91–100 of 250 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So its a privately owned and operated rail car, that lots of people can group together with and pay the total cost of by individually paying a smaller part of it, like some sort of ... publicly accessible private transportation ... I think you might be on to something!
Jesus you’re right, I never knew I was a socialist.
Earlier 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…
post·pran·di·al | ˌpōs(t)ˈprandēəl |
adjective
formal or humorous during or relating to the period after dinner or lunch: we were jolted from our postprandial torpor.
• Medicine occurring after a meal: an annual postprandial blood glucose test.
ORIGIN
early 19th century: from post- ‘after’ + Latin prandium ‘a meal’ + -al.https://www.cruisetrain-sevenstars.jp/english/
Prices start at $4500 per person twin sharing for 4 nights, so not exactly cheap, but still a few orders of magnitude less than kitting out your own. Plus it's Japan, so you get a modern train, incredible service and everything runs like clockwork, none of those being terms you'd use to describe Amtrak.
Fun facts: you're required to wear a tuxedo to dinner, and despite the price tag, the train is enormously popular and they need to use a lottery system to select who gets to ride.
This 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…
Why not lease a car for a month, or a year? All those inspection, maintenance, parking, and labor costs are rolled into your fee, except the railroad can handle them much better than you can.
If it's "your" car, only people you approve of can sit in it. It's a rolling party!
We rode the New York Central 3, a private car built for a Vanderbilt a century ago, cross country, attached to the rear of the Lake Shore Limited, changing in Chicago to the California Zephyr. A great experience, watching the scenery go by for 4 days, with a 270-degree view from the sitting room in the rear. Basically, there are hobbyists who buy and upgrade these cars, and try to break even on chartering trips on th…
How much did that cost?
And it also depends on whether they find someone to book (some subset of) the return trip that will start within a day or two of your arrival; otherwise you have to cover their Amtrak fee for the dead-head return. I’m told there’s a network of enthusiasts who watch for such possibilities. Rather, two networks, who hate each other for no discernible reason. Or that’s how I understood it, as an outsider getting a glimpse of an obscure but intense sub-culture.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the comparison being made is why restrict yourself to a rail line when you can buy a huge bus with a driver and private chef and have them drive you anywhere you want.
It really isn't about the destination. If it were, one would just fly. To me, the elegance of rail is in its ability to travel through more secluded areas, to do so quietly, and to afford a person enough space to kick back without the need for a seatbelt.
To add more info.... Sometime around 2018 or so, I was looking at renting a private car. Prices were all over the place, from $2k (but you had to provide your own chef (or something like that)) to $5k (chef included) for what I'd consider decent accommodations. I was wanting something big enough to fit 5-10 people to have a hackathon. There were several companies that offered this service and all of them were towed b…
It would be pretty cool in a "fantasy" way but seems like it would be cool if you could "live" on a train that's always moving (besides at the stops). You would be comfortable in your own train car and wake up in a new place every day... terribly impractical but still seems cool, haha.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the comparison being made is why restrict yourself to a rail line when you can buy a huge bus with a driver and private chef and have them drive you anywhere you want.
It really isn't about the destination. If it were, one would just fly. To me, the elegance of rail is in its ability to travel through more secluded areas, to do so quietly, and to afford a person enough space to kick back without the need for a seatbelt.