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Finishing the Amtrak System again! 7/26/2018

I woke up today in the Hotel Riviera knowing that I would be again be finishing the Amtrak system tonight when I step off the train in Roanoke. I was up by 6:30 AM and put the corrections in my story from Elizabeth and then uploaded it to the website. Everything works out if you let it seems to be the motto of this trip so far. All the icons on my laptop disappeared yesterday to be replaced by a cloud on the task bar. I managed to get through all that plus the trip to here proves that motto. We will taxi back to Newark Penn station and then take New Jersey Transit into New York City. We bought our New Jersey Transit tickets then found out that our train would come in on Track 2. We did a little railroad photography while we waited for our train in Newark this morning.

First a New Jersey Transit train on track 4 for Bayhead came and departed the station.

Amtrak ACS-64 645 pulled Northeast Regional 185 train into the Newark station on Track 3.

The train waited a few minutes for its departure time.

Acela Express 2164 arrived.

Northeast Regional 185 departed.

Acela Express 2164 doing its station work.

Acela Express 2164 was now leaving.

Northeast Regional 130 arrived and departed.

The last train we saw was Keystone Service 600. It was then our time for our New Jersey Transit 3722 to arrive.

The train arrived and Robin and I boarding the rear cab car which was the quiet car from Trenton. The train trip to Secaucus was slow as we were following trains but sped up after that.

The train ran first by the PATH maintenance facility.

PATH trains at their shops.

New Jersey Transit ALP-46 4609.

New Jersey Transit GP40-2 4302.

The New York skyline.

Another view.

The New York skyline just after Secaucus. The train took us through the Hudson River Tunnel and into Penn Station New York. We detrained and went to the Amtrak waiting area of the station. I left Robin with the bags while I went to K-mart and bought a new piece of luggage. I switched everything out while Robin went to the Theater District and made his way to Times Square before he returned. We went into the hall and waited for the track announcement which was twelve. As we descended on the escalator, I lost Robin and boarded car six.

The train left about fifteen minutes late and headed west into the Hudson River Tunnel on it way to Secaucus then Newark. I found Robin and joined me later on. My side of this car had no power so I moved after Philadelphia up and over one to the side of the train that works. We stopped at Newark Airport then headed to Trenton, after which there was something of note.

Trenton Makes The World Takes sign on the Lower Free Bridge across the Delaware River. The sign was installed in 1935 and first replaced in 1981. In 2005, the sign was replaced with one featuring higher-efficiency neon lighting, with better waterproofing than the old sign, to help reduce maintenance costs. The slogan was originally "The World Takes, Trenton Makes" and came from a contest sponsored by the Trenton Chamber of Commerce in 1910. S. Roy Heath, the former Heath Lumber founder and New Jersey State Senator, coined the phrase.

Schuylkill River and Philadelphia.

SEPTA streetcar yard south Philadelphia.

Amtrak's Wilmington Shops which we will be visiting in a few days.

We crossed the Susquehanna River where it empties into Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace. The train stopped at Aberdeen and I had an early dinner of a hot dog, pretzels and ginger ale. We stopped in Baltimore afterwards, followed by BWI Airport and New Carrollton.

Washington Metro Subway cars. From here we went straight to Washington, DC for the switch from electric to diesel that always occurs here when one travels south of DC. With no power aboard the train during the engine swap the Internet goes out and the coaches heated up as they took their time during the engine change.

A picture of my ticket during which I will finish the Amtrak system.

Amtrak ACS-64 622 at Washington Union Station. At 5:22 PM the power was restored and we departed at 5:27 PM and headed into the Capitol Tunnel before approaching the crossing of the Potomac River.

The Potomac River as we crossed into the State of Virginia to our next station of Alexandria followed by Burke Centre. I put on my DVD of "Railroad Tigers" starring Jackie Chan. The next stop of Manassas was followed by Culpeper and Charlottesville. Robin then joined me the rest of the way to Roanoke.

The Charlottesville station through the trees. We left there and headed next to Lynchburg after which, once we got to the wye at Roanoke and went about four hundred feet west of it, I was on my final piece of new mileage to complete the Amtrak system again. I just rode peacefully through the night until I arrived in Roanoke. As the train slowed down to a stop I felt really proud of myself once again. This time I would enjoy it for about a week. The train stopped and I stepped off. Robin had detrained and had my camera to capture the event.

Chris Guenzler in the vestibule.

The author stepping off the train after just completing the Amtrak system. Robin then took a picture for his story and we started to leave when I saw the Hotel Roanoke van and asked if we could get a ride which the driver said agreed to. He drove us over and we checked in to this very nice hotel for the night.

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