What's your fave part of a train ride

[BLOND37]

for itd have to be when i am at PVD and i see the engine coming round the corner... i get on a nice clean train, get my pick of the seats... i'm sitting there and feel the little jolt as the break is released and i notice that we slowly start moving.,....

another face time is coming out of the tunnel at NYP... you get on and the train is going and going thru the tunnel and then swooooosh yur out in the day light... though it gets me a little sad as it means i am leaving NYC - a city i lived in and loved in, and loved for 2 years, and i still do love it...

if i could figure out a way to ride trains all day for free i would

 

[PetalumaLoco]

Wow, that's hard to say. Dining and meeting new people over dinner is high on my list. Sleeping in a roomette top bunk and being rocked to sleep... horns blaring; I like that, I was raised my first few years not far from a main freight line.

Just watching the world go by without a care, don't have to be anywhere at a certain time.

 

[Anthony]

if i could figure out a way to ride trains all day for free i would

Get an on-board service job at Amtrak - then you literally will ride trains all day, and it won't just be for free -- you'll actually get paid to do it. :lol:

 

[Pete]

Does waiting at the station count? Also waking up in the middle of the night and

getting up to find out where we are. And, as someone mentioned, meeting fellow

travelers in the dining car who are sharing the experience.

The feeling that you're moving, when it turns out that the train has been stopped

for quite a while. Eavesdropping on people in the sightseer lounge.

 

[BLOND37]

if i could figure out a way to ride trains all day for free i would

Get an on-board service job at Amtrak - then you literally will ride trains all day, and it won't just be for free -- you'll actually get paid to do it. :lol:

i've looked into that but couldnt find any

 

[Tony]

Dining and meeting new people over dinner is high on my list.

Me too.

Plus, it is aways different. Different people make each dining experience quite unique.

 

[Anthony]

if i could figure out a way to ride trains all day for free i would

Get an on-board service job at Amtrak - then you literally will ride trains all day, and it won't just be for free -- you'll actually get paid to do it. :lol:

i've looked into that but couldnt find any

They are posted occasionally throughout the year, just keep checking http://jobs.amtrak.com on a weekly basis.

 

[AAARGH!]

1. Going over bridges over water OR causeways across water.

2. Entering and Leaving big cities

3. MOUNTAINS!

4. Dining with others.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Where to begin. What is not to like?

Settling into my room, putting clothes or jacket on the hanger--that makes it more official.

watching the train go around the corner

anything at night, looking at the farm lights, or at a station-- figuring out what station it is, are we still on time? Or are we still five hours late? Or have we made up time?

people in the dining car

the horn

the funny feeling when you are not sure if your train is moving or if it the one next to you

waking up to a new day, and especially if the topography has changed dramatically, like from green trees to desert overnight.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Sleeping in a roomette top bunk and being rocked to sleep... horns blaring; I like that, I was raised my first few years not far from a main freight line.

North American railroad horns different to those here in the UK, so hearing one blaring out from time to time through an overnight trip is pretty good for me. And the top bunk is always best for atmosphere and that special feeling of a long trip. I rode from Winnipeg to Churchill and back on the VIA 'Hudson Bay' (40 hours, 2 nights each way) and compared the upper and lower sections on the way north and south respectively. Upper was cosier, but lower was just perfect for pulling the heavy curtain closed to the corridor and pushing up the window blind to watch the bright night sky above an unpopulated wilderness.

Unforgettable.

*j* :blink:

 

[creddick]

For those of us old enough to remember, I loved the little jerk when a steam engine started to move. Sometimes if you weren't seated, you were when the train started to move. You always knew when the train started moving. Now you have to be looking out the window to make sure you're underway. I can't really think of anything about the train I don't like.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Hearing the train

Seeing the train

Riding the train

Being in a sleeper and hearing the LSA call for lunch.

 

[JayPea]

The anticipation of the trip

actually getting onboard, knowing you're going somewhere!

The food

Meeting fellow Amtrak riders and the interesting stories and conversations that follow

The food

Scenery, particularly in the mountains

Traveling through busy railroad yards

The food

seeing some of the interesting old stations during lengthy stops

riding over or alongside a crowded, rush-hour, bumper-to bumper freeway

Waking up in the middle of the night, wondering where we are

Sitting in the very rear of the train and watching the front of the train as it rounds a sharp curve

The food

Oh, and did I mention the food???

 

[AAARGH!]

...riding over or alongside a crowded, rush-hour, bumper-to bumper freeway

AMEN!!! Add that to my list too!!!!!

I'll take it a step further... Going 100+ MPH in an Acela / NER through New Jersy as we pass massive traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike (or is it I-95 - or are those the same?)

 

[AlanB]

...riding over or alongside a crowded, rush-hour, bumper-to bumper freeway

AMEN!!! Add that to my list too!!!!!

I'll take it a step further... Going 100+ MPH in an Acela / NER through New Jersy as we pass massive traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike (or is it I-95 - or are those the same?)

I-95 and the Pike are the same highway though most of New Jersey, however the tracks only run along side and within site of the highway for about 2 miles shortly after poping up in NJ. After that, you won't see 95 again until you're into PA.

 

[jis]

Lying in the upper berth of a Viewliner Roomette on a full moon night watching the night scenery coast by the window.

The only other place in the world where I have been able to do something similar is in Malaysia on the second class AC sections, but the upper window is much smaller in those cars.

 

[Tony]

I'll take it a step further... Going 100+ MPH in an Acela / NER through New Jersy as we pass massive traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike (or is it I-95 - or are those the same?)

Or on the Silvers down south, going 30MPH as the traffic on the parallel highway goes 55+. But we eventually win at the crossing.

I don't know if the highway down there is I-95 or not. :blink:

 

[Tony]

Lying in the upper berth of a Viewliner Roomette on a full moon night watching the night scenery coast by the window.

That really needs to be also posted in one of the Viewliner threads.

 

[Ispolkom]

Looking out the window as the train pulls into the station and seeing the loved ones I'm visiting waiting on the platform.

 

[Hanno]

To name a few things....the adventure of traveling to new places.; to reflect upon the many who have traveled the same route before me; thinking of my dad who took the train off to war as a young man, scared and worried about not coming back.

 

[Edgefan]

To name a few things....the adventure of traveling to new places.; to reflect upon the many who have traveled the same route before me; thinking of my dad who took the train off to war as a young man, scared and worried about not coming back.

As I pondered how I could jump into this thread, Hanno hit the nail on the head. Although I love the search for the lowest bucket, the anticipation of the departure date, the greeting of MTP station agent Bob upon our entrance, the arrival of train to the platform, etc., etc., what really touches me to the core of my being is the courage of my father to come to this country for a better life, leaving everything he once knew behind, become a citizen, and raise his children to be hard working proud Americans. When I'm settled in and stare out into the vastness and grandness of this country is when I feel my father again and thank him repeatedly for his vision. He was the truest definition of American from the "Greatest Generation" Mark

 

[the_traveler]

My favorite part is boarding the train at the beginning of the trip!

 

[sky12065]

My favorite part is boarding the train at the beginning of the trip!

I would have expected you would have said... Amtrak mile 1, mile 2, mile 3, mile 4, mile 5, mile 6, mile 7 mile 8...........

............ mile 1256. mile 1257, mile 1258, mile 1259, mile 1260, mile 1261, mile 1262, mile 1263...........

............ et cetera, et cetera, et cetera :unsure: :lol:

 

[Rail Freak]

My favorite part is boarding the train at the beginning of the trip!

I would have expected you would have said... Amtrak mile 1, mile 2, mile 3, mile 4, mile 5, mile 6, mile 7 mile 8...........

............ mile 1256. mile 1257, mile 1258, mile 1259, mile 1260, mile 1261, mile 1262, mile 1263...........

............ et cetera, et cetera, et cetera :unsure: :lol:

DITTO, DITTO!!!

I have to admit it, my daily ritual of connecting with AU Members has truely given me pleasure & fun over the last 12 months. Sense I'm a little limited, you folks have given me a hobby that I never anticipated!!! Your conversations are an extention of my train ride!!!!!!

THANX

 

[the_traveler]

My favorite part is boarding the train at the beginning of the trip!

I would have expected you would have said... Amtrak mile 1, mile 2, mile 3, mile 4, mile 5, mile 6, mile 7 mile 8...........

............ mile 1256. mile 1257, mile 1258, mile 1259, mile 1260, mile 1261, mile 1262, mile 1263...........

............ et cetera, et cetera, et cetera :unsure: :lol:

The next mile is usually better than the last mile! And the next is even better! ... And the 8,000th mile is 8,000 times better than the first!