There has been a post that the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society was selling tickets for a charter of 120 and some of Mr. Levin's other cars to Pittsburgh and back this Columbus Day Weekend.

That trip has been postponed until the spring at the requestt of the ELDCPS

While I was taking a car tour through the FRA test research vehicle, I was behind a mother carrying her young toddler over her shoulder. Said toddler proceeded to reach and grab/pull open EVERY LAST door handle and drawer at his level in the tool room, behind her head, largely unknownst to her.

It was at that point that I was relieved that my sister and I had not brought my nephew down to the exhibit.

It also appeared that a bit of "wheeling and dealing" of PV operators, officials, and the like was continually happening within the conference room of 120 on Saturday. Well, it IS a "business car," isn't it?

If you would like to be notified when we start taking reservations for this trip in the Spring of 2009, please send me a PM and we will put you on the list.

Yes, Mr. Levin, I can understand not wanting a bunch of sticky-fingered crumb snatchers messing up the interior of the 120 (boorish parenting seems to be the norm these days). I'm wondering what kind of damage any of the other car owners experienced with having their cars open for viewing? Every time I have seen your car on the road it has been in museum mint condition.

BTW, I hadn't heard anything about the luncheon. Just who was the speaker referred to? I'm guessing they are a supporter of Amtrak, which we need to hang onto and get more of.

We opened the Warrior Ridge for both days because the interior finishes are much more durable and the passageway is not as restricted.

The speaker was Elanore Holes Norton the non voting rep from DC in our esteemed Congress. She spoke endlessly about the redistribution of wealth and finally mafe the point of which she took great pride that Grayhound and Trailways were coming to Dc's Union Station. Needless to say her other highpoint was how she serveved her constituants by having congress add billions to the Amtrak bill to underwrtie the DC subway system so fares for locals would not increase. I don't know how that plays in Renovo..............After a week of political turmoil she was the perfect capstone to remind us all of just how out of touch those inside the Beltway are........

What is really troubling is the fact that most of us think that Amtrak funding has no relationship to the quality of the product that the Amtrak traveler experiences. I recently rode 19 & 20 and the experience in coach was so unpleasant that no one with an alternative would subject themselves to it. The same condition exists on some NEC regional trains especially those morning departures from NYP to DC. People sprawled over two seats so they can sleep......i pods turned up so load that you can hear the din of multiple residue coming out of the opposite ears, inappropiate dress and in the food service car nowhere to sit with your coffee because folks are using the booths as office space........Remember the slogan, No Shirt, No Shoes...NO SERVICE. There need to be some minimum standards for passengers if Amtrak is going to get wide spread ridership other than being the choice of next to last resort. (Last resort being Grayhound and Trailways. Clean, Affordable, and Reliable transportation would garner Amtrak wide political support rather than depending on th largess of folks like Holes-Norton, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and their like on both sides of the aisle who only car about getting re-elected.

Will all due respect, I just rode the NYP (Actually Metropark) to DC route yesterday. I had a 9:30AM meeting in DC near the new convention center and decided to take a chance on Amtrak. I took the 111 coach service south, leaving just about on time at 6AM, arriving just about on time about 8:50AM. Every seat was full. Yes, I tried to sprawl out over two seats but quickly picked up my suit jacket and let another passenger use the seat. Have to keep in mind that Amtrak coach seats are huge compared to airline seats.

On the way home I used Acela #2168. Left on time and arrived just about on time. I was in the "quiet car" which really is a pleasure and went up to the cafe car to use my cell phone. Yes, I was sprawled out over two seats but quickly gave it up as more passengers got on in Baltimore. The cafe car is spartan with little room to sit but pleasant with plenty of room to stand up and talk on a phone without bothering other passengers.

My alternatives to Amtrak were to drive down the night before and spend a ton of money to stay in a hotel. Plus no way to work while driving and sitting in traffic. I could fly, but that is just pure torture (I'm 6'4) plus terribly time consuming and who knows if your car will still be in the parking lot when you get back to Newark.

All in all, a totally enjoyable experience. I was at my meeting on time at 9:30AM, got some nap time on the way down. On the way home I was having a beer served at my seat within about a half hour of the DC departure and was home in time for dinner with the family. A damn good day really. Thank you, Amtrak!
J.R.

I frequently ride 79 from Trenton to Dc since the Acela ralely stops in Trenton. Believe me it is an exsperience!!!!

Two weeks ago I took 43 on a Saturday from NYP to PHl.......it was just as bad and all the offenders got off in Philly. You would have thought 43 was a clocker the way the train emptied out in Philly. It had to be offensive for those from NYP who were heading west on the former PRR.

At Western Railway Museum we have to keep cars closed that are on display. Otherwise we get typical transit vandalism in them. People scratch initials on wooden seats and use diamond rings to scratch window glass. So far we have not had any seats slashed.

People (little fingers?) also have operated valves such as windshield wipers and conductor brake dump valves. One open platform observation car has an emergency brake dump cord on the rear platform. Any time we want to move this car we have to reset the emergency brake valve in spite of a sign on the cord asking people not to pull it (it's too high for little fingers). The platform is readily accessible although the car itself is locked.

Vandalism is not a huge problem for us. However if your museum is open to the public, a few people will cause damage. Unfortunately this is a fact of life in today's society.

fkrock

I know some people were upset they couldn't participate in the photo shoot. Unfortunately, because it was shot at the Ivy City Maintenance Facility it couldn't be opened to the public. However, here is a link to purchase a poster of the line-up. One could frame the poster or cut the photo out and frame it as a panoramic. If the link doesn't work the web site is www.fredcityphotos.com.


http://www.fredcityphotos.com/gallery/6 ... 6840_QZnnk

A nice capture to be sure, but why does the image appear stretched?

Great photo. Are there others? I've not seen any posted online? Nothing in the magazines. Nada.

There was a MUCH nicer twilight/dawn photo taken of that line-up which has been circulated at a couple forums and by e-mail. I'll see if I can locate the original source......

The DC representative is Eleanor Holmes Norton. Whether we approve of her views or not, she still represents the people who elected her, just like the representatives in all our districts.