Shotgun7
Service Attendant
One of the many reasons I never make plans for times like my two week Winter Break vacation is the prospect of being able to travel at a moment's notice to an undetermined destination for an undetermined amount of time. This year, I limited myself to my home state and with a backpack in tow, family and friends all over, and a Florida Rail Pass in hand, typical traveling handicaps like hotel charges and transportation fares eluded my concerns.
After driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa on the 27th and spending three days with family, I decided it was time to take advantage of my situation. I called some friends back home, discovering that Tuesday, the 30th, was the right time to head back out. I met an on time Silver Star, PO91-29, at Tampa Union Station and proceeded to grab a seat in the second of five coaches of today's very full train. I'm sure it's common around this time of year, but this was the first time I'd ever seen more than four coaches on any Florida train (every one of em was full too). Amtrak must be running the hell out of their single level trainsets in these weeks because the outside of every Amfleet II car this train shared a common shade of brown splotched over the once bright blue stripe and glistening staneless steel. As the train approached Lakeland, I began to make my way to the nearly empty unrefurbished diner. Along my way there, I looked out the windows and made a mental note to visit Plant City one day. They hold the annual strawberry festival and everything from mailboxes to the watertower are shaped and painted like strawberries. All coaches but one had electrical strips and the lounge was one of the few amfleets left that still resembles a lounge. Today's special in the diner was chicken in mushroom sauce over rice. Sounds simple, but it turned out to be more than fantastic. One of the best dishes I've ever enjoyed on Amtrak. That and the older, bigger Heritage windows more than made up for the car's decrepit red and white interior. As I enjoyed my feast, I shared a conversation with my tablemate and one of the SA's, discussing the hardships of working the diner. Did you know that much of the OBS crew actually has to stay on the train up to five hours after passengers leave in Hialeah?? I gave the poor old girl some credit... she certainly looked exhausted after four days on the rails, with three hour's sleep per night. After my unusually long lunch, I headed back into the lounge where I made about four new friends, including 91's conductor who originated in TPA. Upon departing Palm Beach, it was kind of fun to watch as we paced Tri-Rail into Delray. The engineers were racing each other for a few minutes there. We finally overtook that screaming GP-49 just before Delray, where I left my newfound friends and got onto that Tri-Rail train for the ride south to Pompano.
After a fun night with friends back home, I pondered what I would do for New Year's Eve the next day. Hmm... why not take a train to see friends in Sarasota?! And so, with an urge to leave early, I arrived at Pompano Tri-Rail Station in plenty of time to catch the northbound to DFB... or so I thought. P616, most likely led by an aging F40PHL-2, had a power failure just south of Sheridan Street Station. The next northbound and southbound were both scheduled to arrive at either Deerfield or Ft. Lauderdale after Amtrak. Crap! After several calls to Tri-Rail, I found out that yes, PO98-31 would most likely pass up ahead of TRCX P616. I sat stuck in Pompano waiting for a miracle... when it came! Somehow, the northbound 618 which was supposedly behind 98 had passed it up and arrived in Pompano just in time for me to get to Deerfield! Needless to say, I boarded 98 as a happy guy. This train looked identical to yesterday's 91, save for the Diner-Lite lounge car. By this point, I was all out of cash and so pretty much hung out in the overcrowded lounge across from an antisocial old guy all the way up to WTH. Now apart from wanting to leave early, I got off here specifically to pay a visit to my friends at the HarborSide Steak House about a quarter mile from the station on Lake Shippe. They've got to make the best food in Central FL, with a great view in a peaceful location. Whoever recommended that place to me from this forum, thank you!
So now with a full stomach and several root beers in me, I proceeded back to the station to await the arrival of PO92-31. God, I love this town! Got to meet some hunters from the Carolinas and a WTH native who talked about grapefruit like Bubba talked about shrimp in Forrest Gump. And since there's a citrus packing plant on the other side of the station, now I know what to buy in bulk next time I'm in WTH. Today's 92 was the same consist and operating crew as yesterday's 91. Needless to say, the conductor was a tad bit surprised to see me again... and was clueless as to how I ended up in Winter Haven. BTW, all of these trains mentioned so far have been overbooked with five coaches each. My new grapefruit connoseur friend was also may tablemate in the lounge car for the short trip to Tampa. We shared some beers and some great stories... damn do I love travelling by train! Where else do you suddenly and randomly become friends with so many very different people??? Upon arriving once again into Tampa Union Station, I wished my newfound friends a happy new year, found my ride, and spent New Year's Eve and day in Sarasota with some friends and family. It wasn't long before I was once again invited to some good times in S. Florida and departed for the east coast.
On January 2nd, I caught 2009's first ever southbound Silver Star, PO91-01, and with some newly found cash in hand, I went up for lunch about five minutes before pulling out of TPA. Since I had a pass to go anywhere, I had the unique opportunity to respond, "Oh, I don't know... Winter Haven maybe??" when the coach attendant asked me where I was headed to. Finally, though, on my fourth train this week, I got a Temoinsa rebuild for a diner. I walked past the blue and fake wood-encased Diner-Lite lounge car, through the white, pink, and aquamarine paneled hallway of the diner, and was finally seated by the cook in the center of the car. Four other groups would also be eating as I was and I proceeded to strike up conversations with every one of them. A South Carolina woman was headed down to Miami to visit her sister. There was a couple from central Massachussetts travelling in a bedroom down to Ft. Lauderdale. Another man from New York booked a roomette to somewhere around Miami. All of them had their share of interesting stories to tell. I ate most of my lunch (same great meal as the last) speaking with Craig, who's usually working the lounge but had recently gained the seniority to work as LSA this trip. Yes, I've finally reached the point where most of the crews on all the Florida trains know me by first name. And being allowed to sit in the diner for a decent while after I'm done eating and enjoy my soda is a definite perk!
Finally, I headed back into the lounge to find some new faces. Among those travelling today were a world travelling student from Palestine, a school teacher from somewhere in Central Florida, and a guy from Long Island who's profession I didn't catch, but had clearly seen some pretty interesting places. Even with a long stop at West Palm, the Silver Star screeched into Deerfield early (you can always tell how hard the breaks are applied by how hard the people on the platform are covering their ears, lol)!
My ride home concluded my travels this Winter Break, which included these Amtrak trips, plus several Tri-Rail/MetroRail jaunts to/from southern Miami, and various road trips, including Tampa, Sarasota and Okeechobee. If I had known I'd be posting a trip report, I would've taken a gazillion pictures. I've travelled throughout Florida so many times now that I keep my camera in my bag, but I usually don't bother taking it out. I suppose I could've taken pictures with all the people I met, but other than that, you can only have so many repetitious train pictures in the same locations.
I can never wait for my next Amtrak trek, no matter how short or long. There really is no substitute that compares with the mindset and experiences achieved on the last form of viable transportation on this continent that focuses on passenger comfort and the journey itself.
Thanks for reading,
Paul Summers
After driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa on the 27th and spending three days with family, I decided it was time to take advantage of my situation. I called some friends back home, discovering that Tuesday, the 30th, was the right time to head back out. I met an on time Silver Star, PO91-29, at Tampa Union Station and proceeded to grab a seat in the second of five coaches of today's very full train. I'm sure it's common around this time of year, but this was the first time I'd ever seen more than four coaches on any Florida train (every one of em was full too). Amtrak must be running the hell out of their single level trainsets in these weeks because the outside of every Amfleet II car this train shared a common shade of brown splotched over the once bright blue stripe and glistening staneless steel. As the train approached Lakeland, I began to make my way to the nearly empty unrefurbished diner. Along my way there, I looked out the windows and made a mental note to visit Plant City one day. They hold the annual strawberry festival and everything from mailboxes to the watertower are shaped and painted like strawberries. All coaches but one had electrical strips and the lounge was one of the few amfleets left that still resembles a lounge. Today's special in the diner was chicken in mushroom sauce over rice. Sounds simple, but it turned out to be more than fantastic. One of the best dishes I've ever enjoyed on Amtrak. That and the older, bigger Heritage windows more than made up for the car's decrepit red and white interior. As I enjoyed my feast, I shared a conversation with my tablemate and one of the SA's, discussing the hardships of working the diner. Did you know that much of the OBS crew actually has to stay on the train up to five hours after passengers leave in Hialeah?? I gave the poor old girl some credit... she certainly looked exhausted after four days on the rails, with three hour's sleep per night. After my unusually long lunch, I headed back into the lounge where I made about four new friends, including 91's conductor who originated in TPA. Upon departing Palm Beach, it was kind of fun to watch as we paced Tri-Rail into Delray. The engineers were racing each other for a few minutes there. We finally overtook that screaming GP-49 just before Delray, where I left my newfound friends and got onto that Tri-Rail train for the ride south to Pompano.
After a fun night with friends back home, I pondered what I would do for New Year's Eve the next day. Hmm... why not take a train to see friends in Sarasota?! And so, with an urge to leave early, I arrived at Pompano Tri-Rail Station in plenty of time to catch the northbound to DFB... or so I thought. P616, most likely led by an aging F40PHL-2, had a power failure just south of Sheridan Street Station. The next northbound and southbound were both scheduled to arrive at either Deerfield or Ft. Lauderdale after Amtrak. Crap! After several calls to Tri-Rail, I found out that yes, PO98-31 would most likely pass up ahead of TRCX P616. I sat stuck in Pompano waiting for a miracle... when it came! Somehow, the northbound 618 which was supposedly behind 98 had passed it up and arrived in Pompano just in time for me to get to Deerfield! Needless to say, I boarded 98 as a happy guy. This train looked identical to yesterday's 91, save for the Diner-Lite lounge car. By this point, I was all out of cash and so pretty much hung out in the overcrowded lounge across from an antisocial old guy all the way up to WTH. Now apart from wanting to leave early, I got off here specifically to pay a visit to my friends at the HarborSide Steak House about a quarter mile from the station on Lake Shippe. They've got to make the best food in Central FL, with a great view in a peaceful location. Whoever recommended that place to me from this forum, thank you!
So now with a full stomach and several root beers in me, I proceeded back to the station to await the arrival of PO92-31. God, I love this town! Got to meet some hunters from the Carolinas and a WTH native who talked about grapefruit like Bubba talked about shrimp in Forrest Gump. And since there's a citrus packing plant on the other side of the station, now I know what to buy in bulk next time I'm in WTH. Today's 92 was the same consist and operating crew as yesterday's 91. Needless to say, the conductor was a tad bit surprised to see me again... and was clueless as to how I ended up in Winter Haven. BTW, all of these trains mentioned so far have been overbooked with five coaches each. My new grapefruit connoseur friend was also may tablemate in the lounge car for the short trip to Tampa. We shared some beers and some great stories... damn do I love travelling by train! Where else do you suddenly and randomly become friends with so many very different people??? Upon arriving once again into Tampa Union Station, I wished my newfound friends a happy new year, found my ride, and spent New Year's Eve and day in Sarasota with some friends and family. It wasn't long before I was once again invited to some good times in S. Florida and departed for the east coast.
On January 2nd, I caught 2009's first ever southbound Silver Star, PO91-01, and with some newly found cash in hand, I went up for lunch about five minutes before pulling out of TPA. Since I had a pass to go anywhere, I had the unique opportunity to respond, "Oh, I don't know... Winter Haven maybe??" when the coach attendant asked me where I was headed to. Finally, though, on my fourth train this week, I got a Temoinsa rebuild for a diner. I walked past the blue and fake wood-encased Diner-Lite lounge car, through the white, pink, and aquamarine paneled hallway of the diner, and was finally seated by the cook in the center of the car. Four other groups would also be eating as I was and I proceeded to strike up conversations with every one of them. A South Carolina woman was headed down to Miami to visit her sister. There was a couple from central Massachussetts travelling in a bedroom down to Ft. Lauderdale. Another man from New York booked a roomette to somewhere around Miami. All of them had their share of interesting stories to tell. I ate most of my lunch (same great meal as the last) speaking with Craig, who's usually working the lounge but had recently gained the seniority to work as LSA this trip. Yes, I've finally reached the point where most of the crews on all the Florida trains know me by first name. And being allowed to sit in the diner for a decent while after I'm done eating and enjoy my soda is a definite perk!
Finally, I headed back into the lounge to find some new faces. Among those travelling today were a world travelling student from Palestine, a school teacher from somewhere in Central Florida, and a guy from Long Island who's profession I didn't catch, but had clearly seen some pretty interesting places. Even with a long stop at West Palm, the Silver Star screeched into Deerfield early (you can always tell how hard the breaks are applied by how hard the people on the platform are covering their ears, lol)!My ride home concluded my travels this Winter Break, which included these Amtrak trips, plus several Tri-Rail/MetroRail jaunts to/from southern Miami, and various road trips, including Tampa, Sarasota and Okeechobee. If I had known I'd be posting a trip report, I would've taken a gazillion pictures. I've travelled throughout Florida so many times now that I keep my camera in my bag, but I usually don't bother taking it out. I suppose I could've taken pictures with all the people I met, but other than that, you can only have so many repetitious train pictures in the same locations.
I can never wait for my next Amtrak trek, no matter how short or long. There really is no substitute that compares with the mindset and experiences achieved on the last form of viable transportation on this continent that focuses on passenger comfort and the journey itself.
Thanks for reading,
Paul Summers
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