Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
Its finally time for the Amtrak Unlimited Annual Gathering! This year I am luck enough to be joining the group! I had made all my reservations a few months ago, and have been looking forward to this event since it was set up. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the gathering planning committee working night and day for months on end to get things set up. :lol: Seriously though a major thanks to those who made this possible.
My trip to the gathering started with a drive up the Garden State Parkway from my home to Metropark train Station. The wait was only a few minutes before a New York bound local train pulled up. My dad and I climbed aboard, and settled into a pair of seats on the right side providing views of the various yards and shops en route to New York Penn Station. The ride was about 45 minutes and passed with out anything really notable happening.
We arrived into New York Penn Station on track 2 right on time. We detrained and entered Americas Busiest train station just as rush hour was getting underway. With about 90 minutes to kill until anticipated boarding of Amtrak Northeast Regional 94 with service to Boston South Station. We debated over a few dining options inside Penn Station before deciding on Nathan's Hot Dogs inside the newly renovated food court.
After we ate we still had 40 minutes to kill before departure. We used the time to walk around the entire station including a walk down the LIRR Central Corridor. It was pretty crowded since by that time Friday rush hour was in full swing. I then took a moment to grab every NJ Transit Timetable for the Patrick and Alice Railriot 2009, which plans on riding NJ Transit in a few days. The rest of the time was spent playing my favorite game, guess the track assignment. Using the Solari board we began making predications on our track number. We ended up guessing right and were in the first 20 people one line at track 11 to board our Amtrak Regional.
We descended down to track level before the boarding call was even made thanks to a friendly staff member switch the escalator early. We chose the car before the Cafe which provided several rows of empty seats to choose from. We elected for a seat on the right side of the train for the scenic water views even though it would be dark long before we got to Rhode Island. We pulled out a few minutes later then advertised and were on our way!
We cruised through the tunnels, and out over the Hells Gate Bridge as the sun was setting. Its a very neat part of the run as you have a great expanse of water out the window and you can also see the curve in the bridge. We made good time all the way to Stamford, CT. We picked up a few passengers, and after the station stop I took a walk around the train. It was a decent crowd I would say the train was about 60% full.
The run to New Haven was highlighted with a long wait in the Cafe car. It wasnt the fault of the LSA, just a lot of business. The attendant was very friendly and efficient. Strangely enough he had a lot of $2 bills and was giving them out with the change. The crew for this part of the run also was very nice. One member of the crew left his laptop up with GPS set up on a cafe table for all to see. That was a very nice touch and provided some entertainment while we waited in line.
We got to New Haven on time I think. Somehow I forgot a timetable!
I have the new system timetable, but it doesnt have the NEC schedules in it, so I am in the dark in terms of OTP. We sat in New Haven for about 10 minutes where the crew changed and quite a few people either detrained or switched to the shuttle train to Springfield, MA. A pretty good group of people boarded at NHV.
After departing New Haven we began the run to Old Saybrook. It was dark, but it felt like we had pretty reasonable speed to Old Saybrook. We arrived in Old Saybrook where only a handful of people boarded. We were soon back on our way every minute getting closer to Boston!
We ran to New London which was fine I kind of lost track of time talking with my dad about some of our travel experiences. My dad noted again how stress and worry free riding Amtrak is compared to flights of similar lengths. We got there pretty much on time, and watched a car ferry dock. We took a little while to get rolling from New London, but eventually were on our way. It was time to head to Kingston RI. Home of the one and only traveler.
We got to Kingston, RI again no idea on time since I dont have a timetable on board. It was nice to see that Kingston was more then a blurry spec that was used as a reference point to those on the Acela. There was a fair amount of people getting on in Kingston, not to many at least from our car detraining. We then pulled away from Kingston, and began to accelerate. We quickly got up to speed and we were moving fast. I know the group took a spin at 150 miles an hour today, but 125 is pretty decent.
We rounded the trip off with quick stops to Providence, RI and Rt 128, MA. We discharged passengers at the first 2 Boston stations. After we left Back Bay Station we began gathering our things, and prepared to detrain. We hit the bumper at 10:03 PM a couple of minutes EARLY.
We walked through Boston South Station the whole time I couldnt believe I was really there and it was really the weekend for the gathering! We grabbed a cab to our hotel, where we were upgraded to an amazing suite thanks to my dads status with Holiday Inn.
I went down to the lobby and met ALC who had filled me in on the days events, and activities. He also generously gave me nearly an entire pizza from Giordanos in Chicago. It might have been a couple days old, but reheated it came pretty close to having it in the resturant. A very nice way to close out the night.
Sorry there are no pictures it was dark virtually the whole ride, so very limited opportunities.
Thanks for taking time to read this!
I will be writing a report about tomorrow when I actually meet the group, and ride with them to Portland, Maine and return.
Sorry for any mistakes didnt do to much proof reading
My trip to the gathering started with a drive up the Garden State Parkway from my home to Metropark train Station. The wait was only a few minutes before a New York bound local train pulled up. My dad and I climbed aboard, and settled into a pair of seats on the right side providing views of the various yards and shops en route to New York Penn Station. The ride was about 45 minutes and passed with out anything really notable happening.
We arrived into New York Penn Station on track 2 right on time. We detrained and entered Americas Busiest train station just as rush hour was getting underway. With about 90 minutes to kill until anticipated boarding of Amtrak Northeast Regional 94 with service to Boston South Station. We debated over a few dining options inside Penn Station before deciding on Nathan's Hot Dogs inside the newly renovated food court.
After we ate we still had 40 minutes to kill before departure. We used the time to walk around the entire station including a walk down the LIRR Central Corridor. It was pretty crowded since by that time Friday rush hour was in full swing. I then took a moment to grab every NJ Transit Timetable for the Patrick and Alice Railriot 2009, which plans on riding NJ Transit in a few days. The rest of the time was spent playing my favorite game, guess the track assignment. Using the Solari board we began making predications on our track number. We ended up guessing right and were in the first 20 people one line at track 11 to board our Amtrak Regional.
We descended down to track level before the boarding call was even made thanks to a friendly staff member switch the escalator early. We chose the car before the Cafe which provided several rows of empty seats to choose from. We elected for a seat on the right side of the train for the scenic water views even though it would be dark long before we got to Rhode Island. We pulled out a few minutes later then advertised and were on our way!
We cruised through the tunnels, and out over the Hells Gate Bridge as the sun was setting. Its a very neat part of the run as you have a great expanse of water out the window and you can also see the curve in the bridge. We made good time all the way to Stamford, CT. We picked up a few passengers, and after the station stop I took a walk around the train. It was a decent crowd I would say the train was about 60% full.
The run to New Haven was highlighted with a long wait in the Cafe car. It wasnt the fault of the LSA, just a lot of business. The attendant was very friendly and efficient. Strangely enough he had a lot of $2 bills and was giving them out with the change. The crew for this part of the run also was very nice. One member of the crew left his laptop up with GPS set up on a cafe table for all to see. That was a very nice touch and provided some entertainment while we waited in line.
We got to New Haven on time I think. Somehow I forgot a timetable!
I have the new system timetable, but it doesnt have the NEC schedules in it, so I am in the dark in terms of OTP. We sat in New Haven for about 10 minutes where the crew changed and quite a few people either detrained or switched to the shuttle train to Springfield, MA. A pretty good group of people boarded at NHV.After departing New Haven we began the run to Old Saybrook. It was dark, but it felt like we had pretty reasonable speed to Old Saybrook. We arrived in Old Saybrook where only a handful of people boarded. We were soon back on our way every minute getting closer to Boston!
We ran to New London which was fine I kind of lost track of time talking with my dad about some of our travel experiences. My dad noted again how stress and worry free riding Amtrak is compared to flights of similar lengths. We got there pretty much on time, and watched a car ferry dock. We took a little while to get rolling from New London, but eventually were on our way. It was time to head to Kingston RI. Home of the one and only traveler.
We got to Kingston, RI again no idea on time since I dont have a timetable on board. It was nice to see that Kingston was more then a blurry spec that was used as a reference point to those on the Acela. There was a fair amount of people getting on in Kingston, not to many at least from our car detraining. We then pulled away from Kingston, and began to accelerate. We quickly got up to speed and we were moving fast. I know the group took a spin at 150 miles an hour today, but 125 is pretty decent.
We rounded the trip off with quick stops to Providence, RI and Rt 128, MA. We discharged passengers at the first 2 Boston stations. After we left Back Bay Station we began gathering our things, and prepared to detrain. We hit the bumper at 10:03 PM a couple of minutes EARLY.
We walked through Boston South Station the whole time I couldnt believe I was really there and it was really the weekend for the gathering! We grabbed a cab to our hotel, where we were upgraded to an amazing suite thanks to my dads status with Holiday Inn.
I went down to the lobby and met ALC who had filled me in on the days events, and activities. He also generously gave me nearly an entire pizza from Giordanos in Chicago. It might have been a couple days old, but reheated it came pretty close to having it in the resturant. A very nice way to close out the night.
Sorry there are no pictures it was dark virtually the whole ride, so very limited opportunities.
Thanks for taking time to read this!
I will be writing a report about tomorrow when I actually meet the group, and ride with them to Portland, Maine and return.
Sorry for any mistakes didnt do to much proof reading
Last edited by a moderator:
