Yet another Amtrak journey is now behind us. We just returned from a relaxing week in Florida; apparently with fortuitous timing. On the outbound trip we were one of the last trains to get through Washington, D.C. before last weekends big storm hit. All other trains were cancelled. Not only did we make it to our destination, it was on time. Several mid Atlantic states declared a snow emergency. Airports closed. Amtrak pressed on.
While the snow howled up North, we enjoyed our mid sixty degree temps; there were one or two cool days down there, but nothing a heated pool couldn't fix...as a few suns set across the Gulf, news of yet another storm made it poolside. We certainly grinned ear to ear knowing that we were missing a snow storm back home.
Yet a third storm, this time down south, could potentially intersect with our return trip. We boarded train 98 on time; by nightfall when we made it to Georgia it began to snow, heavy and fast. It snowed all night. But we kept going. Undoubtedly, air travel had come to a halt.
We continued to plow through it, until a few miles south of Richmond, VA. A switch ahead of us was frozen shut and needed to be thawed out. That added a one hour delay. Upon getting to D.C., where we switched from diesel to electric, we got a glimpse of other trains passing us by, as well as our own as we passed some reflective glass - the sides were completely wrapped in horizontal icicles; the undercarriage was packed with snow - aside from the spinning wheel sets, you could barely make out any parts. It's amazing that we made the time we did. A few more minor delays; a passing CSX freight and a undercarriage inspection ( all the packed snow confused a equipment dragging sensor), added another 30 minutes to our delay.
Not bad for a 26 hour trip through a multi state blizzard; and Amtrak made it possible. Our last trip out west, 3 trains out and 3 back were all on time. This trip to Florida - all on time with the exception of weather beyond their control. Road and air traffic came to a halt. The trains, for the most part, came out on top. More importantly the people at the throttle, in the control center, along the mainline and handling passengers made it all possible. Thanks again for a safe, reliable trip.
Pic Above;Snow packed rails outside Union Station, Washington, D.C.
On our recent trip to Sarasota, Fl, we visited the Ringling Museum. It's a sprawling estate/museum; about 60 acres. One of the buildings houses an enormous scale model of the circus as it was setup town after town. Part of the model featured an industrial section of trackwork ( photos above), using familiar Walther's kits as part of the backdrop. It even used some of their also familiar backdrops - the only difference was that the entire model is built at 3/4" to a foot. So the track was about 4" wide. I am assuming they simply used the Walther's kits as a guide and scratch built their own. Some of them stood at three and four feet high. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know. It was interesting to see ; but I am curious as how those structures came to be.
