Kansas City, Kansas

This is Kansas City, Kansas Union Station at 1:30AM in the morning.

We had just been bussed from Chicago for 9 hours. Yeah, we were tired and hungry.

Of course, nothing was open at that hour of the morning.

I have advice for any travelers, not only by train, but also by plane.

BRING FOOD!

Little snacks can only go so far. Try to bring something a bit more substantial.

In our case, a Jersey Mike's sandwich would have worked for us. Instead, we ate it at 12PM in Chicago Union Station and had nothing for dinner.

Just because Amtrak serves all meals on the trip, don't assume that is always going to be the case.

You will be glad you did.

Cool Sites Monday: Emeryville, CA

It's Cool Sites Monday!

This is the main connection point to the city of San Francisco, CA.

Both the Coast Starlight and the California Zephyr stop here, so if you want to get either to the north (Oregon or Washington) or the south (Central or Southern California) this is your stop.

It is just over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco, so it is not close.

Though at certain times of the day, the Bart rail system can get you where you need to be.

Meyersdale, PA And Beyond

This post showcases some places we passed through on our trip from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC on The Capitol Limited. Fairly early in the trip, just before we crossed the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, we came upon a town called Meyersdale. Just before we got to the town itself, we passed this lovely farm on the outskirts and I liked how cute it looked, so I took photos.

The river we were following at that point, is the Casselman River, which flows up to the Youghiogheny River. By the way, the water in this photo seems to be two lakes or ponds by the side of the river.

While researching the name of this river, I found out that our rail road line crossed under one of the largest railroad trestles in Pennsylvania...The Salisbury Viaduct (1908 Feet long).

As you can see, it crosses both the river, my railroad track, and PA219 the Mason-Dixon Hwy. Here is a photo of some of the Viaduct.

I obviously couldn't get it all, but it was pretty impressive, what I got to see and I was glad I was not on it.

After we went through the town and dropped off the passengers, we spent the last 20 minutes riding though the southern end of Pennsylvania.

On one of the curves that changed our route from eastbound to southbound, I managed to get a few photos of our train itself.

There we are, making our way to West Virginia, Maryland and ultimately, Washington, DC.

The Capitol Limited has lots of delays, so be prepared for that and enjoy the ride.

You will be viewing some of the most beautiful scenery you that you can see, on the East Coast.

Pennsylvanian

The Altoona Horseshoe Curve is one of the marvels of the Amtrak Pennsylvanian trip.

From wikipedia: It was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to lessen the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains.

I took this journey in 2011 and loved riding in the horseshoe curve.

They have a park and picnic area there, for families to enjoy and watch trains, too.

An unforgettable experience.

Snow Sheds And Tunnels

While we were riding the California Zephyr train through the Donner Pass, we passed these structures that looked like tunnels made of wood.

My Husband explained to me that in the High Sierra's, they came up with a way to keep the tracks clear during the worst of the winter, by building structures called Snow Sheds. A snow shed protects the tracks by sending the snow that tumbles down an avalanche prone area, past the train tracks and thus, moves it harmlessly out of the way.

I have not been able to figure out what I took a photo of, but part of the track was removed at some point and so this could be a snow shed remnant of that other track bed. You can see we passed right to the left of it.

Once I found out what they are and what they are used for, I got pretty excited. Too bad we had moved on from that summit area of the Donner Pass.

If you want to see many photos of some of the structures, check THIS out.

A really wonderful part of our American History. Man triumphs over extreme weather...well, for the most part.

Harpers Ferry, WV

This is a place that I only saw by rail and I really would like to come back to, to explore.

On our trip through the Appalachian Mountains on the Capitol Limited, we crossed over several states, as we wound our way through the area that the Potomac River flows in. One of the states that I had never been to, was West Virginia. We only spent a few hours in it, and the entire time we were within a mile or so of its border with Maryland, but what we saw was stunning. This area is known as being the real jewel in the crown of the state...Harpers Ferry. It is where the Shenandoah River meets up with the Potomac and where 3 states come together...Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

This is a bikeway and hiking trail that follows some of the old C and O Canal. This bridge is an old rail bridge that is now used to get between the town of Harpers Ferry and the Canal tow path and as you can see, it is quite busy. The Appalachian Trail is right down the road a piece.

The river running under it is just totally brown, from all the flooding going on at the time.

Here's another view of Harpers Ferry, to give you a taste of the town itself.

Doesn't it still carry the look of the 1700's? Thomas Jefferson said it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Being he spent time in France, that says something.

I can definitely see what he was referring to. :-)

The Back Story On The Virtual Railfan Cameras

As I have mentioned before, I am following several cameras that are owned by the Virtual Railfan company.

Mike Cyr started the project and for the past 10 years he has slowly added cameras to the system.

He is also right about how rail fans find the cameras and then make plans to visit them in person. Booking local hotels and eating at local eateries, in other words, adding to the local economy.

In my month watching, I have wanted to go to Tucson, AZ, Fort Madison, IA and La Plata, MO. I believe my Husband also wants to visit these spots, too.

It's a good way for you to get the flavor of Mid-America, specifically. Check out the ARTICLE, if you have a chance and definitely check out the cameras.

Never Let Anyone Know Your Travel Plans

I have been writing this train blog for the past month and mentioned about a week ago that I would love to take a quick journey to Tucson, Arizona.

Not a week later, I am watching the Virtual Railfan train cameras and see in the chat room that something is going on in Tucson.

I switched over. There was a lot of conversation in regard to pulling down the camera feed and while that was going on, I had back-tracked a bit and was watching the near past part of the feed. Suddenly, not only the main camera goes down, but so did access to the feed.

I don't blame the owner of those camera's, but I kind of feel like I was part of this incident...in the smallest way.

I guess no trip in the near future.

Sadness for the DEA agent killed in the incident.

Cool Sites Monday: Dodge City, Kansas

It's Cool Sites Monday!

Today I bring you to a place that you normally would not see from the Southwest Chief. Dodge City, Kansas.

If you were arriving from the West, it arrives on train number 4, at 11:41PM.

If you were traveling from the East, it arrives on train number 3, at 5:19AM.

So in both cases, it is after dark or before sunrise.

I had an 11 hour delay going home on train number 3 and so we were in the station mid-day.

I really enjoyed seeing this relic from the 1800's. It is 2 blocks long and contains a former Harvey House. You can read about it, HERE.

Allianz Global Assistance Insurance

I went on a cruise back in February of 2020. Thankfully before The Grand Princess boarded a passenger who was the first to die of the Corona Virus.

We did have a problem with a passenger who needed to be brought to a hospital to have immediate surgery and the ship had to return to Hawaii.

This caused us to have to change our flight home.

I immediately called Allianz Insurance and told them the problem and the change fee and they immediately refunded me my out of pocket cost.

You do need to make sure that the Covid 19 is covered on your policy and I believe it might cost more for that rider, but it is money well spent.

Do not penny pinch on insurance, it could save your bacon someday.

NYC and Across The Country

This NYC and beyond journey was in 2015. The photo is a reflection of the Empire State building from the bar at the top of our hotel. Here are some thoughts of the journey, including Amtrak.

We arrived in NYC on Sunday night. We just checked in and crashed.

Monday: We needed to do laundry and so I looked for a laundromat. Well, it seems that a traditional laundromat is no longer available in The City. Instead, you bring your clothes to a laundry service and they wash them for you. Our laundry cost $13 for 10 lbs. It took 1 day, due to the heatwave going on. We vamped until we got our laundry back on Tuesday.

Then, we rode the #1 subway to South Ferry. Took the ferry to Staten Island and back. Great views of the Freedom Tower and the best part...totally free.

Tuesday: We visited some friends in Bayside, NY via subway.

Wednesday: We took a quick trip to Grand Central Station. Took photos and then returned to the hotel for the final packing.

Off to Pennsylvania Station and checked in at the Acela Cafe. Very nice.

Onto the Crescent and away we went.

Thursday: Our journey ran as clockwork,until we ended up in Alabama. We hit some extreme weather and so the train waited it out, until the front had passed. That started the delays.

It ultimately ended up that we were about an hour or so late to NOLA.

We got a taxi that cost us $11. As my Hubby said, best money spent. We arrived at the La Quinta Downtown and found out that they upgraded our room to a suite. After our tiny room in NYC, this was heaven.

Friday: I woke up at 6 and watched the sun rise over the Mississippi . It was magnificent. I decided to get a head start on our only day in New Orleans, by doing the laundry. It was completed by 8:30am. Thus, we were free to sightsee for the rest of the day.

We walked down to River walk and checked out a restaurant I was interested in, The Crazy Lobster. Prices weren't too high and so we made plans to return later. In the meantime, we stepped into the mall and had beniets and iced coffee at the Cafe du Monde. Yummy beniets that remind me of zepoles.

We then walked to the streetcar and paid $3 for a day pass. We rode it all the way to the end of the line and then got off at The French Quarter. We shopped and took photos of the area. I visited the St. Louis Cathedral and lit 2 candles for my parents. It is beautiful, BTW.

We walked back to the Crazy Lobster and had a bucket of fish. It was just fair.

We took a bus back to our hotel and crashed.

Around 8P we ventured out for a snack. We ultimately found this little hole in the wall called Jimmy J's. The food was excellent, though the wait for it, was long.

Back to the hotel to pack and sleep.

Saturday: We were back on the Amtrak the next morning. They have a nice waiting room (called the Magnolia Room) for the upgraded passengers and we took advantage of it. Up onto our Superliner car where much pampering took place. We mostly passed through Louisiana and then some of Texas.

Sunday: We woke up in Texas and had more pampering. Lots of people to talk to and a US/Mexican border to ride next to, just west of El Paso. Night fell just to the south of Phoenix, Arizona.

Monday: An extremely early wake up call and we were home. From what the crew told us, they figure the Pomona run to be 2 hours, when it is normally about 45 minutes. So we pulled in at least an hour early, which was fine with us.

A great trip and we both want to do another...soon.

St. Louis, MO

I went to a Traffic Conference in St. Louis, Missouri in 1999, which is where I got this particular photo.

Our hotel overlooked the Gateway Arch and of course, the mighty Mississippi. Over the space of 3 days we lived through much weather we are not used to, including a major electrical storm.

We West Coast dwellers were mesmerized by it all, especially being so close to the very large lightning rod across the street.

On the Texas Eagle, almost 15 years later, we passed the arch once again, with no stop.

It reminded me how much I enjoyed the gateway to the west and, of course, Amtrak can get you there and back.

It's well worth your time to see.