A shame nothing this side of the country. And the rail helped the growth of the west as much as anywhere else
You mean besides LA, Sacramento, Portland, Olympia, a bunch of other California towns. Chandler, Mesa, Tucson, Flagstaff, Show Low and Williams AZ?
I went to not one, but TWO National Train Day events - and went to both by rail! I started by taking my namesake subway line to Downtown Los Angeles and took a glance at the NTD events at L.A. Union Station, then hopped on a Metrolink commuter train to San Bernardino for a 1 1/2 hour ride east to their RR station, where ATSF's 3751 was sitting proudly on the tracks: National Train Day, Los Angeles Union Station: Orange County N-gineers N-trak club Amtrak F59PHI Anniversary Wrap National Train Day, San Bernardino Depot: ATSF 3751! New Metrolink Crash-Resistant Coach, coming December 2010.
Metro Red Line, NICE PHOTOS! :thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up: Send that 3751 up here some day. I'd love to see it under steam next to SP 4449 and SP&S 700.
Now THAT would be THE EVENT for a National Train Day. Get 844 and 3985 in that meet as well! Who else has some mainline steam we could send out there?
I believe at Los Angeles Union Station's 50th anniversary back in May 1989, we had ATSF 3751, SP 4449 and UP 844(4) all in one place! I think I still have some pics of it somewhere...
Thanks! Here's some more pics from my NTD in Los Angeles and San Bernardino: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v246/elsongs/trains/Events/2010 05 08 National Train Day/
NTD San Antonio National Train Day was at the Sunset Station Amtrak facility. We were mobbed for about two of the six hours. Amtrak P42, dining car and coach on display. Quite a few vendors including our local Ligar Industries. Train clugs and historical societies, too. Here are pictures that probably tell it best.
Depends on how you define your area. There were signature events in New York City and Philadelphia. With the exception of the biggest events, National Train Day is all volunteer. Anyone who is disappointed by lack of events, perhaps its an opportunity to set something up for next year.
I enjoyed the pictures from those who posted them. I don't get to see alot of modern locomotives in my area, most are old that run in my area. I was amazed at the Amtrak's locomotive they are using. It looks more like a European style locomotive than a American style. With that design you sure have alot better visibility seeing ahead of you. Someone had mentioned in a post it was a F40PH locomotive, I'm guessing this is built by EMD corp??
Friends of the Depot Event, Grand Junction I got to attend the "Friends of the Depot" event in Grand Junction, CO. And yes, I did meet BravoGJT, his son, and his dad. We got to tour the interior of the old Depot building, built in 1906, which the "Friends" organization is trying to save. Although it's pretty bad inside, it's structurally sound and worth restoring. There's still some real beauty in there, like this stained glass window commemorating Colorado Midland Railway, which was the first line over the Continental Divide in Colorado and eventually part of the Rio Grande system. Just before Ben (BravoGJT) and family showed up, this westbound BNSF manifest pulled into the West Yard and waited for the Zephyr to pass. There's a GEVO and two Dash-9s on the front and another Dash-9 as the rear DPU (not shown). Then we met Zephyr Train 6. Bringing up the rear of the Amtrak was this old beauty. I suspect that whichever VIP will be riding in that coach isn't on board yet, as the staffer in the green shirt is holding a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels. It was a great day, and great to meet BravoGJT in person.
Ralph it was great to meet you in person too! You captured some excellent photos. I hope that mine come out that good. Ben
Every US State Represented on Train Day I just checked the National Train Day website. Alaska does have a train day. I didn't see any state that was not represented. There were over 100 locations I am sure.
Pictures, so we can ID it for you? The most "European" looking unit AMTRAK has, that I can think of, is the HHP8 built by Bombardier. They run all over the Northeast Corridor They also have the Acela units, again from Bombardier Most of Amtrak's power is GE P42 series units built by GE
I went to a small display at the Kirkwood Station in Kirkwood Missouri. Not a lot to see but I came away with a new job as a volunteer to work at the station helping people with getting on and off of Amtrak. So it was a good day for me. Polski
So, you didn't just participate in the festivities, but you found a way to promote trains year round. That's great.
