Most Romantic Moments on Amtrak

We've all seen the trains in movies with romance. So has anyone ever seen real life romance on rails. I've been thinking this a lot recently because I'm proposing to my girlfriend when Train 20 pulls into clemson sc on the 14th.

There was once a drunk woman who was into me and gave me her number on the CZ. I never called.

Seaboard92 said:

We've all seen the trains in movies with romance. So has anyone ever seen real life romance on rails. I've been thinking this a lot recently because I'm proposing to my girlfriend when Train 20 pulls into clemson sc on the 14th.

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Better hope she doesn't see this.. :unsure:

I know someone who spent his honeymoon on a train. I can only assume that was romantic.

Took current gf on Capitol limited. A 6 hour delay at porter, indiana killed the mood.

When my current girlfriend moved back to the Midwest, we took the train up. Split a roomette to save points, but it was quite enjoyable nonetheless. (We had some delays, but nothing too terrible.)

Back in the 1980's, my last ex-wife (so far) and I got on the TE in DAL and were directed to the last car of the train by the AC. We found the car nearly full, with just two or three single coach seats available, and no one willing to move to accommodate us sitting together. I told the car attendant about this and his terse reply was "We sold you two seats, not two seats together". So we got off the train and walked back toward the front of the train to retrieve our checked bag, and were going to go to Love Field and take SWA to San Antonio instead. We found the conductor and told him what happened and he said that the AC and the CA were "as***les" (his word) and he put us in a coach car by ourselves! We took advantage of the hour trip from DAL to FTW to do a little canoodling.

Not on the train, but it took me there. February 11, 2005 will be the ten year mark of when I left Penn Station to go to Miami where my companion was assigned for a prolonged 6 month period that seemed like forever. Taking advantage of a coach sale of $149 NY to Miami round trip, had a Silver Meteor train full of festive happy passengers happy to be going south. Enduring sunsets and my cd player added to the peace of mind and anticipation. The next day we were delayed because CSX was double tracking the Florida portion at the time, and one of the grade crossings shorted, putting us behind two hours. The Silver Star arrived first and my partner didn't see me, because I wasn't on it. Frantic that I had changed my mind and got off to go back, he bugged out the Amtrak clerks at Hialeah, who kept telling him that a second train, normally arriving first, would be coming in a few minutes due to the delay. When it did, he was frustrated but then it quickly turned passionate in three minute long embrace with Genesis engines to the left and right (the other passengers must have thought either what a great Valentine it will be for these two, or, since we are two guys, yuck - that's disgusting.. ).

In 1992 my (now) wife and I took the City of New Orleans to New Orleans to get married. While sitting in the lounge we struck up a conversation with the conductor and when he found out what we were doing he up graded us to a bedroom free of charge. A good move on his part as we have been taking the train to New Orleans every couple of years since, and always get a bedroom or roomette. Also spent two weeks this past summer traveling out west on Amtrak via CONO, EB, CS, SC, and CZ. Relax, take the train, turn the phone off, enjoy the romance.

NE933 said:

Not on the train, but it took me there. February 11, 2005 will be the ten year mark of when I left Penn Station to go to Miami where my companion was assigned for a prolonged 6 month period that seemed like forever. Taking advantage of a coach sale of $149 NY to Miami round trip, had a Silver Meteor train full of festive happy passengers happy to be going south. Enduring sunsets and my cd player added to the peace of mind and anticipation. The next day we were delayed because CSX was double tracking the Florida portion at the time, and one of the grade crossings shorted, putting us behind two hours. The Silver Star arrived first and my partner didn't see me, because I wasn't on it. Frantic that I had changed my mind and got off to go back, he bugged out the Amtrak clerks at Hialeah, who kept telling him that a second train, normally arriving first, would be coming in a few minutes due to the delay. When it did, he was frustrated but then it quickly turned passionate in three minute long embrace with Genesis engines to the left and right (the other passengers must have thought either what a great Valentine it will be for these two, or, since we are two guys, yuck - that's disgusting.. ).

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Aww. That's sweet.

I'm a newbie, but I can't wait to use my ten year anniversary free sleeper ticket to go across country with my partner. (LSL>SC>CS>EB>LSL, if they'll let me take two weeks off for it!)

I know what it's like to be apart for months. It sucks. Been together in a long distance relationship for over eight and a half years now, and before working for Amtrak I'd go up to Canada to see him every three or four months, for a week. But now working on the extra board, it's tough. The other week I managed to sneak up to see him for a weekend for his birthday, and that'll be it until June, since I got my boss to agree to let me take unpaid time off (no vacation time until 2016.)

On a side note, I can't wait until he's here (finally have gotten started on immigration forms!) and we're married - he'll get his own ride pass as well, and I'd love to take a trip on one of the Silver services down to Florida some time.

My late wife and I had a Canada/US ( Vancouver/DC)Commuter Relationship in the 80s via airline so really can relate to your story!

Once we decided to marry and live in the States,(no dual citizenship in those days) it took a year to get the paperwork, background check,temporary visa etc etc done before she could become a resident alien ( hate that word!), then another 6 months to get her "Temporary" ( good for 2 years)Green Card so she could work legally!

Curious how long it takes now to sponsor an immigrsnt, you hear horror stories about years and years of unbelievable bureaucratic "red tape" even for Canadian citizens?

jimhudson said:

My late wife and I had a Canada/US ( Vancouver/DC)Commuter Relationship in the 80s via airline so really can relate to your story!

Once we decided to marry and live in the States,(no dual citizenship in those days) it took a year to get the paperwork, background check,temporary visa etc etc done before she could become a resident alien ( hate that word!), then another 6 months to get her "Temporary" ( good for 2 years)Green Card so she could work legally!

Curious how long it takes now to sponsor an immigrsnt, you hear horror stories about years and years of unbelievable bureaucratic "red tape" even for Canadian citizens?

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That's worse than us. At least with us it's only from New Hampshire to Nova Scotia, by airline though as well, since neither one of us have a car. Although, DC is absolutely beautiful! We just went there last June, after years of talking about it.

Nowadays it's pretty broad. Can be anywhere between four months and over a year, from start to finish. The good thing is if you do it on a K1 (fiance) visa I believe, you process some of it prior to crossing the border (takes maybe a month or two in most cases), then you can cross the border and they do some more paperwork. From that moment on, if I'm not mistaken, you are issued a social security number and a work visa. Then you have six months to get married and send them the last bit of paperwork, including your marriage certificate, and they finish out the process. You can still do it the "old fashioned way" of getting married prior to sending in the application, but then you must wait for the entire process to be finished before the spouse may enter the country. This way is cheaper, but takes more time.

At my last job I worked with someone who came over from Switzerland to live with her now husband, and from the time they started the paperwork to the time she was in the US, was only about six months. That's actually about average processing time now, from what it seems. It's pretty good, if you don't have any issues.

It is a convenient and romantic experience being in a bedroom or roomette with my wife, although the events on a train (boarding, meals, movies on laptop, reading and getting set) seem to make for a short day. There is time for some fondling and maybe a "quickie but the sleeper walls are thin so we prefer to wait for more private accommodations at our destination. :giggle:

Sunset in the dome car coming down the Hudson Valley with my wife was particularly romantic... car was almost empty too, and super-quiet.

Being in a bedroom is also always really romantic, though, almost by the nature of being on a train in a small private space. As Amtrak's ads used to say, there's just something about a train that's magic.

Wife and I have had several "memorable" experiences traveling by rail. We always book a bedroom.... :wub:

Turner Classic Movies ( TCM) is showing Alfred Hitchcock's " North by Northwest" @ 5:30pm EST/4:30pmCST for those snowbound or otherwise able to watch today!

One of the All Time Romantic Train Movies and set on the 20th Century Ltd. from GCT- CHI! Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint have a ball on the 20th Century!!

Amtrak is looking for love stories involving them.

Best story I've heard on this topic goes like this, though I can't say if it's true:

A couple is travelling together to Seattle. One of the two meets a third passenger on the train and decides to sneak off in the night to the third person's sleeper room a few cars up. When attempting to return to their partner though... they're shocked to see just the tracks receeding into the distance from the window in the door! They had ended up on the Portland section of the train!

pennyk said:

I know someone who spent his honeymoon on a train. I can only assume that was romantic.

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I can neither confirm nor deny the romantic nature of the on-train part of our honeymoon. Or the off-train part, for that matter. h34r:

firstcultural said:

Best story I've heard on this topic goes like this, though I can't say if it's true:

A couple is travelling together to Seattle. One of the two meets a third passenger on the train and decides to sneak off in the night to the third person's sleeper room a few cars up. When attempting to return to their partner though... they're shocked to see just the tracks receeding into the distance from the window in the door! They had ended up on the Portland section of the train!

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Do you have the cities reversed here? The only way the cheating partner would see tracks receding from a window is if the room they snuck off to was in the forward (Seattle) portion, yes?

firstcultural said:

Best story I've heard on this topic goes like this, though I can't say if it's true:

A couple is travelling together to Seattle. One of the two meets a third passenger on the train and decides to sneak off in the night to the third person's sleeper room a few cars up. When attempting to return to their partner though... they're shocked to see just the tracks receeding into the distance from the window in the door! They had ended up on the Portland section of the train!

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If this is true, it serves them right. ^_^

Spoken like a true woman!

jimhudson said:

Spoken like a true woman!

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I didn't assume it was a man. It could have been a woman sneaking off. It still serves her right.

Touche Sarah! "What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!" as my old grandpappy used to say!

Steve4031 said:

Took current gf on Capitol limited. A 6 hour delay at porter, indiana killed the mood.

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Now now, why were you bothered about schedules? The longer your on board the more the opportunity to be romantic? Misplaced priorities I am afraid