With the upcoming cold weather snap, Amtrak is (wisely IMHO) taking preemptive action with the annulment of Midwest Corridor trains. In short they are expecting that the Horizon cars assigned to these services will be freezing up and may find they will be going 'way down yonder in New Orleans' for a thawout:
The following Amtrak Chicago Hub Services will not be available on Monday, Jan. 27: • Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301, 306 & 307 are canceled. (Trains 302, 303, 304 & 305 and Trains 21/321 & 22/322 will maintain service on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor) • Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 & 340 are canceled. (Trains 330, 331, 334, 335, 338, 339, 341 & 342 will maintain service on the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor) • Wolverine Service Trains 350 & 355 are canceled. (Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 will maintain service on the Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit/Pontiac corridor) • Illinois Zephyr & Carl Sandburg Trains 382 & 383 are canceled. (Trains 380 & 381 will maintain service on the Chicago-Macomb-Quincy corridor) • Saluki & Illini Trains 392 & 393 are canceled. (Trains 390 & 391 and Trains 58 & 59 will maintain service on the Chicago-Champaign-Carbondale corridor)
As an aside, I don't think too many people will be too interested in traveling too much.
Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :
Considering that the most southerly point of the UK is on a latitude about 200 miles north of Seattle it's amazing to think we haven't seen a single flake of snow over here this winter and there are still a few apples on the trees from last summer!!
Mind you, it hasn't stopped raining for about the past three months......
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Mr. Williams, circa 1971, I became a pirate of sorts and rode the Paddington-Penzance 'Night Riviera'. When I woke up and opened the slatted shade in a Mk III sleeper somewhere near Truro (50.26N 5.05W), I couldn't believe what I saw - Palm Trees!!!!
Palm trees anywhere on the island of Great Britain (oh well, Palms are not quite of the 'if you've seen one...' varietal with me)!!!!!!
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Aaahh, the Gulf Stream has done you folks well, Mr. W!!!
Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Mr. Williams, circa 1971, I became a pirate of sorts and rode the Paddington-Penzance 'Night Riviera'. When I woke up and opened the slatted shade in a Mk III sleeper somewhere near Truro (50.26N 5.05W)
Either it wasn't 1971 or it wasn't a Mk III sleeper. The Night Riviera didn't get them until the 1980s, having previously been Mk I.
Palm trees? Yeah. Even grapes for wine, and a quite enjoyable bottle at that.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Non-air conditioned, the windows would open and you could stick your head out.
Domestic wine? Any I have had anytime I've been over always seems to have been French (your term 'claret' always threw me for a loop - wines from France are generally identified by their region of origin).
So whatever Mark this is, is what I rode in. The newer varietal (air conditioned hermatically sealed - the fun was gone) was for a Euston-Glasgow journey during 1986:
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Non-air conditioned, the windows would open and you could stick your head out.
Your link is labelled "Mk1" which is a big clue that it was indeed a Mk1 on which you travelled.
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Domestic wine? Any I have had anytime I've been over always seem to be French (your term 'claret' always threw me for a loop - wines from France are generally identified by their region of origin).
Wine "experts" aside, "claret" is just a generic term for red wine. "Fancy some claret?" literally just means "Would you like some red wine?" without specifying which in particular. The next question might well be to determine which particular wine to choose.
English wine is not common. I was just pleasantly surprised when I did drink one.
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: The newer varietal (air conditioned hermatically sealed - the fun was gone) was for a Euston-Glasgow journey during 1986:
Sorry but your memory is askew again. While trains in those days may have had air conditioning, they certainly weren't sealed. I spent many a happy hour ignoring the dire warning signs posted above the droplight windows, hanging out and getting debris in the face.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: The newer varietal (air conditioned hermatically sealed - the fun was gone) was for a Euston-Glasgow journey during 1986:
quote:Originally posted by Geoff Mayo: Sorry but your memory is askew again. While trains in those days may have had air conditioning, they certainly weren't sealed. I spent many a happy hour ignoring the dire warning signs posted above the droplight windows, hanging out and getting debris in the face.
Gotta say,this car looks pretty sealed up to me:
Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: [QUOTE]Gotta say, that car looks pretty sealed up to me:
Bzzt. While the cabin windows may be sealed, the carriage itself (and thus the cabins) is far from sealed. Look at the windows in the end doors. They are the droplights to which I referred earlier. These sleeper carriages (and the HST carriages of a similar design) are one of the little remaining rolling stock with opening windows. It will be a sad day when they disappear.
As an aside, these particular carriages do not have inside door handles anymore, apart from sealed emergency handles, so opening windows are REQUIRED in order to get out of the carriage. They're also incredibly drafty at speed in cold weather.