WASHINGTON — The National Park Service has firmed up this year’s Trails and Rails program, which features volunteers offering commentary and one-on-one discussions with passengers aboard regional and long-distance Amtrak trains.
“We’re 25 years strong, and looking forward to our upcoming season,” NPS Volunteer Partnerships Coordinator Jim Miculka tells Trains News Wire.
A particularly scenic route regaining commenters next month is the midsection of the Cardinal east of Charleston, W.Va. Program coordinator Eve West from National Park Service’s New River Gorge National Park and Preserve says the exact days the train will host volunteers will depend on everyone’s availability, “but Fridays are most likely. We do usually have two people riding the train: one to narrate and one to mingle with the passengers. We’re hoping we can beef things up more but it remains to be seen with some staffing vacancies,” she tells News Wire. West says depending on the two Cardinals’ timekeeping on any given day, the volunteers may ride as far east as Staunton, Va.
Also resuming this year are Saturday round trips aboard the New York-Montreal Adirondack between Saratoga Springs and Westport, N.Y. The train was the last Amtrak service to return after the COVID-19 pandemic, then was cancelled for most of three subsequent summers because heat restrictions on subpar Canadian National track in Canada made schedules unworkable [see “Adirondack resumes …,” News Wire, Sept. 7, 2024]. With repairs now completed, that isn’t expected to be a problem this year.
Route segments are designed so lecturers can make a round trip in one day. The table below shows the train number on each route; the volunteers’ originating station and initial departure train are each listed first.
Lengthening of the Crescent’s schedules south of Atlanta and Amtrak’s retiming of the northbound train several hours later means a very long day for onboard volunteers based at the Park Service’s Atlanta-based Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.
“If both outbound and inbound trains are on time, our volunteers leave Atlanta at 9 a.m., have a five-hour layover at Birmingham, and don’t get back to the station at Peachtree Street until 11 p.m.,” volunteer program coordinator Mickey Goodson tells News Wire. “We tried to do this last year but delays were especially bad, so we shut it down. The Crescent seems to be doing better lately, so we’ll see.”
Goodson says one thing that will make this year’s trips more enjoyable for lecturers and passengers alike is the addition of a Viewliner dining car to the Crescent, after the car was withdrawn for many years. He also is looking forward to having some volunteers ride all the way to New Orleans one day and come back to Atlanta the next, as long as they are willing to pick up the tab for overnight lodging in the Big Easy.
“We used to do that all the time,” Goodson says. “Discussing the ecology of the wetlands and crossing Lake Ponchartrain, we developed a lot of interpretive expertise over that segment.” The southbound Crescent is due into New Orleans at 9 p.m. on its lengthened schedule. As long as it is close to on time or early, passengers will be able to enjoy crossing Ponchartrain’s great expanse and perhaps have a National Park Service volunteer enhance the experience.
Only those who were NOT Raised in New Orleans call it the “big easy”
How about “N’Orlins?”
Remember that New Orleans’ popular “The Big Easy” nickname’s origins remain uncertain, but it may have referred to the ease with which musicians found work and honed their craft in The Crescent City (Note that the nickname “Crescent City” comes from the city’s geographical location, as the French Quarter was built in a curve around the Mississippi River. The river bend resembled a crescent moon, hence the name.).
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Let’s recall that New Orleans is commonly known as NOLA. The term “NOLA” is derived from the initials of New Orleans (NO) and the first and last letters of Louisiana (LA). This abbreviated term is commonly used to refer to the city, reflecting its casual atmosphere, and is more convenient to use than saying the full name.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The Cajun locals have a wonderful, unique “Brooklyn” colloquial accent and consequently refer to NOLA as “New Oy Yinz”.