September 26, 2020

Trying to channel my inner O. Winston Link

Good Saturday afternoon, DU'ers

Hope everyone is keeping safe.

Thought it might be time again to make a short but sweet submission to the DU photography group.

Having since converted in 2005 to digital from my old 35mm Nikon N2020 SLR, I haven't been taking as much B&W photos as I used to (not that I took very many in the first place).

However thanks to the magic of programs like Photoshop and PIXLR, I have converted a few photos from color to B&W that I think came out not too bad.

Title of my OP notwithstanding, I know they are nowhere near the same calibre as the venerable American photographer who took many photos at night and was a master of painting with flash, but here are a couple of pictures from my collection on Railpictures.net.

Hope you enjoy! Cheers, Pete

For those interested, there are more pics from my collection on Railpictures.net at: https://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=63021
And on my website at:
https://northamericabyrail.info/

Nickel Plate Road #765 on the point of the Erie Limited. Buffalo, NY


Milwaukee Road E70 on display in Deer Lodge, MT

August 29, 2020

Canada By Train - A Short 7 Minute Video

Good Morning DU'ers

For those interested, I thought it might be time for another weekend distraction. My wife and I often travel by train and over the last few months I've posted some pictures of our trips in the photography and DU lounge sections here on Democratic Underground.

This time instead of showcasing still images shot by myself, I thought I might pay homage to some of my wonderful wife's work with a video shot by her, taking the viewer on a scenic land cruise across Canada aboard VIA Rail's transcontinental passenger train, 'The Canadian', which runs from Toronto to Vancouver.

This video is a composite of several trips aboard the Westbound and Eastbound Canadian taken in the summer of 2017 and the fall of 2011. The locations are shown in geographical order from east to west.
For more videos & pics, see our website at https://northamericabyrail.info/

So a big shout-out to my wonderful darling wife, who had the good sense to film some motion pictures while I was taking still images - Thanks HunnyBunny!

[P.S. I moved this video to the DU Lounge from the Photo group as I thought it might be a better fit here since it is a video rather than a still image]

Video Contents:
0:00 Night departure from Toronto onboard VIA Rail's Westbound Canadian
0:16 Bedroom in Prestige Class sleeping car
0:32 Bullet lounge in Prestige class 'Park' Car
0:42 Dome in Prestige class Park car
0:49 Station stop at Sioux Lookout, Ontario
1:06 Through the lakes and muskeg country West of Canyon, Ontario
2:20 Passing prairie grain elevators West of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2:41 Passing Wabamun Lake, West of Edmonton, Alberta
2:59 Station stop at Jasper, Alberta - Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies
3:45 Passing Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies
4:58 Yellowhead Pass, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia
5:34 Redpass Junction,British Columbia
5:44 Tête Jaune Cache, British Columbia
6:05 Passing the town of Valemount, British Columbia
6:32 Albreda, British Columbia
6:50 Passing the BNSF freight station in Vancouver, British Columbia

July 26, 2020

A trip on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train

Good Morning DU'ers,

Hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe.

I thought it might be time to post some pics from another train route, this time from my home province of Ontario, Canada.

Back in 2015 my wife and I had the pleasure of riding the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, which runs on a day trip from from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (just across the border from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) to the Agawa Canyon in Ontario's northern hinterland and thought we might share some pics.

The Agawa Canyon Tour Train began operation in 1964, carrying tourists to the scenic & popular Agawa Canyon. The train operates on the tracks of the Algoma Central Railway (ACR), now owned by Canadian National Railways (CN). The Algoma Central was a regional railway operating in Northern Ontario and when CN took over the line, it inherited the ACR's passenger service.

The pics are from our website at https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Pete

AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN AT THE STATION IN SAULT STE MARIE, ON. THE STATION AND PLATFORM ARE LOCATED IN THE PARKING LOT OF A SHOPPING MALL IN DOWNTOWN SAULT STE MARIE


ONBOARD THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN, DEPARTING SAULT STE MARIE, ON


TICKET TO RIDE. IN A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE, CN (WHICH SOLD OFF ITS PASSENGER SERVICES TO VIA RAIL CANADA IN 1976) IS ONCE AGAIN CARRYING FARE-PAYING PASSENGERS.


PASSING THE INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE TO SAULT STE MARIE, MICHIGAN


ALGOMA CENTRAL YARDS & SHOPS, STEELTON, ON


SOMETHING MUCH-NEEDED FOR NORTHERN ONTARIO WINTERS. ALGOMA CENTRAL PLOW #10105 AT STEELTON, ON


SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN (ANYMORE). ALGOMA CENTRAL EXTENDED-VISION CABOOSE #9609 ON THE PLOW TRAIN AT STEELTON, ON


CROSSING THE TRESTLE AT BELLVUE, ON


OLD RAILROAD BUNKHOUSE AT ACHIGAN, ON


ACHIGAN LAKE


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTS ACHIGAN LAKE


VIEW FROM REAR OF TRAIN NEAR SEARCHMONT, ON


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTS TROUT LAKE


CABINS AT TROUT LAKE, ON


SPRUCE LAKE


CN MAINTENANCE-OF-WAY CREW AT SUMMIT, ON


MONGOOSE LAKE


BATCHEWANA RIVER


CABINS ALONG THE BATCHEWANA RIVER


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTING RAND LAKE


DINING CAR ON THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN DINING CAR MENU


HOT BEEF SANDWICH WITH GRAVY, MASHED POTATO, & VEGETABLES


CAFE CAR ON THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN CROSSING MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE & DAM


AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN CROSSING MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE & DAM


VIEW OF GENERATING STATION FROM MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE


LAKE NEAR HUBERT, ON


ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR


HIGHLANDS OUTSIDE AGAWA CANYON PARK


ENTERING THE AGAWA CANYON


TRAVELLING THROUGH THE AGAWA CANYON


BRIDAL VEIL FALLS


TRAVELLING THROUGH THE AGAWA CANYON


ARRIVING AT AGAWA CANYON PARK, PASSING OLD RAILWAY CARRIAGE NOW PART OF A GIFT SHOP


CN F40PH #106 ON THE POINT OF THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN, AGAWA CANYON PARK, ON


PLAQUE COMMEMORATING CANADA'S 'GROUP OF SEVEN' ARTISTS WHO FREQUENTED THE PARK


AGAWA CANYON PARK

July 18, 2020

Los Angeles to Chicago on Amtrak's "Southwest Chief"

Good Morning DU'ers,

For those interested in taking a virtual journey across the Southwestern US, in better times my wife & I often traveled by train (and plan to do so again once the current global health crisis has passed) & thought we might share some pics from the route of Amtrak's Train #4 - The 'Southwest Chief' - which runs on a very picturesque route from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois.

The pics are a composite of several separate trips that we took on Train #4 and attempt to show some of the regions traversed, in geographical order from west to east.

The pics are from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/

Stay safe & hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Pete

FIRST A PIC OF AMTRAK P42DC #153 ON THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF AT THE ALBUQUERQUE, NM, AMTRAK STATION


NOW FROM WEST TO EAST:

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES A SEEN FROM OUR HOTEL


ON AMTRAK’S EASTBOUND SOUTHWEST CHIEF, NEAR GALLUP, NM


PASSING FREIGHT LED BY SANTA FE GP60 #8729, GALLUP, NM


MESAS EAST OF GALLUP, NM


ADOBE STYLE HOUSES EAST OF GALLUP, NM


MOUNTAINS WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM


HAD TO GET A PIC OF AMTRAK HERITAGE UNIT #822 ON THE POINT OF THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF AT ALBUQUERQUE

RAILRUNNER COMMUTER TRAIN, ALBUQUERQUE, NM


MOUNTAINS EAST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM


MEET WITH WESTBOUND SOUTHWEST CHIEF LED BY AMTRAK P42DC #162, LAMY, NM


HORSEBACK RIDING NEAR THE TRACKS, LAMY, NM


LAMY, NM, AMTRAK STATION


SOUTHWEST CHIEF CLIMBING GLORIETTA PASS


GLORIETTA PASS


SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST


HARVEY HOUSE HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NM, WHICH ONCE HOSTED THEODORE ROOSEVELT


ANTELOPE NEAR LAS VEGAS, NM


APPROACHING RATON TUNNEL, NM


RATON PASS, CO


KANSAS CITY, MO


STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, FORT MADISON, IA


SOUTHWEST CHIEF CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT FORT MADISON, IA


ENTERING CHICAGO UNION STATION

July 4, 2020

Seattle to L.A. on Amtrak's "Coast Starlight"

Good Morning DU'ers,

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves and keeping safe.

Once again as a weekend distraction my wife and I thought we might share some pics, this time from our journeys years back on Amtrak's Train #11, the "Coast Starlight", which runs on what we found to be an incredibly scenic route along the Pacific Coast from Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California.

The pics are a composite of several separate trips that we took on Train #11 and attempt to show some of the regions traversed, in geographical order from north to south.

The pics are from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Pete

FIRST, A PIC FROM ONBOARD THE 'COAST STARLIGHT' CROSSING THE TRESTLE AT GAVIOTA, CA


NOW FROM NORTH TO SOUTH:

KING STREET STATION, SEATTLE, WA


ONBOARD THE COAST STARLIGHT PASSING THE 'NEW' TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE [NOT THE OLD INFAMOUS GALLOPING GURDY]


ALONG PUGET SOUND


PACIFIC PARLOR CAR ON THE ‘COAST STARLIGHT’


PORTLAND UNION STATION


WILLAMETTE FALLS, OREGON CITY, OR, AS SEEN FROM THE COAST STARLIGHT


UNION PACIFIC YARD AT EUGENE, OR


WILLAMETTE PASS, SPRINGFIELD, OR


KLAMATH FALLS NOCTURNE WITH TRAIN #11


ONBOARD THE COAST STARTLIGHT, PASSING SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER THE CARQUINEZ STRAIT


ON THE COAST STARLIGHT, STREET RUNNING THROUGH OAKLAND’S JACK LONDON SQUARE


PASSING THROUGH THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY


ENTERING A TUNNEL ON THE CUESTA GRADE AT PASO ROBLES, CA


CUESTA GRADE, PASO ROBLES, CA


THE COAST STARLIGHT DESCENDING THE CUESTA GRADE


FRONT OF OUR TRAIN, PASO ROBLES, CA


WINDING THROUGH THE HORSESHOE CURVES AT PASO ROBLES, CA


AMTRAK P42DC #189 ON THE POINT OF THE COAST STARLIGHT, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA


SAN LUIS OBISPO AMTRAK STATION


NEAR PISMO BEACH, CA


PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA


THE COAST STARLIGHT TRAVELLING ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA


PACIFIC COAST SOUTH OF SANTA BARBARA, CA


LOS ANGELES UNION STATION

June 27, 2020

A Ride in the Cab of a Steam Locomotive

Several years ago while vacationing on Vancouver Island, I was offered the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive. My wonderful & extremely supportive wife agreed to incorporate the opportunity into our travel plans so that I would have the chance to ride and photograph the experience.

The Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Esquimalt & Nanaimo' subsidiary once had an extensive network of lines serving Vancouver Island supporting freight and logging operations and even ran a passenger service of sorts. One section - the Canadian Pacific's Alberni Subdivision which once crossed the island from east to west - has been mostly abandoned except for a stretch running from Port Alberni to McLean Mill which is today operated as a tourist railway known as the Alberni Pacific.

It is this tourist railway that is documented in the pictures below from our website: https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Pete

Alberni Pacific #7 simmers at the end of the line at McLean Mill, Vancouver Island:


At the railway station in Port Alberni, British Columbia:


Alberni Pacific #7, an oil-fired 2-8-2 'Mikado' type engine, steamed up and bell ringing. At the engine house in Port Alberni, before being coupled to her train for the journey to McLean Mill:


Engineer working the Johnson Bar in the cab of #7:


View over the fireman's shoulder, departing the station and railroad yards in Port Alberni:


#7 charges past a grade crossing.


View from the cab window, going over a trestle:


#7's stack blasting into the cool morning air, reminding the good people of Port Alberni that the Alberni Pacific is passing through:


Oil in the firebox. No hand-bombing coal on this iron horse:


View past the boiler and on down the line, through the Vancouver Island rainforest.


A young couple pays homage to steam's magic at the end of the line at McLean Mill, British Columbia:


McLean Mill historic site, last operating steam-powered sawmill in North America:


Taking the return trip in one of the coaches:


Our journey comes to an end as we pull into the yards at Port Alberni:

June 21, 2020

A Trip on The Rocky Mountaineer

Since my very first 'Canada by Train' post documenting our journey on VIA Rail seemed well received, I thought I might post some pics from a different train route through Western Canada.

Canada has two major Class 1 transcontinental railroads - Canadian National (CN) & Canadian Pacific (CP). CP was the first to be built through Canada and was a major factor in the creation of Canada as a country, as completion of a transcontinental railway was a condition of British Columbia joining the new Confederation of Canada.

Of the two railroads, only the CN line still has transcontinental passenger service in the form of VIA Rail Canada's 'Canadian' which traverses the country and the Canadian Rockies on the northern route through Jasper, Alberta.

The CP route, which runs through the Rockies further south through Banff, Alberta has no transcontinental passenger service. However there is a seasonal, regional tour train named the 'Rocky Mountaineer' which runs through the Canadian Rockies from Calgary, Alberta to Vancouver, British Columbia over the tracks of the Canadian Pacific and is the only way for tourists to travel on the CP line through southern Alberta and British Columbia.

A few years back, my wife & I decided to book a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer and thought we might share some pics.

So without further ado, for those interested in taking another scenic land cruise, here are a few pics from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy!

FIRST, A PIC OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER RUNNING ALONG THE KICKING HORSE RIVER, NAMED FOR THE PACKHORSE THAT KICKED & KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS JAMES HECTOR OF THE PALLISER EXPEDITION WHILE SEARCHING FOR A ROUTE THROUGH THE CANADIAN ROCKIES


NOW FROM EAST TO WEST: CALGARY, AB, STARTING POINT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TOUR TRAIN


CANADIAN PACIFIC 2-10-4 'SELKIRK' TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #5931 ON DISPLAY IN CALGARY, AB


ONBOARD THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, PASSING THE THREE SISTERS AT CANMORE, AB. AS SEEN FROM THE OPEN-AIR OBSERVATION PLATFORM OF THE DOME CAR


TRAVELING ALONG THE BOW RIVER WEST OF BANFF, AB


ROCKY MOUNTAINS EAST OF LAKE LOUISE


CANADIAN PACIFIC STATION AT LAKE LOUISE, AB


VINTAGE HEAVYWEIGHT PASSENGER CARS AT LAKE LOUISE STATION


ROCKY MOUNTAINEER NEAR STEPHEN, BC


PASSING THROUGH THE YOHO VALLEY


TRAVELLING THROUGH THE KICKING HORSE PASS ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER


MOUNT STEPHEN TO THE LEFT


PASSING DEMOLISHED ROAD BRIDGE, KICKING HORSE CANYON


CANADIAN ROCKIES AT LEANCHOIL, BC


THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE KICKING HORSE CANYON


PASSING THROUGH THE SELKIRK RANGE AT GLACIER, BC


MEET WITH A CP FREIGHT LED BY CEFX AC4400CW #1057, REVELSTOKE, BC


MEET WITH THE CANADIAN PACIFIC EXECUTIVE TRAIN LED BY CP FP9 #4107, REVELSTOKE, BC


CP CABOOSE AT REVELSTOKE, BC


CROSSING THE COLUMBIA RIVER LEAVING REVELSTOKE


BAR AREA IN THE FRONT OF THE DOME CAR. NEAR SHUSWAP LAKE, BC.


BACK ONBOARD THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER LEAVING KAMLOOPS, BC, AFTER AN OVERNIGHT STAY


PASSING THROUGH THE ARID THOMPSON RIVER CANYON NEAR ASHCROFT, BC


BIGHORN SHEEP


COYOTE, LEFT OF CENTRE IN PHOTO


BALD EAGLE


VIEW FROM BACK OF TRAIN AT A ROCK SLIDE DETECTOR FENCE IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON.


ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON


VIEW FROM REAR OF TRAIN PASSING THROUGH A TUNNEL AT LASHA, BC


PAINTED CANYON REGION OF THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON


CISCO, BC, IS WHERE THE CANADIAN PACIFIC & CANADIAN NATIONAL LINES CROSS EACH OTHER


IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER DOME CAR, TRAVELLING THROUGH THE COAST MOUNTAINS NEAR BOSTON BAR, BC


CROSSING THE FRASER RIVER AT VANCOUVER, BC


ROCKY MOUNTAINEER PULLING INTO THE STATION AT VANCOUVER, BC

June 14, 2020

A Rare-Mileage trip on the 'Montana Daylight'

Years ago, I had the opportunity to ride a passenger train on a route that today would be considered "rare mileage" by railfans and thought I might share some pics.

From 1995 until 2004, a tour train known as the ‘Montana Daylight’ used to run over a portion of the old Northern Pacific Railway's (now Montana Rail Link) mainline on a 2-day journey from Sandpoint, ID to Livingston, MT, via Missoula, MT, where an overnight stop-over was made (passengers could overnight in one of the local hotels which along with meal service, was included in the price of the tour).

The Montana Daylight ran on a section of the route of Northern Pacific’s premier passenger train, the ‘North Coast Limited’, which itself ran all the way from Seattle to Chicago, as did it’s replacement – Amtrak’s ‘North Coast Hiawatha’ which ran until 1979.

These pics were shot with a Nikon F60 using Kodachrome 64 slide film and later "hillbilly scanned" by photographing the slide projections with my then-new Nikon D50 digital SLR.

Not my best work - but since neither Amtrak's North Coast Hi nor the Montana Daylight are running anymore, I for one will always cherish these views of a streamlined passenger train running on this now-freight-only line through southern Montana.

Pics from my website at https://northamericabyrail.info/

Cheers, Pete

FIRST, A SHOT OF MY FAVORITE SPOT ONBOARD THE TRAIN. IN THE DOME CAR ON THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT. BEARMOUTH, MT


NOW FROM WEST TO EAST. ON THE EASTBOUND MONTANA DAYLIGHT, DEPARTING SANDPOINT, ID, AMTRAK STATION


NEAR THOMPSON FALLS, MT


DINING CAR ON THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT


LOWER LOUNGE IN MONTANA DAYLIGHT DOME CAR


MONTANA DAYLIGHT DESCENDING EVARO HILL WEST OF MISSOULA, MT. DUST DEVILS IN THE BACKGROUND.


MONTANA RAIL LINK SD19 #651 ON THE POINT OF THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT, MISSOULA, MT


NORTHERN PACIFIC 4-6-0 TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #1356, MISSOULA, MT


DOME-SLEEPER-LOUNGE CAR ‘BELLA VISTA’ ON TAIL END OF MONTANA DAYLIGHT, MISSOULA, MT


DOME CAR ‘CITY OF LIVINGSTON’, MONTANA DAYLIGHT, MISSOULA, MT


MONTANA RAIL LINK SD19 #652 ON THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT, MISSOULA, MT


ON THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT, LEAVING MISSOULA EASTBOUND


ABANDONED MILWAUKEE ROAD RIGHT OF WAY, RUNS PARALLEL TO MRL - NEE NORTHERN PACIFIC - MAINLINE


MONTANA DAYLIGHT CROSSING AUSTIN CREEK TRESTLE IN MULLAN PASS


LOOKING BACK AT AUSTIN CREEK TRESTLE


ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER AT LOMBARD, MT


MONTANA DAYLIGHT PASSING UNDER THE OLD MILWAUKEE ROAD BRIDGE AT LOMBARD, MT


LOOKING BACK AT MILWAUKEE ROAD BRIDGE, LOMBARD, MT


REAR VIEW OUT OF DOME CAR, LOMBARD, MT


LOGAN, MT


MEET WITH A BNSF FREIGHT, LOGAN, MT


MODEL RAILROAD ON DISPLAY AT LIVINGSTON DEPOT, EASTERN TERMINUS OF THE MONTANA DAYLIGHT

June 6, 2020

By Rail to The Maritimes on the Ocean Limited - a photo gallery

The ‘Ocean’ is Canada’s longest-lived named train, inaugurated July 3 1904 & running on the same route for over a century. It’s original name was ‘The Ocean Limited‘ to reflect its status as a fast, limited-stop express train & since the 1970's is operated by VIA Rail Canada over the route from Montreal, Quebec and through New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast.

Back in the day the train consist would have been steam-hauled heavyweight passenger cars. In the 21st century of course more modern equipment is used. In 2002 VIA Rail re-equipped the 'Ocean' with European-made long distance rolling stock, with the exception of a vintage American built dome car at the rear, making this train unique among VIA Rail's fleet.

One summer several years back my wife and I had the opportunity to ride this train. As 'luck' would have it, a few days before the trip, I tripped & fell with my camera around my neck, landed on top of it and cracked my lens!

In a great amount of pain, I checked into the local hospital with my wife accompanying me and was diagnosed with a fractured rib. The Dr. said there was nothing to do but let the rib heal on its own. Not to be deterred, I went to a local camera store, bought a new lens, and in a few days off we were to Halifax. The nightly adventure of trying to climb into my upper berth in our bedroom on a moving train - with a cracked rib - was interesting to say the least...

Once again, as a weekend distraction, we thought we might share some pics below from our website at: https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Pete

FIRST, A VIEW OF ‘THE OCEAN LIMITED’ AT HALIFAX FROM THE WESTIN NOVA SCOTIAN HOTEL


NOW FROM WEST TO EAST: ONBOARD THE ‘OCEAN LIMITED’ LEAVING MONTREAL, QC


CROSSING THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER EAST OF MONTREAL, QC


MONT ST. HILAIRE, QC


RENAISSANCE DINING CAR ON THE 'OCEAN LIMITED'


RENAISSANCE LOUNGE CAR ON THE 'OCEAN LIMITED'


RENAISSANCE SLEEPING CAR BEDROOM - DAYTIME SETUP


RENAISSANCE SLEEPING CAR BEDROOM - NIGHT TIME SETUP


PARK CAR TAIL-END LOUNGE ON THE 'OCEAN LIMITED'


VIEW FROM THE VESTIBULE OF THE PARK CAR. MATAPEDIA, QC


TRAVELLING ALONG THE RESTIGOUCHE RIVER, THE TRAIN ACROSS THE VALLEY IS THE ‘CHALEUR’ BOUND FOR GASPE, QC


LOOKING BACK FROM UPPER LEVEL OF PARK CAR. MORRISSEY ROCK TUNNEL WEST OF CAMPBELLTON, NB


THE ‘OCEAN LIMITED’ ROLLS THROUGH CAMPBELLTON, NB, IN THE EARLY MORNING LIGHT


A BEAVER DAM NEAR MONCTON, NB


SACKVILLE, NB, VIA RAIL STATION


TIDAL FLATS NEAR TRURO, NS


SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER HALIFAX HARBOR


PASSING BEDFORD BASIN ON THE APPROACH INTO HALIFAX, NS


CONTAINER SHIP IN PORT, HALIFAX, NS


ENTERING HALIFAX UNION STATION


THE ‘OCEAN LIMITED’ AFTER ARRIVAL AT HALIFAX UNION STATION


PARK CAR ON THE TAIL-END OF THE ‘OCEAN LIMITED’ AT HALIFAX UNION STATION


BOARDWALK ALONG THE WATERFRONT, HALIFAX HARBOR


WWII ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY CORVETTE HMCS 'SACKVILLE' ON DISPLAY, HALIFAX WATERFRONT


SKYLINE OF HALIFAX, AS SEEM FROM THE FERRY ACROSS THE HARBOR TO DARTMOUTH, NS

May 30, 2020

Florida-bound on Amtrak's Silver Meteor

Good afternoon DU'ers,

With all the non stop depressing news, first about the pandemic, then the grave injustices still being inflicted on vulnerable groups - especially people of color - and with the hope that America will emerge from this as once again being a beacon and inspiration for all peoples, I though it might be time for another weekend distraction with a few pics from a somewhat better time, and about a completely different subject.

Back in 2015 my wife and I decided to forgo the dreary weather up here in Canada and head south to Florida. Instead of flying or driving, we chose to take the train (naturally, as those who are familiar with my prior posts will know).

For those interested in taking a land cruise down the eastern seaboard to Miami, my wife and I often travel by train and thought we might share some pics from our trip a few years back on Amtrak's "Empire Service" train from Buffalo to New York City, and then aboard Amtrak's "Silver Meteor" from New York to Miami, and finally by rental car to the Florida Keys.

The pics are from my website, https://northamericabyrail.info/

Hope you enjoy,

Best Regards, Pete

4:30am at Buffalo-Depew Amtrak Station. Waiting for Amtrak's 'Empire Service' train that will take us to New York City


Passing a New York Central 0-6-0 type steam locomotive on display at Utica Amtrak Station


Along the Hudson River south of Albany, NY


Passing Bannerman's Castle on the Hudson River


Storm King State Park, Cold Spring, NY


Along the Hudson River at Croton-Harmon, NY


US Post Office Building, New York City. Photographed during our layover in New York while changing trains


The Empire State Building, taken during our layover at Penn Station.


Onboard Amtrak's 'Silver Meteor' departing Penn Station for Miami, with the dining car crew working to prepare this evening's meal.


Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer. Fresh Tilapia


Entering Philadelphia, PA


Entering a tunnel at Baltimore, MD


Engine change in Washington, DC. The electric locomotive that pulled our train from New York is uncoupled...


...and replaced by diesels for the rest of the trip to Miami


Bedroom on Amtrak's Silver Meteor, set up for day use


Passing swamplands near Savannah, GA


Approaching Deland, FL Amtrak station


Entering Winter Park, FL


Approaching Winter Park Amtrak station


Passing a fountain in downtown Winter Park


Winter Park Amtrak station


Entering Orlando, FL


Passing an orange grove south of Orlando


Leaving the Silver Meteor at Miami Amtrak Station


View of Miami Beach as seen from our hotel


Collins Ave, Miami beach


By rental car to the Keys along the Florida Overseas Highway


Mangroves in the Florida Keys along Overseas Highway


A shot of a rooster wandering the streets in Key West, FL


The lighthouse at Key West, FL