A thousand miles of Amtrak

[DrLeftover]

New Photoessay and Commentary

0523 Maysville KY
Should we take this opportunity to discuss the 'potty' aboard a train? Perhaps compare it with a commercial bus, or maybe an airliner and evaluate the possible difficulties using such a facility while the vehicle is in motion?
No, we'll skip it and go back to the deplorable state of the infrastructure of the American Railway Network.
Not only is such a roadbed agonizing for the passengers who are continually shaken awake, it has to be just as rough on the train itself as hitting a string of potholes is to your car.
There are suspension parts to train cars, besides the wheels and axles, which would undoubtedly last longer on something that resembled a smoothly laid track, you do have the Casey Jones equivalent of shock absorbers which take one hell of a beating at times.
And we haven't even mentioned the engine. How good on it is all the dancing around on the tracks while under way? The thing is a massive and endlessly complicated diesel electric power plant with a collection of fantastically powerful electric motors down underneath. What does it cost to rebuild one of those monsters? Never mind buying a new one.
Now, given all that, wouldn't fixing at least the worst of some of these sections of track be worthwhile for both reasons. Namely, it wouldn't destroy the equipment as quickly, and the passengers wouldn't feel like they'd been to Six Flags after a trip.

http://themediadesk.com/files8/train.htm

 

[Nebulous]

So the journey was uncomfortable?

 

[DrLeftover]

Well....

The seat was more comfortable than a 150 year old solid wood church pew.

But the pew doesn't move.

 

[DrLeftover]

I just did something, and found it almost as amazing as the trip itself. You can do it too.

You want to use Google Earth because the resolution is better, but the regular "maps" will work as well.

First, find Charleston, West Virginia's Amtrak station (38, 20, 46.92 N by 81, 38, 18.61 W.)

Zoom in until you can see the train tracks, then back out about one notch.

Now, follow those tracks EAST through that valley along the river, watching for the names of the towns in the article as a guide, and watching for the tunnel collection that are along the way, until you get to the Greenbrier and then Clifton Forge which is on the Virginia border.

You can also see the shadow of the New River Gorge Bridge along the way!

You'll be amazed at two things, One being how STEEP the sides of the valley get on each side of the river and they've managed to get a set of tracks on Both sides of the river for most of the way. And two, how small some of the towns are with a train station, but then again, in a couple of cases, other than a canoe on the river, there may not be another way to get there.

 

[Evil Eye]

Are there any smaller trains that cover shorter distances more reliably?


Charleston station on Maps: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.346368,-81.638492&t=h&z=19

I found a train: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.140413,-81.288008&z=18&t=h

 

[Darth-Apple]

I actually don't mind train rides. They are a bit rough, but it is much easier than driving, especially for a bad driver like me. It depends on the train you get on though.