Im hearing Rails and Trails and wondering what's it about. Some sites says it leaves from NO and some say it leaves from ATL. I will be leaving NO on a Sunday in May going to Newark and returning on a Sunday in June,will I get to experience Rails and Trails. I hope so. Also boarding in Slidell not NO,I forgot ,will I get breakfast,traveling in sleeper.Another question ,do we have wifi on the Crescent and is streaming a no-no. My daughter said to download some of the TV channels and watch,but isn't that still streaming. I also go to NY last weekend in May,staying in midtown,thought Times Square would be to crowded for me. Should I try for a broadway show and I really need a good breakfast,grits if they got them,I know they don't. But where is a good cheap place to eat,breakfast,lunch,dinner. Gonna splurge on a good steak and would really love a great corned beef sandwich. Thanks y'all
Rails and Trails-What is It
- Thread starter cassie225
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caravanman
Engineer
As far as I am aware, "Rails and Trails" is simply a talk by a knowledgable volunteer about the route and the passing scenery. The talk might include some history about the track, the original construction, etc, as well as items of interest that can be seen from the train.
Talks mostly take place in the sightseeing lounge car, although some are piped through the PA to the whole train.
The fact that it is done by unpaid volunteers means that it only happens now and again, rather than as a regular event.
No idea which trains have these talks, although I know the "Zephyr" does.
Ed.
Talks mostly take place in the sightseeing lounge car, although some are piped through the PA to the whole train.
The fact that it is done by unpaid volunteers means that it only happens now and again, rather than as a regular event.
No idea which trains have these talks, although I know the "Zephyr" does.
Ed.
I've heard the expression rails to trails used where abandoned railroad right of ways have been torn up and turned into hiking trails. If you examine the bankrupted Milwaukee Road RR, there are trails all over the place in South Dakota, through the Bitterroot Mountians in Idaho and in Washington State. Some of these trails have been preserved for later railroad use should the need come up. Same with many former Pennsylvania RR routes throughout the East.
BCL
Engineer
I think you got it backwards - "Trails and Rails". It's not necessarily about trails per se, but it's typically some sort of narration by a nonprofit associated with a National Park Service unit. NPS is well known for hiking opportunities, so it sort of makes sense.
I remember the narration on the Coast Starlight was provided by someone associated with Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. That's a place associated with an Alaskan gold rush, where there's a visitor center in Seattle where gold prospectors would start their journeys. The other part of the park is in Alaska. The narration had nothing to do with the park.
I remember the narration on the Coast Starlight was provided by someone associated with Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. That's a place associated with an Alaskan gold rush, where there's a visitor center in Seattle where gold prospectors would start their journeys. The other part of the park is in Alaska. The narration had nothing to do with the park.
From the Amtrak website...
https://www.amtrak.com/trails-rails-heritage-appreciation-during-your-train-ride
https://www.amtrak.com/trails-rails-heritage-appreciation-during-your-train-ride
anuenue
Train Attendant
I asked the same thing not long ago and got some excellent replies. I hope this helps answer your question. http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/69747-trails-and-rails/?fromsearch=1
The narration is about the natural and cultural resources that the train is passing thru. The links above are good background about the program.
rtabern
Conductor
There is nothing called "Rails and Trails".
You are probably thinking of "Trails & Rails"... which is a partnership between Amtrak and the National Park Service that places volunteer guides aboard the train on select routes. They usually wear green shirts and are in the lounge car doing narration over a wireless speaker system and having handout materials/maps for folks. Their season generally runs from mid-May through Labor Day-ish. With that said... each program's schedule is determined by that specific sponsor park's superintendent and chief of interpretation ranger... and is a little different. Some programs begin in early spring or run into late fall. The 2017 schedule has not been released yet as far as I know... so check back in a few months from now on Amtrak's website. Only a handful of programs operate 7 days per week -- most run just between 2 to 5x per week. So I would say your chances are 50-50... maybe a little greater. The program on the Crescent which you were referring to operates between ATL and NOL with ATL-based guides from the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site. One day they will ride south ATL-NOL -- overnight in NOL at a hotel -- and then ride back the next day NOL-ATL.
Here is a look at the old 2016 schedule:
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/156/39/Amtrak-Trails-and-Rails-2016-Schedule.pdf
If the schedule doesn't change for 2017 -- the program on the Crescent runs May 25 to September 7. Guides are on from ATL to NOL on Wed, Thrs, Fri, Sat, and Sun... and guides are on from NOL to ATL on Thrs, Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon. Again, that could very well change... several Trails & Rails programs are having budget issues and are scaling back in 2017 from what I am hearing.
I used to be one of the head Trails & Rails guide on the Empire Builder (Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis) from 2007 to 2010. Then, between 2012 and 2015... my wife and I were the Chicago Coordinators for all of Trails & Rails and managed the program that operated on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to La Plata, MO. We were also Amtrak/NPS certified safety trainers for the guides. In the latter years, we (and the non-profit American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation which co-sponsored our route) found it a real pain in the rump to deal with the increasing red tape the National Park Service (and Amtrak to a lesser degree) was throwing our way. Tied were severed with the NPS on July 19, 2015... who promptly cancelled the program on the Southwest Chief because no one else wanted to step up and manage it. In fact, almost 2 years later... Chicago still does not have a Trails & Rails program on a long-distance route!!!
After thing ended, we worked with the APRHF to form a similar program called the APRHF Rail Rangers. We do Trails & Rails-like programs on private rail excursions in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and WIsconsin. We also were doing a program in partnership with Iowa Pacific on the Hoosier State between Lafayette and Chicago on Sunday mornings. (Since we have no desire to work with Amtrak, that program's last run will be this weekend!!)
An interesting trivia nugget for you that most people don't know ---- the National Park Service originally wanted to call the onboard programs on Amtrak trains "Rail Rangers" --- however Amtrak's marketing department insisted on Trails & Rails. The National Park Service hated that because they though it would be confused with "Rails to Trails", which is the group that converts old railway right-of-ways into hiking trails. They were right -- because I can't tell you how many people over the years thought we were part of that group. I guess Amtrak won out and the program was named "Trails & Rails" in the end. Our non-profit copyrighted "Rail Rangers" in 2015 because we liked how it sounded for our programs and as a tounge-in-cheek poke at the Trails & Rails folks at Amtrak and the NPS.
On our website (http://www.railrangers.org) we have an in-depth history of how Trails & Rails and Rail Rangers was formed over the years... it's actually pretty cool. Click on "About Rail Rangers" and then "Our Story" link.
Of course, we'd always appreciate your "LIKE" on our Facebook page too! http://www.facebook.com/railrangers
(NOTE TO MODERATORS: APRHF Rail Rangers is a 501©(3) non-profit and I sustain no personal financial gain by discussing it on this forum)
You are probably thinking of "Trails & Rails"... which is a partnership between Amtrak and the National Park Service that places volunteer guides aboard the train on select routes. They usually wear green shirts and are in the lounge car doing narration over a wireless speaker system and having handout materials/maps for folks. Their season generally runs from mid-May through Labor Day-ish. With that said... each program's schedule is determined by that specific sponsor park's superintendent and chief of interpretation ranger... and is a little different. Some programs begin in early spring or run into late fall. The 2017 schedule has not been released yet as far as I know... so check back in a few months from now on Amtrak's website. Only a handful of programs operate 7 days per week -- most run just between 2 to 5x per week. So I would say your chances are 50-50... maybe a little greater. The program on the Crescent which you were referring to operates between ATL and NOL with ATL-based guides from the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site. One day they will ride south ATL-NOL -- overnight in NOL at a hotel -- and then ride back the next day NOL-ATL.
Here is a look at the old 2016 schedule:
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/156/39/Amtrak-Trails-and-Rails-2016-Schedule.pdf
If the schedule doesn't change for 2017 -- the program on the Crescent runs May 25 to September 7. Guides are on from ATL to NOL on Wed, Thrs, Fri, Sat, and Sun... and guides are on from NOL to ATL on Thrs, Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon. Again, that could very well change... several Trails & Rails programs are having budget issues and are scaling back in 2017 from what I am hearing.
I used to be one of the head Trails & Rails guide on the Empire Builder (Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis) from 2007 to 2010. Then, between 2012 and 2015... my wife and I were the Chicago Coordinators for all of Trails & Rails and managed the program that operated on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to La Plata, MO. We were also Amtrak/NPS certified safety trainers for the guides. In the latter years, we (and the non-profit American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation which co-sponsored our route) found it a real pain in the rump to deal with the increasing red tape the National Park Service (and Amtrak to a lesser degree) was throwing our way. Tied were severed with the NPS on July 19, 2015... who promptly cancelled the program on the Southwest Chief because no one else wanted to step up and manage it. In fact, almost 2 years later... Chicago still does not have a Trails & Rails program on a long-distance route!!!
After thing ended, we worked with the APRHF to form a similar program called the APRHF Rail Rangers. We do Trails & Rails-like programs on private rail excursions in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and WIsconsin. We also were doing a program in partnership with Iowa Pacific on the Hoosier State between Lafayette and Chicago on Sunday mornings. (Since we have no desire to work with Amtrak, that program's last run will be this weekend!!)
An interesting trivia nugget for you that most people don't know ---- the National Park Service originally wanted to call the onboard programs on Amtrak trains "Rail Rangers" --- however Amtrak's marketing department insisted on Trails & Rails. The National Park Service hated that because they though it would be confused with "Rails to Trails", which is the group that converts old railway right-of-ways into hiking trails. They were right -- because I can't tell you how many people over the years thought we were part of that group. I guess Amtrak won out and the program was named "Trails & Rails" in the end. Our non-profit copyrighted "Rail Rangers" in 2015 because we liked how it sounded for our programs and as a tounge-in-cheek poke at the Trails & Rails folks at Amtrak and the NPS.
On our website (http://www.railrangers.org) we have an in-depth history of how Trails & Rails and Rail Rangers was formed over the years... it's actually pretty cool. Click on "About Rail Rangers" and then "Our Story" link.
Of course, we'd always appreciate your "LIKE" on our Facebook page too! http://www.facebook.com/railrangers
(NOTE TO MODERATORS: APRHF Rail Rangers is a 501©(3) non-profit and I sustain no personal financial gain by discussing it on this forum)
Thirdrail7
Engineer
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
- Messages
- 4,542
Unless the train is two hours late at SDL, breakfast should be available.
They do have WiFi and as you indicated, streaming is a no go. If you have Netflix, you can download available content to your Apple or Android device. That will help the cause.
There is one place not for from Penn Station that does a surprisingly good job with grits and cheddar grits. Try the Tick Tock Diner. I had a few meetings and that is where we ended up. Additionally, they do make a nice Corned Beef sandwich...although I prefer the half and half(corned Beef and Pastrami). It's not Carnegie Deli but then again, that place is closed so this will do in a pinch.
I can't comment on their steak.
