Transcontinental Railroad - 150 Years!

A ceremony conducted 150 years ago today - May 10, 1869 - marked the completion of a transcontinental railroad across the United States of America. A continuous route was not yet in place, but would be in a few years. 

- David P. Jordan

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 11, 2019 at 6:24 PM

    Hello David! Here in North Carolina, they celebrated the 150 year event with a $1 ride on the Piedmont route between Raleigh and Charlotte and all stops between on both Friday and Saturday. My wife and I took advantage of it on Friday doing a day trip to Charlotte. We boarded at the new union station in downtown Raleigh. Here is the link to the advertisement link: https://www.ncbytrain.org/deals/Pages/transcontinental-anniversary.aspx

    Here are some interesting facts I found out about. The state of NC owns the trains on the Piedmont route but it is operated by Amtrak. The state also owns the rail line on this route and also the line that extends down to the coast. The cars are not typical Amtrak cars but are old refurbished Pullman cars. Each car is named after a unique state resource or animal (gray squirrel, fraser fir, currituck sound, etc) along with the story of each posted in the car. There is no actual cafe car but they have vending machines. But they do offer free coffee, hot tea, and bottled water at a stand alone beverage center. There is also a train host on board that helps with answering questions, handing out tourist info, and can offer other guidance as needed. I found overall the cars are a little bit cleaner and nicer compared to other Amtrak cars. It was a great trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David P. JordanMay 11, 2019 at 7:34 PM

      Sounds like fun! Glad to see North Carolina celebrating the nation's railroad history. Riding the Piedmont is on my bucket list.

      Delete
    2. mikefiedler1@gmail.comMay 12, 2019 at 4:40 AM

      Come on down David, would love to have you. We'll go ride trains and get some pictures of planes out at RDU.

      Delete

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