Any brushes with greatness?

[Acela150]

Joe Biden back in February on 2126. We talked for 10 minutes about how America needs more HSR.

 

[FormerOBS]

In my list I neglected to include W. Graham Claytor and his wife (she was a wonderful lady); and David Gunn, plus a few others I'd rather forget.

Tom

 

[AG1]

I boarded the Acela FC at WAS and was putting my coat in the overhead at two open seats when a woman brushed by me and took the window seat that I was planning to use. I then sat in the aisle seat and the woman said that her husband was sitting there. I looked down the aisle and Emeril Lagasse was coming with their bags. I greeted Emeril with "you have a rude wife" and found another seat. He didn't say anything. I think he knew that already.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Very interesting even if I don't know who Emeril Lagasse is?!! Some celebs spouses and family members expect royal treatment and are jerks even if they're no talent hangers on! Same with celebs, some are great folks and some are barracudas!

 

[Acela150]

You know who he is now...

 

[AmtrakBlue]

You know who he is now...

BAM!

 

[Chatter163]

Ted Turner was on my Crescent last month.

 

[chakk]

No famous people noted on Amtrak, but skied with Rod Laver in Santa Fe many years ago. Genuingly nice person. And shared a First Class seat set on United Airlines with Washington Redskins former quarterback Joe Theisman in his post-playing days as a TV commentator.

 

[dlagrua]

Can't say that I have had the pleasure of meeting anyone famous but it should be noted that the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Team often take the NEC to NYC when they play the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden (upstairs from NYP). I have read that they charter an entire train but I am not sure if the newspapers reported this correctly. A hockey team is usually 20 players, plus the coaching staff, broadcast people, trainers, equipment staff, doctor, publicity people, and loads of equipment so its got to be quite an event when they board the train. My guess that the Flyers charter a string of several cars that are coupled on to a NEC train at PHL. Does anyone know how a train charter works? I wonder how this fits into the tight NEC schedule?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Can't say that I have had the pleasure of meeting anyone famous but it should be noted that the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Team often take the NEC to NYC when they play the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden (upstairs from NYP). I have read that they charter an entire train. A hockey team is usually 20 players, plus the coaching staff, broadcast people, trainers, equipment staff, doctor, publicity people, and loads of equipment so its got to be quite an event when they board the train. Does anyone know how a train charter works? I wonder how this fits into the tight NEC schedule?

The Eagles took Amtrak down to DC for their recent game. And may also take it to NY for the Giants game

 

[dlagrua]

In doing further reading online; it seems that the Philadelphia Flyers travel via Amtrak not only to NYC, but also when they play games in Newark, and Washington DC. It doesn't surprise me that the Eagles and other sports teams take Amtrak as well as the major cities in the NE also include, Baltimore, Boston and Montreal in Canada. .

 

[Michael061282]

Harry Shearer had room in the same sleeper as I did on the Coast Starlight once. He was a couple of rooms down, I thought it was really cool that nobody really bothered him. H e wen to the PPC car a couple of times and nobody said anything more than normal "train conversation" with him.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

All these names being dropped and I only recognize one or two. Who knows, I may have traveled with other "greatness" and not even have known it.

Personally, I can't think of anyone worthy of being referred to as "greatness".

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

All these names being dropped and I only recognize one or two. Who knows, I may have traveled with other "greatness" and not even have known it.

Personally, I can't think of anyone worthy of being referred to as "greatness".

Fully agree! When traveling or doing most anything else, one person is just like another.

 

[Bob Dylan]

All these names being dropped and I only recognize one or two. Who knows, I may have traveled with other "greatness" and not even have known it.

Personally, I can't think of anyone worthy of being referred to as "greatness".

How quickly they forget! You had the honor and pleasure of riding on trains with lots of talented, great people during the Gathering in Oct. LOL

 

[Ethan Klapper]

I, too, have had a Biden sighting, on 2124 on a Friday in June. Was in FC. As we boarded, one of the car attendants was telling everyone to "take any seat in the rear half of the car." He had an assortment of USSS, including a sniper in the vestibule by the bathroom, as well as some aides. He was sitting on the single-seat side of the car, at the seat with the table.

Seemed like a nice guy, there were people chatting with him.

 

[afigg]

In doing further reading online; it seems that the Philadelphia Flyers travel via Amtrak not only to NYC, but also when they play games in Newark, and Washington DC. It doesn't surprise me that the Eagles and other sports teams take Amtrak as well as the major cities in the NE also include, Baltimore, Boston and Montreal in Canada. .

Yes, it is common for many of the sport teams on the southern half of the NEC to take an Amtrak special train for away games at the other cities on the southern half of the NEC. Special trains are much less common on the northern half from NYP to BOS for the Boston or NYC teams, I expect almost entirely due to the number of trains a day limit on the Shore Line East that Amtrak has to operate under.

Whether seeing the Eagles or Redskins taking the train constitutes a "brush with greatness", I suspect their fans would not agree.

 

[Shanghai]

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Bill Cosby, Senate Majority Leader "Dirty" Harry Reid, all at the Acela Lounge in New York.

Bill Cosby (again) in the Philadelphia Acela Lounge, George Will on a Regional Train from New York to New Haven, CT and of course,

the most famous person from New York to Orlando, our own PennyK !!

 

[Ryan]

My guess that the Flyers charter a string of several cars that are coupled on to a NEC train at PHL. Does anyone know how a train charter works? I wonder how this fits into the tight NEC schedule?

There is plenty of space to slip in a special, and pretty much all of the WAS/PHL/NY teams do it.

Here's a charter that took the Mets out of Washington (after a 12th inning loss) to their next game in Philly:

http://photos.stavely.org/Trains/Loser-Mets-go-to-Philly/

 

[Bob Dylan]

The World Champion SA Spurs ( the Galloping Geezers) ride Amtrak between

WAS, PHL,BOS and NYC when they visit the NE for their annual games in those Cities!

One year when they played in both Chicago and Milwaukee on consecutive nights, they rode a Hiawatha between the two cities!

Their announcers mentioned this on the air and commented that its a more convienent and easier way to travel than flying! (and they only travel on luxury charters!!)

 

[StriderGDM]

I honestly have probably seen more famous people than I realize, but I tend not to take note.

But I do recall a certain senator from New Jersey that has a train station named after him.

And a certain House Rep from NYC that I would not take advice on off-shore tax investments from (still can't believe he's still in the house).

And the host of a certain CBS Sunday morning political talk show.

I did not intrude on the privacy of any of these gentleman as they appeared to want to be left alone.

On the other hand, the most interesting semi-famous person I spoke to was in the diner on the Crescent about a decade ago. We got discussing NPR and how on a few late night drives from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Toledo, OH I listened to their program on organ music. He asked me how I liked it. I told him I enjoyed it quite a bit. He then replied he was the host of said program.

Oh and in the NYP Acela lounge: Greta Van Susteren.

 

[C&O RR]

I met Gene Hackman while riding the SW Chief. He got on in Lamy NM heading to LA. He was in the bedroom next to mine.

Saw Janet Napolitano, while she was head of Homeland Security, going through the NYP station with a LOT of security in front of and behind her.

Saw Larry Cudlow, CNBC's "The Kudlow Report," in the NYP lounge.

 

[JackieTakestheTrain]

I saw Dr. Jill Biden in the Acela Lounge in NYC earlier this month. I also saw Alan...does he count as a celeb?

For those fans of HBO's True Blood: I met and spoke with Russell Eddington, the oldest vampire of LA. Denis O'Hare, the actor, was very kind and a gentleman and not scary or liable to eat your heart on live TV. My fellow Trubies will understand this reference.

 

[dlagrua]

Thanks to Ryan for offering good info. When you think about it, its very logical for sports teams on the NEC route to take Amtrak.

Arenas in Boston and NYP are integrated into rail stations but the others have commuter lines running to the major stations. When compared to airline charters it may be economical and convenient for NE sports teams to charter special trains.

 

[railiner]

In the 1980's I not once, but twice had the pleasure of riding the CZ from SF to Chi with John Madden.

I have told this story here before, but I went to the lounge car outside Sacramento and there he was sipping a Miller Lite.

No one spoke to him for about fifteen minutes so i went over and introduced myself. We had several meals together, more than a several beverages, and he was two doors down in the sleeper.

Perhaps a year or so later it happened again. I was flattered he remember me as "the crazy librarian."

Conversation wandered all over the place and his wit and intellect is much more than a football coach and commentator. If Ernie were alive I believe he would describe him as a wonderful traveling companion.

And another example of the wonderful folks you meet on Amtrak.

From around 1979 until around 1982 or 3 (not sure), John Madden was easily the most prolific famous patron of Amtrak. When he was headcoach of the Oakland Raiders, he was forced to fly between games due to time constraints, but when he retired from the NFL, and became the premier color commentator on television for CBS Sport's, he started criss-crossing the country aboard Amtrak. John was actually not afraid to fly, but rather had a severe case of claustrophobia, that especially manifested itself when the cabin doors on the airliner closed....Being on a train did not make him feel as confined, and 'out-of-control' of his environment, that the airliner did.

So for a few years, John delighted passenger's and crewmembers with his larger-than-life personality. Unlike some celeb's that would hibernate in their bedrooms, John was a 'people-person', and enjoyed holding court in the lounge car with his Miller Lite, regaling fans with tales of the NFL. John was like a Pied Piper....he would often lead his entourage off the train at certain extended station stops, into some nearby bar, to delight those local patrons with his presence, for a quick one.

I personally rode with him on three different occasions between Denver and Chicago on the SFZ. On the first occasion, we were on the old heritage equipment with its usual maladies of no air conditioning, etc., and I promised John that "help is on the way'....new Superliner's are coming, soon. John said, yeah, I believe that when I see it....

The next trip we met, (on a new Superliner), I asked John (who remembered me) if he believed now...He did.

This all ended when Greyhound offered John a personal motorhome "The Maddencruiser" with two driver's (whom John interviewed and chose from a short list the company recommended). This was way more convenient than having to travel on tri-weekly trains on roundabout routes each week between games. In exchange, John produced some motivational videos's for GL employee's, and allowed GL to use him for publicity....

Later on, subsequent companies, such as Ace Hardware, sponsored John and supplied new motorhomes.