I missed the announcement of this early in the week because I have been layed up with a bad case of viral gastroenteritis. This is one you want to pass on. Anything more I could say about that would fall in the category of way too much information. It kept me away from the layout for most of the week. On the plus side, I got a good head start on my New Year’s diet with the 10 pounds I’ve dropped.
Getting back to the Obama train, I thought when I read the headline he might recreate Lincoln’s route from Illinois to Washington in 1861 when he literally snuck into the capital. But no, He’s just going to ride in from Philadelphia. He’ll pick up Biden in Delaware. Biden was a regular Amtrak commuter when he was in the Senate. He’ll make a whistle stop in Baltimore before making the last leg into DC.
This made me think of recent article in Classic Trains about Ike’s innaugural. To help meet the demand for extra hotel space, a Pullman city was set up in a Washington train yard. It showed the parked Pullman’s being heated by an idling K-4 steamer. I would think this would be a way cool way to spend my time in Washington but my guess is at the time, the patrons did not find it so appealing.
I’ll have to disagree with your assessment, mainly because you’re looking at something that happened 50 years ago through today’s eyes. Most people did not have huge houses (McMansions), a standard home bedroom back them was a 10 x 10 foot room. Any larger was considered a luxury. King and Queen size beds were the choice of the rich, if those type beds existed at that time. This size was acceptable because the room was used for sleeping and dressing. Period. In those days, people didn’t lay around in hotel rooms watching cable TV, they went “out on the town.” The only thing the “Pullman City” needed to provide was a place to sleep and clean up. It also had dining cars, but they didn’t say how many (by percentage) of the residents used the diners.
I believe the accomodations would be quite acceptable to the people of the day.
So, the president elect won’t be flying on O Force One to the Innaugration?
Now maybe North American, the airline that owns O Force One can repaint the tail with an American flag - like it has on all of its other charter aircraft! The American Flag that was specifically removed at the direction of Team Obama.
Oh yeah, I know. Not to mention the limo, the spare limo, and the SUVs that the Secret Service detail rides around in. It is quite jaw dropping especially considering the fact that Uncle Sam is coordinating and paying for the whole operation.
I think the disruption of a Rail Force One train to normal traffic would probably cost more than just using the jets. Not to mention the CIA track inspections. It would be neat to see an Amtrak F 59 PHI painted up in Presidential colors though.
I was thinking the same thing even as I was typing my response about POTUS moves via Air Force One - which has now fallen victim to the Moderator’s Keystrokes!
What kind of a country have we become where our elected officials fear to travel openly amongst the people who elected them and who they are sworn to represent and protect?
I don’t know about elected officials traveling openly, but I am certainly afraid as an ordinary citizen to travel in many parts of this country, including my own city.
To paraphrase Johnny Carson from a long time ago… Amtrak might be the safest way for Obama to get to Washington… No one would know where the hell he was!
Can you imagine Katie Couric or whoever ends up doing the inagural coverage for the TV networks trying to come up with 3 hours of happy-talk while this train pokes along at 10 mph under slow orders? It would be good for our elected officials to see what it’s like to chill out on a late train, because the government has neglected our rail infrastructure for such a long time.
But, my guess is, they’ll just keep on ignoring the problem and take a plane next time.
In 1992, GHWBush’s campaign train went right past the golf course I was playing at. We got a wave from the Prez as he went by. For several hours before the train arrived, helicopters were flying up and down the track and I’m sure there was a presence on the ground as well. That train was used in a background scene for the Clint Eastwood movie, In the Line of Fire. Great movie. John Malkovich deserved the Best Supporting Actor award for that one. Forget who they gave it to.
