A view of the new Moynihan Hall and a trip to Miami.

JCitron

Trainzing since 12-2003
https://youtu.be/M5A1RsgXgTs

The new Moynihan Hall is in NY Cities old post office building next to Penn Station. Unlike the old Penn Station, it wasn't destroyed to make a high rise. The building is in the same style as the old Penn Station was and has been renovated from the old post office into a new train station. There's a mix of old and new.

After the tour of the station, he shows the new Viewliner II and Viewliner I and boards where he reviews the trains services on his way to Miami.
 
Great video! I have never been on Amtrak, but hope to in the coming years. Great tips in that video!

It's been about 30 years for me. I did take Amtrak to Florida back in 1979. My brother and I went down there from Boston to visit our aunt and uncle in Deltona. We took the MBTA commuter rail into Boston then the trolley and subway over to Back Bay station where we boarded the Senator to Penn Station in NYC. That train continued to Washington, but we switched at Penn Station to The Champion which took us to Florida. For a railfan, this was the best thing ever, but for a bored brother it was murder. Going down we saw old New Haven Washboards and the newer Bombardier electrics on the New Haven end, even though they were run by MetroNorth by then. Conrail was still running electric freights and some stuff was still painted in Penn Central black. There was a mix of New Haven and Pennsylvania equipment including some GG1s on that part.

Out of Penn Station, we saw all kinds of awesome equipment, rather I saw it because my brother couldn't care less. There were Pennsy MP54s and other electrics along the line through Newark and Trenton, and we saw the Lackawanna (EL by then) electrics out on the Meadowlands as they headed out of Hoboken. After a long journey, we switched to diesel in Washington. There were some delays in Baltimore due to "issues" with our train, but I saw an old Pennsy-painted RS3 switching freight in the yard there. I waved at the engineer in the switcher and he waved back.

The food was awesome! We had red snapper going down with baked potatoes so black that the skin peeled off. They were actually cooked in a coal oven and tasted so much better than any I've had since. The coaches on The Champion were older ca. 1940s to 1950s rib-sided coaches from various roads. We rode in coach both ways, and the interiors were outdated. The problem was the filth. The coaches were dirty especially the bathrooms, and there were cockroaches running about. I told the attendant and he came by with a can of bug spray. That really was gross.

On the trip back, we took the Silver Meteor and the trip was much the same except in Philadelphia I remember seeing United Aircraft Turbo Trains I missed on the way down. During a layover outside of Washington, I watched some freight activity in a nearby yard as the trains served some industries, and going into NYC I saw more EL electrics going across the Meadowlands with NYC skyline in the background.
 
It's been about 30 years for me. I did take Amtrak to Florida back in 1979. My brother and I went down there from Boston to visit our aunt and uncle in Deltona. We took the MBTA commuter rail into Boston then the trolley and subway over to Back Bay station where we boarded the Senator to Penn Station in NYC. That train continued to Washington, but we switched at Penn Station to The Champion which took us to Florida. For a railfan, this was the best thing ever, but for a bored brother it was murder. Going down we saw old New Haven Washboards and the newer Bombardier electrics on the New Haven end, even though they were run by MetroNorth by then. Conrail was still running electric freights and some stuff was still painted in Penn Central black. There was a mix of New Haven and Pennsylvania equipment including some GG1s on that part.

Out of Penn Station, we saw all kinds of awesome equipment, rather I saw it because my brother couldn't care less. There were Pennsy MP54s and other electrics along the line through Newark and Trenton, and we saw the Lackawanna (EL by then) electrics out on the Meadowlands as they headed out of Hoboken. After a long journey, we switched to diesel in Washington. There were some delays in Baltimore due to "issues" with our train, but I saw an old Pennsy-painted RS3 switching freight in the yard there. I waved at the engineer in the switcher and he waved back.

The food was awesome! We had red snapper going down with baked potatoes so black that the skin peeled off. They were actually cooked in a coal oven and tasted so much better than any I've had since. The coaches on The Champion were older ca. 1940s to 1950s rib-sided coaches from various roads. We rode in coach both ways, and the interiors were outdated. The problem was the filth. The coaches were dirty especially the bathrooms, and there were cockroaches running about. I told the attendant and he came by with a can of bug spray. That really was gross.

On the trip back, we took the Silver Meteor and the trip was much the same except in Philadelphia I remember seeing United Aircraft Turbo Trains I missed on the way down. During a layover outside of Washington, I watched some freight activity in a nearby yard as the trains served some industries, and going into NYC I saw more EL electrics going across the Meadowlands with NYC skyline in the background.
Thank you so much for the great video and special thanks for your story. It's like I was with you at that time, on that journey. When the world was different from what it is now. Even inspired to do something similar.
 
Thank you so much for the great video and special thanks for your story. It's like I was with you at that time, on that journey. When the world was different from what it is now. Even inspired to do something similar.

You're welcome. I wish to do that kind of trip again someday, but like everything else so much has changed and disappeared with history. It was quite an experience riding under the New Haven catenary which is sadly being replaced with the modern metal framework like everywhere else in the world.
 
Somehow I missed your post from March, John. That would have been a fascinating trip. My only trips have been on the Hiawatha (Which I am too young to remember), and then on the NP Mainstreet of the Northwest (North Coast Limited) from Pasco Washington to Jamestown North Dakota and back, sometime in the early 60's (green on green). It so impressed me I am still into trains. Most of my memory is stepping between coaches in those accordion covers, and mostly sitting up in the dome cars watching the train up ahead turn into the curves before we got to them. The UP had occasional retro consists here in Boise for Crossing safety promotions and we were able to take our son aboard, but could not get to the dome car, and it never went faster than about 5mph here in town, showing screens from the cameras out front as cars tried to rush the crossings. We REALLY need to get back on a train!
 
Wow, that's a great video. I have never taken Amtrak, just like forester, but I'm sure I will do that as soon as possible after this video. I used to be very skeptical about Amtrak. I don't know why, but I never liked them. I thought their trains had to be in a terrible state, and their workers had to be someone who got rejected by a better company. However, due to this video and the tips listed in it, I'm ready to give it a try! I've already browsed the timetables on https://www.dbfahrplan.com/de/. I will take the New York Chicago train the following Wednesday.
 
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