ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
Trip Report
Capitol Limited ALC to PGH:
Thirty was about 30 minutes late into ALC, which was expected. However Heavy NS traffic kept pushing that time further and further back. This resulted in a very cold snow wait in an Am-shack. (See pictures). My friends and family who were seeing me off made the best of it. We got a lot of NS traffic, five trains in toll, two double-stacks, two grab bags, and one little guy who couldn’t seem to find the right track.
One of the double-stacks was lead by an old Conrail unit, and I got a wave from the Engineer which is always nice.
When thirty came in, they stopped about two lengths from where myself and the other pax were standing. We trudged through a foot of snow, to a conductor who identified with out plight and laughed audibly when I got in and said “God thank you for Head End Power.”
The train seemed pretty full for a winter LD train. There were no seats on the upper level so the conductor gave me a seat on the lower level right next to my luggage. Given that PGH is the stop right after ALC-- this was most convenient. This was my first time in the lower level of a Superliner and I must say I prefer the upper level. Although it was quieter, I didn’t get that gentle rocking motion that helps me sleep. It also seemed to be a hint louder, and by hint, I meant I could hear every time the Engineer applied so much as a pound of brake.
He was pushing the overspeed into PGH, we managed to arrive almost on time from a 30-40 minute delay.
Some other pax weren’t as... brilliant. When de-training at PGH a couple took it upon themselves to remove their luggage without the help of ant Amtrak persons, though help was offered. They tore everybody’s suitcases out and left them in the vestibule leaving me, the conductor, and a guy from Yonkers to fix the mess before the rest of us got off.
Waiting in Pittsburgh, while preferable to Alliance Am-shack of course, is never fun. I don’t much like walking around Liberty Ave. with baggage. While upgrading to BC for 42, I heard a scream come from the escalator. Once of those blood-curdling screams... An old woman had fallen and was thankfully not mangled. Paramedics seemed slow to respond, it took about twenty minutes for them to arrive. However the Amtrak personnel should be commended for their reaction. The station manager was over there no more than a second after we all heard the screams-- the ticketing agent dropped my credit card and rushed to assist. They remained with the poor woman until the paramedics arrived and took her out.
Interestingly enough... the Christmas decorations haven’t been taken down yet.
Last time I rode the Penny BC, the car was left off the train. Instead of the Café/BC car, we just got an Amfleet I snack car. This time I am pleased to actually have a BC car.
PGH to NYP
Got started on a bit of a snowy note. The conductor was very kind in explaining me the BC policies. Including the key to the washroom. All soft beverages are compliments of Amtrak-- and I will be keeping a tab to see if I drink up my $25 share! (Hey, I got a cold.. you know what they say about drowning it!) The lounge SA is a great guy, broken English and a borken register (so all receipts are by hand) yet he is cool and fast. The conductor passed out our copies of USA Today, perhaps I should count that to my $25 drink tab, eh? The Penny crews are always my favorite. Their OTP is remarkable, as is their dedication to service. That’s why I love em!
I must say smelling hot coffee really gets me going in the morning. Personally I can’t stand the caffine but the smell-- it is unfortunate that I want to stay wake. I have elected to sit by myself. It is kind of nice setting up ,my own little Amtrak ‘haunt’ like I used to do in school. It is my little space of Amtrak I picked out for nine hours and I feel like a fox in a den. The negative side to this is that I will be on the wrong side of the train when we go around Horseshoe, however, I am sure with my new optical zoom lens this won’t be too much of an issue.
The comfort of sitting myself, as a larger man, I feel less self-conscious. I can lay back and listen to the Red Army Choir’s rendition of traditional Russian folk songs without worry that somebody will interrupt me. Of course it is my luck that somebody decide to bring a child along for the ride, and while I could spend paragraphs debating how smart it is to pay $25 for a BC seat for a five-year old girl, I won’t. She was mostly quiet, however her DVD player was not. What part of ‘BYOH’ (Bring Your Own Headphones) do people not understand.
I digress.
Horseshoe bend/curve/atom bomb target/ whatever you want to call it never ceases to amaze me. There’s that instant ‘cool we’re turning hard’ factor followed by a layer of depth as you just gather the whole scene. The track is so smooth, NS I hear was working hard on this and other turns on this route. That can be seen as I haven’t taken the Penny in about a half-year. Her OTP has improved and her ride is much smoother. I may have to chalk this one up to the horses... Now if only they stop holing the CL West of Cleveland.
At Harrisburg there were surprises waiting for me. The first was a GG1 and old PRR caboose, a railfan on the platform told me it was the first operational GG1, or the last. I can’t quite remember what he was saying about it-- hard to understand. I took plenty of pictures though, and it was very nice to see once of them up close and personal (And not just in Eric’s signature.) Furthermore there was P42 (number 4) with a cab control car in what looked like a New Haven shuttle consist (see pictures). I have no idea whether that was an actually train or not, the P42 was revving...
Going into Philly was a smooth ride. At Philly I went up to the food court and blew five bucks and change on a good cheesesteak. Much better than blowing the same on an Am-burger. Made it back to the platform with about ten minutes to spare. I even took some photos of the AEM-7 that hooked up. SOme very nice close shots of the graph and other things. (Somebody look up my EB trip report and tell me if the quality of my rail photography is improving please.)
An interesting situation arose when a train-friend of mine was asked for her ticket stub by the new crew. Apparently she had upgraded to B
C last minute, and the last crew only could gaurentee her the seat through HAR so she was only charged $17. When we arrived at HAR the conductor came and told her that everything was fine and that the seat was hers until NYP, collecting no additional charge for BC from HAR to NYP. Well the conductor is now making her buy the full price of a BC ticket from PGH to NYP ($87). Eventually they got everything sorted out but they all seemed confused-- even though the result was a simple $8 charge... paid in cash.
At NYP, while waiting for a friend the train-friend and I stood in front of the Amtrak Police station and made fun of the fact that the officer on duty kept nodding off into dream land. I thought about taking a picture, but wisdom got the better of me and I did not. Suffice it to say, security isn’t always secure!
Summation: The Pennsylvanian is one of Amtrak’s best routes. It has the scenery, the people, great OTP, and great service. BC upgrade is TOTALLY worth it, and I am sold on it in the future. I hope more of you go take a trip on the Penny, a route that always has a low bucket and great times!
DRINK TAB:
USA Today -- $1.00
Cranberry juice (x2)-- $4.50
8oz Sierra Mist (pro-rated) -- $1.34
Hot tea -- $1.75
Apple juice -- $2.25
12oz Ginger Ale (x2) -- $4.00
http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh5/ncc1901bulldog/Penny/
Capitol Limited ALC to PGH:
Thirty was about 30 minutes late into ALC, which was expected. However Heavy NS traffic kept pushing that time further and further back. This resulted in a very cold snow wait in an Am-shack. (See pictures). My friends and family who were seeing me off made the best of it. We got a lot of NS traffic, five trains in toll, two double-stacks, two grab bags, and one little guy who couldn’t seem to find the right track.
One of the double-stacks was lead by an old Conrail unit, and I got a wave from the Engineer which is always nice.
When thirty came in, they stopped about two lengths from where myself and the other pax were standing. We trudged through a foot of snow, to a conductor who identified with out plight and laughed audibly when I got in and said “God thank you for Head End Power.”
The train seemed pretty full for a winter LD train. There were no seats on the upper level so the conductor gave me a seat on the lower level right next to my luggage. Given that PGH is the stop right after ALC-- this was most convenient. This was my first time in the lower level of a Superliner and I must say I prefer the upper level. Although it was quieter, I didn’t get that gentle rocking motion that helps me sleep. It also seemed to be a hint louder, and by hint, I meant I could hear every time the Engineer applied so much as a pound of brake.
He was pushing the overspeed into PGH, we managed to arrive almost on time from a 30-40 minute delay.
Some other pax weren’t as... brilliant. When de-training at PGH a couple took it upon themselves to remove their luggage without the help of ant Amtrak persons, though help was offered. They tore everybody’s suitcases out and left them in the vestibule leaving me, the conductor, and a guy from Yonkers to fix the mess before the rest of us got off.
Waiting in Pittsburgh, while preferable to Alliance Am-shack of course, is never fun. I don’t much like walking around Liberty Ave. with baggage. While upgrading to BC for 42, I heard a scream come from the escalator. Once of those blood-curdling screams... An old woman had fallen and was thankfully not mangled. Paramedics seemed slow to respond, it took about twenty minutes for them to arrive. However the Amtrak personnel should be commended for their reaction. The station manager was over there no more than a second after we all heard the screams-- the ticketing agent dropped my credit card and rushed to assist. They remained with the poor woman until the paramedics arrived and took her out.
Interestingly enough... the Christmas decorations haven’t been taken down yet.
Last time I rode the Penny BC, the car was left off the train. Instead of the Café/BC car, we just got an Amfleet I snack car. This time I am pleased to actually have a BC car.
PGH to NYP
Got started on a bit of a snowy note. The conductor was very kind in explaining me the BC policies. Including the key to the washroom. All soft beverages are compliments of Amtrak-- and I will be keeping a tab to see if I drink up my $25 share! (Hey, I got a cold.. you know what they say about drowning it!) The lounge SA is a great guy, broken English and a borken register (so all receipts are by hand) yet he is cool and fast. The conductor passed out our copies of USA Today, perhaps I should count that to my $25 drink tab, eh? The Penny crews are always my favorite. Their OTP is remarkable, as is their dedication to service. That’s why I love em!
I must say smelling hot coffee really gets me going in the morning. Personally I can’t stand the caffine but the smell-- it is unfortunate that I want to stay wake. I have elected to sit by myself. It is kind of nice setting up ,my own little Amtrak ‘haunt’ like I used to do in school. It is my little space of Amtrak I picked out for nine hours and I feel like a fox in a den. The negative side to this is that I will be on the wrong side of the train when we go around Horseshoe, however, I am sure with my new optical zoom lens this won’t be too much of an issue.
The comfort of sitting myself, as a larger man, I feel less self-conscious. I can lay back and listen to the Red Army Choir’s rendition of traditional Russian folk songs without worry that somebody will interrupt me. Of course it is my luck that somebody decide to bring a child along for the ride, and while I could spend paragraphs debating how smart it is to pay $25 for a BC seat for a five-year old girl, I won’t. She was mostly quiet, however her DVD player was not. What part of ‘BYOH’ (Bring Your Own Headphones) do people not understand.
I digress.
Horseshoe bend/curve/atom bomb target/ whatever you want to call it never ceases to amaze me. There’s that instant ‘cool we’re turning hard’ factor followed by a layer of depth as you just gather the whole scene. The track is so smooth, NS I hear was working hard on this and other turns on this route. That can be seen as I haven’t taken the Penny in about a half-year. Her OTP has improved and her ride is much smoother. I may have to chalk this one up to the horses... Now if only they stop holing the CL West of Cleveland.
At Harrisburg there were surprises waiting for me. The first was a GG1 and old PRR caboose, a railfan on the platform told me it was the first operational GG1, or the last. I can’t quite remember what he was saying about it-- hard to understand. I took plenty of pictures though, and it was very nice to see once of them up close and personal (And not just in Eric’s signature.) Furthermore there was P42 (number 4) with a cab control car in what looked like a New Haven shuttle consist (see pictures). I have no idea whether that was an actually train or not, the P42 was revving...
Going into Philly was a smooth ride. At Philly I went up to the food court and blew five bucks and change on a good cheesesteak. Much better than blowing the same on an Am-burger. Made it back to the platform with about ten minutes to spare. I even took some photos of the AEM-7 that hooked up. SOme very nice close shots of the graph and other things. (Somebody look up my EB trip report and tell me if the quality of my rail photography is improving please.)
An interesting situation arose when a train-friend of mine was asked for her ticket stub by the new crew. Apparently she had upgraded to B
C last minute, and the last crew only could gaurentee her the seat through HAR so she was only charged $17. When we arrived at HAR the conductor came and told her that everything was fine and that the seat was hers until NYP, collecting no additional charge for BC from HAR to NYP. Well the conductor is now making her buy the full price of a BC ticket from PGH to NYP ($87). Eventually they got everything sorted out but they all seemed confused-- even though the result was a simple $8 charge... paid in cash.
At NYP, while waiting for a friend the train-friend and I stood in front of the Amtrak Police station and made fun of the fact that the officer on duty kept nodding off into dream land. I thought about taking a picture, but wisdom got the better of me and I did not. Suffice it to say, security isn’t always secure!
Summation: The Pennsylvanian is one of Amtrak’s best routes. It has the scenery, the people, great OTP, and great service. BC upgrade is TOTALLY worth it, and I am sold on it in the future. I hope more of you go take a trip on the Penny, a route that always has a low bucket and great times!
DRINK TAB:
USA Today -- $1.00
Cranberry juice (x2)-- $4.50
8oz Sierra Mist (pro-rated) -- $1.34
Hot tea -- $1.75
Apple juice -- $2.25
12oz Ginger Ale (x2) -- $4.00
http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh5/ncc1901bulldog/Penny/
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