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AC 2024 Trip recorder
a year ago
General
My usual AC journey log. Check back for updates as I and my 90-ish pounds of luggage journey towards Pittsburgh entirely via public transit.
--08:28a Dp. home
NYC TRANSIT:
--08:30a: Ar. local bus stop. A bus sails past just as I reach the corner. With no one at the bus stop, it keeps going.
--08:45a: Dp. local bus stop
--08:49a: Ar. Gun Hill Road subway station
--08:52a: Ar. Gun Hill Road subway station platform
--08:55a: Dp. Gun Hill Road
--09:41a: Ar. 34th street Penn Station subway station
Mindful of my near-disastrous attempt at getting a Jersey Mike's sandwich during the Philadelphia layover this time last year, I thought I'd grab a sandwich at the Chick-fil-A across from Penn Station, only to be foiled by their special July 4th hours, adjusted opening from 6:30am to 10:30am. Well, at least I'm at the station with time to spare.
AMTRAK:
--9:56a: Ar. Moynihan Train Hall
--10:38a: Boarding call for Train 43 announced
--10:43a: Boarded train 43, coach #25016
--10:52a: Dp. Moynihan Train Hall
--11:06a: Ar. Newark, NJ
--11:38a: Ar. Trenton, NJ
--11:44a: Dp. Trenton, NJ
--12:??p: Ar. Philadelphia, PA (whatever it was, it was on-time)
--12:42p: Dp. Philadelphia, PA Conducor announces the train is sold out.
--01:09p: Ar. Paoli, PA
--01:12p: Dp. Paoli, PA
--01:54p: Ar. Lancaster, PA
--01:57p: Dp. Lancaster, PA
--02:12p: Ar. Elizabethtown, PA
--02:13p: Dp. Elizabethtown, PA
--02:30p: Ar. Harrisburg, PA
--02:38p: Dp. Harrisburg,
--03:17: Stopped (Newport, PA) owing to an unspecified mechanical issue in our diesel. Engineer is checking it out.
--03:56p: Conductor reports that engineer may have resolved the problem, but will have to wait about 10 minutes while NS (the freight railroad) clears the signals ahead of us. One eastbound ethanol tanker train rumbled past while we were stopped, other freight may be backed up due to us.
--04:08: On the move. During our stop I found a railroad radio stream for this area, and from conversations heard on the NS Harrisburg dispatcher, we may have a low coolant condition in our locomotive, so we may be making an unscheduled stop at a NS service facility to top off our coolant. (edit: it didn't happen, at least on this trip)
--04:42p: Ar. Lewistown, PA
--04:45p: Dp. Lewistown, PA
--05:21p: Ar. Huntingdon, PA
--05:22p: Dp. Huntingdon, PA
--05:48p: Ar. Tyrone, PA
--05:48p: Dp. Tyrone, PA
--06:04p: Ar. Altoona, PA
--06:07p: Dp. Altoona, PA
--06:58p: Ar. Johnstown, PA
--07:01p: Dp. Johnstown, PA
--07:39p: Ar. Latrobe, PA
--07:41p: Dp. Latrobe, PA
--07:54p: Ar. Greensburg, PA
--07:57p: Dp. Greensburg, PA
--08:35p: Ar. Pittsburgh, PA
--08:39p: Detrained to platform
--08:55p: Ar. Kimpton Monaco
--09:06p: Checked in and arrived at room
--09:28p: Finally set.out for the convention center to get my badge...after waiting out a banger of a thunderstorm that arrived while I was.going up to my room :D
--09:36: Arrived DLCC only to find registration closed early. Re-opens 9am tomorrow. On one hand I'm not drenched. On the other hand I got no steenkin badge tonight.
--FRIDAY:
Adding this here 'cause registration choked on itself last night. I heard it had actually closed before my train arrived, so I would still have been screwed had I went straight to the DLCC.
[8:30A]: Arrived at the DLCC expecting to find a line and I was not disappointed. Then, pre-registered people were led inside...and well...the same "Line of Death" as last year presented itself. Judging from the number of people now sitting on the floor, they've been here a long time. Opening is supposed to start at 9am.
[08:50a]: A staffer starts calling for any dealers to form a dealer registration line. He says he'll try to get an answer for Artist's Alley people. I brought my "art trailer" anticipating the line wait to spill over into dealer's hours.
[9:00a] Nothing happens. But the line has roughly increased by about a third.
[9:11a] A loud cheer erupts from the start of the line. Maybe registration opened, I dunno...I'm in the fourth layer of standees.
[09:14a] Just as I finish typing this, the first layer starts moving.
[09:21a] I've now advanced to the "inner sanctum", but now confront the "Endless Zigzag
[09:44a] In an amazing display of efficiency, I've ripped thru the zigs and acquired my badge. There appear to be at least twelve stations dedicated to pre-registered attendees.
--08:28a Dp. home
NYC TRANSIT:
--08:30a: Ar. local bus stop. A bus sails past just as I reach the corner. With no one at the bus stop, it keeps going.
--08:45a: Dp. local bus stop
--08:49a: Ar. Gun Hill Road subway station
--08:52a: Ar. Gun Hill Road subway station platform
--08:55a: Dp. Gun Hill Road
--09:41a: Ar. 34th street Penn Station subway station
Mindful of my near-disastrous attempt at getting a Jersey Mike's sandwich during the Philadelphia layover this time last year, I thought I'd grab a sandwich at the Chick-fil-A across from Penn Station, only to be foiled by their special July 4th hours, adjusted opening from 6:30am to 10:30am. Well, at least I'm at the station with time to spare.
AMTRAK:
--9:56a: Ar. Moynihan Train Hall
--10:38a: Boarding call for Train 43 announced
--10:43a: Boarded train 43, coach #25016
--10:52a: Dp. Moynihan Train Hall
--11:06a: Ar. Newark, NJ
--11:38a: Ar. Trenton, NJ
--11:44a: Dp. Trenton, NJ
--12:??p: Ar. Philadelphia, PA (whatever it was, it was on-time)
--12:42p: Dp. Philadelphia, PA Conducor announces the train is sold out.
--01:09p: Ar. Paoli, PA
--01:12p: Dp. Paoli, PA
--01:54p: Ar. Lancaster, PA
--01:57p: Dp. Lancaster, PA
--02:12p: Ar. Elizabethtown, PA
--02:13p: Dp. Elizabethtown, PA
--02:30p: Ar. Harrisburg, PA
--02:38p: Dp. Harrisburg,
--03:17: Stopped (Newport, PA) owing to an unspecified mechanical issue in our diesel. Engineer is checking it out.
--03:56p: Conductor reports that engineer may have resolved the problem, but will have to wait about 10 minutes while NS (the freight railroad) clears the signals ahead of us. One eastbound ethanol tanker train rumbled past while we were stopped, other freight may be backed up due to us.
--04:08: On the move. During our stop I found a railroad radio stream for this area, and from conversations heard on the NS Harrisburg dispatcher, we may have a low coolant condition in our locomotive, so we may be making an unscheduled stop at a NS service facility to top off our coolant. (edit: it didn't happen, at least on this trip)
--04:42p: Ar. Lewistown, PA
--04:45p: Dp. Lewistown, PA
--05:21p: Ar. Huntingdon, PA
--05:22p: Dp. Huntingdon, PA
--05:48p: Ar. Tyrone, PA
--05:48p: Dp. Tyrone, PA
--06:04p: Ar. Altoona, PA
--06:07p: Dp. Altoona, PA
--06:58p: Ar. Johnstown, PA
--07:01p: Dp. Johnstown, PA
--07:39p: Ar. Latrobe, PA
--07:41p: Dp. Latrobe, PA
--07:54p: Ar. Greensburg, PA
--07:57p: Dp. Greensburg, PA
--08:35p: Ar. Pittsburgh, PA
--08:39p: Detrained to platform
--08:55p: Ar. Kimpton Monaco
--09:06p: Checked in and arrived at room
--09:28p: Finally set.out for the convention center to get my badge...after waiting out a banger of a thunderstorm that arrived while I was.going up to my room :D
--09:36: Arrived DLCC only to find registration closed early. Re-opens 9am tomorrow. On one hand I'm not drenched. On the other hand I got no steenkin badge tonight.
--FRIDAY:
Adding this here 'cause registration choked on itself last night. I heard it had actually closed before my train arrived, so I would still have been screwed had I went straight to the DLCC.
[8:30A]: Arrived at the DLCC expecting to find a line and I was not disappointed. Then, pre-registered people were led inside...and well...the same "Line of Death" as last year presented itself. Judging from the number of people now sitting on the floor, they've been here a long time. Opening is supposed to start at 9am.
[08:50a]: A staffer starts calling for any dealers to form a dealer registration line. He says he'll try to get an answer for Artist's Alley people. I brought my "art trailer" anticipating the line wait to spill over into dealer's hours.
[9:00a] Nothing happens. But the line has roughly increased by about a third.
[9:11a] A loud cheer erupts from the start of the line. Maybe registration opened, I dunno...I'm in the fourth layer of standees.
[09:14a] Just as I finish typing this, the first layer starts moving.
[09:21a] I've now advanced to the "inner sanctum", but now confront the "Endless Zigzag
[09:44a] In an amazing display of efficiency, I've ripped thru the zigs and acquired my badge. There appear to be at least twelve stations dedicated to pre-registered attendees.
The friggin' coolest thing about the train trip on The Pennsylvanian, before the trip my friend who's a rail enthusiast, was chatting with the engineer before departing and they hit it off. The engineer then offered my fellow bear furry friend and I a cab ride. *WOOOT?* So, we got to see a lot of pretty danged cool stuff. I took tons of pictures, but of course, not of the Engineer, I didn't want to get him in trouble. We were actually quite surprised that with security stuff being so strict that actually happened in 2007. It was a long ride too a little over 1 hour. I even got to sit on the engineer's seat for pix. That may just have been a once in a lifetime opportunity. And engineers would never want to endanger their job by allowing this.