I was scanning the RAILnews.net and discovered two extremely well-written editorials by Arthur Frommer, the world-reknowned publisher of travel books.
Although most of us are familiar with his arguments, it is nevertheless refreshing to hear them come from a person who seems to be a recent convert to the cause of preserving passenger rail service in the United States.
There are two articles and these are the links. Enjoy!
posted
well that pretty much sums up my experience on Amtrak.
It is so sad.
Thank you so much for the links. I love taking the train. It is really the only time I can really relax and kick back. I especially love when my cellphone does not work because I am in the middle of nowhere looking at great scenery. I have made a habit now of just turning the phone off when I am on the train,because it just does not matter. The stress will be there when I arrive.
When will this country realize that there are better things to do than sitting behind the wheel for hours when you could be reading the paper, or a book, while haviing cocktail and lunch??
posted
Dilly, in the second segment he had high praise for the train's crew and the company of his fellow travelers.
Interesting articles, both. I hope he translates his anger with Congress into action.
I am only vaguely familiar with the Frommer name, and don't know anything about his background, so I checked out his website. Seems odd that someone who has been a travel expert since 1957 has never ridden Amtrak before now.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
Frommer touts himself as an advocate of no-frills, family-friendly budget travel.
But from the newspaper article, I still sense he considers traveling on Amtrak to be a desperate choice of last resort -- akin to being on a leaky refugee ship, where only the kindness of the "common folk" saved his journey from completely descending into the bowels of hell.
Interestingly, he never mentioned the first class sleeping compartment he surely slept in. Overall, he gives the impression that traveling by Amtrak (despite the nice people and scenery) is something to be endured.
So while it laid out the issues, I don't really think it was necessarily a "positive" piece that will inspire many first-timers to take to the rails.
And I was left with the impression that Frommer himself won't be doing it again anytime soon.
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 10-19-2003).]
quote:Originally posted by dilly: Frommer touts himself as an advocate of no-frills, family-friendly budget travel.
All the more reason why he should be more familiar with Amtrak.
quote:Interestingly, he never mentioned the first class sleeping compartment he surely slept in.
Very possible he rode coach. Remember this was sudden change in itinerary due to an ear problem that prevented him from flying home. There might not have been any sleepers available for a last minute trip. That would explain his attitude.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
posted
I have an inner ear problem that prevents me from flying. This problem can only be resolved with the insertion of pressure equalization tubes (PET) in my eardrum. If the tubes are not there, the eardrum will perforate when the plane lands at sea level (I live at 6,000 feet). I have actually had my eardrum perforate on many occasions and it is not a pleasant experience.
I have also had PET tubes inserted in my ears at least a dozen times so that I can fly. They work great except the tubes migrate out of my ear every six months or so.
The operation to put the tubes in is rather nasty. The eardrums must be numbed with some sort of cocaine dirivitive, like novacaine. (excuse my spelling, I'm not a doctor.) If the numbing substance happens to drip into your brain, beware. I almost caused a major accident on the freeway when I totally lost it due to such an incident.
The upshot is I do not fly anymore. Mr. Frommer, should his ears continue to bother him, may arrive at my decision as well. Mr. Frommer now clearly understands why long-haul passenger train travel is such an important means of transportation to have in the country. Other people will probably arrive at the same conclusion in time.
To be honest, I'm somewhat disappointed with the Amish people. They rely heavily on Amtrak to get them cross country and I do believe that they are leaving it up to a higher force to insure their means of transportation. Last time I saw a group of them on Amtrak I made it clear to them what was going down.
The Amish appear to have a matriarchal society. The women run the show. And the women would not let me get the men all excited about what was going on. Supposedly they were on the ball, but quite frankly, I doubt it.
Posts: 324 | From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Mr. Toy: Very possible he rode coach.
You could be right.
But being familiar with Frommer's travel columns, magazine, and books, I suspect that, had he spent 36 hours glued to a coach seat, he would have described the "coach experience" in more graphic detail. And quoted a ballpark figure on how much that coach ticket cost.
Sleeper travel, however, is widely perceived as an expensive luxury. If he'd mentioned that he'd spent the trip sitting (and sleeping) in his own, very comfortable private compartment, readers would be far less sympathetic -- not only toward his personal tale of woe, but toward his argument in favor of increased Amtrak funding.
He also mentions being impressed by the hard-working conductors, dining car servers, and "porters" (as in Pullman porters), an antique term that a guy of Frommer's age -- I believe he's in his late 60s -- would understandably use in place of "sleeper attendant."
Few coach passengers ever see a sleeper attendant. So one can only deduce that the writer must have been traveling in a sleeping car to observe how "hard" they work.
Regardless, the article is useful in that it explains Amtrak's plight in a typically Frommer-esque no-frills manner.
But I doubt that many people who read it will immediately start packing their bags.
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 10-20-2003).]
posted
There is some possibility Mr. "Europe on $5 a Day" was riding in coach; he sure seemed to know and speak highly of many a "regular folk" he met on the trip. If he were suffering from any kind of an ear malaise (and I'm with you on those, Mr. Chucky), I don't think he would be "out there" with other folk any more than he would have had to be.
I doubt if researching for any future travel experiences was too much on his mind; this was simply emergency transportation, and with the disorienting effect of an ear malaise, he was well advised to stay away from the wheel.
But the accomplished journalist he be, an interesting report was prepared.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Ah, but apart from the playwright (who Frommer specifically mentioned was traveling cheaply), the other passengers he briefly profiled weren't necessarily riding in coach.
Besides, in both the dining car and sightseer lounge (where he seems to have spent time), even sleeping car passengers can experience the thrill of rubbing shoulders with "regular folk" from the coaches.
In truth, it doesn't matter. It's just me playing Sherlock Holmes.
Nevertheless, since Frommer has such a wide readership, I wish he'd not made Amtrak sound like a Third World railroad (which it isn't), and that his tone was a bit less crazed.
It's not Amtrak's fault that he had an ear problem, couldn't fly, and was pissed-off because he couldn't reach home in his customary three or four hours. Compared to his usual easygoing writing style, both his first article and the opening paragraphs of the second were little more than a rant.
The most positive things he had to say about traveling by train were left until the closing paragraphs -- which many readers probably never reached.
In that sense, he completely "buried the lead."
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 10-20-2003).]
posted
FYI Mr. Frommer's comments from the link above just showed up in the Sunday L A Times, 10/26, Travel Section. It was tucked in several pages deep so I would not be surprised if most readers overlooked it.
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
In all likelihood, the newspaper's rights to the material expired and accordingly so did the link.
The originating posting was made over four years ago.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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