posted
I just picked up my new winter timetables at the Winter Park station -- everything is in one book now (no separate NE book), and they list host railroads for all the routes, plus there is a lot more information for "first-time" train riders, plus sample fares! Even "Julie" is written about....
Very cool!!! Good ideas, Mr. Gunn!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Some of those are revivals of ideas that were used in previous Amtrak timetables, including the list of all trains serving Chicago sorted by departure/arrival time. I wonder if David Gunn happened to find a box full of old timetables in a closet at Amtrak headquarters.
Now, if only they could bring back some of the trains that used to populate those old timetables that aren't around anymore...
Posts: 112 | From: North Hollywood, California | Registered: Mar 2002
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I got my copy of the timetable in the mail a few days ago. I agree it is very well designed. It allows one to plan a trip without needing the Amtrak America travel planner alongside. It has the full-color national route map, sleeping room diagrams, a sample dining car menu, travel tips, and more. It even has instructions for how to read a timetable.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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Basically, Gunn has simply (but wisely) reintroduced classic design elements that the railroad's earlier timetables had inherited from the pre-Amtrak era.
Although full color is a modern enhancement, the biggest technical difference is that both pre-Amtrak and early Amtrak timetables generally had a double-fold design (which fit into the narrow inside pocket of an overcoat or suit jacket), rather than a magazine format (which lies flat and is less bulky when placed inside a modern briefcase or seat pocket).
But can anyone explain what the deal is with the cover design? Once again, they've concocted another of their bizarre, computer-modified concoctions -- a "California Zephyr" so cosmetically enhanced that they've vaporized the baggage car, "repainted" the Superliners, and completely erased the numbers from the engines.
With all the truly stunning rail photos available, couldn't America's only national passenger railroad spring for something 100% genuine?
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 11-21-2003).]
posted
I read $120,000 was spent on printing the latest timetables.
There was a span of a few years when, in order defray costs, the paper used for printing the timetables had a plain, flat finish rather than glossy magazine-type finish. The current timetables were prouduced in less than normal quantity. Hang on your copy!
By the way, do you think the host railroads names' were included to put the spotlight more publicly on them when Amtrak's trains are late?
Dave
[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-23-2003).]
Posts: 284 | From: Ithaca, NY USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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I agree with Dilly about the cover -- first of all, how do you know that's supposed to be the CZ? What I don't understand is the surrealistic "moon" of a mountain in the background! Being a geologist and a very frequent train rider, I have no idea what that perfectly round-topped mountain range is supposed to be!! No place on AMTRAK is there a scene like that! Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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I'll sum it up in two words, PUBLIC RELATIONS. If you need another example, just look at most any magazine with a celebrity like Britney Spears on the cover. I will GUARANTEE you, that picture was airbrushed to make the celebrity look "perfect", no matter who it is. Amtrak must be trying to do the same thing, I remember in some of their older publications seeing a full superliner train with 2 perfectly clean F40's pulling it! It's all in the image it conveys, that's pretty much it. In most any photo I've taken of an Amtrak train, the locomotives have dirt and dents all over them or the paint/decals may be peeling off, normal wear and tear, but Amtrak like any other company or magazine wants to convey the "pefect" image, thus Adobe Photoshop was born!
Posts: 113 | From: Buffalo, NY | Registered: Sep 2002
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Acualy thats not a moon thats just some stripe to make the words "Amtrak system timetable" look more clear. And this was the same cover I was talking about, try looking at the photo on page 93 and you'll see what I mean. ------------------ JONATHON D. ORTIZ
[This message has been edited by JONATHON (edited 11-23-2003).]
Posts: 989 | From: DIAMOND BAR CA. U.S. | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Cleaning up a photo of a train is one thing. Completely reinventing it is something else.
Photoshop is a terrific innovation when wielded by someone who truly knows what they're doing. But on the majority of Amtrak's recent timetables, the "enhanced" covers have all looked oddly ham-fisted and amateurish -- more like brochures for a second-rate plumbing supply company than a huge national railroad.
Again, there's plenty of excellent Amtrak photography around, with not a dent or a peeling decal in site. So why do they insist on repeatedly reinventing the wheel so poorly?
posted
I was on the Empire Builder several years ago,and an announcement was made that we were about to meet a special train that Amtrak was using to take pictures of for a commercial.It consisted of an F40 and 5 or 6 Superliner cars.They were extremely clean with no peeling paint.If you check past timetables,you will notice Amtrak doesn't use baggage cars on it's photo trains.
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I like the contents of the timetable. Sure, the cover photo could use some help as far as the buffs/foamers are concerned. Then again, out of all of you complaining about the photo, how many of you sent in photos in their photo contest over the summer? Perhaps the reason the engine numbers have been blanked out is the fiasco with twin 135s heading the train on the last timetable. Obviously Amtrak doesn't have enough cash to contract out to some fancy marketing firm, so they try to do the best with what they have. Personally, I think the dining car photo should be the main item and the train on the sidebar... two cents... I was thrilled when I saw the timetable anyway because of the great improvements in format. The guest railroads listing is there not only to attribute blame for delays but so the railroad name does not clutter up the main timetable body. Of course, as in years past, the highest numbered road diesel SHOULD be on the calendar, but I'll leave that for another topic. I'm a little swayed there.
Posts: 391 | From: Schenectady | Registered: Jan 2002
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