wayman
Engineer
Keystone travel is rarely eventful, but I mention this one because yesterday was my first Amtrak trip since early August 
I drove out to Paoli in the snow and dark at 5pm yesterday (I love snow, but I hate the early dark), missing the 5:50 Keystone I intended to catch and had tickets reserved for. I feared I would have to buy new tickets on the QuikTrak and then call Julie to cancel the missed ones, but the reservation for the missed train was still available for pick-up from the QuikTrak to my surprise. Since Keystones are unreserved west of PHL the tickets were good for the next train (6:55).
Why did I bother to reserve tickets for that day's 5:50 when it's unreserved? Well, I remembered that the tickets print with a date at the bottom from which the ticket is valid for 365 days, and I had thought the date that printed was the date of the reservation. Turns out it's the date you pick the tickets up, no matter when the actual reservation date is, so this doesn't matter. (It also means if I want to travel tomorrow, I can "reserve the tickets for next week" at the AAA rate, then pick them up tomorrow and save $0.65 per ticket.) Friday tickets, of course, should be reserved for a Friday date so they price correctly, since they're one dollar more expensive.
I tried to scan the reservation barcode as displayed on my iPhone into the QuikTrak, but that didn't work and I had to dip my credit card in the end. Too bad. Rafi thought it might be a screen glare issue when we talked about it last week, but since I have an anti-glare covering on my iPhone screen I'm a little surprised.
Having about half an hour free, I drove two blocks through the slush (probably more hazardous to walk on the sidewalks) to the pub I've always meant to visit but never have, TJ's. Really nice place, it turns out! I was able to order just what I wanted--a warm French Onion Soup--at the bar and have it served in about three minutes. Plenty of time to eat at a relaxed pace and then move to a comfy couch in the fairly open and spacious bar area to take my coffee, before heading back to Paoli station.
I think the Paoli lot is permit parking, but I don't think anyone's checking the permits in the evening when the lot is already half-empty from many day-commuters having gone home already. My car sure did stand out as the only one with no snow on the windshield, though!
Paoli station's waiting room closes at 6:30, but the coffeeshop remains open for a little while longer. It was pretty watching the train come in through the light snow but too dark to truly enjoy it. Somewhere I've got a great photo of an Amtrak coming through the well-lit Bryn Mawr station in the snow from years ago; this reminded me of that, and I'll have to dig that photo out once I get my old-photos hard drive set up.
The ride was comfortable. I was disappointed that the only full-page Amtrak ad in this month's Arrivals was for Auto Train (often there's an Auto Train ad plus a second full-page ad; I like to cut them out and decorate with them).
I'd already visited 30th St on my SEPTA tour with Rafi last week (trip report eventually, maybe; there's a lot more to type up there, though none of it is actually on Amtrak), but it's always nice to be there. I wandered around and noticed some plaques honoring early PRR presidents which I don't remember but which have probably always been there. The giant Christmas tree has some train decorations but not many (mostly generic ornaments, balls and tinsel and stuff) and none Amtrak or PRR specific.
After half an hour I took another Keystone back out to Paoli. From the outbound platform I had to head up the ramp and across the very icy bridge over the four tracks and down the very icy metal steps to the parking lot. Everyone on the bridge and stairs was cautious and there were thankfully no injuries that day. Then I drove home.
As I said, not very eventful, but still fun
These trips will be frequent in the next week as I rack up AGR to hit Select and they might get a bit humdrum, but the first one in a very long while was exciting. Including the "Select magazine bonus 2500 points", the next week or two works out to spending about $126 to get 5377 AGR (most aren't Rail Points), just over .023/point which doesn't count "the fun of actually riding the trains" as well. (Include the 1250 "Select Bonus" AGR this will gain me in 2009, and it gets even better.) Eventually cashing them in towards a 2-zone reward, they'll be worth somewhere between .03-.04/point. So this is all effectively free-to-profitable travel! (Too bad I was out of town for the whole 2x AGR promotion this fall....)
I drove out to Paoli in the snow and dark at 5pm yesterday (I love snow, but I hate the early dark), missing the 5:50 Keystone I intended to catch and had tickets reserved for. I feared I would have to buy new tickets on the QuikTrak and then call Julie to cancel the missed ones, but the reservation for the missed train was still available for pick-up from the QuikTrak to my surprise. Since Keystones are unreserved west of PHL the tickets were good for the next train (6:55).
Why did I bother to reserve tickets for that day's 5:50 when it's unreserved? Well, I remembered that the tickets print with a date at the bottom from which the ticket is valid for 365 days, and I had thought the date that printed was the date of the reservation. Turns out it's the date you pick the tickets up, no matter when the actual reservation date is, so this doesn't matter. (It also means if I want to travel tomorrow, I can "reserve the tickets for next week" at the AAA rate, then pick them up tomorrow and save $0.65 per ticket.) Friday tickets, of course, should be reserved for a Friday date so they price correctly, since they're one dollar more expensive.
I tried to scan the reservation barcode as displayed on my iPhone into the QuikTrak, but that didn't work and I had to dip my credit card in the end. Too bad. Rafi thought it might be a screen glare issue when we talked about it last week, but since I have an anti-glare covering on my iPhone screen I'm a little surprised.
Having about half an hour free, I drove two blocks through the slush (probably more hazardous to walk on the sidewalks) to the pub I've always meant to visit but never have, TJ's. Really nice place, it turns out! I was able to order just what I wanted--a warm French Onion Soup--at the bar and have it served in about three minutes. Plenty of time to eat at a relaxed pace and then move to a comfy couch in the fairly open and spacious bar area to take my coffee, before heading back to Paoli station.
I think the Paoli lot is permit parking, but I don't think anyone's checking the permits in the evening when the lot is already half-empty from many day-commuters having gone home already. My car sure did stand out as the only one with no snow on the windshield, though!
Paoli station's waiting room closes at 6:30, but the coffeeshop remains open for a little while longer. It was pretty watching the train come in through the light snow but too dark to truly enjoy it. Somewhere I've got a great photo of an Amtrak coming through the well-lit Bryn Mawr station in the snow from years ago; this reminded me of that, and I'll have to dig that photo out once I get my old-photos hard drive set up.
The ride was comfortable. I was disappointed that the only full-page Amtrak ad in this month's Arrivals was for Auto Train (often there's an Auto Train ad plus a second full-page ad; I like to cut them out and decorate with them).
I'd already visited 30th St on my SEPTA tour with Rafi last week (trip report eventually, maybe; there's a lot more to type up there, though none of it is actually on Amtrak), but it's always nice to be there. I wandered around and noticed some plaques honoring early PRR presidents which I don't remember but which have probably always been there. The giant Christmas tree has some train decorations but not many (mostly generic ornaments, balls and tinsel and stuff) and none Amtrak or PRR specific.
After half an hour I took another Keystone back out to Paoli. From the outbound platform I had to head up the ramp and across the very icy bridge over the four tracks and down the very icy metal steps to the parking lot. Everyone on the bridge and stairs was cautious and there were thankfully no injuries that day. Then I drove home.
As I said, not very eventful, but still fun
These trips will be frequent in the next week as I rack up AGR to hit Select and they might get a bit humdrum, but the first one in a very long while was exciting. Including the "Select magazine bonus 2500 points", the next week or two works out to spending about $126 to get 5377 AGR (most aren't Rail Points), just over .023/point which doesn't count "the fun of actually riding the trains" as well. (Include the 1250 "Select Bonus" AGR this will gain me in 2009, and it gets even better.) Eventually cashing them in towards a 2-zone reward, they'll be worth somewhere between .03-.04/point. So this is all effectively free-to-profitable travel! (Too bad I was out of town for the whole 2x AGR promotion this fall....)
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