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It’s always irritating seeing people claim this or that is for the poors. There are people around the Chicago metro area that choose to drive into the city because, to them, even Metra is for poor people.
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Sep 12, 2023 23:15
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| # ? May 9, 2024 14:31 |
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Full Collapse posted:It’s always irritating seeing people claim this or that is for the poors. There are people around the Chicago metro area that choose to drive into the city because, to them, even Metra is for poor people.
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Sep 13, 2023 14:33
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NoWake posted:
That's Florida
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Sep 13, 2023 18:19
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toot: https://www.tumblr.com/usnatarchives/728276578000420864
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Sep 13, 2023 19:25
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Some cool impressions of the complete rebuild of the Bern train station between 1957 and 1974 (timestamped to some montages with music. Watch the whole thing if you're interested and speak German). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abw1Ah8sYxw&t=2537s
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Sep 14, 2023 19:54
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Full Collapse posted:It’s always irritating seeing people claim this or that is for the poors. There are people around the Chicago metro area that choose to drive into the city because, to them, even Metra is for poor people. metra is the only train service that runs farther south than 95th street so they're kinda right (not that there's anything wrong with poor people using transit) Also i loving hate metra for other reasons (almost no connectivity to the L, rarely stops in the city so you have to commute to somewhere else first)
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Sep 23, 2023 00:55
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Work sent me on a field trip to the maintenance facility at Ivy City (DC). My main takeaways are: The Acelas are absolutely beat to hell. Its one thing to see them when you're boarding one, but another when you actually have time to look at them. They look like the train equivalent of a 25 year old that looks 50 because meth is a hell of a drug. If you go out to Dulles to the big Air and Space Museum and see the Space Shuttle, they didn't restore it or clean it. They wanted it to be beat up as a demonstration of their service life. The Acelas are in worse shape than that battlescarred and scorched spacecraft. The cabs are incredibly tiny. You can't really fit three people into them. Visibility is horrible. It felt like you were looking down a cardboard tube with one eye. I liked the cab signal unit that they have that just says what the aspect is instead of replicating the lineside signal aspect. Back in the coaches, I was reminded that the funny empty cubby that looks like a luggage storage area was, in fact, a phone booth 25 years ago. That sounds hilarious now. The ACS-64 we went in was so, so clean. It was randomly selected, so it isn't like it was staged. The interior was squeaky clean, even back in the accessway between the two cabs. The cabs are also enormous. We had six people in one. The desktop controls are showing a lot of premature wear, which seems to be a poor design choice. They have a layer of clear plastic laminated over it and that layer is blistering badly. Excellent visibility. It felt rather comfortable, as a workspace. We weren't able to go inside one of the ALC-42s. There was only one spotted anywhere we could easily get to, but someone was doing minor work in the cab. I would have liked to, because I'm curious what the cabs are like. The specific unit was so new that there's no picture of it on Railpictures yet. Likewise, despite there being a number of P42s sitting around, we didn't visit them. There were a number of Amfleets in various stages of work. Despite their age, they're still plenty serviceable after their interior refresh. Are they in as good shape as some of the equipment in Europe? No, but I've also seen equipment in Europe in worse shape (Italy). They're B-52s. They're not perfect, but they're getting the job done despite (or in spite of) their age.
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Sep 23, 2023 02:56
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNRGZdNNLY I suppose it's more of an 'overly vigorous shunting manoeuvre' rather than a 'train crash', but still. If you're in charge of one of the most famous steam locomotives in the world, you don't want it to make that noise!
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Oct 1, 2023 10:51
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so I could say that I finally figured out what this god damned cube is doing. Get well Lowtax.
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THUNK
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Oct 1, 2023 11:17
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oh boy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BMQTdYXaH8
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Oct 18, 2023 16:45
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I was already starting to like Scooter, but then he voiced his thoughts on Polar Express and Thomas event trains... now I love him.
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Oct 21, 2023 07:03
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Was suggested a YouTube video recently of someone taking Amtrak from San Francisco to Chicago (and then New York). Looked fun if rather expensive. But it was just one person in a roomette and it seemed like it would be pretty tight with two, and moving up to a bedroom is like another grand. Also the Chicago to New York sleeper seemed kind of bad. https://youtu.be/6_An9eAn014?si=8MBMh_kPPwb49nxD
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Oct 21, 2023 14:11
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The west coast roomettes are great. Two people is tight, but doable. I don’t know if the east coast sleepers are worth it. I got one like 10 years ago on the cardinal and it wasn’t great.
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Oct 21, 2023 14:43
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I haven’t even found the time to watch it yet, but couldn’t not post it in this thread https://youtu.be/Hszu80NJ438
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Oct 21, 2023 14:51
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That doesn’t seem too crazy expensive. You’re paying a bit of a premium for the experience, of course.
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Oct 21, 2023 15:31
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:That doesn’t seem too crazy expensive. You’re paying a bit of a premium for the experience, of course. How much was it? I have no desire to watch the vid but I am curious
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Oct 21, 2023 16:20
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$1900 us, not including tips.
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Oct 21, 2023 17:11
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Oct 22, 2023 23:00
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A mudslide closed tracks on the Metro North line in Westchester, NY. 
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Oct 22, 2023 23:19
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Wow: Service will be restored between Croton-Harmon and Tarrytown starting 5AM Monday morning using two of our four tracks. Our personnel have been working around-the-clock since Saturday morning to clear debris and stabilize the hillside after a mudslide obstructed our tracks near Scarborough.
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Oct 22, 2023 23:34
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Minor crash, and then he tried hard to get crushed between the car door and electronics box.
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Oct 23, 2023 02:48
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happy halloweeeeeeeen
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Nov 1, 2023 04:20
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:happy halloweeeeeeeen That's a rough chuckle for a halloween decoration  .
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Nov 1, 2023 07:12
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spincube posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNRGZdNNLY Who the gently caress did a copyright takedown claim on a loving train video?
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Nov 2, 2023 16:26
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Maybe it was MKT Railroad, the promoters of The Crash at Crush. Still holding rights on all train crash porn since 1896.
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Nov 2, 2023 16:36
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:Who the gently caress did a copyright takedown claim on a loving train video? The notice says "fiona thomson", that's who.
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Nov 2, 2023 17:32
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LimaBiker posted:The notice says "fiona thomson", that's who. Fiona Thomson, Category Manager at Network Rail?
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Nov 4, 2023 02:09
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No clue. Just fiona thomson, without capitalisation.
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Nov 4, 2023 10:36
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I've been thinking about going into the railroad industry. I'm a CDL Class A truck driver with over 10 years experience. Would that get me into an Engineer job, or would I have to work my way up?
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Nov 4, 2023 15:26
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CannonFodder posted:I've been thinking about going into the railroad industry. I'm a CDL Class A truck driver with over 10 years experience. Would that get me into an Engineer job, or would I have to work my way up? With Class 1's, all engineers start out as conductors. Consider it your ride-along job experience learning how the railroad works. You'll be responsible for the train's movement just as much as the engineer is, just won't have your hands on the controls. Conductors are the entry-level employees, do a ton of work, and the first few years of low seniority will be a bear to work through schedule-wise. It's a good gig if you can get it, though.
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Nov 4, 2023 15:42
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NoWake posted:With Class 1's, all engineers start out as conductors. Consider it your ride-along job experience learning how the railroad works. You'll be responsible for the train's movement just as much as the engineer is, just won't have your hands on the controls.
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Nov 4, 2023 16:42
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Work sent me and some coworkers to a conference in Prague a couple months ago (I'm in Stockholm). Travel would be booked for us, but we were given the opportunity to choose between flying and taking the train. Naturally I chose the train. Now, normally this should be a really chill trip, you take a comfy sleeper to either Hamburg or Berlin and then an intercity service to Prague. Total travel time 18-20 hours or so, almost half of that you'll be asleep and the rest of the time you can work or watch the countryside roll by. However, the travel agency was not European and had apparently never heard of a train before, and due to some track work messing with the regular connections they got me an insane itinerary with no less than 7 train changes: Stockholm (departing around 8:30 AM) - Malmö - Copenhagen - Hamburg - Berlin (arriving around midnight) - Cottbus - Dresden - Prague (arriving around 10 AM the following day). The return trip was sane though, just Prague - Hamburg - Malmö (overnight from Hamburg) - Stockholm. I should have just rejected this outright and booked my own tickets, but instead I took it as a challenge. I was starting to question the wisdom of this when I came to Berlin at midnight and got to the platform where I was supposed to catch a train to Cottbus (a city I never heard of before this trip), but the signage said the train was bound for Vetschau (another place I've never heard of). Even though the conductor "spricht nur Deutsch" I understood what was up though and ended up waiting for a replacement bus (sorry, ersatzverkehr) in a small town in rural Brandenburg at 3 AM. The bus did arrive, I did get to Cottbus, then to Dresden and eventually to Prague, and I wasn't even meaningfully late, but that adventure I'm not too keen on repeating. At least I arrived on a Sunday morning and got to spend most of the day napping. I guess the moral of the story is, don't let American travel agencies book European train tickets for you. It's so good though that the overnight trains to Germany are back again. They were gone for a while but they're my favorite way to get to continental Europe. There's a service Stockholm - Hamburg that takes only 12 hours or so and arrives at 6 AM; it's a really efficient way of traveling, both for tourists and for business travelers. I do mourn the exotic weirdness of the train ferries Trelleborg - Sassnitz and Trelleborg - Rostock though. The pandemic was the final death knell for those, and now all the trains to Germany go through Denmark instead which increases the travel time Stockholm - Berlin by at least an hour if not more. Up until 2020 they'd roll your entire sleeper train onto the ferry for the trip across the Baltic. TheFluff fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Nov 6, 2023 |
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Nov 6, 2023 13:13
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The night train to the continent loving owns and I'm so glad it's back. You can actually chill while en route, and carbon footprint is a fraction of flying, and you can do some meaningful work if you need.
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Nov 6, 2023 14:26
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Here's a cool documentary about a local railway company, one of the few meter-gauge railways still regularly transporting freight is Switzerland. To do so they use Rollbocks and a change-of-gauge installation in Morges. It's pretty cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrqYJSlDfY (in French, but subtitles are available) For a metric-gauge local railway, it's fairly busy for freight with 3 daily trains of gravel and sand from a quarry, 3 return trains of excavation material. Less frequent trains include wood, sugarbeets, and armored vehicles (the Swiss Army's artillery school is situated in Bière, at the end of the line). 
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Nov 14, 2023 20:35
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Is this the thread to ask about amtrak routes? I'm thinking about taking my dad on a round trip from Chicago to DC next year. I was hoping to take the cardinal one way and the cap limited another, but not sure which direction for which route has the better views if anyone knows.
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Nov 17, 2023 23:58
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Kingtheninja posted:Is this the thread to ask about amtrak routes? I'm thinking about taking my dad on a round trip from Chicago to DC next year. I was hoping to take the cardinal one way and the cap limited another, but not sure which direction for which route has the better views if anyone knows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvJlXgwizHM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gu3p0kR9qQ Full Collapse fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Nov 18, 2023 |
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Nov 18, 2023 00:02
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Beautiful, thanks!
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Nov 18, 2023 02:04
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It also depends on time of the year. Like on the Cap, if you're going westbound out of DC in the colder months, it is practically dark before you get to Gaithersburg let alone anywhere nice to look at. In the summer though, it'll be daylight until you're well past Cumberland. But the best scenery is after Cumberland anyhow.
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Nov 18, 2023 15:29
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I don't have any set date but I was thinking March, maybe the latter half.
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Nov 19, 2023 00:09
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I'm partial to the Capitol Limited in general as a Pittsburgher that lives in DC and have ridden it many, many times. I have never taken the Cardinal before. Looking at the timetables and knowing when the sun rises and sets in the region, I'd take the Capitol Limited eastbound and the Cardinal westbound. You'll get to the Allegheny Mountains around sunrise and cross the Eastern Continental Divide and descend the Potomac River in daylight. For the Cardinal, you'll be in the Shenandoahs by late afternoon and crossing West Virginia before sunset.
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Nov 19, 2023 06:32
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