NEW YORK – Dining on Amtrak trains is sometimes wonderful and sometimes it’s awful. However, according to the New York Times Magazine, one Amtrak food item is winning universal praise: bratwurst. The hickory-smoked pork sausage is seasoned with onion, garlic, and spices and isn’t emulsified like many other brats, so “you get more meat flavor,” […]
Railroad: Amtrak
Images of Amtrak
Even before he joined Amtrak as a locomotive engineer in 1986, Doug Riddell had been operating the corporation’s passenger trains under contract as a Seaboard Coast Line engineer, and had been photographing their colorful locomotives and consists in and around his native Virginia since Amtrak’s inception in 1971. Here we present some of his favorite […]
Beaumont Hill, Calif.
As Don Sims explained in the August 2003 issue of TRAINS Magazine, Beaumont Hill is a railroader’s term, taken from the small town of Beaumont, Calif., very near the 2591-foot summit crest of the former Southern Pacific Sunset Route linking Los Angeles and New Orleans. While much has changed from author Sims’ account of 1950s […]
Chicago’s hot spots
If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And Trains Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and […]
Palmer, Mass.
A westbound CSX freight approaches the diamond at Palmer, Mass., in February of 2000. James B. Winters Palmer, Mass., is one of two New England hot spots profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below: DescriptionGrade-level crossing of CSX’s single-track Boston Subdivision (former Conrail […]
Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md.
A westbound NortheastDirect train crosses the Susquehanna River at twilight in October 2000, seen from the Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park in Havre de Grace, Md. Dale R. Jacobson Halfway between Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., lie the cities of Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md., separated from each other by the Susquehanna River at the […]
Rio Grande railfanning
Think “Rio Grande” and one imagines long freights grinding through the tunnels and screeching around the tight curves of the Front Range, or coal drags with multiple helpers creeping up Soldier Summit or winding through the double horseshoe at Gilluly. Not as frequently considered, yet almost entirely accessible end-to-end, is the stretch from Dotsero, at […]
Soldier Summit, Utah
Soldier Summit is one of two sites in Utah profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Soldier Summit information. DescriptionDouble-track main line of Union Pacific’s ex-Denver & Rio Grande Western line over the Wasatch Mountains, used jointly by UP and the Utah Railway. […]
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is one of four sites in Texas profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Texarkana information. Site: Texarkana, Texas Nearest Cities: Dallas (186 miles southwest); Shreveport, La. (71 miles southeast) Popular Name: Tower 42 Location: Texas/Eastern EC-12 (Rand McNally Atlas) Directions: About […]
The scoop on sleeper pricing
Sandra Grausso and her pal Eeyore take some time to enjoy the scenery from a Viewliner standard bedroom on the Lake Shore Limited, during her move from Los Angeles to New York. Bob Johnston Sandra Grausso, a music business professional, was relocating from Los Angeles to New York. She had just spent two nights on […]
Amtrak’s beginnings
Today you can ride across the United States aboard long-distance Amtrak trains such as the Lake Shore Limited, Silver Star, California Zephyr, or Texas Eagle. The dining cars serve tasty, regional cuisine and the double-deck Sightseer Lounge cars offer a superb platform for viewing America. However, 30 years ago passenger trains in the United States […]
Amtrak trains on May 1, 1971
Note: Most trains grouped in pairs. Prior to November 14, 1971, Amtrak did not assign its own train numbers, instead using numbers assigned by the individual freight railroads operating its trains. 101, 104 – Metroliner – New York-Washington (Ex. Sun.)103, 100 – Metroliner – New York-Washington (Ex. Sat. and Sun.)105, 106 – Metroliner – New […]
