside, and started to build!! We eventually had to close in the garage, the insurance company would not cover the trains!! My collection grew over the years, including American Flyer,Marx and Marklin in HO. Now they sit in boxes, wrapped in newspaper.
When I got out of the sevice, I bummed around for 2 years. I worked in construction, laying the cable boxes on Miami's MetroRail. 2 years after that job, a girlfriend suggested I apply for Miami's MetroRail as an electronic tech. Got turned down the first time, but got the job 9 months later. I had a choice of heavy rail or working on a peoplemover system. Thank God, I chose heavy rail!!! They were the last cars built by Budd, and I spent 10 years there.
During those 10 years, I met a guy from the peoplemover system who was a volunteer at the GoldCoast RR museum. I went out one night in October, we fired up an old steam engine and I learned how to drive a steam engine!!! I too, became a volunteer working on engines and the presidential coach "Ferdinand Magellan". Hurricane Andew wiped out alot of cars, the engines's boiler was shot, so the museum no longer runs trains and I got out of there.
In 1995, I quit MetroRail to start my own business, buying and selling collectable guitars. I did very well, but I was also growing in size!!! The highlight of my day was Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones. A friend from MetroRail suggested working for Amtrak. His father worked there as a pipefitter and he had worked there in the past, but was furloughed in 1985 and went to work at MetroRail, instead of retuning to Amtrak.
That's how I got where I am today. Since I've been here, I've been pretty lucky!!! Three months after I started, I started working on the Florida Fun Train. The FFT leased locomotives, engineers and maintenance people in Hialeah and during the last six months of service, I traveled with the train. This is where I learned how to repair P-40's. After the FFT went bankrupt, I went to Chicago to learn P-42's and returned to Miami. But I like working the cars instead and teaching the new guys how to work the old equipment.
When I was 10, my father and I would walk by a local hobby shop and always look at the used Lionel trains for sale. On Christmas, there they were!! ! One engine and tender, five cars, four electric switches and track. We put up a 4 by 8 sheet up in the garage outside, and started to build!! We eventually had to close in the garage, the insurance company would not cover the trains!! My collection grew over the years, including American Flyer,Marx and Marklin in HO. Now they sit in boxes, wrapped in newspaper.
When I got out of the sevice, I bummed around for 2 years. I worked in construction, laying the cable boxes on Miami's MetroRail. 2 years after that job, a girlfriend suggested I apply for Miami's MetroRail as an electronic tech. Got turned down the first time, but got the job 9 months later. I had a choice of heavy rail or working on a peoplemover system. Thank God, I chose heavy rail!!! They were the last cars built by Budd, and I spent 10 years there.
During those 10 years, I met a guy from the peoplemover system who was a volunteer at the GoldCoast RR museum. I went out one night in October, we fired up an old steam engine and I learned how to drive a steam engine!!! I too, became a volunteer working on engines and the presidential coach "Ferdinand Magellan". Hurricane Andew wiped out alot of cars, the engines's boiler was shot, so the museum no longer runs trains and I got out of there.
In 1995, I quit MetroRail to start my own business, buying and selling collectable guitars. I did very well, but I was also growing in size!!! The highlight of my day was Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones. A friend from MetroRail suggested working for Amtrak. His father worked there as a pipefitter and he had worked there in the past, but was furloughed in 1985 and went to work at MetroRail, instead of retuning to Amtrak.
That's how I got where I am today. Since I've been here, I've been pretty lucky!!! Three months after I started, I started working on the Florida Fun Train. The FFT leased locomotives, engineers and maintenance people in Hialeah and during the last six months of service, I traveled with the train. This is where I learned how to repair P-40's. After the FFT went bankrupt, I went to Chicago to learn P-42's and returned to Miami. But I like working the cars instead and teaching the new guys how to work the old equipment.
AmtrakerBx
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2002
- Messages
- 44
Well I'm 59....as a kid in the Bronx, was always at some railyard...especially the NYC coach yards in Motthaven...watching the named trains pass by.on the NYC & NH at the 138th st Station now history. I also went to the NH Oak Point yards (still there) and got my first engine ride at the NH Port Morris Yards on a slow Sunday in winter.
Got my first set of AC Gilberts American Flyer electric trains..A NYC Hudson and a few passenger cars...wished I still had them....
I'll always remember my summer trips up to Hartford on the NH......all just
great memories........
Got my first set of AC Gilberts American Flyer electric trains..A NYC Hudson and a few passenger cars...wished I still had them....
I'll always remember my summer trips up to Hartford on the NH......all just
great memories........
Amfleet
Engineer
Kind of diiferent when growing up as a teenager in the year 2002. I've always liked a P-42 over a FL-9 but then again I've never even seen a steam engine.
There are two trains that I hope to see in the future.
I would like to go for the Circus Train celebration in Wisconsin. THey use a steam engine and refurbished circus rail cars, with all the trimmings. They have the animal cars , elephant cars, organ car, sleepers, etc. then they unload the rail cars, and have a parade down mainstreet!!! I think it's a week long event.
My other dream is to go out west and ride the articulated "Big Boy"! From what I saw on the History channel. The UP has the only running 4-8-8-4 engine and once a year or every two years, they pull it out and run it flat out!!! It can reach speeds of 110 mph and has to stop every 100 miles for water. What a wonderful piece of machinery.
I would like to go for the Circus Train celebration in Wisconsin. THey use a steam engine and refurbished circus rail cars, with all the trimmings. They have the animal cars , elephant cars, organ car, sleepers, etc. then they unload the rail cars, and have a parade down mainstreet!!! I think it's a week long event.
My other dream is to go out west and ride the articulated "Big Boy"! From what I saw on the History channel. The UP has the only running 4-8-8-4 engine and once a year or every two years, they pull it out and run it flat out!!! It can reach speeds of 110 mph and has to stop every 100 miles for water. What a wonderful piece of machinery.
Amfleet
Engineer
Nothings changed, except trains stop every 100 miles because something goes wrong, not to pick up water. :lol:
B
bob s
Guest
I WAS BORN IN 1965.I REMEMBER MY DAD TAKING MYSELF AND MY BROTHERS THE SHORT 5 MINUTE DRIVE TO SIT IN CAMPBELL OHIO ACROSS FROM THE OLD P&LE RR SWITCHING YARD WHEN THE STEEL MILLS WERE PUMPING OUT MAJOR STEEL AND JUST SITTING AND WATCHING THEM DISCONNECT AND ROLL BACK IN THE YARD.IT WAS REALLY BUSY AND SEEMED TO BE INTERESTING.THAT WAS MY FIRST LOVE OF TRAINS.THIS PAST JULY WE WENT(G/F AND I) TO NYC ON THE THREE RIVERS AND WE PASSED THROUGH THAT YARD.TODAY IT IS UNUSED AND RIDDEN WITH WEEDS AND OLD TRAIN CARS.I WILL HAVE TO ADMIT THOUGH THAT IT DID BRING A TEAR TO MY EYES FOR MY DAD PASSED AWAY JUST 13 MONTHS BEFORE AND THAT PASS BY REMINDED ME HOW MUCH I REALLY MISS HIM.BOY I REALLY MISS THOSE DAYS WITH THE TRAINS ROLLING THROUGH AND THE SMELL OF THE COKE OVENS IN THE MORNING.TODAY ITS A SHALLOW SITE.I SURE HOPE I CAN ENJOY THAT TRIP NEXT SUMMER AND AMTRACK DOESNT HOLD THE SAME FATE
These are some very neat memories. I note particularly Steve 4031 's reference to the Texas Chief. I grew up in Chattanooga,TN but my sister lived in Dallas, TX for awhile. That was where I saw my first Santa Fe streamliner--the Texas Chief. I saw the short wing of it in Dallas and saw the longer train in Ft. Worth en route to Houston/Galveston from Chicago. It was beautiful.. Never rode it. WIthin a few years I was riding the Super Chief and El Capitan. But that Texas Chief was my first AT&ST streamliner to see. Also enjoyed Steve 4031's reference to seeing a tornado from the dome car in Wyoming.Only from the comfort of a train!!
I have been reading this thread from the beginning and really did not have much to add but I will say that I am 36 and if you do the math that makes me born in 1966. I think I get my love of trains from my family. Growing up my older brothers had elaborate train set ups and were real ethusiasts. They were a larger scale (O). I loved to check em out and when I was old enough I got a set for Christmas - a set I still have today! One of my favorite places to go was the museum of science and industry in LA and they had a big train exhibit with model trains. It was so cool - I would have chosen spending time there over most other things!
I remember taking my first real train trip when I was quite small - my mom took me and my sister for the day to visit our cousins in San Clemente (not a far trip from LA but to a kid it seemed like an incredible journey!) I remember how impressed I was with the fact that there were bathrooms on the train, I remember my mom showing me how to push a pedal for the water to run in the sink. I remember being absolutely amazed by the tiolets on the train and my sister telling me that when we flushed it went on the track. For a long time after that whenever we passed by train tracks I remember thinking that there was poop on the track from all of the people who had flushed!! LOL!
I have always loved trains - maybe it's just something we're born with.
I remember taking my first real train trip when I was quite small - my mom took me and my sister for the day to visit our cousins in San Clemente (not a far trip from LA but to a kid it seemed like an incredible journey!) I remember how impressed I was with the fact that there were bathrooms on the train, I remember my mom showing me how to push a pedal for the water to run in the sink. I remember being absolutely amazed by the tiolets on the train and my sister telling me that when we flushed it went on the track. For a long time after that whenever we passed by train tracks I remember thinking that there was poop on the track from all of the people who had flushed!! LOL!
I have always loved trains - maybe it's just something we're born with.
Radsmon, I think it is almost something we are born with. I was taken on the train when I was 3, a long overnight trip , and became instantly fascinated and have been so since. I can identify with some of the things which amazed you. I remember my first trip as an "older child" probably about 6 or 7, with my grandmother. I was amazed at the water fountain...except,....stupid me....I thought Ihad to bend my head upside down for the water to flow in. My exasperated, but amused, grandcmother explained that I get a cup!!
Radsmon,no item about "what happens in the toilet" would be complete without reminding you of the true story about two fisherman underneath a railroad trestle near Jacksonville. They found out exactly "where it goes...." They were not pleased. They did sue Amtrak, and I think that all had a bearing on the waste detention toilets of today. Someone else can perhaps verify this.It was probably either a passenger on the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star which had, uh, dumped on them.
Viewliner
Engineer
Another favorite memory. When I was 8, my family boarded the Southwest Limited in LA. The 4 of us were supposed to be accomodated in a bedroom suite. Somehow, the res agent "screwed" up. The bedrooms were not available, and each of us got our own roomette. My 12 your old sister, who always told me that she was more mature, cried at the prospect of being alone. Me, I was ecstatic to have my own room. Mom tucked me into bed, pulled down the shade, and turned off the light. I locked the door, sat up in bed, and put up the shade. I was up well past bedtime looking out at the suburbs of LA.
The story in Hialeah is that one of the individuals who received a sudden shower in JAX was a "bigshot" with the Division of Game and Wildlife. Some people say it was the "Comissioner", himself!! :lol:
Considering where he was, the speed of the train and the timing of the flush , just before the car reached them, he has been truely "showered" with a timeless piece of Amtrak history that will never happen again!!!! :lol:
God bless him and his luck of the draw!!!
Considering where he was, the speed of the train and the timing of the flush , just before the car reached them, he has been truely "showered" with a timeless piece of Amtrak history that will never happen again!!!! :lol:
God bless him and his luck of the draw!!!
Amfleet
Engineer
Even though I'm sixteen I've got one of those memories too. It was January of '96 and my family and I were heading south on the Auto Train, though I had been on Amtrak between PVD and NYC when I was 7, that was a faint memory, and the the Auto Train north only 2 months pior to March, but that was a horable ride in coach I wanted to forget. Anyways this trip was great it started off by driving off to my grandparents for a few days in Pennsylvania. In those few days about 3 feet of snow fell from the blizzard of '96. Well the raods were cleared and we headed to Lorton. I remember getting on the train onto my own Standard room, sitting in the Sightseer Lounge, and eating in the dining car (never will I forget the best BBQ Chicken I've ever had). Then there was the arrival in Florida and a week in Disney. That is a childhood memory to always remember.
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