Who in the world are you?

[OBS]

Greetings everyone, I am 52, grew up in Western Michigan, and luckily had an older brother interested in trains (and all transportation). Thanks to some financial help from relatives, our family took our first LD train trip the summer of 1971. Took NC Hiawatha to Sea, Coast Daylight (?) to SFO... loved eating out of vending machines...LOL, and then eventually the Super Chief back to Chicago. Our family had dinner in the Turquoise Room in the diner to celebrate my Bday, and have been hooked ever since. Luckily I had tolerant parents who were willing to travel every 1-2 years there after by train for vacations, and I became convinced that working for Amtrak was my life destiny.

Unfortunately my parents didn't agree and strongly discouraged it. I received a BA in hotel/restaurant Mgemt, and worked for several years with the Bill Knapps chain in the Midwest. I eventually quit and moved to Florida and grabbed a job working as a waiter in a hotel in Tampa. It just so happened that this hotel is where the T&E crews stayed when working South from Jax. I got to know one Engineer quite well and told him of my dream of working for Amtrak. He said "Are you sure you know what you are getting into?" I assured him I did, gave him my contact info, and got a call 10 days later stating they were hiring for the Auto Train, was I interested? They arranged for a roomette RT for me to interview and warned me, the interview was on Wednesday, and the job starts Monday if you are hired. I was hired on the spot, loaded up a uhaul and drove to the Wash. DC area where my brother lived and started work.

I just celebrated my 25th anniversary with Amtrak, live on Long Island, having relocated to NY 6 years ago and work out of NY Crewbase. My Partner and I have been together 13 years,I am a lifelong Methodist who loves to sing in choir when home on Sunday and we have 4 wonderful cats. Also, I am so glad I stumbled across this website a couple years ago, I truly enjoy my time here!

 

[Guest lsa]

@ obs ... What position do you work ? I just recently transfer out of NY and back to LA .

 

[OBS]

@ obs ... What position do you work ? I just recently transfer out of NY and back to LA .

LSA...Acela Cafe..."around the world"....You know who I am...

 

[Guestlsa]

So I guess I don't have to tell you who I am

 

[OBS]

So I guess I don't have to tell you who I am

LOL, hope you are enjoying LA...

 

[BOS-T-Time]

Hello,

I am 32 year old male from Boston, and currently am living here as well, accent and all, so my home base is South Station (wish the other 75% of the structure still existed). I have been working for an airline at Logan (on the ground) for the past 14 years and love all modes of transportation but my real passion is rail travel. Oddly enough, I am not a good flyer at all which has led me to the rails. Single life and loving it that way, freedom to move about with nothing holding me back .

My first experience with Amtrak was on the Northest Direct from NYP-BOS via the inland route on the last train out sometime in the late 90's, a nice 6 hour ride that turned kind of crazy. We had to stop somewhere south of New Rochelle as police were investigating a "person" near the tracks, not sure if it was a homeless person sleeping or a body at that point. I fell in love with the harvest yellow seats and general friendliness of everyone onboard which seems to have gone to the wayside with flying since it has become very stressful in some instances. I have been up and down the Northeast Corridor on both the Regionals and Acelas many times and have yet to undertake an overnight train.

I would like to meet up with some other people and take trips with them that are avid rail fans, and would like to get more involved with the AU community as I have really enjoyed reading all the forum posts and especially the trip reports. I have been learning so much about the history of the railroads throughout the country and enjoy hearing everyone's stories and past experiences. I hope our country can continue the momentum of rail growth in the future.

Feel free to message me as I am pretty dam friendly with my New England sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

Happy rails to all.

Bos-T-Time

 

[Three]

I stared my first train ride in 1954. My Dad came and picked me up from Kinder Garden School and we caught the train in Crozet Va and we rode to Washington DC on the Crescent. What a wonderful time, saw the Smithsonian, the Washington Senators. The Union Station was wonderful and saw all of the old trains. I now ride the Amtrak, fun .

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

I have decided I am a "NOBODY" I ride trains!

 

[the_traveler]

1350855857[/url]' post='400776']Aloha

I have decided I am a "NOBODY" I ride trains!

Even though there is no Amtrak in either LV (NV) or HNL. And Ambuses (aka the Dog) doesn't count!)

 

[Poindexter118]

I'm 65, retired. I live in So Cal. My 1st train ride was going from L.A. to New York, D.C & the East Coast. This was in '63. Before Amtrak came on the scene. We took different railroads across the country. The Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific, the B & O, the C & O, the Pennsy, Santa Fe,etc. I went with my folks. The trip, as I remember was about 6 weeks.

I really enjoyed the trip.

I've taken other train trips since. My wife and I took the Desert Storm from L.A. to Las Vegas, NV. That was a great trip. I'm sorry it doesn't exist anymore.

I've taken the Amtrak up north and to Arizona. Both were great trips. These were business trips.

I know Amtrak has some money problems, but I do support them through NARP.

 

[the_traveler]

1350862790[/url]' post='400796'] My wife and I took the Desert Storm from L.A. to Las Vegas, NV.

I hope not, because it was called the Desert Wind! But I know Vegas has a lot of hot air - and not just the weather!

 

[Shortline]

Aloha

I have decided I am a "NOBODY" I ride trains!

So, expound just a LITTLE bit..... Why does a nobody in Las Vegas use Aloha more often than Don Ho at a luau?

 

[WinNix]

I am a mid-30's male born, raised, and living in a suburb just on the edge of NYC. I live basically right beside a MNR commuter railroad station. This is the source of my lifelong interest in trains and what inspired my to construct an HO scale mock up of the train line when I was in middle school. I would consider myself a light-to-intermediate railfan, though. Although I have taken pictures of the trains by my house (especially in the fall), I have not taken long trips to see railyards outside of work (see below), or taken pictures. The bridges and infrastructure of rail transport in general fascinate me as much as the trains themselves. I take the train into NYC once a week or so. A few times per year, I go to Boston on business over the NEC.

I read the forums much more often than I post - I rarely post/respond. I suppose you could classify me as a "lurker". Within the past year, I have become particularly interested in the Vermonter line improvements for multiple reasons. Being a skier, the speed increase means I can get to my favorite location prior to it closing, which means I would no longer me forced to drive. The future realignment will mean I no longer have to drive to visit friends who are located within the new alignment. I am also interested in the improvements from NYC to Albany. I have family scattered in the Albany region, and it will make visiting them easier as well.

I have been a volunteer fire fighter since Feb 2001 with a specialty on technical rescue. Until it was disbanded, I was on my county's Technical Rescue team. My training includes passenger train derailments, HazMat, passenger aircraft crashes, mass casualty, confined space / trench rescue, F.A.S.T., elevators, etc. Several times, I have gone through rescue training at the Croton Harmon yard. My username stems from the multitude of computer systems I support as my primary job. It is an amalgamation of "windows" and "unix".

 

[captainjackass]

Male, mid 30's originally from St. Louis, living in the SF Bay area now. A wife and two kids. I can outright lie to my wife and convince her to take the train, but my kids have no choice.

Grew up with a brother and a father who could recite (at great pain) the schedule of some obscure short line that operated in some obscure year, in an even more obscure location in Missouri.

The Texas Eagle is my favorite train, took it twice a year to Shreveport (Marshall, TX). Then in college took the CofNO a bunch. Loved leaving New Orleans, since I could pick my seat, hated getting on in Carbondale, but the price couldn't be beat, especially with the rail sales.

Now I commute by train from EMY to Stockton a few times a week, so I'm vested in the idea of more San Joaquin frequencies.

I'm liberal.

 

[lmctrouble]

Female, mid 40's, born and raised in Michigan, two cats and one teenage son who thinks trains are "boring - they take too long" (said in an extremely whiny voice!!). I just recently discovered raIl travel and we took our first trip to Virginia this past summer and wound up trying to make it home after the horrible storm they had at the end of June (we wound up Greyhounding it to DC!!). It didn't scare me off though because I recently booked a trip to Disney World for next summer where we will get to experience the joys of having a roomette. I work at a bank in card services where I get to deal with people who can't remember their PIN and don't know what a checkbook register is let alone how to use one.

 

[Shanghai]

Female, mid 40's, born and raised in Michigan, two cats and one teenage son who thinks trains are "boring - they take too long" (said in an extremely whiny voice!!). I just recently discovered raIl travel and we took our first trip to Virginia this past summer and wound up trying to make it home after the horrible storm they had at the end of June (we wound up Greyhounding it to DC!!). It didn't scare me off though because I recently booked a trip to Disney World for next summer where we will get to experience the joys of having a roomette. I work at a bank in card services where I get to deal with people who can't remember their PIN and don't know what a checkbook register is let alone how to use one.

Sounds like my wife!!

 

[tomfuller]

Just discovered this website today. I've been on railroad dot net for a few years now.

Born and raised in and worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for many years. Early 60's

My first Amtrak experience was on a 30 day North America Railpass starting from WAS-NYP-TWO. I came back into the US from Vancouver to SEA.

Since my first trip in Oct-Nov 2001 I have been on at least part of all the LD routes.

In 2005 I moved from PA to central Oregon. My nearest station is Chemult (CMO). My Rail Pass trip from Albany Oregon got me and my wife as far away as Kissemmee Florida.

This spring we took the Empire Builder from Spokane to Chicago and the LSL from CHI to CLE. In Cleveland we rented a car and spent some time in OH, PA, DE, NY, NJ and MD before our daughters wedding in Baltimore.

On the way back on the EB we got off in Cut Bank MT for a quick trip through the east side of Glacier NP.

The Empire Builder was only 15 minutes late into Cut Bank on June 1 and got into Spokane 30 minutes early.

I have never spent a night in an Amtrak sleeper. I am living proof that you can survive thousands of miles on Amtrak in coach.

 

[Shanghai]

Welcome to Amtrak Unlimited. You have had quite an experince

riding the rails in North America. I hope you will enjoy being

a member of AU.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm a 32-year-old medievalist. I try to save money but I've still ridden many LD trains in Sleeper. Also done a ten-hour-each-way round-trip in Coach. I've ridden some long SD trains like the Pennsylvanian, too, but I haven't actually taken the NER. Missed out on "stub trains" like the Downeaster or HF, though. Tried out the PS and was disappointed by poor comfort. Also disappointed by the scenery when riding the CZ.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

As many of you know, I travel by intercity buses a lot. I will try to point out the reasons.

1. Buses go to many more places than trains.

2. Buses are cheaper and less comfortable, but they are still good for SD travel.

3. Buses usually have a daytime run on all routes. If I can't afford a Sleeper and the only train runs overnight, I will take the bus because IMO a daytime bus is better than a nighttime train in Coach.

4. Buses are faster than trains for some routes.

5. Road Rewards help too.

Great to know you guys, have a nice day!

 

[JeffW]

Now realizing that I haven't posted in a very long time... I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things!

Our baby was born in May, and he, too, has an interest in trains. He has no choice in this matter. We live close to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Train Museum, and I grew up near the New York Central Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. Strangely enough, our baby, James, always seems quite fascinated whenever I take him into the wood shop! I guess he likes power tools as well.

We also moved out of Rochester this summer, to a very nice village outside of town. The lack of train horns in the distance is quite noticeable here, and my wife was surprised one evening when I commented around 11pm that I didn't hear the westbound Lake Shore Limited anymore. I kind of like hearing it, in part, because I've always lived near the NYCentral line (Goshen, Indiana; Toledo, Ohio; Rochester, NY), so I guess I know the criteria for the next move...

Anyway, I'm 31 years old, work as an Acquisitions Assistant Librarian at the Eastman School of Music, and am a pianist. The few times I've traveled for performances, I've taken the train (except for one terrible flight to Indianapolis--I'm over six feet tall and no longer fly for that reason).

Sadly, my next trip on the train will be this weekend (Lake Shore Limited) back to Elkhart, where I will visit my grandfather, likely for the last time. He has been ailing for a while, and he is refusing any more treatments ("No more pills!"). He's 92, so this is understandable. The New York Central line rides immediately behind his farm east of Goshen (many good memories of cousins running out to stand by the tracks, getting the engineers to blow the horn at us--Amtrak engineers were always the best)--and trying to derail (ha!) the train by placing pennies on the track (we were never successful).

Many thanks for the active forum--I really enjoy reading (mostly lurking, these days) stories, comments and updates.

 

[TimePeace]

I guess my forum name reveals where I live. I am near the coast right about halfway between New Hampshire and the Canadian border, near the town of Belfast. I came here in 1972 to visit, and haven't really left.

I'm 64, live alone but spend a good bit of time with a very nice woman (I am trying to interest her in a rail vacation... but she wants to get wherever she's going in a hurry!) I have two kids: a son who is 20 and working really hard to make it as a rock musician (on a coast-to-coast tour right now), and a daughter who is almost 30 and is the mom of my lovely twin grand daughters, almost 3 yrs old.

I work as an electrician and rigger in a boat yard where we repair, maintain, and store yachts up to 60' in length. The yard is on an island so I travel by boat every day, in all weathers (excluding hurricanes!)

Music is my passion, and I spend a lot of my time playing guitar or upright bass, and singing - sometimes for money; always for fun. Bluegrass, folk, and jazz standards are my favorite styles to play but I like it all. "If it sounds good, it is good." I have a small home recording studio and have produced several CD's for local artists, as well as a couple that my son and I and some friends played on.

I have worked variously at music, writing, carpentry, mowing lawns, installing satellite dishes, computer consulting, audio production, farming, selling radio advertising, and other things I can't think of right now. Decades ago I was a French Horn player in one of the U.S. Navy bands - better duty for me than going to Viet Nam. It seemed so then and still does.

I do not find any aspect of life even slightly boring.

My first memories of rail travel are of riding commuter trains into NYC with my father. First Amtrak trips were when my kids were young (4 and 13) and we rode from Boston down to North Carolina to visit my parents. (I had just read Henry Kisor's great book Zephyr). Then a few years later a friend and I traveled coast to coast on the Lake Shore Limited and Zephyr (I had never seen the Rockies before!) and I became well and truly hooked on LD train travel. I wish I could afford to go a lot more often than I do.

I consider myself a liberal: I am not quite ready to give what's left of this great country away to the wealthy minority - they've got most of it already.

Like most of the other forum members, I have found this site to be invaluable both for planning actual trips, and for being entertained by others' stories and opinions (which as some of you know I am not always shy about disagreeing with).

Thank you all for your own contributions, and useful answers to questions.

Peace!

 

[NETrainfan]

Hi Maine Rider- from another Mainer. Hooray for trains in Maine! We used to ride the commuter trains to NYC quite often and also rode down from Boston to D.C. later. Still like the old Northeast Regional and the CT scenery.

 

[Ocala Mike]

Hi Maine Rider- from another Mainer. Hooray for trains in Maine! We used to ride the commuter trains to NYC quite often and also rode down from Boston to D.C. later. Still like the old Northeast Regional and the CT scenery.

Commuter trains to NYC from somewhere in Maine? Please tell us more. Do you mean the State of Maine Express? How do you define "commute"?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Hi Maine Rider- from another Mainer. Hooray for trains in Maine! We used to ride the commuter trains to NYC quite often and also rode down from Boston to D.C. later. Still like the old Northeast Regional and the CT scenery.

Commuter trains to NYC from somewhere in Maine? Please tell us more. Do you mean the State of Maine Express? How do you define "commute"?

I don't think a train gping that far would be even remotely a commuter train.