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  1. #46
    Quick
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    David S wrote:
    >
    > From what railroad?


    Doh... I've been thinking about exactly that, all day
    since I started to write/remember that. This was
    more than 30? years ago. I really should be able
    to remember that. I can't remember which railroad
    or which train it came from. I have a very vague
    recollection of 5 or 6 railroads and partial names
    of 2 or three famous trains. It was from one of the
    more notable trains. I can't even remember which
    part of the country it ran... I wonder
    if this means I'm on my way out? Was it the
    Twentieth Century Limited that ran from NY to
    Chicago? The Twilight that ran up and down the
    West coast? There was one that ran over the
    rockies and one that went from the midwest into
    the South. I think it was a newer car (relatively
    speaking) as it was solid unpainted stainless on
    the outside. It was the end car, rounded in the
    back where the lounge was. Maybe I'll eventually
    visualize the logo on the silver service.

    sigh.... I feel sooo old,
    -Quick





    See More: Can you use cell phones on trains?




  2. #47
    David S
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 06:00:50 GMT, "Quick" <[email protected]>
    chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and
    everything:

    >David S wrote:
    >>
    >> From what railroad?

    >
    >Doh... I've been thinking about exactly that, all day
    >since I started to write/remember that. This was
    >more than 30? years ago. I really should be able
    >to remember that. I can't remember which railroad
    >or which train it came from. I have a very vague
    >recollection of 5 or 6 railroads and partial names
    >of 2 or three famous trains. It was from one of the
    >more notable trains. I can't even remember which
    >part of the country it ran... I wonder
    >if this means I'm on my way out? Was it the
    >Twentieth Century Limited that ran from NY to
    >Chicago? The Twilight that ran up and down the
    >West coast? There was one that ran over the
    >rockies and one that went from the midwest into
    >the South. I think it was a newer car (relatively
    >speaking) as it was solid unpainted stainless on
    >the outside. It was the end car, rounded in the
    >back where the lounge was. Maybe I'll eventually
    >visualize the logo on the silver service.
    >
    >sigh.... I feel sooo old,


    Did it have a dome? If not, it was probably from an eastern road (older
    construction, lower tunnel clearances). Plain stainless wouldn't be from
    the 20th Century, but it could be from another New York Central train. (The
    Pennsylvania's flagship train NY-CHI was the Broadway Limited, but it
    wouldn't be that either.) There are a lot of other possibilities.

    There were more than one train on each of the routes you mention. Chicago
    to San Francisco area, the California Zephyr ran on the Burlington to
    Denver, the Rio Grande to Salt Lake, and the Western Pacific to Oakland,
    while the City of San Francisco ran over the Chicago & North Western (not
    Northwestern) until mid-1955, then the Milwaukee Road, to Omaha, Union
    Pacific to Ogden, and Southern Pacific to Oakland. The CZ had stainless
    round end observations with domes; the City was painted.

    In this day and age, when we're lucky to have the few trains we do, people
    forget (or don't realize) that the different railroads' trains competed
    with each other, until the 1960s, when most of them realized that, thanks
    to public subsidies for highways and airports (and the air traffic control
    system), passenger trains were never going to be profitable again.

    --
    David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
    http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
    Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply
    Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
    "No one in the White House staff, no one in this administration, presently
    employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident....What really hurts
    in matters of this sort is not the fact that they occur, because
    overzealous people in campaigns do things that are wrong. What really
    hurts is if you try to cover it up." - President Richard Nixon, early in
    the Watergate affair




  3. #48
    Quick
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    David S wrote:
    > On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 06:00:50 GMT, "Quick"
    >
    > Did it have a dome? If not, it was probably from an
    > eastern road (older construction, lower tunnel
    > clearances). Plain stainless wouldn't be from the 20th
    > Century, but it could be from another New York Central
    > train. (The Pennsylvania's flagship train NY-CHI was the
    > Broadway Limited, but it wouldn't be that either.) There
    > are a lot of other possibilities.


    Nope, no dome.

    > There were more than one train on each of the routes you
    > mention. Chicago to San Francisco area, the California
    > Zephyr ran on the Burlington to Denver, the Rio Grande to
    > Salt Lake, and the Western Pacific to Oakland, while the
    > City of San Francisco ran over the Chicago & North
    > Western (not Northwestern) until mid-1955, then the
    > Milwaukee Road, to Omaha, Union Pacific to Ogden, and
    > Southern Pacific to Oakland. The CZ had stainless round
    > end observations with domes; the City was painted.


    I remember the Zephyr. Double decker observation cars
    right? He loved trains, he hated planes. More that you didn't
    see anything or get a chance to relax than being nervous
    about flying (although he did go for the back seats since
    the tail often broke off intact -- not that anyone survived in
    there anyway when that happens). We went to Hawaii for a
    year (teaching grant at U of H) from Lansing, Michigan. Train
    to the West Coast. Ocean liner to Hawaii... I don't remember
    it being so much a cruise ship affair. Luxury liner was descriptive.
    (We came back from India (I was 3) on the Andrea Doria the
    trip before it went down).

    Now I'm going to have to actually talk to my sister to see if
    she has any pictures of it showing ID.

    -Quick

    > In this day and age, when we're lucky to have the few
    > trains we do, people forget (or don't realize) that the
    > different railroads' trains competed with each other,
    > until the 1960s, when most of them realized that, thanks
    > to public subsidies for highways and airports (and the
    > air traffic control system), passenger trains were never
    > going to be profitable again.






  4. #49
    CharlesH
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    David S wrote:
    > There were more than one train on each of the routes you mention. Chicago
    > to San Francisco area, the California Zephyr ran on the Burlington to
    > Denver, the Rio Grande to Salt Lake, and the Western Pacific to Oakland,
    > while the City of San Francisco ran over the Chicago & North Western (not
    > Northwestern) until mid-1955, then the Milwaukee Road, to Omaha, Union
    > Pacific to Ogden, and Southern Pacific to Oakland.


    The California Zephyr still runs from Emeryville, CA (south of Oakland)
    to Chicago. Our family took it on a vacation a couple of years ago. I
    tried to check the cellphone coverage along the way, but I kept being
    distracted by the scenery.



  5. #50
    David S
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 05:49:06 GMT, "Quick" <[email protected]>
    chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and
    everything:

    >David S wrote:
    >> On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 06:00:50 GMT, "Quick"

    >
    >> There were more than one train on each of the routes you
    >> mention. Chicago to San Francisco area, the California
    >> Zephyr ran on the Burlington to Denver, the Rio Grande to
    >> Salt Lake, and the Western Pacific to Oakland, while the

    >
    >I remember the Zephyr. Double decker observation cars
    >right?


    No, just domes. The Santa Fe's El Capitan had double deckers, which were
    the model for the Superliner cars Amtrak built starting in the late '70s
    and which are now used on all western long distance trains, plus the
    Capitol Limited and Auto Train in the east. (Amtrak uses a few of the old
    Santa Fe cars on the Heartland Flyer, which runs from Ft. Worth to Oklahoma
    City.)

    --
    David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
    http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
    Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply
    Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
    "At a stage in life when other men prosper, I'm reduced to living in
    Philadelphia." - John Adams, "1776"




  6. #51
    David S
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 18:03:17 GMT, CharlesH <[email protected]> chose
    to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and everything:

    >David S wrote:
    >> There were more than one train on each of the routes you mention. Chicago
    >> to San Francisco area, the California Zephyr ran on the Burlington to
    >> Denver, the Rio Grande to Salt Lake, and the Western Pacific to Oakland,
    >> while the City of San Francisco ran over the Chicago & North Western (not
    >> Northwestern) until mid-1955, then the Milwaukee Road, to Omaha, Union
    >> Pacific to Ogden, and Southern Pacific to Oakland.

    >
    >The California Zephyr still runs from Emeryville, CA (south of Oakland)
    >to Chicago. Our family took it on a vacation a couple of years ago. I
    >tried to check the cellphone coverage along the way, but I kept being
    >distracted by the scenery.


    Yes, but now it's run by Amtrak, using Superliner cars instead of regular
    cars with domes, and it runs on the Southern Pacific (Donner Pass route)
    instead of the Western Pacific (Feather River route) between Emeryville and
    Salt Lake City.

    (The SP and WP, as well as the Denver & Rio Grande Western, are now parts
    of Union Pacific, known to some railfans as Borg Rail.)

    --
    David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
    http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
    Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply
    Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
    "Y'know, this administration doesn't need an opposition party. We do just
    fine by ourselves." - Toby Ziegler




  7. #52
    Bob the Printer
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    What's this got to do with VZW???

    It seems to be an ongoing conversation between you and one or two others
    that would be better taken to regular Email. Seems like all you want to do
    is demonstrate your superior knowledge of trains, which is a big bore for
    most of us!






  8. #53
    Quick
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    Bob the Printer wrote:
    > What's this got to do with VZW???
    >
    > It seems to be an ongoing conversation between you and
    > one or two others that would be better taken to regular
    > Email. Seems like all you want to do is demonstrate your
    > superior knowledge of trains, which is a big bore for
    > most of us!


    ummm, the original question was "can you use cell phones
    on trains"... when you consider it's a very small leap to "can
    you use cell phones in cars" how exciting did you really
    expect this thread to be? And I don't think anyone is trying
    to demonstrate their superior knowledge but to share a
    bit of (pretty much lost) American heritage.

    -Quick





  9. #54
    John Richards
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    "Quick" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > Bob the Printer wrote:
    >> What's this got to do with VZW???
    >>
    >> It seems to be an ongoing conversation between you and
    >> one or two others that would be better taken to regular
    >> Email. Seems like all you want to do is demonstrate your
    >> superior knowledge of trains, which is a big bore for
    >> most of us!

    >
    > ummm, the original question was "can you use cell phones
    > on trains"... when you consider it's a very small leap to "can
    > you use cell phones in cars" how exciting did you really
    > expect this thread to be? And I don't think anyone is trying
    > to demonstrate their superior knowledge but to share a
    > bit of (pretty much lost) American heritage.


    I have no problem with discussing use of cellphones on trains,
    but a discussion of trains is just too far off-topic for this newsgroup.

    --
    John Richards



  10. #55
    Larry
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    "Bob the Printer" <[email protected]> wrote in
    news:[email protected]:

    > What's this got to do with VZW???
    >
    > It seems to be an ongoing conversation between you and one or two
    > others that would be better taken to regular Email. Seems like all you
    > want to do is demonstrate your superior knowledge of trains, which is
    > a big bore for most of us!
    >
    >
    >


    They're trying to find a place to put the multiband, multimode train
    repeaters, of course!

    Every car will have them. They'll even let Nextel customers have
    service....

    --
    Larry



  11. #56
    Bob the Printer
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?


    "Quick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...

    > ummm, the original question was "can you use cell phones
    > on trains"... when you consider it's a very small leap to "can
    > you use cell phones in cars" how exciting did you really
    > expect this thread to be? And I don't think anyone is trying
    > to demonstrate their superior knowledge but to share a
    > bit of (pretty much lost) American heritage.


    That's true, but your conversation with the OP has degraded to simply
    conversation about different types of train cars, etc, with nothing actually
    pertaining to use of cell phones on trains!






  12. #57
    DecTxCowboy
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    Bob the Printer wrote:

    > Seems like all you want to do
    > is demonstrate your superior knowledge of trains, which is a big bore for
    > most of us!


    I thinks its pretty darn interesting.



  13. #58
    John S.
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?


    "DecTxCowboy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Bob the Printer wrote:
    >
    >> Seems like all you want to do is demonstrate your superior knowledge of
    >> trains, which is a big bore for most of us!

    >
    > I thinks its pretty darn interesting.


    In another forum.





  14. #59
    David S
    Guest

    Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?

    On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 23:42:57 GMT, "Quick" <[email protected]>
    chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and
    everything:

    >Bob the Printer wrote:
    >> What's this got to do with VZW???
    >>
    >> It seems to be an ongoing conversation between you and
    >> one or two others that would be better taken to regular
    >> Email. Seems like all you want to do is demonstrate your
    >> superior knowledge of trains, which is a big bore for
    >> most of us!


    So don't read it.

    >ummm, the original question was "can you use cell phones
    >on trains"... when you consider it's a very small leap to "can
    >you use cell phones in cars" how exciting did you really
    >expect this thread to be? And I don't think anyone is trying
    >to demonstrate their superior knowledge but to share a
    >bit of (pretty much lost) American heritage.


    Thanks for the compliment, but actually I've been worrying myself that this
    thread had drifted too far off topic. To put it back on topic (but take it
    away from what I've been talking about), I can report that when I rode a
    steam excursion train last year, partially on but mostly off of Amtrak
    routes, I always had a signal, although I'm not sure it was always useable.
    Running up the west bank of the Mississippi from Dubuque, IA, to La
    Crescent, MN (across the river from La Crosse, WI), I mostly had a weak
    analog roaming signal which I never tried to use. On the bus back to
    Dubuque, we were in Wisconsin all the way and I had a pretty solid 1x from
    US Cellular, which switched to VZW near the Illinois border.

    --
    David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
    http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
    Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply
    Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
    "There's no such thing as a non-sexual comment on Usenet. )"
    - James Archer in alt.geek




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