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Amsterdam & Albany, NY & Sandusky, Ohio - July 23rd-25th, 2000

Amsterdam & Albany, New York & Sandusky, Ohio
July 23rd-25th, 2000

July 24th, 2000 - Albany-Rensselaer, NY - Continued:
   As Train #49 slowed down and pulled into the station, I photographed some of its equipment. Seen here is Crew Dormitory (Former Heritage 10-6 Sleeper) #2515 "Pine Arroyo".
   Here is #49's Diner, a Heritage Diner #8507, I would come to find out that this car is completely refurbished inside. It is the first Heritage car I've ever seen that has sliding doors. The car's decor is beautiful and it now has a small bar when you walk in, should you want just a drink instead of a meal.
   This was the last coach on the #49, a Typical Amfleet II coach, today, #25056. The Boston Section will couple onto the back of this car later.
   At 7:21pm, this set of Turboliners arrived in Albany. Locomotive #159 is seen here just after letting passengers off. This is another New York-Albany train that terminates here.
   Now arriving in Albany is Train #449 with P42DC #45 leading F40 #308 at 7:25pm. This is the Boston Section of the Lake Shore Limited and would be the part of the train that I would board to go to Ohio. The train would disconnect its power and cafe car and the rest of the train would sit parked on the Main Track Platform, where it would later connect with the New York section. Train #49 would now leave the platform on Track #2 and prepare to connect with the Boston Section.
   This is a view from the first Boston Section coach, which is where I was seated on this trip. I stood against the door at the North End of the car to capture this view of the New York Section connecting with our train. The brakeman on the ground is directing the coupling move from the ground as shown.
   Another picture of the coupling move. After all the HEP cables and brake lines were connected, power was restored to the Boston Section of the train and the doors were opened for access to the rest of the train. Shown in the table below, is the consist for today's Lake Shore Limited, Train #49 to Chicago:

 

The Lake Shore Limited - July 24th, 2000
Car #:
Type:
Notes:
704
 P32AC-DM Locomotive that brought the New York Section to Albany
45
 P42DC Lead Locomotive for Chicago
308
 F40PH Trailing Locomotive for Chicago
1004
 Baggage New York Section's Baggage Car
2515
 Dorm/Lounge "Pine Arroyo" Crew Dorm (Old 10-6 Sleeper)
62023
 Viewliner "Mystic View"
62012
 Viewliner "Harbor View"
8507
 Heritage Diner Refurbished with sliding doors and complete new decor
28014
 Amfleet II Lounge Tables set up in 1/3, bar in the middle, and dining tables other end
25016
 Amfleet II Coach  
25071
 Amfleet II Coach  
25056
 Amfleet II Coach Last Car Of New York Section
25096
 Amfleet II Coach First Car Of Boston Section
25079
 Amfleet II Coach  
62009
 Viewliner "Evening View"
1195
 Baggage Boston Section's Baggage Car
1539
 MHC Material Handling Car
1558
 MHC Material Handling Car
?
 Road Railers From Boston
?
 Road Railers From Boston
?
 Road Railers From Boston

 
   At this point our train was now ready to leave Albany, as there were no road railers to be connected in Albany. Of course, we left about 40 minutes late as #449 arrived late from Boston which slowed things down a bit. The passenger sitting next to me was traveling from Boston to Rochester, coming home from visiting a friend. He didn't spend hardly any time in the coach seat as after we left Albany, the Lounge car was open for smoking and this passenger decided to spend his time there. He only returned to get a new CD for his Walkman a couple times. Soon, the call was made for passengers from Boston to head to the dining car first for dinner. Any coach passengers who wanted to eat in the dining car had to first make reservations. One of the crew members told me that everyone who wanted to eat will get a chance but they would have to wait. By the time I got into the dining car, it was just as we were arriving in Schenectady and I was told there was a 2 hour wait just to get a seat!!! At that point, I realized that this trip was gonna be the only chance I would have to sleep tonight so I opted to get my meal "to go" and bring it back to my coach seat. I ordered a 10 oz. New York Strip Steak that came with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, with a Chef's special Rice and a Dinner Salad and roll. It cost about $14.00 and tasted pretty good. The drawback of course was I had to eat it in my coach seat.
   I tried to get some sleep in the coach which ended up being more difficult than I thought. It was now after 11pm when we arrived in Syracuse, about an hour later, we arrived in Rochester. I tried sleeping and for some reason was able to wake up every time we made a station stop. As soon as the passenger in the window seat got off in Rochester, I took his seat, and tried again to sleep. Don't get me wrong, the seats on Amfleet II Coaches are quite comfortable, but I am 6' 2" and so it did become a bit difficult trying to sleep. We made our stop in Erie, Pa. I slept a bit during this portion of the trip and we then ended up in Cleveland early!!! We must have sat on the platform for about 15 minutes before departing, we then made our stop in Elyria, Oh, about a half hour west of Cleveland. By now, the sun was starting to come up and my stop in Sandusky was getting close. I was fully awake by now after probably getting 3 hours sleep in a 10 hour train ride, not bad for me!! I recognized the little towns we passed through as this was my 5th time riding this train to Sandusky, OH. I saw an overpass with a traffic sign I recognized that was my signal to get ready to get off since we were now about 5 miles from the station. I grabbed my 20 lbs of baggage, lugged it onto my shoulders and headed for the exit. I was one of 2 people getting off in Sandusky and 4 were getting on there. The train stopped, and we arrived in Sandusky on time at 6:10am. Overall, a good ride on Amtrak, the crew was very helpful and friendly. Amtrak has really stepped up its commitment to total customer satisfaction and it was easy to see that on this trip. It was too dark and the train wasn't gonna stay in Sandusky long enough for me to photograph it, so I decided to head into the station at that point.
Seen just before sunrise is the sign on the Amtrak Station in Sandusky, OH.
   The interior of the station is completely remodeled and now features a waiting room for passengers as well as benches, a water fountain and bathrooms. The station still remains unstaffed but now it has all these new things in it, a far cry from what was here in 1996, the first year I rode The Lake Shore, when this entire station was boarded up and laden with graffiti.
   Here's an outside view of the station, with local transit busses parked outside. The station is an old New York Central station. I came down here to go to Cedar Point, so shortly after taking this photo, I left the station to go explore Sandusky.
   At Cedar Point, they have a full working Narrow-gauge railroad in the park. The Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad features vintage narrow gauge locomotives and open air coaches. It transports passengers between 2 stations located at the center and north areas of the park. It's a nice little ride and kids love it, because they get to ride on a real train!!
   And to close things out for this year, this is what I call, "HIGH SPEED RAIL", this is the Millennium Force roller coaster at Cedar Point. This coaster features a 310 foot lift hill with a 300 ft drop at an 80 degree angle with a top speed of 92 mph!!! New this year, it is the most amazing ride at the park!!! Riding this ride is worth the price of admission alone!!!
   Another view of this amazing coaster. This year's trip was my biggest so far on Amtrak and I had a blast. I'd like to do this again next year some time depending on when I finish my college internship. I tell people all the time that a good way to get to Cedar Point, is to ride Amtrak, and just get a Taxi from the station to the park. They feature on-site hotels which are really nice also. In closing, I can definitely see that Amtrak is doing a great job with its operations and their service is the best it's ever been, way to go Amtrak!! Please feel free to send me some E-Mail if you have any questions or comments. Until next time, Happy Railfanning...