by Gilbert B Norman
OK volks, the COVID-19 pandemic WILL end. Just when and how, who knows.
Now though, might it be time to consider what must pass in order to have you ride Amtrak again?
The answer surely must be somewhere between "Hey I'm a railfan; and this is my passion" and "never again".
To formulate the discussion allow me to lead off with the internet's favorite character,...I
In my case, after my "take it or leave it" Auto Train "Voyage 25" this past January, "I'm done" with any riding other than that which offers a clear cut advantage over any other mode. Think traveling overseas by any mode other than flying.
On the Auto Train, why so harsh? 52(26JAN) arrived LOR some 80ME; the SCSA was "exceptional" to such extent I "wrote her up" with Customer Relations, and I can only hope my praise got to her. The equipment was in "state of adequate repair", i.e. "everything worked" (still "batting a thousand" with showers) and the food "passed muster" (even if serving my one "glass" of "Red or White" from a milk container was an "I don't believe it"). But I was still left with the feelings of an "institutional experience" such as with an airline flight (where wine in First or Business is served in real glassware and from a glass bottle - and you can have whatever you can responsibly drink) or commuter train ride that "got you there" - safely and on time.
This experience lead me to my mindset of "only again if I need to". That means for Auto Train, I must be in Florida with a POV and have need for my next stop to be in the Wash DC area (I have friends there, and Virginia Grape Juice is not sold in Illinois) there is the clear cut advantage to use Auto Train. But there is little to none if my next stop is home in the Chicago area, where a net of 390 miles of driving - and no time whatever - is saved.
Wolverines to Ann Arbor or Detroit, where I hope to again attend concerts? Given their frequency and reliability " uh, not exactly" (and they don't make a "meal stop" in Marshall so I can have Schuler's "to die for" Prime Rib).
So, if I'm in the Corridor, after having gotten there by other means, and I have somewhere to go within same, of course I'd be on Amtrak. But failing that (oh maybe same on the West Coast, but I haven't been out there in 25 years and have no reason to do so), Amtrak, we have had some good rides together over the past forty nine years, but, save what's noted preceding, "I'm done."
Now though, might it be time to consider what must pass in order to have you ride Amtrak again?
The answer surely must be somewhere between "Hey I'm a railfan; and this is my passion" and "never again".
To formulate the discussion allow me to lead off with the internet's favorite character,...I
In my case, after my "take it or leave it" Auto Train "Voyage 25" this past January, "I'm done" with any riding other than that which offers a clear cut advantage over any other mode. Think traveling overseas by any mode other than flying.
On the Auto Train, why so harsh? 52(26JAN) arrived LOR some 80ME; the SCSA was "exceptional" to such extent I "wrote her up" with Customer Relations, and I can only hope my praise got to her. The equipment was in "state of adequate repair", i.e. "everything worked" (still "batting a thousand" with showers) and the food "passed muster" (even if serving my one "glass" of "Red or White" from a milk container was an "I don't believe it"). But I was still left with the feelings of an "institutional experience" such as with an airline flight (where wine in First or Business is served in real glassware and from a glass bottle - and you can have whatever you can responsibly drink) or commuter train ride that "got you there" - safely and on time.
This experience lead me to my mindset of "only again if I need to". That means for Auto Train, I must be in Florida with a POV and have need for my next stop to be in the Wash DC area (I have friends there, and Virginia Grape Juice is not sold in Illinois) there is the clear cut advantage to use Auto Train. But there is little to none if my next stop is home in the Chicago area, where a net of 390 miles of driving - and no time whatever - is saved.
Wolverines to Ann Arbor or Detroit, where I hope to again attend concerts? Given their frequency and reliability " uh, not exactly" (and they don't make a "meal stop" in Marshall so I can have Schuler's "to die for" Prime Rib).
So, if I'm in the Corridor, after having gotten there by other means, and I have somewhere to go within same, of course I'd be on Amtrak. But failing that (oh maybe same on the West Coast, but I haven't been out there in 25 years and have no reason to do so), Amtrak, we have had some good rides together over the past forty nine years, but, save what's noted preceding, "I'm done."
Last edited by Gilbert B Norman on Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.