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Seaboard92

Engineer
Joined
Dec 31, 2014
Messages
4,698
Location
South Carolina
Well it's about time I sit down and write this trip report down before I forget it. And waiting for my deadhead tonight is a great time.

Day 1: Amtrak No. 92

Normally we chose to take the Silver Meteor No. 98 out of Florence to go to New York to connect to flights but for some odd reason we chose to do the more convenient to home option the Silver Star from Camden.

For starters the 4:47 departure which we all said we would sleep before none of us really did. My mother and I ended up watching DVR shows till three thirty and I attempted to sleep but that didn't actually happen. Either it was from excitement or the fact I stay up way too late way too regularly.

We drove down the station when the train went past Swansea whomever created the status maps did us a great service. Normally when the train pulls in we are used to a double spot procedure but this time we weren't lucky and had to walk to the uncovered part of the station, with pavement that generally never sees people.

None the less we board and we have the same attendant that I had a week prior when I came home from DC on 91 for NARP. Pretty soon after departing Camden we heard a loud scratching noise as we scraped along a downed tree but no damage so we kept pushing on. As it was becoming daylight we passed by the now shut down hump at Hamlet yard.

I somehow managed to stay awake till Cary which is where I went to sleep till about Richmond. At Richmond I opted to eat my lunch which was Boars Head London Broil from Publix. Which is always fantastic and I would definitely suggest it. After Richmond I spent sometime catching up with James the SCA whom I spent tons of time with this trip.

We went thru Washington without much delay which was super nice and breezed up the corridor. Nothing super remarkable for a trip I've made hundreds of times. We opted to get off in Newark because we were staying in the Hilton attached to the train station. After check in I walked down the street to Crown Fried Chicken because I love their cheap prices.

Other then that a nice relaxing night in Newark and a lovely hotel.
 
Day 2: New York

Today I went into the city around Rush Hour by New Jersey Transit where I connected to the A train uptown express for the upper west side. My mission today was to photograph the Empire Service at the George Washington bridge. Which I did and I'll include the photo.

After that I had lunch at Tri Tip at Grand Central before hopping a subway to visit AU member Sasha at the MTA museum. Then after several hours of hanging out we eventually went to dinner at the New Apollo Diner which was very good. Before I took a 1 train back to Penn Station and had to wait an hour for New Jersey Transit.

But that's fantastic time to play Sudoku on the floor. And we marked the second trip on NJT where my ticket was never lifted.
 
Day Three: LH 401 A380-800

Today we left the hotel just after rush hour on New Jersey Transit where I ended up riding a vestibule with the suitcases to keep track of them. I swear we travel with the kitchen sink sometimes but it wasn't that bad. Another trip with no conductor so I now have three unused tickets I can use in the future.

We switched to the Long Island Railroad with no issue and were on our way to Jamaica in no time. At Jamaica we caught the Kennedy airport train after I reloaded my Metro Card again and off to Terminal One for LH. Checked the bags in with no issue, collected the boarding pass and are in McDonalds.

Kennedy really has some of the worst food options for major airports. Security was a breeze because for some odd reason I had TSA Pre which I have not paid for. We caught our flight and I loved my exit row seat where I could stretch my legs out and talk to the stewardess for take off. Even though she is in the air and I'm on rails we both work in transportation and our stories are similar. It was a smooth flight as usual. And I watched La La Land for entertainment but didn't really enjoy it. The food was kinda crappy but not horrible.

We love this flight because of the 380 and its space while also enjoying how short the flight time is.
 
Sorry for the delay guys. I've been on the road for two weeks. I'll get back to typing and posting photos sometime tonight or tomorrow night.
 
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