ExtonFlyer
Train Attendant
I have been wanting to put this trip report together for months now (my first) so here goes!
Let me provide some background first. There are two things in life that I really enjoy - one is trains and the other is baseball. I'm not really sure why these two things rose above my many other interests - but perhaps it is my love of history and they way baseball and trains are undeniably intertwined with the very fabric of American society. I'm 29 years old - so I probably missed what may be the "glory days" of both mediums, but I still certainly enjoy very much what is left today.
The reason for sharing this background info is that last year I had the opportunity to combine these two interests of mine into one very enjoyable week. For the past 5 years, My two brothers, my father, and I have been making a trip from our hometown of Philadelphia to Clearwater, FL to watch our beloved Phillies in some Spring Training action.
In the past, I've always flown, but in 2007 my father suprised us all by announcing that he was leaving a day early - taking the train - and that he would meet us down there. Even being the railfan that I am - I must admit to teasing him a bit - upon arrival asking why his flight was 22 hours late
. At the same time though, my curiosity was piqued. He didn't share much detail but said that he really felt I would have liked it (he knows how much I like trains).
So, when the time came in 2008 for us to plan our trip again, I thought long and hard about and decided to give it a try myself. Due to some work committments, my father and I were unable to take the same train which would have been nice. He left a day before me on Monday, March 17, 2008 on "The Star" and I drove him down to the magnificent 30th Street Station. I helped him to get his bags checked and accompanied him up to the front door of Club Acela (At the time, I was not yet a Select Plus member - which I am now). We shook hands and agreed to meet up at the hotel in beautiful Sand Key Island, Florida in 2 days.
What was neat was that as I got back into my car, there was a lot of traffic around 30th Street Station so, knowing the area, I proceeded south through the University of Pennsylvania and got back onto 76W (the infamous Schuylkill Expressway) at Grey's Ferry Ave. For those that also know the area, 76W passes right by PHL 30th at track level and as I was passing, Amtrak Train #91 the Silver Star was just departing - I was very excited at my good timing. I gave the Star once last wave and headed back to work. It was at this point that I really started getting excited for my first long distance trip.
I spent the majority of that evening on this website preparing for my trip and reading all of the fantastic advice and insight from the many members here. I also "watched" my dad's train snake through the Carolina's on the great "Amtrak Status Maps" website.
The next morning, my wife gave me a ride to my nearest train station which is Exton EXT (thus the screen name) on the Harrisburg Main Line where my journey was to begin. Keystone #644 came in right on time at 10:07am and I gave my wife a kiss goodbye and climed aboard. 32 very fast and very smooth minutes later, we where pulling into PHL. The conducter kindly offered to send me directly up to Club Acela on the elevator to await my connection but I declined as I wanted to hit the bookstore. Plus, as nice as Club Acela is - I always enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of 30th Street and admiring the absolutely magnificent architecture. I purchased a few magazines and newspapers for the ride and then made my way up to Club Acela.
While waiting for my train - I admired some of the old PRR logo's that Amtrak has fortunately preserved.
I soon learned that the train (which had departed NYP only 1 minute late) was running about 20 minutes late. No matter though - I was quite comfy and had learned quickly from this board to throw out all expectations of arriving on time. Finally, the announcement came that we were about to board. About 4 other people were going to be on Amtrak Train #91 with me that day. We rode the elevator down to track level and were down well before the coach pax. Having studied up on my consists, I knew that we 1st class pax had a bit of walking to do to get to correct boarding area and encouraged my fellow roomette bound folks to follow me (they did). Soon the coach pax decended on the escalator and I was very suprised by the sheer # of them. Hard to count from a distance but it had to be on the plus side of 100. Before we knew it, the headlight from the powerful HHP on the lead made its appearance and the Silver star was arriving. I was on Car 9110 and the train made almost a perfect stop with my car just a few steps away. I got some smiles and thanks from the other 1st class pax as we quickly boarded. I didn't have time to really note the consist (didn't really have the interest at that point either) but it was HHP, baggage, Viewliner, Viewliner, Viewliner, Heritage Diner, Cafe Car, Coach, Coach, Coach, Coach. My car, 9110, was "College View".
I boarded the train and was instantly impressed with how much they could cram into the car. I peeked inside a bedroom that was unused and then made my way back to roommette and got settled. Having looked at so many pictures and videos online - I was well prepared but still allowed the conductor to give me the room tour.
Unfortunately, we sat for about 30 minutes and the conductor told me that they were forced to make an engine change due to some issues. I was never able to tell whether they put on another HHP or two toasters. I spent the downtime checking out the room - trying all the buttons - and teaching myself how the bed pulled down etc. I was having a blast!
We finally departed PHL at 1:20pm (48 minutes late) and were on our way. We had barely left the station when my phone rang - it was my father. He was still on his train (also running about an hour late) and was nearing Tampa, FL (our departure point). I immediately wondered if this could be the 1st "Silver Star to Silver Star" roomette phone call announced on this board???? Pretty neat!
Before I knew it we were in WAS and took the time to get outside, stretch my legs and take some pictures while they were changing our engine to a diesel.
I was especially excited because I got to see my first Superliner! I'm thinking this was probably the Capital Limited getting ready for departure.
Continued in next post.............
Let me provide some background first. There are two things in life that I really enjoy - one is trains and the other is baseball. I'm not really sure why these two things rose above my many other interests - but perhaps it is my love of history and they way baseball and trains are undeniably intertwined with the very fabric of American society. I'm 29 years old - so I probably missed what may be the "glory days" of both mediums, but I still certainly enjoy very much what is left today.
The reason for sharing this background info is that last year I had the opportunity to combine these two interests of mine into one very enjoyable week. For the past 5 years, My two brothers, my father, and I have been making a trip from our hometown of Philadelphia to Clearwater, FL to watch our beloved Phillies in some Spring Training action.
In the past, I've always flown, but in 2007 my father suprised us all by announcing that he was leaving a day early - taking the train - and that he would meet us down there. Even being the railfan that I am - I must admit to teasing him a bit - upon arrival asking why his flight was 22 hours late
. At the same time though, my curiosity was piqued. He didn't share much detail but said that he really felt I would have liked it (he knows how much I like trains).So, when the time came in 2008 for us to plan our trip again, I thought long and hard about and decided to give it a try myself. Due to some work committments, my father and I were unable to take the same train which would have been nice. He left a day before me on Monday, March 17, 2008 on "The Star" and I drove him down to the magnificent 30th Street Station. I helped him to get his bags checked and accompanied him up to the front door of Club Acela (At the time, I was not yet a Select Plus member - which I am now). We shook hands and agreed to meet up at the hotel in beautiful Sand Key Island, Florida in 2 days.
What was neat was that as I got back into my car, there was a lot of traffic around 30th Street Station so, knowing the area, I proceeded south through the University of Pennsylvania and got back onto 76W (the infamous Schuylkill Expressway) at Grey's Ferry Ave. For those that also know the area, 76W passes right by PHL 30th at track level and as I was passing, Amtrak Train #91 the Silver Star was just departing - I was very excited at my good timing. I gave the Star once last wave and headed back to work. It was at this point that I really started getting excited for my first long distance trip.
I spent the majority of that evening on this website preparing for my trip and reading all of the fantastic advice and insight from the many members here. I also "watched" my dad's train snake through the Carolina's on the great "Amtrak Status Maps" website.
The next morning, my wife gave me a ride to my nearest train station which is Exton EXT (thus the screen name) on the Harrisburg Main Line where my journey was to begin. Keystone #644 came in right on time at 10:07am and I gave my wife a kiss goodbye and climed aboard. 32 very fast and very smooth minutes later, we where pulling into PHL. The conducter kindly offered to send me directly up to Club Acela on the elevator to await my connection but I declined as I wanted to hit the bookstore. Plus, as nice as Club Acela is - I always enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of 30th Street and admiring the absolutely magnificent architecture. I purchased a few magazines and newspapers for the ride and then made my way up to Club Acela.
While waiting for my train - I admired some of the old PRR logo's that Amtrak has fortunately preserved.
I soon learned that the train (which had departed NYP only 1 minute late) was running about 20 minutes late. No matter though - I was quite comfy and had learned quickly from this board to throw out all expectations of arriving on time. Finally, the announcement came that we were about to board. About 4 other people were going to be on Amtrak Train #91 with me that day. We rode the elevator down to track level and were down well before the coach pax. Having studied up on my consists, I knew that we 1st class pax had a bit of walking to do to get to correct boarding area and encouraged my fellow roomette bound folks to follow me (they did). Soon the coach pax decended on the escalator and I was very suprised by the sheer # of them. Hard to count from a distance but it had to be on the plus side of 100. Before we knew it, the headlight from the powerful HHP on the lead made its appearance and the Silver star was arriving. I was on Car 9110 and the train made almost a perfect stop with my car just a few steps away. I got some smiles and thanks from the other 1st class pax as we quickly boarded. I didn't have time to really note the consist (didn't really have the interest at that point either) but it was HHP, baggage, Viewliner, Viewliner, Viewliner, Heritage Diner, Cafe Car, Coach, Coach, Coach, Coach. My car, 9110, was "College View".
I boarded the train and was instantly impressed with how much they could cram into the car. I peeked inside a bedroom that was unused and then made my way back to roommette and got settled. Having looked at so many pictures and videos online - I was well prepared but still allowed the conductor to give me the room tour.
Unfortunately, we sat for about 30 minutes and the conductor told me that they were forced to make an engine change due to some issues. I was never able to tell whether they put on another HHP or two toasters. I spent the downtime checking out the room - trying all the buttons - and teaching myself how the bed pulled down etc. I was having a blast!
We finally departed PHL at 1:20pm (48 minutes late) and were on our way. We had barely left the station when my phone rang - it was my father. He was still on his train (also running about an hour late) and was nearing Tampa, FL (our departure point). I immediately wondered if this could be the 1st "Silver Star to Silver Star" roomette phone call announced on this board???? Pretty neat!
Before I knew it we were in WAS and took the time to get outside, stretch my legs and take some pictures while they were changing our engine to a diesel.
I was especially excited because I got to see my first Superliner! I'm thinking this was probably the Capital Limited getting ready for departure.
Continued in next post.............
