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Old 12-31-2008, 11:34 AM
 
6,351 posts, read 21,500,348 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdavid93225 View Post
I wonder how many people got this? The original song is fairly old, and from what I recall, isn't heard too often. I have it on CD, though, so I am familiar with it.

I like the play on words, Crew Chief. It made me laugh.
I KNEW our erudite C-D members would get it! (Got lots of PMs, too)

I'd never heard that until one of my squadron commanders in Germany used to sing it around the Ops Desk. He had some other really good parodies; most not suited for anyplace outside the squadron or the O Club...
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Old 12-31-2008, 06:43 PM
 
3,089 posts, read 8,499,101 times
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Tampa to Miami normally a 2-3hr drive took over 10 hours by train because it stopped in the middle of nowhere. Nobody said a thing the next thing I see the conductor run pass me open the door and hops out. He did not come back for another hour or so. Then the train began to move at lovely 17mph. Stopped again,lights and everything went off sat for another hr. Moved again at a nice pace of 17 mph all while we were towing another train whom was having trouble so every stop from then on out took twice as long.

I rather drive..
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Old 12-31-2008, 10:28 PM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,204,161 times
Reputation: 16939
I've taken Amtrak half way across the country and back three times in a year and am looking forward to the next trip next spring/summer. I am not in any hurry and always have my camera ready. If you like scenery and are not impatient, Amtrak is a great way to go. Not to mention you avoid the mess and the security at airports.

schedule wise, the train was ontime or delayed at various parts of the trips. I got of at the end or nearly so part of the time and it tended to be close there. They do use scheduled stops to adjust the time. So a half hour stop over may be cut if the train is late.

Baggage wise its very easy. You get two carryons. Maximum size is 32 " long... don't remember the whole size but a medium size suitcase or a large duffle fits (I have a rolling duffle and reccomend that). You can check your baggage *if* all the stops where you enter/exit are a baggage stop. I wouldn't because you have a space downstairs to keep your larger bag(s) and should you need something its accessable (especially with a duffle type). And you know where it is. The two carryons do not include baby supplies, briefcases, laptop cases, or purses. A big purse or the extra room in your other bags is useful. Nor it is *always* paid much attention to, though on a more crowded train they may complain. There is no "baggage check" like in airports but if you look suspicious they can look inside, but never saw anyone do that.

Food wise you can bring your own. I brought a subway sandwitch with me for the first night, along with a goodybag of stuff to snack on. Do not bring stuff that crumbles (don't ask). This is to be eaten at your seat though the last trip nobody compained if it was eaten in the observation lounge. The food on the train is expensive... but if you want a hot meal the lunch menu is much more reasonable. There is a lot of food and your drink is included. Sitting with other people is really nice too, and depending on your company, can have great conversations. The sanwitches in the snack bar are actually very good too.

special tip, if you go through Fort Worth, there is a Subway in the station.

Items to bring...soda, water and cerial... I used a couple things of blue ice and froze some milk in a thermal bag which worked. Soda and water are way expensive. They'll give you ice at the snack bar. I also bought the coffee singles and my own cup. Was so simple and the hot water is free.

If you are by yourself, make sure you can carry your baggage easily, you have limited time to board and detrain

temperature: Mostly its ambient, but can get cold or warm. Bring a light blanket and a small pillow. Have a light jacket and do some layers so you can compensate. Mostly its fine but be prepared.

Check ahead about your station: if its open when you arrive/depart especially. If you are leaving from a location that is closed either get your ticket from the station before or have it mailed. Make sure you have legal ID. If you have bought ahead, and have to change dates the ticket is still good within a specific time frame (I believe 6 months). If you have changed your departure make sure the condoctor knows.

Seatmates vary. The trip I took to cali for Thanksgiving was full and with a lot of transplants going back for the holiday. My seatmate spent the whole time complaining about the time it took, over and over and I spent the trip in the lounge car. Going back it was with someone who had been on the trip there so it was cool. Bring a book, crochet or knitting (not anything requiring precise aim like embroidery) or some other thing to entertain yourself. Though looking out the window at America does pretty well. An mp3 player is good to have. Your computer will need to be used off battery in the lounge car most likely. There was one car with lots of plugs and most with none. The lounge car has several but bring a multistrip so more people can charge their phones.

alchol...it is sold on the train and you may bring your own. But if you drunk they can and will remove you from the train. You get off on the next stop and can sober up and take the next one tomorrow. Anyone with drugs is also removed. Violent behavior etc and your off. And when they say they are leaving at a stop in 15 minutes don't wander too far away because after the fnal whistle they will leave without you.

So board the train, take your personal stuff to your seat (which provides a lot of leg space) and practice getting your train legs. Crossing between cars is simple once you do it a few times. Enjoy the people, they are mostly happy to talk. All the employees are coureous and polite. Relax and have a good time and experience a day or so of the world as it was.
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Old 01-01-2009, 12:44 AM
 
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,816,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by macmeal View Post
Scenery? My personal picks would be, in order......

(1) The "California Zephyr" as the #1 route for scenery (Chicago- San Francisco). Crosses the Rocky Mountains AND the Sierra Nevada, BOTH in daylight.

(2) The "Coast Starlight"...(LA-Seattle)...runs along the beach in Southern Cal, up the "spine" and over the Cascade summit in Oregon..

(3) The "Cardinal"...(Chicago-Washington) ...the EASTBOUND run passes through the New River Gorge in West Virginia. (westbound passes much of this in darkness)..

(4) The "Adirondack"...(New York City-Montreal)..not a LONG run, (all daylight) but lots of scenery...the Hudson Valley, plus the high cliffs along Lake Champlain
What about the Denver to Salt Lake City track ?
Any comments on that one ?
Or is it part of one of the above ?
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Old 01-01-2009, 01:11 AM
 
Location: mass
2,905 posts, read 7,337,560 times
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I've never traveled Amtrak for a long distance trip, but my cousin just went w/her DH from Boston, I think, to Orlando to go to disney.

The liked it and said they'd do it again. There are actual plugs on the seats so you can plug a standard plug in and get electricity. I thought that was so wild. Anyway, they went regular class, not business or sleeper car. You could bring your own cooler, her DH brought a few beers (they didn't mention if this was not allowed or allowed, but either way they had no problems).

I am interested in the idea of taking a train ride but would like to hear from people with kids---was it a nightmare?
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Old 01-01-2009, 04:44 AM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,204,161 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mommytotwo View Post
I've never traveled Amtrak for a long distance trip, but my cousin just went w/her DH from Boston, I think, to Orlando to go to disney.

The liked it and said they'd do it again. There are actual plugs on the seats so you can plug a standard plug in and get electricity. I thought that was so wild. Anyway, they went regular class, not business or sleeper car. You could bring your own cooler, her DH brought a few beers (they didn't mention if this was not allowed or allowed, but either way they had no problems).

I am interested in the idea of taking a train ride but would like to hear from people with kids---was it a nightmare?
Some cars have plugs. I've lucked out once going one way in 3 trips. You are assigned a seat so it depends on which car you get.

I've seen kids on the train and I would say it depends on the age and the number. One or two can be occupied easier than more. Smaller kids looked like they were more cranky, but for any of them bring things to distract them. This is from observation but I also noticed last time that all the people with kids were put on the same car.

If you look on the Amtrak site, it has the policy on alchol listed. But my feeling is that unless someone is being a problem they train employees aren't being strict.
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Old 01-01-2009, 10:24 AM
 
Location: In the real world!
2,178 posts, read 9,562,693 times
Reputation: 2847
My daughter and I took the train from New Orleans to Atlanta in August and we had a ball going up and coming back. We knew to pack food and drinks, take books to read and our MP3 players. We like to froze going up and bought blankets to come back with, they kept it really cold on the train.

We met a lot of nice people on there, coming back we met a young guy from LA who claimed he was a actor/producer and was dropping big names right and left. We didn't believe a word of it but he was so much fun and so darn cute. He was taking the train back to LA for the "Tom Sawyer" experience on a train. I recently found a skit he did for the Jay Leno show so I guess he was what he said he was.

The trains we rode were on time at every stop, we didn't go to the dinning car but did go to the snack car a lot. I found the attendants in there were always on a break, no matter what time you went and they always said they has "X" more minutes on their break before they were due to go back so you either left or sat and waited... We checked one medium size suitcase and one roll on with us.

I would take that train again in a heartbeat, it was so much fun!!
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Old 01-01-2009, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Suburbia
8,821 posts, read 15,272,749 times
Reputation: 4527
Last summer we took Amtrak from Manassas, VA to Staunton, VA for a weekend trip. We thought it would be neat to take our 7 year old son, stay in a nice hotel in town, and walk everywhere. The round trip tickets were very cheap. Everything was great...except for the train ride. It was PAINFULLY slow. What would be about a 2hour drive took twice that by train. On the morning of our return trip, the train was about 8 hours delayed. We had to check out of the hotel, so we rented a car from the little local airport and drove home. Amtrak refunded our ticket $ for the return trip though.
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Old 01-01-2009, 03:31 PM
 
Location: Florida
29 posts, read 65,464 times
Reputation: 13
Well just thought I'd stop in to leave a comment about train travel. I've taken two fairly extensive routs through the states and have really enjoyed the experience. The first and most traveled rout was from Massachusetts To Oregon and every time that I have made that trip I have loved it. You have the opportunity to meet allot of interesting people from various walks of life and to see some incredible scenery. Of course the most enjoyable part was on the two level train with the glassed in sight seeing car. The second rout was from Florida to Oregon and this was also a great experience in which I will always be able to appreciate. I guess Im the sort that finds adventure and appreciation in both journey and the destination.
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Old 01-01-2009, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Europe
325 posts, read 786,484 times
Reputation: 172
Just to put in my two cents ...

I absolutely love Amtrak travel and recommend it to everybody I can. Obviously, as mentioned above, avoid if you are on a time-sensitive schedule, especially on cross-country trips. But the positives are many:
  • lot more roomy than bus/airplane (space between seats - from one row to the next - is so much compared to those other forms of transportation)
  • ability to walk around as much as you want
  • awesome scenery (personal favorites are along the water in southern California and between Tacoma and Olympia, Wash. - have not taken the Chicago-San Francisco train yet, though)
  • nice people (sightseeing cars great for meeting and visiting with new people)
  • cost is similar to bus/plane (if you buy in advance)
In regards to electrical outlets, the trains I went on had them just downstairs next to the restrooms and in the sightseeing cars. If you get a spot in a sleeping car (much more expensive, but does include meals and is a lot more comfortable/freeing), you usually get electrical outlets in there.
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