Ophelia took the day off and accompanied me on a one day rail excursion. We caught the 7:39 AM LIRR train from Penn Station to Greenport on the eastern tip of Long Island's north shore. Along the way we talked about Long Island things, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, the creation of Levittown, and Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight. Ophelia asked me lots of questions about my Amtrak trip. Part of me wanted to tell her about the microchip and the man in the fedora hat, but I stayed mum.
We had to change trains in Ronkonkoma. Even though the LIRR is America's busiest commuter railroad, Greenport is only served twice a day by a diesel-hauled shuttle. The shuttle was hauled by a new EMD DE30AC. The scenery grew more rural. We stopped at places like Yaphank and Mattituck. A man in the seat behind us argued about expanding Amtrak service between Kansas City and Dallas on his cellphone.
When we arrived in Greenport we had a quick lunch. Then we caught a cab to the ferry dock at Orient Point. From there, we sailed across Long Island Sound to New London, CT aboard the car-ferry "John H". A Cape Air Cessna 412 flew over the ferry midway across Long island Sound.
At New London, we caught an Amtrak Regional train back to Penn Station. The consist of Amfleet equipment was pulled by an HHP-8. I told Ophelia about old New Haven trains like the Senator, The Merchants Limited, and The Yankee Clipper. A young engaged couple sat behind us. They were arguing. The guy didn't want the gal to hypehnate her last name after they'd wed. We enjoyed cheeseburgers from the Amcafe. They were very gooey and tasty. It was a wonderful trip.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
If you had tasty cheeseburgers in the Amcafe you would had to have been on one of the Silver Service trains. The Star and Meteor are stocked in Miami and have much better cheeseburgers!
Posted by amtrak92 (Member # 14343) on :
So true. Great story. I like the plot. Keep writing
Posted by dns8560 (Member # 15184) on :
These were cheeseburgers leftover from the Meteor's run that day!
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by dns8560: These were cheeseburgers leftover from the Meteor's run that day!