first Amtrak ride

[olasek]

I admit I rode an Amtrak train the very first time in my life.

I took Coastal Starlight from LA's Union Station to Jack London Square in Oakland (the train was heading to Seattle).
The ride was almost 12 hrs (1 hr delay) long but ultimately I am not complaining.
The highlight of the ride was passing through the Vandenberg AFB and looking at the multiple launch facilities - the stuff that you could not see from any freely accessible public road. I could also see the runway where the Space Shuttle was supposed to land and where this unmanned X-37B just touched down hours before. There were some uniformed volunteers on the train who were providing extensive commentary on what exactly you were looking at, these guys offered an impressive collection of trivia. I had a decent dinner and alcoholic drinks were reasonably priced. The very last car was not part of the official Amtrak train, the car looked more like Orient Express type and apparently is chartered by some wealthy individuals who enjoy its opulent interiors, private chef, etc.

 

[EppyGA]

My wife and I took Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle (46 hours) a couple of weeks ago and also Chicago to LA several years ago. It is very restful and nice for scenery watching.

 

[Pilawt]

The Coast Starlight (aka Starlate ) goes right past my condo every day. It is a nice ride, all the way from L.A. to Seattle. Unfortunately it traverses the most scenic portion, past Mt. Shasta, in hours of darkness. Further north it goes along the shore of Puget Sound between Olympia and Tacoma, a very scenic area not easily accessible by car.

Amtrak has had its problems but is hanging on despite its severe budget crunch. I use the Amtrak Cascades when traveling between here and Seattle whenever I can. It has comfortable, modern equipment and is almost always sold out.

 

[Matthew]

One of my neighbors travels between KC and Chicago a lot. He prefers Amtrak over SWA, so he goes alone and his coworkers fly. They work out the timing a little bit, but it's not a big deal, and he likes the bit about bypassing airport TSA lines.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Hubby and I travelled from NY to Sacramento and back one year for a beautiful sentimental journey. Amazingly beautiful. Luxury if you have the time. Don't sweat the schedule. It's like our flying. You'll get there when you do.

 

[jpower]

Fun fact: Amtrak between DC and Chicago averages 34 mph. That's slower than a Model T.

 

[olasek]

Fun fact: Amtrak between DC and Chicago averages 34 mph.

This was probably close to our average speed too. :wink2:
When the train was actually moving the speed seemed brisk enough but there were many stops, some in the middle of nowhere.

I forgot to add I saw my first whale at far distance thanks to the ride.

 

[jtheune]

I admit I rode an Amtrak train the very first time in my life.

I took Coastal Starlight from LA's Union Station to Jack London Square in Oakland (the train was heading to Seattle).
The ride was almost 12 hrs (1 hr delay) long but ultimately I am not complaining.
The highlight of the ride was passing through the Vandenberg AFB and looking at the multiple launch facilities - the stuff that you could not see from any freely accessible public road. I could also see the runway where the Space Shuttle was supposed to land and where this unmanned X-37B just touched down hours before. There were some uniformed volunteers on the train who were providing extensive commentary on what exactly you were looking at, these guys offered an impressive collection of trivia. I had a decent dinner and alcoholic drinks were reasonably priced. The very last car was not part of the official Amtrak train, the car looked more like Orient Express type and apparently is chartered by some wealthy individuals who enjoy its opulent interiors, private chef, etc.

On the extra rail car thing. It turns out that the law that created Amtrak way back when had a clause that they must take other cars along ( for a fee of course ). The cars have to pass a safety inspection in order to qualify. I have a brother was a small part owner of a car that a group of 30 or so people restored over a 5 year period. It was a mid -50s sleeper car and it was quite cool. The group would rent it out and I think it was around 5k a week. it would sleep 12 or 15 I think. There are a number of these cars out there.

 

[wsuffa]

When I travel between DC and NY, I take Amtrak Acela. Same time to midtown, much, much more relaxing.

 

[Keith Lane]

On the extra rail car thing. It turns out that the law that created Amtrak way back when had a clause that they must take other cars along ( for a fee of course ). The cars have to pass a safety inspection in order to qualify. I have a brother was a small part owner of a car that a group of 30 or so people restored over a 5 year period. It was a mid -50s sleeper car and it was quite cool. The group would rent it out and I think it was around 5k a week. it would sleep 12 or 15 I think. There are a number of these cars out there.

Amtrak tried a service where they would put on an "express freight" car on the rear to haul priority rail freight at passenger speeds. Well, wouldn't you guess who had a fit and stopped it? The freight railroads, of course. They complain about how Amtrak loses so much money, and then complain more when they try to haul one car of non breathing stuff on the tracks.

 

[flightwriter]

Funny that this came up - yesterday I priced riding the Southwest Chief out to Los Angeles for the AOPA Summit in Palm Springs. The fare for a roomette wasn't as bad as I feared.

 

[Keith Lane]

Fun fact: Amtrak between DC and Chicago averages 34 mph. That's slower than a Model T.

When you consider that is probably 50% faster than the "system average speed" of the freight railroad that owns those tracks, 34 mph ain't bad.
For cross country travel, Amtrak, or any passenger railroad in this country will never be able to compete with the airlines on cost or schedule.

 

[l8evator]

Fun fact: Amtrak between DC and Chicago averages 34 mph. That's slower than a Model T.

Fun bet: I will wager that no one can drive a Model T from DC to Chicago and average 34 mph or greater.

A friend of mine has flown as a contract Falcon 2000 pilot for an individual who had significant investments in the railroad business. The pilot learned that the average speed for a freight car in the system is something like 23 or 24 mph. The financial effects of improving the average by 10% were beyond impressive. Apparently there is a lot of hurry up then wait in moving freight by rail.

Given that freight trains have priority over Amtrak, I am amazed they average 34 mph on that long a run.

Scott

 

[Keith Lane]

Fun bet: I will wager that no one can drive a Model T from DC to Chicago and average 34 mph or greater.

A friend of mine has flown as a contract Falcon 2000 pilot for an individual who had significant investments in the railroad business. The pilot learned that the average speed for a freight car in the system is something like 23 or 24 mph. The financial effects of improving the average by 10% were beyond impressive. Apparently there is a lot of hurry up then wait in moving freight by rail.

Given that freight trains have priority over Amtrak, I am amazed they average 34 mph on that long a run.

Scott

Raising that system speed by just 1 mile per hour causes great celebration and joy at the railroads. You can imagine on a railroad like Union Pacific, with 33,000 miles of track, and over 2,000 locomotives, how hard that can be. Keeping trains on schedule, and not colliding is a huge task. Now there is the government mandated PTC (Positive Train Control) as a result of a passenger train locomotive engineer having a head on collision with a freight while texting in the cab of his train. (26 deaths) That is a $15 billion expense was given something like 7 years to be in place and operational. There is a mad scramble to create a system that is compatible from railroad to railroad seamlessly.

 

[denverpilot]

In my recent reading about the Civil War, I was amazed at how many lines were destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed... Amazing. Bridges, trestles, tearing up and burning piles of ties for a hundred miles...

It was the only way to supply an Army far from home...

 

[jpower]

Fun bet: I will wager that no one can drive a Model T from DC to Chicago and average 34 mph or greater.

A friend of mine has flown as a contract Falcon 2000 pilot for an individual who had significant investments in the railroad business. The pilot learned that the average speed for a freight car in the system is something like 23 or 24 mph. The financial effects of improving the average by 10% were beyond impressive. Apparently there is a lot of hurry up then wait in moving freight by rail.

Given that freight trains have priority over Amtrak, I am amazed they average 34 mph on that long a run.

Scott

Don't think I'll take that bet . If Model Ts could go on the interstates, though, I probably would.

I think training around would be a whole lot of fun though...don't get me wrong. And train travel on the East Coast makes tons of sense. And would make more sense for personal travels if it weren't so darn expensive for multiple people.

 

[hopmedic]

This is something I have dreamed of for a long time - to travel across the country by rail. Glad you had a good time.

 

[John221us]

Fun fact: Amtrak between DC and Chicago averages 34 mph. That's slower than a Model T.

And nobody has mentioned the amazing High Speed Rail Jerry Brown and the State of California are trying to build (at least in a small portion of the central valley with relatively little population to be served by it).

 

[jpower]

And nobody has mentioned the amazing High Speed Rail Jerry Brown and the State of California are trying to build (at least in a small portion of the central valley with relatively little population to be served by it).

Sounds like the HSR link across Florida that, if built, would have a stop in some podunk town that one of the senators (I think?) that's funding it lives in, slowing down the travel time by a ton.

 

[dweyant]

How many billions of dollars a year do we give to Amtrak to keep them running?

I wish they could make money, I've rode them a few times and enjoyed it, but I really hate how much of my tax money is given them, and how little incentive they have to be competitive, on time, etc.

-Dan

 

[kclimie]

When I travel between DC and NY, I take Amtrak Acela. Same time to midtown, much, much more relaxing.

I've taken this from NY to Boston several times and always enjoyed it. Takes less time then flying EWR to BOS when you include the time for disrobing, groping, delays, etc.

 

[wsuffa]

In my recent reading about the Civil War, I was amazed at how many lines were destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed... Amazing. Bridges, trestles, tearing up and burning piles of ties for a hundred miles...

It was the only way to supply an Army far from home...

Did you also read about the days (not all so long ago) where trains in the Soviet empire operated on a different track gauge from the ones in the rest of Europe?

There were hundreds of train lines destroyed in Europe in WW2.

 

[olasek]

Did you also read about the days (not all so long ago) where trains in the Soviet empire operated on a different track gauge from the ones in the rest of Europe?.

I think they still do, nothing changed in this respect. BTW, Finland's track gauge is very close to Russian.

 

[denverpilot]

I've taken this from NY to Boston several times and always enjoyed it. Takes less time then flying EWR to BOS when you include the time for disrobing, groping, delays, etc.

TSA is working on that. You'll get to do it for the train soon.

 

[Keith Lane]

Did you also read about the days (not all so long ago) where trains in the Soviet empire operated on a different track gauge from the ones in the rest of Europe?

There were hundreds of train lines destroyed in Europe in WW2.

I have done quite a bit of work on the Estonian Railway. The main corridor runs from St. Petersburg thru Estonia on it's way to Poland. It is still 60" gauge track (called wide gauge). BART in San Francisco is the only wide gauge I know of in the CONUS. When the Gemans invaded Russia to get at their oil they didn't count on there being a difference in the track width FAIL!
The Soviets, who maintained the railroad thru Estonia even built and hid spare bridges near the racks so they could quickly replace them when we interdicted the transport system. Some of those bridges are still sitting in fields hidden by trees plantes for camouflage.

 

[timwinters]

About ten years ago on a corp flight to San Jose I picked up a copy of "progressive railroading" magazine. What a copy of that magazine was doing on a FedEx corp jet...I don't know. Someone keeping track of the competition I guess.

Anyway, I remember chuckling at the thought of "progressive railroading". Now there's an oxymoron if there ever was one.

 

[Henning]

While that's average speed with stops, I can tell you that on the DC-Chicago running across the old ConRail quad main you'll spend most of your running time between 65 an 83 mph. I worked for Sperry Rail Service and covered all of N. America at 13mph lol, including that line. (We were responsible for Bethlehem Steel going under, well, we first discovered the problem with the 1983 batch of Bethlehem rail, all junk Problem was it had all already been laid by Conrail and Burlington Northern, Bethlehem had to replace all of it.).

The nice thing about the railroads is the view. I suggest to anyone to ride the QNS&L and the Winnipeg to Churchill Via Rail trip. If you can can ride the "Midnight Sun" run in the winter the Auroras can be truly spectacular.

 

[hopmedic]

TSA is working on that. You'll get to do it for the train soon.

Oh, yay.

 

[hopmedic]

While that's average speed with stops, I can tell you that on the DC-Chicago running across the old ConRail quad main you'll spend most of your running time between 65 an 83 mph. I worked for Sperry Rail Service and covered all of N. America at 13mph lol, including that line. (We were responsible for Bethlehem Steel going under, well, we first discovered the problem with the 1983 batch of Bethlehem rail, all junk Problem was it had all already been laid by Conrail and Burlington Northern, Bethlehem had to replace all of it.).

The nice thing about the railroads is the view. I suggest to anyone to ride the QNS&L and the Winnipeg to Churchill Via Rail trip. If you can can ride the "Midnight Sun" run in the winter the Auroras can be truly spectacular.

Gee, thanks. My dad spent his life at Bethlehem.

 

[Apache123]

I admit I rode an Amtrak train the very first time in my life.

I took Coastal Starlight from LA's Union Station to Jack London Square in Oakland (the train was heading to Seattle).
The ride was almost 12 hrs (1 hr delay) long but ultimately I am not complaining.
The highlight of the ride was passing through the Vandenberg AFB and looking at the multiple launch facilities - the stuff that you could not see from any freely accessible public road. I could also see the runway where the Space Shuttle was supposed to land and where this unmanned X-37B just touched down hours before. There were some uniformed volunteers on the train who were providing extensive commentary on what exactly you were looking at, these guys offered an impressive collection of trivia. I had a decent dinner and alcoholic drinks were reasonably priced. The very last car was not part of the official Amtrak train, the car looked more like Orient Express type and apparently is chartered by some wealthy individuals who enjoy its opulent interiors, private chef, etc.

Precisely Marty! Now you're thinking first-dimensionally!

 

[Henning]

Gee, thanks. My dad spent his life at Bethlehem.

We didn't foul the control cooling process, we just discovered the result. We hit the Toledo Main Line and the Roadmaster said "You might as well pick up the test carriages, this is all brand new steel, all 4 lines." When we were done there were 4-33' rail lengths that were left unmarked.

 

[Henning]

Fun bet: I will wager that no one can drive a Model T from DC to Chicago and average 34 mph or greater.


Given that freight trains have priority over Amtrak, I am amazed they average 34 mph on that long a run.

Scott

I'm not sure about a Model T, but I used to drive a 1918 Pope Hartford on rallies for an ex boss who had several cars he fielded. That sucker would climb the Cajon pass at 80mph. I'd pass modern cars with it.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Ah, memories. In 1963 I rode the Santa Fe Super Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles with my mom. I was just five years old, but clearly remember the opulence, the great food, the deference of the highly trained and motivated staff.

Everyone wore white. All the women wore gloves. The coffee was in a silver service. The porters would light the lady's cigarettes. It was SO different than anything today.

I also remember pulling into an enormous covered switch yard in Kansas City (?) and opening the window drapes to see all the workers and people waiting for their trains. My mom was NOT pleased when she awakened in our sleeper car and looked out -- to see dozens of eyes staring BACK at her!

Twenty years later, in the 1980s, Mary and I rode the Metra train from Kenosha, WI to Chicago, IL. The tracks were atrocious, having been allowed to deteriorate without maintenance forever. Our top speed might have been 30, and the train slowly filled up with gang-bangers and punks as we got closer to downtown. The conductor was marking time until retirement, and couldn't have cared less about what was happening around him.

It was....awful.

I keep reading about how Obama wants to build high-speed rail across the country, and how my recent-home-state of Iowa is hoping to build a train from Chicago to Iowa City and beyond -- at a total cost of hundreds of BILLIONS.

To which I say: If you really want to subsidize high speed travel from Chicago to Iowa, why not just add half a dozen commuter flights a day? It's faster, more fun, would help the aviation infrastructure, and would cost millions, not billions.

 

[Threefingeredjack]

I have ridden on Amtrak, and thought it nice. Then I rode a TGV in France and discovered how rail travel should be. Sad to think we cannot match their infrastructure.

 

[SCCutler]

OK.

So my nephew graduated from Texas in 2008, and having been accepted at NYU for law school, he decided he would ride Amtrak to New York, because it would be easier to bring all his stuff on the train.

So, he checked schedules and found he could do it, with a train from Austin to Chicago, connecting to a train from Chicago to DC, then a train from DC to New York. Long time, but he had time to kill. Oh, if he had only known!

First thing he finds out is, while you can board a train at Austin, you CANNOT CHECK BAGS THERE - so his fiancee had to drive him the hour and a half to San Antonio so he could and check bags. An irritant, but they're young, right?

The train starts north (past houses, farms and fields...), then ground to an unscheduled halt in the southern outskirts of... Austin... where, after a couple of hours of unexplained delay, they were told that there was track trouble ahead, and they would be transferred to buses.

Buses.

Which they (eventually) boarded (after clambering across bar ditches with water in them and humping possessions along the way). The bus driver headed north towards Fort Worth, where (they were told) they could re-board a train and continue their idyllic journey. The bus driver kept trying to stop "to give everyone a rest," but the passengers were more interested in getting to Fort Worth and improving their odds of riding the rails, like, some day soon.

Eventually, they got to Fort Worth where, after another seemingly-interminable wait, they boarded a train, and headed north (past houses, farms and fields...). As they neared St. Louis, they were informed that, if they intended to connect to the train to DC at Chicago, they were Out Of Luck, unless they agreed to...

...ride another BUS.

Which they did, to Milwaukee (long bus ride)... where they caught up with the train to DC, boarded it, and rode to DC.

The NYC connection was anti-climactic, in that the train was there, and it ran, and it was not a bus.

You cannot make this stuff up.

I'd still like to ride a train again, but from here, there are desperately few itineraries that make a lick of sense.

 

[Henning]

I have ridden on Amtrak, and thought it nice. Then I rode a TGV in France and discovered how rail travel should be. Sad to think we cannot match their infrastructure.

We can and do to an extent in the only market corridor where it makes sense, the NE line. The US is different from Europe in size. I can drive between any 2 points in western Europe in a day, that is the difference. The TGV/Eurostar... style trains run fast enough to replace airline travel in being able to make city pairs CBDs (Central Business Districts) in the same time as flying, often quicker. America is too expansive to pull it off except in that NE Corridor market.

 

[wsuffa]

I'd still like to ride a train again, but from here, there are desperately few itineraries that make a lick of sense.

So it really only makes sense (present day) along the Northeast Corridor (roughly Richmond to Boston) and the California Coast (San Diego to San Francisco, with greatest emphasas on the southern portion).

For commuters, rail works in the major metros that have it (Chicago, NY, Philly, Boston, DC, etc...).

As a tourist, one would find the trips through the Rockies to be *spectacular*, at least for some routes.

US Rail is *nothing* like rail in Europe (which in some/many countries is heavily subsidized & quite a nice ride). I would submit, though, that local trains in Italy are probably not much better than Amtrak, though the IC and Freccorossa are very nice.

I will probably end up doing a cross-country of the US (or partial cross country) as part of my book project, though I may do portions/repeat portions via my plane as the passenger routes of 2012 are different across the Plains than they were in the 40's.

 

[Henning]

Spike, there are two train rides in N America everyone should take, the Alaska tour and the Winnipeg to Churchill run. The last is one of the true greats as you meet polar bears at the top. In the summer they are often green and funny.

 

[Keith Lane]

Spike, there are two train rides in N America everyone should take, the Alaska tour and the Winnipeg to Churchill run. The last is one of the true greats as you meet polar bears at the top. In the summer they are often green and funny.

+1. I have made both of those trips, albeit while working. QNS&L is a cool railroad (we do work for the iron ore mining side of the railroad), but I thought the scenery on Alaska Railroad more majestic.

 

[Pilawt]

So it really only makes sense (present day) along the Northeast Corridor (roughly Richmond to Boston) and the California Coast (San Diego to San Francisco, with greatest emphasas on the southern portion).

Add Pacific Northwest (Eugene OR to Seattle and through to Vancouver BC). A comfy leather Talgo seat sure beats weaving amongst the semis on I-5.