# Underway for CHI



## Ryan (Oct 17, 2013)

Amazingly, everything fell together nicely in packing this morning (aside from a last minute radio shack run), I was even able to get things packed such that I can easily carry them if the LSL runs late enough that I can't drop my bags at the hotel tomorrow morning.

My lovely wife drove me to BWI and even slowed down before pushing me out of the car. 

So far we're on time on 84, just leaving PHL. Thanks to the guys in Wilmington for parking their ACS-64 out in front where I could get a good look at it. Lots of random cool stuff laying about in PHL, another ACS-64' the Amtrak exhibit train with the Veterans Special P42 #42 on the front, and a random Viewliner hanging about on another track.

So far, so good! We pick Jis up in about 45 minutes, and I'll see the rest of y'all tomorrow morning!


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## Ryan (Oct 17, 2013)

Question: just out of PHL, right hand side headed north, there's an old Amtrak F unit and another car, practically covered in graffiti parked maybe 30 yards off the track. Anyone know why they're there and what their story is?


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## jis (Oct 17, 2013)

That is Juniata Company which is a collector and restorer of old stuff.

I am at Metropark. I will probably board near the tail end since usually there are more open seats there. This being an NYP terminator might have more open seats anyway.


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## SarahZ (Oct 17, 2013)

Yay!


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## jis (Oct 17, 2013)

We arrived in NYP on schedule. Now in an almost SRO Club Acela.


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## Ryan (Oct 17, 2013)

I grabbed some lunch while Jis was kind enough to watch my bags. Came back after 3 and things cleared out.

Now I'm being entertained by a very unhappy pair of guys that we're told be the on the ball CA staff that the ridiculous amount of luggage they were planning on carrying on were in no way going to fit in their roomette.


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## SarahZ (Oct 17, 2013)

Oh no. Did you share our secrets and help them out?


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## Ryan (Oct 17, 2013)

GUESS WHO HAS THE 8400???


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## trainman74 (Oct 17, 2013)

Ryan said:


> GUESS WHO HAS THE 8400???


Bah, you've stolen my thunder, from the second half of my trip report (which I have yet to write). I had 8400 on 49(6).


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## Acela150 (Oct 17, 2013)

jis said:


> That is Juniata Company which is a collector and restorer of old stuff.


More detailed information is the owner is Bennett Levin who owns the PRR E8's and the Pennsylvania 120. Nice guy.


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## Ryan (Oct 17, 2013)

Leaving ALB more or less on time(ish, we barely cleared the platform and have stopped again).

Amazing dinner with Jis in the 8400, I had an excellent steak and his salmon looked delicious. All while watching a glorious sunset over the Hudson.

For my notes later, we had 705 (lead) and 702 (trail) haul us to Albany.

I always knew that the LSL was a long train, but I wasn't prepared to see this behemoth put together. Most impressive!


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## Acela150 (Oct 17, 2013)

It is a heck of a train isn't it??!!


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## Ryan (Oct 18, 2013)

Very impressive.

As Jis mentioned, we have passed the hour late point in Waterloo.

I have to put in a good word about my sleeping car attendant, Maria. She's been 100% on the ball since before we left NYP. She has little paper tags outside of every room with who she is expecting in each room and for what segment, which came in handy since I was not on the Hudson side of the train, but since my neighbors across the hall weren't boarding until CLE I was able to pop over there and see some of the sights. She's also brought sodas around a few times and came around pre-dinner with a bag of chips and some bowls for anyone that needed a bit of a snack before dinner. She also used the little tags to write down when I wanted the bed made up and that I didn't need a wake up call. A great way to get organized and make sure everyone is taken care of. True to her word, she showed up promptly at 8:30 last night and was nice enough to just set up the upper bed for me, leaving the downstairs as a sitting area for as long as I wanted to stay up.

A bit more of a mixed bag in the dining car, Robert was very friendly, but a little slow at times. I asked for coffee with my dessert, but the coffee didn't manifest itself until after my delicious cheesecake was gone. Similar story at breakfast. Hector, working the other side of the car, seemed to turn his tables much more quickly (and presumably is collecting more in tips because of it).

Onwards to CHI!!!

Edit: Maria strikes again! No sooner than imposed this, she saw my iPad out (and iPhone and scanner) and asked what time we were due into CHI (10:17, but we'll see). After a brief friendly chat, she stopped back by with another Pepsi and a glass of ice! This lady is on the ball!


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## Ryan (Oct 19, 2013)

Day 1 close out.

Arrived in CHI about an hour late, leaving me two hours to do the (unnecessary as it turns out) bag drop. Decided to walk to the hotel, turned out to be closer to 2 miles, still knocked it out in only a half hour, and was able to get into my room at 11:30! Decided to cab it back to CUS, best $10 spent all day.

Arrived back in time to grab lunch where I ran into Jim at the counter at McDonalds. I had already run into Mr and mrsFSS, the station was crawling with AUers. Met the rest of the gang in the "private lounge" (nice work, btw!) and had a smooth run up to MKE.

The stop in Glenview for dinner was flawless. Grandpa's Place did a great job, and the organization was top notch. Great work by the Committee on that one. Plenty of time to get back across the lot to the train station and foam a bit, and take some hopefully sweet pictures before our chariot arrived to return us to CHi.

Once we returned, the groups split up, I ended up taking a bus with SarahZ and JebR (I need to change my username to RyanS to fit in with that crowd) to Michigan Ave, where we hit up some shops for souvenirs. After some difficulty in finding our way back into my hotel and finding the [email protected]$n elevators, I finally was able to drop my bags and the 3 of us set out to see some more sights. Unfortunately, after walking around the Tribune building and seeing the cool artifacts embedded in the wall, it was after 9 and most shops were closed up. So, we decided to call it a night and we each retired to our hotels.

Tomorrow: more of the same. If you're not here, you're Doing It Wrong!


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## Ryan (Oct 20, 2013)

Day two started with a comedy of errors on my part. I planned to leave my hotel by 8 to make it to CUS to meet up. I accomplished this not once, not twice, but three times, forgetting to take my medicine the first time and my name tag/ventra pass the second. This means that as soon as I got down to the street, I saw the 151 bus that would take me straight there driving past. "No problem," I say to myself, "I'll just take the Loop over". I make the nearly trip-ending mistake of going up the first set of stairs I see (putting me on the outside, counter clockwise platform) and getting on the first train that's pulling into the platform as I get up there. Turns out that this is a brown line train that isn't going to make the left turn to continue around the loop, but is going to turn right and head directly away from my intended destination. Fortunately I check the map right away, and jump off the train at the next stop, still in the Loop. I then compound that error by not checking the map and assuming that since the brown line doesn't continue around the loop, the green line will. After standing there not checking the map for 10 minutes, the green line train shows up, I board and it continues on straight out of the loop. When I cross over the river, I know that I messed up. Having my fill of trains already, I jump off a Clinton and decide to just walk the rest of the way, just barely making it in time to meet the group.

The run to Joliet was nice and uneventful, the layover there was taken by train watching, picture taking and the group shot that Tom posted. After boarding for the return trip, the conducted scanned my phone and said "Sir, are you sure you have the right ticket?" Looking at it, I see that it's JOL-CHI dandy say "Yes!" He points out that the ticket is dated for Sunday, not Saturday and suggests that I call the 800 number to modify the reservation. I did with a minimal amount of pain and then tracked him down to let him know he could now lift my correctly dated ticket (I did have to pay the $3 fare difference over the phone).

Ok, time to get packing so I'm not nearly late for this morning's [redacted] event.


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## AmtrakBlue (Oct 20, 2013)

Typical male - doesn't ask for directions, not even from a piece of paper on the wall.  :lol:

Penny, I'm glad Ryan isn't taking the boat tour or I may be taking a dip. :giggle:


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## Ryan (Oct 20, 2013)

Hey, I'm a certified professional navigator, boats are easy!


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## the_traveler (Oct 20, 2013)

Yeah, I agree you're certified! But I can't figure out what how you're certified - who did you bribe? :huh:

Penny is a "certified AU navigator" too. If she says "turn right", you know you need to turn left! :giggle: If they are taking "a 3 hour tour" in Chicago, and Penny is navigating, say hi to the Skipper and Gilligan for me!


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## AmtrakBlue (Oct 20, 2013)

Ryan, I was implying you we're going to throw me overboard for my comment.


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## Ryan (Oct 23, 2013)

OK, so I'm finally back in the office and have work tamed enough to write for a bit.

Day two, part 2.

The afternoon run to Manhattan was nice and sleepy. Decent scenery, albeit green tinted through Metra's signature windows. Good conversation on the upper level, and Sarah took one of my favoriteist pictures ever:







Sometime during the trip, someone spoke with the conductor and told him that we were returning straightaway to Chicago and secured permission for us to just hang out on the train while they took it to the yard and sat on the train there until it came time to head back to CHI. Rare mileage for us! 

After getting back to Chicago, the days formal activities concluded and the group split up for an evening on the town. Since some folks weren't going on the shop tour the next morning, it was time to say "goodbye" to a few folks (far too soon!).

Sarah (SarahZ), Betty (AmtrakBlue), Jay (TraneMan), Joe (MARC Rider), and Jeb (Jebr) and I headed to the Sears Tower (Sarah will smack me if I call it the Willis Tower) to head up to the skydeck. The PLAN was to get up there and see the sunset, but it seems we weren't the only one with that plan as it was a 2 hour wait to get to the top. After 90 minutes of standing in several lines, taking coats off, going through security, getting pictures taken, a member of our party nearly getting into a fight and buying tickets, we finally made it to the top. As promised the view was amazing. We got a group shot on one one of the ledges and then headed off in search of some famous deep dish pizza. Fortunately, Giordano's (official pizza of AU!) is right around the corner and despite walking into a PACKED lobby, we were able to get seated at a table right away. Shortly after getting seated, Davey Crockett rolled in and joined the party.

After dinner I met up with a friend of mine that just happened to be in town on his way helping a friend driving cross country. After a few drinks with him, it was off to bed to rest up for the penultimate day.


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## SarahZ (Oct 23, 2013)

I'm glad you like the picture. It's one of my favorites too.  I might put it in my cubicle, along with some other shots from the weekend.



RyanS said:


> (Sarah will smack me if I call it the Willis Tower)


You are correct.


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## Ryan (Mar 30, 2014)

HAY GUESS WHAT I DID!!!

Finally processed the 700 pictures I took at the Gathering down to a manageable 115.

Trying something new and going with Smugmug. Comments/Suggestions welcome.

I like the gallery layout that shows the titles and captions...

http://ryanstavely.smugmug.com/Trains/AU-Gathering/


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## CHamilton (Mar 30, 2014)

Absolutely stunning, Ryan. Thank you for sharing your brilliant pictures.


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## AmtrakBlue (Mar 30, 2014)

Great pics!


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## Ryan (Mar 30, 2014)

Thanks, guys! A couple of my favorites:

Glenview, after dinner. From the public crossing, and with Sarah standing there making sure nothing snuck up behind me.





No, this is not Jo. This is Alan.





From the yard tower:





THE SOAP!!!


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## Railroad Bill (Mar 30, 2014)

Great memories of a fantastic Gathering in Chicago. Looking forward to seeing everyone in SF in the fall.


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## SarahZ (Mar 30, 2014)

The picture with "Jo" made me laugh. I was going to tell you it would have been funny if one of the Joes had been standing there.


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## Ryan (Mar 30, 2014)

Ha, that would have been great.


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 30, 2014)

Fantastic Ryan, thanks for Posting!


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## The Davy Crockett (Mar 30, 2014)

Awesome pics of awesome memories!

:hi: :hi: _*THANKS*_ for posting! :hi: :hi:


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## SarahZ (Mar 30, 2014)

Those are all in my favorites, but I also love these:







(Where was that taken? It reminds me of Michigan's upper peninsula (the rock and autumn colors).)






Dat font. (For those who weren't there, this is the Milwaukee train station.)






I love the juxtaposition of the tinted Metra windows against that sky.






Sunset on the Wrigley Building






The intersection of State & Lake with the L tracks above


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## Ryan (Mar 30, 2014)

That first picture is from the LSL in New York, right along the Hudson.

I'm somewhat annoyed that the location data wasn't published to Smugmug, I spent a long time getting it right in Aperture.


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## SarahZ (Mar 30, 2014)

I thought that was a hotel, so I looked it up.

http://www.chaletonthehudson.com/

It turns out it's solely a wedding/banquet venue. What a gorgeous place to get married and have a reception (plus, trains!)


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## Steve4031 (Apr 1, 2014)

Great picks. Thanks


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