I was woken
up by the conductor announcing that it was 40 minutes to
Train 23
had made up a lot of time and arrived into
I went
downstairs through a passage which reminded me of
I got up at
After breakfast I went to my room and finished packing. I then went to check out. I knew I had to walk a few blocks to catch a bus. I ended up going the wrong direction. However, I was able to find a bus stop and I caught a bus downtown. It was a Nova LFS. When I got off, I photographed it.
I had to
transfer to another bus here to get to the Amtrak station. While waiting, I
photographed a Gillig hybrid similar that took the charter group to the
I also saw
a light rail station on
I had a little difficulty finding the stop for the route 11 bus. However, I found it in time to catch a bus to the Amtrak station.
The
I then caught a route 11 bus back to the intersection of Trade and Tyron. I then walked to the Lynx station. I just missed a train. I bought a day pass from a fare vending machine. While I waited, I photographed a train going the other way.
They were only running 1 car trains on the day I visited. The car I photographed went to the next stop which was the end of the line. It then returned and I got on. Interestingly enough, the car was #110!
I rode to
the Bland station. Yes, there’s a light rail station in
The reason I got off at Bland was so I could visit Charlotte Trolley. They have an operation that uses a section of the Lynx line. However, I couldn’t find where Charlotte Trolley was, so I caught the next train one stop west because that’s where Charlotte Trolley’s line branches off the Lynx line. When I got off, I saw that Charlotte Trolley wasn’t operating this day. I did see one of their cars in a building which had been set up as a farmers market. I photographed the car.
After wandering around for a few minutes, I caught a Lynx train back to Bland. It wasn’t until I filmed a train going in the opposite direction that I noticed a building with “Charlotte Trolley” on it. I crossed the line and headed over. There were no tracks leading into it, but I noticed a streetcar body inside through a window which I photographed.
I then caught a Lynx train back to the CTC/Arena station which is where I first got on. I rode on car #110 again. When I got off, I photographed it.
By now it was raining. I filmed a Lynx train passing by and then went to have lunch at the mall. Before I had lunch, I photographed a car from NASCAR which was on display.
I looked around the mall for somewhere to eat until I found a burger place called Five Guys. This would be okay. I noticed there were magazine covers that had articles that gave Five Guys a good review. I photographed one because it had a funny picture on the cover of the cast from the Wizard of Oz going through a metal detector at an airport.
I think the Tin Man is going to have a little trouble going through security! I hope he put his axe with his checked baggage!
After lunch, I walked back to the Lynx station. While waiting for a train, I photographed the bus terminal and some other buses.
I caught a train to the
I then walked two blocks to where Charlotte Trolley goes when it’s operating. I took a photo of the station then one of where the ROW would continue if Lynx ever extended eastward.
I then
walked two blocks to
I was wondering was equipment would be on my train because about a week earlier, the Piedmont struck a truck at a railroad crossing causing the locomotive to derail and catch fire. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in that accident. I watched some freight trains pass the station and a crew doing some track work.
At one
point, I walked a few blocks to a convenience store and bought some snacks. I
caught a bus back to the Amtrak station. I saw headlight on the
I went back
inside the station to await boarding of the train. At the time, there was just
one daily round trip on Amtrak’s Piedmont service, plus the Carolinian to
The
Boarding
commenced shortly after
I was seated in heritage coach #400002 which is named Dogwood. This was the last car on the train and the coach was nicely refurbished.
The train
left on time. We stopped at
I decided
to get something to eat. I walked to the snack car two cars ahead. I was
expecting a lounge car like on other Amtrak trains. Instead, the only food was from
vending machines. I resigned myself to get snacks on the train and have dinner
in
The train
stopped at
As we were
approaching
The train
stopped at
The train
stopped in
Soon, we
were approaching
I then got my suitcase and took a photo of the engine.
I then filmed the train pulling out past a railway crossing at the north end of the station. The train stopped past the crossing after passing a switch. The train reversed towards the crossing. I started filming the train after the gates had come down when all of a sudden a taxi owned by Green Cab illegally swerved around the gates and I got the whole scene on video! However, it wasn’t hit and I went back to filming the train as it passed.
I then walked out to catch a bus to where I was staying. After waiting several minutes, a bus finally came. After going the way I was expecting, it turned right and went into a bus terminal. I tried to find a connecting bus, but eventually gave up and took a taxi to my hotel which was a Days Inn. I made sure not to use a taxi from Green Cab as a result of what I saw at the Amtrak station!
I checked in and went to my room. When I got there, I discovered the light bulbs in two of the four lamps were either burnt out or missing! I phoned the front desk. The clerk was very apologetic and said she didn’t have access to the cabinet where they keep the replacement bulbs. She offered to give me another room, but all the other rooms were smoking rooms! I opted to stay in my room.
I was now
hungry so I went out searching for anywhere to have dinner. I eventually found
a place that served hot dogs, so I bought dinner to go and walked back to my
hotel. Along the way, I saw a
I got back
to my hotel and asked for a wake-up call at
I got up and 7:00 am and got dressed. I had breakfast in the lobby of my hotel. I then went back to my room and finished packing. I then checked out and walked out looking for a bus stop. I was unsure where to go. I ended up taking a cab to the Amtrak station. Once again, this cab was not from Green Cab.
In
hindsight, I should have done a bit more research about
Meanwhile, I got to the Amtrak station in plenty of time. I called Julie to find out when train 92, the northbound Silver Star was due. I found out it was on time. While waiting, I photographed an Orion 5.
The Silver Star arrived a few minutes early. As it pulled in, I filmed it.
I was seated in Amfleet 2 coach #25119, a refurbished coach. One thing to note is that 25119 was in the consist of the Three Rivers when I rode it in 2005! Back then, 25119 was still unrefurbished. I noticed a large number of empty seats. I was assigned a window seat on the left hand side of the train. Throughout the trip, I would not get a seatmate.
The train departed on time. Shortly after we left, I went to the lounge car. I bought some snacks and headed back to my seat. At one point, I filmed a caboose that was on display near the main line.
The train
stopped at
The train departed. I noticed we were running on time and at some places, early.
While I was seated in my coach, the crew was taking lunch
reservations. I chose the first seating at
When
Soon, we
were approaching
I then went and photographed the locomotives.
I got back on the train and waited for the train to depart. The train departed a few minutes late. However, I figured the train could make up the time.
At one point, I filmed two Buckingham Branch GP40s at a junction. Train 79 passed, but I was again unable to film it.
The train
passed through
Later, the
train passed through
Soon, the
train stopped in
We passed near the Smithsonian and then passed the southbound Silver Star, but I was unable to film it. We entered the tunnel and soon arrived into Washington Union station. This was another smoke stop while the two P42s were swapped for an electric locomotive. As we entered the station, I filmed the Capitol Limited on the adjacent track. It reversed to the Amtrak yard for servicing as I got off, I filmed the train backing out and took some photos of the Silver Star, an Acela parked nearby, and two P42s awaiting the southbound Crescent.
I filmed a Virginia Railway Express commuter train arriving into the station. Moments later, I saw AEM-7ac #944 approaching my train. I photographed it and then filmed it coupling up. I also noticed another passenger taking pictures.
I then went
back to my coach. Soon, power was restored. I noticed someone had boarded my
coach. He was on his cell phone. From what I heard, I think he was a railroad
employee deadheading to
The train
soon departed. I filmed some MARC commuter trains in the station as well as the
VRE/Amtrak yard north of the station. The train picked up speed and raced past
some regionals and Acela expresses. We raced through
Once I was
clear of the tunnel, I phoned my friend Dan who I had met on my 2007
A few
minutes after I hung up, Amtrak’s Crescent passed, but I was unable to film it.
The train stopped in
I filmed a
SEPTA commuter train passing and got a blur of the southbound Silver Meteor.
The train stopped in
After we
left, I filmed Amtrak equipment stored north of the station and a Sperry Rail
car. At one point we passed under SEPTA’s blue {subway} line. A little while
later, I was finally able to film the lot with the ex SEPTA PCCs that I noticed
when I rode the Acela on my
The train
stopped at
Train 92
arrived into
I filmed
the train as it departed for
Dan’s car was parked nearby. I put my bags in it and we headed out for my hotel. Along the way, we passed underneath a long abandoned railway overpass. We saw a train of New Jersey Transit Arrow commuter cars. Dan said that the Northeast Corridor runs on two different voltages and while the arrow cars can run on either voltage, they can’t switch modes on the fly, so they are also confined to lines that run on either one voltage or the other.
We also saw some PATH trains. Dan and I talked about how their restrictive photo policy and told me his strategy for getting photos by waiting until no one’s looking.
I was
staying at the Howard Johnson near the airport. We headed towards
However, I had the address and phone number of the hotel. We pulled over and Dan phoned the hotel and got directions. We soon arrived and I checked in to my room.
I showed
Dan the photos I had taken on the
When I
first told Dan of my plan to go to
Dan had to
leave. I decided to go with him as far as the lobby. There, I saw goodbye and
then went to have dinner in the restaurant in my hotel. After dinner, I went
back to my room and watched some TV. I asked for a wake-up call at
I got up at
Whatever was wrong with the elevator was fixed and I had no trouble taking it downstairs. I checked out and asked for a shuttle to the airport.
The shuttle
came just before
A train arrived and I rode to
Terminal A. I was flying Air
I didn’t have any problems what so ever going through security though I did have to take off my shoes.
One of the
planes that were hijacked on
After I
cleared security, I got my stuff together and photographed a SLF that is used
to ferry passengers between the terminal and a Jet Blue Embraer 190.
I tried to photograph a United
Airlines jet, but a security person said I couldn’t take pictures. This is the
only time I’ve had trouble photographing planes at an airport.
I bought some snacks and waited for
my plane to arrive. While I was waiting, I saw a United Airlines Airbus A319 in
the older livery depart. I used Dan’s method of taking pictures and took a
couple when I felt it was safe.
I saw the United Airlines jet that I
was unable to photograph earlier being towed out to a spot where it was more
visible. I was able to photograph it.
My flight was supposed to leave at
Boarding soon commenced. I had a
window seat. I was given a card to fill out for customs which I did while the
plane was still at the gate. The plane left 44 minutes late. I took some
pictures from the plane and then filmed the takeoff.
I entertained myself with the on
board entertainment system. However, I had a little trouble getting the audio
to work. The flight attendants had to reboot the system, but I was able to
watch with audio.
I watched a couple programs and
started on a program about the history of projectiles when I looked out the
plane window and saw the CN tower and the Rogers Centre. I knew we were almost
to
A couple minutes later, the
entertainment system was shut off in preparation for landing. I filmed the
landing. As we taxied to the gate, we were told they had to change the gate
because of our late arrival. I photographed a United Express jet at the
terminal while waiting.
We arrived just over 20 minutes
late. I got off the plane and took a so-so shot of the plane.
I then went to clear customs. The
inspection went okay and the agent wasn’t anal. I then went to get my suitcase.
Mine was the 7th-10th suitcase to emerge. I then handed
my customs card to an agent and headed out to catch a bus. While waiting, I
phoned home and let my dad know I was at the airport.
When I got to the bus stop, I saw I
had missed a route 40 GO bus to the Richmond Hill Centre. If my plane was on
time, I would have made that bus! The route 40 runs hourly so I had a long wait
for the next bus.
I decided to take another GO route
to the York Mills subway station which was coming sooner. When the bus arrived,
I got on and rode to York Mills. When I got off, I had lunch in a McDonald’s in
a food court. After lunch, I took a subway to Finch and a VIVA bus home. I got
home just before
Conclusions:
Despite the rough start, this trip
was excellent! VIA train 95 was surprisingly the latest train I rode. The BBC
charter was great and I got some excellent shots. Even though 110 was not one
of the coaches the TTC leased between 1989 and 1993, it was nice to ride a BBC
again; especially since I can’t ride them in
As for BBC #110 after the charter;
the last I heard it was still at RTA’s main garage.
My trip to
This trip is the last trip I’ll take
while working at Wal-Mart as I’m planning on leaving in early July. After that,
I plan to head to
Click to go home.