National Train Day 2014

ApproachMedium wrote:

NorthEastRegional wrote:For New York Penn, do you think Amtrak would run an Acela set thru the Sunnyside Yard Curve for excursion if it was to also happen here in New York? I know it may be a bit dreamy but I think they can pull it off.

Who the hell wants to do this? There is nothing to see over there, its just hell. The worst PR thing Amtrak could do is bring people around the loops in sunnyside which are a mess right now from all of the ESA construction. Trust me, its not pretty lol.

Except that's the sort of thing railfans eat up!

It may be, but we need to keep in mind National Train day is not just for railfans, its for train awareness of the general public. Many families bring their children there because its something to do for the day and they like the trains. Even as much of a railfan I am, I wouldnt want to show my family what it actually looks like on the other side of the other river.

ApproachMedium wrote:It may be, but we need to keep in mind National Train day is not just for railfans, its for train awareness of the general public. Many families bring their children there because its something to do for the day and they like the trains. Even as much of a railfan I am, I wouldnt want to show my family what it actually looks like on the other side of the other river.

True, but I suspect only railfans would bother paying for such a ride

But I think it's all a moot point since NYP's not involved anyway.

R36 Combine Coach wrote:Check the dates. This one came first.

My apologies, didn't realize that. Didn't see one when I created it...


Regarding NYP from Amtrak's site: "We are pleased to announce that Amtrak® is celebrating the 7th annual National Train Day at New York Pennsylvania Station on Saturday, May 10th."

Is Boston one if the cities involved with this? I'm seriously thinking of going into Boston if it is.

What's in store for Boston?

Previous years BOS (South Station) had a Acela Express train set open to public, Amtrak Police and K-9 unit, along with vendors and selected exhibits.

Any clues or hints as to what will be at 30th? PM me if can't post public. I have to plan this trip out carefully due to how SEPTA runs, so the more info the better.

They are doing the event on a weekend day - Saturday May 10th. Out of all the days of the week, this is the "slowest" day for NYP (a Saturday). They can put equipment on two tracks (one platform used). The major issue that I see is that the would likely have to use two tracks between 7 and 14 in order to get escalator and elevator access. Probably better with two tracks that can have a flow from the NJT concourse and Amtrak concourse. Amtrak can do it. LIRR and NJT are both on weekend schedules. And the LIRR platforms are a little wider, so maybe tracks 13/14 would be the best.......

Amtrak has put a Keystone train and Empire corridor train on the same track for departure - because they are typically only four or five cars each. Amtrak could also divert some NJT trains to Hoboken if they wanted to for that day only.

Private car participation in the display at Washington Union Station and Philadelphia 30th Street Station may be limited this year, as Amtrak has changed the "rules of engagement" for this event.

In the previous years, Amtrak asked the owners of Amtrak certified PVs if they were willing to display their car and make it available for public walk-through tours. The car owner provided the car to Amtrak for that purpose without any charge to Amtrak. In return, Amtrak provided a free move from home to WAS or PHL and return, along with free parking at the station for the event.

This year, Amtrak's Marketing Department has no budget for this aspect of NTD, but is asking PV owners who may be interested and willing to participate to pay all of the standard tariff costs (mileage, switching, parking, etc.) of getting their car to the display city, parking there and going back home after the event. At the moment, I believe there will be only 2 private cars (CANNON BALL and DEARING) on display at Washington Union Station for NTD 2014.

I don't know about Philadelphia, although Juniata Terminal Company is only a switch move away from 30th Street Station.

Los Angeles should not be a problem, as there a number of private cars parked at the Garden Tracks, a very short switch move from Union Station.

I'm not sure about Chicago Union Station. Several PVs are stored in the yard at CHI, while the nearest other private cars would be based in Milwaukee and St. Louis.

jp1822 wrote:Amtrak has put a Keystone train and Empire corridor train on the same track for departure - because they are typically only four or five cars each. Amtrak could also divert some NJT trains to Hoboken if they wanted to for that day only.

As good as National Train Day is for PR, an announcement saying "Hi, you're gonna' Hoboken so we can let some tourists look at trains on our track in New York" isn't the best thing for railroad PR.

jhdeasy wrote:Private car participation in the display at Washington Union Station and Philadelphia 30th Street Station may be limited this year, as Amtrak has changed the "rules of engagement" for this event.

In the previous years, Amtrak asked the owners of Amtrak certified PVs if they were willing to display their car and make it available for public walk-through tours. The car owner provided the car to Amtrak for that purpose without any charge to Amtrak. In return, Amtrak provided a free move from home to WAS or PHL and return, along with free parking at the station for the event.

This year, Amtrak's Marketing Department has no budget for this aspect of NTD, but is asking PV owners who may be interested and willing to participate to pay all of the standard tariff costs (mileage, switching, parking, etc.) of getting their car to the display city, parking there and going back home after the event. At the moment, I believe there will be only 2 private cars (CANNON BALL and DEARING) on display at Washington Union Station for NTD 2014.

I don't know about Philadelphia, although Juniata Terminal Company is only a switch move away from 30th Street Station.

Los Angeles should not be a problem, as there a number of private cars parked at the Garden Tracks, a very short switch move from Union Station.

I'm not sure about Chicago Union Station. Several PVs are stored in the yard at CHI, while the nearest other private cars would be based in Milwaukee and St. Louis.

This strikes me as rather short-sighted on the part of Amtrak. I can see there being some additional costs for switching if they have to pay hourly for folks to do it at either end. But otherwise, pretty much the mileage costs should be sunk costs and not really cost Amtrak anything extra because the trains are already going to run and I can't imagine the fuel costs making much of a difference.

"Hey New York! Do you love RailSimulator.com ? Then you don’t want to miss us at Penn Station this year!" - Straight from NTD's Facebook page.

CentralValleyRail wrote:"Hey New York! Do you love RailSimulator.com ? Then you don’t want to miss us at Penn Station this year!" - Straight from NTD's Facebook page.

For the record, there have been NTD station events at NYP for years. However, they have not had equipment displays. The equipment line up is not finalized at this time.

Here's the National Train Day website for St. Louis

http://www.traindaystlouis.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;