Anyone play the Assassins' Creed game where your base of operations in the game was a train car that continuously moved around the game world while you were on (or off) it? I thought that was a really neat mechanic
Privately-Owned Rail Cars
111–120 of 250 posts
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but you probably get these enormous bills you weren't expecting, and absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Sounds exactly like a yacht.
LOL. At least there's some market for yachts. More "greater fools" to take it off your hands.
A railroad car -- now that has a more limited appeal.
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s inherent safety built into this dream. Van life in the woods sounds dangerous. Your train is traveling at a certain speed at all times on a route that’s operated by professionals. You are also not utterly alone and there is a company that can provide some customer support. You’ll never have to make a stop at a shady motel or gas station. Van life is a first class ticket to becoming a tidbit in serial killers…
You’re more likely to die in a train accident than be murdered by a serial killer.
And many times more likely to die in a road accident than either.
Edit: apparently this comment, or something immediately before, was so objectionable that I got a temp ban. God knows what is going on with that.
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a similar, but more attainable train goal of riding the Amtrak Empire Builder route from Chicago to Spokane. The route looks beautiful and has a few nice stops along the way.
Do it before they shut down the long hauls! I can’t see it being feasible for Amtrak to keep running those for decades to come.
I don’t see them shutting down all the long haul routes in the next decade or two. They would have to keep servicing the segments with shorter routes, which probably means they’d have to invest in some infrastructure, and I don’t see them getting the funding for that anytime soon. And even if that happens, they would probably save a couple of long haul routes for historic or cultural reasons. And given how popular the Empire Builder is, and how sparsely populated areas it goes through—meaning it is harder to justify the infrastructure that enables shorter routes—the Empire Builder will probably be the last long haul route to go.
I think the Empire Builder will still be there in 2040, even if it will only be a weekly run, mostly for tourists.
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
I like trains. And I wouldn't have to be the one driving - I'd be the one sitting at my dining room table enjoying my postprandial bliss. Downside is you're limited to where Amtrak goes (or having to hire a locomotive and getting permission from Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, etc. to use their tracks) If I wanted to go the van-life route, I'd probably order a B-Box from Advanced RV in Cleveland. They have more inte…
If you're hiring chefs and stuff for your train car, buying a high end motorcoach and hiring a driver seems superior and more affordable in basically every other way.
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#116This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
Unless you used the car routinely, a hackier solution would be just to buy out a block of rooms in the sleeper car.
Amtrak.com suggests rooms from Seattle to LA are ~$700 each. https://www.craigmashburn.com/amtrakcardiagrams.html says a Superliner sleeper car has 20 rooms. So you could rent out an entire car for about $14,000. Complementary meals included!
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#117This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
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Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#118This was a common practice in the early 20th century, as many of the wealthiest in the US owned and traveled by private rail car.
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#119Some of you might be interested in The Hacker Zephyr, a cross-country train hackathon with 42 teenagers from across the world. We worked with Amtrak and an amazing team of train enthusiasts to get 3 vintage train cars on The California Zephyr’s route across the US. We started in Vermont and ended in Los Angeles, traveling 3,502 miles over 10 days. Short documentary: https://youtu.be/2BID8_pGuqA Planning documents and…
This is super cool. I took a quick look but couldn't see how it was funded... how was it?
Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars
#120This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
Unless you used the car routinely, a hackier solution would be just to buy out a block of rooms in the sleeper car. Amtrak.com suggests rooms from Seattle to LA are ~$700 each. https://www.craigmashburn.com/amtrakcardiagrams.html says a Superliner sleeper car has 20 rooms. So you could rent out an entire car for about $14,000. Complementary meals included!
Or just rent a Pullman car. I have not actually reserved one, but I always find myself searching around for charter companies when I see these types of articles.
These guys claim $2500 a day for a charter. Not sure if it is legit or if there are other fees. (I assume you then also pay all the Amtrak fees). But I do have this on my back burner to try sometime. Since they offer some 4 bedroom coaches. Would be fun to get a group together to split the cost.