Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
43 Westbound Pennsylvanian Monday August 15, 2010
The trip started with an uneventful ride on New Jersey Transit’s North Jersey Coastline into New York Penn Station. We arrived on time, and Penn Station was buzzing with the morning rush. My friend and I purchased lunched to bring aboard the train and headed for the Club Acela lounge. About 20 minutes before departure I asked the attendant about our track assignment which he provided. With that information we left the lounge and stood at the West Gate of track 15. When we got down to the platform I was thrilled to see Amfleet II cars in the consist, and grabbed a pair on the left side. I had expected to be in an Amfleet I, so it was a welcome surprise and made the trip much more comfortable. We departed on time, and soon we were whizzing through New Jersey on my favorite part of the Northeast Corridor between Metropark and Trenton.
We pulled into Philly on time and had 45 minutes some of which was spent sitting in the dark while they swapped our AEM-7 or a P42. I noticed during the power change the train was running with a full café and a 60 seat business class car. I was glad we booked business class for the return because I assumed it was just an equipment substitution. A large crowd boarded in Philly which pretty much filled up our car. We quickly made friends with the people across from us. They were also going to be College Freshman in a couple weeks, and we spent a lot of the trip chatting with them.
We were still on time when we arrived in Harrisburg sadly there was a Keystone train set blocking our view of the GG-1 stored under the train shed. Shortly after departure we passed a very late Eastbound Pennsylvanian with a Norfolk Southern unit up front. Somewhere west of Harrisburg we ran into some track work and lost some time waiting for an Eastbound Freight to go by, then crawled through the work zone. From that point forward we would be about 45 minutes behind schedule.
As we slowed to make our stop in Altoona I had my camera ready to try and snap a couple shots of the PRR museum there, then kept clicking away as went through Horseshoe Curve. We made the flag stop in Latrobe, and then after a quick stop in Greensburg we were on our way into Pittsburgh. We got to Pittsburgh at 8:24 thanks to some padding. From there we walked to Steel Plaza where we got a train going the wrong way and ended up taking a slightly longer ride from Wood St. to South Hills Village. From there it was a short walk to our hotel where after a long day. The Pittsburgh Light Rail is pretty confusing for a first time rider IMHO. You pay an exit fare onboard at certain stations, and at others there is an agent at the exit of the station with nothing but a fare collection box no change can be made anywhere inside the system.
We spent one day in the Pittsburgh area and spent almost all of it at Kennywood. It was one the best amusement parks I’ve been to. We turned in early since we knew it would be an early morning to catch train 42 back to New York.
Train 42 Eastbound Pennsylvanian Wednesday August 18, 2010
We woke up at 5:15AM and were walking toward the South Hills Village Light Rail Station where we paid into the system 6 minutes before peak fares kicked in. We boarded a blue line train along with dozens of regular commuters. The train was very crowded by the time arrived in Steel Plaza. When we arrived at the station it was standing room only. It was nice to see a large crowd some of which I imagine were people connecting from the Capitol Limited. There was no formal boarding call but about 20 minutes before departure people began heading up to the train. We walked forward and found a full café and a 60 seat business class car. We were given a newspaper and pillow before departure.
I admit I dozed off for a couple hours and woke up to the conductor making an announcing we tripped a defect detector, and would be making a short stop for an inspection. The locomotive was restarted, and the conductor walked around the train and we were back on our way. Soon after we were heading around Horseshoe curve again and made our stop in Altoona.
The run from Altoona to Harrisburg felt much faster going east and pretty soon we were heading over the Susquehanna River and into Harrisburg. On the platform I asked the Café attendant about the BC car he said it’s had a 60 BC car for a couple weeks now, and it’s filling up frequently. He said he thinks the days of the club/dinette car on the Pennsylvanian are over. The run from Harrisburg was pretty uneventful and I spent most of the time writing this report. When we pulled into Philly I noticed the number on our P42 and couldn’t help but laugh it was the same locomotive that carried me from New Orleans to Chicago a month ago. We left Philly right on time and after a stop in Trenton we began tearing across New Jersey.
Everything was looking for an on time arrival into New York Penn Station. It looked like we could make a 10 minute connection and grab an express train back home. We were heading through the tunnel between NJ and NY and it seemed like being even a couple minutes early wasn’t out of the question. Then a little more than halfway through the tunnel we came to a stop. The conductor came over the PA and apologized we hit a little congestion and should be on the move shortly. After 20 minutes of sitting the conductor came back on and said there was a disabled train ahead of us, and a rescues train would be there soon. 30 minutes later we were told the rescue locomotive broke down as well. I of course was laughing because it was starting to sound a lot like what happened on Hell Gate Bridge last week, and I began to wonder just how long this would take. The café attendant walked through the car and offered everyone water. The total delay was about 90 minutes and our conductor did an excellent job keeping everyone informed. We pulled up behind an Acela on track 15 which made it quite a walk from the last car in fact the rear door didn’t even make the platform.
When I finally got to the main concourse I was simply stunned. It was an absolute mad house there thousands of people jammed into the main hall staring at the Solari Board. I found out that train 167 was the one with engine trouble. It was quite a process to walk through the main concourse and purchase NJ Transit tickets. We managed to get on the 6:01 North Jersey Coastline train that left NYP at 6:40. It was standing room only after Newark. Tickets were never collected and we finally arrived in Middletown around 8 PM.
It was quite an end to a great trip. My friend even with the delays still had a great time on Amtrak and is ready for another trip!
You can find my photos here
Thanks for reading!
The trip started with an uneventful ride on New Jersey Transit’s North Jersey Coastline into New York Penn Station. We arrived on time, and Penn Station was buzzing with the morning rush. My friend and I purchased lunched to bring aboard the train and headed for the Club Acela lounge. About 20 minutes before departure I asked the attendant about our track assignment which he provided. With that information we left the lounge and stood at the West Gate of track 15. When we got down to the platform I was thrilled to see Amfleet II cars in the consist, and grabbed a pair on the left side. I had expected to be in an Amfleet I, so it was a welcome surprise and made the trip much more comfortable. We departed on time, and soon we were whizzing through New Jersey on my favorite part of the Northeast Corridor between Metropark and Trenton.
We pulled into Philly on time and had 45 minutes some of which was spent sitting in the dark while they swapped our AEM-7 or a P42. I noticed during the power change the train was running with a full café and a 60 seat business class car. I was glad we booked business class for the return because I assumed it was just an equipment substitution. A large crowd boarded in Philly which pretty much filled up our car. We quickly made friends with the people across from us. They were also going to be College Freshman in a couple weeks, and we spent a lot of the trip chatting with them.
We were still on time when we arrived in Harrisburg sadly there was a Keystone train set blocking our view of the GG-1 stored under the train shed. Shortly after departure we passed a very late Eastbound Pennsylvanian with a Norfolk Southern unit up front. Somewhere west of Harrisburg we ran into some track work and lost some time waiting for an Eastbound Freight to go by, then crawled through the work zone. From that point forward we would be about 45 minutes behind schedule.
As we slowed to make our stop in Altoona I had my camera ready to try and snap a couple shots of the PRR museum there, then kept clicking away as went through Horseshoe Curve. We made the flag stop in Latrobe, and then after a quick stop in Greensburg we were on our way into Pittsburgh. We got to Pittsburgh at 8:24 thanks to some padding. From there we walked to Steel Plaza where we got a train going the wrong way and ended up taking a slightly longer ride from Wood St. to South Hills Village. From there it was a short walk to our hotel where after a long day. The Pittsburgh Light Rail is pretty confusing for a first time rider IMHO. You pay an exit fare onboard at certain stations, and at others there is an agent at the exit of the station with nothing but a fare collection box no change can be made anywhere inside the system.
We spent one day in the Pittsburgh area and spent almost all of it at Kennywood. It was one the best amusement parks I’ve been to. We turned in early since we knew it would be an early morning to catch train 42 back to New York.
Train 42 Eastbound Pennsylvanian Wednesday August 18, 2010
We woke up at 5:15AM and were walking toward the South Hills Village Light Rail Station where we paid into the system 6 minutes before peak fares kicked in. We boarded a blue line train along with dozens of regular commuters. The train was very crowded by the time arrived in Steel Plaza. When we arrived at the station it was standing room only. It was nice to see a large crowd some of which I imagine were people connecting from the Capitol Limited. There was no formal boarding call but about 20 minutes before departure people began heading up to the train. We walked forward and found a full café and a 60 seat business class car. We were given a newspaper and pillow before departure.
I admit I dozed off for a couple hours and woke up to the conductor making an announcing we tripped a defect detector, and would be making a short stop for an inspection. The locomotive was restarted, and the conductor walked around the train and we were back on our way. Soon after we were heading around Horseshoe curve again and made our stop in Altoona.
The run from Altoona to Harrisburg felt much faster going east and pretty soon we were heading over the Susquehanna River and into Harrisburg. On the platform I asked the Café attendant about the BC car he said it’s had a 60 BC car for a couple weeks now, and it’s filling up frequently. He said he thinks the days of the club/dinette car on the Pennsylvanian are over. The run from Harrisburg was pretty uneventful and I spent most of the time writing this report. When we pulled into Philly I noticed the number on our P42 and couldn’t help but laugh it was the same locomotive that carried me from New Orleans to Chicago a month ago. We left Philly right on time and after a stop in Trenton we began tearing across New Jersey.
Everything was looking for an on time arrival into New York Penn Station. It looked like we could make a 10 minute connection and grab an express train back home. We were heading through the tunnel between NJ and NY and it seemed like being even a couple minutes early wasn’t out of the question. Then a little more than halfway through the tunnel we came to a stop. The conductor came over the PA and apologized we hit a little congestion and should be on the move shortly. After 20 minutes of sitting the conductor came back on and said there was a disabled train ahead of us, and a rescues train would be there soon. 30 minutes later we were told the rescue locomotive broke down as well. I of course was laughing because it was starting to sound a lot like what happened on Hell Gate Bridge last week, and I began to wonder just how long this would take. The café attendant walked through the car and offered everyone water. The total delay was about 90 minutes and our conductor did an excellent job keeping everyone informed. We pulled up behind an Acela on track 15 which made it quite a walk from the last car in fact the rear door didn’t even make the platform.
When I finally got to the main concourse I was simply stunned. It was an absolute mad house there thousands of people jammed into the main hall staring at the Solari Board. I found out that train 167 was the one with engine trouble. It was quite a process to walk through the main concourse and purchase NJ Transit tickets. We managed to get on the 6:01 North Jersey Coastline train that left NYP at 6:40. It was standing room only after Newark. Tickets were never collected and we finally arrived in Middletown around 8 PM.
It was quite an end to a great trip. My friend even with the delays still had a great time on Amtrak and is ready for another trip!
You can find my photos here
Thanks for reading!
