I’m in a boy scout troop, 272 in fact. We are trying some new fund raisng ideas to go new places. So, there in, we / I asked my scoutmaster if we could take a train trip to a natnial park . At first he was reluctant to make any comments, but now he is expressing intrest in it… UDDERLY AMAZING! He needs to get a hobby![:)] Anyway, We were wanting to go to Yellowstone Park. We cant I looked at Amtrak.com. Do any of you know where a BSA approprite place we could go by train would be? Warning I’m the only railfan in my troop, and proud of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. ( cost is a factor) We have some “lower income” familes in my troop. I think that this would be a great experiance for them. Some may never get to do this ever again if we do it. I would like to do this for them. You can only imagine the smile on my face when the engineer pulls back the throttle on those beautiful P42’s and thay whine up… Wrummmmmmmmmmmmm!!![{(-_-)}] Umm! music to my ears! Thank you all! I would like to let the others in my troop experince rail travel. Like I said before some may never get to do this EVER. I want this more for them than myself.
Hi Larry, Thank’s for the info. My science teacher Mrs. Stucky looked up the Amtrak stops near parks. We can’t find any REALLY close to a park. We found Arches, Grand canyon and some others. Thank’s for the input. I’m going to send an E-mail to my scoutmaster now. I told him I have rail-buddies on line. Thank’s Larry. ps. the RR’ing badge was my first.
Do the Scouts still have an annual convention/jamboree at Philmont? Sorry, don’t know which state–probably one of the ones that shares “four corners.”
Pre-Amtrak, the number of Boy Scouts taking El Cap from Chicago out toward Philmont was legendary. I assume the BSA had some sort of transfer/pickup arrangement but not sure. I do remember reading from mid-Sixties BOY’S LIFE magazines that BSA really, really pushed Santa Fe as well as Philmont.
They still go to Philmont (Villa de Philemonte). I remember myself being a young Eagle going to Philmont for ten of the greatest days in a guys life. ATSF did do a lot of business on the transportation side of things in those days with the organization. According to my nephew (a more recent Eagle) the guys now ride Amtrak to get to the Ranch.
That is about all I can remember for now, I had forgotten about the magazine pushing the rail segment of the adventure.
Things are beginning to warm up down here a bit, I am at home nursing a bad cold
That’s #3 and #4 Southwest Limited to Raton to get near Philmont…a LONG way south from Yellowstone in NW Wyoming. Every summer, La Junta’s Koshare Kiva would be over-run with boy sprouts either coming or going…You are most likely going via the Empire Builder (via Glacier NP) or getting thrown off the Zephyr (#5/#6) at SLC and driving north to Yellowstone.
Sounds like a geography merit badge neededto show how much Amthrax misses the park by is needed first.
If we do end up going we will probably end up going to Glacier or Rocky Mtn. Sorry I didn’t mean Grand Canyon If that’s a choice great! Thank’s to all. I have e-mail subscription enabled so keep posting. I am going to Google this Phillmont camp sounds fun!!!
That is a great Idea. However I would bet the closest stop to Yellowstone is probably Salt Lake City or maybe somewhere in Montana. But I know a national park that has an Amtrak stop at the park itself! Glacier!
I think that if we end up going it will be to Glacier Ntl. Althugh I’m not willing to write Phillmont off. I have to go, I will talk to you all tmmrow Thank’s for the replies in adavence!!!
– If your Scoutmaster is not familiar with Philmont, you might want to (tactfully) clue him in on it, even if a trip out there is not feasible. Happy researching!
I assume you want a west-of-Chicago train trip, in part, to experience Superliners. On the home front, have you “experienced” (if that’s the word) The Cardinal? - a.s.
To follow-up on what al-in-chgo said, why not try for something short, simple, and do-able to give everybody a taste of what it’s like - a day or weekend trip to Chicago ? Lots to do there.
I’m glad that others remembered and posted about Glacier, that was the 1st one that came to my mind. One of my colleagues at work - now a Scoutmaster himself - still remembers and recounts his trip as a Scout to Philmont on the Santa Fe.
But not all the National Parks are out west. Follow the Cardinal’s route east. From Cumberland, Maryland is along the C&O Canal National Park, plus through several others along the way - Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia is one. At the end is the biggest - well, busiest - National Park of all - Washington, D.C. ! One of our local Scout troops biked the C&O Canal - 186 miles in 4 days - a couple years ago, then toured the town when they got to D.C. Stayed in campgrounds, VFW posts, schools, and the like along the way. Just a thought.
Justin…I see you are in “Western Indiana” but you don’t say exactly what town. Like Paul North said, a day trip or even a weekend trip to Chicago would be a good start. Also, call Amtrak or get in touch with a local travel agent who might still deal with Amtrak. Amtrak does promote parks and tourism and has some packages. Not mentioned so far is the Grand Canyon via Amtrak and the Grand Canyon Railroad. Of course a trip to Washington DC almost qualifies as would a trip to any major city. A tiip to Philadelphia and a bus to Scranton PA and Steamtown could fit your plans, too.
I would really suggest going to Glacier, it is amazing. There would be alot of hiking in the mountains to do with lots of great views and scenerey. I was out there in summer 2007 and had a blast, the train ride was fun, we got coach seats both ways for 3 to 4 hundred. The only con to the trip was the forest fires, when your coming in on the train even a fire 100 miles away can completley block your view of the mountains because of all the haze.
Don’t forget that New River is a Nationally-preserved wild river. I’m not sure what you have in mind for overnight stays, but a river like that sounds right up a Scout’s alley. Think whitewater rafting! And the Cardinal could take you there from western Indiana. Or, it could take you beyond to Washington, D.C.
I would encourage your scoutmaster to contact Amtrak regarding group rates, and would encourage you to raise some of the funds needed for those who wouldn’t be able to afford the trip on their own. A train ride can be half the fun of a trip to places like this.
(Back in the dark ages, over 45 years ago, I earned my Railroading merit badge.)
I too am surprised that the Scoutmaster did not know about Philmont. I mean, Amtrak sure as hell does. One of the reasons that Amtrak has stayed on the Raton Sub is because of the business that the Scout related activites at Philmont Scout Ranch generates.
I should also point out that it is possible to get from the Upper Midwest to the Florida Sea Base via Amtrak. You have to transfer at Chicago and DC, then take the train between DC and Florida, disembarking at Miami.
It is even possible to take the train to Northern Tier (www.ntier.org) in Ely, MN, though you would have to have the Scouts disembark at Saint Paul and arrange for transport from there on. If you are flexible enough, it is possible to take the train to all three of the Scout High Adventure Program facilities.
I’ve been wondering how far Sacramento or Reno is from Yosemite Nat’l Park?
Amtrak passengers can book a rental car to be waiting for them (I think). Don’t beat yourself up about not using public transit to get to the parks themselves if no such option exists! - a.s.
Merced, on the route of the San Joaquns, is 82 miles from Yosemite, and there are several Thruway buses each day between Merced and the park. Go to the Amtrak site, click on “schedules,” and click on the San Joaquin schedule. There are two trains a day between Sacramento and Bakersfield, and four a day between Oakland and Bakersfield. There is also Thruway bus service between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. All of these buses are shown on the San Joaquin schedule. Sacramento is 113 miles, via SFe and Merced, from Yosemite.
About sixty ears ago, my Sunday School tacher and her husband came out west and visited what I, at first, thought, was YOSE MIGHT Park. I was quickly corrected by my mother.
Hello all my fine featherd friends! Thank’s for all the repliies. I hope that we can go sooooooo bad. I never thought that we could go east. I live about 30 miles south of Laffayette IN. The Cardnial stops there. I think that if we go we should look at going either to Glacier Ntl or Phillmont, my scoutmaster knows about it. So what train would we have to take to get to Phillmont? Does Glacier Ntl. have any camping spots? What train does serve Phillmont? I need a pricerang too. How do I find out how mutch it would cost for a trip, the Amtrak site seems sooooooo confusing to me. One more question, where would we have to get off for Glacier Ntl? East or West?
If I am not mistaken,(other members of the forum more informed than I are welcome to correct me if I get this wrong) one of the parts of being in scouting is knowing or learning how to do the planning and logistics for such an undertaking as this project, which I must admit is a very worthy one. Being an Eagle as well as a former Institutional rep, I can tell you that the best trips and projects that you and the guys do are done by yourselves with the adult leadership assisting where appropriate.
I do agree with you that the Amtrak web site is confusing. Check on the link Traveling with Amtrak from the Home Page. Get yourselves a couple of good maps, one for the geographic area you want to go to and another of the Amtrak system to coordinate the beginnings and end of your journey. Once you have decided, if I know scouts, I think you guys can probably handle most of the rest.
Many of the headings on the link are a bit familiar to us guys that grew up in the 60’s. It was during this time that I went the rugged road when many of the railroad men (it was as you say “back in the day”) were scout leaders themselves from the president of the railroad to trainmen and MOW personnel. For the most part they all worked with and loved scouting. If I am not to mistaken from reviewing the web page there are some parts of merit badges built in to your project besides Hiking, Camping, Pioneering,etc. Business related and transportation badges seem to be a good fit for your project. Good luck and let us know how it comes out.