Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
I had made my reservations for National Train Day nearly 3 months earlier, so the night before I was so excited I didn’t get much sleep. I woke up got ready and drove 30 miles to Metropark where I would be boarding Amtrak train number 143 to Philadelphia.
I was on the platform roughly an hour early and during my wait I saw 7 trains ranging from the Vermonter to an Acela carrying AlanB who I noticed from the platform and we exchanged a quick wave. My train came in about 10 minutes late and we proceeded to tear across my favorite piece of the NEC. I don’t think we ever dropped below 100 MPH on our 24 minute run across the state of New Jersey. We made a quick station stop in Trenton, NJ and were on our way to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station.
Once in Philadelphia I had no trouble finding the group of AU members already assembled there. There I was introduced to Jim Hudson, Ryan, and FrankStar. We then waited until Bill Haithcoat arrived from Atlanta on the Crescent. AlanB and I stayed at the meeting spot for a few more minutes as we awaited the arrival of the_traveler. The group of 9 found tables at Bridgewaters a restaurant/bar inside 30th street. We had at our peak 10 AU members when jacorbett70 found us at the restaurant.
I enjoyed lunch not only for the food, but because of the good conversation. Having a meal with fellow AU members guarantees some good conversation and a good time.
After lunch we made our way down to the equipment display which wasn’t run as smoothly as it could have been. We entered the Acela in the Bistro Car and spent almost 40 minutes walking through at a snail’s pace. Some folks behind us were quite irate and unloaded on the first Amtrak employee they saw. From there we got up close with an Amtrak catenary repair vehicle which was neat since I’ve only seen them of sidings at quite a distance.
Next up was the private varnish, which consisted of 4 cars. The first of Dover Harbor which was owned by the DC NHRS I was surprised to see it Philadelphia, but really enjoyed walking through the beautifully restored car. Next up was a Santa Fe lunch counter car. I really liked this car because it presented a food service option no longer found on the rails here in the US and gave a good example of what made premier passenger trains 30 cars long once upon a time. There was another sleeper/lounge car but I don’t remember the name.
The real jewel was the Hickory Creek rear observation car that ran on the 20th century limited. My oh my, this car was fantastic! I have been in the rear observation car of the Burlington Zephyr on display in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, but this car had a totally different feel to it. The lounge felt so much bigger and my entire field of vision was filled with windows facing out. It was quite the rail fans window!
After the private varnish the tour concluded with a couple of Amtrak cars. The highlight was car 9800 a business car used by sports teams or other VIPs being hauled up and down the NEC. It had wood paneling and several small “meeting rooms”. It was very cool to be inside of unique Amtrak car it was far from just another Amfleet.
The equipment tour took over an hour and 20 minutes meaning a possible 3 PM points run was ruled out. Here we met with AU member Mike Pace (J-1 3235) who had come down from BOS. Bill Haithcoat organized a group shot before it was time for him and Jim Hudson to get ready to catch the Crescent to points south.
The remaining group headed over to commuter section of 30th Street and walked through a set of new SEPTA cars. There I experienced “New Train Smell” which was a first for me. The new cars looked good, and seemed to let in a lot of light. After that the remaining group stood on the platform talking about SEPTA and other transit agencies across the US. The weather was great so we stayed and talked for quite some time.
After that I lost the group for a few minutes, so I checked out the main stage and a little bit of the baseball display. By chance I found the group again as most planned to head to the Club Acela as National Train Day was nearly over. I decided not join them and save the pass Jim had given me for another day since I only had a 20 minute wait. (Thanks again Jim!) I said my good-byes and made my way to the line forming to board my train.
I stood in line and watched the clock strike 4 officially ending National Train Day. I stood in line for another 20 minutes thinking that being toward the front would help me secure a seat. In Philly however they let everyone down a couple minutes ahead of the train, so being toward the front didn’t do much for me.
I entered the train in the quiet car and since I saw a window seat I decided I would try the quiet car. We pulled out shortly after I took my seat, and I began to write some brief notes to help better compose this trip report. Once we pulled out of Trenton I was glued to the window as we rocked and rolled through NJ. 30 minutes later we came to a stop at Metropark meaning National Train Day was really over for me.
Thanks for reading my report!
It was great to see old and new faces during the day!
I was on the platform roughly an hour early and during my wait I saw 7 trains ranging from the Vermonter to an Acela carrying AlanB who I noticed from the platform and we exchanged a quick wave. My train came in about 10 minutes late and we proceeded to tear across my favorite piece of the NEC. I don’t think we ever dropped below 100 MPH on our 24 minute run across the state of New Jersey. We made a quick station stop in Trenton, NJ and were on our way to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station.
Once in Philadelphia I had no trouble finding the group of AU members already assembled there. There I was introduced to Jim Hudson, Ryan, and FrankStar. We then waited until Bill Haithcoat arrived from Atlanta on the Crescent. AlanB and I stayed at the meeting spot for a few more minutes as we awaited the arrival of the_traveler. The group of 9 found tables at Bridgewaters a restaurant/bar inside 30th street. We had at our peak 10 AU members when jacorbett70 found us at the restaurant.
I enjoyed lunch not only for the food, but because of the good conversation. Having a meal with fellow AU members guarantees some good conversation and a good time.
After lunch we made our way down to the equipment display which wasn’t run as smoothly as it could have been. We entered the Acela in the Bistro Car and spent almost 40 minutes walking through at a snail’s pace. Some folks behind us were quite irate and unloaded on the first Amtrak employee they saw. From there we got up close with an Amtrak catenary repair vehicle which was neat since I’ve only seen them of sidings at quite a distance.
Next up was the private varnish, which consisted of 4 cars. The first of Dover Harbor which was owned by the DC NHRS I was surprised to see it Philadelphia, but really enjoyed walking through the beautifully restored car. Next up was a Santa Fe lunch counter car. I really liked this car because it presented a food service option no longer found on the rails here in the US and gave a good example of what made premier passenger trains 30 cars long once upon a time. There was another sleeper/lounge car but I don’t remember the name.
The real jewel was the Hickory Creek rear observation car that ran on the 20th century limited. My oh my, this car was fantastic! I have been in the rear observation car of the Burlington Zephyr on display in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, but this car had a totally different feel to it. The lounge felt so much bigger and my entire field of vision was filled with windows facing out. It was quite the rail fans window!
After the private varnish the tour concluded with a couple of Amtrak cars. The highlight was car 9800 a business car used by sports teams or other VIPs being hauled up and down the NEC. It had wood paneling and several small “meeting rooms”. It was very cool to be inside of unique Amtrak car it was far from just another Amfleet.
The equipment tour took over an hour and 20 minutes meaning a possible 3 PM points run was ruled out. Here we met with AU member Mike Pace (J-1 3235) who had come down from BOS. Bill Haithcoat organized a group shot before it was time for him and Jim Hudson to get ready to catch the Crescent to points south.
The remaining group headed over to commuter section of 30th Street and walked through a set of new SEPTA cars. There I experienced “New Train Smell” which was a first for me. The new cars looked good, and seemed to let in a lot of light. After that the remaining group stood on the platform talking about SEPTA and other transit agencies across the US. The weather was great so we stayed and talked for quite some time.
After that I lost the group for a few minutes, so I checked out the main stage and a little bit of the baseball display. By chance I found the group again as most planned to head to the Club Acela as National Train Day was nearly over. I decided not join them and save the pass Jim had given me for another day since I only had a 20 minute wait. (Thanks again Jim!) I said my good-byes and made my way to the line forming to board my train.
I stood in line and watched the clock strike 4 officially ending National Train Day. I stood in line for another 20 minutes thinking that being toward the front would help me secure a seat. In Philly however they let everyone down a couple minutes ahead of the train, so being toward the front didn’t do much for me.
I entered the train in the quiet car and since I saw a window seat I decided I would try the quiet car. We pulled out shortly after I took my seat, and I began to write some brief notes to help better compose this trip report. Once we pulled out of Trenton I was glued to the window as we rocked and rolled through NJ. 30 minutes later we came to a stop at Metropark meaning National Train Day was really over for me.
Thanks for reading my report!
It was great to see old and new faces during the day!
It was good to meet you and the others, hope you can get in lots of train riding while triple points is on and this summer before the start of school in the fall! Hope to see you again along the rails!Youre welcome, enjoy the pass perhaps in NYP or BOS! Jim
