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Trains

What is the farthest you have traveled by train?

The fastest speed you have moved by train?

Everybody likes steam trains. Which do you think has the best excursions?

The only train I have been on was that South Shore Line that, commuter line is south of us, running between Michigan City, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. The boys were little and really into trains,...we had a 16 x 4ft electric train display, not to mention the hundreds of dollars worth of Thomas the Tank Engine wooden trains, tracks, all the gear. At any rate, we usually drive the route to Chicago,...but we thought it cool to take the train with the boys to Millennium Park in Chicago and visit the Aquarium and the Museums.

The train moved out pretty well once we got out of Michigan City,...and like most commuter trains, made frequent stops, but for only a short time,...seemed like only a few seconds the doors were open, and then off we went again. If people weren't there waiting on the platform,...they missed the train,...the train was not waiting for anyone.

Similar to @Leo Zed, the only time we ever saw steam trains was at the Henry Ford Museum. Of course, I did when I was very little,...in Port Huron, Michigan back in the late 1960's,...the Grand Trunk Railroad still had a few small old steamers that pushed coal cars to the industrial plants nearby.

Maps & Stations
Millennium Park in Chicago | Find Park Info, Art, Events & Tours

Henry Ford Museum Railroads Exhibit - History of Trains
Grand Trunk Western Railroad - Wikipedia
 
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The longest train ride that I have been on was from Sicily to Madrid. It was excruciatingly slow. Seemed like an eternity.

I have been fascinated with steam trains since I was a kid. I used to read about them in Encyclopedia Brittanica. I occasionally watch YouTube videos about steam locomotives. The only locomotives that I have seen in person were at the Henry Ford Museum (near Detroit). I remember being amazed at the size of the rear wheels - huge!

The reason for huge wheels was speed. In the early years, when the science of lubrication was in its infancy, very large single axle driving wheels were used of up to eight feet in diameter to avoid stressing the moving parts. Some had to have a relief in the underside of the boiler to allow these huge wheels to be used with a low boiler profile.

An example of a later eight foot wheel loco; GNR Stirling 4-2-2 - Wikipedia
 
Boston, MA to Seattle, WA.
3,029 miles. Although, something went wrong near Chicago and we were diverted by bus for several hours. I have no idea of our speed, but I have a new interest in just how fast trains travel, thank you! My point of reference is driving in cars at about 75 mph. The train was variable for sure, sometimes speeding by in a blur, and other times just crawling along letting me take in every visual detail of the land below the tracks.

The observation cars on Amtraks are amazing! Like giant glass bubbles to view the ever-changing landscape.
 
The only train-travel I've done, has been up and down parts of the coast of California/ approximately 700 miles total, on an Amtrak train called the Pacific Surfliner.

This particular train travels an average speed of approximately 80 miles per hour.

I would love to ride on a steam train, as well as one of the high-speed trains in Japan, should I have the opportunity.
I love the Pacific Surfliner ride! When life gets too overwhelming, I fantasize about just riding that line up and down until the end of time.
 
The only train I have been on was that South Shore Line that, commuter line is south of us, running between Michigan City, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. The boys were little and really into trains,...we had a 16 x 4ft electric train display, not to mention the hundreds of dollars worth of Thomas the Train wooden trains, tracks, all the gear. At any rate, we usually drive the route to Chicago,...but we thought it cool to take the train with the boys to Millennium Park in Chicago and visit the Aquarium and the Museums.

The train moved out pretty well once we got out of Michigan City,...and like most commuter trains, made frequent stops, but for only a short time,...seemed like only a few seconds the doors were open, and then off we went again. If people weren't there waiting on the platform,...they missed the train,...the train was not waiting for anyone.

Similar to @Leo Zed, the only time we ever saw steam trains was at the Henry Ford Museum. Of course, I did when I was very little,...in Port Huron, Michigan back in the late 1960's,...the Grand Trunk Railroad still had a few small old steamers that pushed coal cars to the industrial plants nearby.

Maps & Stations
Millennium Park in Chicago | Find Park Info, Art, Events & Tours

Henry Ford Museum Railroads Exhibit - History of Trains
Grand Trunk Western Railroad - Wikipedia
I used to work at an A&E firm that had an office above Union Station in Chicago, so commuted on the Northwest line from Libertyville. Once on the train, I didn't have to go outside. That commute was great. There is a reason that communities around Chicago that have stations adds between $50,000 to $100,000 to house values.
 
What is the farthest you have traveled by train?

Around 120 miles. Amtrak- Philadelphia to Washington DC.

The fastest speed you have moved by train?

Not a clue.

Everybody likes steam trains. Which do you think has the best excursions?

LOL...The only one I know of locally. But it is a real steam engine. Occasionally seen in Hollywood films. :cool:

MPF_1504.jpg


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Carson City - Virginia City Train Rides - V&T Railway Commission
 
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Not very far, the longest trip was around 350 kilometers, from Oslo towards the south coast. And it was surprisingly slow. There may have been a problem somewhere so it moved slower than normal. My uncle was a train driver for 30 years, I can't imagine how many thousands of kilometers he travelled.

I don't know much about steam trains, but I did visit The Norwegian Railway Museum years ago.

tog.jpg tog2.jpg bil.jpg
 
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What is the farthest you have traveled by train?

The fastest speed you have moved by train?

Everybody likes steam trains. Which do you think has the best excursions?

My father was a Locomotive Engineer so I was able to ride in the cab often. Albeit it was not as heavily regulated as it is now so that wouldn't be allowed anymore. From Flint to Columbus is the longest I can recall.

Edit: I rode from Volgograd to Moscow to St. Petersburg also when I did my study abroad

I ride all over the place virtually now.
 
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The only train I have been on was that South Shore Line that, commuter line is south of us, running between Michigan City, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. The boys were little and really into trains,...we had a 16 x 4ft electric train display, not to mention the hundreds of dollars worth of Thomas the Train wooden trains, tracks, all the gear. At any rate, we usually drive the route to Chicago,...but we thought it cool to take the train with the boys to Millennium Park in Chicago and visit the Aquarium and the Museums.

The train moved out pretty well once we got out of Michigan City,...and like most commuter trains, made frequent stops, but for only a short time,...seemed like only a few seconds the doors were open, and then off we went again. If people weren't there waiting on the platform,...they missed the train,...the train was not waiting for anyone.

Similar to @Leo Zed, the only time we ever saw steam trains was at the Henry Ford Museum. Of course, I did when I was very little,...in Port Huron, Michigan back in the late 1960's,...the Grand Trunk Railroad still had a few small old steamers that pushed coal cars to the industrial plants nearby.

Maps & Stations
Millennium Park in Chicago | Find Park Info, Art, Events & Tours

Henry Ford Museum Railroads Exhibit - History of Trains
Grand Trunk Western Railroad - Wikipedia

My dad was a Locomotive Engineer for GT for about 10 years but worked his way to that over a 30 year career.
 
What great responses! And some great rides people have been on. I have always enjoyed train journeys and local rail.

Moving by expressway or airline annhilates the journey and barely counts as travel. Nowadays the experience is homogenized and bland. Trains offer a more human scale journey and allows one to ponder our countryside and enjoy regional differences.
(added) A favorite from Blue Highway. Great music!

 
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I traveled on the Trans Siberian from Beijing to Paris numerous times back in the early 80’s.
Oh wow! I think my brother traveled this line – isn’t it like a six or seven day journey? My brother reported that after six days of the clack clack clacking of the tracks, he was feeling kookoo crazy. Someone had smuggled a small cat onto the train in their luggage, but it got loose a few days into the journey. I hear that ol’ cat is still riding the rails to this day.
 
What great responses! And some great rides people have been on. I have always enjoyed train journeys and local rail.

Moving by expressway or airline annhilates the journey and barely counts as travel. Nowadays the experience is homogenized and bland. Trains offer a more human scale journey and allows one to ponder our countryside and enjoy regional differences.

We generally try to do all back roads when traveling unless we have time constraints
 
Oh wow! I think my brother traveled this line – isn’t it like a six or seven day journey?.

I actually forget how long it was as it was over 40 years ago.

The trick was to book on the Chinese train which left on Friday versus the Soviet train that left on Wednesday. The first class accommodations on the Chinese train were superb. All wood paneling with brass lighting and a private shower. The Soviet first class was cheap plastic and inferior in every way.

When the train reached the Soviet Union, the wheels on each car were changed as the track was a different size.
 
I dont have a particular interest in trains but I thought I'd share something here:


This is mostly about travel services in Japan, but it's well made and cool to see, whether you like trains or boats or buses or want to see weird hotels or whatever. I only just found this channel recently and have been quite enjoying these videos.

Just figured it might be interesting.

If you watch anything from it though, turn captions on. The creator doesnt talk in the videos (to keep the atmosphere of the trip going) so all of the dialogue (which is in English) is in the captions.
 
We generally try to do all back roads when traveling unless we have time constraints
I, too seek out all the oddities. The Corn Palace in SD, Carhenge, and the Ashfall Site in Nebraska The Dickeyville Grotto in Wisconsin. So many great places
 
Longest train ride was from Nogales, Arizona to Mexico City, Mexico in 1973. Approximately 1360 miles. It took about 40 hours because the rails were literally propped up with 2x4's along steep cliffs in the middle of the mountains so the train barely crept along the rails in those sections. Scared me to death!

The windows were open, no air conditioning, and the train stopped at many little towns where local people would swarm up to the open windows to sell food and trinkets. That was the first time I ate jicama. I had no idea what it was but loved the crispy texture and sweet taste, sprinkled with some kind of dried chili and lime juice.

I've been on many other trains and subway systems - The City of New Orleans, the Sunset Limited, a train from NYC up and down the Hudson Valley, BART, NYC subways, Chicago "El" trains, etc. I have no idea how fast any of the trains were.

I've also been to the Henry Ford Museum, which was fascinating, and visited the Chattanooga Choo-Choo tourist trap in Chattanooga, TN.
 

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