Original text with edits
Anyone who has perused the the blog postings on my Myspace MySpace page will no doubt be able to tell you that I have a thing for trains. I can't say for sure when it all started, but I know that I've been waving to the engineers in passing locomotives for as long as I can remember. Because it's not really feasible for me to work on the railroad (hmm, I wonder if they employ technical writers?), I sort of treat my enthusiasm for trains as more of a hobby than a lifestyle.
I'm not some rich, old guy who has the time on his hands to hang_out by the tracks all day, but sometimes on the weekends I'll head down to Ybor City and look for some nice trains to spot. Amtrak runs two trains into and out of Tampa daily, and I like (to) watch those because they're reliable, and I can know for certain of where and when they will be, thanks to the train status feature on Amtrak's Web_site.
The trains in question are the daily north- and south-bound Silver Star service. The two trains run daily, as I said before, between New York Penn Station and Miami. Departing Miami at around 9-:00- a.m. on any given morning, the Star arrives in Tampa a little after 2-:00- p.m., heads up through Orlando and Jacksonville and then through Georgia and the Carolinas overnight, pulling into the magnificent Washington Union Station at lunch_time the following day. After a station stop in D.C., the Star then delivers its passengers into the heart of Manhattan the same afternoon with plenty of time for dinner and the theater later in the evening. When the traveler has had his fill of New York, he simply boards the southbound Star and enjoys a comfortable return trip to sunny Florida.
The consist, or "makeup", of the Silver Star generally includes two power units (locomotives), one baggage car, one crew dorm/lounge, two-to-three passenger sleepers, one dining car, one lounge car, and three-to-four coaches. Each sleeper in Amtrak's inventory has a unique name, and when I go trainspotting I always try to note the names of the sleepers on the particular train I see that day. For a list of the names assigned to the class of sleeper used for the Silver Star, click here.
Naturally, my interest in trains extends far beyond the schedule and sleeper service of the Silver Star. I encourage anyone who has not experienced the world of railroading and train travel to research it a bit. While trains do not provide the speed that airplanes have to offer (with one notable exception in the Northeast between Washington and Boston - Amtrak's Acela Express can often get you from downtown to downtown more quickly than flying when you factor in the rides to and from the airports), they do offer a low-stress, comfortable, and affordable way to see America.
Emery's analysis
Daniel:
You know what I think is really awesome about growing older? We can freely admit things like this, affinities that may have been perceived as "dorky" when we were 17. I think you very simply explain your love of trains without it being a love letter to trains. Your knowledge tells the story. Clearly, if you didn't care, you wouldn't have the knowledge you have. The information did not come to you automatically. You had to dig. Along that line, it's cool how your lack of identifying the genesis of this love of trains only makes it more innocent. Awesome. Also, I think it's ill how you don't call it "trainspotting" until later in the text. Like, for people like me, I've heard the term, but never knew what it meant. I may have to join you some day.
Dammit.
I don't feel like I helped. Check my grammatical suggestions, as far as strikethroughs (which mean you can ax those words) and commas and other instruments in red.
Emery, thanks for your insight. "Dorky" is definately a word that comes up quite often when I discuss my enthusiasm of this subject with others. I appreciate your remarks. I certainly did make some dumb typos (the the, etc). I also tend to get a little carried-away with the commas at times it would seem. Having a second pair of eyes is a big help. Thanks!
-Daniel
Daniel: Hey, I read this over again and thought it might be cool to maybe at least speculate on when this obsession may have started. Also, might it be cool to mention, very briefly, how this interest in trains has, at times, subjected you to mild ridicule? But how that lingering threat never stifled your interest, or maybe it did. Just a couple of thoughts.
-- Emery
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