Acela150
Super Buff
With two days off from the crazy chaos of Target I looked at my AGR promo's.. Said well it's double points time.. I have an Acela Promo.. Let's go places.. So I made the decision to head to Boston. Which lead to a Doctors appointment 10 minutes from Paoli. Which lead to well why not goto Harrisburg to kill time. After all of that crazy decision making my final Reservations were made. The Amazing Super Steve's travels would include a round trip to Paoli from Philadelphia. A round trip to Harrisburg from Philadelphia, and the "Big One" a round trip from Philly to Boston.
The Amazing Super Steve got home from work on Wednesday and Got ready for a two day getaway. packing, A change of clothes, the laptop, movies, the scanner, and of course the camera. Well Wednesday became Thursday, and at 715am The Amazing Super Steve took off for the Bus Stop with a stop at a "deli" for a quick and dirty breakfast sandwich on the go. When the bus got to Norristown Transportation Center there was a P & W car pulling in. Swiped the Trailpass and sat down for the 30-40 minute ride to 69th Street Terminal. The Car arrived at 69th Street and I grabbed a couple shots. A double car train was about to leave and quickly left after I got my pictures. I then hopped the Market Frankford Line to 30th Street. Of course I sat in the railfan seat. The operator was nice enough to go slow at every photo op. When I arrived at 30th Street it was a little before 10 and a few trains were boarding. The Vermonter and the 10am Keystoner to Harrisburg. IIRC the hourly Acela was a tad behind and was on it's "Final Call" for New York. After walking around a bit I noticed the old McDonalds which is becoming a Jersey Mike's and Wendy's is near completion and should be open by now for the Masses that will come through this weekend.
Segment 1: PHL-PAO Train 643
While in line for train 643 to Paoli. I saw a railfan friend of mine. I yelled out "Hey Bob"! I mentioned I was going to Paoli for points and he was heading to Downingtown. We sat in the quiet car and counted the number of Silverliner II's and III's left at Overbrook. When I got off at Paoli we parted ways and said "See you at the mad rush" Referring to this upcoming Sunday. When I got off the train I took my photos and a C&S crew was present. One said "Railfan or any fan"? My reply was "rail fan this world wouldn't exist without them". They all laughed.
Segment 2: PAO- PHL Train 42
Train 42 was pulling in and the camera was out. Snapped a shot of P42 42. How the that worked out I have no idea. While in line to board the conductor was looking for her Business Class passenger. I was towards the back but I said "that's me, I'm business class". After a long while she finally scanned my ticket/phone and I was set. I had a nice conversation with a gentlemen who was heading to New York. He had some nice stories.
During the brief layover at PHL I grabbed a bottle of water to last me a while.
Segment 3: PHL-HAR Train 647
As usual Amtrak failed to post the stairway for train 647 until 42 was well out of the station. But the regulars lined up at Stairway 7 well in advance of a stairway posting. While in a long line with the regulars. 93, 2168, and 19 boarded. When I boarded the train only backwards seats remained in the quiet car. One problem. One signed showed it was the quiet car. The train departed on time. Conductors started their scans and punches. When announcements were made not one was made about the quiet car. Of course the QC was filled with Amtrak employees who know each other and who wouldn't shut up. Still trying to figure out who to complain to about that.. The train was about 5 minutes late at Harrisburg and lined up next to 656. Snapped a quick picture of 656 which had 942 in the lead. Some how I snuck a brief 30 minute nap in on that train.
Segment 4: HAR-PHL Train 618
For those AU members who came to the gathering this year and went to Harrisburg. The crew that was on our return train which was 670. Was the crew on 618. Listening on the scanner the female conductor would say after most stations. "618 2 to go" figure that out.. I'm used to hearing something a ton fancier then that. It's always "Train xxxx ok to depart on signal indication no form d's" yada yada... The train was quiet until the people who don't know how to shut up got on at Lancaster. The train was early at every station and 7 minutes early at PHL.
My 4 hour layover:
When I got off 618 I hit the mens room. I then walked from 30th street to 24th and Fairmount Avenue to get a Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak at Pete's Famous Pizza. A Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak is: A cheesesteak made with chicken meat instead of beef with Buffalo sauce and blue cheese. It's really good! I then walked to a place where I used to live which had an excellent view of the Northern End of 30th Street. The person who I got along with best was there and we talked for 30 minutes before I walked back to 30th Street. I returned to 30th street and watched 198 board 50 minutes late. To make it better 177 and 198 pulled in at the same time and masses of passengers flowed into Philadelphia at once. When 1010 rolled around I knew 66 would be departing WAS soon. 10 minutes later I checked it's status. Arrived at 945 but no departure time listed. At 1050 a departure time was listed. It departed 45 minutes late. Made up some time. 10 minutes before arrival at PHL the board changed to show it 40 minutes late. When the boarding announcement was made people flocked to Stairway 5. Although he made the boarding call at a bad time. 639 was arriving when he made the boarding call. They changed 639 to 6 track from an earlier call of 7 or 8. So I battled the stairs with people from 639. Way to take the Stairs.. Not so Amazing..
Segment 5: Train 66 PHL-BOS BC
When I arrived on the platform there were tugs ready to go with three or four carts of donations for Sandy Victims. So the train pulled in 15 minutes later. Ctec-5 contacted 66 telling him he's arriving on 5 track and about 7 minutes later Toaster 923 pulled in with a train in tow. The baggage car was stopped right in front of the tugs with the carts. So I walked up to the BC door. The conductor got off and a few people got off. He asked "Business Class? 'Yes sir' To the right". It took about 10 minutes for the donations to be loaded. After the doors were keyed the conductor says on the radio "66 lets goto Trenton were done here at Philly let's go"! He scanned my ticket and off for some sleep I went. I was awoken in NWK by a buzzing and then an E-Bell. The familiar sounds of an AC AEM-7. We stopped at the NJ Turnpike underpass. I hear a clicking from the toaster. I'm thinking "Oh god, dead toaster.." 30 minutes later we were underway. Turned out to be a fire on a Cat car If I'm correct. We arrived in New York and there were so many donations from WAS, BAL, WIL, and PHL that the workers were not happy about the work load. It took them an hour and 20 trips to get it done. Once the train got underway it was quick. When we arrived at New Haven they quickly changed engines and made our way towards Boston. We arrived in Boston an hour late.
Layover in Boston:
When I arrived in Boston I got some shots of the P42 leading and then found a place for breakfast. While no my way back to South Station to catch the Subway I saw AU user J1-3235. So I yelled out. "Hey You AU"! Mike and I had a nice conversation. I then set off for the red line. I ended up at North Station and then Oak Grove on the Orange Line. Headed out the Airport on the Blue Line where someone asked me if I had a permit to take pictures which I cleared up later in the day. That was quickly taken care of and I moved on to the "C" trolley to Cleveland Circle where when I came up the stairs from the Blue Line there was a perfect connection. That was a very nice ride. I passed the Reservoir Car Barn and hopped on the "D" trolley. On which I said to the operator.. "I'm from philly how does this work? We don't have smart fares." It quickly turned into a friendly conversation. As he's from Philadelphia. We had a nice conversation all the way from Reservoir to Government Center. At Government Center I got off and walked to Quincy Market. Mom wanted a Boston Mug. Picked that up and was on my way. Got to Government Center and headed to Park Street to Connect to the Red Line. Got to South Station and got a Mickey D's burger and then headed to the Lounge to exchange my ticket. The attendant who was stunning. Had some trouble exchanging the ticket. Once that was resolved I changed clothes and sat with no 35 pounds backpack or camera bag on me. Felt really good.
Made some calls. Made some posts here. Then boarded.
Segment 6: Train 2173 BOS-PHL FC
With a little bit of luck I secured a seat in First Class at 430 in the morning. When I checked to see what was left only FC seats were left. So I got lucky with that. I "preboared" Got a Red Cap. Poor Guy... There were about 30-40 people from an Asian Country who of course wanted to ride Acela. Who had two overflowing carts of baggage. He said to me when we got on the platform and about a car lengths down. First Class is the first car if you wanna walk ahead. I said thanks and said here's 5 bucks because your dealing with them.. I said something else that made him laugh. Something to the effect of they won't tip you cause they just won't understand. He got a good laugh out of it though. I felt bad for the guy. I got to the first class car and was the first on board. It takes a 21 year old railfan to out smart business travelers who make 80 grand a year. So that was a bit of a laugh to me. They handed out menus. Which I was surprised. A brand new style of menu. Looks nice. For dinner I had the chicken. Was pretty good. But to my disappointment I was only served one meal and the service subpar and the one attendant was somewhat partial to the regular clients of 2173. The ride was nice but the service was disappointing. Since I got the service for Free. I guess I get what I pay for. :lol: I arrived at PHL on-time and waited for the ride home. Mom of course being my ride. How she got lost I have no idea. I ended up home and enjoyed sleep that wasn't on a train.
I will post my pictures when I get a chance.
Overall I should get about 3,000 points from this trip. What an enjoyable trip it was. I'll have to do it again!
Steve
The Amazing Super Steve got home from work on Wednesday and Got ready for a two day getaway. packing, A change of clothes, the laptop, movies, the scanner, and of course the camera. Well Wednesday became Thursday, and at 715am The Amazing Super Steve took off for the Bus Stop with a stop at a "deli" for a quick and dirty breakfast sandwich on the go. When the bus got to Norristown Transportation Center there was a P & W car pulling in. Swiped the Trailpass and sat down for the 30-40 minute ride to 69th Street Terminal. The Car arrived at 69th Street and I grabbed a couple shots. A double car train was about to leave and quickly left after I got my pictures. I then hopped the Market Frankford Line to 30th Street. Of course I sat in the railfan seat. The operator was nice enough to go slow at every photo op. When I arrived at 30th Street it was a little before 10 and a few trains were boarding. The Vermonter and the 10am Keystoner to Harrisburg. IIRC the hourly Acela was a tad behind and was on it's "Final Call" for New York. After walking around a bit I noticed the old McDonalds which is becoming a Jersey Mike's and Wendy's is near completion and should be open by now for the Masses that will come through this weekend.
Segment 1: PHL-PAO Train 643
While in line for train 643 to Paoli. I saw a railfan friend of mine. I yelled out "Hey Bob"! I mentioned I was going to Paoli for points and he was heading to Downingtown. We sat in the quiet car and counted the number of Silverliner II's and III's left at Overbrook. When I got off at Paoli we parted ways and said "See you at the mad rush" Referring to this upcoming Sunday. When I got off the train I took my photos and a C&S crew was present. One said "Railfan or any fan"? My reply was "rail fan this world wouldn't exist without them". They all laughed.
Segment 2: PAO- PHL Train 42
Train 42 was pulling in and the camera was out. Snapped a shot of P42 42. How the that worked out I have no idea. While in line to board the conductor was looking for her Business Class passenger. I was towards the back but I said "that's me, I'm business class". After a long while she finally scanned my ticket/phone and I was set. I had a nice conversation with a gentlemen who was heading to New York. He had some nice stories.
During the brief layover at PHL I grabbed a bottle of water to last me a while.
Segment 3: PHL-HAR Train 647
As usual Amtrak failed to post the stairway for train 647 until 42 was well out of the station. But the regulars lined up at Stairway 7 well in advance of a stairway posting. While in a long line with the regulars. 93, 2168, and 19 boarded. When I boarded the train only backwards seats remained in the quiet car. One problem. One signed showed it was the quiet car. The train departed on time. Conductors started their scans and punches. When announcements were made not one was made about the quiet car. Of course the QC was filled with Amtrak employees who know each other and who wouldn't shut up. Still trying to figure out who to complain to about that.. The train was about 5 minutes late at Harrisburg and lined up next to 656. Snapped a quick picture of 656 which had 942 in the lead. Some how I snuck a brief 30 minute nap in on that train.
Segment 4: HAR-PHL Train 618
For those AU members who came to the gathering this year and went to Harrisburg. The crew that was on our return train which was 670. Was the crew on 618. Listening on the scanner the female conductor would say after most stations. "618 2 to go" figure that out.. I'm used to hearing something a ton fancier then that. It's always "Train xxxx ok to depart on signal indication no form d's" yada yada... The train was quiet until the people who don't know how to shut up got on at Lancaster. The train was early at every station and 7 minutes early at PHL.
My 4 hour layover:
When I got off 618 I hit the mens room. I then walked from 30th street to 24th and Fairmount Avenue to get a Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak at Pete's Famous Pizza. A Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak is: A cheesesteak made with chicken meat instead of beef with Buffalo sauce and blue cheese. It's really good! I then walked to a place where I used to live which had an excellent view of the Northern End of 30th Street. The person who I got along with best was there and we talked for 30 minutes before I walked back to 30th Street. I returned to 30th street and watched 198 board 50 minutes late. To make it better 177 and 198 pulled in at the same time and masses of passengers flowed into Philadelphia at once. When 1010 rolled around I knew 66 would be departing WAS soon. 10 minutes later I checked it's status. Arrived at 945 but no departure time listed. At 1050 a departure time was listed. It departed 45 minutes late. Made up some time. 10 minutes before arrival at PHL the board changed to show it 40 minutes late. When the boarding announcement was made people flocked to Stairway 5. Although he made the boarding call at a bad time. 639 was arriving when he made the boarding call. They changed 639 to 6 track from an earlier call of 7 or 8. So I battled the stairs with people from 639. Way to take the Stairs.. Not so Amazing..
Segment 5: Train 66 PHL-BOS BC
When I arrived on the platform there were tugs ready to go with three or four carts of donations for Sandy Victims. So the train pulled in 15 minutes later. Ctec-5 contacted 66 telling him he's arriving on 5 track and about 7 minutes later Toaster 923 pulled in with a train in tow. The baggage car was stopped right in front of the tugs with the carts. So I walked up to the BC door. The conductor got off and a few people got off. He asked "Business Class? 'Yes sir' To the right". It took about 10 minutes for the donations to be loaded. After the doors were keyed the conductor says on the radio "66 lets goto Trenton were done here at Philly let's go"! He scanned my ticket and off for some sleep I went. I was awoken in NWK by a buzzing and then an E-Bell. The familiar sounds of an AC AEM-7. We stopped at the NJ Turnpike underpass. I hear a clicking from the toaster. I'm thinking "Oh god, dead toaster.." 30 minutes later we were underway. Turned out to be a fire on a Cat car If I'm correct. We arrived in New York and there were so many donations from WAS, BAL, WIL, and PHL that the workers were not happy about the work load. It took them an hour and 20 trips to get it done. Once the train got underway it was quick. When we arrived at New Haven they quickly changed engines and made our way towards Boston. We arrived in Boston an hour late.
Layover in Boston:
When I arrived in Boston I got some shots of the P42 leading and then found a place for breakfast. While no my way back to South Station to catch the Subway I saw AU user J1-3235. So I yelled out. "Hey You AU"! Mike and I had a nice conversation. I then set off for the red line. I ended up at North Station and then Oak Grove on the Orange Line. Headed out the Airport on the Blue Line where someone asked me if I had a permit to take pictures which I cleared up later in the day. That was quickly taken care of and I moved on to the "C" trolley to Cleveland Circle where when I came up the stairs from the Blue Line there was a perfect connection. That was a very nice ride. I passed the Reservoir Car Barn and hopped on the "D" trolley. On which I said to the operator.. "I'm from philly how does this work? We don't have smart fares." It quickly turned into a friendly conversation. As he's from Philadelphia. We had a nice conversation all the way from Reservoir to Government Center. At Government Center I got off and walked to Quincy Market. Mom wanted a Boston Mug. Picked that up and was on my way. Got to Government Center and headed to Park Street to Connect to the Red Line. Got to South Station and got a Mickey D's burger and then headed to the Lounge to exchange my ticket. The attendant who was stunning. Had some trouble exchanging the ticket. Once that was resolved I changed clothes and sat with no 35 pounds backpack or camera bag on me. Felt really good.
Made some calls. Made some posts here. Then boarded.Segment 6: Train 2173 BOS-PHL FC
With a little bit of luck I secured a seat in First Class at 430 in the morning. When I checked to see what was left only FC seats were left. So I got lucky with that. I "preboared" Got a Red Cap. Poor Guy... There were about 30-40 people from an Asian Country who of course wanted to ride Acela. Who had two overflowing carts of baggage. He said to me when we got on the platform and about a car lengths down. First Class is the first car if you wanna walk ahead. I said thanks and said here's 5 bucks because your dealing with them.. I said something else that made him laugh. Something to the effect of they won't tip you cause they just won't understand. He got a good laugh out of it though. I felt bad for the guy. I got to the first class car and was the first on board. It takes a 21 year old railfan to out smart business travelers who make 80 grand a year. So that was a bit of a laugh to me. They handed out menus. Which I was surprised. A brand new style of menu. Looks nice. For dinner I had the chicken. Was pretty good. But to my disappointment I was only served one meal and the service subpar and the one attendant was somewhat partial to the regular clients of 2173. The ride was nice but the service was disappointing. Since I got the service for Free. I guess I get what I pay for. :lol: I arrived at PHL on-time and waited for the ride home. Mom of course being my ride. How she got lost I have no idea. I ended up home and enjoyed sleep that wasn't on a train.
I will post my pictures when I get a chance.
Overall I should get about 3,000 points from this trip. What an enjoyable trip it was. I'll have to do it again!
Steve
