Missed my stop.

[BCL]

So I decided to do the stopover in Berkeley to partake at the Sierra Nevada Brewery's Torpedo Room. Had a blast there and I headed for my connection to Richmond on the 546. Had a good beer buzz going and completely missed my stop and got off at Martinez. The conductor wrote a message on a seat check and punched it.

So I was at the Martinez station for the first time. Turns out the 717 (San Joaquin) is about an hour late and will arrive before the 551. So I wander around the station and even outside for 40 minutes. The 717 gets here and I show my note to a conductor, who lets me on. So many I'm late getting home, but I have an hour or so more to get over my beer buzz. Also, this isn't a California car. It's a single level car with reclining seats.

At least I didn't miss my stop on an LD train.

 

[firstcultural]

I suppose if you had to miss your stop somewhere, between Richmond and Martinez is a good place to do it! Nice to know the seats recline on the single level cars.

 

[BCL]

I suppose if you had to miss your stop somewhere, between Richmond and Martinez is a good place to do it! Nice to know the seats recline on the single level cars.

I asked what kind of car it was, and was told it was a Comet Car. Conductor thought maybe 60s era, but I'm thinking 70s. Weird too. The doors were manual. The stairs down were covered with a platform that was lifted. Never been on one before. I'd been on a Amfleet car before, which seemed more modern.
It did cross my mind to pay the $7.50 for the MTZ-RIC ride just to get 100 more TQPs, although I already maxed out on Double Day minimum points with 3 segments already. I would have maxed out on minimum TQPs for the day. I saw the ride up on the Amtrak app and I couldn't figure out why since it looked like I'd miss it by 15 minutes. Then the option disappeared from my options.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Correct those single level cars used to run on NJ transit and are commet cars. Back in NJ some lines have a mix of high and low level platforms

 

[BCL]

Correct those single level cars used to run on NJ transit and are commet cars. Back in NJ some lines have a mix of high and low level platforms

I did a little research. Apparently the main thing Amtrak California did with them (after buying them from NJT) was add reclining seats. And I wasn't sure what was the deal with the stairs and the hatch.

Heck - on the Capitol Corridor route there's a huge mix of odd platforms. Berkeley often requires the step stool be brought out if it's on the outside platform, and in that case they only open the doors for two cars that are lined up. Fremont is curved and not level with the door. There is a decent size gap. That was where I saw one passenger screaming for help getting up with her luggage. I thought she could easily do it, but it wasn't like getting on a train where the floor was level with the platform.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

 

[jis]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cars have them, which BCL claims to have traveled in before.

BTW those are Comet 1B - the faux Comets. They were originally built as Arrow I EMUs. Then they were demotored and converted to trailers. That is when they were re-christened Comet 1B. They bear no relationship to the actual Comets which were variously built by Pullman, Bombardier and Alstom.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[me_little_me]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cats have them.

Amtrak's Amfleet has cats? They chase the mice?

 

[jis]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cats have them.

Amtrak's Amfleet has cats? They chase the mice?

They do, with a little help from iPhone

 

[AG1]

Had a good beer buzz going and completely missed my stop and got off at Martinez.

I hope you learned something from this incident.

 

[KVG_DC]

Had a good beer buzz going and completely missed my stop and got off at Martinez.

I hope you learned something from this incident.

Today I learned that buzzed train riding is a great way to explore new train stations and perhaps get bonus points on the cheap.

 

[jis]

One does not have to get a true blue AU member buzzed to do that anyway, quite voluntarily In that sense they are perpetually buzzed, beer or not.

 

[Uptight Old Geezer]

"Had a good beer buzz going" was the point at which I quit reading the message.

 

[Ryan]

My life is now complete knowing that a random anonymous stranger on the internet didn't care enough to read, but cared enough to comment that (s)he didn't read.

Thanks.

 

[BCL]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cars have them, which BCL claims to have traveled in before.

BTW those are Comet 1B - the faux Comets. They were originally built as Arrow I EMUs. Then they were demotored and converted to trailers. That is when they were re-christened Comet 1B. They bear no relationship to the actual Comets which were variously built by Pullman, Bombardier and Alstom.

Keystone once. Got on, found our seats, and got off. Didn't pay too much attention during the trip. Took SEPTA and NJT back to NYP.

 

[BCL]

Had a good beer buzz going and completely missed my stop and got off at Martinez.

I hope you learned something from this incident.

Sure. It's that Sierra Nevada makes some pretty good beer. Maybe I should have just gone for the Hoptimum (10% alcohol). I'm looking forward to trying out the barrel-aged Torpedo next time since they said it should be out in a couple of weeks.

That - and if I'm riding from Berkeley to Richmond, I should stand next to the door rather than take a seat.

 

[jis]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cars have them, which BCL claims to have traveled in before.
BTW those are Comet 1B - the faux Comets. They were originally built as Arrow I EMUs. Then they were demotored and converted to trailers. That is when they were re-christened Comet 1B. They bear no relationship to the actual Comets which were variously built by Pullman, Bombardier and Alstom.

Keystone once. Got on, found our seats, and got off. Didn't pay too much attention during the trip. Took SEPTA and NJT back to NYP.

No wonder you didn't notice. It was all high platform on the Keystone. No occasion to use the traps, unless of course you took the Keystone beyond Philly 30th St. to one of the stops on the Main Line other than Lancaster, E'town or Harrisburg.

 

[BCL]

Manually operated doors with traps have been pretty standard on single level passenger cars for decades. I'm surprised you've never seen one before.

Moreover, all Amfleet cars have them, which BCL claims to have traveled in before.
BTW those are Comet 1B - the faux Comets. They were originally built as Arrow I EMUs. Then they were demotored and converted to trailers. That is when they were re-christened Comet 1B. They bear no relationship to the actual Comets which were variously built by Pullman, Bombardier and Alstom.

Keystone once. Got on, found our seats, and got off. Didn't pay too much attention during the trip. Took SEPTA and NJT back to NYP.

No wonder you didn't notice. It was all high platform on the Keystone. No occasion to use the traps, unless of course you took the Keystone beyond Philly 30th St. to one of the stops on the Main Line other than Lancaster, E'town or Harrisburg.

It was NYP-EXT. Had to wait for someone to pick us up in Exton. When we went back to NYP it was starting at Paoli, which seemed to be a bit more lively.

It was also $52 for NYP-EXT but $51 NYP-PHL. Didn't make much sense, but who am I to judge? And 104 whopping AGR points! Since we had to change trains at PHL, I only wish that it could have counted as two segments.

 

[jis]

hah! Then you should have noticed it.