Greetings from Amtrak Northeast Regional Train #141 which is speeding me presently to Baltimore, on the fastest day on the second train of my just 3 hours old month long trip to Tennessee, Texas, Missouri and back to Colorado.
I have learned that I don’t really like planning my trips way ahead, it does often mean that I end up modifying my plans to get low bucket trips on Amtrak. I normally end up on the bus when I’m taking day trips on the NEC because I am quite cheep but knowing that I would be on buses all the way wondering through Tennessee Two weeks before when I knew the $49 one-way fares would end, the cheapest on the NEC, I went on Amtrak.com and was amazed at how few trains were left with that fare for continuos travel. I did though realize that just buy hopping on a Keystone Train to Philadelphia having 15 minutes to transfer to the next Regional would drop the fares down to $49 and give me an extra 100 AGR points so I did just that. Washington I keep meaning to go down to for a few days and finally tackle, I even have relatives to stay with but just keep not planning a trip. I might have used the day in Washington before my bus but remembering how overpriced and awful left luggage was in Union Station decided that Baltimore (where I could store my bag for $3 instead of $30) and day passes are only $3.50! If there had been a significant fare difference between NYP-BAL and NYP-WAS I would have ridden Marc but there wasn’t one (Marc would have been more expensive) so I reserved an evening Regional train to get me into Washington an hour before my through the night bus to Knoxville. I will spend tomorrow morning in Knoxville before a second bus to a youth hostel in Chattanooga. On Friday I’ll head to Nashville and spend the evening riding and photographing the Music City Star (its tiny Commuter rail System) and the main reason I decided to venture to Tennessee to begin with. I had to plan my visit on a Friday, its the only day the train has a return trip. I continue by bus Greyhound or MegaBus, there is no real incentive to book in advance at this point to Memphis, and a week from today I finally return to my preferred mode of travel on the City of New Orleans (just printed my e-ticket at Penn Station, they look strange). I’m planning in New Orleans just for a night (would stay longer but don’t want four do to the TriWeekly Sunset Limited) before I take the Sunset to Houston for a few days (partially on their Metro Light Rail), on final bus ride will take me to Texas Eagle Territory as I work my way through DART, TRE, and DCTA’s A-Train Express in Dallas-Fort Worth, along with Capital Metrolink in Austin. I’m also planning a quick trip to Oklahoma to ride the Heartland Flyer. I will then (and booked a Sleeper because the high coach bucket and low sleeper bucket made it less than $100 more!) from San Antonio to St Lewis for Metrolink there before I head across to Kansas City (on the Missouri River Runner) and back to Colorado Springs for two weddings via the Southwest Chief to La Junta, Colorado and Bee-Line Express and Greyhound Bus via Pueblo back to the Springs.
This morning began when I left the house at 8:30 and much to my surprise got a seat on the Rush Hour A Train which came in immediately it was a fast trip to Penn Station where I arrive at 9:00 and look up at the big board finding it quite amusing that my Keystone train #643 leaves at 9:30 and the Regional that I am connecting to leaves at 9:35 I do have 20 minutes in Philly because the Keystone is faster (2 stops instead of 4). I pick my 3 tickets up for the at a Quik-Trak Machine. I like my fare plan of the day, NYP-PHL-BAL-WAS, for what will probably be my only Multi-City ticket of the trip, don’t think I am going to do a layover going across Missouri and all other trains I will ride only run once a day. I then walk over the NJT transit concourse where I know a water fountain is. While I am there I hear track 8 for my train and notice the doors on the NJT concourse for the stairs down to my train are closed. I show the guard my ticket and he tells me I need to go back to the Amtrak to board, a nearby elevator seems to work though and I walk by the AEM-7 of my Keystone train in push-mode and end up boarding the next car, the Quiet Car, not feeling like walking the entire train to see if the cab car is even open to passengers. I put my backpack which looks very lonely in the nearly empty luggage rack (the Keystone is used by many for day trips).
At 9:31 we slowly leave Penn Station pass the daylight area and enter the North River Tunnels, I am in New Jersey on a grey day and I realize I might be doing museums instead of light rail fanning in Baltimore. At 9:40 we skip through Secaucus and at 9:47 we are pulling into Newark, just two intermediate stops on this express train to Philadelphia, which is why I would have enough time there to change. 9:52 bypass the Airport (the Regional stops) and more, speeding down the NEC to begin a trip, although it isn’t quite as dramatic as ending a trip on it. 10:00 bypass Metropark, another Amtrak station. 10:05 New Brunswick. At 10:18 we slow down and at 10:20 arrive in Trenton and much to my surprise a few business men are getting off the train. There are quite a lot people with luggage I assume waiting for the Regional train that is coming on behind my Keystone. The Conductor announces No Business Class Service, No Food Service on this train and discussing the Quiet Car before making another announcement just audible in the Quiet Car telling us to keep a ‘library-like’ atmosphere.
10:24 – cross over the Delaware River leaving New Jersey and entering Pennsylvania for a quick trip through. The conductor collects almost all seat checks in my car and I realize those continuing to the little local stops to Harrisburg have written seat checks. Most of my car is getting off in Philly. The businessmen getting off in Trenton had rips in theres.
10:37 – pass a nice large scrapyard for the day, seeing the streets of Philadelphia and then go under the Market-Frankfort El. I also notice a billboard with what looks like a very old and faded Pennsylvania Railroad electric locomotive on it.
10:41 – go through North Philadelphia, the least used Amtrak station.
10:44 – go over the Schykill River and then the Girard Trolley as we slowly enter Philadelphia. We pass the 40th Anniversary Museum Train sitting in the nearly empty yard outside the station (very few (just a few Keystones now) terminate in Philly since NJT took over the Clockers) and pull into the station, seeing the Silver Star. I slowly get off the Keystone getting my first platform photos of the restricted access platforms in Philadelphia. There’s a line onto the staircase because the ‘moving staircase’ as an old sign says is under construction. I go up to the concourse get a few photos and notice the line for my next train, the regional, is at the next gate. Philly requires lining up to get to the tracks tracks but I like the touch of wireless microphones for more personal boarding calls from the gate attendants. The gate opens as were allowed onto the platform over ten minutes before as I flash my ticket, with plenty of time for photos as I walk to the back of the train, my Keystone train is still in the station on the very next track 7, on a different platform when my Regional #141 lead by an HHP-8 pulls on track 6 at 11:00 with quite a long train, I board the second to last car, the last doors don’t open a group is in it. At 11:02 my Keystone departs for Harrisburg in the opposite direction of travel.
11:10 moving again on a much more crowded train, definitely not the quiet car hearing ladies behind me but at least I have two seats to myself. I see an NJT P40 waiting to make a run to Atlantic City. I doze off along the SEPTA trackage but do get a nice glimpse of Delaware Bay.
11:28 – Pass some Amtrak shops, I have entered Delaware my forth state of this trip.
11:31 – arrive in the now renamed Wilmington-Joe Biden Station I have to visit on my next trip to Washington, and my only intermediate stop, on this leg of #141. We leave at 11:34.
11:41 – slow down briefly before passing Newark
11:47 – pass at tiny old shelter in Elkton as I read a water tower. I have entered Maryland, this is my 4th state of the day out of just 15 for the trip (the Northeast is so small, should have started off in Portland, Maine and gotten 5 more)
11:49 – we have slowed down so an Acela can scream by us in the woods of eastern Maryland where I am posting this.
11:56 – a nice view of water off to the left
12:00 – the nice historic station in Perryville as we cross a long bridge.