# My Part of the 3rd Amtrak Unlimited Gathering



## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 30, 2009)

Its finally time for the Amtrak Unlimited Annual Gathering! This year I am luck enough to be joining the group! I had made all my reservations a few months ago, and have been looking forward to this event since it was set up. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the gathering planning committee working night and day for months on end to get things set up. :lol: Seriously though a major thanks to those who made this possible.

My trip to the gathering started with a drive up the Garden State Parkway from my home to Metropark train Station. The wait was only a few minutes before a New York bound local train pulled up. My dad and I climbed aboard, and settled into a pair of seats on the right side providing views of the various yards and shops en route to New York Penn Station. The ride was about 45 minutes and passed with out anything really notable happening.

We arrived into New York Penn Station on track 2 right on time. We detrained and entered Americas Busiest train station just as rush hour was getting underway. With about 90 minutes to kill until anticipated boarding of Amtrak Northeast Regional 94 with service to Boston South Station. We debated over a few dining options inside Penn Station before deciding on Nathan's Hot Dogs inside the newly renovated food court.

After we ate we still had 40 minutes to kill before departure. We used the time to walk around the entire station including a walk down the LIRR Central Corridor. It was pretty crowded since by that time Friday rush hour was in full swing. I then took a moment to grab every NJ Transit Timetable for the Patrick and Alice Railriot 2009, which plans on riding NJ Transit in a few days. The rest of the time was spent playing my favorite game, guess the track assignment. Using the Solari board we began making predications on our track number. We ended up guessing right and were in the first 20 people one line at track 11 to board our Amtrak Regional.

We descended down to track level before the boarding call was even made thanks to a friendly staff member switch the escalator early. We chose the car before the Cafe which provided several rows of empty seats to choose from. We elected for a seat on the right side of the train for the scenic water views even though it would be dark long before we got to Rhode Island. We pulled out a few minutes later then advertised and were on our way!

We cruised through the tunnels, and out over the Hells Gate Bridge as the sun was setting. Its a very neat part of the run as you have a great expanse of water out the window and you can also see the curve in the bridge. We made good time all the way to Stamford, CT. We picked up a few passengers, and after the station stop I took a walk around the train. It was a decent crowd I would say the train was about 60% full.

The run to New Haven was highlighted with a long wait in the Cafe car. It wasnt the fault of the LSA, just a lot of business. The attendant was very friendly and efficient. Strangely enough he had a lot of $2 bills and was giving them out with the change. The crew for this part of the run also was very nice. One member of the crew left his laptop up with GPS set up on a cafe table for all to see. That was a very nice touch and provided some entertainment while we waited in line.

We got to New Haven on time I think. Somehow I forgot a timetable!  I have the new system timetable, but it doesnt have the NEC schedules in it, so I am in the dark in terms of OTP. We sat in New Haven for about 10 minutes where the crew changed and quite a few people either detrained or switched to the shuttle train to Springfield, MA. A pretty good group of people boarded at NHV.

After departing New Haven we began the run to Old Saybrook. It was dark, but it felt like we had pretty reasonable speed to Old Saybrook. We arrived in Old Saybrook where only a handful of people boarded. We were soon back on our way every minute getting closer to Boston!

We ran to New London which was fine I kind of lost track of time talking with my dad about some of our travel experiences. My dad noted again how stress and worry free riding Amtrak is compared to flights of similar lengths. We got there pretty much on time, and watched a car ferry dock. We took a little while to get rolling from New London, but eventually were on our way. It was time to head to Kingston RI. Home of the one and only traveler.

We got to Kingston, RI again no idea on time since I dont have a timetable on board. It was nice to see that Kingston was more then a blurry spec that was used as a reference point to those on the Acela. There was a fair amount of people getting on in Kingston, not to many at least from our car detraining. We then pulled away from Kingston, and began to accelerate. We quickly got up to speed and we were moving fast. I know the group took a spin at 150 miles an hour today, but 125 is pretty decent.

We rounded the trip off with quick stops to Providence, RI and Rt 128, MA. We discharged passengers at the first 2 Boston stations. After we left Back Bay Station we began gathering our things, and prepared to detrain. We hit the bumper at 10:03 PM a couple of minutes EARLY.

We walked through Boston South Station the whole time I couldnt believe I was really there and it was really the weekend for the gathering! We grabbed a cab to our hotel, where we were upgraded to an amazing suite thanks to my dads status with Holiday Inn.

I went down to the lobby and met ALC who had filled me in on the days events, and activities. He also generously gave me nearly an entire pizza from Giordanos in Chicago. It might have been a couple days old, but reheated it came pretty close to having it in the resturant. A very nice way to close out the night.

Sorry there are no pictures it was dark virtually the whole ride, so very limited opportunities.

Thanks for taking time to read this! 

I will be writing a report about tomorrow when I actually meet the group, and ride with them to Portland, Maine and return.

Sorry for any mistakes didnt do to much proof reading


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## ALC Rail Writer (Oct 30, 2009)

Sweet glad to know Giordanos can survive the trip. Thank Chuljin and GG-1 for that, they gave it to me! Mom and I each had a couple slices LAST night and it was amazing... We can't eat it all!


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## the_traveler (Oct 31, 2009)

Sounds like fun!  I have clocked the Regionals between OSB and KIN at speeds of 110-125 MPH many times! I agree that that can be fast enough!


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## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 31, 2009)

well folks this is a live update from on board the downeaster with the au group sitting in our own car here things are great so far stay tuned


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## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 31, 2009)

another rolling update

the groups aboard the downeaster 696 heading back to boston


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## the_traveler (Oct 31, 2009)

Long Train Runnin said:


> well folks this is a live update from on board the downeaster with the au group sitting in our own car here things are great so far stay tuned


It's not all fun & games! On the northbound trip, they ran out of CHOWDAH before I got to the cafe!


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## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 31, 2009)

the_traveler said:


> Long Train Runnin said:
> 
> 
> > well folks this is a live update from on board the downeaster with the au group sitting in our own car here things are great so far stay tuned
> ...


i know its amazing we could carry on without it


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## Anthony (Oct 31, 2009)

We cleaned out the Downeaster cafe! They were out of sandwiches and other stuff, too.


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## MrFSS (Oct 31, 2009)

What was really neat was Had8ley getting us early boarding and *our own car* both ways. AU has taken over the Downeaster!


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## the_traveler (Oct 31, 2009)

MrFSS said:


> What was really neat was Had8ley getting us early boarding and *our own car* both ways. AU has taken over the Downeaster!


They wanted to keep the riff-raff from the others! :lol:


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## AlanB (Oct 31, 2009)

MrFSS said:


> What was really neat was Had8ley getting us early boarding and *our own car* both ways. AU has taken over the Downeaster!


Yes, Jay worked quite hard and spent countless hours communicating with NNEPRA (Northern New England Passenger Rail Association) to get us that car. And if ridership had been high enough, then it wouldn't have been private, but since the other cars weren't full, we did get lucky.

And just as another FYI, it was Jay Hadley who first suggested a little more than 3 years ago that maybe we should try holding a get together, and from that was born the idea for the Gatherings.

So, Thanks Jay!


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## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 31, 2009)

Saturday October 31st, 2009 DAY 2

Wow, that can sum up today. As I start I have to say this will be written from my perspective, others from the group like Alan my write an overall summery. I can however provide my accounts from today. That in itself is a challenge as today was just so great.

I woke up around 7:15 figured that was close enough to the 8 AM wake up call I had requested. I did a few things, and got ready for the day. At about 8:30 me and my dad went down to breakfast. We had a pretty standard meal, while eating we met Greg (Gswager) for the first time. As we were finishing up we met Micah (ALC_Rail_Writer) and his mom.

After breakfast we went back up to the room and packed a day bag, checked the weather and looked at AU for any possible last second updates. We headed down to the lobby where a group of 8 of us were going to board the hotel shuttle to the Andrew T stop. Here I met Tom (Mr.FSS), Jerry (RRDude), and Chris D and we got onboard the shuttle. We got to the T station a few minutes later.

We all entered the T system with a variety of fare passes. Once in the system we made our way to the inbound red line platform. We waited about 10 minutes for an inbound redline train from Alewife. We all boarded and were on my way I was now moving on steel wheels with a group from AU the gathering at least for me was now underway. 3 stops later we made the transfer at downtown crossing to the orange line. Where we again rode 3 stops to North Station. Our group of 8 walked into North Station, where I started seeing more folks with the AU name tags on. Some folks I recognized from photographs I’d seen on the forum.

The group started to congregate around a few benches in North Station. Where I started shaking hands, and meeting new people. Some folks I’d had the chance to ride with before, but mostly new faces. I met to many people to list here (you know who you are :lol: ) I stood in a group of a few folks while we waited for our priority boarding on the Downeaster. Thanks to the efforts of Jay Hadley we would board early and be in our own car. The announcement went out for those in the Amtrak Unlimited group to report to track 7. Like fish to water the large group of railfans proceeded down the platform to our very own Amfleet 1 car.

We were all seated, and amazingly nearly filled up our car. We were a group of easily over 40 strong. It was great since everyone around me felt the same way about Amtrak. We all knew about Amtrak, and were enjoying it. I spent the ride up talking to a few people most notably Patrick and Alice of the famed Patrick and Alice RailRiot 2009 where we carefully avoiding actually planning a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. I had a nice lunch in the cafe car. On the Downeaster the menu is actually different since its stocked by a local company. I had a sub sandwich and a coke thats right coca cola on Amtrak! It was a very scenic ride which I really enjoyed.

Our arrival into Portland was on time I think. We all stuck around the platform as we planned our group shot. The process went pretty smoothly I had thought there would be more chaos but AU has things under control. We then proceed to dawdle away the remaining hour or so until we would return. I used this time to have a fantastic conversation with Bill H. literally a walking encyclopedia of railroading. I was enjoying our conversation when Patrick interrupted us to remind me there were trains outside. As much as I wanted to keep chatting with Bill I elected to go take a few pictures.

Patrick was right as the 2 P42s sitting outside made for some great shots. I shot with Micah and Chris (Chuljin). After taking a dozen photos I went over to the group milling around outside. We talked about photography mostly. I also learned a chilling detail about the RailRiot. Do you remember what the official snack of the RailRiot is? Do you care :lol: ? Its Beer Nuts which have not proved as popular as anticipated.

I then returned inside and in a few moments the Amtrak Unlimited group was called for early boarding again in our own car. We were told that we might be 30 minutes late because of signal problems. Luckily this wouldn’t effect us as things cleared up before we got there. The return run uh, I’m not sure I just kind of went along for the ride. I went to the cafe car once for a can of coke. I was pretty tired I had a nice conversation with Jack (Jack615) about baseball, and trains. The went of the ride just kind of slipped away.

We got to Boston North station right on time. We shuffled down the platform and made our way to beer works. We had our own room in the restaurant. Which was pretty dimly lit. The food was pretty good. Most of the group sat at a very long table I sat off to the side with Bill H. Mike and my dad. The food was good and the company was even better. We talked about a wide range of topics and it was just an overall fun time. There were a few hiccups toward the end with bill, but in time it was all ironed out.

A group of about 10 of us began a stroll toward the T station. We were quickly met an outbound Orange line train. It was pretty empty, so we were all able to sit together. We went 3 stops, where we said good by to Bill who would continue further down the line to his hotel. The rest of the group made the transfer to the red line. Again we lucked out as there was a red line train there literally as we hit the platform.

We rode the red line to Andrew T station where all but Mike detrained. Mike was heading to a station further outside of town where he had parked his car. We then made the walk back to our hotel.

Thats pretty much it.

The photos can be found by clicking here

A selection of 3 pics







Heading to the platform my flash illuminated the reflective strips providing a neat effect.






Venturing to the edge of the track for this shot. 2 P42s stand ready for service at Portland.






A down platform look from Portland station.

Stay tuned for the final day.

Sorry for any errors.

Thanks for reading!


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## acelafan (Oct 31, 2009)

Thanks for everyone's summary and round-up of the trip - I enjoy hearing about it. Sounds like a great time for all!


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 2, 2009)

Its like they say, “all good things must come to an end”. The 3rd Annual Amtrak Unlimited Gathering sadly is not an exception the final activities would take place today. I’m not sure what time I woke up as the hotel clocks were wrong, and we never got our wake up call. Finally I checked my phone and saw it was 7:10. We had to get moving, and quickly to have breakfast, and walk to meet the group. We went down to the breakfast area, and had a few breakfast items. Once we finished we went to meet the group at the Andrew T stop.

For us the meeting point was just a short walk from our hotel. We got there around 7:50 AM. Where most of the contingent had already arrived. We milled around for awhile you could tell everyone there was pretty excited about the mornings events including a tour of the high speed rail shop in Boston. After 10 minutes or so a van from Amtrak pulled up. We then all began to make our way to the shops. It was a quick walk to the shops. We then milled around some more :lol: waiting for our hosts to receive us. We were then taken to the cafeteria/break room. Where various Amtrak folks spoke. They did a great job providing a wealth of knowledge about the Acela. It was a great presentation!

The group was then split in half, and we were lead down on to the shop floor. It wasn’t as loud as I expected in fact it was very quiet. The building of course was huge. Over 600 feet long! There were 2 Acela sets in the 2 work bays. We started our tour inside the cab of the front power car! This of course was an amazing experience as I got to sit in the engineers seat for a moment. We then walked through the rest of the power car, where you could see all kinds of cabinets and such, must with signs proclaiming some type of hazard or another. There was a restroom in the power car which kind of surprised me since the Acela doesn’t really go on long runs.

We were then walked through the train which was being cleaned and serviced. One car had parts of the seats removed, so that was neat to see. We then settled into the Cafe car where our tour guide was able to field all of our questions with a very through answer. I was surprised to learn that contrary to what I have read the Acela sets are actually not “trash”, and there have been very few major issues with them. We then were lead back to the cafeteria.

Once both groups were back from the tour we heard more from our guides and a few other Amtrak employees. We were give gift bags from the PR folks which had some literature I haven’t looked at yet, a deck of Acela playing cards, and a very nice Amtrak pen. The tour was great! Until the gathering I would have never thought I would ever be sitting in the engineers seat of an Acela. I really enjoyed myself and again would like to thank Anthony for setting the tour up, and of course our tour guides.

The group then made its way to South Station. My dad and I returned to our hotel to grab our bags and check out. We then made our way to South Station. The group was having lunch when we arrived. There was still a large group there most were either heading out on that days Lakeshore Limited, or riding some more with those who would be in town longer. Alan also gave out some vintage Amtrak promotional materials from days gone by. A few neat things included a sticker celebrating Amtrak’s 10th birthday. Some vintage luggage tags from the 1980s which were way cool. I felt bad since they were still sealed, but ended up putting them on my bags.

The group then left to go ride some commuter rail. I had to remain in South Station since the trip wouldn’t leave me enough time to catch my intended regional back home. A final round of handshakes and brief planning for later in the week when the RailRiot enters my neck of the woods. Then they were gone  The group was off, and my part of the Amtrak Unlimited Gathering came to an end. I had a few hours to kill before Amtrak Northeast Regional 165 would take me back to New Jersey.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend. It was well worth the 10 month wait, and I already can’t wait for the next one! Everything went smoothly and the group was full of excellent people. It really does provide a new appreciation for AU, as now folks are just more then a screen name.

Thanks to everyone who planned, and attended the gathering!

Photos coming soon!

Stay tuned:

My ride home on regional 165

And a busy 7 days ahead.

Wednesday: The Patrick and Alice RailRiot comes to town.

Saturday: A trip to Montreal to experience Amtrak’s only dome car.

Sunday: A return from Montreal under the dome.

Check you local listings.

Thanks for reading!


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## the_traveler (Nov 2, 2009)

Long Train Runnin said:


> We were then walked through the train ... We then settled into the Cafe car


I was in the *GOOD* group :lol: - and *WE* got to wait in the *FIRST CLASS CAR*! ^_^


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 2, 2009)

the_traveler said:


> Long Train Runnin said:
> 
> 
> > We were then walked through the train ... We then settled into the Cafe car
> ...


:lol: I'm not going to lie you guys did get the better tour. Now if you got 750 points for your trip up there then I'd be impressed.


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## the_traveler (Nov 2, 2009)

Long Train Runnin said:


> :lol: I'm not going to lie you guys did get the better tour. Now if you got 750 points for your trip up there then I'd be impressed.


No I didn't get 750 points, but I did get 400 points per day by staying at Chez Traveler! :lol:


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 2, 2009)

the_traveler said:


> Long Train Runnin said:
> 
> 
> > :lol: I'm not going to lie you guys did get the better tour. Now if you got 750 points for your trip up there then I'd be impressed.
> ...


:lol: :lol: fair enough. You win again.


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 24, 2009)

Someone pointed out to me today that my shots from the shop tour never made it online. I however have fixed that problem and you can now find my shop tour pictures by clicking Here


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## Bob Dylan (Nov 24, 2009)

Long Train Runnin said:


> Someone pointed out to me today that my shots from the shop tour never made it online. I however have fixed that problem and you can now find my shop tour pictures by clicking Here


Quick call Homeland Security! A terrorist has taken control of an Acela, who knows whats fixing to happen? :lol: 

Good pics, thanks for sharing, I look forward to being able to ride next time Im in the NEC and hopefully next years Gathering is in the MidWest!

(Still think NOL would be a cool place for it!)


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## the_traveler (Nov 25, 2009)

jimhudson said:


> I look forward to being able to ride next time Im in the NEC *and hopefully next years Gathering in the Mid-West*!


There's no AE in the mid-west! (Texans!  )

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Bob Dylan (Nov 25, 2009)

the_traveler said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > I look forward to being able to ride next time Im in the NEC *and hopefully next years Gathering in the Mid-West*!
> ...


Thats what we want yall to think! Actually we have several sets that are used only by special pax such as, ahem, me! :lol:

I kn ow you know what I meant, probably the cold winter and the holiday crowds there in the NE have you yankees uptight so:

have some RI chowder, eat a good Thanksgiving dinner, and hurry up and catch a train, its been too long for you! :lol:


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## Everydaymatters (Nov 25, 2009)

Great trip report and pictures. Looking forward to seeing you next year.


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## the_traveler (Nov 25, 2009)

jimhudson said:


> in the NE have you yankees uptight


Calling us Yankees - them there are fighting words! :angry: New England is Red Sox Nation!


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## Bob Dylan (Nov 25, 2009)

the_traveler said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > in the NE have you yankees uptight
> ...


Yankees win! Oh, Yankees WIN!!!! It was in all the papers and on the TV, is RI so small the news hasnt gotten there by Paul Revere yet?I actually met a few Yankee fans @ Fenway with Yankee gear on!( Talk about guts! :lol: ) Never have seen Red Sox fanatics in Yankee Stadium yet but I havent been to the new one! Yall do have good football and basketball teams, just need to get the Sawks and Bruins up to speed! :lol: (Also have lots of good/frequent trains!!!)


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