VariogarminEach time I rode was in a sleeper.
I have made the trip in a sleeper. You're right, it is better than a coach.
Each time I rode was in a sleeper... used those points off the Amtrak card... needless to say it was probably better than coach. My 3 and 4 year old sons had a ball looking out the window half the night.
oltmanndWere all the coaches open out of NOL or only a couple?
As I recall only a couple of coaches were open. New Orleans is a terminal so we walked from the end of the train. About the middle there were train personnel directing us and pointing to a specific coach. I do know my coach was for people going beyond Atlanta.
John WRFrom New Orleans the train was moderately full but out of Atlanta it was very full.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
The map of the Tokyo system is more complicated, more like a spaggetti bowel than New York, but it is a less complicated system to use, because generally there are only one or two lines at each platform, not like 59th Street Columbus Circle, 50-47th St. , 42nd St. , and 43th St., 6th Avenue, DeKalb Avenue, Bklyn, Atlantic Avenue IRT in Brooklyn, Roosevelt Avenue and Forest Hills, Queens, with four. (and others) And then there is the idea of the D during Rush hours running express in The Bronx and local at other times, ditto the E running to Euclid with A express in Brooklyn on Fulton, but running local when the E does not run, N local via Montague St. Tunnel or express via Manhattan Bridge, etc.
A year ago last November I traveled from New Orleans to Newark, NJ on the Crescent. My train left at 7:00 am and arrived about 2 pm the next day. There was an hour layover in Washington, time enough to get off the train and buy a newspaper. I had 2 breakfasts on the train which were OK but not as good as I hoped. The first day it took a while to get the dining car set up so I could not have breakfast as we crossed Lake Ponchartrain. But the coffee was good. The second day I found better company than on the first day and had an enjoyable conversation.
I rode in a coach. The next time I think I'll take a sleeping car as it was less comfortable than I hoped but that was really my decision and no fault of Amtrak's. From New Orleans the train was moderately full but out of Atlanta it was very full.
On the whole it was a pleasant and restful journey for a day and a half. I would definitely do it again.
Trips to New York, Baltimore, and DC so far.
VariogarminHowever, when I recommend Amtrak to my piers here in Atlanta, they are usually surprised to hear that Amtrak even serves Atlanta.
Yup. Amtrak is worse than irrelevant in much of the country. In my experience, the coach service north from Atlanta is pretty mediocre. If I left my house outside Atlanta about 4 PM, drove for 6 hours, over-nighted, then finished the trip the next morning, I'd be at my destination about the same time as taking the Crescent.
Variogarmin I was pleasantly surprised by the service and comfort riding the Crescent from Atlanta.
Atlanta south toward New Orleans or Atlanta north toward New York?
Surveys from the younger generation are interesting. To their credit they are not smoking or anxious to buy cars. Unfortunately, the economy and lack of jobs may be the cause in part of their disinterest. However these traits make them good candidates for rail transit. Perhaps that was what the Amtrak Youtube Gangnam style video was about. My mindset growing up in the 80's did not even think of rail travel/Amtrak as an option. I only began riding Amtrak after various TSA policies were implemented over the last decade. I was pleasantly surprised by the service and comfort riding the Crescent from Atlanta. However, when I recommend Amtrak to my piers here in Atlanta, they are usually surprised to hear that Amtrak even serves Atlanta.
I think more people will think of rail travel as an alternative as congestion on the highway and at the airports continues to cause frustration and delay. If rail services are only slightly improved consistently over time implementing the various adjustments mentioned, there could easily be a large favorable shift in rail service demand.
Paul MilenkovicNorton: Well gee Ralph. I got here as soon as I could, but it was "upstream", all the way!
The line I remember is:
Norton. "Ralph, life is like a sewer. You only get out of it what you put into it."
LNER4472
blue streak 1 I forgot 2 items of annual costs for Don's car. Depending on the county he lives a new car tag and tax will be $500 + vs $ 100 - for his old car. emissions control is a wash so------- I would like to expand on DON's example; By not buying a new car yet he saves what $300 / mo car payments or for work 21 days a month or ~~ $ 14.25 / day car payments. Maintenance on car especially brakes ~~ $ 5.00 / day. Extra Insurance costs for driving to work ~~ $ 2.00 / day. So to be conservative ~~ $ 20.00 / day to not pay for driving. Savings per year ? If Don works 11 mo / yr = $7920 / yr. Of course the auto lobby and all its various branches do not want these figures well known.. Total costs = ~~ $8420 / year
I forgot 2 items of annual costs for Don's car. Depending on the county he lives a new car tag and tax will be $500 + vs $ 100 - for his old car. emissions control is a wash so-------
I would like to expand on DON's example;
By not buying a new car yet he saves what $300 / mo car payments or for work 21 days a month or ~~ $ 14.25 / day car payments. Maintenance on car especially brakes ~~ $ 5.00 / day. Extra Insurance costs for driving to work ~~ $ 2.00 / day. So to be conservative ~~ $ 20.00 / day to not pay for driving. Savings per year ? If Don works 11 mo / yr = $7920 / yr.
Of course the auto lobby and all its various branches do not want these figures well known..
Total costs = ~~ $8420 / year
Buy an older car (in my case, a MUCH older car) for which I can factor in both acquisition and repairs (seriously, if your car requires $1500 a year in repairs, you got a dud) and/or replacement costs at less than $100/month. Insurance on the old car, including commuting, amounts to $2/day or less for me, $1.50 if you're only counting weekdays. Let's, under your accounting system, call it $4/day. Plus gas, of course.Meanwhile, let's factor in cost of TIME. My wife could drive to work or back in 20 minutes. Transit takes about 50 minutes, and that's with amazingly direct connections and service. There are times when I can go downtown for work and it'll be cheap and easy ONLY because I can walk ten minutes to a subway station, then ten minutes at the end of a ten-to-20-minute ride (depends on the time waiting). My wife could ride a bike instead of belonging to a health spa. :-)In my wife's case, transit would sap another hour out of her day--an hour she could devote to more work (on commissioned artwork) or more leisure. What's that 5 hours a week worth to you? What do you make an hour? Economists call this "opportunity cost."Other extreme: a friend who can drive to work in five minutes, ride a bike in twenty, or spend 1.5 hours on transit.
oltmannd John WR oltmanndI don't trust city buses. No tracks! You might try asking the bus driver. He's the problem! He "decides" where the bus is going to go...
John WR oltmanndI don't trust city buses. No tracks! You might try asking the bus driver.
oltmanndI don't trust city buses. No tracks!
You might try asking the bus driver.
He's the problem! He "decides" where the bus is going to go...
(From The Honeymooners: Ralph Kramden is an overbearing New York City bus driver, who may have gotten to be like that from dealing with passengers who don't know their way and are holding up his bus; his pal and neighbor Ed Norton is more amiable but does not work directly with the public as he is a city worker whose job involves the city sewers.)
Ralph: So Norton! Why are you late to the meetin'? I got here on time, and I had to get here from all the way cross town! You only needed to get here from two blocks up the street!
Norton: Well gee Ralph. I got here as soon as I could, but it was "upstream", all the way!
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
daveklepper Remember that the New York rapid transit network is the most complex of any in the World.
Remember that the New York rapid transit network is the most complex of any in the World.
C'mon people. The most complicated transit system has to be Tokyo. And I don't know how to read the signs
Remember that the New York rapid transit network is the most complex of any in the World. We did have a question that was answered that there are currently 73 different ways to route a train from Stillwell Avenue - Coney Island to Jamaica - Archer Avenue without reversting direction! So there is built-in confusion when you have four different services stopping at the same side of the same platform, as at DeKalb Avenue at certain times. Given the real enormity of the problem, I think the current signage is the best system that the subway has had, and it would really take a genius to improve it further.
The other vast systems generally have, or at the mos two, services share a given line. Boston's Green Line is an exception.
schlimmThe alphabet soup of trains on the same line could be confusing as well,
Certainly the alphabet soup is confusing. But is it the designation of trains or the sheer number of trains? New York has 24 subway lines which are designated by letters or numbers. That is a few more than, for example, Boston or Toronto have.
I was referring to the subways and specifically locations where several lines connect. The alphabet soup of trains on the same line could be confusing as well, especially for international visitors. I have no trouble with NYC, having been there countless times, but the signage is no where near as user-friendly as in Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin,,Munich, Hamburg, Shanghai, Beijing, Toronto or Rome, to name a few places.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
schlimmMy observation in NYC is that the signage for transit is confusing
I can't agree with you, Schlimm. In Manhattan bus stop signs contain a map of the whole route and a schedule of when the buses stop. In New Jersey a very few bus stops have those amenities but almost all do not. If you are lucky you get a bus stop sign; in many places there is not even that.
In New Jersey if there is no bus stop sign NJT says the bus will stop at any place that is "reasonable." But what is "reasonable" is undefined and bus drivers will not in fact stop at places they do not regularly stop. If you need to ride a bus and you are unfamiliar with the area there is really no way to know where it will stop unless you are lucky enough to see a regular rider waiting.
Interesting comment on NYCTA signage. The Authority is proud of its uniformly "Helvitia" type signage! They might learn something from you. But what exactly confuses you?
My observation in NYC is that the signage for transit is confusing compared to that in some other large cities. Poor graphics and fonts.
John WR CSSHEGEWISCH I have noticed that many visitors to New York seem to be scared of riding the subway Not just the subway but of public transit in general. It is ridiculous in one way. But if you have no experience with it I guess it can be daunting.
CSSHEGEWISCH I have noticed that many visitors to New York seem to be scared of riding the subway
Not just the subway but of public transit in general. It is ridiculous in one way. But if you have no experience with it I guess it can be daunting.
If you have experience on any one system, most of your knowledge is transferable. The most daunting task these days is figuring out the fare card system.
CSSHEGEWISCH Anecdotal observation: I have noticed that many visitors to New York seem to be scared of riding the subway to get around out of fear of getting lost or winding up in the wrong neighborhood. My personal experience as a visitor was quite different. When I visited New York many years ago, I stayed in New Jersey, took NJ Transit to Hoboken, PATH into Manhattan and easily used the subway to get around. I would look at my handy-dandy subway map, figure out where I was, where I wanted to go and plan out my route (including transfers) to get there. Of course, it probably helped that I grew up using public transit (CTA, South Shore, etc.) on a regular basis.
Anecdotal observation: I have noticed that many visitors to New York seem to be scared of riding the subway to get around out of fear of getting lost or winding up in the wrong neighborhood. My personal experience as a visitor was quite different. When I visited New York many years ago, I stayed in New Jersey, took NJ Transit to Hoboken, PATH into Manhattan and easily used the subway to get around. I would look at my handy-dandy subway map, figure out where I was, where I wanted to go and plan out my route (including transfers) to get there. Of course, it probably helped that I grew up using public transit (CTA, South Shore, etc.) on a regular basis.
It is seeming as if the younger generations have a inability to read maps and to understand where they are in relation to where they want to go. With that being the case, New York and public transporation is a daunting undertaking.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
John WRIt has long been known that in our society men die younger than women do. I think that stress has a lot to do with that.
Alan King used to do a bit "survived by wife" where he had a series of obits where, no matter how old the guy who died was, he was "survived by wife".
Possible source of stress???
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