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I just noticed that I have graduated from being a Junior Member of this forum to being a Full Member! How did that happen? I still don't have a star rating, however! Gotta work on that, now, I guess!
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This is a very old forum (as far as the software goes). I think it automatically makes you a full member after you've posted a few times. I don't even know if the "Rate Member" thing works any more.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Rate a member still works when I'm on the site..... though it may not for everyone.
If yours is working, You can 'display' your user rating by clicking 'My Profile' near the top of this page and then clicking to edit your profile.
In the section titled 'User Preferences' you'll want to put a little check in the box which says something to the effect of "Allow My User Rating to Be Shown".
Or, if you prefer, you may leave the setting alone and keep your rating to yourself!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Originally posted by TwinStarRocket: We are like Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average.
And we are sometimes given to wandering off-subject to talk about ponies and bagpipers!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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To make a long explanation short in regards to bagpipes and ponies, we once had a lengthy discussion here about ways to improve the Amtrak experience. Entertainment with bagpipes was suggested. There was mention of the Doppler effect of bagpipes as a train passed. Ponies were added because they are nice? It was all very ugly and revealed a twisted sense of humor we may all share.
References to bagpipes and ponies have continued ever since. There, we have come out of the closet!
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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I was late to the discussion about bagpipes and cowbells but since I own a quarter horse mare and a miniature gelding that's the size of a pony, I too have come out of the closet.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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I think being on this forum for so long has had a strange impact on you guys. And, some of you must be old, like me. I have found that the sense of humor becomes more twisted with age.
On another note, I have double posted my comment about Lake Wobegon (in this thread) and can't seem to find a way to delete the extra post. Every time I think I'm pretty technology savvy, something like this comes along and smacks me down!
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Train Granny, you need to click on the icon (4th from the left) that has a little pencil on it at the top of your post. Follow the prompts to edit or delete any of your posts, after signing in.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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We are on to you, Train Granny. Your double-posting was just a way of boosting your numbers! And for your efforts - you may receive a concert from some bagpiping ponies!
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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Richard, I"m glad you connected the Lake Wobegon Trail to railroads, since all our posts are supposed to concern railroad topics! We're not supposed to use one-liners, either, so I added this extra sentence!
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The Lake Wobegon Rail Trail is the former route of Great Northern's Western Star. It was a secondary Chi-Seattle train to the Empire Builder. The Builder used the GN mainline via Wilmar instead of the Star's now abandoned route via St. Cloud. Amtrak's Builder now uses the ex-Northern Pacific route to St. Cloud on the other side of the Mississippi.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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I didn't know, TwinStar, that the Western Star went all the way east to Chicago. I dug up an old schedule for trains 27 & 28 both into and out of Chicago:
Further research says that the Western Star was possibly the premier tourist train to Glacier Park, with dome cars and a more leisurely schedule compared to that of the Empire Builder. They say it had greater daylight time into the Rocky Mountains.
You will find, Marty, that we frequently drift from a railroad topic to just about anything, provided it is ok with the moderator. However, I haven't heard much discussion of Higgs Boson, of late.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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Richard, All the GN and NP west coast trains ran between St. Paul and Chicago on the exact same schedule and tracks as one of CBQ's 3 trains: the Morning Zephyr, Afternoon Zephyr or the (overnight) Blackhawk. At one point in time they may have been separate trains, but I think later they may have been a rainbow of colors all hitched together. Besides the 3 railroads, GN changed from orange to blue toward the end of passenger service.
And for Marty: GN = Great Northern, NP = Northern Pacific, CBQ = Chicago Burlington & Quincy, all of which merged into BN (Burlington Northern), which later merged with Santa Fe to become BNSF.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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quote:Originally posted by TwinStarRocket: To make a long explanation short in regards to bagpipes and ponies, we once had a lengthy discussion here about ways to improve the Amtrak experience. Entertainment with bagpipes was suggested. There was mention of the Doppler effect of bagpipes as a train passed. Ponies were added because they are nice?
I have searched for this original thread about bagpipes and ponies unsuccessfully. I would love to read it just for laughs if anyone knows where to find it!
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Marty, There are no actual topics/titles about bagpipes and ponies. They just crept into topics where some of us became silly and whimsical and abandoned all pretense of a serious rail discussion. Some may think this inappropriate, but we all have become friends here and why not just make each other laugh once in awhile.
Using the "search" tool just above the first post- Search Word: Bagpipes, match any, Search Forum: Amtrak, Search In: Entire Message, and Any Date. I get 54 topics.
On page 3 of the search results you will find the first mention of bagpipes about halfway through a topic about on board movies dated 9/23/06. The rest is history
On 10/20/06, Mr. Pressley added ponies. In subsequent topics the phrase "bagpipes and ponies" came to refer to all the silly suggestions of ways to improve the travel experience, including drum therapy, blimps and stagecoaches.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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