It was the first Amtrak trip for our family of 4. Rail sale tickets were $8.60 per person RT.

We left Cleveland a little late 8:40AM, and had nice comfortable seats in a blue theme car. Car was much quieter than I thought it would be.

The cafe car was open and I got the kids some snacks. I wanted to get a beer but the service attendant said he could not sell it till 11AM. I thought that was odd.

I said I would be back at 11 and he said well I'll be closed down by then..

From what I could tell the train crew changes at Pittsburgh and he had to shut down and take an inventory.

Well I thought no big deal, I'll enjoy a beer on the way home and check out the scenery.

The ride to Pittsburgh was nice and we arrived about 11:50 AM. It was cloudy and cool.

This gave us about 4 hours to kill till we had to catch 43 back to Cleveland at 3:55.

We walked to the Gateway Clipper and took a 1 hour boat tour of the 3 rivers area. Spent some time at Station Square and got back to
the Amtrak station around 3:30pm.

So there I'm sitting, with the sun finally breaking through thinking how I'm going to enjoy my beer and the scenery on the
way back to Cleveland.

At about 4:15 we were told that 43 had hit a pedestrian about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.

They had no idea what time it would get in.

They finally released the Train from the accident scene and it got into Pittsburgh at 6:30pm. Once in the station they had to do a chemical wash on the engine.

We finally departed at 7:30pm.

There went the daylight and the scenery for the return trip.

Heck with the beer, I went for a Bloody Mary. Could not see anything out of the car because the had the internal lights on the whole way back.

About 45 min. out of Pittsburgh the train stopped again. This time for a half hour to switch out the "Black Box" for the accident investigation.

We made good time till we got to the suburbs of Cleveland when it seemed we slowed to 20MPH.

About one mile from Cleveland station we stopped again for about a 1/2 hour because of a switch problem.

Well we finally got off at 11:45PM, over 4 hours late...

Going to try this again if RAIL SALE has the Pennsylvanian listed in the near future. I think the kids will stay home this time!

I also would like to find out more details about the 43 accident. Any suggestions on where to look?

From what I have been able to tell, being 4 hours late is not all that common for the Pennsylvanian, although being on time is probably even more rare.

I'm curious, did you get an explanation for why the train left the station BACKWARDS? We hung around for another 5 minutes, but since the train didn't come back through I am guessing that they routed you another way.

Did you find the cars to be comfortable? It looked, from the outside, as though there were plenty of open seats. Was the train crowded?

Despite the problems, RailSale for this train makes it awfully attractive for Clevelanders. That early morning departure and early evening (supposedly) arrival can't be beat.

Alan

Cars where great. There was the newer blue ones that we were in with a AC oulet at each seat.

Only about 10 people on that car.

There were older orange cars that no one was on, and an old style cafe car that was plesant to sit in because you had a table to rest your elbows on and just gaze out the window.

Would like to do another trip the end of this month, but rail sale was not there for 43 & 44 last time I checked.

Next time I will bring a couple cold ones for the trip out.

The funny thing is that I checked with 1-800-USARAIL all week to check the on time performance of 44 and 43 and it was very good.

Have a great trip. The fall foilage should be just about right then. Once you get into PA there is more of an open view to see the hills covered with trees.

Sam

quote:

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Originally posted by HopefulAlan:
(I wonder how much trouble you would be in if you took a cooler along with you, with a few cold ones in it!)[/B]

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It's OK as long as you consume it at your seat and don't take them to the cafe car. Aside from the fact it is against federal regs, it would be kinda like taking a Wendys burger to a McDonalds.

rick