# Going To Gathering VI



## WhoozOn1st

Well, Valued Readers (both of you), following a string of reports about trips that were heavy on rail but light on actual riding, along comes one that figures to be a whole lotta both.

Yes, Team Whooz is getting underway once again - this time riding the rails from the outset - for the cross-country Amtrak ride to the Amtrak Unlimited 6th Annual Gathering - aka Gathering VI.

Today's departure is a twin bill: Pacific Surfliner to Southwest Chief. Along the way we'll be riding the Cardinal, a couple Keystones, several Northeast Regionals (exact number TBD en route), the Boston section of the Lakeshore Limited, the City of New Orleans, and the Sunset Limited. Not bad, eh?

Also on the agenda is a Railfest at the B&O Museum in Baltimore, and several days of rental car roaming, exact activities still unknown - but sure to be rail-centric!

Along the way we'll be updating this ongoing rant as time, connections, and material permit. I'm guessing the first major addition will come in a few days, during the Chicago layover. But who knows?

While I generally like to include some photographs and/or videos, as well as links to more, obviously there's nothing to begin with. And a montage of the MayhemMobile in my driveway while we're loading up and getting outta here wouldn't be a very attractive photo kickoff, now, would it?

But we don't wanna start off with just plenty o' nuthin', either. So to conclude this inaugural installment here's a two-year-old semi-generic view of Los Angeles Union Station, from which we'll REALLY be getting underway later today.

See you along the way!!







Pacific Surfliner departing on track 12, seen from deck outside board room of Metro headquarters building. Note Gold Line flyover to Chinatown, and a bit of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine at top left.
​


----------



## pennyk

Have a great trip Patrick. See you in a week (or so).


----------



## Shanghai

Have a great trip. Please don't break the Cardinal. I will be on that train one week after

the Gathering!!


----------



## jb64

Enjoy your trip. Looking forward to your pictures.


----------



## rrdude

Patrick, I'll do whatever I can to greet you in B'More. Please advise when you have an actual date for the B & O. It's not a bad museum at all. Even "non-railfans" like it.

Ryan, we should figure out something to "Welcome" Patrick and his entourage to B'more..........


----------



## Guestlsa

When you be on sunset limited ? I don't even return back to work until October 9 and in which I be working Texas eagle portion following day


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Chicago, where the first order of business will be relocation from this hideous noisy rathole near Midway airport to more suitable lodging downtown. Until the move is accomplished it's well nigh impossible to even think straight. Team Whooz had never stayed at an airport-adjacent hotel before, and never will again. Good thing we'd already switched from a similar dump at Philadelphia. The noise is unbelieveable, and that's not even counting the aircraft!






The diamonds at Los Nietos, seen from the last coach of the Southwest Chief during Team Whooz' departure from southern California on 9-27-12.
​


----------



## pennyk

WhoozOn1st said:


> Greetings from Chicago, where the first order of business will be relocation from this hideous noisy rathole near Midway airport to more suitable lodging downtown. Until the move is accomplished it's well nigh impossible to even think straight. Team Whooz had never stayed at an airport-adjacent hotel before, and never will again. Good thing we'd already switched from a similar dump at Philadelphia. The noise is unbelieveable, and that's not even counting the aircraft!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The diamonds at Los Nietos, seen from the last coach of the Southwest Chief during Team Whooz' departure from southern California on 9-27-12.
> ​


nice photo Patrick. I hope your move to downtown Chicago works. Will you be chatting tonight?


----------



## WhoozOn1st

pennyk said:


> I hope your move to downtown Chicago works. Will you be chatting tonight?


Whooz gonna chat when there are trains to ride!? Does Metra have Wi-Fi? Guess I'll be finding out shortly!

Greetings from DOWNTOWN Chicago, where the relocation has been successfully accomplished. After completion of the move we did a cool Metra Milwaukee District West run out to Elgin. To maximize our $7 weekend passes we're about to scoot over to Millenium Park station - not far from the new hotel - for a Metra Electric joyride down to University Park and back. FUN!

EDIT: No Wi-Fi on Metra Electric. Using a smartphone to log into chat from the train I was able to say hey, but that was about it. Typing on the itsy-bitsy keyboard, then trying to send from the teensy-weensy screen was more hassle that it was worth while enjoying a train ride.






Our Southwest Chief backs into Los Angeles Union Station to be spotted for the Team Whooz departure on the (rail)road to Amtrak Unlimited Gathering VI, 9-27-12.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

On Team Whooz' second full day at Chicago there was time for some riding, onboard railfanning, and general photography to go along with housekeeping chores and lots of walking.

The big fun was a Metra ride up to Waukegan on the Union Pacific North Line. We departed in midafternoon, meaning lots of meets with outbound rush hour trains during our inbound return.

Tuesday we head to Philadelphia, from where the next installment will likely originate. Looks like a proper trip report will have to wait until after our return home to California (assuming the inclination to create one remains), and this ongoing rant will be more of progressive a trip diary.

Monday Chicago views, from the top: Metra train backs at Waukegan to change tracks and respot to board for the return run to Chicago's Ogilvie Transportation Center; Meeting an outbound rush hour train as we near downtown Chicago - note Wrigley (a name almost synonymous with the city) billboard; View from the Team Whooz 18th floor Command Post. We do not "give in" to Giordano's, as we're made of sterner stuff. And speaking of stuffed, it's well known where many AU types get it when in Chicago.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

A surprise quick post from Chicago Union Station and the Amtrak Morbid Obsesity Lounge, where the internet connection is excellent!

The big news: It's WINDY in Chicago!! Who woulda thunk it!?

Everything has gone smoothly, from hotel check-out to Amtrak check-in. Killed a few hours railfanning around the immediate downtown area, including views of the shops from Roosevelt Rd., and some Metra and Amtrak arrivals and departures at a nearby grade crossing. Even managed an L shot. No riding so far today, but hey, we're about to board the Cardinal, the consist of which I believe we've already seen at the yard. If so, looks like there's private varnish on the tail to block the view from the last coach. Hmmm.

Next: City of Brotherly Loath.


----------



## Steve4031

Enjoying the trip report from the side lines as the Harlan sophomore football team beats that azz.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

No idea what that irrelevant sports reference has to do with the price of eggs.

Greetings from Philadelphia, where Team Whooz awaits the AU mob arrival with a mixture of fear and revulsion. 

The Cardinal arrived about a half hour down, after regaining 30 minutes of apparent padding since D.C. It sure is fun jamming along at 100+ mph, and a really different sound experience from the best coast usual. A pleasant surprise of the ride was the amount of jointed rail encountered during the run from Chicago. The New River Gorge was pleasant enough, and it's easy to see why pioneers kept moving westward, to where the REAL scenery is!

Turned out I was correct in believing that a consist seen in the Chicago yard was our train with private varnish tacked to the back. The Pullman sleeper "Chebanse" came off at Indianapolis, but was not responsible for blocking the view: On walking the train I found the window out the back of the last Amfleet was blacked. Criminal. Amtrak touts scenery, then intentionally eliminates the second best view (cab's best, but...); talk about head up the wazoo!






Tight headway: Two Metra trains arrive at Chicago Union Station on the same track, while an Amtrak push/pull departure disappears into the afternoon distance around a curve.
​


----------



## Steve4031

WhoozOn1st said:


> 1349366699[/url]' post='397682']No idea what that irrelevant sports reference has to do with the price of eggs.


 It's relevant IMHO because that's what I was doing as I was reading your trip report. Enjoying the best of both worlds.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

BREAKING NEWS: AU Sighting at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. AlanB, his mom Grace, and member Misty were spotted and stopped while hovering about suspiciously near the SEPTA ticket booth. Further reports as this tense situation develops. We now return you to the rant already in progress.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Now putting a wrap on the first day in Philadelphia, Team Whooz enjoyed a warm and humid one of learning our way around and purchasing Gathering tickets in advance where possible. We look forward to a weekend of fine riding, and hope the weather holds (with maybe less humidity). The day's pics included this westbound Frankford-Market Line train arriving, and a morning view from the Team Whooz Keystone Kommand Post:


----------



## caravanman

Hi,

Enjoying reading your posts... guess the gathering will be more of a "feztival" now your team have arrived... Sorry to miss out attending again this year.

Ed


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Thanks caravanman Ed, and hello again Valued Readers!

There was a delay in updating this rant due to a mishap that I greatly feared would cause me to write cliche crap like "Alas, the Amtrak Unlimited 6th Annual Gathering ended for poor Team Whooz before it had really begun."

Fortunately the mishap was not as debilitating as it at first seemed, and Team Whooz was able to enjoy some later Gathering VI activities.

Briefly, my left arm was broken below the shoulder in a hotel room fall while preparing for the Friday riding. That put the kibosh on Gathering VI, Day 1, which was mostly passed in a hospital emergency room. By Saturday things had improved enough for us to join the mob for SEPTA rides following their return from the Amtrak run to Harrisburg.

And as all can now see, I can type, albeit slowly and with pain. So a full report will have to wait, as will a departure from Philadelphia until after a follow-up appointment with an orthopedic specialist.

For now I'd just like to thank all the good folks who made Gathering VI a rebound success for Team Whooz.






The afternoon Philadelphia skyline, seen from the Market-Frankford Line during the final ride of AU Gathering VI.
​


----------



## Acela150

Excellent Photo of the Skyline Whooz! I wish you safe travels back home!  Most important the rest of the report.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Acela150 said:


> Excellent Photo of the Skyline Whooz!


Views like that are why I like to ride up front with a forward lookout. Good chatting with you briefly over your CHEESESTEAK!! at Reading Market, and sorry we had to cut out quickly on Team Whooz business before the ride out to Norristown.

The wheels are grinding away here at the Keystone Kommand post, looking to salvage what we can of the venture given the cracked wing. Contingent on seeing a doctor this afternoon we're thinking of scrapping the Amtrak return to SoCal in favor of a cross-country car rental - we're currently getting around in a bile-green Ford Escape Interim MayhemMobile - while at the same time attempting to maintain a rail component of some sort during the westward drive. Tall order, updates as warranted. A more immediate local option might include riding Friday's missed Gathering VI itinerary before departing the Philadelphia area.

Here's a shot of some Gatherers on Saturday afternoon at Chestnut Hill East, by which time Team Whooz had managed to join up and ride out. They (and we) were getting reading to board a SEPTA Silverliner back to 30th Street Station:


----------



## Michigan Mom

I can't remember my password and the reset link isn't working. Best wishes for a speedy recovery Whooz. Wouldn't the train ride back home be more restful for you than driving?? And this might be blasphemous but if time is of the essence, it might be cheaper to (gasp) fly?

Michigan Mom


----------



## Everydaymatters

Sorry to hear about your mishap, Patrick. I hope your return home is fun, but safe. Hope to see you at next year's gathering.


----------



## pennyk

Patrick, however you get back cross country, please do it safely. It was good to see both you and Alice.

My healing thoughts are with you.


----------



## Ryan

rrdude said:


> Patrick, I'll do whatever I can to greet you in B'More. Please advise when you have an actual date for the B & O. It's not a bad museum at all. Even "non-railfans" like it.
> 
> Ryan, we should figure out something to "Welcome" Patrick and his entourage to B'more..........


Shucks, this is the first I've wandered into this thread - was Team Whooz still headed this way? They're among the folks I didn't get nearly enough time to chat with...


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Baltimore. There wasn't gonna be a post today, but it was impossible to pass up the date: 10-11-12.

Great thanks for the expressions of concern and well wishes, and though no miraculous healing is on the horizon, neither is anything horrendous - meaning surgery - in store for the fractured limb. One more orthopaedic appointment and we're headed westward.

While biding time until the next medical date we're trying to not waste the Team Whooz stay on the eastern seaboard. A run down I-95 in the Interim MayhemMobile took us to the B&O Museum (my 3rd time), where we enjoyed a rail history afternoon that included docent tours of the roundhouse and former restoration shop. We'll be doing some other freelancing around before changing to a more fuel-efficient auto for the return cross-country trek. What rail element that trek might include remains to be seen, but Valued Readers may rest assured they'll be kept apprised.






Pioneer is a 2-2-2T locomotive of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, built in 1851 and now part of the B&O Museum's Civil War exhibit, "The War Came by Train." ( Not a real person at left.)
​


----------



## AlanB

Patrick,

While you weren't wasting time, did you manage to slip in a ride on NJT's River Line?

If you did, then when you have the time, I'd be curious on your opinion on that line vs. the Sprinter. We had briefly talked about that line and the different diesel LRT technologies in use on each during one of the SEPTA commuter rides.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

AlanB said:


> While you weren't wasting time, did you manage to slip in a ride on NJT's River Line?


No River Line yet, Alan, but we're not outta here yet either. I well recall our diesel light rail talk while riding SEPTA.

Greetings from Gloucester City, New Jersey.

Team Whooz became so enamored of Baltimore, and of remaining in one place to reduce untoward movement, that we tarried in the vicinity for a number of days. On Saturday we returned to the B&O Museum for a rail fest event that featured riding behind steam and running demonstrations by a Civil War steam locomotive, of which there are only five with a documented history in the conflict. Plans were made to ride the local light rail system, but under the circumstances that proved unpractical; we settled instead for a few photos and some video at Hunt Valley station on the northern end of the line.

From the top: William Mason "American Type" 4-4-0 No. 25 following a demonstration run near the old B&O shop complex; Porter 0-4-0T No. 4 pulls a train back toward the museum. Apparently the museum had nobody available who knows how to properly fire No. 4. The amount of smoke was ridiculous - all that white is not a blown photo, it's some of the smoke pall that blanketed the area where No. 4 passed; Baltimore light rail at northern terminus.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Another damn dismal day without riding a train!

But as a sort of final act of east coast rail tourism - following another doctor's appointment and various chasing around in prepration for heading back west - Team Whooz did get to watch New Jersey Transit's River Line in action at its 36th Street station in Camden, New Jersey.

Now I've at least SEEN all three U.S. diesel light rail operations (Portland, Oregon's, WES and San Diego County's Sprinter are the others). As AlanB and other AU veterans know, I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to these things, with especially low regard for the mechanical monstrosity that is Sprinter. While I didn't get to ride the River Line, I did pay close attention to the trains I was able to witness and came away with as positive an impression as I suppose I could ever get from a mode I consider a poor - albeit practical in some circumstances - substitute for electrification.

There'll be more to say on the subject in a more detailed trip account than this rant-on-the-run diary thing. For the time being we're about to mount the bile-green Interim MayhemMobile and point its wheels toward the setting sun for what promises to be a hectic westbound run to southern California.

Photos: A southbound River Line train arrives at 36th Street, and another - headed for Trenton - pauses on its way north.


----------



## AlanB

WhoozOn1st said:


> Another damn dismal day without riding a train!
> 
> But as a sort of final act of east coast rail tourism - following another doctor's appointment and various chasing around in prepration for heading back west - Team Whooz did get to watch New Jersey Transit's River Line in action at its 36th Street station in Camden, New Jersey.


I'm sorry that circumstances conspired against you and prevented you from riding the River Line. I suspect that your impressions of it, at least compared to Sprinter, would have been far more favorable.



WhoozOn1st said:


> Now I've at least SEEN all three U.S. diesel light rail operations (Portland, Oregon's, WES and San Diego County's Sprinter are the others).


Actually WES is commuter rail, not light rail. There are currently only two diesel powered LRT ops in the US. Ottawa has the third system in North America.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from an area on severe weather watch, somewhere in Tennessee west of the Johnny Cash Rest Area.

The only rail-related info to report from what has become the Team Whooz Cross Country Cursing & Criticism Crusade is that I just happened to be wearing a Johnny Cash t-shirt at the Johnny Cash Rest Area. Bought it at a Target in Philadelphia (and considered it a lucky find) while shopping for broken arm-friendly attire like Velcro shoes and sweat pants. The garment features a photo of the "man in black" and his guitar in front of a set of steam locomotive driving wheels. Yippee, right?

The cursing and criticism of the new trip title are of drivers encountered, many of whom drive so abominably that perhaps cringing should be included as well.

I want to use some of this post to single out for high praise Executive Assistant Alice, without whom the unfortunate orthopaedic episode would have been an unmitigated disaster instead of a mitigated one. At every turn she's been an invaluable and crucial partner in Team Whooz, and I don't even wanna think about how things might have transpired otherwise.

As this post is pecked out, in fact, Alice is industriously plotting potential courses that include rail components to complement the remainder of our westbound run.

From the top: the rented Interim MayhemMobile (hideous, ain't it?) at a non-Johnny Cash rest area in Tennessee; Johnny Cash Rest Area, also in Tennessee; Johnny Cash rail-related t-shirt that saved this post from being entirely off topic.


----------



## Bob Dylan

Nice find Patrick  (Serendipity) , really Ugly Wheels!  We all knew Alice was the Brains behind Team Whooz, now you admit it! ^_^ Hope the Healing goes fast and the Drivers improve as ya'll head West! (but dont come through Austin if you want to avoid Bad Drivers! :help: )Look forward too future Updates and Pics from the Road as ya'll Roll back to the Left Coast!


----------



## AmtrakBlue

I'd be gagging all the way across country if I had to drive a car that color. 

Hope you have a safe, uneventful trip and see LOTS of trains :wub: .


----------



## Railroad Bill

Hey Patrick,

Is that a Chartreuse Caboose you are driving :giggle:

Really like the shirt--

Glad you are feeling better!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Van Horn, Texas, "America's Gateway To Nowhere!"

Thank you to the three latest Valued Reader respondents for confirming that Team Whooz aren't the only ones appalled by the hue of the Interim MayhemMobile. Its single redeeming quality is being easy to spot in a crowded parking lot. As we were checking into last night's lodging at Weatherford, Texas, Executive Assistant Alice struggled to name the vehicle's color as the clerk filled out a form, finally settling on "really ugly green." When the clerk asked if that's what she should write down, Alice pointed the car out for her. "Oh," said the clerk, "we call that babysh*t green."

We've had two brief rail interludes over the past couple days: The Casey Jones Museum at Jackson, Tennessee, and the little interurban museum at Plano, Texas. That last was expensive, timewise; a little sidetrip off I-20 that ended up costing us five hours and most of the day's westward progress as we crawled through the rush hour flotsam and jetsam of Dallas and Ft. Worth. Originally hoping to reach a point beyond Abilene, we struggled as far as Weatherford before throwing in the towel for the day.

From the top: Towering caboose of the Casey Jones Motel at Jackson, Tennessee; 4-6-0 locomotive at the Casey Jones museum (adjacent to the motel), numbered 382 and claimed to be the engine that Jones was running in the April, 1900, wreck that killed him and began the legend. It is in fact a 1905 Baldwin, Clinchfield Railroad No. 3. The original Illinois Central 382 was built by Rogers Locomotive Works, and was repaired and returned to service after the fateful collision, but this isn't it; Texas Electric Railway interurban at downtown Plano museum; Northbound DART train arrives at Downtown Plano station, which is next to the park that's the site of the interurban museum.


----------



## Acela150

Well BabyS**t Green sounds interesting for that car TeamWhooz.

The Dart cars look most interesting to photograph.

Thanks to your notes on the interurban museum I'll have to try and take a trip down there sometime to check it out. As well as the Casey Jones motel.


----------



## Bob Dylan

Van Horn is where John Madden used to stop his Bus and eat @ his Favorite Tex-Mex Resturant after he stopped riding Amtrak Trains!(Also the Feds bust lots of Dopers on IH10 including Willie Nelson a couple of times!) And there is an old saying in Texas: "Sun is riz and Sun is Set and Here We is in Texas Yet!" The DFW Area is doing a Great job with their Public Transit after starting with basically Zero in this LA East Metroplex! Hope the Ugly Mahemmobile makes it back to Lotus Land in a timely fashion, always enjoy yalls Posts and PicS! Hope the wing is healing nicely too!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from La Casa de Whooz.

Yes, Valued Reader, Team Whooz is safe and somewhat sound back in southern California (though Executive Assistant Alice will be heading north soon).

Following a final grueling push we staggered through the door and promptly collapsed. Only after experiencing the regenerative effects of several days passed in a quasi-vegetative state have we revived sufficiently to churn out a few words. First among those few is the observation that taken altogether, and in my view at least, the trip was - how you say - OVERLY eventful. Still and all we're more or less in one piece after all the experiences, which were positive on balance.

This is the first - and please let it be the last - time I've had to credit medical professionals among those who helped make a successful Team Whooz adventure happen. So because I'm a big baby when it comes to pain, a special shout out goes to the doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Divison of Orthopaedic Trauma, who wrote prescriptions for enough painkillers to let me complete the trip without howling in agony 24/7.

No thanks at all, though, to the cabby who drove us to the ER after the accident that broke the arm, for choosing a cobblestone street as part of the route. Holy boundless bouncing pain, Batman!

As to this ongoing rant, far from ending reportage we'll move from the mindless blather of the daily diary dispatch mode to the mindless blather of the ill-considered endless recap mode. What an exciting prospect!

Going To Gathering VI began with a ride aboard Pacific Surfliner 784, OXN-LAX, to connect with Southwest Chief train 4. With a Surfliner arrival of 4:55 p.m. and a Chief departure of 6:15 we were mulling until nearly the last minute whether we wanted to risk such a tight connection to begin the trip, knowing that we'd be up the creek sans paddle right off the bat on the H-room front if there was a Surfliner failure. After going round and round with the alternatives we rolled the dice and successfully rode 784.

Traveling fairly lightly by Team Whooz standards, we herded our bags from the Surfliner onto the platform to which we expected train 4 to be backed from the shops for boarding and departure. We didn't bother to enter the station at all, since that woulda been a major schlep down the ramps, through the tunnel, and into the station, only to have to reverse the whole exhausting procedure for boarding in just a few minutes' time. Better to stay above in the afternoon sun, occupied with testing the cameras by shooting the plentiful Metrolink and Metro Gold Line rush hour activity, augmented by a little Amtrak action as well. Alice has a new Fujifilm X10 she was taking out for the first time, so her shutter finger was particularly itchy.

During the boarding riggamarole I was pretty sure I recalled our sleeping car attendant from some previous trip, and the memory - though vague - wasn't positive. While he initially proved me wrong to the extent that I came to believe I was mistaken about my vague memory, in the long run - memory or not - over the course of the run to Chicago the guy didn't really cut the mustard. I had been right in the first place.

On the whole the LAX-CHI segment of Going To Gathering VI was highly enjoyable. It had been quite some time - since going to Gathering V, in fact - without Team Whooz having been aboard a long distance train for a long distance (we did a couple SWC hops back and forth over Raton Pass in May during "South By Southwest Chief"), so there was an enjoyable period of reacquaintance with extended riding of the rails. By the same token there was reacquaintance with the sensation of regaining one's "land legs" after that extended period on the train. I'd really forgotten about that part!

Chicago arrival was late largely due to a fire in some small town near Plano, Illinois. We were informed via (barely audible in the H-room) P.A. system that we had to hold in order to maintain a clear grade crossing for firefighting equipment, or for them to fight the fire or something like that. When we finally got cleared and rolled through we saw that the fire had heavily damaged a building right beside the tracks; firefighting equipment and people all over.



> Greetings from Chicago, where the first order of business will be relocation from this hideous noisy rathole near Midway airport to more suitable lodging downtown. Until the move is accomplished it's well nigh impossible to even think straight.


That was posted near the beginning of this rant, on 9-30, and is as good a stopping point now as it was then.

Photos:

Going To Gathering VI, Day I - New tracks and platform at L.A. Union Station, the bustle of a busy rail terminal, and riding the rails again at last as Team Whooz got underway for what would prove to be an overly eventful journey.

Going To Gathering VI, Day II - Some shots through New Mexico on 9-28-10. Not many, though, cuz mostly Team Whooz was lounging and sightseeing in the Sightseer Lounge, from where the photography is notoriously poor.

From the top: 1) Not only passengers are boarding - baggage waits on vintage carts to be loaded into the vintage railcar that separates the meat from the chaff; 2) Underway at last, and shooting out the back of the Chief's last coach, we're passing the Metrolink platform at Commerce, some BNSF activity and locomotives, and empty intermodal buckets at one end of Hobart Yard; 3) Wreckage from a seemingly fairly recent derailment. Musta been a big one, cuz this kinda junk (literally!) was strewn trackside for a goodly distance, even at reduced speed; 4) Winding among the happening hills and killer canyons, headed for Lamy.


----------



## GG-1

Aloha

Did you drive that car into the Pacific Ocean? :giggle: Did the Blue Ocean help with the color?  :lol:


----------



## Bob Dylan

GG-1 said:


> Aloha
> 
> Did you drive that car into the Pacific Ocean? :giggle: Did the Blue Ocean help with the color?  :lol:


Coulda also driven it down to San Diego, Parked it and it would be in Mexico in 30 minutes! :lol: Glad yall made it back to Civilization, hope your Luck improves in the Coming Year and we see yall in CHI @ the next Gathering back in Full Team Whooz Mode!


----------



## Michigan Mom

So they really named a rest area after Johnny Cash? Wow. Well, glad Team Whooz is back home safe and sound, that green car had to be very noticeable even when visibility was low. Really enjoyed the excellent photography as always.

Oh and the site layout has changed over the last couple of weeks... Mi mom has to adapt to change...oh no..


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Let's see if I can muddle through an update, first since the recent forum software "upgrade" resulted in an actual DOWNGRADE in usability (as usual)...

It's been kind of a whle due to unanswered questions about the broken arm, favorably resolved with a recent orthopaedic appointment. Healing is well underway, and with the risk of reinjury virtually nil I'm free to jettison the sling and resume a rehab regimen that was already underway for a torn rotator cuff on the same shoulder. It was the break coming on top of previous injury that made the situation scarier than it woulda been otherwise and raised the ugly (but ultimately unnecessary) specter of surgery.

Continuing the endless recap in Chicago kind of emphasizes the fact that Going To Gathering VI was going pretty well until that dark day at the city of brotherly loathe.

After relocating to downtown Team Whooz capitalized on its central position to enjoy more of what that toddlin' town has to offer than had been readily availble from any airport outpost. Chief among the amenities was Metra's bargain weekend pass. Although Saturday was missed the two trips we managed to squeeze in on Sunday afternoon and evening meant we easily got our money's worth, especially in comparison to standard weekday fares.

The end of our weekend in town didn't mean we stopped riding, though, and on the Monday before continuing on to Philadelphia aboard the Cardinal we managed a run up to Waukegan and back aboard Metra's Union Pacific North Line.

NEXT: Departing Chicago and the Cardinal.

Photos:

Again, usability has been thoroughly trashed, and this is where it gets really ugly:

http://whoozon1st.sm...f#!i=2183163654 Going To Gathering VI, Day IV - Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town. After Team Whooz corrected its mistake of reserving at a hotel way out by Midway airport by moving downtown there was still time to do some riding around on Metra's bargain weekend passes. Runs out to Elgin on the Milwaukee West Line, then the Metra Electric to University Park and back, topped off the first day - a Sunday - in town.

http://whoozon1st.sm...05338&k=JFX9zbB - Going To Gathering VI, Day V - A Team Whooz cab car excursion through Chicago's posh northern suburbs to Waukegan, Illinois, and back aboard rush hour trains on Metra's Union Pacific North Line. Practically a cab ride, with many forward views! Comprehensively captioned. Also several off-topic Bonus shots around downtown Chicago.

Video:

http://whoozon1st.sm...41326&k=9s9XgwQ - Metra Reverse Running Meet Vid - Looking out the back of UP North Line train 329 headed to Waukegan, suddenly there's a southbound train whizzing past! 10-1-12.

http://whoozon1st.sm...98530&k=7pVCsz2 - Metra Highland Park To Highwood Vid - A 2.5 minute station-to-station video featuring quick acceleration, fast running, and quick deceleration, all viewed out the back of the trailing cab car of Metra train 329 running north to Waukegan, Illinois, on Metra's Union Pacific North Line at rush hour, 10-1-12.

http://whoozon1st.sm...55546&k=nmP4xhR - Metra Respot At Waukegan Vid - After backing and switching tracks, a Metra train runs forward to respot for boarding at Waukegan, Illinois. Northbound train 329 becomes southbound train 348 for the rush hour run through Chicago's posh northern suburbs on Metra's Union Pacific North Line, 10-1-12.

http://whoozon1st.sm...91717&k=mVRLxnC - Metra Slow Meet Vid - Slow running southbound meets slow running northbound on Metra's Union Pacific North Line at rush hour, 10-1-12

http://whoozon1st.sm...h#!i=2192631530 - Metra Station Meet Vid - Bell ringing and horn blasting, southbound Metra train 348 meets a northbound rolling out as it rolls in at Glencoe during rush hour on 10-1-12.

http://whoozon1st.sm...45922&k=T4s6NKW - Metra Fast Meet Vid - Running at speed, southbound Metra train 348 blasts past a northbound on the Union Pacific North Line just before a brake application entering a curve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QqKP2Ar5wk​



From the top: How Many Overpasses here at Hubbard Woods? At least six; drawbridge on approach to Clybourn appears to be a bascule type variant; outbound train at Ravenswood includes an unusual, single-level, car in its consist. What could it be? From the window configuration it doesn't appear to be a regular coach car; complementary service in action as a CTA el train runs parallel to the Metra UP-North main.


----------



## MikefromCrete

Whooz, that single level car is the last private car on Chicago's commuter rail system. It's operated by a group out of Lake Forest, I believe, and offers privacy, tables for card games and other amenities for those wishing to pay the extra price of club membership.


----------



## ScottRu

Terribly sorry to hear of the broken "wing," Whooz. It's great that you are "playing through the pain" and continuing to give us a marvelous travelogue.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

ScottRu, the wing's getting better every day. I was just holding off on an update 'til there was definitive progress to report; trying to leave it behind.

MikefromCrete, good call on the Metra private car! It's No. 553, successor to an earlier one named "Deerpath," and the price of membership was $900/year (and Metra passes) in 2009, when this story appeared:

http://articles.chic...nes-lake-forest

*Public Transit's Private Club*

*Membership in Metra's Car 553 not as exclusive as it sounds*

Looks like I got a lucky shot, but not really a rare one since the car runs regularly. Interior and exterior views found online:


----------



## Bob Dylan

:hi: Thanks for Posting Patrick and glad you're healing up rapidly! Nice way to Commute for sure, closest thing that most probably come to how the Rich Travel in Style!


----------

