What does your Forum User Name mean?

[jackal]

My dad was "clerk-in-charge" on railway mail service in the 1940's and '50's. He loved trains, and my mom always said trains were the "other woman" in his life. I have pleasant memories of my mom, my sister, and myself picking him up at the Sacramento depot at the end of his "two days out--two day in" trips. He was so proud when he worked on the Shasta Daylight. At the time of his death 3 years ago, he couldn't remember very much, but he could name every train stop between Sacramento and Dunsmuir and also the Feather River route to Portola! During the last few years of his life, he was instrumental in replicating the museum quality railway mail car parked at the Napa Valley Wine Train site. He was a good man, and I miss him every day. I'm proud of being the trainman's daughter.

Great story and great heritage! My grandfather worked in RPO service on the Great Northern (becoming the Burlington Northern) in Minnesota and eventually in Spokane. According to my dad, he was well-known for his incredible memory and ability to instantly know which railway post office cars were where and to be able to logistically plan for future movements of those cars. If you visit Riverside Park in Spokane and look up at the historic clock tower, you'll see the light outline of a peaked roof. His office was in the part of the building that was torn down, right under that roof--one of his walls in his office was the side of the clock tower. I don't know my grandfather as well as you knew your dad (he's still alive but fading), but it's special to know our family members were part of a great machine of history that doesn't exist anymore and will always be considered special.

As for my name, it's something a friend christened me with in my childhood upon realizing that the approximate sound of my initials, when run together, forms "jackal." I doubt either of us really knew what a jackal was at the time (we were 7 or so), nor did we know the wily, sly connotation said animal has (none of whose characteristics, as far as I know, I share), but I've used it when desiring some measure of anonymity between my online and real personas.

 

[TML]

My username represents the initials of my full name.

 

[Amtrak901]

My usual S/N is Whitesox901

But since this is an Amtrak forum, I thought I'd go with Amtrak901

 

[espeefoamer]

Mine should be fairly obvious. My favorite railroad is the Southern Pacific aqnd I have been accusedof foaminfg at the mouth at times.(usually around steam).

 

[nerd]

I'm not sure what my username says about me.

 

[sky12065]

My user name is simply my initials and year of birth.
Yes, I was born A.D. 63. I'm very old.

Aloha and Welcome to the group. Young Wipper Snapper, old my foot. :lol: That the year I started college and work at Disneyland. Which lets me say with a Walt Disney paid for my college. 4 years later this eastern boy was married and living in Hawaii.

Eric, I wanted to let you know that my son and his girlfriend are leaving LA on Monday for Hawaii in case you wanted to greet them at the station when their train arrives! :lol:

 

[volperdinger]

Hello:

I first heard the term "volperdinger" while vacationing in Germany. I was in a hunting lodge that had various trophy animals mounted on the walls when I spied a groundhog-like creature with a duck bill and occaisonal blue feathers. When I asked the waiter what it was, he laughed and informed me that a volperdinger was the German equivalant to a "jack-a-lope" !!

 

[rrdude]

Thanks Volperdinger, that made me LOL.

My name has been with me since the first days of AOL chat rooms, early email, and first ebay account. Kept it thru Comast, and some others. Had to give it up when I switched to Verizon tho, already taken......... And somehow ebay "gave the name" to someone else in their early start up period.........

 

[amtrakwolverine]

its one of 3 amtrak trains that serve this state.

 

[cru3rdbari]

My username 'cru3rdbari' refers to a drum and bugle corps I marched with called the Rochester Crusaders, or 'Cru' for short. I played the third baritone part, or '3rd bari'. I do not march in competition anymore, but still do some parades with my local alumni corps, the Steel City Ambassadors!

 

[GG-1]

My username 'cru3rdbari' refers to a drum and bugle corps I marched with called the Rochester Crusaders, or 'Cru' for short. I played the third baritone part, or '3rd bari'. I do not march in competition anymore, but still do some parades with my local alumni corps, the Steel City Ambassadors!

Aloha

Welcome to the group.

 

[el Guapo]

El Guapo-"The Handsome One". Originated from my love of the movie "The Three Amigos". My avatar is the character "el Guapo" showing the delicious irony of his name.

Also, since I'm a big baseball fan, the former journeyman pitcher Rich Garces was also referred to as "el Guapo". If you've ever seen the man you'd understand the delight of watching him saunter in from the bullpen to the chants of "Guapo, Guapo, Guapo".

So, I began using it for nearly everything I do online. Ironic for the fact that I am not hispanic.

Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes...

 

[supergrandmother]

Supergrandmother is a name my oldest grandson called me when he was about 3. Now he's 11 and I have 2 more grandchildren so I'm just Grandmother except to the youngest (almost 2) who insists on calling me "Mammy". :lol: I'm fairly new to train travel; I did use the train some about 35 years ago when we had easy access to the Amtrak station in Nashville, TN. Now I'm nearing retirement and looking forward to lots of train travel although now I have to drive 3 hours to Atlanta to catch it.

 

[the_traveler]

Any grandmother who loves train travel is super in my book!

 

[NetJetAmtrak]

Well, my user name is not too inventing. I work currently as a pilot for NetJets (huge fractional ownership company) and my dream job is to work for Amtrak one day. I put the two together. It is funny how the grass always seems greener at some other place. A long time back I worked as a flight instructor in Kenosha, WI; and there are tracks (Milwaukee Road) running just east of the airport. An engineer came into the school and said he always wanted to fly planes and he would watch them as he drove his train past the airport. He said he loved to get a red stop signal there so he can check out the airport action. He kept telling himself he would go learn to fly and after 10 years of watching, he became a Private Pilot. He never wanted to talk trains like I did...klind of funny. I LOVE flying but, I always had a huge LOVE for the rails as well. I must be the only pilot at NetJets who collects Amtrak points at all our overnight Hilton hotels. My co-workers think it's actually very cool.

 

[the_traveler]

You're not the only one. I have a close friend who is one of the best pilots in RI (he's the chief pilot at Textron - a maker of corporate private jets - and flies the president of Textron around the world) and he loves trains!

 

[Guest_CHANGEATJAMAICA_*]

You're not the only one. I have a close friend who is one of the best pilots in RI (he's the chief pilot at Textron - a maker of corporate private jets - and flies the president of Textron around the world) and he loves trains!

 

[CHANGEATJAMAICA]

Any one who has any knowledge of the Long Island Rail Road knows the (in)famous announcement on all trains transiting it's Jamaica station hub. For a passenger boarding at Pennsylvania station the announcement (used) to go sound like this:

"This train for Hempstead, with stops at Woodside, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, Union Hall Street*, Hillside*, Hollis,

Belaire, Queens Village, Belrose, Floral Park, Steward Manor, Nassau Blvd, Garden City, Country Life Press and Hempsteand; all others CHANGE AT JAMAICA"! The *stations are now just history, as may be some of the others.

For someone who spent the first 18 years of his life living across the street from the Long Island Hillside Station and Holban Freight yard the term was as familiar as my name. When at 18, I moved away, I found it difficult to sleep for the first few months because I missed the sound of the shunting of freight at night...but I got over it. But NEVER forgot the term CHANGEATJAMIACA! And that was over 50 years ago.

Best regards,

Rodger

 

[GG-1]

Any one who has any knowledge of the Long Island Rail Road knows the (in)famous announcement on all trains transiting it's Jamaica station hub. For a passenger boarding at Pennsylvania station the announcement (used) to go sound like this:"This train for Hempstead, with stops at Woodside, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, Union Hall Street*, Hillside*, Hollis,

...but I got over it. But NEVER forgot the term CHANGEATJAMIACA! And that was over 50 years ago.

Best regards,

Rodger

Aloha

I never did the Change at "Jamaica" but I lived in NYC 50 years ago, graduated Midwood HS in 62 I hung out in and around NYPEN, so heard the announcement a lot., Small world.

Welcome to the AU Forums.

 

[Phila 30th St]

Mine is pretty self explanatory...it's my favorite US train station.

 

[Ranke]

To explain my Forum User Name probably means to blow my cover, for it reveals my calling (Ranke is considered to have been the first "professional" historian), and its German pronunciation also rhymes with my own last name.

 

[nomis]

My user name is simply my first name backwards ...

 

[saxman]

Being a member of this forum since 2004, I've never visited this topic. It was just there and something I skipped over. So I think it's about time I make a submission about my name.

"saxman" n./sax - man/ he who plays saxophone

Ok, I made that up, but I case you didn't know I played saxophone since 6th grade all the way into 5 years of college. Was in marching band for 8 years, was a drum major for one year in high school. And I even almost went to study music for a living.

One night when we were having some family friends over for dinner, there was a two year boy there. Somehow the discussion went to music and I was asked to play my axe. This was probably when i was in 8th grade. Well when they boy and his family left, he said "bye Saxman!" So then a legend was born.....I was The Saxman. I even had it printed on the back of my letter jacket in high school.

So there it stays, saxman...

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

I've always loved the night, and my last name is Nicholson. I grew up in a place called Palos Verdes where all of us picked up a nickname over time. Friends used to call me Nick as a shorthand of Nicholson, and upon seeing me out at night, would greet me with a "Hey, it's Nick at Night!" Surely this was borrowed from the Nickelodian Channel commercials of the time.

And so it is, nick@night stuck and became my call sign...

 

[transit54]

Well, it's finally come to change my name on here. My previous name was just my first initial, last name. But for privacy's sake, I'd rather move away from using my name as my username. Plus, I realized after the gathering that no one knew how to pronounce it!

My new name references the fact that I have a real interest in transit and transportation, both personally and professionally. Many here know I work for my local transit authority and I'm also a strong advocate for expanding alternative transportation everywhere. 54 is a reference to train 54, the Sat/Sun northbound Vermonter, the train that always brings me back to the Green Mountain State.