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[Thumper_KJFK]

 

 

    I live on the NEC NYC aera, fact is I live in Queens,  and use the Long Island RailRoad everyday to Penn station , Which gets me in the city 1and a half hours early,  Whch i spend watching the other Amtrak and NJT trains enter the station.   I do not know of many a rail fan who used to do the commuter trip on the NEC, But I am one of em.  back in the 80's  NYC to Wilmington, De.  every day, and Loved every min. of it.    Late trains,   Downed catenary wire, lose of HEP, the rail cars with NO lights or heat ,    Yep, I would be the one Nut on the platform or train with the big Grin, holding my scanner to my ear, cam in the other hand, :)               Yeh I wil take the long delays whith out a care,  even If that ment walking in the office 4 hours late  ,      yeh I did that for 10 sweet years  and Miss it.    MY famly flys,    and it is always a bid argument Train ,  vs.  Plane.    I don't care if it is late all the time, or the real old cars, fact is You can keep the new fleet.   NO NO excuse for any Rail fan NOT to Ride the rails,       Amtrak or another Road  on my vacations   I woud take a ride to Chicago       Just to look at all the trains , or go camping up in the Penn  altoona, aera,   to watch trains.   So that's all I have to say those who don't ride the rails, NO excuse,   just take a trip anywhere, to NO where, round trip, or go ahead and fly one way , and ride the rails back,     :)   just don't call your self a Rail Fan if you don't get out there and walk smell and feel the rails   :)   :)   lol  

 

Greg Happy rider of the Dashing Dan   the Long Island Rail Road 

[cprted]

While I've never ridden Amtrak (have looked at it though) I have used Via Rail once, and BC Rail twice in the last 15 years. I was going to be traveling to conference in May and seriously contemplated taking the train. I decided against it for the following reasons. 1) While a nice way to travel, it was going to cost three times a much as a flight. 2) Where the train stops is a 90 minute drive vs 20 minutes to the airport. 3) My train departed at 2:00 am and wouldn't arrive until 11:30pm. Much the same for the return trip.

You can't expect people to go out of their way to spend more money for a more inconvenient way to travel. We all have busy lives and live on a budget. That trumps liking trains.

[jrbernier]

  The last time I rode Amtrak was in 1988 - St Paul to Topeka via Chicago with my 3 year old son.  The price was right(off-season 'RailAmerica' fare) and we also got sleeping car space from Chicago to Topeka.  A great experience. 

  This year my other half and her friend from work went on an Alaska criuse.  The rode Amtrak from Winona, MN to Seattle.  R/T for coach and sleeping car space was $442 each(they shared the room).  Air fare was $316-$346 each for R/T from MSP to Seattle.  I would have to drive them up to the MSP airport(75 miles).  The took 3 extra days of vacation and decided on an Amtrak Adventure.  They are currently on the cruise, having left last week on Amtrak.  They had a wonderful time on the train, and loved the snow/ice in Glacier Park as they climbed Marias Pass.  Now, they got a very good 'deal' as the Amtrak rates are much higher now as the summer season starts.  They made resevvations about 40 days ago and almost did not get sleeping car space on the return trip!  I have to drive to Winona next Tuesday(45 miles) and pick the pair.(and yes, Brenda is riding the WP&Y...).

Jim

[Brooklyn Trolley Dodger]

    Um howabout just taking the Light Rail or Commuter Train for starters...How many railfans do that?

[Thumper_KJFK]

 

   OH    NO   :)   :D    DAT  Brooklyn Trolley Dodger  Dude :)  Ahhhhhhhhhh  and it's up  up   up     i'ts OUT OF  HEAR ... mAN OHH MAN    YEH your right get out and just enjoy the local rails too.   you don't have to Just ride a Class one Road.   Like the man said, do the trolly  street car, the metro underground   AKA  subway,  or Tram.   Hey Brooklyn Trolley Dodger,   Too bad No more Greenpoint ave. Train ferry or Erie Lakawana freight ferry out of the old south Brooklyn ferry slips.  or How bout watching some small Steam tank locos moving freight down the middle of the street under the Gowanus Hyway by the Canal in Brooklyn NY,  yeh LONG Gone  but the tracks can still be seen   at some intersections of street, hmmmmm Damm those Brooklyn Dodgers    Heee     :)    It also semens that all the good time riding the Amtrak rails were all done in the 80's,   by looking at all the posts that were made hear,    Hmmmmmm 

 Please Watch the GAP:

 

































 

 

 Be safe guys and gals,while Rail Faning   :) 

[MidlandPacific]

By-the-way, WVRailadvocate,

Some of these folks have hit the nail on the head.  AMTRAK simply has to be going in the direction they're headed.  The NEC is a prime example of what AMTRAK does right.  I believe it is THE way to travel between D.C. and Boston.  But get outside of that corridor, both AMTRAK and their HOST freight railroads make travelling by rail impractical.  Let's take TRAINS 29 & 30, the famed CAPITOL LIMITED.  I can't tell you how many times I've been trackside near Cumberland and have pittied the poor souls trapped on that Superliner, sometimes behind schedule from 6-12 hours...obscene.  Other than the novelty of traveling by rail, it is simply quicker (and most probably cheaper) to take the plane.

Yes, the Capitol in Amtrak's era has always been kind of a slowboat.  I remember the first time I took the Broadway Limited to Chicago in 1980, having to wait in Pittsburg for several hours for the Capitol Limited to show up, for in those days the two trains combined at Pittsburg for the remainder of the trip to Chicago.  Fortunately Amtrak finally stopped this practice sometime in the 80's.

Back on the original subject, most of the Amtrak trains I rode came in on time or somewhat close to schedule (1-2 hours or so).  The Broadway was good about being on time, the Cardinal not as good, but not that bad either.

I take the Capitol Limited at least once a year - and I can tell you, I would far rather be behind time on the Capitol than the airlines.  Free coffee for the sleeper passengers, and they add a free lunch on to the meal schedule, too.  And it's a great ride - you get to see pretty much all of Sand Patch on the eastbound run, since the train's carded through Connellsville at 7:44 AM.  Even if you're late, you still see all of the East End of the cold Cumberland Division and the B&O's Metropolitan Branch in daylight.  If I had to be stuck somewhere, better there than Dallas Fort-Worth. 

As a DC resident, I also find that the NEC service between DC and NYC is hands-down better than the airline service - I can take the Metro right to Union Station, and step off the train in Midtown Manhattan, roughly the same amount of time, and much better conditions, and essentially the same price.

[Thumper_KJFK]

  Yep  fine it is hmmmm

 

  any of you remember,  A one way Metroliner Ticket New York City Penn sta. to Wash, DC Union sta.?   $18.40  for a two hour55min ride.  :)                Hmmm again :P Eastern Airshuttle Was only $19.85, :D heee        ohh I just had to put that in  :)

 

                but I would still rid the rails    :) 

[AmtrakRider]

I've ridden Amtrak several times in the last 4 years (since July 2003).  My travels have taken me on the Sunset Ltd (before Katrina disrupted service east of Texas), the Southwest Chief through NE New Mexico, the Crescent to New Orleans, and on various Silver Service Trains as far north as Philadelphia.  Additionally I have ridden the Piedmont and Carolinian in the NC area.

As a result, I can say with some authority that many of the comments people have already made about Amtrak when it comes to lack of timeliness and even high cost are generally correct.  If you have somewhere to go and you have to get there by a certain time, Amtrak is generally not the way to go.  And while in some instances it still does cost less to go by Amtrak than it does to fly, such instances are becoming more and more rare.

However, if you are looking for a genuinely enjoyable vacation, one where you don't have to worry too much about schedules, one where you will have the opportunity to see much of the country, Amtrak's long-distance routes are still the way to go.  I like to take photos, and while driving myself may get me to my destination faster, it certainly limits the photo ops which I can take advantage of.  Additionally in many instances Amtrak takes a route quite different from the interstate, giving riders a different view of the landscape around them. Also, driving the interstate for days can be tiring and tiresome.  I'd much prefer to let someone else do the driving while I relax.  By train, the trip itself becomes part of the vacation, rather than just a way of "getting there".  And when I get to my destination, I can still rent a car, just as I would have if I had flown in.Train travel can also be more interesting for kids, if only because they are not forced to sit in one place for hours. I took my niece and nephew on the train, just from one stop to the next and back again.  They really enjoyed the experience.  Perhaps they will form part of a new generation of railfans. 

I have found my train trips to be extremely informative, sometimes exciting, and generally worth the while.  You have to have patience, a good supply of snacks, reading material, music, and other forms of entertainment for the duller moments.  But I'd do it again.

 

[garthor]

Well here's my two cents worth. We put our daughter on Amtrak to get her home from Burlington Nc. to Tampa Fla. The first part of the trip started out badly, they had to put her on a bus from Burlington to Hamlet Nc. because of a track problem. She waited 5 hours in Hamlet and was finally put on her train #91. Well because the train was so far behind schedule they decided to bypass Tampa. So they stopped the train in Winterhaven Fla. and put the passengers going to Tampa on yet another bus. My daughter who hasn't ever traveled by herself was very confused and scared. The reason we put her on the train in the first place is that she gets car sick, so the bus was out of the question......See a trend here ?.....Well to make a long story shorter, she got home 7 hours late and was sick as a dog. Amtraks position is to send us a 50.00 voucher for our problems, which is what the ticket cost us. We may use the voucher anytime in the coming year.....do you think my daughter is going to use it ?  Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

I've ridden Amtrak several times.  Once for a school trip (the Crescent), and twice for pleasure in California (the Surfliner).  I must say the Amtrak service in CA is much better than in Georgia...

The Surfliner was exceptional.  The food was good, the cars were clean, and the atmosphere was great. 

The Crescent, however, was only okay in quality.  To start off with, the train was 6 hours late, and all 200 of us (students, teachers, and parents) had to wait in the extremely small station.  Most of us ended up going across the street to bookstore.  Then, when the train got there, it took the station people about 30 minutes to process us all, and a further 45 to load us on the train.  Then we had to wait for about fifteen minutes to depart.  The car I was in was good, but the last car on the train (the one after mine) had a strong sewer odor and the bathroom was broken.  The people in the cafe car were largely incompetent.  However, I enjoyed it because I am a fan of Amtrak.