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Oops- forgot to say that we rode the commuter trains from CT to NYC, referring to the previous post. Certainly was not commuting from Maine!
 
Even though there is no Amtrak in either LV (NV) or HNL. And Ambuses (aka the Dog) doesn't count!)
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An Ambus - I like it - sort of when a bustitution is sprung on you with no warning and in an unexpected place.
 
NETrainfan said:
Hi Maine Rider- from another Mainer. Hooray for trains in Maine! We used to ride the commuter trains to NYC quite often and also rode down from Boston to D.C. later. Still like the old Northeast Regional and the CT scenery.
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Howdy. Well, now and then I run into someone up here who knows about Amtrak - some have even taken the Downeaster. But usually, when I tell someone I am taking the train out West, the response is "You can do that??"

And yes, my commuter rail trips with my dad were from Ossining to Grand Central.
 
You sure can "get there from here", Maine Rider. Heading cross-country- Boston to L.A. soon. Will report on the Travel section upon return.
 
NETrainfan said:
You sure can "get there from here", Maine Rider. Heading cross-country- Boston to L.A. soon. Will report on the Travel section upon return.
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Great! Have a good trip, I will enjoy reading about it.

Yeah I have done 4 coast to coast round trips, one round trip BOS-ABQ, and a few NEC trips. I look forward to many more train rides - I always enjoy it and like others here, begin scheming and dreaming up the next one pretty much immediately when I get home... I guess I'm never ready to have the trip end!
 
Maine Rider- Just returned from our cross-country Amtrak trip and are dreaming about the next already! Maybe the SWC again to Santa Fe for a 2 or 3 day stopover

or an Amtrak trip to New Orleans.
 
I'm 21 and proud to call Pennsylvania my home state. Grew up in Bloomsburg (central PA) in the heart of anthricite country. I've been a train buff since I was a little kid, and made the dream come true last year when I hired with a major Class 1 railroad. Since I spend a ton of time on the mainlines, I tend to do my railfanning on smaller shortlines and tourist railroads (particularly with steam), except when a steam locomotive is running on a mainline.

I took my first Amtrak trip 2 years ago on the Pennsylvanian and have ridden all but 2 of my Amtrak trips on it (those other 2 were on the Capitol Ltd.). I've been a rail advocate for awhile now, and while I think it's awesome that Amtrak has made big strides to improve itself, it has a long way to go before being an ideal rail system. Reform in upper management is the big part.

-Mike
 
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MH765 said:
I'm 21 and proud to call Pennsylvania my home state. Grew up in Bloomsburg (central PA) in the heart of anthricite country. I've been a train buff since I was a little kid, and made the dream come true last year when I hired with a major Class 1 railroad. Since I spend a ton of time on the mainlines, I tend to do my railfanning on smaller shortlines and tourist railroads (particularly with steam), except when a steam locomotive is running on a mainline.

I took my first Amtrak trip 2 years ago on the Pennsylvanian and have ridden all but 2 of my Amtrak trips on it (those other 2 were on the Capitol Ltd.). I've been a rail advocate for awhile now, and while I think it's awesome that Amtrak has made big strides to improve itself, it has a long way to go before being an ideal rail system. Reform in upper management is the big part.

-Mike
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Welcome aboard Mike!

Glad to have a new member among us, especially one who works on the rails.

Now you gotta tell us what its like!
 
Having been around here a couple of years now, my story is in a few places, but I'll share it here. I'm 27, married with three kids, 5, 3, and 1. I've always loved trains of any kind, from a very early age. Growing up in the Ozarks, however, they were never really a practical part of my life, other than occasionally having to stop at a railway crossing to let one pass. I've always loved traveling, though, and when I was in college, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to Europe. Part of this trip was a ride on a DB express from Berlin to Warsaw in first class. It was awesome.

When I finished college, I got a job teaching high school Spanish and drama. One of the teachers I worked with had taken her eighth grade class to Washington D.C. on Amtrak, and had nothing but good things to say about the service. I was interested to hear that Amtrak came to this part of the country. I didn't know about the long-distance trains, and I thought of Amtrak as an east-coast service.

So we come to 2009, when my favourite band, U2, were starting to tour again. This being an event about once every five years, I couldn't miss it. Trouble is that the only time they were coming anywhere near us was Chicago, about three weeks before my wife was due with our second child. We couldn't fly, and I knew she would not stand a nine-hour car ride in her condition. So I remembered that the teacher I worked with had mentioned the train came to Sedalia. I wet onto Amtrak's interactive route atlas and found a train to Chicago. My wife agreed, and we set out on what would become the first of many Amtrak trips. The Horizon cars were far from their original condition, the food was awful, and we were totally hooked. The ability to stretch our legs, watching the incredible scenery along the Missouri River, and not being totally wiped out at the end of the day like we would have been driving made all the imperfections seem less important.

Since then, I am no longer teaching, and the economy necessitated bouncing around to a few different jobs. It's hard to imagine having a master's degree and yet work is hard to come by, but that's where we are. I've taken a job in the travel industry recently, and it pays well for this area, so it feels like we're finally recovering. Maybe we'll get to take a big Amtrak trip soon; until then, we'll continue along the MORR/Lincoln corridor, which remains the only Amtrak route we've taken so far.

I had a great time when the Gathering came to Missouri, and I got to talk with several of you there. It's great to chat with others who share my passions and yet have so much more knowledge than I do. I've really become in the last few years an enthusiast for infrastructure in general, especially of transit systems. To me, a transit system that takes you wherever you want to go at whatever time makes having a car seem like a limitation. We spend way too much time driving around Springfield, but it's unfortunately a necessity here. Passenger trains are still a bit exotic to me, since the only time we can ride one is when we're traveling far from home. I like that this group knows Amtrak, accepts the good with the bad, and is always pushing for improvement.

For that reason, I continue every so often reading this forum. I don't post much, but that's because as previously stated, I only have firsthand knowledge of one route. I'll chime in on threads that involve Missouri and Illinois, but otherwise I just read. I'm really looking forward to the next Gathering and catching up with everything that's been going on with all of you the last three years.
 
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I originally posted this as a guest, but now that I've registered, I'll post it again...

Male, mid 30's originally from St. Louis, living in the SF Bay area now. A wife and two kids. I can outright lie to my wife and convince her to take the train, but my kids have no choice.

I work in Architecture, Architectural history, and woodwork/cabinetry. I went to undergrad in Southeast Missouri, grad school in New Orleans.

I grew up with a brother and a father who could recite (at great pain) the schedule of some obscure short line that operated in some obscure year, in an even more obscure location in Missouri.

The Texas Eagle is my favorite train, took it twice a year to Shreveport (Marshall, TX). Then in college took the CofNO a bunch. Loved leaving New Orleans, since I could pick my seat, hated getting on in Carbondale, but the price couldn't be beat, especially with the rail sales.

Now I commute by train from EMY to Stockton a few times a week, so I'm vested in the idea of more San Joaquin frequencies.

I'm liberal.
 
I'm 31 yrs old, recently married with no kids, yet. I am a Lieutenant of a full-time fire department outside of Chicago. I received my undergrad from Western Illinois Univ and my masters from Northwestern University(Go Cats!).

I grew up riding Amtrak due to my fathers fear of flight(even though he was a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam). We would take yearly trips on the Lincoln to the state capitol in Springfield. While at WIU, my main transport to and fro was the Illinois Zephyr. We would travel the Cardinal to see family in Indy and Cincy. Our house also backed up to the Chicago branch of the BNSF rails, for anyone who has been on Metra. I had a monthly Metra pass for my days at NU, which I would then jump on the CTA to head to campus.

I guess my fathers fear of flying was passed on to me, as I think Amtrak is the only way to fly. Also, by chance, my wife has an even larger fear of flying. She an I enjoyed a roomette on the CONO last year and are heading on the Texas Eagle in a bedroom this spring. We enjoy the freedom of being able to walk around on the train as well as bringing our own cocktails on board. Some of our friends think we are nuts taking the extra time by train instead of air, but I look at it as an extra couple of days vacation.

Thank you for welcoming me to the forum, I enjoy the information along with the banter.
 
Howdy everybody i want to share this with all of you.

I am 26 years old and i have loved Transportation since i was a very young age, but trains hold a special place in my heart, i been over a bunch of different majors when i was in school heck i was enrolled in the Art institute but i quitted because it wasn't me i found out late in my life of what i want to do for the rest of my life.

i currently work as a Asset Protection (Lost Prevention) in a Wholesale Retail store named BJ's and well i always think of it its just a job not a career in what i want to do, so i searched what was my soul or where my heart is but i found it as i boarded Amtrak note this wasn't the first time i boarded Amtrak but i always love to travel its been a part of me ever since i was a little kid i been amazed how Transportation gets us to places and how it connects people, goods, etc.

so then i thought i should go into the Transportation industry and i should go after my goals, i am currently at an age where i should be firm in that this is what i want and it will say this is me its my name its who i am and to make myself a better person for others to follow, i thought why not be a Railroad Conductor they are Captian of the Rails the commander of the train crew the person in charge of it that will guide the passengers and cargo safetly to their destinations, then i look at Amtrak and i see there is alot of support for it now even the President of the United States and Vice President is for Amtrak and wants to see more passenger Rail in this country and i am happy to see that High Speed Rail is becoming more a reality.

with this support i vowed to myself that this should be my future no more working in Retail stores i should go after my future i should go after my dreams and goals, exploring this wonderful world, have a wonderful career, having a girlfriend, learning and experincing this wonderful world, being a positive inspiration for others, getting to experience other cultures, etc.

i am sorry if this focused on my goals but its what i can normally think of now, about Amtrak i used to live in New York City one of the most wonderful cities in the world, but now i currently live in Miami Florida and i boarded on Amtrak twice one to Orlando in 2010 and it was a great trip and another time to Washington DC which was around july of 2012 and i enjoyed it and i thought i want to be a part of this great company so i love traveling i want to experience different things in my life and i want to go after my goals.

i am sorry if this is a very long post, please bear with me.
 
Who am I? I ask that of myself many times. I am 54 year old widow. I lost my soulmate in Sept. 2011. It took me close to a year to get over it. One big thing that helped was to start working on completing one of my dreams. That dream is to ride every LD train that Amtrak has from end to end. So I began scheduling Penguin's Great Train Adventures.

It started out as a one month 30 day rail pass trip. Then for some reason I looked at the Red Sox schedule and realized that I could include a second dream of mine into my train adventures. I could travel Amtrak and go to Red Sox away games. So, after my first trip which is to visit friends in SLM, EUG, and SAN. in April I start traveling to see the Red Sox. First stop, CLE in April, FTW & STP in May, BAL & DET in June, SEA & OKJ in July and finally DEN in September.

I am going to go by 15 day rail pass on all of the trips keeping my away time to two weeks so my furbabies do not forget me.

So in a nutshell this is my story and I am sticking to it. Oh did I mention that I walk with a cane and have a wonderful step-son who lives in the apartment downstairs in my house with two of my 7 grand kids.
 
Thanks for sharing, June. I am sorry for your loss.

It is good to have you as a member of AU.

I wish you well on your goad to ride each LD Amtrak train.
 
I think this is a GREAT idea because our profiles don't really say that much about us! I had always been into trains but only N-gauge models with my father.

I work at a major non-profit organization that helps those with disabilities find work, and we run a lot of thrift stores to fund those programs. Can you guess? Make it a GOOD guess, or I WILL be unhappy!

I've been living in SoCal all my life, now in Brea, CA. with my husband of 34 years, son in Utah and daughter in New Mexico. Most of my energy lately has been with my daughter and her family in Albuquerque these past 10 months.

She and her signifigant other have given me my very ever first grandchild, whom they named Estevan Thomas Montoya III, after the baby's daddy.

Here's the cool history stuff-my daughter took the SWC train FUL-ABQ to meet her girlfriend who lived near Santa Fe NM early last year 2012; they traveled back to the OC on the SWC, and she met Steve. By the time the train hit the crew change in Kingman where Steve got off, they knew they were both special to each other and that was the beginning of an amazing love story! I've never seen two people in love so much before!

Both their dreams have come true now-a home, a family, they each love one another and now the final dream, Steve's going off to WIL to Engineer school.

Oh yeah, what's my daughter's name? Take a look at my forum name; that's what I'm known as to the SWC LAX-ABQ crews. Guess it'll change soon to 'Little Stevie's Grandma'.

L

PS-I only drive to ABQ because the baggage car on the SWC wouldn't be BIG enough to handle all the baby stuff I'm bringing!
 
Hey guys, just joined last night as I get ready for an extensive Amtrak trip with my brother coming up in June. (More on that later).

I am a 24 (soon to be 25) year old college student studying Broadcasting at Mississippi State. Hopefully, onc day, I'll be able to call ESPN my job. Unless of course, a video job with Amtrak comes along, then I would take that over ESPN any day of the week.

Let's see, my first Amtrak trip was while I was in kindergarden. We took a field trip and rode coach from Canton, MS to Jackson, MS. Best field trip ever. Since then, I have ridden City of New Orleans from Jackson to New Orleans countless times. When I was in third grade, my dad and I took CoNO to Chicago and then SWC out to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta. After spending a week out there, we took the same trip back, in reverse. Then, during the summer after my senior year of high school, the entire family again went to Chicago before taking CZ out to Denver for a week.

Sadly, I have not been on a train since. But that all changes in June.

My brother is graduating high school, and to celebrate, he and I are taking the largest Amtrak trip we have ever been on,

First we will be taking CoNO up to Chicago from Jackson (am I the only one detecting a theme here?). After a decent layover, we will be hopping aboard the SWC to travel to Albuquerque for 2 nights to check out the Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon Company (we are both avid balloonists, being involved with ballooning longer than we have Amtrak, and it's something we do every year). After that, we jump back on SWC to finish the route to LAX, where we will then board CS to journey up to Portland. Here, we will transfer to EB to cross the country back to Chicago, and then finally, back to Jackson by way of CoNO. It's going to be one heck of a trip. We are calling it our trip to nowhere.

A few more things about me. I am 3 time member of the Memphis Sound Drum and Bugle Corps, having marched in 2004, 2005, and then 2007 when we won the world championship in our division during finals week held in Pasadena.

I have an immense love of music and video. Before majoring in Broadcasting, I was a music major. But now, I help with game day broadcasts of Mississippi State football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball.

I hope to have a successful career, and when I retire, I would love to work on Amtrak, whether it be in Coach or Sleeper, I just want to ride the rails as often as possible.
 
Hi everyone! I am 42 married to a 32 year wonderful man and we live in Sacramento, one mile away from SAC. My first experiance with train travel was in the late 80's when I would commute from Burlingame into San Francisco and back everyday for work. I got hooked on the relaxed pace and rich unique scenery so I would take the train around the bay area as often as possible. Two years ago my husband and I traveled coach on the Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Los Angeles and back in a roomette. We were hooked. I have since taken both the CS and the San Joaquin down to LA and back several times. I am on my first cross country train trip, traveling solo from DC to Sac. I have driven back and forth across country several times but my train experiance has been life changing.. Absolutely amazing. We have no kids and I work as a lobbyist for drug policy reform via a virtual office environment which gives me a flexible schedule. My husband has some disability time scheduled to recover from surgery and we may end up buying USA rail passes, depending on his recovery.
 
Guest said:
Hi everyone! I am 42 married to a 32 year wonderful man and we live in Sacramento, one mile away from SAC. My first experiance with train travel was in the late 80's when I would commute from Burlingame into San Francisco and back everyday for work. I got hooked on the relaxed pace and rich unique scenery so I would take the train around the bay area as often as possible. Two years ago my husband and I traveled coach on the Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Los Angeles and back in a roomette. We were hooked. I have since taken both the CS and the San Joaquin down to LA and back several times. I am on my first cross country train trip, traveling solo from DC to Sac. I have driven back and forth across country several times but my train experiance has been life changing.. Absolutely amazing. We have no kids and I work as a lobbyist for drug policy reform via a virtual office environment which gives me a flexible schedule. My husband has some disability time scheduled to recover from surgery and we may end up buying USA rail passes, depending on his recovery.
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Oops.. Somehow I got logged out.. This is HiGracie :)
 
Might as well introduce myself before I either get kicked out or quit. I am a BAD GIRL. Yes, that's right. I am BAD. REALLY, VERY, TERRIBLY BAD. BAD!! There, got that out of the way. Previously I enjoyed this forum more than could have been expressed, but have noticed lately that once you veer into the delicate territory of saying something that someone else doesn't like, out come the thought police, one right after the other, slinging mud. In a way it's kind of funny that people get so threatened by someone else's opinion. I'm willing to admit that some of my comments might rub people the wrong way, but c'est la vie. Once upon a time, in another online forum (non travel related) I said something that got everyone all twisted. Can't even remember the comment, it was a while ago. I was taken aback by the hostility of the attacks. I wasn't asking anyone to agree with me, just expressing an alternate view. Suffice to say it was NOT the popular view. Anyway, I was just about to cancel my membership when someone posted a message: "Very few good girls change history." Couldn't stop laughing, not because I think I can change history but because ONE person GOT it and didn't take me personally.

We BAD girls are not good at admiring the Emperor's clothes, either.

This BAD GIRL has two GREAT KIDS, and we have enjoyed many rail trips together, mostly short duration, a couple of LD trains. I'll continue to be a train supporter long after leaving here.
 

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