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SantaFe69

Train Attendant
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2023
Messages
24
Location
Tulsa, OK
Hello Everyone;
I'm a new member and excited to join the forum. I grew up riding the train every weekend, back and forth between divorced parents, until Amtrak left the Oklahoma market. My Dad would drive me to the station over brick paved streets, grab us donuts on the way, and then we'd eat them while watching the sunrise as we waited for the train. Upon arrival, he would hand me off to the conductor and then "race" the train through the small town steets in his 67 Mustang fastback to the edge of town where he would wave good bye. The Santa Fe crews and later Amtrak as well, were always so very good to me. They kept a close eye out for me, made sure I woke up for my stop, reminded me of my forgotten jacket or thermos, and were just simply kind. These fond memories came flooding back as I looked for less stressful, more comfortable, interesting and enjoyable ways to travel in retirement years. You have to really want to travel by train to do so from Oklahoma these days, but I'm determined. I took my first trip recently to the Boston area and was hooked before my head hit the pillow (which was very quickly since I boarded the SWC at 3:15 AM)! I have two more trips booked this year; one to the west coast (EB to Seattle, then CS to LA) and then late in the year, a trip to New Orleans. While planning these trips. I've found the forum to be a wonderful resource, and am grateful to the many folks who have shared so much useful and interesting information.
Many Thanks and Safe Travels to All.
 
SantaFe69 said:
Hello Everyone;
I'm a new member and excited to join the forum. I grew up riding the train every weekend, back and forth between divorced parents, until Amtrak left the Oklahoma market. My Dad would drive me to the station over brick paved streets, grab us donuts on the way, and then we'd eat them while watching the sunrise as we waited for the train. Upon arrival, he would hand me off to the conductor and then "race" the train through the small town steets in his 67 Mustang fastback to the edge of town where he would wave good bye. The Santa Fe crews and later Amtrak as well, were always so very good to me. They kept a close eye out for me, made sure I woke up for my stop, reminded me of my forgotten jacket or thermos, and were just simply kind. These fond memories came flooding back as I looked for less stressful, more comfortable, interesting and enjoyable ways to travel in retirement years. You have to REALLY want to travel by train to do so from Oklahoma these days, but I'm determined. I took my first trip recently to the Boston area and was hooked before my head hit the pillow (which was very quickly since I boarded the SWC at 3:15 AM)! I have two more trips booked this year; one to the west coast (EB to Seattle, then CS to LA) and then late in the year, a trip to New Orleans. While planning these trips. I've found the forum to be a wonderful resource, and am grateful to the many folks who have shared so much useful and interesting information.
Many Thanks and Safe Travels to All.
Click to expand...
Welcome and thanks for the vivid flashbacks! It's tough shuttling between divorced parents, but you got some colorful and even fond memories from the experience. That '67 Mustang is worth a pretty penny now.

Notwithstanding that most of the routes you name (SWC, EB, etc.) involve going through Chicago, is your "home train" the Heartland Flyer, between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth?
 
Trollopian said:
Welcome and thanks for the vivid flashbacks! It's tough shuttling between divorced parents, but you got some colorful and even fond memories from the experience. That '67 Mustang is worth a pretty penny now.

Notwithstanding that most of the routes you name (SWC, EB, etc.) involve going through Chicago, is your "home train" the Heartland Flyer, between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth?
Click to expand...
If they're catching the Chief @ O Dark Thirty, sounds like it's in Newton, which means a Bus Ride from OKC to catch the Train unless they drive?
 
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Trollopian said:
Welcome and thanks for the vivid flashbacks! It's tough shuttling between divorced parents, but you got some colorful and even fond memories from the experience. That '67 Mustang is worth a pretty penny now.

Notwithstanding that most of the routes you name (SWC, EB, etc.) involve going through Chicago, is your "home train" the Heartland Flyer, between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth?
Click to expand...
Trollopian, Thank you so much for the welcome! Yes, the Heartland Flyer is the home train. They also a North bound connecting bus from Oklahoma City to Newton, KS where you can catch the SW Chief in the wee hours of the morning. I used this route to get to CHI on my first trip. I live in Tulsa, OK, so I went by car to the train station in OKC to take a bus to the train station in Newton, to take the train to CHI!! My west bound trip coming up, I will take the Heartland Flyer for the first time and then go from Ft Worth to CHI. It's a longer route, but arrives in CHI earlier which I'll need to connect to the EB. Every route offers new sights for me at this point! Do you have a favorite LD route?
 
Bob Dylan said:
If they're catching the Chief @ O Dark Thirty, sounds like it's in Newton, which means a Bus Ride from OKC to catch the Train unless they drive?
Click to expand...
You got it right Bob. I live in Tulsa, so it would have been more time efficient to drive to Newton but I wasn't sure about leaving a car there 10 days. As it turns out, I think it would have been fine.
 
The train I rode was the Texas Chief, which I think became the Lonestar after Santa Fe became Amtrak. Thanks for sharing the proposed routes. I had only seen one showing the OKC-NEW route, nothing going to Tulsa or any of the offshoots shown above. They have talked about OKC-NEW for a long time, but I'm more hopeful since the outlook is better for all expansion dreams these days.`
 
uncleboots said:
Back in the 80’s the State of Missouri wanted to fund a train with State of Oklahoma from St Louis to Oklahoma City. Missouri agreed to the funding Oklahoma declined so the train never happened. If Oklahoma had agreed, we could probably be looking at a Oklahoma City-Tulsa-St Louis-Chicago Train today.
Click to expand...
If they stopped in Springfield MO you could use the train to get to Branson, as well as Tulsa, etc.
I have read there is a proposed new large theme park in NE Oklahoma, also close to Tulsa, near Grand Lake.
I haven't seen any actual route proposed so I don't know if the route would go from Tulsa to Kansas City or St. Louis, or both, like the RPA map shows.
 
uncleboots said:
Back in the 80’s the State of Missouri wanted to fund a train with State of Oklahoma from St Louis to Oklahoma City. Missouri agreed to the funding Oklahoma declined so the train never happened. If Oklahoma had agreed, we could probably be looking at a Oklahoma City-Tulsa-St Louis-Chicago Train today.
Click to expand...
I don't remember hearing about it back then, but I was a young adult & certainly could have missed it. It's sure dissappointing from my view because I've always hoped to see easily accessible passenger rail back in Oklahoma. I spent a couple yrs in St Louis as a kid as well, so would have loved to be able to go see the Cardinals by rail over the years.

tgstubbs1 said:
If they stopped in Springfield MO you could use the train to get to Branson, as well as Tulsa, etc.
I have read there is a proposed new large theme park in NE Oklahoma, also close to Tulsa, near Grand Lake.
I haven't seen any actual route proposed so I don't know if the route would go from Tulsa to Kansas City or St. Louis, or both, like the RPA map shows.
Click to expand...
 

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