I can't understand what they are saying with them in!
DeggestyGood one, Mr. D! Reminds me of the scene in "Witness for the Prosecution" where the murder victim's former maid is testifying and is extremely hard of hearing. The defense tricks her into demonstrating this and she complains to the judge about the long time it's taking the health service to fit her with hearing aids, to which the judge replies that there is so much BS (paraphrasing him) that passes for conversation that she may be lucky not to have them. 1702 You must have been wearing full-cover ear protection! I was an Amtrak OBS employee for 19 years, sleeping in the old ex-Santa Fe coach-dorms and then the new Superliner II transition dorms, always behind the baggage car. To not hear the sometimes almost-continuous sound of the locomotive horn one would have to be severely hearing-impaired. You could say that my hearing protection consists in my taking my hearing aids out before going to sleep. I can still hearing people talking, but it is difficult to understand what they are saying.
1702 You must have been wearing full-cover ear protection! I was an Amtrak OBS employee for 19 years, sleeping in the old ex-Santa Fe coach-dorms and then the new Superliner II transition dorms, always behind the baggage car. To not hear the sometimes almost-continuous sound of the locomotive horn one would have to be severely hearing-impaired.
You must have been wearing full-cover ear protection! I was an Amtrak OBS employee for 19 years, sleeping in the old ex-Santa Fe coach-dorms and then the new Superliner II transition dorms, always behind the baggage car. To not hear the sometimes almost-continuous sound of the locomotive horn one would have to be severely hearing-impaired.
You could say that my hearing protection consists in my taking my hearing aids out before going to sleep. I can still hearing people talking, but it is difficult to understand what they are saying.
No hearing impairment at all, I'm just a very sound sleeper that's all, though I don't think I could sleep through a shot gun going off within 3 feet of me like my mother could, but I can sleep through a lot of noise once I'm asleep, including the sounding of a diesel horn.
[quote user="Deggesty"]
Sunnyland, for rough track, you should have ridden through Grenada between Memphis and North Jackson; the only freight was the local. As to the horn, many of the towns had so many crossings that it was impossible to blow a proper signal for each crossing as the train ran at full speed; often the last blast for one crossing would be the first blast for the next crossing. I doubt that much, if any, relocation had been made of the original track as it snaked through the hills. This was the way the City ran when it was a day train.
Deggesty, I did ride that route with parents on old IC not on the City of course, as pass no good on that one. I did not remember a rough ride but maybe did not really notice on a coach. It was a day run, we boarded at Memphis after getting off a train from St. Louis and arrived in NOLA later that afternoon. Coaches were always noisy at night, never slept much, people constantly walking up and down the aisles going to smoking car or lounge, my Dad was one of them. And conductors came thru yelling the next stop and making sure everyone got off OK. It is so different now as I rode my first Amtrak coach last year on CZ to Denver where we picked up rental car for drive to Utah for Golden Spike party. Coming home we boarded at Glenwood Springs for a longer scenic ride. Lights go dim at night with just a blue light , no announcements and of course no smokers. I have passed thru towns in IL where the horn needs to be blown constantly as so many crossings, but always in daytime so not trying to sleep. Parents and I just rolled with it and expected not to be sleeping much. I did not realize that part of MS would have been that rough as my sleeper guy blamed it on the Delta area where the route now goes.
[quote user="JEFFREY PLETCHER"]
In pre-Amtrak days, many if not most passenger trains carried sleeping cars that were handed off (or picked up) at various points along the journey, sometimes running through to/from other trains and even railroads. I always thought this was at least one reason why the sleepers were carried at the rear, i.e., to facillitate switching at intermediate points by local switchers that were more numerous than today. This is not much of a consideration today since Amtrak has very few interline operations of this type.
Regarding slack action, that should be minimal, or almost none, due to titelock couplers on passenger equipment, right?
You are correct about a lot of switching moves being made on some trains, even coaches. When I rode UP City of St. Louis, we boarded Armour Yellow cars at St. Louis Union Station, complete with dome car and diner. Got to KC and UP engine put on the head end, cutting the Wabash and later N&W. But when we got to Ogden, train had to be broken up, going to San Francisco switched over to SP and going to LA and Vegas, stayed with UP. When parents and I went, Dad and I got off at Ogden station to look around and Mom stayed on to ride with the switches, she said she was supposed to be riding a train and that is what she was doing. I remember Dad and I waving to her a couple of times as she rolled past us. So not sure how they broke it all up, with part staying with UP coaches and sleepers and part going to SP. We were usually there at least one hour, as it took time to sort it out. But it worked as we never had a problem with our destination. The neat thing about SP was going across the Lucin cutoff on Great Salt Lake.. I once on the wooden trestle and another time on the land fill. Good times for sure.
As to slack never noticed in our Pullman bedroom when I rode the same train with friends. But parents and I were on NYC coming back from Niagara Falls and for some reason in the night sleepers were cut off and diner was rear car. There was some sway back there but never noticed any slack. Same thing with Amtrak sleepers on the rear, more sway with double decker, but still no slack that I ever noticed.
When I rode Amtrak's Zepfyr westbound in 1987, the train was split 3 ways in Salt Lake City: Zephyr to Oakland; Desert Wind to LA; and Pioneer to Seattle. There were sleepers at both ends (and adjacent coaches), making up the different sections. It took about an hour for the switching. During that time a food truck pulled up to the platform, and despite the midnight hour, there were several patrons, including some Amtrak attendants.
I continued on the Pioneer, and a dining car was added to the thru sleepers and coaches. Half the dining car served as the diner, and the other half served as the lounge.
CMStPnPPretty sure the Amtrak P-42's have volume control on their horns
Valved stages. Google YouTube for the P42 orientation video where you will see it described.
I agree with you 100 per cent that the sleepers belong in the back of the train. Not only that but i also believe very strongly that the baggage car belongs at the very front of the train. If I were the president of Amtrak I'd mandate this.
calzeph I agree with you 100 per cent that the sleepers belong in the back of the train. Not only that but i also believe very strongly that the baggage car belongs at the very front of the train. If I were the president of Amtrak I'd mandate this.
Johnny
Deggestycalzeph I agree with you 100 per cent that the sleepers belong in the back of the train. Not only that but i also believe very strongly that the baggage car belongs at the very front of the train. If I were the president of Amtrak I'd mandate this. I certainly enjoyed walking back from my bedroom to watch the landscape unfold behind the train. I wonder if some unwary passenger was injured when there was a sudden jolt back there.
I certainly enjoyed walking back from my bedroom to watch the landscape unfold behind the train. I wonder if some unwary passenger was injured when there was a sudden jolt back there.
Johnny, When AMTRAK started in 1971, the Rio Grande started its triweekly RGZ train. And Amtrak's train, the San Francisco Zepher ran via UP between Denver & Salt Lake City until 1978 when the Rio Grande terminated the RGZ. In 1996, when Amtrak started talking about killing the Desert Wind & the Pioneer, I used the All Aboard America farefor a big trip riding all three trains (CZ, Pioneer, DW)+ Coast Starlight + Chief.
On my only trip on the Pioneer, the cars arrived as the last cars on the train. The Desert Wind and the CZ left them at Denver and a diner and coach were added at the rear with the consist being the FP40, sleeper, coach, coach, diner. I and another railfan found that the front door of the sleeper gave a great view forward over the loco as we went through Wyoming & the Idaho mountains. But the occupant of the end bedroom took umbrage at our talking in the hallway and let us know he would like us to respect his desire for peace & quiet and to know that he had paid big $$. We didn't argue. Not a Vista Dome but a great view. Miles and miles of scenery. I like looking forward better than backwards but either is good.
Electroliner, I, too, have enjoyed the view from the front of the sleeper on the Pioneer. My wife and I, if we talked at all while standing there kept put voices down.
By the way, the San Francisco Zephyr did not go through Salt Lake City, but went west from Ogden (I rode it in the fall of 1971) until the arrangement to go to Salt Lake City from Denver was put into effect.
Perhaps the occupant of Room A was also unhappy because that room is smaller than the other bedrooms?
"I am surprise that Amtrak has not reduce the long-distance trains to three times a week in each direction."Gosh, is that where they got the idea?
Stephen Karlson, DeKalb, Illinois
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