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| Saturday, October 8th, 2011: |
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| After having spent the afternoon here in sunny Jackson, MI, it was time to begin the trip back to Buffalo. The first leg of the trip back would have me ride Wolverine Service Train #352 which was running late. I hung out on the platform and chatted with a couple Amtrak employees and some railfans while waiting for my train. At 5:48pm, running 43 minutes late, Train #352 arrived at Jackson. The consist for today's train is shown below: |
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36 |
P42DC |
Power |
54570 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Coach |
54526 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Coach |
54556 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Coach |
54541 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Coach |
54569 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Coach |
58006 |
Horizon Fleet Coach |
Café/Business Class (My Car) |
22 |
P42DC |
Power |
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I boarded Horizon Fleet Café Car #58006 and took seat #7 which was a single seat in Business Class (the car on the way here was set up the same way though this one had leather seating). I had a Diet Pepsi before getting off the train in Ann Arbor (as per it was included as part of the Business Class ticket). On this relatively short ride, I took in the beautiful fall colors and chatted with a few other passengers in the car before arriving in Ann Arbor at 6:31pm running 46 minutes late. It was no big deal with the train being late since my bus to Toledo, OH wasn't scheduled to leave until 8:20pm anyway. Another Wolverine train, this time, #355 came by and I got a quick photo of it but it was now after sunset and was getting dark out rather quickly. I pulled out my GPS and tried to find some kind of fast food restaurant near the station only to attempt a walk to a Wendy's restaurant and give up about 1/3 of the way there as I was just simply too tired to walk the rest of the way. I decided to just walk back to the station and live off the vending machine for the time being.
Once I got back to the station, I began chatting with an older couple from New Hampshire who weren't exactly thrilled that due to CSX Trackwork (no big shocker there), the Boston Section of the Lake Shore Limited would be running by bus. I told these people they were "Bustituted"! This has happened to me in the past though on my trip, and on this day, it was no fault of Amtrak. While I was chatting with these nice folks, a couple came in the station, one of which was severely intoxicated and was acting rather loud and somewhat obnoxious! They were going to ride the same bus as us to Toledo and take the Capitol Limited to Maryland. My guess is that if this passenger continues to act belligerent and make trouble then she probably won't make it to Maryland before being removed from the train (I have witnessed this 3 different times over the years) but that's neither here nor there as I won't see what happens since I'm not riding that train tonight! The bus left Ann Arbor at 8:23pm just 3 minutes late and made stops at Dearborn and Detroit before getting to Toledo. The bus arrived in Toledo 1 minute late at 10:31pm however this was no big deal for me since Train #48 wouldn't be arriving in Toledo until 2:50am.
I was now seriously hungry as I had been living off vending machine food all day! I asked a ticket agent if there were any fast food restaurants in the area near the station and she gave me a menu for a restaurant called the "Cottage Inn" that delivers to the station. I called them and ordered some bread sticks and some boneless chicken chunks. They delivered the food to the station so I ate quickly, then tried to take a "nap" since I had nothing else to do before the train arrived! Trying to get any sleep at all in that station is no easy task but I did the best I could! I headed outside around 2:35am and at 2:50am, on time, Train #48 arrived in Toledo. With the exception of the lead unit and no private cars on the rear, this was the exact same train set that was used yesterday morning on Train #49. The consist for this morning's train is shown below: |
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160 |
P42DC |
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Power |
837 |
P40DC |
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Power |
1762 |
Heritage Baggage |
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Baggage Car (To Boston) |
62040 |
Viewliner Sleeper |
Summer View |
4820 - Sleeping Car (To Boston) |
25032 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To Boston) |
25069 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To Boston) (My Car) |
28022 |
Amfleet II Diner-Lite Car |
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Cafe/Lounge Car (To Boston) |
25000 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To New York) |
25063 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To New York) |
25123 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To New York) |
25076 |
Amfleet II Coach |
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Coach (To New York) |
8510 |
Heritage Diner |
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Dining Car (To New York) |
62038 |
Viewliner Sleeper |
Spring View |
4811 - Sleeping Car (To New York) |
62005 |
Viewliner Sleeper |
Cape View
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4812 - Sleeping Car (To New York) |
1231 |
Heritage Baggage |
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Baggage Car (To New York) |
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I boarded Amfleet II Coach #25069 in the Boston Section of the train and took Aisle Seat #32. The passenger next to me was sleeping but would be getting off in Buffalo along with most of the people in this coach. I decided that by now, I was beyond delirious and was gonna try my best to sleep all the way to Buffalo. We departed Toledo on time at 3:20am and before I tried to get some much needed shut-eye, I walked to the dining car to get some interior photos of it and that would be it. I came back to my seat, put away the camera, and dozed off. I have no recollection of our stops at Sandusky or Elyria, OH. I remember being stopped in Cleveland but quickly went back to sleep for the most part. By Erie, PA, the sun was coming up and was shining through the windows on the other side of the coach so I now could no longer sleep.
I got up and walked to the dining car just as we left our station stop at Erie, PA but the car was packed to the gills, so I got a sausage, egg, and cheese on an English muffin breakfast sandwich with a Diet Pepsi from the café car and watched as the train went under the Bort Road overpass in North East, PA, which was the place I photographed this train a few times in the past! I then walked back to my coach seat and the passenger next to me was now awake. The passenger across from us was with her and would also be getting off in Buffalo. They planned to drive up to Toronto for the day and would be heading back west on #49 tonight. Being from Western New York, I helped them out with travel advice on visiting Niagara Falls! We had a few freights we had to get around once we got into the Buffalo area and at 9:22am, running 24 minutes late, we arrived at Buffalo-Depew Station where this trip would end for me. I walked up to the head end to get a quick photo then walked back to the parking lot to find my car and would head for home. And so ends a 33 hour "endurance test" of a trip (at least for me anyway!) where I witnessed true greatness on the part of Amtrak!
In conclusion, Amtrak did a truly great thing in putting together this amazing train to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. This train taught you basically anything you would want to know about the history of our nation's passenger railroad. Congratulations to Amtrak on a job well done with this train! I think you may have picked up a few new passengers across the country with this! Special thanks also goes to Amtrak for photography assistance with the Exhibit Train. The 4 trains I rode and 2 buses also ran as good as to be expected and any delays I incurred had literally no impact on the outcome of the trip. I've included here on this page, a few photos taken on the way back from Jackson for you to enjoy. Until next time when I'll be making my annual Christmas Shopping trip, Happy Birthday Amtrak, and Happy Railfanning!!! |
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Amtrak Wolverine Service Train #352 arriving at Jackson, MI with P42DC #36 on the head end. This train
would take me
back to Ann Arbor, MI where I would catch the bus back to Toledo, OH.
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| Passing one of many farms along the line! |
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| More farmland in rural central Michigan. |
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| Train #352 after having arrived at Ann Arbor. P42DC #22 seen here, was on the rear end of the train. |
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Wolverine Service Train #355 having arrived well after sunset with P42DC #35 on the lead. This was the same train set as
Train #350 that I photographed earlier in the day at Jackson next to the Exhibit Train.
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| The dining area of Heritage Diner #8510, a former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy diner. |
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This area of the car was originally part of the kitchen but when it was rebuilt with the Temoinsa package which gave it this green
and pink interior, it became a more open area of the car and briefly had small stool-style seats like in a small neighborhood diner
restaurant though that concept didn't last long as the stools are gone and this space is now a work area for the dining car crew.
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| Finally, Train #48 at Buffalo-Depew Station with P42DC #160 which brought me home. Thanks for viewing the travelogue! |
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