It has come to my disturbing notice that most of the railfan community, that I have come in contact with, has neither ever ridden nor recently (last 20 years) ridden Amtrak trains. This smacks of a double standard— you ride Amtrak but I’d rather fly. Or does this mean that Amtrak’s services are generally sub-standard and really undesireable to us railfans??
If you live where you must ride in worn out Amfleet cars and pay higher fares than flying, you would think it over carefully. Now, FOR NOW you will not have your bags searched if you ride Amtrak. BUT-This could change with an act of one person without regard for his/her own life- let alone some one else’s life! Then the searches will be nationwide, not just when and where the authorities are looking for a fugitive that knows Amtrak exists.
I attempt to ride Amtrak when I can but their schedules just aren’t always compatible. I did travel from Raleigh-Durham to Wilmington DE last year and enjoyed the trip. We were even 3 hours late.
If you live in a city without Amtrak service and are traveling to a city without Amtrak service, you don’t use Amtrak. You either fly (and rent a car) or drive (and use your own car.)
I’m not holding my breath waiting for Amtrak to run from Las Vegas to Nashville, TN. (Or from Las Vegas to much of anywhere. The latest LV-LA Basin proposal would end up at a park-and-ride north of the Cajon Pass.)
If it was still possible to get passenger service from almost any large town, I might consider it. Until then, fuhgeddaboudit!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with LOTS of passenger service)
Even if your city HAS Amtrak service, you might still find that driving yourself or flying are the best/only options. There are many, many reasons why Amtrak could do better. Sadly they will not do better with the resources they have at hand. Amtrak needs help-not more money- unless they can find how to make Amtrak work by meeting customer needs. Then it could work.
I used to ride Amtrak frequently when I was in college, but have since stopped. The reason is convenience. I don’t fly either, I just drive. You can get there in half the time it takes Amtrak (except on the NE Corridor where Amtrak will save you time, pity I never have to travel between those cities), plus you have your own car to drive when you get there. Last time I went from Chicago to NJ in a car it took me twelve and a half hours to get from the loop to my front door. Last time I took the discontinued Broadway Limited in 1991 it took about 20 hours on an overnight schedule, not counting the drive to Trenton to catch the train. Funny how PRR could get you from NY to Chicago in sixteen hours…What year is this?
I seriously examined a trip via Texas Eagle from Little Rock to Baltimore with two train changes one at Chicago and the other for the corridor to Baltimore.
Transit time two days.
Fares Too much money.
It is literally easier to go down to the Airport and hop onto a southwest 737 and rent a car out of BWI. Cheaper too and all of that traveling can be done in half a day.
Or I can drive two days on the interstate with a hotel stop.
If Amtrack created Corridor systems through out the USA and tied 3 or 4 reginal cities together… like … Dallas-Little Rock- St Louis with connections to another Corridor that runs Little Rock-Nashville-Roanoke and eventually to DC and beyond.
Then we will talk travel. Especially if they actually use high speed rail like Maglev or TGV technology and race the airliners at thier own game.
Only then will I be willing to pay for such a service.
WHen I survey the dominance of the freight railroads and seeing amtrack shunted off to the side to let a bunch of hot-stuff containers through with toilet paper… kinda hard to get serious about that.
They need to scrap it and start it all over and do it right the first time. Without constant talk of budget cuts, government congressonal screwing and late late late schecdules.
Lateness is the number one reason. I recently called Amtrack to determine when the Texas Eagle will pass through and Im given the run around and ultimately hung up with no information on time to Little Rock. I guess it will be either at midnight or Noon on the day before or after it’s schedule arrival time.
Sometimes I hear it on the Main not far from my home at 2 in the morning or catch it at 8 am at work.
No way will I risk sitting on the platform that long.
I have not even gotten ON a train to decide for myself if the actual experience of travel ON a train is worth the troubles and tribulations. Im better off huddling in the bottom of a rusted out and trash filled gondola trying to hide from
Amtrak does it well. If you are on a Vacation, a rail fan, and in no hurry, it can be a Fun trip. Like the 1950s! Lets face it, long haul is for the tourest, and Amtrak long haul is just that.
Short haul, the commuter into a majior city is best left to the city and state Governments. It’s cheeper than building more Interstate Highways and downtown parking places. Cutting air pollution is another factor. Where everybody heads into a city center to work as in , Boston, New York, Phiadelphia, and Chicago, rail does work and work well.
Amtrak’s Notheast Corridor, Boston to Washington, 500 miles, 19 trains each way each day, speeds up to 150 mph, runs when Airlines don’t fly, remember, “If You Have To Get There, Take The Train”. If you would like to think about the cost to the Government, what would it cost to widen I95 through some of the most expensive realestate in the world?
I took a quick Amtrak trip for the first time in years last week. Isn’t because I don’t support Amtrak, but more of a case of having nowhere I needed to be that is served by Amtrak.
On a side note, if you’re going to take apart how the railfan industry doesn’t support various aspects of the hobby, you will have a full time job. Take museums for example. Many railfans won’t visit museems as they’re only interested in the latest and greatest. (**Nothing wrong with that unless they are freeloading on photos and not supporting the organizations running said equipment)
I am take my big Amtrak trip this August from Cov, Pa to Chicago on the Capital Limited and on Southwest Chief from Chicago to Kingman, Az then on to Las Vegas, NV all in the Sleeping Car and my Sister & Mom are Fly to Las Vegas to meet me there, Because my Sister does not have that much time off of her work to take Amtrak.
Soon after Amtrak was formed, we started having kids. There went all our money. Not only have I not ridden Amtrak, I haven’t flown either. I only go where I can afford to drive, and thanks to the hike in gasoline prices, I won’t being doing much of that.
By-the-way, WVRailadvocate, [#welcome]
Some of these folks have hit the nail on the head. AMTRAK simply has to be going in the direction they’re headed. The NEC is a prime example of what AMTRAK does right. I believe it is THE way to travel between D.C. and Boston. But get outside of that corridor, both AMTRAK and their HOST freight railroads make travelling by rail impractical. Let’s take TRAINS 29 & 30, the famed CAPITOL LIMITED. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been trackside near Cumberland and have pittied the poor souls trapped on that Superliner, sometimes behind schedule from 6-12 hours…obscene. Other than the novelty of traveling by rail, it is simply quicker (and most probably cheaper) to take the plane.
Yes, the Capitol in Amtrak’s era has always been kind of a slowboat. I remember the first time I took the Broadway Limited to Chicago in 1980, having to wait in Pittsburg for several hours for the Capitol Limited to show up, for in those days the two trains combined at Pittsburg for the remainder of the trip to Chicago. Fortunately Amtrak finally stopped this practice sometime in the 80’s.
Back on the original subject, most of the Amtrak trains I rode came in on time or somewhat close to schedule (1-2 hours or so). The Broadway was good about being on time, the Cardinal not as good, but not that bad either.
I still take joy rides although much of the joy has gone since amtrak swiched to genes#!ts. Now when your rolling stock has small windows and outdates the F40PH do you
a. Get new rail cars
b. lower Fairs
c. rebuild your F40PH fleet and with the money you saved rebuild your cars
d. blow off the cars and spend your surpluse money on crappy locomotives to replace your good F40PH fleet and put off the cars as long as you can (at which point you will be straped for money)
If you chose (d.) then congradulations a high paying corprit job is wateing for you in amtrak.
funny stuff Ham549,
anyway I don’t model passenger trains. I have other people at the club who do that for me. I have ridden Amtrak when I travel from NYC to Penn and to NC. But as everyone knows Amtrak is subject to the time schedules of the frieght orgs. so I was over and hour late. over a 12 hour train ride for something just over a normal 10 hour trip. I just wish the seating was more comfortable, especially on local commuter trains. NJT and LIRR -even the new ones are the worst.
I live on the NEC NYC aera, fact is I live in Queens, and use the Long Island RailRoad everyday to Penn station , Which gets me in the city 1and a half hours early, Whch i spend watching the other Amtrak and NJT trains enter the station. I do not know of many a rail fan who used to do the commuter trip on the NEC, But I am one of em. back in the 80’s NYC to Wilmington, De. every day, and Loved every min. of it. Late trains, Downed catenary wire, lose of HEP, the rail cars with NO lights or heat , Yep, I would be the one Nut on the platform or train with the big Grin, holding my scanner to my ear, cam in the other hand, Yeh I wil take the long delays whith out a care, even If that ment walking in the office 4 hours late , yeh I did that for 10 sweet years and Miss it. MY famly flys, and it is always a bid argument Train , vs. Plane. I don’t care if it is late all the time, or the real old cars, fact is You can keep the new fleet. NO NO excuse for any Rail fan NOT to Ride the rails, Amtrak or another Road on my vacations I woud take a ride to Chicago Just to look at all the trains , or go camping up in the Penn altoona, ae
While I’ve never ridden Amtrak (have looked at it though) I have used Via Rail once, and BC Rail twice in the last 15 years. I was going to be traveling to conference in May and seriously contemplated taking the train. I decided against it for the following reasons. 1) While a nice way to travel, it was going to cost three times a much as a flight. 2) Where the train stops is a 90 minute drive vs 20 minutes to the airport. 3) My train departed at 2:00 am and wouldn’t arrive until 11:30pm. Much the same for the return trip.
You can’t expect people to go out of their way to spend more money for a more inconvenient way to travel. We all have busy lives and live on a budget. That trumps liking trains.
The last time I rode Amtrak was in 1988 - St Paul to Topeka via Chicago with my 3 year old son. The price was right(off-season ‘RailAmerica’ fare) and we also got sleeping car space from Chicago to Topeka. A great experience.
This year my other half and her friend from work went on an Alaska criuse. The rode Amtrak from Winona, MN to Seattle. R/T for coach and sleeping car space was $442 each(they shared the room). Air fare was $316-$346 each for R/T from MSP to Seattle. I would have to drive them up to the MSP airport(75 miles). The took 3 extra days of vacation and decided on an Amtrak Adventure. They are currently on the cruise, having left last week on Amtrak. They had a wonderful time on the train, and loved the snow/ice in Glacier Park as they climbed Marias Pass. Now, they got a very good ‘deal’ as the Amtrak rates are much higher now as the summer season starts. They made resevvations about 40 days ago and almost did not get sleeping car space on the return trip! I have to drive to Winona next Tuesday(45 miles) and pick the pair.(and yes, Brenda is riding the WP&Y…).
Jim
Um howabout just taking the Light Rail or Commuter Train for starters…How many railfans do that?
OH NO
DAT Brooklyn Trolley Dodger Dude
Ahhhhhhhhhh and it’s up up up i’ts OUT OF HEAR … mAN OHH MAN YEH your right get out and just enjoy the local rails too. you don’t have to Just ride a Class one Road. Like the man said, do the trolly street car, the metro underground AKA subway, or Tram. Hey Brooklyn Trolley Dodger, Too bad No more Greenpoint ave. Train ferry or Erie Lakawana freight ferry out of the old south Brooklyn ferry slips. or How bout watching some small Steam tank locos moving freight down the middle of the street under the Gowanus Hyway by the Canal in Brooklyn NY, yeh LONG Gone but the tracks can still be seen at some intersections of street, hmmmmm Damm those Brooklyn Dodgers Heee
It also semens that all the good time riding the Amtrak rails were all done in the 80’s, by looking at all the posts that were made hear, Hmmmmmm
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