Philadelphia's 30th Street Station
It’s no Grand Central, but Philadelphia’s refurbished 30th Street Station, is pretty damn grand in itself, a relic from the heyday of rail travel in America, and a damn sight less seedy and more inviting than it was in the days of my youth. It also seemed to be more crowded too, with a bustling lunchtime rush filling the new food court. (Well, new to me.)
The station is also more conveniently located than I remembered, as I discovered when I walked across the river to score myself a Philadelphia style soft pretzel from one of the many street cart vendors, only to find myself standing outside a Trader Joes. After stocking up on a few snacks and beverages for the long ride to Pittsburgh, I walked back to the station and had myself a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee.
At this point I’m more than halfway through the seven and half hour ride, having just traversed the famous horseshoe curve, and one of the biggest surprises of the trip is how well my Internet access has held up via the AT&T 3G network on my iPhone… and hence my ability to surf and post. Sure, there have been plenty of areas of no service, especially here in what us East Coasters call “mountains,” but anybody expecting to get work done with a similar hookup won’t be too disappointed. And unlike the train cars on the Amtrak Cascades line, there are power outlets at every seat.
As for the rest of the trip, it’s been pretty much what I expected: smooth, quiet ride, plenty of leg room, and the ability to take a walk down the aisle whenever the mood strikes me. Another surprise, though I guess it shouldn’t have been, is the number of freight trains we’ve passed on this trip, many of them laden with coal. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian may make only a single round trip between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia a day, but for those of us looking forward to a passenger rail revival, it should be encouraging to realize that freight rail never died.
And oh yeah… so far, the train is exactly on time.
Hey Goldy! How d’ya like riding on my railroad looking at my coal cars? (I bought railroad and coal stocks this spring. I figger steam locomotives and coal trains may experience a revival after the oil runs out and airlines revert to rubber band powered flight.)
Many years ago I took the train from New York to Seattle.
Last year, my daughter and I took the Coast Starlight to LA…36 hours!
I love rail travel. I nearly booked a free (mileage points) midnight train from Pittsburgh to Chicago this Saturday to save one night’s hotel, and fly home nonstop out of chicago.
Glad you are having fun. Rail travel is the best.
See you in Pittsburgh! (In Dallas right now, waiting for a connection)
Show us the house and neighborhood you grew up in. Have some of your old neighbors enlighten us on Young Goldy!
nice looking station.
Looks almost like I remembered it, but it has been 15 years since I have been through 30th Street Station.(The Broadway Limited, although at the time under Amtrak not PRR, was still running. We were switching from it to a train bound for DC).
Washington Union Station has seen a great remodel, although the Parking Structure kind of detracts from it, and it is also part Shopping Mall now.
King Street Station here in Seattle is being worked on, they at least got the clock working, and the roof worked on.
Goldy–
When you get done helping Corzine in NJ and the Maryland Democrat Gov….start helping Arlen Specter:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
And help O-blah-blah…who is dragging all these people DOWN!
Goldy’s gonna be busier than a 1-legged guy in a butt-kickin’ kontest!
“Pardon me BOY”….Hmmm. I’m putting together a sort of recorded musical anthology to be played for our daughter’s wedding reception. One of the tunes I considered was Glenn Miller’s “Chattanooga Choo Choo” from the soundtrack of “Sun Valley”…then I listened to the lyrics and decided to leave it out.
Then again, some of what’s going on now pretty well shows that racism is anything but dead in America.
What is it, boy, with you liberal radical progressives and choo choo trains? SLUTs to Nowhere, racist light rails … maybe Dr. Goldstein should pull down his DSM and dig up his Freud to find out what your problem is.
Not only that, Mr. C., but now he’s losing Gallup. Let ’em try to BS their way out that inconvenient truth.
Best wishes to you and your daughter, Art. Piper’s got some great race-neutral tunes if you need ’em. Visa/Mastercard accepted, cash preferred.