Saturday - Have you ridden????

N Gauger

1:20.3 Train Addict
Have you ever ridden a train.. If so, was it for daily commute or on a tourist railroad? and wich one(s)?
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
Every Memorial Day weekend, we would take the Housatonic Railroads Tour Trip here in Connecticut. For about five years, it became tradition. Sometimes we would take the "Leaf Lookers" Special in the fall. They would pull their tour train with their RS-3. Then one year, no more.The Housatonic went strictly freight, and dropped the tour.In Fact, the GE 80 tn switcher that they started the tours with in 1985, sits rusting away, and vandalized, on the old Conklin Limestone siding.
Also rode the Essex a couple of times, usually behind one of the two China built steam engines in the USA at the time. Haven't been there in awhile.
Also did the "Hobo" and the Conway in New Hampshire.
When I was stationed in Germany back in the early '80's, took the train from Frankfurt to Wurzburg. Real nice ride.
 

pennman

Member
luckier than Most

Well, I can say I'm luckier than most of us, As a mechanic I've worked on a whole bunch of antique equipment and even driveb some. Ive operated a 250ton wreck crane (used in a steel mill, as well as an old S-2,SW1000 and even a GP-30. Nothing real far just in the yards, but still fun.
When I was in the Military I use to take the train from east to west and south to North, I always had fun with those rides. Amtrak can spoil you if you let them.
And then there was PRR-Amtrak-NJ DOT- NJ Transit theses where daily commuter trains I road those for years as a boy and an adult.
Tony
train97
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Back when I was growing up in NJ, we road trains to NYC and road the subway frequently. While in the service in the 50's I road several cross-country trains, I'm sure they all had names but I didn't pay attention.

We here in Arizona have the Grand Canyon RR which we've taken several times, and the same goes for the Verde Canyon RR. The one to the Grand Canyon is a destination ride since there isn't that much scenery, but the one through Verde Canyon is all about the scenery. One of these days we're going to get off our duff and head up to the Durango-Silverton ride in Colorado.

Opppps, almost forgot, one year while in high school, me and some friends joined a traveling carnival for the summer and we went from one town to the other by the carnival's own train.
 

N Gauger

1:20.3 Train Addict
Lets see.....
Rode in the MU "Owl Cars" Penn Central to Phila, PA (Daily Commute)
Septa new Passanger cars (Daily Commute)

The Phila Subway
The Phila Trollys
Amtrak Metroliner
Baldwin # 60000 in the Franklin Institute

Central Railroad of New Jersey No. 122 Fairmount Motorized Track Car RR Museum of PA (Moving things in the yard)

The East Broad Top Railroad (Tourist)
The New Hope and Ivyland Railway (Tourist)
The Strasburg Railroad (Tourist)
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
- Southern GP30 (cab ride with my son) on 30 minute passenger car run around the NC Transportation Museum this year.\
- The "Tubes" in and around London in the '90s.
- Chicago commuter train from the 'burbs into the city in the '80s.
- NYC commuter train (NY Central F or E-unit?)from Jersey to NYC in the '70s.
- Amtrak from NYC to Boston in the '70s (GG1)...amazingly memorable because in at the end of December in the cold north east, I stood for the entire trip near an open door. The heat was stuck full "ON" and everyone (dressed for winter) sweltered inside this train. The conductor finally decided to open the doors up to allow all the heat to escape. He and I stood by that door watching NY, CT, and MA rush past. There was also no dining car - so a steward sold sandwiches from a seat at the front of our car.
 

Jac's Lines

Member
I've lived in the British Isles for several extended periods of time in my life: I regularly rode both the Tube in London and the Great Western service between London and Somerset, and once took the overnight Caledonian sleeper from Bristol to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. That was awesome! I've also ridden the DART in Dublin. In North America, I hate to admit that I've never ridden AMTRAK, but have been on the Metro in DC (lived there a summer and commuted to work), the T in Boston, the El in Chicago, and took a VIA Rail from Windsor to Toronto when I wa a kid. For tourist rails, I've taken both the short and long trips that run out of Steamtown in Scranton PA, the Mt Washington Cog Railway (awesome!), and Strasburg. This summer my two year old daughter and I had a day out at Scranton and took the 30-minute tour behind Canadian Pacific 2317. Almost two months later, she still talks about "ridin' the choo-choo" whenever we see a train!
 

LoudMusic

Member
I've never ridden anything on a regular basis, but I've ridden plenty for pleasure and for transportation.

San Antonio Zoo Train (which happens to have an engineer possition open)
http://www.sazoo-aq.org/general/trainengPT.html

Little Rock Zoo Train
http://www.littlerockzoo.com/exp_trip.htm listed at the bottom

Chicago "L"
http://www.chicago-l.org/maps/index.html

Chicago Metra
http://www.metrarail.com/

Atlanta Marta
http://www.itsmarta.com/

San Francisco Cable Cars
http://www.sfcablecar.com/

Disney World Monorail
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Transportation/monorail.htm

Utah excursion train - can't find info on it

Wimberley Texas also had a train we rode every 4th of July

For the most part I've ridden smaller guage trains that just make a big loop. "Kids stuff". But I have ridden a few trains for the sole purpose of getting somewhere. In Chicago it was GREAT. We were staying in North Aurora and needed to get into the city. We drove about 5 minutes to the nearest station, then rode the Metra 25miles, and the L took us all over town. It makes it a bit more expensive but we didn't have to deal with traffic or parking.
 

shaygetz

Active Member
I have been on several excursion trains in the past. My beloved and I met on an Amtrak run from Baltimore to Rochester on our way back to Bible College. She found me intriguing as I pointed out the remains of railroad related structures as we passed along the Hudson River. 'Til then, I was just her escort, 3 months later, we were engaged, wedded 2 months after that, 15 years ago BTW. Amtrak doesn't necessarily derail everything.:thumb:
 

MilesWestern

Active Member
That's a sweet story Shaygetz :)

I've ridden on the NILES CANYON Ry. And Had been very lucky enough to ride in the cab's of:

Quincy RR's #2, a 2-6-2T. A beautiful lil' steam engine!

SP 1423, an NW-2 for about 15-20 miles up the canyon, I love the 360* view!

WP 713, a GP7, which was lots of fun, and I learned how dynamic brakes worked!

...and my most memorable, and first Cabride, in an SD9! switching the yards at Brightside, Ca.

-I've ridden on the Capitol Corridor to Sacto and Back.

-I took the beautiful trip through the Sierra's on the Cal Zephyr.

-MY FIRST TRAIN RIDE WAS when I took the San Joaquin frommy old home in Orange, CA to Modesto, near my new home in Pleasanton. That was fun, and memorable. I have lots o'' picture I took when I was little! Notably, An SP GP35, and an SF GP30!

Rode the beautifully restored Panama-Pacific Exposition's 1915 Minirature live steamer at the San francisco zoo!

Look here to learn about the Exposition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama-Pacific_Exposition
Learn about the lil' steamer here: http://www.sfzoo.org/about/puffer.htm

Went to Traintown a little bit up north, In Sonoma. Take a look! http://www.traintown.com/

...and finally, I've ridden the Cal train from Burlingame to SanJose's Diridon Station.

No Bay area railfan would live without riding the BART! http://www.bart.gov/guide/overview/overview.asp

There ya GO!
 

Jim Krause

Active Member
My first train ride was at age 17. I rode from western WA state to Pullman,WA for a vocational ag convention. The Western Star (GN) to Spokane and a milk train local to Pullman. Since then I've ridden trains in the US and in Europe. If you ever want to experience Europe away from the tourist centers, get a Eurail pass and go wander around Spain, Greece, and anywhere your heart desires. The southern part of Greece is meter gauge railroading and the northern part is standard gauge. Spain has a bunch of narrow gauge branch lines with some really different railcars. Oh yeah, if you feel really adventurous, try Egypt. Make sure your life insurance is paid up.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
Lots of trips...

I assume I had my first train trip at the age of 0. My grandparents lived near Niagara Falls and I was born there, but my father was teaching near Ottawa. I rode most of the routes between Ottawa and Toronto in the 40s and 50s. Also rode something in Scotland in the 40s but don't remember. I think we took a train to Boston about 1950.
Rode the line between Kitchener and Toronto frequently. Also travel to Montreal, including one trip on the Turbo. Came back from Boston via Springfield and Montreal; Boston-Springfield was on the Roger Williams RDC/F unit car, the the Montrealer.
Had 3 weeks in Britain where we rode trains in England, Wales and Scotland, including most of the narrow gauge lines.
Toronto to Halifax on CN.
25 years commuting on the GO train.
Algoma Central Polar Bear Express.
The Canadian.
lots of fantrips and tourist railroads; last one on the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay.
Dearborn to Ann Arbor.
Transit lines: Edinburgh, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Edmonton, London.
Miniature railways: quite a few of those as well.
 
C

Catt

Back in the very dim daysof my youth (6 years old I'm now 61) I rode in the cab of a Pere Marquette passenger train about every 6 weeks.Previous to that Was when I was a baby and of course there is no recollection except for what I was told.

Since then I rode a Michigan Northern excusion train from Rockford (MI) to Cadillac,and back.There was also a short ride on a TSBY train a couple years ago at Durand,MI..
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
I have taken Amtrak on three occasions and each had its problems. In 1977 I took the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to Rhinecliff NY and was told I had to leave my small sleeper compartment early morning because the car had "broken a wheel". My car was removed from the train and I had to settle for a coach seat the rest of the trip.

In 1996 I took that train the opposite way toward Chicago and rode in a coach seat in a car with nonfunctioning bathrooms and very cold temperatures in January....

In 2004 I attempted to ride the Empire Builder from St. Paul, MN to the Wisconsin Dells but had to detrain in LaCrosse WI, because a derailment at Chicago's Union Station meant that trains had to approach from different routes...ending the scheduled stops between St. Paul and chicago....we had to wait an hour and a half for a bus. :(
I realize this last one wasn't Amtrak's fault but I seem fated to have unenjoyable trips on their trains.

The Hiawatha light rail line in the Twin Cities, however, is excellent and a quick way to get from the Mall of america or the airport to downtown Minneapolis. I've ridden it several times just for fun!

Ralph
 

TomPM

Another Fried Egg Fan
Boy, this could take awhile.

I rode the old MP-54’s into Philadelphia as a kid with my family.

As a college student and when I first began working I rode in Silverliner II’s II’s, and IV’s, and Poineers, and Blueliners.

I have ridden Amtrak to Orlando several times.

On excursions I have ridden the Pioneers, Blueliners, the old red Broad Street Subway cars and Bridge Line cars, PCC trolleys. I have ridden behind Strasburg steam, N&W 611, N&W 1218, NKP 7??, Blue Mountain and Reading 425, and 2102. I also rode behind the PRR E8 that they had. Then there were the three Southern FP7’s, Morristown & Erie centuries, Reading RR TH&S century and GP?, NYSW F45, and a few others.
 

Bill Pontin

Member
As a kid in the 40's, my Grandmother would take my brother and I to Nova Scotia for the summer. We took the train out of North Station, Boston and traveled up into Canada and then a ferry ride across the Bay of Fundy into Digby, Nova Scotia. On several occcasions, when we left late in the evening, we boarded a sleeper car and sleep in one of those bunk beds with the privacy curtain. Our grandfather was an engineer for the Boston and Albany so we traveled at no cost. To be put to sleep by the gentle rocking and clicking of the rails is still a vivid memory.
 

RailRon

Active Member
Wow, I think I could fill pages when I should list every train I rode on - and still do.
Throughout my life I rode almost every train line in Switzerland, starting very early (at the age of four, I think) with my grandfather who worked on the railroad. Then I commuted eight years to school. After that I changed mainly to automobiles, but made an occasional trip by train.
Whenever I have to go to a bigger city I take the train, because you ride straight into the heart of the city and you save the lunatically exagerrated costs for parking the car.

Abroad I rode trains in Germany, France, Italy, Austria... and yes, also in the USA (Denver to Salt Lake on the D&RGW, and then some tourist lines (Durango-Silverton, Georgetown loop, 2ft. Edaville RR...) And speaking of tourist trains - every year I ride at least two excursion trains, most of them behind steam.

But my greatest experiences were two cab rides - a 2 hour trip along the Loetschberg line through the alps, and a whole working day of a friend of mine who is engineer(from 8 a.m. to 17 p.m.) in the cab of five different passenger trains.

Ah yes, and I remember that an engineer took me up into the cab of a steam switcher. I was about 12 years old, then. For the whole afternoon I rode on this 0-6-0T and even 'helped' the fireman shoveling coal into the firebox while we were switching freight cars from a freight yard to several industrial sidings nearby.

Ron
 

steamhead

Active Member
Hi,
Rode the C&NW several times between Madison (WI) and Chicago way baaaaack when I was in college & the folks lived in La Grange. Took it from the station on West Washington Ave. and rode it all the way to Union Station. Great ride.

But the best ride I had, was in the CAB of a 2-8-0 that was on tour through Mexico commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Mexico-Laredo line. It was on display on the old station tracks (beautiful brownstone building) and when it was time to put her to bed, I rode from the station to the engine house over what seemed like a hundred switches and that baby swaying back & forth for all she was worth!!! What a thrill!!!!

Gus (LC&P).sign1
 

King Bonk

New Member
i take a train on daily commute, called the R8 in these here parts (philly). i like it better than any other mode of public transport - scenic, comfortable (usually), relatively quiet, usually hassle free. As a train buff tho, I am sometimes sad that it lacks the "classic" feel of a engine - car car car car caboose type arrangement. i mean, it bothers me a bit, aesthetically, that every car, including the "engine" or where the conductor sits and runs things looks exactly the same, totally interchangable.

i much prefer the other trains i visit with regularity - those of the Strasburg Railroad here in PA. They are steam trains. I dont know much about train history yet, but it would seem the "short-line" class of lines that the Strasburg Railraod was the precursor to my current caily communte. The ride itself is ridiculously scenic - with anawesome "ghost-train" stop where the train stops and lets out a throaty bleat of the whistle, which bounces off of distant mountains in a striking echo. This is followed, invariably, with the conductor piping in that they pay that ghost train good money to toot in response -- good fun had by all.

For those who know/care, i regularly take the 31, 90, and 89 at the strasburg rr
 

steamhead

Active Member
Hi,

I'm watching a program on the Travel Channel called "The American Orient Express". A train ride that'll take you from Salt Lake City through several National parks and ending at the Grand Canyon. A luxury "liner" if there ever was one!!! That'll be a ride to take!!

Gus (LC&P).
 
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