My first overnight trip with my GF was on the Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington, D.C. We got out of Chicago on time. Dinner in the diner was awkward. I recall her ordering the fish and expecting what was on the menu and then receiving a different fish. We both knew it was not what she ordered, the waiter insisted it was the fish on the menu, so no tip for him. We returned to the room to enjoy looking out the window with the lights off. We were traveling in the summer and the sun was setting as we entered a thunderstorm. I set up my boombox to play Barry White, not so loud as to disturb other passengers, and we started looking out the window. This was someplace between Gary and Porter.
The music set the mood, and we were relaxed. GF was beginning to understand the magic of train travel. Just west of Porter, we came to a stop. I explained that we were probably waiting for a train to go through the junction. Three 7 minute long Barry White songs later with no trains passing and I knew something more serious was happening. GF asked a few more questions. I turned off Barry White and turned on the scanner. The dispatcher was busy. I discovered that the storm had been strong enough to blow trees over onto a freight train and knock out the power for the signals. Then the dispatcher stated that the crew on such and such train had died. GF was shocked and worried until I explained what this really meant. We sat and sat and sat. Looking at the same house. I can pick out that house every time I go by Porter today. We went to bed about 9:30 p.m. and were still sitting. GF was wondering how late we would be and I explained I really could not predict until we were moving again.
We fell asleep. I woke up and at 11:45 p.m. were highballing. GF woke up and I explained we would probably be eating breakfast in Toledo. She was surprised at the gleeful tone in my voice. She always was telling me to look at the blessings in a situation so I thought using this line of thinking would convince her to enjoy a 6-hour delay. I explained that the blessing would be that we would see the trackage from Toledo to Pittsburg in daylight. She was not buying it. Then we made an emergency stop. We could smell the brake shoes burning and she thought the train was on fire. I explained we had probably had a loose air hose and this caused the brakes to apply at 79 mph.
We eventually made it to Washington, D.C. and the return trip was on time. But GF's first impression was that trains run late. This was confirmed on a few more Amtrak trips and thus she is not a train person. She did enjoy the high-speed trains in Europe.
The music set the mood, and we were relaxed. GF was beginning to understand the magic of train travel. Just west of Porter, we came to a stop. I explained that we were probably waiting for a train to go through the junction. Three 7 minute long Barry White songs later with no trains passing and I knew something more serious was happening. GF asked a few more questions. I turned off Barry White and turned on the scanner. The dispatcher was busy. I discovered that the storm had been strong enough to blow trees over onto a freight train and knock out the power for the signals. Then the dispatcher stated that the crew on such and such train had died. GF was shocked and worried until I explained what this really meant. We sat and sat and sat. Looking at the same house. I can pick out that house every time I go by Porter today. We went to bed about 9:30 p.m. and were still sitting. GF was wondering how late we would be and I explained I really could not predict until we were moving again.
We fell asleep. I woke up and at 11:45 p.m. were highballing. GF woke up and I explained we would probably be eating breakfast in Toledo. She was surprised at the gleeful tone in my voice. She always was telling me to look at the blessings in a situation so I thought using this line of thinking would convince her to enjoy a 6-hour delay. I explained that the blessing would be that we would see the trackage from Toledo to Pittsburg in daylight. She was not buying it. Then we made an emergency stop. We could smell the brake shoes burning and she thought the train was on fire. I explained we had probably had a loose air hose and this caused the brakes to apply at 79 mph.
We eventually made it to Washington, D.C. and the return trip was on time. But GF's first impression was that trains run late. This was confirmed on a few more Amtrak trips and thus she is not a train person. She did enjoy the high-speed trains in Europe.
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