If you have leisure time, have you ever takin the train to go from place to place and visit parks? Somehow I think this would be a good way for my daughter and myself to spend quality time together seeing the sites of this great country and hitting some parks.
Have any of you used this transportation option, and if you have, is it worth a try?
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2 superheroes in Gurnee next season? Oh the humanity. :)
*** This post was edited by Chitown 1/30/2003 11:56:01 PM ***
The train is a great way to travel, you actually get to see the world and meet people that you normally wouldn't ona train. Teher is somehting about eating a full service dinner sitting down while the world flies by you at 79 MPH.
Kneemeister is the one to talk to about this as he is the real rail traveler. Check out www.kneebush.com for some of his Train Trip Reports including a Trip to SoCal last spring.
I can't say enough good things about train travel but even taking more time I would rather take the train then the plane anyday.
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
*** This post was edited by MagnumForce 1/31/2003 12:03:55 AM ***
BTW, 'correct' spelling is Amtrak.
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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
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Monster Ride Op
Cedar Point
Going to NYC at the end of february for 27 bucks. Amazing deals if you know where to look and when you are going to travel.
Add in a sleeper berth and you save far and away more money then you would driving and getting motels.
Even without a sleeper berth its not a hard trip. The seats are huge and recline like a lazyboy. Quite refrhing when compared to the cramped spaces in a plane.
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
I might try the Chicago to St. Louis train ride. Enjoy the country and take in an SF park I havent been to in over 10 years. :)
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2 superheroes in Gurnee next season? Oh the humanity. :)
The hassle of train travel is almost non existant. You can sit back, relax, walk around whatever. With a train the trip is as exciting as anything.
Remember getting there is half the fun what a great way to show your daughter the country.
Definitely check out the Rail Sale on www.amtrak.com some of the deals are unbelievable.
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
I'm from Montreal and we have decent rail service in Canada. Not up to European standards, but decent. Amtrak on the other hand was less than decent. Well priced but extremely slow. The schedule worked for me but if I had to get somewhere fast, it would not be my choice. I guess you just have to like riding the rails.
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
Chuck, who thinks rail travel in the country is a JOKE. beings germany, France, England, Japan all have pretty big passenger infastructure.
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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com
But alas I don't belive it will ever happen.
Amtrak is not a joke but it definitely is not great.
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
Always remember... do not be rude to the staff and they will not be rude to you (long story).
*** This post was edited by GoliathKills 1/31/2003 2:00:19 AM ***
Amtrak can be a top notch operation if they are allowed.
% hours sounds about right for a long diustance train, for one of the Corridor trains (Chicago to Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis) run very very close to their scheduled time. Amtrak even owns the track between Porter, Indiana and Kalamazoo and runs the trains at 110 MPH.
-Brent who woudl take a EMD F40PH over a GE P42 Kneebush anyday
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Da Poodle
Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
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CBCon Quote "We didn't even get wet"......30 seconds later you hear plop, then splash!!!!
.Chuck who knows of a existing line that is in near unusable condition that ran from Cincy/Indy/Chicago in 4hrs flat back in the 30's and 40's It's a 8hr drive.
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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com
Except for that run, Amtrak is best used for "leisure time" trips. Don't be in a hurry or on a tight schedule. Taking the train with your daughter sounds like a great idea. It won't be as fast as flying, but is probably a bit cheaper, and much more pleasant than driving.
On the plus side, Chicago is an Amtrak hub, so it's easy to get to many other places. Ann Arbor has an Amtrak station, but only on a line from Chicago to Detroit. There has been talk of a commuter line connecting Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Detroit, but in the Motor State, I figure that will happen shortly after pigs fly.
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http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~bnoble/
MagnumForce said:
All those countries rail systems have one thing in common. Full Subsidation by the federal govt.Something Amtrak does not get. With our airports and highways flooded with traffic it only makes sense to really push passenger rail.
I wish we had a more European system, but I don't think it will happen. Amtrak is fully subsidized by the US government. Remember, we're talking about a company that's never turned a profit since its inception in 1972. It lives from paycheck to paycheck from Uncle Sam. If you mean subsidation in terms of infrastrcture, though, then you're right on the money. The gov't gave trucking companies a HUGE subsidy (trillions of dollars) by building the interstate highway system. To a lesser extent, they help construct airports for airlines.
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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
No. I was comparing it to VIA. Montreal's commuter trains are poor at best. It seems they are actually set up to deter you from riding.
Both VIA and Amtrak are indeed in the same boat in countries where cars are king, but in my opinion having rode both, VIA has done more with what little they get. All new equipment (that works) in the main corridors and decent marketing.
Personally, I've never understood why one would take the plane from Montreal to Toronto, a one hour flight but you have to get out and back to the suburban airports, get their an hour early for your flight, sit and stay seated in a cramped seat, when you can take a 4 hour train ride from downtown to downtown and you can buy a ticket 10 minutes before it leaves. I guess I just love trains.
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