Love to ride the rails

[I always rode the Southern]

Hello everyone, very long time lurker finally excited to join and post. I think y'all give some great info and advice on amtrak in general, and especially regarding reward trips. I have one coming I'll be looking for some help on and figured I should introduce myself before I barge in on the conversations.

 

 

I have rode the trains all my life as my father was from Pa., mother from Ga.I have never enjoyed flying so once I grew up, I still went wherever possible by train, dragging hubby and kids along when possible.

 

My credentials are as follows, and oh, the stories I could tell: :giggle:

 

auto train-first time 1979, now, every trip north, silver star-many, silver meteor-several, but I prefer the star cause who wants to ride the bus to tampa or orlando, capital limited-many, many times-, pennsylvanian, 3 rivers, california zephyr-cc trip west, coast starlight, surfliner, southwest chief-cc trip east, crescent, city of new orleans, broadway limited, city of miami, royal palm and ponce de leon-at least 1x per yr, sometimes more- from age 2 to 18(they felt like my home!), numerous unnamed-or I was too young to know the names-pennsy trains between pgh & cinncinnati that sometimes wandered to richmond/ft wayne first, ditto B&O, P&LE.

 

[rrdude]

Welcome, in the butchered words of some Chicago mayor, I'm sure, "Post, and post often" to this community.

I'm assuming you are signed up for Amtrak's Guest Rewards, if not, do it know, and earn them points for free travel.

Sometimes the threads seem to go off into other directions, (hey, it's not always me) but in general a good, wise, and very differentiated group of rail activist!

 

[I always rode the Southern]

Oh yes, we use our guest rewards card for everything. And thanks for the welcome

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Hello everyone, very long time lurker finally excited to join and post. I think y'all give some great info and advice on amtrak in general, and especially regarding reward trips. I have one coming I'll be looking for some help on and figured I should introduce myself before I barge in on the conversations.

 

 

I have rode the trains all my life as my father was from Pa., mother from Ga.I have never enjoyed flying so once I grew up, I still went wherever possible by train, dragging hubby and kids along when possible.

 

My credentials are as follows, and oh, the stories I could tell: :giggle:

 

auto train-first time 1979, now, every trip north, silver star-many, silver meteor-several, but I prefer the star cause who wants to

 

ride the bus to tampa or orlando, capital limited-many, many times-, pennsylvanian, 3 rivers, california

 

zephyr-cc trip west, coast starlight, surfliner, southwest chief-cc trip east, crescent, city of new orleans, broadway limited, city of miami, royal palm and ponce de leon-at least 1x per yr, sometimes more- from age 2 to 18(they felt like my home!), numerous unnamed-or I was too young to know the names-pennsy trains between pgh & cinncinnati that sometimes wandered to richmond/ft wayne first, ditto B&O, P&LE.

Welcome aboard. I grew up in Chattanooga with the Southern RR and the Louisville and Nashville RR, and am 66 years young. I now live in Atlanta just a few blocks from the Amtrak station.

Though I actually rode L&N more, I do have some neat Southern RR memories. On a regular basis I would hop at bus into town on Saturday morning and eat lunch at the Krystal near Terminal Station (which is now the Chattanooga Choo Choo). I would watch the Pelican arrive at 11.50 a.m from New Orleans and Birmingham. Then the Royal Palm would arrive at 12.10 from Florida points and Atlanta. Then the Pelican would leave at 12.20 pm for Knoxville, Washington and New York. The Royal Palm would leave at 12.30 pm for Cincinnati and Detroit.

So far as I can recall, I never saw one train miss another. But I do know there was a little flagstop in Ooltewah, TN, in the far out reaches of Chattanooga that could be used as a back up place to change trains if one was running late and would miss the other at the downtown station That community was so small the trains probably would not otherwise even have a station there.

Please do not hesitate to post some more (or e mail me) if you would like some memories fine tuned and I will be glad to help if I can.

To think they actually sold tickets back then to make connections so tight.

But now that I think of it I remember being on the Pelican one day as a passenger from Knoxville to Chattanooga. We did swap out passengers at Ooltewah.I do not remember which train was late, mine or the Palm. This would be the meeting of the southbounds; the scenario described earlier was the northbound. Tight connections in either case.

 

[I always rode the Southern]

Hi Bill,

We may well have seen each other from the window when young, I well remember the pelican sometimes sitting next to us on the tracks. We rode from Cincy to Rome-my home town. Things I remember most about chattanooga station- how huge it seemed and how much activity you could see from the train, the excitement of backing in, and those wonderful wooden wagons where we would get sandwiches for lunch.!

I have to run out now, but love to talk to you more later!

 

[the_traveler]

Welcome to the dis-functional AU family!

We may well have seen each other from the window when young, I well remember the pelican sometimes sitting next to us on the tracks

And you didn't wave?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Welcome to the dis-functional AU family!

We may well have seen each other from the window when young, I well remember the pelican sometimes sitting next to us on the tracks

And you didn't wave?

Now behave yourself Traveler!!!

 

[the_traveler]

Now behave yourself Traveler!!!

Me? Behave?

NEVER!

 

[I always rode the Southern]

Welcome to the dis-functional AU family!

We may well have seen each other from the window when young, I well remember the pelican sometimes sitting next to us on the tracks

And you didn't wave?

Well, of course I waved! I just didn't know it was Bill :lol: :lol:

And I still wave to passing trains, be they passenger or freight. Still get a thrill when the engineer returns my wave by whistle.