Tracktwentynine
OBS Chief
I travel a good bit by train. In fact, I have over 4,000 miles on Amtrak this year alone. But my parents are n00bs.
They were with me for my first trip on Amtrak (it was their first one too), between Ardmore, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas. I was a junior in college, and was with them at a family reunion out there. A bunch of the family decided to take the train down to Fort Worth to spend the day (and experience the train). And while I loved the experience, and continued to ride trains over the next 6 years, they did not do so.
But they celebrated their 40th anniversary this May (a few weeks after Amtrak celebrated the same). Originally, they considered taking the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver - as I did in 2008. But they were concerned that the 4 days/4 nights was a bit much. The price was pretty high, too. So, I suggested they consider a scenic Amtrak run. My suggestion was a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle, which they did in May. They were very impressed, and suggested they'd do it again.
So this year, the family reunion was in Pittsburgh. My parents live in the Atlanta area, and I live just outside Washington, DC. They wondered if they could take the train over, and I said that they could, and in fact, that's how I would go. So, they flew up to DC and spent a few days, and then last Thursday, we boarded the train to Pittsburgh.
The quickest route from Washington to Pittsburgh is the Capitol Limited. But it gets into Pittsburgh at 11:45p, if it's on time. My parents thought that was too late, and decided to arrive on the Pennsylvanian (at 8:05p). That meant catching a Northeast Regional at New Carrollton at 9:32a. [Photos here.]
We arrived at the station about an hour prior to departure and picked up our tickets. At 9:00, I hustled them up to the platform, hoping they'd get to see some action on the Corridor. They're not train fans, like I am, but they seemed to have a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea of an Amtrak line with more than one departure daily. I hoped they'd see the Acela and some other trains and get an idea for what rail could be if we funded it halfway decently.
I was not disappointed. My parents got to see a MARC train, two Regionals, the Palmetto (I think), and, of course, the Acela. They were really amazed at how fast the Acela came through NCR (probably around 70 mph, I'd guess).
At any rate, our train came in and we boarded. To get three seats together, we wandered all the way to the last car, which seemed particularly comfortable. Plush seats, foot rests, lots of leg room. I could tell it was an AFII, instead of the AFIs that normally serve the Corridor. It wasn't until exiting at Philadelphia that my mother noticed "Business Class" painted on the outside of the car. Apparently, they had pressed one into service as a coach that day.
After we exited, I stepped out of the way to take a picture on the platform. Just as I was closing the shutter, a woman getting off the train, fell down into the gap between the train and the platform. I didn't see it, as she was out of frame, and I was facing away, but my parents saw the whole thing. She simply wasn't looking where she was going, and put her foot right in the gap. That leg went all the way down until she stopped at her hip. her other leg was splayed out on the platform. My father went to help pull her up, but the conductor, who was standing at the opposite end of the car, yelled for him to wait. He and another OBS crewmember ran down to help the lady up and helped her to a bench on the platform. We left at this point, but when she detrained at Johnstown (she was also connecting to the Penny), she was in a wheelchair.
We had 90 minutes to kill in 30th Street Station, and I showed my mom around a bit. My dad preferred to just sit on a bench. I took a few photos along the way. The Pennsylvanian was right on time. This time, we were actually in business class. We managed to get 3 seats together, and there were a few vacancies. However, shortly after departing, the crew announced that coach was completely sold out. (Maybe it's time for a second daily round trip).
My parents enjoyed the scenery, though they were both a little tired of the train by the time we got to Pittsburgh. We were about 30 minutes late getting in due to heat restrictions. Everything was fine until the Horseshoe Curve. After that, we slowed down to a snail's pace until Greensburg. The speed seemed normal for the remainder of the trip.
My parents definitely missed having a nice lounge space. The AmCafe just didn't cut it for them. They'd love to have a sightseer lounge-type offering, with large windows. Of course, actual SSLs are too tall for NYP and too few in number. They also would have enjoyed a full diner.
But mainly, a shorter trip would have them riding trains more. If only the Cap got into PGH at a reasonable hour. Oh, well.
They were with me for my first trip on Amtrak (it was their first one too), between Ardmore, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas. I was a junior in college, and was with them at a family reunion out there. A bunch of the family decided to take the train down to Fort Worth to spend the day (and experience the train). And while I loved the experience, and continued to ride trains over the next 6 years, they did not do so.
But they celebrated their 40th anniversary this May (a few weeks after Amtrak celebrated the same). Originally, they considered taking the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver - as I did in 2008. But they were concerned that the 4 days/4 nights was a bit much. The price was pretty high, too. So, I suggested they consider a scenic Amtrak run. My suggestion was a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle, which they did in May. They were very impressed, and suggested they'd do it again.
So this year, the family reunion was in Pittsburgh. My parents live in the Atlanta area, and I live just outside Washington, DC. They wondered if they could take the train over, and I said that they could, and in fact, that's how I would go. So, they flew up to DC and spent a few days, and then last Thursday, we boarded the train to Pittsburgh.
The quickest route from Washington to Pittsburgh is the Capitol Limited. But it gets into Pittsburgh at 11:45p, if it's on time. My parents thought that was too late, and decided to arrive on the Pennsylvanian (at 8:05p). That meant catching a Northeast Regional at New Carrollton at 9:32a. [Photos here.]
We arrived at the station about an hour prior to departure and picked up our tickets. At 9:00, I hustled them up to the platform, hoping they'd get to see some action on the Corridor. They're not train fans, like I am, but they seemed to have a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea of an Amtrak line with more than one departure daily. I hoped they'd see the Acela and some other trains and get an idea for what rail could be if we funded it halfway decently.
I was not disappointed. My parents got to see a MARC train, two Regionals, the Palmetto (I think), and, of course, the Acela. They were really amazed at how fast the Acela came through NCR (probably around 70 mph, I'd guess).
At any rate, our train came in and we boarded. To get three seats together, we wandered all the way to the last car, which seemed particularly comfortable. Plush seats, foot rests, lots of leg room. I could tell it was an AFII, instead of the AFIs that normally serve the Corridor. It wasn't until exiting at Philadelphia that my mother noticed "Business Class" painted on the outside of the car. Apparently, they had pressed one into service as a coach that day.
After we exited, I stepped out of the way to take a picture on the platform. Just as I was closing the shutter, a woman getting off the train, fell down into the gap between the train and the platform. I didn't see it, as she was out of frame, and I was facing away, but my parents saw the whole thing. She simply wasn't looking where she was going, and put her foot right in the gap. That leg went all the way down until she stopped at her hip. her other leg was splayed out on the platform. My father went to help pull her up, but the conductor, who was standing at the opposite end of the car, yelled for him to wait. He and another OBS crewmember ran down to help the lady up and helped her to a bench on the platform. We left at this point, but when she detrained at Johnstown (she was also connecting to the Penny), she was in a wheelchair.
We had 90 minutes to kill in 30th Street Station, and I showed my mom around a bit. My dad preferred to just sit on a bench. I took a few photos along the way. The Pennsylvanian was right on time. This time, we were actually in business class. We managed to get 3 seats together, and there were a few vacancies. However, shortly after departing, the crew announced that coach was completely sold out. (Maybe it's time for a second daily round trip).
My parents enjoyed the scenery, though they were both a little tired of the train by the time we got to Pittsburgh. We were about 30 minutes late getting in due to heat restrictions. Everything was fine until the Horseshoe Curve. After that, we slowed down to a snail's pace until Greensburg. The speed seemed normal for the remainder of the trip.
My parents definitely missed having a nice lounge space. The AmCafe just didn't cut it for them. They'd love to have a sightseer lounge-type offering, with large windows. Of course, actual SSLs are too tall for NYP and too few in number. They also would have enjoyed a full diner.
But mainly, a shorter trip would have them riding trains more. If only the Cap got into PGH at a reasonable hour. Oh, well.
