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Here's a cross-reference to my post, in the Private Rail and Special Trains section, concerning a long, well-illustrated front-page article in today's (Friday, September 2, 2011) Washington Post about private rail cars. I'm including this cross-reference here in the Amtrak section because, inevitably, the article has a good deal to do with Amtrak.
Please make your comments at that post in Private Rail and Special Trains, not here. I'm trying to hold out against the general tendency to have everything be in the Amtrak section.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Interesting article..... nice pictures and videos.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I'd love to know how the PV owner came up with the name: "Kitchi-Gammi Club"?
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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Sounds like "Gitche Gumee," the Ojibwe name for Lake Superior. Maybe it's an alternative spelling.
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Funny you should mention Gordon Lightfoot. As I type this, I'm watching a sales pitch on tv for a Time-Life music collection. Gordon Lightfoot just sang "If You Could Read My Mind."
notelvis Member # 3071
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I took my wife to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert while we were dating in the mid-1990's. She is 9 years younger than I am and was not quite sure who Gordon Lightfoot is...... until he launched into "If You Could Read My Mind."
She smiled at hearing something she recognized....but later admitted that she had always thought that Cat Stevens sang that song.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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Looks like it's a losing cause to try not to have everything in the Amtrak section, eh? Or to keep threads on the straight and narrow. (That's one of the joys of this forum, the fascinating meanders we take . . .)
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I agree with Henry, and that is why I like this forum.
train lady Member # 3920
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You took the words right out of my mouth" Smitty. Good grief we agree twice in one month. Must be something in the water. Seriously I don't think new comers realize that those of us who are regular on the forum have, in my opinion, become friends. As such we feel free to talk about all kinds of subjects and eventually get back "on track." I know I have learned a lot of interesting things from vaious people.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Hmmm....I think it's time for me to buy a lotto ticket!
DeeCT Member # 3241
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Hmmm..... And of course you will share the winnings with Train Lady!!!!
train lady Member # 3920
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Right on Dee!!!
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I would charter a couple of PV's and have a Railforum party on the rails!
cubzo Member # 4700
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Yes the Witches of November.Michael Armagost was the Third Mate on the Mighty Fitz the night she succumbed to that terrible November night. My wife and I went to visit my friend John who was Mike's younger brother that night. We were met at the door by John's girlfriend telling us that Mike's boat was missing and may have sunk.
We sat with John all that night listening for news. There was no CNN or twenty four hour news cycle back then. W e simply relied on the local ten o'clock news in those days.
We were up till sunlight till we heard the news. The event, song and the date will always have a personal note with me. To this day on November tenth I will always think back to that night, throw a shot back and salute those twenty nine brave men who still lay at the bottom of that Great Lake.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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Hmmm . . . how much would it cost to charter a PV on, say, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA? Perhaps split a dozen ways, the tariff would be affordable.
Black tie for dinner, maybe?
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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I vaguely recall somebody quoting somewhere $10k-$20k for a basic tow on the back of a LD Amtrak. More once you decide what kind of service you want in your private car, then consider shunting at each end (and to/from owner's location), potential empty backhaul, crew, storage...
A quick Google locates some offerings of 3-4 day tours for $1400 per person.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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We would probably want a car that has the following: dome, bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, and great staff. I can only think of one car that meets those guidelines, but it is based in Oakland (the Silver Solarium). There would have to be a dead-head charge from Oakland to LA, and then LA back to Oakland. The way to avoid a deadhead charge is to contact the owner (I know him personally) and arrange a trip where the car is already in LA for some other trip. There are several numbers that need to be put together, and here is the sheet with the nitty gritty:
I've always wanted to do something like this. I've traveled on several PV's, but it has always been part of a large tour group. That sorta takes the fun out of it because the dome is crowded, the open vestibule is crowded, and there is ALWAYS "one of those" who stands at the front of the dome with his 3 or 4 cameras taking photos non-stop (blocking the wonderful view from the rest of the paying passengers). But with a small group, that can be avoided.
If anyone was ever serious about doing it, I would go. Splitting the cost between, say, 8 people or so--that would make the cost fairly reasonable.
MDRR Member # 2992
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You know, this is starting to sound awfully tempting...
PullmanCo Member # 1138
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IIRC that was the cars name in Pullman Company service. I will check my 1950 list of cars to see.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Of course with the car already in Oakland, why not price a roundtrip Oakland - Denver on the back of the California Zephyr?
THAT'S the scenery that the domes were designed for anyway, right?
Save those nasty deadhead and positioning moves...... though I'm not sure with the temporary Denver station situation whether there is a viable house track in place for an overnight stay there.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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That's a possibility as well, David. The one thing that comes to mind is that I'm not sure if Amtrak will do a switching move in Denver. If not, then we would be stuck paying for the car to run to Chicago, sit overnight, and then run all the way back to Oakland. I'll ask the owner if Amtrak switches at Denver. If they do, then would be a neat trip.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Maybe, just maybe, the Private Varnish could be dropped at the far end of the one track on Denver's temporary platform by #6 and then picked up the following morning by #5.
This is a possibility because, in normal operation, #5 and #6 both run through the wye and then BACK into the station at Denver.
No switching would be neccessary. No turning would be neccessary. Just a pair of railroad men competent to disengage the coupler, brake hose, and HEP lines.
Yes..... I know this costs and I know the crew in question would probably have to be UP or BNSF men rather than someone on the ground from Amtrak...... but if the PV could occupy the tail end of the station track for 12 hours or so, Denver would otherwise be about the easiest midroute location for such a charter to turn back.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Okay, I got my answer. Right now, Amtrak will consider on a case-by-case only, the movement of a PV *through* Denver--but that's all. Absolutely no switching, and absolutely no overnighting. I know that it's possible from our view, but Amtrak has a lot of screwy rules and procedures, and they came out with a firm "no" to all PV operators that a car has to have special approval just to come through Denver--but it is an absolute no for switching one. Sooooo, that means the PV would have to run EMY-CHI-EMY (if approved). That's pretty expensive.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I also asked about the "Colorado Pine", which is a sleeper that is based in Denver. Apparently he was granted a special one-time permit to get moved out of there, and now he has to keep his car in Indianapolis for the next few years while all of that work goes on at Denver Union Station.
notelvis Member # 3071
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OK.... so we're stuck with Emeryville-Chicago-Emeryville.
Guess we better recruit enough passengers to sell the car both ways!
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Or......There's Oakland to Seattle, overnight, and then back to Oakland. Or...Oakland to LA, overnight, and back to Oakland. With the OAK-LAX-OAK trip, there's no overnight on the train. It might be fun to overnight on a dome/sleeper by doing OAK-SEA-OAK. Just throwing an idea out there....
RR4me Member # 6052
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Wow. I'm thinking this might be fun. I promise if it happens and I get to go, I won't bring 3 or 4 cameras!
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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For Chicago area-based railfans, the 20th Century RR club is offering a three-day dome PV ride behind the SW Chief from Chicago to Kansas City in November, with two overnights in the Westin across from the station and complimentary on-board meals and adult beverages enroute, all for $895 per person double occupancy. Not cheap, but not horribly expensive either.
The KC Westin room rates on the Internet are $199-$207 inclusive. This suggests that the actual cost of the round-trip PV ride is a little less than $500 per person.
Details here. Scroll down for the info, which is in a downloadable .pdf.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Forgetting the rate of each, but I have to say that my two stays at Westin properties (Detroit and Indianapolis) were the two best stays I had at any hotel this year .
One more stay in Indianapolis area is planned this year (Thanx), but that will be at I-69 and 96th St, or closer to Fishers than Downtown (as near as possible to my friends' home).
And NO; I'm not planning to ride the Hoosier State down there - that one is left to "the faithful".
notelvis Member # 3071
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You might want to check out the Nickel Plate Grill right by the tracks in Fishers. You won't be interrupted by any trains unless a special movement by the Indiana Transportation Museum (the FairTrain people) rolls past. The tracks through Fishers are isolated from the rest of the US rail network on either end now.
And a PS - a ride on the ITM FairTrain in vintage stainless Budd coaches is superior to the ride you'll get on the Hoosier State! I've been aboard their train twice now.
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I think, Mr. Presley, the itinerary for this junket will see Lex Noir heading South on I-65 Thanx morning, followed by Thanx Dinner with my friends (their house along the Geist Reservoir), a hotel at I-69 & 96th St, back on I-65 Friday morning (no 3AM shopping sprees in this camper's repertoire).
No railfanning; just "down and back'. However, I do respect Mr. Presley for telling the Forum of railfan attractions within the region.
palmland Member # 4344
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Mr. Norman, I suspect you would be enticed out of your Lex Noir if the 'real' Hoosier was still running. A nifty little train on the Monon. A departure at 5:15pm would have you in Indianapolis at 9:10 (an hour faster than the current version). No doubt you would be enjoying a glass of vino in its comfortable observation-lounge-parlor car.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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My friends there formerly lived in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis (until they had kids ready to go to school) - that is how the Monon got into town. Portions of the ROW are identified as the Monon trail.
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