Midnight Train

[caravanman]

Are there any Amtrak trains which depart at midnight? I am a fan of a group called "Journey", one of their songs mentions catching a midnight train, going anywhere...?

Ed B)

 

[redsandal]

Are there any Amtrak trains which depart at midnight? I am a fan of a group called "Journey", one of their songs mentions catching a midnight train, going anywhere...?Ed B)

The Lakeshore Limited is scheduled to leave Buffalo, NY for Chicago at 11:59pm.

 

[JayPea]

Are there any Amtrak trains which depart at midnight? I am a fan of a group called "Journey", one of their songs mentions catching a midnight train, going anywhere...?Ed B)

The northbound Coast Starlight departs Sacramento, CA (theoretically), at 11:59 PM. There are probably others right around that time, but that's the first one I came upon.

 

[the_traveler]

The Cardinal departs IND at 11:59 PM (Tu, Th, Sa).

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I've always thought of subway trains when I heard that song. (And while Boston's subway system does shut down at night, many (but not all, I discovered one night when I ended up coming home by taxi instead of taking the green line to the red line as I had planned) branches of the subway system have their last train starting at the beginning of the route a bit after midnight.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_%28band%29 claims in the infobox at the right that Journey started out in San Francisco.

On the Northeast Corridor, the #66/#67 trains (formerly known as the Twilight Shoreliner) run overnight #67, the southbound train, is scheduled to arrive at New Haven, CT at 12:20 AM; #66, the northbound train, is scheduled to arrive at Philadephia at 11:59 PM.

 

[caravanman]

Cool! the song refers to someone from Detroit, so maybe the LSL fits the bill, at least it's in that area, maybe the songwriter was just being poetic.. I quite fancy the idea of boarding "The Midnight Train", although it might well be the 3am train given Amtrak's timekeeping.. not so great! I am remembering another song "The Midnight flyer out of Birmingham, smoking into New Orleans" Chuck Berry I think?

Ed. B)

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I'd forgotten the Detroit part of the song, but that explains why I was so surprised to find that Journey is from California and not the midwest.

Train #354, the Wolverine, does stop at Detroit at 12:32 AM (and is allowed to leave before that, if I'm reading the timetable right). (Was the Wolverine running in the early 80s when I seem to recall the song came out)?

 

[RailFanLNK]

What you think is "cool" kinda sucks for us in LNK! :angry: The CZ #5 is due in at 12:08am, usually runs around 10-60 minutes late. The hardest "sell" I have on folks in my town riding Amtrak is what time we are served. On Saturday morning we will be "bounding" :lol: out of bed at 3:45am "if" the #6 is "on time" our EB departure is at 4:41am. I always try and tell folks "hey if the #6 is running late, there's more time for sleep wether you are waiting to catch it or LNK is your final destination". I still get alot of folks that look at me like I'm insane. BTW, guys at work today noticed I was "on vacation" next week. "Where you going Al?" I would reply: "Chicago", and they would go, "you know, there getting hit by a snowstorm and everything is messed up at O'Hare!" And I would smile and go, "yeah, I'm taking Amtrak so I won't have to worry about O'Hare!"

Al

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Have you written to your Congresspeople asking for a second daily trip on that route offering an alternate choice of time?

 

[JayPea]

What you think is "cool" kinda sucks for us in LNK! :angry: The CZ #5 is due in at 12:08am, usually runs around 10-60 minutes late. The hardest "sell" I have on folks in my town riding Amtrak is what time we are served. On Saturday morning we will be "bounding" :lol: out of bed at 3:45am "if" the #6 is "on time" our EB departure is at 4:41am. I always try and tell folks "hey if the #6 is running late, there's more time for sleep wether you are waiting to catch it or LNK is your final destination". I still get alot of folks that look at me like I'm insane. BTW, guys at work today noticed I was "on vacation" next week. "Where you going Al?" I would reply: "Chicago", and they would go, "you know, there getting hit by a snowstorm and everything is messed up at O'Hare!" And I would smile and go, "yeah, I'm taking Amtrak so I won't have to worry about O'Hare!"
Al

I fully feel rail rookie's pain about Lincoln. Spokane is about as bad. While the Empire Builder is usually on time, or close to it, "on time" is still an ungodly hour. Eastbound, the Portland section arrives in Spokane at 12:13AM and the Seattle section at 12:32, with a 1:15AM departure. Westbound, the Empire Builder arrives at 1:40 AM, with the section for Seattle departing at 2:15AM and the Portland half at 2:45AM. Last year, I took a trip from Spokane-Seattle, and then back from Seattle to Chicago. Since I was going to be gone a week and was unwilling to leave my car at the Spokane train station that long, I had my sister take me to the train. Since she has to work for a living :lol: , I couldn't ask her to drop me off in the wee hours of the morning. So I had her drop me off about 8PM. Nothing like spending 6 hours in the Spokane train station! Next time I want to catch the Empire Builder and will be gone longer than a day or two, I'm flying to Seattle (or Portland) and catch a cab to either train station and go from there. More costly but for me, the cost is worth it.

 

[the_traveler]

I know! A few years ago, I flew into SLC to begin my train ride. Luckily, I had to take a evening flight from the east coast, because the eastbound (at that time) was scheduled to depart at something like 3:30 AM! (I rode to GJT before turning around to go to RNO. While waiting in SLC for #6, it was the first time I watched Carson Daly's show!)

When I returned from RNO, #6 was scheduled to arrive about 3 AM (but was thankfully late ). I took a cab (the few miles) to the airport to pick up a rental car - and the counter did not even open for another hour! (No, it wasn't Hertz - I believe it was Alamo for 1/2 the cost of Hertz!)

 

[rtabern]

What you think is "cool" kinda sucks for us in LNK! :angry: The CZ #5 is due in at 12:08am, usually runs around 10-60 minutes late. The hardest "sell" I have on folks in my town riding Amtrak is what time we are served. On Saturday morning we will be "bounding" :lol: out of bed at 3:45am "if" the #6 is "on time" our EB departure is at 4:41am. I always try and tell folks "hey if the #6 is running late, there's more time for sleep wether you are waiting to catch it or LNK is your final destination". I still get alot of folks that look at me like I'm insane. BTW, guys at work today noticed I was "on vacation" next week. "Where you going Al?" I would reply: "Chicago", and they would go, "you know, there getting hit by a snowstorm and everything is messed up at O'Hare!" And I would smile and go, "yeah, I'm taking Amtrak so I won't have to worry about O'Hare!"
Al

Good point there about rail travel and weather.

On 12/1/06, I was taking a 5-day/4-night train trip on the Zephyr... Milwaukee-Chicago-Reno-Chicago-Milwaukee.

Not really doing anything in Reno, just a 2-hour layover to catch 6 back... it was just a fun train trip through the Rockies.

Anyhow, on that day, Chicago and Milwaukee got hit with about 10" of snow. Both Mitchell and O'Hare were shut down and there were some jack-knifed semis on I-94 blocking the main highway from MKE-CHI.

The only thing that was going that day between CHI and MKE was Amtrak... and we were on-time into Chicago!

 

[RailFanLNK]

Knock on wood....the #6 (which isn't on time much) is on time so far for 6/22. Alarm goes off at 3:45am, pick up Brenda and her daughter at 4am and down to the station by 4:20am. So much rush hour traffic to work around here in LNK at 4am! :lol: Can't wait for a trip on the Zephyr! Sweet Home Chicago! Good night! Alarm goes off in less than 5 hours!

Al

 

[Cascadia]

On 12/1/06, I was taking a 5-day/4-night train trip on the Zephyr... Milwaukee-Chicago-Reno-Chicago-Milwaukee.Not really doing anything in Reno, just a 2-hour layover to catch 6 back... it was just a fun train trip through the Rockies.

That sounds like such a cool trip, that's just the kind of thing I want to do more of. I loved my BEL>PDX>SPK>PDX>BEL jaunt a few weeks ago. I have to figure out one for my friend in Minneapolis to do too, there must be a way to get her on the Empire Builder out and back like that for a little joy ride.

Not to be off topic to the thread. I guess it counts that I did the in and out of Spokane at midnight in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. And that I would love to go to Sandpoint Idaho on the EB, but the times are not to conducive to get anyone to go with me!

 

[JayPea]

On 12/1/06, I was taking a 5-day/4-night train trip on the Zephyr... Milwaukee-Chicago-Reno-Chicago-Milwaukee.Not really doing anything in Reno, just a 2-hour layover to catch 6 back... it was just a fun train trip through the Rockies.

That sounds like such a cool trip, that's just the kind of thing I want to do more of. I loved my BEL>PDX>SPK>PDX>BEL jaunt a few weeks ago. I have to figure out one for my friend in Minneapolis to do too, there must be a way to get her on the Empire Builder out and back like that for a little joy ride.

Not to be off topic to the thread. I guess it counts that I did the in and out of Spokane at midnight in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. And that I would love to go to Sandpoint Idaho on the EB, but the times are not to conducive to get anyone to go with me!

Sandpoint is in a beautiful area; I know the idea of train travel is to get from point A to point B and sceery is secondary, but it's too bad the route between Spokane and Sandpoint (and from Sandpoint to Glacier Park, for that matter) is in complete darkness. A lot of great scenery is missed out on. That is, unless the train is several hours late departing Spokane, in which case passengers might not appreciate the scenery they're getting to see! :lol: I'm looking forward to the new EB stop in Leavenworth, just west of Wenatchee. The station there is supposed to be done in November. That would be an ideal day trip for me, as I could get on the EB in Spokane, get off in the early morning at Leavenworth, spend the day browsing in the many shops there, and then go back to Spokane, getting back on in the early evening hours.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

During the last 6 months of high school Friday night/Saturday morning I took the New Haven Milk Train to Hartford Connecticut that Departed 12:01 am Saturday as a 2 day excursion fare. since It delivered the papers all along the way we arrived in Hartford about 3:00am.

 

[Cascadia]

Sandpoint is in a beautiful area; I know the idea of train travel is to get from point A to point B and sceery is secondary, but it's too bad the route between Spokane and Sandpoint (and from Sandpoint to Glacier Park, for that matter) is in complete darkness. A lot of great scenery is missed out on. That is, unless the train is several hours late departing Spokane, in which case passengers might not appreciate the scenery they're getting to see! :lol: I'm looking forward to the new EB stop in Leavenworth, just west of Wenatchee. The station there is supposed to be done in November. That would be an ideal day trip for me, as I could get on the EB in Spokane, get off in the early morning at Leavenworth, spend the day browsing in the many shops there, and then go back to Spokane, getting back on in the early evening hours.

Yes, if I do go to Sandpoint, I better go at the height of summer when the days are longest. I actually know someone who lives in a neighboring town there. The big reason why Sandpoint first made it on the map for me is that they have a Draft Horse Show in October every year and I would love to go to that.

EB times for Sandpoint Idaho: Westbound, 11:49 p.m. That's pretty close to midnight, eh?

Eastbound, 2:32 a.m.! lovely time for train-boarding.

Maybe I will have to make some younger friends just to get someone to go with me for a day in Sandpoint

Leavenworth would be cool to visit too, I have a book about how they re-invented the town with an Alpine Bavarian theme, it was quite an art project, it's inspiring really how someone can have a vision and execute it like that. I would think a lot of small towns could be revitalized with imagination and enthusiasm. Leavenworth is a good example of what can be done to give a place a new life and a new identity. I would never have heard of it if they hadn't done the big art project there.

 

[iron mountain]

The Capitol Limited departs from Pittsburgh at 11:55PM for Chicago.

 

[WICT106]

The westbound leaves St. Cloud at between 12:30 and 12:40 in the morning. I think that counts as a "midnight train."

That song brings back many memories. some nice, others… not so good. A few memories of first crushes, and broken hearts.

 

[MStrain]

Your just in luck if you want to catch a "midnight train to Memphis"....the City of New Orleans (Southbound from Chicago) departs from Effingham, IL around 11:37P and arrives in, ironically, Memphis at 6:30AM. Go ride it.....fun train.

Miss the lounge car though <_<

MStrain

 

[ThayerATM]

Are there any Amtrak trains which depart at midnight? I am a fan of a group called "Journey", one of their songs mentions catching a midnight train, going anywhere...?Ed B)

You folks are really making me feel old. <_<

Gladys Knight and the Pips started with "A Midnight Train To Georgia" in 1974 and went on to fame and fortune. The song wasn't about a real train. It was a melancholy song about a guy returning from California, to Georgia, to pick up the threads of his life. having failed in the celebrety life of California. Lost love, and like that.

 

[PRR 60]

...Gladys Knight and the Pips started with "A Midnight Train To Georgia" in 1974 and went on to fame and fortune.

The first hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips was "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in 1967 which climbed to #2 on the Billboard chart. "Midnight Train to Georgia" was their only #1 hit.

 

[PRR 60]

And, to go back to the topic, I believe it is a general practice in rail and air scheduling to not set any arrivals or departures at exactly midnight. With the 24 hour clock, which is used in official timekeeping, midnight can be either 24:00 of day one or 00:00 of day two. You can get in heated arguments over that little nuance. In order to avoid that confusion and any issues with computer programming assigning midnight to the wrong day, schedules for arrivals or departures at midnight are usually set for either 11:59pm (23:59) or 12:01am (00:01).

 

[oldtimer]

I actually rode 354 to Detroit in the late 70's in First Class on a turboliner with Gladys Knight and we arrived at midnight. By the way she was Pipless.

 

[caravanman]

PRR 60's comment about not having midnight as a departure time reminded me of how flexible rail employees needed to be here in the UK. Not sure if it is still the same nowadays, but at one time, train drivers (engineers) could be on the late shift, and start at 23.59, next week on the early shift, start at 00.01. At least the middle shift meant you could see a bit more daylight, unless it was winter, and that shift started at 16.01 ! Happy Days!

Ed B)