Railfans

[fritzkep]

Never enough pictures of trains, never enough!

Thanks, Debbie!

[dejavu]

Some pictures of AMTRAK's Philadelphia 30th Street Station. 

This is the main first floor lobby area.

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This piece of equipment is used to lift wheelchairs up so that disabled passengers might have access to the cars.

That makes sense.  I saw the handicapped sign on it but couldn't figure out quite how it worked.  Thanks.

[dejavu]

Never enough pictures of trains, never enough!

Thanks, Debbie!

You're welcome, Fritz.  Just starting the train stations now.

BTW, in that first picture of the whole AMTRAK train (taken in Meridian) you can see how long it was.  Our route went through the southern Appalachians, and I was surprised at how many S-curves and U-curves there were.  From time to time, it was possible to see the opposite end of the train by looking out the window and back as the train bent around one of those curves.  I know that happens in Pennsylvania (though not too often, because we have more tunnels), but hadn't expected it to that degree in the south.

[dejavu]

Statue in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.

I can't remember or read the whole inscription, but it does say "who laid down their lives for our country 1941 - 1945."
 
The following link explains that the bronze statue honors Pennsylvania Railroad employees killed in World War Two, and shows the archangel Michael lifting the body of a dead soldier out of the flames of war:

http://www.nslphotography.com/Travel/Rail/Amtraks-30th-Street-Station/11960198_WYXDt/1/847348450_GBBqT#847348450_GBBqT

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Side view of the bronze statue at Philadelphia 30th Street Station.

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Ceiling of the main floor of Philadelphia 30th Street Station.

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Passengers with sleeping car tickets are entitled to use the Club Acela waiting area on the second floor at Philadelphia 30th Street station.  Club Acela offers free non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, self-contained restrooms, several desks, three separate sitting areas, and a TV at one end.  It's a comfortable place to wait for several hours, and I arrived two-and-a-half hours before my train's departure.

Another benefit is that, half an hour before the train's scheduled departure, the Club Acela attendant loads the sleeping car passengers onto an elevator to go directly to the track level boarding area, without requiring them to pass through the main train station lobby again.


One of the Club Acela seating areas.

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And another.

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Looking down from second-story glass window of Club Acela, onto the first floor lobby.

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Boarding area.  New Orleans, here we come!   

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When we arrived at Meridian, Mississippi, the sleeping car attendant encouraged us all to get out and take a good look at it, calling it "one of the prettiest stations we have."

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