Amtrak Twitter rant

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Joined
May 1, 2017
Messages
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Location
Pittsburgh, Pa.
I am a faithful follower of Amtrak Alerts because, I guess, I have little else better to do. :)
Anyhow, it flummoxes me to no end that consistently Capitol Limited is misspelled as Capital Limited. This is not an infrequent occurrence; it is seemingly very routine. But that kind of error is egregious, especially in a 280 character message. It is certainly sloppy and doesn't reflect well at all on "America's Railroad." Yet is likely speaks to the respect the company has for that train. Thanks for listening (reading).
 
It is often spelled incorrectly by a wide range of folks, including some on this board. It is more likely a lack of respect for correct spelling in general, an unfortunate dependence on auto spell correction, and the seeming disappearnace of anything resembling editing and correction in almost all communications today rather than anything aimed at that particular train.
 
I'm curious why "Capital" is not the correct spelling for the train, or at least should be the correct spelling. The city - the seat of government - is the "capital." "Capitol" refers to the building. The Capitol building is located in Washington DC, the capital of the USA. Why would someone assume that the train is named after the building and not function of the city? Perhaps the error is Amtrak's and that of the B&O railroad.
 
Anyhow, it flummoxes me to no end that consistently Capitol Limited is misspelled as Capital Limited. This is not an infrequent occurrence; it is seemingly very routine.
Have you responded to the tweet(s), asking them to change the spelling? What kind of response did you get?

As PRR 60 touched on, I often have to double-check myself, as it seems more obvious to use "Capital" over "Capitol".
 
I have a very negative opinion of Twitter. What has it been a contribution to our Nation? I don't believe anything that I read, or attributed to, a post on Twitter. Spelling errors are surely on the bottom of the list of this site that is, in my opinion, causing harm to our Nation.
 
I am no fan of Twitter either as it has degraded communication in general as well as general human respect for each other. Yet it can provide some value in providing useful information in the right context, though I am not sure if Twitter really is the best way to deliver this information to riders. I watch Amtrak Alerts from a corporate account and because of that it wouldn't be viewed positively if I was interacting with an entity not related to our own customers. I have no interest in having a personal account.
 
I am no fan of Twitter either as it has degraded communication in general as well as general human respect for each other. Yet it can provide some value in providing useful information in the right context, though I am not sure if Twitter really is the best way to deliver this information to riders. I watch Amtrak Alerts from a corporate account and because of that it wouldn't be viewed positively if I was interacting with an entity not related to our own customers. I have no interest in having a personal account.
You don't have to use Twitter to point out the misspelling. You can message the on FB or via their website.
 
I am no fan of Twitter either as it has degraded communication in general as well as general human respect for each other. Yet it can provide some value in providing useful information in the right context, though I am not sure if Twitter really is the best way to deliver this information to riders. I watch Amtrak Alerts from a corporate account and because of that it wouldn't be viewed positively if I was interacting with an entity not related to our own customers. I have no interest in having a personal account.

I’m no fan of Twitter either and my account is dormant and has been for about ten years now. I signed up for it because my favorite DJ was taking requests for his podcast exclusively through Twitter. He was the only account I followed and when he discovered it wasn’t the way to go a few weeks later and stopped, so did I. I follow the happenings of Amtrak here at AU and on Facebook and feel as informed as I need to be. Regarding the misspelling of the Capitol Limited, I see it on an almost daily basis. I used to try to correct people when I noticed but it runs rampant and has become the visual version of white noise to me.
 
Capitol Limited is a proper noun, and as such, every attempt should be made to observe the correct spelling.
Does spelling a proper noun, or someone's name, correctly, matter any more?
it's a form of respect that seems to be far less prevalent generally in the last 20 years or so
 
Capitol Limited is a proper noun, and as such, every attempt should be made to observe the correct spelling.
Does spelling a proper noun, or someone's name, correctly, matter any more?
it's a form of respect that seems to be far less prevalent generally in the last 20 years or so

Tons of people misspell my last name....mostly strangers. They don’t know me to respect me. Now as far as a train name, I’d think if they’d ridden it, they should know how to spell it. Another common misspelling (?) of a route I see often is people call the Coast Starlight, the Coastal Starlight. That drives me nuts. Then they want to spell it Starlite. SMH
 
Many of my work contacts and customers misspell my first name, even though it's in my email address and email signature. :rolleyes:
 
Many of my work contacts and customers misspell my first name, even though it's in my email address and email signature. [emoji57]

One of my conductor friends on the Empire Builder got to meet my sister Sarah for the first time. His first question to her was “How do you spell your name?”. He has a sister named Sarah. I told him “The right way.” LOL

As a side note....people mess up my first name, calling me Tom or Jim. Crazy!
 
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Tons of people misspell my last name....mostly strangers. They don’t know me to respect me. Now as far as a train name, I’d think if they’d ridden it, they should know how to spell it. Another common misspelling (?) of a route I see often is people call the Coast Starlight, the Coastal Starlight. That drives me nuts. Then they want to spell it Starlite. SMH


Can you imagine if your name was Buttigieg?
 
For nearly 54 years, I was going by the wrong first name. My name as it appears on the birth certificate from the hospital I was born in lists my given name as Jeffrey, which I don't go by, except when a document needs my full legal name. However, five years ago, in order to apply for an enhanced driver's license (and, here in the state of Washington, eliminate the need for a passport if I choose to go into Canada and other nearby countries), amongst other things, I needed a copy of my birth certificate from the Washington Department of Health, as the one from the hospital was invalid for getting the license. Imagine my surprise when I found my name was spelled Jeffery on the health department certificate. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised though as I encountered the same confusion when I got my first Social Security card. At any rate, since when the occasion called for it I was going by Jeffrey, I applied to get my name changed on the certificate on file at the DOH. And THAT opened another can of worms as it required documentation I didn't have and had a hard time obtaining. I finally rounded up what I needed and got my name changed. Ironically, when choosing my name, my mother had wanted my named spelled Jeffery, but the nun at the hospital spelled it wrong. So because a nun couldn't spell, I was going by the wrong name. No wonder I felt like I spent the first 54 years of my life with an identity crisis!!:D:D:D
 
For nearly 54 years, I was going by the wrong first name. My name as it appears on the birth certificate from the hospital I was born in lists my given name as Jeffrey, which I don't go by, except when a document needs my full legal name. However, five years ago, in order to apply for an enhanced driver's license (and, here in the state of Washington, eliminate the need for a passport if I choose to go into Canada and other nearby countries), amongst other things, I needed a copy of my birth certificate from the Washington Department of Health, as the one from the hospital was invalid for getting the license. Imagine my surprise when I found my name was spelled Jeffery on the health department certificate. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised though as I encountered the same confusion when I got my first Social Security card. At any rate, since when the occasion called for it I was going by Jeffrey, I applied to get my name changed on the certificate on file at the DOH. And THAT opened another can of worms as it required documentation I didn't have and had a hard time obtaining. I finally rounded up what I needed and got my name changed. Ironically, when choosing my name, my mother had wanted my named spelled Jeffery, but the nun at the hospital spelled it wrong. So because a nun couldn't spell, I was going by the wrong name. No wonder I felt like I spent the first 54 years of my life with an identity crisis!!:D:D:D

I thought your name was Jay. [emoji848][emoji57][emoji3]
 
Well, AFAIC, since Amtrak lists it as "Capitol" in their advertisements, it's "Capitol," as I believe they're referring to the building.

It's the "principal" of the thing, isn't it??? :D :eek: :D

(For those who don't see the humor, yes, I do know it's "principle" above....) :rolleyes:
 
Ironically, when choosing my name, my mother had wanted my named spelled Jeffery, but the nun at the hospital spelled it wrong.

My middle name has a nonstandard spelling (Mathew). Mom claims it was purposeful, but I’m not so sure about that. :)

I have friends on both sides of the Sara(h) debate. Mostly I keep them straight.
 
There is a championship trophy named for the 7th Archbishop of NY, Terence Cardinal Cooke, awarded in a hockey league where I serve on the board. It is a league consisting of Catholic HS teams in the NYC area. First time I saw it, I said "you folks do realize his name is not spelled Terrence, he only used 1 r". After the shocked looks went away, you could hear a voice from the back of the group, " Why did it take a non Catholic to notice after all these years ? ", as well as a chuckle and " I always thought we pushed spelling in our schools"
 
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I am a faithful follower of Amtrak Alerts because, I guess, I have little else better to do. :)
Anyhow, it flummoxes me to no end that consistently Capitol Limited is misspelled as Capital Limited. This is not an infrequent occurrence; it is seemingly very routine. But that kind of error is egregious, especially in a 280 character message. It is certainly sloppy and doesn't reflect well at all on "America's Railroad." Yet is likely speaks to the respect the company has for that train. Thanks for listening (reading).
We all have our crosses to bare/bear. But seriously, folks, I'm glad you brought this up as misspelling homophones was one of my pet peeves, but as I get older, I'm starting to do it too, so am losing my judgemental attitude. And I had never focused on the different connotations of capital vs capitol anyway. Today I learned something (that I will probably forget within the day, but it will be enjoyable knowledge for those few hours).
 
Engage Rant Mode...
I detest both Twitter and Facebook with the heat of a thousand novas. In the earliest days of Facebook, I signed up with my name and my trademarked sobriquet so no one else could sully them. I predicted the "friending" system would quickly grow out of hand, as has been proven by the (ignored) thousands of "friend" requests or suggestions which grew logarithmically from my original 5 "friends". Of course, I have no idea who any of these other people are, and none of the personal information requested on Twitter or Facebook has any similarity to my personal info.
Disengage Rant Mode...

I'm quite pleased to discover that one doesn't have to sign up for Twitter to view the Amtrak Alerts. I would much rather spend my time on Amtrak related issues.
Wonderfulness!
 
As has been alluded to, the "Capitol Limited" name goes back to the B&O Railroad.

Here's a logo that the B&O used:

1D7hlDf.png


I submit that the train is named after the main feature of that logo.
 
Well, it could be worse.
Imagine, if you would, all of the folks out there who do not know the difference between Disneyland and (Walt) Disney World...….
They're (Their, There) practically on opposite sides of the country.
 
Well, it could be worse.
Imagine, if you would, all of the folks out there who do not know the difference between Disneyland and (Walt) Disney World...….
They're (Their, There) practically on opposite sides of the country.

I actually couldn’t tell you which is which regarding the Disneys, so count me as one of those folks. All I know is one is near Orlando and the other is near Anaheim.
 
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