W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
Worldwide Narrow Gauges => Other Narrow Gauge => Topic started by: James Patten on January 23, 2009, 07:03:29 AM
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..."Patten Travel" visits...
Patten Travel has gone international because of my Wales trip in 2007 and my trip to Quebec City last year with my wife. Although no trains were ridden in Quebec City :( :'( That will hopefully change this year - either a trip to Pennsylvania (EBT! Strasburg! Amtrak!) or Montreal is in the works.
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James, if you have to chose one....I'd put the East Broad Top at the top of the list. As you drive into greater metropolitan Orbisonia / Rockhill Furnace, it is like your car has become a time machine.
For folks like us, it is like a trip to Mecca.
Keith
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I am leaning heavily on PA, but at the same time I don't want to let the strong US dollar go to waste in Canada.
EBT is at the very top of my list. I've been there twice and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Since FEBT has made lots of improvements in recent years it would be nice to see them in person.
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Hi,
Speaking of Amtrak, I took Amtrak from New London, CT to the Inauguration in Washington, DC this week. We actually went From NLC to Baltimore Penn Station, stayed overnight with family, then took an Inauguration Special on the MARC train to DC in the morning. We took Amtrak all the way from DC to NLC early Wednesday morning, 3:15 am. The Amtrak train ride was great. It was on time, comfortable and we had a nice trip. The MARC double-decker cars were neat. Unfortunately, I didn't get much time to check out the Baltimore Penn Station. It's so much nicer than driving it.
Erik
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James,
Strongly recommend EBT - there is so much to see..... FYI, EBT still owned by the Kovalchik family - same one who sells us relay #60 rail. I can give you the name/address of a really great B&B within spit'in distance of the roundhouse & station. Used to be the RR's superintendent's home. Really nice ........
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In fact, David, who runs the B&B, works for the EBT!
Phil
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That same David (if it's the conductor) is a member of the WW&F.
Under the "it's a small world" category, he has (or had) relatives in the Red Cape house in Head Tide.
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James, You are right about the EBT's Dave B. His wife had relatives who owned the Red Cape at Head Tide. They sold the place a few years ago to the folks who have it now.
The EBT is a great place - it's where I got my first cab ride when the line reopened in 1960. James you know the good draw factors for the EBT ... Chicken corn soup; More buildings restored by the FEBT; The recently cleared and reopened track going south from Rockhill Furnace yard. About 3/4 of a mile of the mainline is now open to trackcar operation. The EBT uses restored original Fairbanks Morse track cars to give rides where no train has been since 1956. You can ride and listen to the hit and miss engine. It gives you an idea what the WW&F's trackcar sounded like. Now that's cool!
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We're dragging this thread way off topic.
In 2000 I took a 2-week trip out to Colorado and visited all the sights, then came back to PA for the EBT Fall Spectacular, back when they had all 4 steam engines running. My best moment from the trip came during the Spectacular, when I was standing at the crossing at Orbisonia Station and one train was approaching from the south and another from the north (on separate tracks of course) and both blew for the crossing at the same time. Pure nirvana of steam whistle noise. I didn't get that on any other railroad during my trip.
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James, I know you must have taken pictures on your trip...and I know you were shooting film...have you scanned any of them?
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I exposed about 30 rolls of film on that trip. Very little of it is scanned, it's all in an album at home. I can bring it in on Saturday if anyone's interested.
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The EBT is a great place - it's where I got my first cab ride when the line reopened in 1960. James you know the good draw factors for the EBT ... Chicken corn soup; More buildings restored by the FEBT; The recently cleared and reopened track going south from Rockhill Furnace yard. About 3/4 of a mile of the mainline is now open to trackcar operation. The EBT uses restored original Fairbanks Morse track cars to give rides where no train has been since 1956. You can ride and listen to the hit and miss engine. It gives you an idea what the WW&F's trackcar sounded like. Now that's cool!
There are tons of awsome videos of the EBT. I have 5 videos of the EBT in action on my youtube page in my vlog section. ::) ;) :) ;D
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Plus I like the sound of those EBT speeders. ;) 8)
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Patten Travel is getting down to the wire on our trip.
We will be visiting Pennsylvania from August 28 - Sept 3, taking Amtrak both ways. We are planning currently to visit the EBT on Saturday August 29, so if anyone wants to meet me there they'd be most welcome. I'm hoping to be there in time for the 11 AM train, but will have to get a car rented first that morning, I think. We'll be staying in Lancaster. I'm tentatively planning a Strasburg visit on the Monday.
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James goodluck,have fun,see alot of interesting things,and take lots of pictures to share with all of us.
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EBT is a great take if you like to explore. That place hangs its shingle as a tourist railroad, but it really should be a museum. The original infrastructure is pretty much all there, although is not in the best of shape. I hope that some day a new owner will take over and give the place the attention it deserves. Until that happens, the Friends of the EBT have done yeoman service to help preserve what's there.
Strasburg is the opposite end of the spectrum. There, you'll see what money can do for preservation. The line is extremely well-run and the equipment is top-notch. Their coaches are pieces of fine furniture and their locos can probably run for another 100 years. They start hostling locos around 9AM and they're fine with people watching it all. Trains run every half hour from 11:00 to 1:30 and then hourly from 2:00 to 5:00. They also run an evening trip at 7:00. During the half-hour schedule, steam meets steam every 30 minutes at Groff's Picnic Grove.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=260549&nseq=155
Except for a few hundred yards near Lehman Place, the line is virtually all in open country and is extremely photogenic. Be sure to take the shop tour at 12:00. It's like $20, but is discounted if you ride the train. The shops are impressive, as are the projects underway within. Also, don't miss the RR Museum of PA across the street. A lot of Pennsy history there.
Other RRs to check out down there include:
New Hope and Ivyland....about 1+15 from Strasburg. They also run hourly steam.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=289986&nseq=25
Wilmington & Western.....about 1+00 from Strasburg. Check their schedule as steam ops are intermittent.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=238310&nseq=266
Wannamaker, Kempton & Southern.....about 1+15 from Strasburg. Weekend steam with a Porter 0-6-0.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=282777&nseq=62
Ordinarly, I'd say, "see ya down there" as I usually hit Strasburg in that timeframe. This year however, I'm doing Pete Lerro's Berk Charter in Owosso.
Happy Trails! ;D
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I can't make this vacation all railroads, my wife would hang me. I did promise her we'd look at Amish stuff, maybe go to Hershey. And I'm planning a day to go into Philly and check out Independence Hall and the Franklin Scientific Institute (which has a Baldwin experimental engine as I recall, along with a Star Trek exhibit).
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James, I would include one of the "Family Style" restaurants on your itinerary. As long as you keep eating, they will keep bringing delicious food to you! If you see "chicken pot pie" on a menu....order it! It is not like any chicken pot pie you ever ate. No "pie" as such, no dough crust....but instead fabulous "bow tie egg noodles." That alone is worth the trip!
Keith
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James,
If you're going to be at Strasburg, I hear that you can get cab ride tickets there. The trick is that you have to be there when they open the ticket office because I think they only have about 3 a day. I plan to investigate this more throughly myself the next time I am down that way.
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Two pictures from Wayne Laepple of James and Laurel -- taken today At the East Broad Top...
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Department of Corrections: That's James and Laurel in front of no. 17 at the roundhouse in Rockhill Furnace. No. 15 was on the train.
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Laurel and I had a great time. Unfortunately my battery was running low so I had be judicious in the photos I took. The battery ran out at Colgate Grove.
I got a tour of the roundhouse (first time I've ever been in it) and saw the machine shop as part of the FEBT tour. Rode the trolley all the way, and caught the last steam train. STILL have not been in Rockhill Trolley's museum. Wayne got to ride the put-put south to the end of cleared track, which I haven't had a chance to do either yet.
It looks like the next time I go I have ignore the lure of the steam train and do the other stuff.
I'll post some photos as soon as my batteries are recharged.
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James which batterys are you talking about yours or the cameras?
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The camera batteries ran out.
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James, you beat me by a week. We are headed down this weekend to atleast W,K & S, because I have never been there, along with a few other non-railroad related stops in that corner of the State. I also plan on stopping at Roadside America again. Fun place to look at. I may even stretch it and go to EBT. Never been there. I will have to wait and see how time goes. Only 3 days from the time I leave here until I have to be back.
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:) ;) :D ;D :( ::) :) I spy EBT #17 in the background. I hope one day they will start restoration on EBT #14, which has my all time favorite steam whistle and #16 & #18. I hope they will one day run the rails again sometime in the future.