The railfan (railroad travel enthusiasts) thread ?

[0002378]

Any railfans here ? Didn't see a thread about this here already, so ...

Do the words/acronyms Amtrak, TGV, ICE, AVE mean anything to you ? If so, share something about your experiences/opinions.

I've been a fan of rail travel since the age of 6 or so. It is my fav. mode of transport, and I've traveled by train in the following countries:

- USA (Amtrak and Alaskan railroad)
- Switzerland (urban transit and sightseer)
- Germany (ICE 200 km/h)
- Italy (Trenitalia)
- Spain (AVE high speed 300 km/h)
- India (low on speed, high on soul)

I actually don't mind slow trains, because to me, when I take a train somewhere, the train trip is itself a major part of the vacation. To me, rail travel is all about slowing down, seeing the sights, talking to people, and generally, new experiences. If I want speed, I'll just fly instead.

Not that I dislike speed - I find myself watching and rewatching videos of the TGV (French high speed record holder) 2007 world record test run

Alaska Railroad (leaving Anchorage Aug 4, 2008)

The highlights among my experiences were probably:

- Having a beer at 11 am with my best buddy, speeding through the gorgeous German countryside between Berlin and Munich
- Seeing shockingly pristine scenery winding slowly through the Swiss Alps on the way up to Jungfraujoch at 13k feet
- Taking the Amtrak Coast Starlight from California to Oregon, sitting in the sightseer lounge car, drinking wine, meeting the weirdest of people (done this trip multiple times)
- Seeing glaciers from Alaska Railroad trains (image above)
- The Barcelona-Madrid Spanish AVE was fun, but mostly just for the speed ... about 300 km/h. Felt like 60 km/h.

I also happened to meet my first ever girlfriend on an Amtrak, many years ago, but I don't know if that was really a "highlight"

 

[WinkWink726]

I have always wanted so badly to take a train trip somewhere!
Just sorta coast along, sip some wine, and enjoy the scenery--maybe I'm romanticizing the idea, but I can't speak from experience; I just always thought it would be so fun!

I watch this page and dream a lot
https://www.greatrail.com/holiday-destinations/europe/croatia/

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Great idea for a thread; I love trains and travelling by train.

 

[0002378]

Just sorta coast along, sip some wine, and enjoy the scenery--maybe I'm romanticizing the idea, but I can't speak from experience; I just always thought it would be so fun!

Well, then do it ! If you're in PA, there are a few Amtrak routes that run through. I think the Acela Express and Pennsylvanian are 2 of them.

And yes, they have a restaurant/bar/lounge onboard so you can sip your wine

[doublepost=1514460371][/doublepost]

Great idea for a thread; I love trains and travelling by train.

If I may ask, whereabouts in the world do you reside ?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

If I may ask, whereabouts in the world do you reside ?

I travel a lot, mostly for work, but sometimes also for pleasure.

A memorable train journey was from the city that was at that time called Leningrad to Moscow, and another - a few years later - went in the opposite direction, from Moscow to what is now Petersburg.

Another - almost equally memorable - train journey, almost a quarter of a century ago, occurred when I travelled from Vilnius - the capital of Lithuania, which lies in the bottom of the country, to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, which is found at the top of that country facing the Gulf of Finland. (And back again).