ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
4/5/09 Trip Report
One-way business class on #43 the Pennsylvanian from NYP to PGH
Good Breakfast, and a Return to the Penny:
Getting to the station proved to be a bit of a hassle and a bit of fun. I have a delicious breakfast of eggs Florentine and bacon with a twice-baked potato mash and fresh squeezed orange juice at a café that accepts my college food plan dollars on the corner of E9nd and 3rd. To calm my nerves I also had a glass of chardonnay.
Carrying one large (but not extra large) suitcase, a backpack STUFFED with books and my laptop case I took the subway to Penn station so as to save money on cab fare-- like I said, a bit of a hassle.
Getting into Penn was easy, I waited by the departure board until 43 was announced at track 15W. I was the first to board in the BC car, and took the single-seat. I was lucky in that the Silver Star and the 2110 Acela were on tracks 16W and the other side of the 15 platforms respectively.
The café car attendant introduced himself as George and gave be a cranberry juice before I even got seated. He confirmed I’ll get unlimited beverages and after everybody was aboard he came back and told us “if you want anything non-alcoholic come and get it”. I quickly ran across the platform and got pictures of the 2110 power car and the first sleeper and power unit for the Silver Star. Then I got daring, seeing that 2110 had not yet had a boarding call I hopped into the nearest open door and took a quick tour-- I took a picture of an empty Acela BC seating arrangement for the coach layout album I am constructing. I hope we can add it to our sleeping car virtual tour section so that everybody can see the different arrangements for coach cars (AMI, AMII, Acela BC/FC and the variants thereof.
An Am-wakening:
I feel asleep at Trenton and awoke when the Toaster unhooked from twelve feet behind me with a nice snap. Unlike other BC experiences on the Penny I actually had one of those little pillows that you get on the Superliners. However this is a trade off as they didn’t bring the daily newspaper to the car. George said he always gets the papers Monday through Friday-- USA Today usually, but Sundays (due to increased prices) it can be a roll of the dice. I have a few other minor (and I mean really minor) bugs that I shall discuss:
The front row of seats, even in BC, has no tray table. It doesn’t directly affect me, but for those planning in the future...
George was under-stocked, no frappachino or Red Bull drinks. I took a Pepsi instead.
In Philly I tried to get a shot of the P42 that was getting hooked up, I was at least two car-lengths away and in the middle of the platform, but I got shoed away my a worker. So much for optical zoom cameras, I decided not to raise the issue and instead got back on the train for the next twenty minutes.
The pax in the single seat in front of me began a cell conversation very loudly. I waited a couple minutes (maybe two or three) then asked “Sir, could you please talk a little bit softly” to which he responded “You’re usually supposed to give five minutes.” He promptly hung up. I assume he thought I was asking him to turn off his phone, which was not my intent. I politely thanked him-- thank the Lord he’s getting off at ALT.
I walked the consist end-to-end. After PHL we are now P42/AMFII/AMFII/AMFII/AMFII/Café/BC (the AFI Club?).
The good news: we have four full coach cars (I’ve sometimes when they could probably have only needed three)
The bad news: the first three AFIIs were modernized with a set of 120V outlets at every seat, but the fourth did not. Thankfully I could tell by the seat checks that the crew is using that car for short-term pax.
Considering the train is full (and I mean full) I want to assume that the fifth AFII was bad-ordered or sort-ordered. It also makes me happier I went in BC and, as I said, on trains like the Penny with nine hours (now only seven) ahead of me, the upgrade is totally worth the money I paid.
A Conversation With George About BC and Free Drink Policy:
Talking with George on the BC drink policy. Officially, he said, he knows that *most* NEC trains only offer one 8oz soda or water or unlimited coffee. On the trains like the Penny, Vermonter, Ethan Allen, ect. the policy is that BC gets unlimited non-alcoholic drinks (though soda and water are given in 8oz portions as opposed to their 12 and 20oz portions respectively.)The 12oz cans go to the revenue pax (though in cases where no 8oz can is around, he is more than happy to give the full 8oz can.).
He went on further to explain that “there is a point at which I have to cut you off” he explained (logically of course) that if he gave me ten sodas during a trip, everybody would start wanting ten sodas and then he’d run out of the 8oz cans and have to give the revenue 12oz cans.
There are ways around this though, of course. Free coffee, tea, and bottled water are unlimited to BC pax no matter what. I had told him “that’s why I got the water, so I could refill it,” to which he told me “no, no-- you can have as much bottled water as you want!” I am guessing this is because the 8oz bottles of water can’t be sold to coach pax and thus he can freely give them out. One thing that surprised me about the unlimited tea was that I assumed he meant “unlimited hot water” when he actually said “no, I can give you the tea bags too”
Overall I am glad that George was friendly enough to explain some of the “oddities” behind the BC beverage service that can be confusing to pax.
Battery and Camera Observations:
One piece of advice I have to offer (though I feel like I am preaching to the choir) regards cameras. If you use a decent middle-of-the-road digital camera that runs on AA batteries here’s some advice:
Most AA batteries only have enough power for 100 shots with flash, without flash you can sometimes get up to around 150 or 200 depending on how long the camera is on..
I normally take at least 300 (then edit them down) pictures for a trip, so I carry a spare set of batteries. However at $5 a back for four, assuming two sets of batteries per segment... well, you can see how the cost adds up.
Buy a battery recharger and a set of four rechargeable batteries. (Brand doesn’t seem to matter, but I find that it works better if the same company makes the batteries and the charger)
Charge your batteries and put two in the camera. Plug your charger into the 120V outlet if you have one, that way when the set in your camera runs try you can put those in the charger and rotate batteries. While you’re draining one set, the other is charging!
Scheduling Medical Maladies:
I neglected to pick up a schedule at NYP but luckily I remembered to bring my TT so it is all good-- I can’t wait for the new TT because this one is, let’s just say-- well used.
As usual the Penny maintains its remarkable OTP as we have not been late to a stop-- yet we arrived on time (1:52) in Lancaster but it is now 2:05 and the conductor has announced that we have been delayed due to a “medical emergency”. I may get some of the story later, but I wish I had my scanner now so I could get more details. Whoever it is that has had the medical emergency I am sorry for-- I just saw some paramedics walk past our car to the front of the train but since we’re the last car and nobody here had a problem I assume they are going to pick up one of the coach pax. While this goes on, life continues as normal. George is serving drinks and people are complaining about the delay.
Again, I wish I had my scanner! It should arrive next week in time for my FIRST sleeper trip on the CL from ALC to WAS. I plan on testing it on the NS freight rails that are only about a half-mile or so from my house in Canton.
We’re moving again at 2:14, only 22 minutes late. As we were pulling out I noticed the paramedics caring to an elderly black woman in a gurney on the platform. Since she wasn’t being rushed to hospital I assume she is okay, that’s good. Oddly enough if you look for my last trip report on the Penny “A Penny For Your Thoughts” another old woman got hurt on the escalator at PGH.
Did the usual stop at Harrisburg, there were a ton of ExpressTrak cars off to the yards East of the station, as well as a Keystone Service train and that odd P42 with cab that I saw the last time.
The GG-1 Mystery, Solved:
The GG-1 that was sitting at Harrisburg in January that I took pictures of back in “A Penny For Your Thoughts” is still there. I took a couple shots of it, but the Keystone train obstructed a third of it.
I got that close up look at our P42 that I was shooed away from in PHL-- its #16 and desperately needs a new paint job. I saw the Engineer boarding and took a couple clandestine shots of him yanking himself up to the cab-- it illustrates how poorly the cab design of the P42 is (at least from the Engineer’s point of view climbing up the damn thing.)
Coming back to my seat George, an 18-year Amtrak veteran and has spent the last 6 years working the Penny route commented on the GG-1. He said it has been thee for years and that not many people take notice of it. When I asked him if they were going to move it to the museum he said he didn’t know-- it had just been sitting there. He could have been bulls****ing me, but I don’t know. Perhaps a better for this section is “The GG-1 Mystery, Solved.... Somewhat.
Finally in NS Territory:
Leaving Harrisburg means leaving the Amtrak-owned trackage and we’re now on NS track. The ride is no less rough, though I do notice that the ties are all wooden, on Amtrak lines most were concrete.
This freight action is overdue. I am going to get some great shots at Horseshoe.... Or not. There is almost no freight traffic, I was only able to get a couple shots of some parked freights, but that’s it-- even the Altoona yard looked vacant with the exception of a coal train and a few switcher units. Though through Altoona and Johnstown there are all those old wrecks and refurbs that everybody has pictures of-- I suppose you can just add the photos to what already exists of them. Too bad there isn’t a database of these photographs, because for my purposes, there’s not much point of getting a shot of a wrecked Budd coach.
For the first time I was “harassed” (I use that term VERY loosely because the conductor was very polite about it) for my photography. I was taking pictures from the window in the last car (my car) like I do on most trips-- I went back for a couple shots then went back to my seat. A little later as we approached Altoona I went back there for a few minutes and the conductor came back and told me that I was making the George and her “nervous” and that I should only take pictures from the rear car window when the train is stopped and there was a SA back there... I guess it could pose a safety concern, especially on the single-level Amfleets where you’re standing in the half of vestibule versus a Superliner where there is nothing but a window.
Though I can’t help but notice there have been two men having cell phone conversations back there for ten minutes now-- George went back there and talked to them then left them-- so they’re still back there. This leads me to the conclusion that photography is the issue... alas.
After that 25 -inute delay in Lancaster we are now around forty minutes behind en route to Johnstown. Though with the padding they put into the schedule I am sure we’ll be on time to Pittsburgh. George gave me four bottles of water for the road (I like free stuff) so basically, I paid $25 to upgrade and got roughly $17 in free drinks. This whole BC thing works.
So, as we approach Pittsburgh I must say that once again (on time for the most part) I must say that the service Amtrak provides on this route is some of the best and friendliest in the system. Not only do I recommend the train to people who actually travel it, but there are plenty of day trips that can be planned using the route from PHL, NYP, and PGH--
BC Upgrade Price: $25
Itemized list of free BC perks-- (smaller portions pro-rated)
2x cranberry juice: $4.50
2x 12oz ginger ale: $4.00
6x 8oz bottled water: $5.40
1 Pepsi 8oz: $1.75
2x quarter-pint of milk: $1.50
Total in drinks: $17.15
The Capitol Limited:
The lead P42 #160-- it was wrecked on the front-end... took pictures. Anybody know what it ate and where?
The ride to ALC was smooth and slow, just like it always is, quiet and out of the way-- a tiny station with horrible calling hours.
I love it.
PICTURES:
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge here.
One-way business class on #43 the Pennsylvanian from NYP to PGH
Good Breakfast, and a Return to the Penny:
Getting to the station proved to be a bit of a hassle and a bit of fun. I have a delicious breakfast of eggs Florentine and bacon with a twice-baked potato mash and fresh squeezed orange juice at a café that accepts my college food plan dollars on the corner of E9nd and 3rd. To calm my nerves I also had a glass of chardonnay.
Carrying one large (but not extra large) suitcase, a backpack STUFFED with books and my laptop case I took the subway to Penn station so as to save money on cab fare-- like I said, a bit of a hassle.
Getting into Penn was easy, I waited by the departure board until 43 was announced at track 15W. I was the first to board in the BC car, and took the single-seat. I was lucky in that the Silver Star and the 2110 Acela were on tracks 16W and the other side of the 15 platforms respectively.
The café car attendant introduced himself as George and gave be a cranberry juice before I even got seated. He confirmed I’ll get unlimited beverages and after everybody was aboard he came back and told us “if you want anything non-alcoholic come and get it”. I quickly ran across the platform and got pictures of the 2110 power car and the first sleeper and power unit for the Silver Star. Then I got daring, seeing that 2110 had not yet had a boarding call I hopped into the nearest open door and took a quick tour-- I took a picture of an empty Acela BC seating arrangement for the coach layout album I am constructing. I hope we can add it to our sleeping car virtual tour section so that everybody can see the different arrangements for coach cars (AMI, AMII, Acela BC/FC and the variants thereof.
An Am-wakening:
I feel asleep at Trenton and awoke when the Toaster unhooked from twelve feet behind me with a nice snap. Unlike other BC experiences on the Penny I actually had one of those little pillows that you get on the Superliners. However this is a trade off as they didn’t bring the daily newspaper to the car. George said he always gets the papers Monday through Friday-- USA Today usually, but Sundays (due to increased prices) it can be a roll of the dice. I have a few other minor (and I mean really minor) bugs that I shall discuss:
The front row of seats, even in BC, has no tray table. It doesn’t directly affect me, but for those planning in the future...
George was under-stocked, no frappachino or Red Bull drinks. I took a Pepsi instead.
In Philly I tried to get a shot of the P42 that was getting hooked up, I was at least two car-lengths away and in the middle of the platform, but I got shoed away my a worker. So much for optical zoom cameras, I decided not to raise the issue and instead got back on the train for the next twenty minutes.
The pax in the single seat in front of me began a cell conversation very loudly. I waited a couple minutes (maybe two or three) then asked “Sir, could you please talk a little bit softly” to which he responded “You’re usually supposed to give five minutes.” He promptly hung up. I assume he thought I was asking him to turn off his phone, which was not my intent. I politely thanked him-- thank the Lord he’s getting off at ALT.
I walked the consist end-to-end. After PHL we are now P42/AMFII/AMFII/AMFII/AMFII/Café/BC (the AFI Club?).
The good news: we have four full coach cars (I’ve sometimes when they could probably have only needed three)
The bad news: the first three AFIIs were modernized with a set of 120V outlets at every seat, but the fourth did not. Thankfully I could tell by the seat checks that the crew is using that car for short-term pax.
Considering the train is full (and I mean full) I want to assume that the fifth AFII was bad-ordered or sort-ordered. It also makes me happier I went in BC and, as I said, on trains like the Penny with nine hours (now only seven) ahead of me, the upgrade is totally worth the money I paid.
A Conversation With George About BC and Free Drink Policy:
Talking with George on the BC drink policy. Officially, he said, he knows that *most* NEC trains only offer one 8oz soda or water or unlimited coffee. On the trains like the Penny, Vermonter, Ethan Allen, ect. the policy is that BC gets unlimited non-alcoholic drinks (though soda and water are given in 8oz portions as opposed to their 12 and 20oz portions respectively.)The 12oz cans go to the revenue pax (though in cases where no 8oz can is around, he is more than happy to give the full 8oz can.).
He went on further to explain that “there is a point at which I have to cut you off” he explained (logically of course) that if he gave me ten sodas during a trip, everybody would start wanting ten sodas and then he’d run out of the 8oz cans and have to give the revenue 12oz cans.
There are ways around this though, of course. Free coffee, tea, and bottled water are unlimited to BC pax no matter what. I had told him “that’s why I got the water, so I could refill it,” to which he told me “no, no-- you can have as much bottled water as you want!” I am guessing this is because the 8oz bottles of water can’t be sold to coach pax and thus he can freely give them out. One thing that surprised me about the unlimited tea was that I assumed he meant “unlimited hot water” when he actually said “no, I can give you the tea bags too”
Overall I am glad that George was friendly enough to explain some of the “oddities” behind the BC beverage service that can be confusing to pax.
Battery and Camera Observations:
One piece of advice I have to offer (though I feel like I am preaching to the choir) regards cameras. If you use a decent middle-of-the-road digital camera that runs on AA batteries here’s some advice:
Most AA batteries only have enough power for 100 shots with flash, without flash you can sometimes get up to around 150 or 200 depending on how long the camera is on..
I normally take at least 300 (then edit them down) pictures for a trip, so I carry a spare set of batteries. However at $5 a back for four, assuming two sets of batteries per segment... well, you can see how the cost adds up.
Buy a battery recharger and a set of four rechargeable batteries. (Brand doesn’t seem to matter, but I find that it works better if the same company makes the batteries and the charger)
Charge your batteries and put two in the camera. Plug your charger into the 120V outlet if you have one, that way when the set in your camera runs try you can put those in the charger and rotate batteries. While you’re draining one set, the other is charging!
Scheduling Medical Maladies:
I neglected to pick up a schedule at NYP but luckily I remembered to bring my TT so it is all good-- I can’t wait for the new TT because this one is, let’s just say-- well used.
As usual the Penny maintains its remarkable OTP as we have not been late to a stop-- yet we arrived on time (1:52) in Lancaster but it is now 2:05 and the conductor has announced that we have been delayed due to a “medical emergency”. I may get some of the story later, but I wish I had my scanner now so I could get more details. Whoever it is that has had the medical emergency I am sorry for-- I just saw some paramedics walk past our car to the front of the train but since we’re the last car and nobody here had a problem I assume they are going to pick up one of the coach pax. While this goes on, life continues as normal. George is serving drinks and people are complaining about the delay.
Again, I wish I had my scanner! It should arrive next week in time for my FIRST sleeper trip on the CL from ALC to WAS. I plan on testing it on the NS freight rails that are only about a half-mile or so from my house in Canton.
We’re moving again at 2:14, only 22 minutes late. As we were pulling out I noticed the paramedics caring to an elderly black woman in a gurney on the platform. Since she wasn’t being rushed to hospital I assume she is okay, that’s good. Oddly enough if you look for my last trip report on the Penny “A Penny For Your Thoughts” another old woman got hurt on the escalator at PGH.
Did the usual stop at Harrisburg, there were a ton of ExpressTrak cars off to the yards East of the station, as well as a Keystone Service train and that odd P42 with cab that I saw the last time.
The GG-1 Mystery, Solved:
The GG-1 that was sitting at Harrisburg in January that I took pictures of back in “A Penny For Your Thoughts” is still there. I took a couple shots of it, but the Keystone train obstructed a third of it.
I got that close up look at our P42 that I was shooed away from in PHL-- its #16 and desperately needs a new paint job. I saw the Engineer boarding and took a couple clandestine shots of him yanking himself up to the cab-- it illustrates how poorly the cab design of the P42 is (at least from the Engineer’s point of view climbing up the damn thing.)
Coming back to my seat George, an 18-year Amtrak veteran and has spent the last 6 years working the Penny route commented on the GG-1. He said it has been thee for years and that not many people take notice of it. When I asked him if they were going to move it to the museum he said he didn’t know-- it had just been sitting there. He could have been bulls****ing me, but I don’t know. Perhaps a better for this section is “The GG-1 Mystery, Solved.... Somewhat.
Finally in NS Territory:
Leaving Harrisburg means leaving the Amtrak-owned trackage and we’re now on NS track. The ride is no less rough, though I do notice that the ties are all wooden, on Amtrak lines most were concrete.
This freight action is overdue. I am going to get some great shots at Horseshoe.... Or not. There is almost no freight traffic, I was only able to get a couple shots of some parked freights, but that’s it-- even the Altoona yard looked vacant with the exception of a coal train and a few switcher units. Though through Altoona and Johnstown there are all those old wrecks and refurbs that everybody has pictures of-- I suppose you can just add the photos to what already exists of them. Too bad there isn’t a database of these photographs, because for my purposes, there’s not much point of getting a shot of a wrecked Budd coach.
For the first time I was “harassed” (I use that term VERY loosely because the conductor was very polite about it) for my photography. I was taking pictures from the window in the last car (my car) like I do on most trips-- I went back for a couple shots then went back to my seat. A little later as we approached Altoona I went back there for a few minutes and the conductor came back and told me that I was making the George and her “nervous” and that I should only take pictures from the rear car window when the train is stopped and there was a SA back there... I guess it could pose a safety concern, especially on the single-level Amfleets where you’re standing in the half of vestibule versus a Superliner where there is nothing but a window.
Though I can’t help but notice there have been two men having cell phone conversations back there for ten minutes now-- George went back there and talked to them then left them-- so they’re still back there. This leads me to the conclusion that photography is the issue... alas.
After that 25 -inute delay in Lancaster we are now around forty minutes behind en route to Johnstown. Though with the padding they put into the schedule I am sure we’ll be on time to Pittsburgh. George gave me four bottles of water for the road (I like free stuff) so basically, I paid $25 to upgrade and got roughly $17 in free drinks. This whole BC thing works.
So, as we approach Pittsburgh I must say that once again (on time for the most part) I must say that the service Amtrak provides on this route is some of the best and friendliest in the system. Not only do I recommend the train to people who actually travel it, but there are plenty of day trips that can be planned using the route from PHL, NYP, and PGH--
BC Upgrade Price: $25
Itemized list of free BC perks-- (smaller portions pro-rated)
2x cranberry juice: $4.50
2x 12oz ginger ale: $4.00
6x 8oz bottled water: $5.40
1 Pepsi 8oz: $1.75
2x quarter-pint of milk: $1.50
Total in drinks: $17.15
The Capitol Limited:
The lead P42 #160-- it was wrecked on the front-end... took pictures. Anybody know what it ate and where?
The ride to ALC was smooth and slow, just like it always is, quiet and out of the way-- a tiny station with horrible calling hours.
I love it.
PICTURES:
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge here.
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