America travel pointers

Hatunen wrote:


The schedule board clearly showed that there were no trains on
Friday, so I asked the station agent what they were waiting for.
He said they were waiting for last night's train.

At least it was the westbound, due at 23:59 the previous night
and nearing the end of its three day journey.

On the other hand, I have seen the eastbound, scheduled for
Tucson at 02:20 after departing Los Angeles at 14:50, passing
through Tucson around noon.

If you're accustomed to riding trains in Europe you will probably
become quite frustrated riding AMTRAK.

I don't know of any Via Rail train that has been quite that late, but from
my experience they have never been on time. My son usually comes to visit
by train and the last leg of the journey, Toronto to here is only 60
miles. The train is usually an hour late, and it's only an hour from the
start of that leg of the trip.

Thirteen years ago I toured Europe on a EurRail pass. I was not keen on
the idea because my experience with trains was not positive. I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

frank megaweege wrote:
I've found that either the hitchhiker or the one picking them up are
drunk or crazy. I've been on all sides of this equation. It would be
extremely rare that two sane and sober people would hook up this way.

I've picked up three hitchhikers, all lone females.

All were apparently sober & sane.

#2 wanted to visit her boyfriend. As she explained where she wanted to
go, I realized the only residence in that neighborhood was the county
jail...

#3, I don't think she said a word after explaining where she wanted to
go. Most riders are far more friendly to their cabbies.

#1 was probably the only fully normal one of the bunch. It was the
first time she'd ever hitchhiked, and I don't think she'd have done it
if it hadn't been -25F. She normally rode the bus but at that late hour
it would have been a c-o-l-d half-hour wait.

This was all over 15 years ago. I might still pick up a lone female
hitchhiker today. Haven't had to make that decision, as I haven't
*seen* a lone female hitchhiker in 15 years. That probably says something.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
I've picked up three hitchhikers, all lone females.

I picked up a very pretty blond near Myers last November. I think I
dropped her in Auburn where she was to visit a friend. Although she
claimed to have no home, she was not a poor person. She was very
pleasant.

My all-time favorite hitch-hiker:

Subject: Atlanta '98, drive to (a report in six parts)
From: Icono Clast Monday, Jun 15 1998
Groups: rec.arts.dance, rec.roller-coaster, rec.travel.usa-canada
.. . .
Hit The Road at about 10:15 facing the longest drive, 667
miles, of the trip after having slept for about six hours. But those
few hours were apparently of very good sleep as I didn't have to nap
at all. Most days I would get drowsy and dangerous so I'd pull over
for a nap but not this day.
After about an hour, I picked up the second hitch-hiker of
the trip. The first I dropped at Meteor Crater, one of he saddest men
I've ever encountered. Oh, he was quite cheerful, hopping into the
car with extended hand "Hi! I'm Bill. I'm 56. I'm going to Saint
Joseph, Missouri" but he had absolutely nothing in his hands, was
wearing only a light-weight short-sleeved shirt and, if he had
anything in his pants pockets, I could detect nothing but a red
handkerchief.
This second guy had been sitting in Clines Corners since
6:30 the previous evening. He had a bag but looked like a bum, very
long straight hair, bearded, and very thin even though he was on his
way to New Orleans to seek work as a roughneck.
When we crossed the border into Texas, and Central Time, I
commented on some town's name. He gave me the full name, and history,
of the person after whom it was named. When we got to a historical
marker, it merely confirmed what he had told me. This happened town
after town. He was an avid, and excellent, reader with a keen
interest in Texas' history.
Before Texas, though, just for the helluvit we went through
Tucumcari. On the West end of town is a delightful monument that's a
highly stylized tail fin of a '58 (I think) deSoto with an equally
stylized number 66. It caused me such great delight that I continued
to comment on it 'til I dropped him in Wichita Falls.
That day was continuously overcast, the sun not showing 'til
just before sunset. On the Texas radio came warnings of severe
electrical storms with a list of counties to which they were
applicable. "Are we in one of those?" I hopefully asked. "No." I
understand that locals would not want such a show but thunder and
lightning are extremely rare in San Francisco so, for me, such a show
is a big thrill. Only the car got a bit of rain while I slept in
Albuquerque.
I had told the hitch-hiker that I wanted to find a place
with food, dancing, and a television set tuned to Seinfeld's ultimate
episode. In Wichita Falls, Chico's told me they had no television
set. I got to Applebee's around 8:30 and the numerous television sets
but one were tuned to Seinfeld. So I missed the first half-hour. A
patron told me what I'd missed thus giving context to what I saw. The
food was just fine but the Seinfeld credits scrolled at 9. Hey! I
thought it was a two-hour program . . . it's Central Time! ****!
Everything's an hour earlier. Damn!

-- __________________________________________________ ______________
A San Franciscan who's visited 49 of 50 US states.
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ --- http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 ------- IClast at Gmail com


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Hatunen wrote:
On 16 Aug 2006 20:03:47 GMT, (Steve Summit) wrote:

Also be aware that the train has a reputation for serious delays.

Last week, a passenger train from Seattle arrived at Emeryville (a
sub-urb of San Francisco) thirteen hours late, reputedly normal for
that route.

-- __________________________________________________ ______________
A San Franciscan in 47.452 mile² San Francisco.
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ --- http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 ------- IClast at Gmail com


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Dave Smith wrote:
[snip]
I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

Probably starting with how to subsidize them on a continental scale.

wrote in message
ups.com...

Dave Smith wrote:
[snip]
I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

Probably starting with how to subsidize them on a continental scale.




Rather than subsidising airlines as is done in the US.

Keith



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wrote:
Dave Smith wrote:
[snip]
I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

Probably starting with how to subsidize them on a continental scale.

The distances between major cities are much shorter in Europe. And a
large part of the population doesn't have cars.

The US should have much better urban mass transit and regional rail
systems, but a national rail system doesn't make sense.

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
frank megaweege wrote:
I've found that either the hitchhiker or the one picking them up are
drunk or crazy. I've been on all sides of this equation. It would be
extremely rare that two sane and sober people would hook up this way.

I've picked up three hitchhikers, all lone females.

All were apparently sober & sane.

#2 wanted to visit her boyfriend. As she explained where she wanted to
go, I realized the only residence in that neighborhood was the county
jail...

#3, I don't think she said a word after explaining where she wanted to
go. Most riders are far more friendly to their cabbies.

#1 was probably the only fully normal one of the bunch. It was the
first time she'd ever hitchhiked, and I don't think she'd have done it
if it hadn't been -25F. She normally rode the bus but at that late hour
it would have been a c-o-l-d half-hour wait.

This was all over 15 years ago. I might still pick up a lone female
hitchhiker today. Haven't had to make that decision, as I haven't
*seen* a lone female hitchhiker in 15 years. That probably says something.


Besides drunk and crazy I'll add the category of drug-addicted
prostitute. They're the only female hitchhikers that I ever see.

Iceman wrote:
wrote:
Dave Smith wrote:
[snip]
I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

Probably starting with how to subsidize them on a continental scale.

The distances between major cities are much shorter in Europe. And a
large part of the population doesn't have cars.

The US should have much better urban mass transit and regional rail
systems, but a national rail system doesn't make sense.

It does have a fairly nice one in the Northeast, which is about
the only area with enough density to justify one. Chicago has
some decent capacity, and a case could probably be made to
institute one on the California coast.

Keith W wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

Dave Smith wrote:
[snip]
I was amazed
at how fast and convenient the European trains are. You can actually
travel from one place to another with optional departure times and routes
and arrive at your destination on time. We could learn a lot from them.

Probably starting with how to subsidize them on a continental scale.

Rather than subsidising airlines as is done in the US.

Not nearly on the scale that Europe did.

Much of the operating expenses are paid by the fliers themselves.
Many airports are revenue sources for the cities that support them.
The primary "subsidy" that air travel recieves is related to the
capital financing, although as of late the costs of TSA are probably
predominately subsidized.