Midnight Train

[the_traveler]

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.

The Pips probably caught the "Midnight Train to Georgia"! :lol:

 

[Kramerica]

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.

This is why all long distance trains need, at the minimum, a twin that operates about 12 hours from the first train. You've got these major/mid-major cities all over that are only served at bizarre hours. (Omaha/Lincoln, Spokane, Salt Lake City...) You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM. Sure, there are die-hards like Al that will do it, but the "normal" person isn't going to. Now, for Lincoln, the 12 hour twin wouldn't be that great for travel to Chicago, since then the Chicago arrival would be at 4 AM.

So that's why I would advocate that long distance trains have four runs daily, each about 6 hours apart. Then each station would have approximately a morning, afternoon, evening, and night train. For long distance train travel, that's probably enough frequency to eliminate people using departure time as a reason not to travel by train. There are two major side benefits to running four or more trains per day, too. One is that it would allow people to make short stops at intermediate points. Not many people are going to want to spend 24 hours in Havre or Minot, but 6 hours is about the perfect amount of time for seeing the town and grabbing a bite. Plus this would allow people to ride coach during the day and hotel at night. Or vice-versa, sleep while moving at night and doing some sightseeing during the day. Those options and flexibility will just give people more reason to choose Amtrak. The second major benefit is to Amtrak and its users. Say goodbye to bussing to do catch-up or to staying overnight in a hotel because of late trains and missed connections. If you miss your train there'll be another one in six hours. That's not unreasonable to have people wait in the station that long. It is SOP in airports. Sure, amenities will have to be improved at train stations, but with four trains a day per route, that's going to happen anyway.

 

[MrFSS]

You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM. Sure, there are die-hards like Al that will do it, but the "normal" person isn't going to.

Are you saying Al isn't normal? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Kramerica]

You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM. Sure, there are die-hards like Al that will do it, but the "normal" person isn't going to.

Are you saying Al isn't normal? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yes. I would also say that most people on this board aren't normal, at least on the issue of trains. And I think we're all happy about that.

 

[MrFSS]

You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM. Sure, there are die-hards like Al that will do it, but the "normal" person isn't going to.

Are you saying Al isn't normal? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yes. I would also say that most people on this board aren't normal, at least on the issue of trains. And I think we're all happy about that.

Yep - I know I'm not normal.

 

[the_traveler]

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.

This is why all long distance trains need, at the minimum, a twin that operates about 12 hours from the first train. You've got these major/mid-major cities all over that are only served at bizarre hours. (Omaha/Lincoln, Spokane, Salt Lake City...) You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM. Sure, there are die-hards like Al that will do it, but the "normal" person isn't going to.

I'm another of those "crazy" people! :lol:

At least having #6 arrive in SLC at 3 AM - 4 AM, allowed me to catch a flight from the east coast after work - but I still had to wait 4-6 hours for the train to come! (And the SLC "station" is nothing to write home about!)

 

[GG-1]

Call me "NORMAL" Thank God I am not.

Aloha

 

[gswager]

Define "normal" on all people. Probably none. Each person is unique, like the "Fez." :lol:

 

[oldtimer]

NORMAL isn't that also the stop for Bloomington?

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Normal a setting on a dryer

 

[Simon]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but coming back from Aussois the south-east of France (with a detour via Turin), and thanks to the general incompetence of Ryanair, I once managed to miss the 2359 from Stansted Airport to Liverpool Street (the last with a connection to Cambridge at Bishop's Stortford; the 0030 non-stops Stortford, and the last through train to Cambridge was at something like 2021). Fortunately there was a bus at 0015 (IIRC) to Stortford so I could catch the *very* last train (something like 0049, getting in at something like 0123) from there to Cambridge. (Then I managed to lose my train ticket and railcard on the bus, but that's another story. I got the railcard back but not the train ticket.)

Running 6-hourly isn't sufficient IMHO, certainly not on busy routes. I don't think I would have wanted to sit in the airport for six hours waiting for the first morning train, especially since I'd already arranged to stay with people in Cambridge. I'd even less want to sit at a random railway station in the middle of nowhere for 6 hours.

But then again I suppose "enough" on any line (train or bus) is "double what they actually run, capped at (say) 12 per hour" - on hourly services "it'd be nice if it were twice an hour - at least you can plan around that without standing around for ages" and on twice-hourly services "it'd be nice if it were every 15 minutes - then you can turn up and ride".

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I would take "departing at midnight" to mean originating at midnight. I do not think any do.

As to an intermediate stop being at midnight (or within a few minutes either way), the timetable has several of them.

 

[caravanman]

Gosh,

Bit of a surprise to see my old post floating up to surface again in 2010..!

With reference to the Stanstead line, I think it it quite a frequent service to Liverpool Street.. main problem I think is the late night and early morning flights. The budget and holiday flights are anti social hours, the trains stop overnight. Oh for an integrated travel network! I have similar issues with Eurostar to France, the cheap last minute fares are at 5am, but no way to get to London by train same day from Nottingham. An overnight hotel more than cancels out the cheap fare.

Anyway, this is an American website, better get back to Amtrak..

Cheers,

Eddie

 

[amtrakwolverine]

You'd have to be nuts to get on a train at 3 AM.

I'll be doing just that returning from the gathering. Catching the first LS train out from St.Louis.

 

[sunchaser]

Look! Another old thread!!! If we want to head east, we have to take the train at 4:15 am. ICK! But there's no other choice. :blink:

 

[BigRedEO]

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

You're complaining about Midnight?? Try Cleveland! All 4 trains that go through (Capitol EB & WB, Lakeshore Limited EB & WB) arrive and depart between 2am and 6am. And 6am was only recently when they pushed the Departure times of the LL back so that it would be a little later in the morning getting into Cleveland. I'm taking the Pennsy this weekend because I find it easier to drive the 2 hours to Pittsburgh rather than taking the Capitol Limited leaving around 3:45am from Cleveland - and many time running late!

 

[Rail Freak]

Midnight Train to Georgia???

 

[railiner]

In poetry and music "leavin' out at midnight" is an idea that is evocative of the romance of long distance travel. It can mean "in the middle of the night", or can mean literally 12:00 Midnight.

In addition to Gladys Knight's song, there was that "Midnight Special" (I forgot who sang it), and the television rock concert of the same name hosted by deejay "Wolfman Jack", back in the '70's.

And there were several trains known as the Midnight Special on various roads through the years, the last of which was the one on the GM&O from CHI to STL that lasted right up to Amtrak Day.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

In poetry and music "leavin' out at midnight" is an idea that is evocative of the romance of long distance travel. It can mean "in the middle of the night", or can mean literally 12:00 Midnight.

In addition to Gladys Knight's song, there was that "Midnight Special" (I forgot who sang it), and the television rock concert of the same name hosted by deejay "Wolfman Jack", back in the '70's.

And there were several trains known as the Midnight Special on various roads through the years, the last of which was the one on the GM&O from CHI to STL that lasted right up to Amtrak Day.

Yes, to all the above. There were quite a few trains which orginiated more or less at midnight, some of them,but not all, were called Midnight Express.

Some served long distances but many also were mainly for quick overnight U.S. mail, early morning arrivals.

I might point out that many trains wich originated at such an hour often had sleepers which could be boarded, say about 9 p.m. If it terminated the next morning at 5 or 6 or so,sleepers often could be occupied until about 8 a.m.

 

[George Harris]

For many years men from the deep south would go north for temporary work in the steel mills around Chicago or the auto plants around Detroit. Usually this was at the time of slow seasons on the farm when things were such that the wife and kids could keep things together. These were good paying jobs and no problem to handle for men used to sweat and hard work. Gnerally they were alone and lonely. When they left or the job ended, it was always the cheapest way home, which usually meant coach on the first train southbound. When ready to head home it was get out of town as soon as possible. They usually were too late in the day leaving to ride the fast trains timed for the business travelers and could not afford the sleepers, anyway. Therefore, they ended up in the coaches of the late night mail trains. Think "500 miles away from home." This is the distance from Detroit to Nashville.

 

[como]

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee "Midnight Special"