Alternative transportation

[exlrrp]

recent discussions got me to thinking of alternative transportation and herein may be a good topic.
Anybody ever ride the side door Pullman? I been doing this since I was a kid, hopping freights altho not much in the past 10 years.--its sorta guerilla transportation at its finest, motorcycling ain't in it for constant risk, plus illegality.
The towns where I grew up, Richmond, El cerrito and berkeley had two railroads--the Southern Pacific and the Santa fe. (the western Pacific came into Oakland--now its all UP and BNSF)
the Sp roared thru town on A big triple track speedway but the Santa fe sorta skulked thru towns backyards at about 15 mph, dropping off a flat of lumber here and a gondola of gravel there-I was not raised on the wrong side of the tracks, I was raised in The Richmond Annex, literally, between the tracks.it went right close to my HS and JHS and the afternoon peddler freight went right by school to El Cerrito Plaza, then a state of the Art mall. there was a propitious S curve where a vigorous lad could hide and nail the freight as it went by, it always had empty gons, hop off at the Plaza for some after school girl ogling.
Ive never been thru the Panama Canal on a ship but I crossed it in a boxcar (troop movement)
After the Army I traveled around, hitchhiking and riding freights--some notable rides: Roseville to Reno over Donner Pass on the SP, Salt Lake City to Pueblo on the DRGW, Redding (CA) to Portland on the SP, The Feather River Canyon (CA) on the WP.
Amtrak has passed its drop dead deadline, they'll be cancelling long distance trains this year. I'm going to ride as many as I can before theyre gone, but my days of the side door Pullman are over.

James

happy just to be alive

[blues clues]

it kind of fit into my life style layed back took the train to AIT hate to ride on a bus air plains go to fast and too high up i've always liked to look at the country as we went through it will be sad to see it go.i guess everyone is in to much of a hurry on days,real sad.
razz

[DMZ-LT]

I grew up in Newark NJ in the mostly German immigrant neighborhood called the Iron Bound. My dad walked to work at the brewery. It was called the iron bound cause no matter how you got there you had to cross the RR tracks to be there. It's a Portugese neighborhood today. Been riding motorcycles for over 38 years now --- ain't nothing like it. In a car you look out and see the picture , on a bike you are IN the picture. Welcome Home

[Drywall]

Used to take the train to my grandpa's house before my Dad had a car. The depot was only a couple blocks from our house and we got picked up on the other end by one of my uncles. Musta rode the train a few dozen times back then. Now the depot isn't even there anymore and you have to drive 40 miles to catch the soon to be gone Amtrac. The Army sent us from Mpls. to Ft. Lost in the woods, Mo. on a train. That depot is now an indoor ice skating rink. I miss trains. My wife has never ridden on a train. Hope we can again someday.

[SgtBlake]

just about everyway possible on this planet, but I've never had the opprotunity to travel by train, I hope that some day I get the chance.

[andrew]

Never rode the RR after age 16. A friend named Al Lemeire jumped a train and got seperated from his right arm, just above the elbow.
On Tuesday went for a four mile walk, about three miles into it a guy I used to work with pulled up with his Harley 1200 and offered me a ride. Going from walking in 90+ heat to doing 70 MPH on that bike reminded me of getting on a chopper, a slick.
Problem with motorcycles around here is wet in the spring time and lots of leaves on the road in the fall. (Lets not even talk about winter.)

Stay healthy,
Andy - under a new name, can't figure out how to get the old one.
Hey James, the E-Mail address is czyk13@charter.net

[Hoyin]

Ahh..trains. I have so many memories involving trains. I still love them. See I grew up with a dad who is a steam engine FANATIC. The house was filled with HO scale brass models..we had the huge set-up in the garage..the library, trunks and every concievable space available filled to overflowing with railroad and train books. Laterns, stakes and other items all over. I remember standing on the side of the tracks with all the older guys..camera at the ready for that one shot of the Pacific Coast Daylight, and I've been on every single broad gauge line except the Chataanooga in the East and every narrow in the West except the Silverton Durango.
My office now has a painting of UPs 8444 and the Pacific Coast Daylight racing up El Cajon.
Trains are a huge part of our history. Dad was a fanatic..and I cant say I fell to far from the tree here.

[exlrrp]

[i] The house was filled with HO scale brass models..we had the huge set-up in the garage..the library, trunks and every concievable space available filled to overflowing with railroad and train books. Laterns, stakes and other items all over. I remember standing on the side of the tracks with all the older guys..camera at the ready for that one shot of the Pacific Coast Daylight, and I've been on every single broad gauge line except the Chataanooga in the East and every narrow in the West except the Silverton Durango.
My office now has a painting of UPs 8444 and the Pacific Coast Daylight racing up El Cajon.
Trains are a huge part of our history. Dad was a fanatic..and I cant say I fell to far from the tree here. [/b]

(Drool!.......) I wish I got into this hobby while it was still cheap. I am the only one in my family afflicted with this. Think it comes from being young and my dad (another railfan but not a modeler) would take me down to the Santa fe, SP and WP yards and Bullsht our way in to riding in on the turntable into the roundhouse--this was while there was still steam and roundhouses (steam ended here fully in 1958)
you live in Northern CA, right? have you been to the museums here? portola, Rio Vista, etc? I paid $75 to spend 1/2 hour in the Portola Museum yard switching cars with a GP9 couple years ago.
I have an N scale layout built on a 36' door, its a module that depicts Port Costa in its heyday. Also about 300 books on trains

we have our very own Iron Triangle right here in Richmond and it would remind you of one of Vietnams Iron Triangle on one of its livelier seasons, , the lrrpster pedals VERY fast through there on his Kamikaze days.

James

[Hoyin]

Oh yes..been to all the musuems around this area. More than once!! I've stopped at places in towns were they just have a train. Somewhere I have this picture I took, dont know *how* it came out this way but looked just like a painting that my dad got published in some train magazine. I should ask him where in the world that got to.
My house and world growing up practically revolved around trains (Religion and WWII history as well) and even my first date with Paul was to a train musuem to watch the steam engine that was going to be running that night!
Still love them.

[phuloi]

The U.S. has a long and glorious history in the railroad industry,but you`ve really missed something special if you have never road the rails in Europe....