First Time on Train

[bradkansas]

Bill, Thanks for trying to help jog my memory, but there were many trips to Nashville and only a few to Florida. I remember an amalgam of sights, sounds, and smells experienced as a little kid - all wonderful then and to recall now. I remember steam, streamliners, Flyer, Flagler, Pullman, etc. but only a couple specifically. There are a few memory traces left of the Pullman trip. I do recall the Pullman cars were greenish brown thus, the silver cars that trip probably were on the other track. I'm sure glad I have those memories of rail travel to temper the generally negative memories of Amtrak. I still love rail travel. I'm just sorry Amtrak is the only option. Brad

 

[MichiganFoamer]

First trip I remember? A ride on the Amtrak Turboliner from Ann Arbor to Battle Creek and back. It was a Birthday present from my Mom and we took a tour of the Kellogs plant in BC that day as well. I wish I could remember more about it. Somewhere around here I still have a button that was handed out that read "RIDE THE TURBO; AMTRAK 1975". Seems to me that the Turboliners didn't last very long in Michigan service before the were replaced with F40s and Amfleet coaches. There is still a beatifully painted mural depicting one in the Jackson depot that was painted there in the mid-'70s when that station was restored.

 

[tin fish]

My first trip, as I recall, was east on the Broadway Ltd in the late 70's with a return to CHI on the Lake Shore Ltd. A most memorable experience as I was young and impressionable, just a kid from rural Indiana. I recall the announcement on the PA system to look to your right as we passed 3-Mile Island. When we got to NY, we had to get to the other station as they still used both Penn and Grand Central. We were exploring the sights and stopped in at the Waldorf Asteria Hotel where I tripped the alarms in one of the shops not knowing you had to request permission or have cash in hand to enter! We left there and while on our trek heard a gun shot in the distance. My stepfather grabbed my moms arm and me by my coat collar and literally drug us at a fevered pace to the station where we camped out until our train departed. Once on board, I remember sitting in I believe the Brooklyn coach yard for several hours while a crew worked on the heating system of our 10-6...brrrrr it was cold.

I also recall another funny story from a few years later. We rode the Southwest to LA, then hopped the Coast Starlight? to SF where we boarded the east bound Zephyr headed back for CHI. We ran into a horrible snowstorm that shut down then line for at least a day...maybe longer. By the time we finally got rolling agin, we were running low on provisions, down to a few bags of peanuts and they were rationing the soda. I got so bad, they eventually stopped in Burlington, IA where they aquired a small stash of drinks and had dinner brought catered by Kentucky Fried Chicken! Chicken breast, mashed potatoes with gravy, beans, and a boulder roll.

Ahhh, memories to last a lifetime...

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Great memories, tin fish, great indeed. Your tripping the alarm by mistake reminds of something I did in a Paris Hotel---don't ask me what I did because I do not know---But I must have punched a wrong level on the elevator because they all came running up the steps after the elevator alarm. I hid down the hall, literally hid down the hall just like in the movies, or in a sit-com, till they all went away. I used the steps from then on.