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Amfleet

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Aug 24, 2002
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3,390
Location
Southeastern, Massachusetts
What was it that got you into riding trains? Was it the peacefulness of speeding along at 80 miles per hour through the wide-open cotton fields of Virginia in your cozy coach seat or was it playing a game of cards in the Lounge with a group of newly made friends. Today our world is caught up in the need for speed; cell phones, cable Internet, airplanes, interstate highways, but at any point did you ever want to slow down and take a minute to reflect back on your inner self. It all happened by accident, but my first ride on the Auto Train I new would never be my last. Put aside rail fanning as a hobby, traveling by train has come to mean a lot more to me in this hectic teenage world of mine.

So my question to you is how did you fall into traveling by train? What moments do you treasure? Travel by train is certainly unique, a constant in time and even though there has been a jump in technology, the basics stay the same.
 
Here's my story, as a young boy I enjoyed playing with Lionel's. It grew to include a coke train, an Amtrak, and 2 NJ Transits, a pullman set, plus my dad's stuff. That intrest grew to NJ Transit and riding it. It expanded to be primarily Amtrak. In February 1999 my mom, brothers and I took the Silver Meteor to Florida as opposed to the plane. First we were going to take coach, but then decided on a deluxe sleeper. I grew to be obsessed with Viewliners, after riding 62036 "Skyline View". Learning a lot about the prototypes. In June 1999 My Dad and I took the Metroliner Round trip from Newark-Washington D.C. That was when Acela name first began, along with the classes. Ever since, We've taken the Silver Meteor round trip in February. Last April we took it to Orlando, but had to get off in JAX b/c of the Auto Train Derailment, and returned on the Silver Star. This year the trip is in March, and I'm looking forward to it.

What moments don't I treasure? (aside from some unfriendly Crew in the diner)

My top three trips:

3) Metroliner to Washington, June 1999; Encountered and photo graphed "Beech Grove"

2) Silver Star from Orlando to Newark, April 2002; Got to travel with my whole family, and got a Temoinsa Rebuilt Diner\

And the top trip...

The Silver Meteor from West Palm Beach to Newark, February 23-24, 2002, I saw Viewliner 62091 "Eastern View" (former Prototype Sleeper 2301).
 
Amfleet said:
What was it that got you into riding trains? Was it the peacefulness of speeding along at 80 miles per hour through the wide-open cotton fields of Virginia in your cozy coach seat or was it playing a game of cards in the Lounge with a group of newly made friends. Today our world is caught up in the need for speed; cell phones, cable Internet, airplanes, interstate highways, but at any point did you ever want to slow down and take a minute to reflect back on your inner self. It all happened by accident, but my first ride on the Auto Train I new would never be my last. Put aside rail fanning as a hobby, traveling by train has come to mean a lot more to me in this hectic teenage world of mine.
So my question to you is how did you fall into traveling by train? What moments do you treasure? Travel by train is certainly unique, a constant in time and even though there has been a jump in technology, the basics stay the same.
Click to expand...
I dont like flying. Going by rail is relaxing, its fun to spot stuff off the track..check out old unused track stuff, good excuse to be lazy too....it gets boring when you are in texas...but it's neat when you enter a yard and you see slugs for the first time....

going by train is an adventure!
 
Biggest advantage on train is taking too many naps. Or should I watch the scenery? How about meeting with people from all over the worlds in hours, not merely minutes in plane?

I got hooking up on trains after riding LA Metrolink for the first time. Just taking an adventure on my day off. I can remember that clearly. No adreliane to watch for cars on freeway, looking for parking spot in crowd area, or being stupid for a country guy driving in downtown LA.
 
The first thing that got me on the train was price. I was too broke to afford a airline ticket home for Christmas about three years ago, so my mom recommended I try Amtrak. Well, the rail fare was much closer to my price range, so I bought the tickets. Once I was enroute, the lure ceased being the price, but enjoying the trip. I discovered that the food in the dining car was pretty good, and that you can see a lot more of the world from the train than from the tiny airline windows. It also helps that the Amtrak station is a lot closer to my parents' house than the nearest airport with jetliner service (across town vs. 2 hour drive).

I also have to say that as an avid reader who has very little time to read on a day-to-day basis, it's nice to have that time to just relax and read!
 
I was taken on an overnight train trip at the age of three, and I was mesmerized by it, fixated on it and that has stayed with me since. I of course love the ambiance, the scenery, the food, the luxury and ability to be as private or as social as one desires.

I can truthfully say I cannot remember a time when I wasn't fascinated by trains.

Further, I actually think I have four or five memories of that trip at the age of 3. I have been told that that is an impressionable age and one can have memories that far back. I truly believe I do.. I remember the house and yard we lived in at that time and I really think I remember faint moments of that train trip.

Funny thing, the train I selected for a toy train at a slightly later age bore a strong resemblence to the train I had ridden...I really think those memories were permanently made at that time.
 
Thanks, Viewliner. I count myself as extremely blessed to have such a hobby. Many of my friends do not have any particular thing to enjoy like this. ....not to the extend that I enjoy trains.
 
I remember liking trains from an early age. My first overnight trip was on the Lone Star (Still Santa Fe). We rode in the sleeper.

However, I really got into it when I was about 8 years old in 1974. We took a trip to California by Amtrak. We rode the San Francisco Zephyr to Oakland, the San Joaquin to Bakersfield and bus to LA, and then the Southwest Limited from LA to Albequerque, and the back to Galesburg.

Moments to remember: Riding in the dome car in eastern Iowa watching signals change from green to Red. Standing in the vestibule with the dutch door open as they added cars in Denver. Discovering a full length dome car had been added in Denver. Seeing a Tornado in Wyoming. and Finally, the ride over Donner Pass.

We missed the Coast Starlight in Oakland and had to ride the San Joaquin. I remember the old coaches and a friendly conductor.

From LA, there was a mix up with the sleeping car accomodations, and each of us got a roomette. My older syster, who always played the maturity card, cried at the prospect of being alone. Me, I was ready for some railroading. After mom tucked me in, the shade went up, and I looked out the window for most of the night.

When we returned to Illinois, I continued to lobby for more train trips. Ultimately I started solo trips when I was about 10. My first overnight trip alone was on the Broadway from Harrisburg to Chicago. I ate in the dinner, and slept in a coach seat. Filling out the order card and paying the bill was a great adult experience, as well as leaving a tip. In any event, My enjoyment of trains will continue.
 
My 1st train trip was before Amtrak was even thought of. It was in

1963. My folks wanted to go from L.A. to New York, D.C., Boston, Phili-

delphia, and a lot of the rest of the East Coast. I was thrilled to go

by train, and enjoyed the whole trip. We took the Union Pacific, Santa

Fe, the C&O, the B&O and the Pennsylvania.

Since then, My wife and I have ridden Amtrak several times and have always enjoyed

the trip. We went from L.A. to Las Vegas on the old Desert Wind, from

L.A. to Tucson, and from L.A. up the coast.

I hope the Feds have the sense to keep Amtrak running. With the

volitale prices of gasoline today, and the possibilities of shortages

because of unrest in the Middle East, I think train travel makes a lot

of sense.

Let's keep on training.

:p
 
My grandfather took me on my first train trip when I was 11. We took the Zephyr (California, Denver, San Francisco, I don't know what it would have been called) from Ottumwa, Iowa to Chicago in October of 1971. This would have been during the early Amtrak days. I think most of the equipment was still Burlington Route livery. I have fairly distinct memories or riding in the Dome car in the rain and watching the signals change from green to red. I also remember the bathrooms and the soap dispensers that spat out this little paper-like slip of soap. I remember the toilets flushing directly onto the tracks. (Things like this are important to an 11-year-old!) Since this was only about a 5-hour trip, we didn't eat in the diner so I have no meal memories.

This was just an overnight trip but we went to the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, Marshall Field's and to the top of the Prudential Buidling. (At that time, it would have still been one of the taller builidings in Chicago but not the tallest anymore.) We also rode the subway for just a couple of stops so I could say I did it.

I still consider this trip one of the most fun moments of my life and is likely why I love trips to Chicago and love trips on the train. I've always thought I was born about 40 years too late and missed the glory days of train travel.

To quote Robert Louis Stevenson:

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

What better way is there to do exactly this than by train?

seajay
 
I grew up with trains in Europe, where they are the most convenient mode of transportation: safe, modern, fast, and reliable. I work for myself, and the work I do demands lots of travel and a great deal of solitary time on a computer. One day in 2000, when I was becoming frustrated with the parking and car rental hassles and the time I was wasting in airports, I recalled my pleasant European experiences with trains, and tried a short business trip on the Cascades from Portland to Seattle. My suspicions about wasted time were confirmed when I arrived in Seattle fully prepared for the next morning’s appointments. The big seat with the AC power outlet was like a little office to me. The snack bar in the next car was an extra bonus. Rather than slave away on the next day’s projects in my hotel room that night, I suddenly had free time: time to catch up on other work, or time to merely relax. I was convinced; my decision to start using Amtrak was a practical one to avoid the hassles and lost time in airports.

Most of my trips are over night ones on the Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited, or the Empire Builder. I am on one of these at least once a month. Even though my trips are much longer than they would be by air, all the time remains my own. The occasional nine-hour delay doesn’t matter; I’m in complete control of my circumstances. All of my stuff is close at hand, I can make phone calls and get onto the Internet (via my cellular phone), and I can get up and stretch. I am much more productive now that I’m using Amtrak. Regrettably, more than half of my travel is still by air. I am often required to be somewhere in North America on very short notice, and trains don’t go to Asia or Europe.

I’ve recently looked back on my new travel habits to realize the train has removed a tremendous amount of stress from my life and made me a better person. I used to be a nervous and intolerant person prone to frustration and anger over all the silly things that happen in airports: delays, rude staff, lost bags, flight cancellations, and missed appointments. Air travel forces us into a very controlled environment over which we have little control. When things go wrong, you are trapped: you are stuck in a metal tube on a taxiway for hours and your bags are in another city. What can you do? Today’s extra security measures, which the airlines call the “hassle factor,” only make things worse. The train allows me to avoid the hassles; I maintain control over my local environment. But it has also made me realize that delays and hassles don’t matter in life. There are much bigger things to worry about. I am a much more calm and tolerant person – a better person. I’m not the up tight jerk I used to be. Since joining this forum, I’ve also come to understand that simply looking out the window and meeting casual strangers is rewarding as well. I’m reminded of by European roots where the train is a civilized place in a hectic and dangerous world.
 
Amtrak watcher,you have made one of the best testimonies to the joys and reasonableness and practicality of train travel(where available) that I have ever heard or read in my life.

Many, many thanks for sharing this with us.

Speaking for myself, my trips are always pleasure, or personal.......I never travel on business....so it is really good to hear this from your perspective.
 
Bill Haithcoat:

And your remarks in this forum on the quiet pleasures of train travel have enhanced my otherwise utilitarian purposes. Thanks!
 
Amtrak Watcher-_You would be interested to know that many years ago the train was widely advertised as the way to do overnight business travel. One would leave the office about 5 or so, catch a train about 6 or so, have dinner, sleep and breakfast the next morning, arrive at your destination ready to do business. Similar trip back. Many city pairs were advertised this way, i.e. Chicago-Denver, NYC-CHI, Chicago-Atl, Los Angeles- SF, Chicago to New Orleans, Washington to Atl, the list is endless---trains very specifiaclly scheduled with the business traveler in mind.

Much as the California Zephyr has always been scheduled with scenery in mind, such as going through the rockies during the day.

Such trains would be advertised both in the newspapers as well as in the timetables, etc encouraging the business traveler. It meant the saving of hotel bills, since you would be sleeping on the train in each dfirection.

I grew up in Chattanooga, TN and my prime "role model" for a business train was an overnight streamliner called "The Georgian" which went from Chicago to Atlanta(and with a through sleeper and coach from St. Louis to Atlanta). with a schedule in each direcdtion like the one noted above. The timetables ALWAYS had such an ad directed at this train.
 
Interesting.

Though the European trains are so fast these days (I was on several only a few weeks ago) the over night issue seldom comes up. The remaining night trains are still scheduled this way. For example, last month I took a traditional night trian from Hannover to Paris. It left Hannover (northern Germany) at dinner time (dinner with good wine included), and arrived in Paris (North Station) immediately after a traditinal French breakfast the next morning. I got a good night's sleep in the sleeper, but I've never seen a shower on a European train. There was, however, live satellite TV and wireless broadband Internet access in the bistro car. I wish Amtrak had these features.

As for business travel with Amtrak, when going to Los Angeles for example, I generally depart with the Taxas Eagle from Dallas on Friday afternoon, which has me in LAX on Sunday morning. This leaves plenty of time for delays and easy connections with one of the Pacific Surfliners going up or down the California coast to my final destination. The late night departure of the east-bound Sunset Limited (Texas Eagle) out of LAX is ideal for those of us making connections with it from elsewhere in California.
 
As for the lack of showers on European trains...

I was wrong.

I just got scolded by a fellow Europen traveler who suggested I put my book down (for once), step out of my room, go down the hall, and use the common shower available for free. There is also a private shower in the fancy rooms, which I've never reserved: the double occupancy rooms are fine with me. Look here and then in the bottom right corner just above the train, click on "Komfortklassen" then on "Schlaffwagen" then on "360 panorama..." to take a tour of the German night train. You English-only readers need only click around the 360 panorama control panel (once you get there) to see everything.

I'll be sure to take advantage of the shower on my next trip. I'm sure my clients will appreciate it.
 
I traveled from Berlin to Paris on an overnight train a year and a half ago. We left Berlin Zoo Station about 9:20 PM and got into Paris about 9:30 AM the next morning. I don't know the exact route it took but I think it took us through Luxembourg.

At some point in the night our consist really got changed around. When we left Berlin, we were the first car behind the engine with our compartment seats facing forward. When we got up the next morning, we were now the LAST car and we were riding backwards. I think the change may have occurred in Hamburg but I don't know for sure.

The compartment was "compact" :lol: but very comfortable with a triple-bunk arrangement of beds. There was a shower room two doors down from our compartment. It actually looked fairly spacious as compared to those I've used on Superliner equipment (public shower room) but I didn't use it.

This was a great to travel between Berlin and Paris. We may have missed some scenery but we got full days in both Berlin and Paris.
 
I believe its Hamburg where you go into the station in one direction, and have to come out facing the other direction - since the train can't go through the station. I'm sure there is a special term for this situation. Sometimes they collect all the passports before going to bed so that the border police can check them without disturbing anyone (unless he's going to be arrested). They sometimes change engines at the border (in the middle of the night) due to some incompatibilities with radios or something like that.
 
Before going to Paris from Berlin, we came through Hamburg during the day on a train from Malmo, Sweden to Berlin. I thought I remembered it being a "through station" (I can't remember what the proper terminology is-- somebody help us out here!) but I could be wrong.

Regarding passports, interestingly enough I think we only showed the car attendant our passports with our tickets when we got on the Paris train in Berlin. He did not collect them to show any border personnel if and when we went through Luxembourg and we didn't have to show them to anybody in Paris when we got off the train. Of course, this was pre-9/11 and things may be a little tighter, even in Europe.

seajay
 
Amtrak Watcher -

I just recently read a survey in Russian posted on the excellent (but otherwise Russian only) web site of the Russian Ministry of Transportation.

As we know, Russians are free to travel abroad since a while. The on-line readers were sked, what kind of transporation they used to go abroad or to vacation.

It is obvios, that the Russians who go on-line and thke the vacation abroad are well-off. The results: surprize(?) - 70%(!) of the readers took the choo-choo (obviously not because they did not have a car).

----

Next month I am going to Colorado for a conference. I live in the Bay Area. I told my friend, I paid $79.60 for the round-trip. She was surprized: "Wow! What airline?"

I told her, the plane is called Genesis P42. :)

(OK, she knows, that even if I am going from Europe to Asia I usually fly on VL-11 or

sililar "airplane": http://parovoz.com/gallery/vl11-087.jpg)

How I will get to Longmont from Denver is actually more challanging, than the rest of the trip. I called hotel (they work with a shuttle company which brings the people from the airport). After I told them I am arriving at the Union Station, the staff seem to think, I am insane... Do we need more United/USAir/whoever Ch#11 to change their mind?

George
 
gyuri ft:

There seems to be something wrong with your VL-11 link.

I go to Longmont about twice a year (I stay in the Best Western), which is a considerable distance from Denver. I do it the same way you will, but from the other direction. I find that I need a car in Longmont. You could arrange a shared ride from Denver (1-800-873-2546)
 
The ChS-7 is not a bad "airplane" either.

http://parovoz.com/gallery/ChS7-134.jpg

Note the American couplers, the "snow" (or "cow?") - catcher and the corrugated streamliner design of the entire train, including the loco. This loco is built in Europe (Czech Republic, Skoda Works) - but it has a strong American flavor due the multiple unit design and the corrugated streamliner style.

It looks like the Russians and the Far Eastern railway companies of OSZHD did fall in love with American streamliner design of the 30-s.

Sad, but true: with the ongoing purchase of more than 200(!) Chinese-build streamliner sleepers the Iranian Railway will become an other stronghold of this "old" and "un-cool" American design.

Hello Mr. Gunn.......
 
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