CNN reporting Biden will use Amtrak. Find it hard to believe. Would expect Harris not to travel same train if it happens. Security ? Oh Boy!!!. It will take a 1000 focal length to take a picture if even that. Only official photos would be able to get close ?
Mr. Biden rode his special train through Ohio before the election and now he’ll take one to his innauguration. I think it’s great to have an Amtrak-friendly, train-riding person become our President. It’s also going to be a welcome thing to have a train-friendly Secretary of Transportation.
The Wilmington, Del to Washington D.C. ride on the NEC is about 90 min.
Definitely. Let’s just hope we’ve seen the last of the Capitol riot/insurrection mobs. Lincoln, Grant and Sherman would have been appalled to see rebel flags desecrating our Capitol.
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Thread was basically trains centric until this post.
President Elect Biden professes to be a man of the people. What better way to do it than to travel from Wilmington to Washington on one of Amtrak’s regularly scheduled trains, which the article seems to imply is the plan. Well, there is Greyhound, but that may be over doing the common man image.
Understanding that he wants to be in D.C. the night before the festivities, he could book the 12:32 pm Acela, which takes 1h 26 minutes to complete the trip. Business class would cost $79; first class would be $158. But the Acela service has a bit of a patrician ring to it. Maybe a better statement could be made by riding the 1:25 pm Northeast Regional train. It takes 1h 39m. Busines class would cost $59 while a coach ticket goes for $22. Going coach class would really cement his image as the people’s president.
On either train the President Elect would be in Washington in time to spend the evening schmoozing with his supporters over pre-festive cocktails. Given that Trump’s star has lost its luster, he might get a good deal at Trump’s hotel. [8D] [:D]
The thread was discussing the inauguration, which occurs at the recently ransacked Capitol. Totally on topic since plans may need to be changed.
Is the Georgia 300 still available for Presidential use?
A shame the Ferdinand Magellan is on display down in Florida, with all that armour it would be perfect for the security-concious politician!
Given the state of American politics, every politician better be security-conscious! Unlike our more civilized neighbors to the north, politicians in the U.S. tend to be targets!
Many years ago, when I was a student at Penn State, I took a course in Canadian history. A surprising number of Canadians, including my roommate and best friend, were Penn State students, and they took the course. I don’t remember that much about it, but I don’t recall any Canadian prime minister or governor general being assassinated.
We prefer to maroon them on ice floes… …Polar Bears do love pork!
Although plans may change and the train could be a diversion plans are definitely being made for a train for Biden. Here is preliminary FAA notice.
FEDERAL AVIATION DMINISTRATION (faasafety.gov)
A good train set might be 2 or 3 P-42s towing an electric the several Amfleet-2 coaches then a V-2 diners , 2 lounges, V-2 diner, 2 or 3 V-2 sleepers, 300, and then 10003. 300 for obvious reasons to our knowledgeable posters.
There will be a 4 or 5 car advance train, too, along with lots of military air overhead. Wish I lived closer for photos.
With everything that’s been going on, don’t expect him to go the way that they are publicizing.
They should rent #90 from the Strasburg Railroad to pull the train. NO-ONE’s going to harm a train with a steam engine on the head end! Well, maybe Jesse James would, but he’s dead!
Given the mentality of most bad guys, they will think it is a monster come to get them and run.
Let’s have a little fun with this, Flintlock.
First preference: Mr. Biden’s train is pulled by a fully-restored GG-1, which was made that way in less than a week by the application of old fashioned American know-how and our famous can-do spirit; vintage private cars make up the train.
Second preference: Mr. Biden’s train is pulled by NKP 765, making a very grand entrance into Union Station, redolent of the America of when he and many of us here were young, enthusiastic, anything-is-possible kids; vintage private cars comprise the train.
Third preference: Mr. Biden’s train is pulled by the best up-to-date equipment Amtrak has.
Which will look to the rest of the 21st century passenger train world as if Mr. Biden is arriving in Washington in a coach drawn by six bay horses with postilions. In other words, once again the world sees what we all know: Even on the NEC, to say nothing of the LD network, we are no longer “the Standard Railroad of the World,” as we used to be and ought to be. Myself, I’d like to be proud of our state-of-the-art passenger trains, and I’m willing to pay my taxes to have the government invest in them.
So I wish Amtrak and Mr. Biden a happy and fruitful next four years.
If Amtrak has an operational new Acela trainset or two, that would be my first choice: 21st century equipment as we move forward.
It is amusing to think that in this pandemic world, with the major change at the White House, that one would think the “rest of the world” would give a crap about the kind of train President Elect Biden shows up in.
Do foamers really think regular people care that much about trains?
Real foamers don’t CARE what other people think about trains! [;)]
NKP Guy, I LIKE your first two suggestions, but could live with the third.
And no, I don’t think the rest of the world gives a flying (ahem) at a rollin’ doughnut about what train Joe rides to DC, for a variety of reasons.