To Shiny Rails

Archive for August, 2013

Southwest Chief

by on Aug.11, 2013, under Amtrak

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After Dad’s and Vickie’s recent visit to California, including the SMVRR business excursion to Seattle, I took Dad home to Kansas City via Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. Predictably, the book I always pack was never cracked. We did nothing but gaze out the window and eat in the dining car (which also involved looking out the window!). Well, there was the occasional bio break, railroad talk, platform wanderings, but by and large it was something of a treasure hunt – what’s around the next bend?! If you want to see the country, the exceptional beauty, the bad, and the ugly, travel by train. You get a perspective like no other. On our second and last night, we were in the southeast corner of Colorado, heading for Kansas, watching a long storm line do its thing a fair distance away. It put on quite a lightning show for hours. And as if that weren’t enough, we saw a meteor (Perseid Meteor Shower) as the skies were perfectly clear near the train. The evening ended with a hilarious comedy routine performed by our car steward over the intercom describing the problem we were having with the toilets: “I’ve got some good news and some bad news…”. Nothing like a good belly laugh to end the day.

That’s not my photo above, but it’s remarkably similar to what we were seeing. I did not have my camera with me. Shocking, I know. The photo came from a royalty-free photo website I often use: http://www.sxc.hu/

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SMVRR Business Special

by on Aug.07, 2013, under SMVRR

The second annual Santa Maria Valley Railroad Business Special ran last weekend from Los Angeles to Seattle. Dad and I went again this year along with Vickie and Lynn! Didn’t take any photos this year (too busy with business and enjoying myself), but last year’s photos will do the trick: http://jf2.com/120809/ (the weather was much better last year for photos, too). This year’s group is pictured below. Don’t miss the SMVRR drumhead!

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