I've heard about a guy who does this with cruises. ... just keep cruising and stays on the boat. I believe he knows the crew personally. ... much cheaper than a retirement home!
I can imagine a scenario like the following... you own a nice piece of private varnish, or better still, two cars ... you own your own siding, so you're not paying a string of short-term storage fees at your "home base" ... you're friends with some handy maintenance people who will trade work for occasional luxury trips ... and you don't mind spending at least half your time dressed in a snappy conductor's uniform playing host to high-paying customers, to subsidize your occasional private jaunts around the country.I've not heard of anyone doing this on Amtrak, but it might be better done, and might cost less if one had their own private varnish. Maybe the_traveler can share his experiences with this opulant lifestyle.
I like the idea. Or what about starting a retirement community based on this concept? Maybe through economies of scale it would cost less per car than going it alone. I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap either way, but it sure would beat the conventional "old folks home" and woulg give a new twist on the concept of "at home aging"I can imagine a scenario like the following... you own a nice piece of private varnish, or better still, two cars ... you own your own siding, so you're not paying a string of short-term storage fees at your "home base" ... you're friends with some handy maintenance people who will trade work for occasional luxury trips ... and you don't mind spending at least half your time dressed in a snappy conductor's uniform playing host to high-paying customers, to subsidize your occasional private jaunts around the country.I've not heard of anyone doing this on Amtrak, but it might be better done, and might cost less if one had their own private varnish. Maybe the_traveler can share his experiences with this opulant lifestyle.
I've actually contemplated this for myself, though I haven't worked out the economics to see if it's actually viable. It would probably require start-up capital of $100-250,000, at a very rough guess. But if you're a homeowner, and you're actually selling your home to do this whole hog?... it might work?...
This certainly happens in song:
"Railroad Bill, Railroad Bill, he never worked and he never will, he'll just ride, ride, ride..." Not such a bad outcome for Bill...
"Did he ever return, no he never returned -- and his fate is still unlearned! Poor old Charlie..." Didn't work out so well for Charlie, on the other hand! Free sandwiches, though :lol:
Thanks for the corrected info! Also, glad to know that you looked up Bea Muller's name, because unless she was a friend or relative, I'm sure a lot of us would have wondered about you.
:lol: *laughs*Thanks for the corrected info! Also, glad to know that you looked up Bea Muller's name, because unless she was a friend or relative, I'm sure a lot of us would have wondered about you.
How much cheaper was it?
Sounds like an interesting story somewhere in there, but I honestly have no clue what your post is actually trying to tell us. What is the purpose of a messenger who rides in the cab? Why do the railroads allow him in there? Why did it take eight (five?) months to transfer a single load across the country? What sort of "car" requires floats? What was the connection with the Alaskan Air Force? Why does this messenger person never fly? I'm left with nothing but questions. :mellow:
I wouldn't want to spend my retirement years sucking up to rich people. That's what working years are all about. Nor would I expect most handy maintenance people would accept anything other than cash or check for their work. A ride in your car isn't going to feed their kids.
All the retirement compounds I've visited were full of people on walkers and wheelchairs. Not the sort of folks who are likely to remain unharmed on long train journies, especially if they're in private varnish cars designed long before the ADA was enacted. These are all cool ideas, but might not be workable as originally envisioned.
He returned home from ALASKA on Amtrak???? Must have been some train ride!
And a VERY good trick, since the closest Amtrak gets to Alaska is Vancouver, BC, and there is NO railroad connection between Alaska and the rest of the North American rail network at all, except for the above mentioned car float.
Eh, replace an Amfleet's trucks with skis and hitch on some sled dogs... I'll wait 'til you get an Amfleet to Vancouver and on skis before I try to calculate how many dogs! :lol:
I met someone named Danny (never got his last name) who does this, on the Lake Shore. The funny thing is, we connected really really well... and he also had the same final destination as me, Long Branch train station.
