Celebrities on Amtrak

[zepherdude]

I had dinner one evening on the Empire Builder with a guy that claimed he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and did work at the White House with the President. Do not remember his name but the conversation was quite interesting. It got better as we popped another bottle of Merlot. The gentleman had great stories and enjoyed the fact that I was a fan of Bush 41. That is one of the good things about the Dining Car seating style.

 

[jis]

OTOL Fest.

Off topic, but what is this OTOL Fest that I see referred to from time to time?

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/forums/index.php?showforum=89

 

[SP&S]

I was on the Starlight once northbound in SoCal and Dan Akroid's car was the last car in the consist. Of course, PV's are isolated so we never got to see who was riding in it.

Not nationally famous, but going south on the Starlight Mrs SP&S and I dined with a TV news anchor from SLO and his husband. Utterly charming couple. One of the reasons I like the shared seating in the diner is the interesting people you meet.

 

[railiner]

Another celebrity I rode with that was in the twilight of his career was Forrest Tucker. He appeared in many films and television shows mainly in the 1940's and 1950's.

He primarily played in 'westerns', but did others as well.

I rode the Southwest Limited with him once in the mid 1970's. He stayed mainly in his room, but would walk to lounge car a few times for refreshments, and sign autographs as well as chat with fans.

Another celeb was prior to Amtrak. I was on the Penn Central morning Metroliner from New York to Washington in 1969, when the infamous Martha Mitchell and her entourage huffed aboard the Metrclub car. For some reason, the conductor seemed to be nervous about her presence aboard....

 

[P.S.]

I am an Amtrak employee and I've had celebrities with me many times. Max Baer, Richard Dreyfus, and James Earl Jones to name a few. A great way to travel if you have time and patience.

 

[Cascadia]

Sadly I haven't seen anyone famous on the train yet, but all this talk of congresspeople reminds me of a cute little story that I saw on the anniversary/exhibit train. It was a news article about a gentleman who used to be the ticket agent for the capitol building. I didn't realize that there was such a position, but apparently he handled all of the amtrak ticketing for congress people. Sounded like an interesting job and an interesting man who sadly passed away at a young age.

A ticket agent in the Capitol building? That is interesting, is that still a position?

 

[tp49]

Sadly I haven't seen anyone famous on the train yet, but all this talk of congresspeople reminds me of a cute little story that I saw on the anniversary/exhibit train. It was a news article about a gentleman who used to be the ticket agent for the capitol building. I didn't realize that there was such a position, but apparently he handled all of the amtrak ticketing for congress people. Sounded like an interesting job and an interesting man who sadly passed away at a young age.

A ticket agent in the Capitol building? That is interesting, is that still a position?

Yep, he was in the basement of the Capitol when I used to walk those hallways years ago. Don't know if it's still there or not but I would suspect it still is.

 

[Anderson]

Sadly I haven't seen anyone famous on the train yet, but all this talk of congresspeople reminds me of a cute little story that I saw on the anniversary/exhibit train. It was a news article about a gentleman who used to be the ticket agent for the capitol building. I didn't realize that there was such a position, but apparently he handled all of the amtrak ticketing for congress people. Sounded like an interesting job and an interesting man who sadly passed away at a young age.

A ticket agent in the Capitol building? That is interesting, is that still a position?

Yep, he was in the basement of the Capitol when I used to walk those hallways years ago. Don't know if it's still there or not but I would suspect it still is.

I'm inclined to agree. You've got enough House seats on the Acela's route that there's probably a decent amount of Congressional commuting along the Corridor (if they're not driving) when those members go back to their districts for events. Heck, the travel can probably be expensed somehow.

 

[Everydaymatters]

Did he handle only Amtrack tickets?

When I was going to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., there was a travel office wherein all of my travel to and from was ticketed. I always traveled via Amtrak, but they also arranged for flights which were paid by the government.

 

[Shanghai]

I saw Bill Cosby in the NYP Acela Lounge a few months ago.

He was sitting near the door looking a the people come and go.

 

[Shanghai]

I just remembered that I saw a famous tax attorney from Orlando, Florida on the Lake Shore Limited,

on the Southwest Chief and on the Coast Starlight. She was always sitting with some men, I think

they were her body guards.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I just remembered that I saw a famous tax attorney from Orlando, Florida on the Lake Shore Limited,

on the Southwest Chief and on the Coast Starlight. She was always sitting with some men, I think

they were her body guards.

Think that actually was Meryl Streep practicing for her next role as a Famous Florida Tax Attorney! Did you get her autograph and take a picture?? :lol:

 

[tp49]

Sadly I haven't seen anyone famous on the train yet, but all this talk of congresspeople reminds me of a cute little story that I saw on the anniversary/exhibit train. It was a news article about a gentleman who used to be the ticket agent for the capitol building. I didn't realize that there was such a position, but apparently he handled all of the amtrak ticketing for congress people. Sounded like an interesting job and an interesting man who sadly passed away at a young age.

A ticket agent in the Capitol building? That is interesting, is that still a position?

Yep, he was in the basement of the Capitol when I used to walk those hallways years ago. Don't know if it's still there or not but I would suspect it still is.

I'm inclined to agree. You've got enough House seats on the Acela's route that there's probably a decent amount of Congressional commuting along the Corridor (if they're not driving) when those members go back to their districts for events. Heck, the travel can probably be expensed somehow.

The travel is expensed. Travel back to their district generally comes from their office budget.

 

[lthanlon]

I've never seen any celebrities on Amtrak, but several Southwest Chief personnel have told me that they've seen Gene Hackman on the train several times, and that the late Patrick Swayze rode the Chief to Las Vegas, New Mexico on occasion.

 

[stntylr]

Sadly I haven't seen anyone famous on the train yet, but all this talk of congresspeople reminds me of a cute little story that I saw on the anniversary/exhibit train. It was a news article about a gentleman who used to be the ticket agent for the capitol building. I didn't realize that there was such a position, but apparently he handled all of the amtrak ticketing for congress people. Sounded like an interesting job and an interesting man who sadly passed away at a young age.

A ticket agent in the Capitol building? That is interesting, is that still a position?

I read there is a Quik Trak machine in the Congressional Office Building now.

 

[Ryan]

Which one?

 

[stntylr]

Which one?

Here's a link to a story I found.

 

[Ryan]

That's over by the White House, not Congress. Still cool, though.

 

[Durham57]

Shirley Jones and husband, Marty Engels on SWC from Chicago to Los Angeles several years ago. They were seated with us in the dining car. Mr. Engels does not fly and Ms. Jones occasionally accompanies him on the train.

 

[diesteldorf]

When my parents rode to Miami, Fl on the Silver Meteor,, they had the fortune of having an attendant that was a 30+ year veteran of Amtrak. One of the people my parents were traveling with was visiting in their room and asked the attendant if he ever met any famous people.

He told them about taking care of John Madden when he used to travel Amtrak, as was previously mentioned.

He also said that John Gotti would occasionally take Amtrak to Miami, with his girlfriend. He was always courteous and would tip him $200.

 

[Ziv]

Railiner, John Madden hit my home town sometime in the early 70's when the Empire Builder stopped there due to flooding. They had a couple hour delay for the water to recede and John Madden led a crowd from the EB to the Mint Bar in Glasgow Montana where he proceeded to buy every Miller Lite in the bar for his Amtrak friends and the small but happy crowd of Mint regulars, this being around noon, if memory serves. The Mint ended up having to buy all the Stockman Bar's Lite beer to keep the party going. After a couple hours a very jolly Amtrak crowd re-boarded the EB and off they went...

One of the most prolific celebrities of all time to ride regularly was former CBS commentator and NFL coach John Madden. From the end of the 1970's and the last of the steam heated trains into the early 1980's with Superliners and HEP fleet, he was a regular rider during the NFL season, and was well know to train crews and passengers.

I had the pleasure of riding the CZ three different occasions with him during the years. Unlike other celebs, who might hibernate in their rooms, he was a terrific people person, and enjoyed mixing with fellow passengers. Indeed, he held court until late night in the lounge car, talking football and imbibing in the product of his biggest sponsor--Miller Lite.

On several occasions, he would lead a group of revelers off the train, and into a nearby bar during service stops such as McCook, Ne., to the amazement and delight of the proprietor and patrons, for a quick one. He became an expert on all things Amtrak, and he knew crew and station personnel everywhere.

Sadly this all ended when he was given a luxury tour-bus motorhome to do his travels in, which he found more efficient to get around in then having to deal with the sparse routings and schedules that Amtrak offered.

One tidbit....He was not afraid of flying, but rather suffered from a severe form of claustophobia that manifested itself when the aircraft took off, and he felt trapped on board. He did fly during the years he coached the Oakland Raiders prior to his CBS job.

S

 

[leemell]

Shirley Jones and husband, Marty Engels on SWC from Chicago to Los Angeles several years ago. They were seated with us in the dining car. Mr. Engels does not fly and Ms. Jones occasionally accompanies him on the train.

Just last week, Shirley Jones boarded the Coast Starlight at Van Nuys going north.

 

[reppin_the_847]

I was once on an Amtrak Wolverine train headed westbound from Metro Detroit (Pontiac - Chicago route) to Chicago that had none other than the mayor of Dearborn, MI onboard. His name is John B. (Jack) O'Reilly, Jr. and he was headed into Chicago along with his wife. They were of course riding Business Class, and I recall him saying that he had some kind of meeting to attend during the week in Chicago. It seemed like they were definitely enjoying the ride. I believe this trip took place on a Sunday. This trip was probably about 2-3 years ago.

 

[BigRedEO]

Although I've not seen her, Aretha Franklin is terrified of flying and loves to take the train. She most recently took the train to Cleveland to a special concert honoring her at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

And this may not be a celebrity sighting, but "Big Bang Theory" did a very funny episode when they all took the train (at Sheldon's insistence, because the character is a HUGE railfan) from L.A. to San Francisco and they spotted actress Summer Glau ("Firefly", "Serenity") in their car. The episode mostly revolved around seeing whether any of them would be able to get her phone number while on the trip.

 

[ScottC4746]

An actor friend of mine, not big star celebrity, but his face gets around, was in Titanic, Law and Order, and others. He took the train at my recomendation last year from LAX-WAS and was his first time on a train since privitized passanger railroads (before 1971 ladies and gentlemen) and really did not like it. He said, "all you do is sit around and wait for them to feed you again." He also commented on how he got recognized by another passanger who leached on to him trying to get into the acting business. Fortunately my friend was in a sleeper and the other passanger was in coach but this passanger wanted to have every meal with him.