“Yes, to Colorado. My son was 8 months old and I didn’t want to drive myself.”
“No, I live three blocks from the station. I’ve thought about it, just never got around to it.”
“Yes, it was in elementary school. We went somewhere out in the Flint Hills for a field trip.”
“No, I haven’t had the opportunity but I always wanted to.”
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Comments
misterlee 2 years, 2 months ago
Yes; many times, both here and in Europe. When in Chicago, I always take the El instead of driving. I've hopped a few freight trains, too, but I was much younger then. High speed rail would be a major benefit to transportation in this country.
Pitt_Mackeson 2 years, 2 months ago
Yeah it was a long time ago in Baldwin somewhere........ it was a train that went nowhere because it'd go maybe a few miles down some track and then go backwards to where we started. Me and my brothers would always get in the top section of the caboose and pretend we were train bandits.
Gene Wallace 2 years, 2 months ago
Yes! As a kid, Chicago to Tiptonville, TN. Thailand in '73, Tahkli to Bangkok, (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) and 2004 - 2006 the Coaster, Oceanside to San Diego. Twas Brillig! Those rides are on my "Life Experiences List". (As is that horrible Greyhound trip from San Diego to Hays, KS and back. No Fun!)
pace 2 years, 2 months ago
I love train travel, some of the best trips I ever had and one of the worst. The best was when I spent the money and treated myself and my daughter to a two week trip with a sleeper. It was wonderful, along the Shenandoah valley, then up the Hudson. in the fall. They are like little towns. The last trip, east, was a nightmare, leaking carraige and they failed to get me home. I ended up flying, they gave me a $100. voucher for my next trip. If I could I would go on a thirty day trip to the west. I am glad my kid got to go on a real train trip.
fleeba 2 years, 2 months ago
I used to ride the Amtrak train from Wichita to St. Louis to visit my father while I was still in high school. I remember the trips lasting forever. Much slower going than driving! But it was easier to sleep in than riding a bus. Seemed safer back then as well.
RoeDapple 2 years, 2 months ago
caint taukboutit
RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 2 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
raginredhead 2 years, 2 months ago
I went on a 22 hour train trip from KC to Dallas. The train started in KC went to St. Louis and down through Arkansas to get to Texas. Ugghhh!
muddfoot55 2 years, 2 months ago
In Germany in the 70's, Frankfurt to Berlin through restricted East Germany at night. Was an exciting adventure but scary at the same time. They collected our passports when we entered E.Germany and we didn't get them back till we entered Berlin. This was all before the "Wall" came down.
Kris_H 2 years, 2 months ago
I used to take the train from Lawrence to Dodge City, which was as close as I could get to my home town by train, to go home from KU on the breaks. I didn't have a car and my folks were too poor and too busy and had too many other kids to come to Lawrence all the time.
It wasn't bad except it got to Dodge City at some ungodly early morning hour. One year at winter break it had snowed so bad in SW Kansas that I had to stay overnight in a hotel in Dodge City because the roads were closed.
The worst experience I ever had on the train was once when I was already feeling kind of puny from some kind of virus and got seated next to a cigar smoker. I was so sick. Guess that wouldn't happen now, huh?
none2 2 years, 2 months ago
That is the same route I took several times. Unfortunately, my home town is 60 miles away from Dodge, so once my family was too old to drive, Amtrak wasn't a good alternative -- especially trying to ask neighbors to drive that far and at that time of night.
I know that one Thanksgiving, Santa Fe (I don't think they had merged with Burlington yet.) had a train derailment in the Raton pass. So they rerouted the Southwest Chief through Amarillo and then up to Wichita. Luckily I called Amtrak to find out the time since they are typically late; otherwise we would have had a 120 round trip wasted trip. I was shocked that neither Amtrak nor Santa Fe would release to the TV & Radio news stations that Amtrak was taking a different route that night. Imagine that they closed the Wichita Airport on Thanksgiving weekend and never told anybody. They weren't going to reimburse and they were very vague about what they were going to do. I called Amtrak about how was I supposed to get home. It fell on deaf ears. They said call back after the holidays were over. Great customer service! (Yea, right.) Luckily a Santa Fe worker based in Garden (no one answered the phone in Dodge) let me know that there was going to be a bus that night. I have other stories about poor service. I hope they never stop having train service through that area, but I admit that some company other than Amtrak should run it.
What is really frustrating is that now the state & federal government now subsidize a bus route from Wichita to Salina & Wichita to Pueblo, CO. That latter route duplicates much of Amtrak. It would behoove them to do bus routes that feed into Amtrak and thus make other communities able to use Amtrak instead of duplicating the same route. For instance, US-54, US-160 east & west routes & US-83, US-283, US-281 north and south routes have no public transportation. I'm not saying the government should be doing public transportation, but it would make more sense to HELP Amtrak instead of competing with them. If they fed into Amtrak, then Amtrak would get more customers. As to Pueblo, all they would need is to let off passengers in La Juanta, CO and then have a bus from there to Pueblo. (NOTE: The subsidized bus is also during night hours, so this is no big change on scheduels.)
snap_pop_no_crackle 2 years, 2 months ago
Toot toot!
FloridaSunshine 2 years, 2 months ago
O...you're so full of your usual mirth today. Can't tell you how many times I have had a good laugh while reading your remarks over the last...well, however long it's been...
grammaddy 2 years, 2 months ago
YES!!! Took the train to New York summer of '09. LOVED IT!! Can't wait to do it again. I'm hoping to take the grands on a short trip this summer. I hope Obama does the high-speed rail thing. 27 hours with a 6 hour layover in Chicago seemed like forever. But it was very relaxing.
RoeDapple 2 years, 2 months ago
Three months before I was born my parents and older sister (eleven months old at the time) were on a train that hit a gasoline tank truck. The train was engulfed in burning gasoline so to "save" my sister my mother threw her out of the train onto a snow drift. Being unborn at the time I bravely chose to stay on the train with my parents. Lucky for all, no casualties. My sister however never did like winter. Especially when it snowed.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 2 months ago
"I hope Obama does the high-speed rail thing. 27 hours with a 6 hour layover in Chicago seemed like forever. " - grammaddy
You do realize that because of population densities in the United States the trip will still take 27 hours? The difference will be you will have a 13 hour layover in Chicago.
FloridaSunshine 2 years, 2 months ago
HA!! Good one, O!! Why would anyone want to own such a shirt...not to mention actually WEARING it? I am surprised it got by the guardians of LJW...they must have fallen asleep on the job...or maybe because it's the weekend...
notanota 2 years, 2 months ago
Yes. Both here and in Europe, and I still prefer trains over flying when time allows.
nobody1793 2 years, 2 months ago
I was a hobo back in the '30s.
sallyone 2 years, 2 months ago
No, just never really saw it as a realistic alternative to car or plane travel, to 19th century!
charliejohnson 2 years, 2 months ago
When I was little we rode the train to Kansas City all the time. My mom would take us kids and then my Dad would drive up after he was off work and meet us. The kansas City Train Station was a grand place at that time.. Also, rode the train to the Ice Capades in K.C. many times. When I was in High School a friend and I would get on the train and ride 10- 15 miles to another town to go swimming at the pool her sister ran. At the end of the day we rode back....That's just crazy.
Hepburn 2 years, 2 months ago
Have ridden trains in Costa Rica, Peru, England, Spain and many years ago in the US. Most recently rode the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Fun and enjoyable in Costa Rica (San Jose to Limon, then to Cahijta), England (London to Liverpool, Colchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Scotland, and Newark) and Spain (Ave from Sevilla to Madrid) . An adventure in Peru (Lima to Huancayo, Cuzco to Juliaca). A pleasure on Eurostar.
I would prefer train transport like that of the UK. Unfortunately American cities aren't laid out like those in Europe and UK because once at a location, public transportation doesn't allow you to get around without a car.
I would like high speed train transport in the US. We'll just agrue about it for years and it won't ever get built. In the meantime, other countries will pass us by......
none2 2 years, 2 months ago
You are referring to the boy scout ranch in Raton, NM.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philmont...)
I've had a lot of horror stories with my rides on Amtrak to western Kansas and back. The problem wasn't the boy scouts, it was the Amtrak employees. They need to bust that railroad union and replace it with workers from the airline unions. Airlines hire friendly people where as Amtrak hires people that should be Drill Sargents and feed lot workers.
FloridaSunshine 2 years, 2 months ago
Oh, yes...and never again!
My dear friend said it would be a "fun adventure"...oh, sure... The train derailed and horror ensued... No, I will never step my foot on another train...ever...for any reason. I had always wanted to take the train through the Adirondacks during autumn to see the colors...I regret that I will not be doing so...
sr80 2 years, 2 months ago
my momma said "if you can't say anything nice.don't say anything at all"!!! i think i will heed those words. have a nice day FS !!!!
Starlight 2 years, 2 months ago
Took the train from Connecticut into New York City Grand Central Station for the World Fair, out to Great Bend to hunt the Cheyenne Bottoms for my thirteenth birthday, and the jungle train from San Jose to Limon Costa Rica which was an all day trip with around 70 stops along the way, an incredibly scenic ride. Took the Durango-Silverton, very scenic also. If trams count I've been up Pike's Peak in one and down in the Royal Gorge.
CWGOKU 2 years, 2 months ago
Yes, a few times to Chicago, fun way to travel if you are not in a hurry. Of course I have a one track mind
tuschkahouma 2 years, 2 months ago
took the AMTRAK to Chicago and back last October. Good trip and we took the EL and Metra all over Chicago while we were there. It sooo confusing how the dumblicans want to go back in time and not go back to the trains in their mythological time of 1950's existence. Oh that's right they have selective memories.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 2 months ago
This is what pisses the hell out of me.
The LJworld.com can put a picture that says Lawrence Fuking Kansas in the paper, to the disparagement of our fair city, but some uptight editorial flunky deletes my comment on the recommendation of some anal retentive repressed pervert with latent phobias manifesting when I make a statement about riding in the caboose on the Durango and Silverton Railroad back when I was in college.
true_patriot 2 years, 2 months ago
Trains are great. Wish we had more of them in this part of the country. We are getting left in the dust compared to other developed nations.
HomeSlice 2 years, 2 months ago
There used to be a miniature railroad track back amongst some homes in the Centennial neighborhood. Off of 22nd? Never saw the train that ran on it, but saw the tracks. No more than 2 feet wide. Most have been someone's hobby.
Anybody remember this?
riverdrifter 2 years, 2 months ago
I think I did about 129,000 miles before I got sick of it. I had 2 good friends die on freight trains during my career. I loved it and hated it. So it goes.
AreUNorml 2 years, 2 months ago
I loved riding the trains in Holland. I still miss the sounds.
cait48 2 years, 2 months ago
My father worked for the Union Pacific for over thirty years. Before Amtrak we could travel free anywhere on UPs line and offline for a discount. We went just about everywhere by train. My mom day tripped with my sisters and me to Topeka. Went to the capitol building and the state museum. Weekend tripped to Denver. When i was 5 my mother and I went all the way to Elmira New York. Three days on the train with a state room. Most recently, I took Amtrak from KC to Portland, Oregon. Took the southwest route through Albuquerque to LA then took the Coast Starlight Special up the west coast. I think my most favorite memories of it, though, were when my parents were in the UP employees club. They had annual picnics at different places in Kansas hosted by different chapters of the club. UP would put two passenger cars on a freight train and we would have our own private train to Ellis, Oakley and one other town I can't remember. The picnics would always be at a city park in walking distance of the tracks. They would shunt the cars off on a siding during the picnic and then pick us back up to take us home that night. The adults would always confine the kids to one car (usually the back car) and the other car was "adults only" so they could drink and play cards undisturbed.
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