A Train Odyssey 3, Part 2, AMTRAK "Empire" & "Keystone" Service

[@terrywebb1463]

Mr.Youtuba, You are a busy, busy guy, but that's ok, you can keep us train lover's entertained.

[@richardanderson6874]

You make great videos, which I find immensely enjoyable. Thank-you for sharing your adventures.

[@cats0182]

I don't recognize the Albany, NY railroad station. Remember the old station. One level, concrete nondescript buildings. What a difference. Lived in Albany for 20+ years. Left in 1989. Used AMTRAK on periodic business trips to NYC. Loved the trip. Hudson River Valley is magnificent in any season. Thanks for the ride and for the trip back in time.

[@mariposapapillon9261]

All of your videos are so excellent. I love the scenery (through your steady hands on the cameria) and your commentary. I ride the Adirondack to Montreal and back to NYC frequently, yet I enjoyed the views from Albany downstate although I see the same river (the Hudson) on those parts of my journey. And, now I know how Sing Sing looks from the train as opposed to any pic I could Google. A few comments: as the conductor was trying to explain, it's the Maple Leaf that makes one daily trip (in both directions) from NYC Penn Station to Toronto, stopping at Niagara Falls Station for border crossing. Passengers traveling NYC to Toronto actually disembark from the train at Niagara Falls and walk over to a building, where Canadian Customs checks their documentation and luggage. I've only taken the Maple Leaf once and only in the direction from NYC Penn to Toronto's Union Station, so I recall Canadian Customs checking my crossbody purse and my smaller carry-on. They didn't bother to ask me to open my 26" upright, but I was ready to open it if ordered to. About NYC Penn Station: due to the lack of Red Caps there, no one was there to help you with a crucial bit of info that every passenger needing to make a connecting train should know. That is: After you disembark at NYC Penn, you need to walk all the way down the platform (same side) until you see an escalator. My first two trips on the Adirondack, when returning form Montreal, I too didn't know about the escalator. Well, ever since 2015, I've never had to hike up that staircase (with annoying people threatening "hurry up") again. When you reach the top of that escalator, voila! You're in the Amtrak concourse. You don't see the LIRR concourse at all. Because you exit the escalator directly onto the Amtrak concourse (with the gate info, Amtrak ticket windows and Amtrak customer service office, self-serve Amtrak ticket kiosks, Amtrak waiting areas, and restaurants and boutiques, etc.), everything is crystal-clear. I look forward to your wonderful rail video footage. Simply brilliant!!! Happy Labor Day!!!

[@diannaherrada7442]

Hi Dan, I really enjoy all of your videos. I have been riding passenger trains ever since I was a little baby. My father, my brother and my nephew all worked for the southern pacific railroad at one time and now it is Union Pacific. I love train travel, it is awesome. Dan, I want to sincerely and personally thank you for your professional description of all your videos. IAM Visually Impaired and I deeply appreciate your description. Thank you so very kindly Dan and continue to make those awesome videos. Oh I can’t wait to go back on the train again, I pray that I can get someone to ride the train with me and describe all the scenery as well as you do. Take care Dan and God bless you.

[@EddieLeindecker-re1hg]

I agree with you about these videos I have heard that the staff on Amtrak are very friendly towards people with disabilities I myself am visually impaired. I also have cerebral palsy due to being born almost 3 months premature in 1983. I have never taken Amtrak however, it is one of those things on my bucket list of things to do before I die list Happy new year to you may you continue to be positive, be optimistic, and be strong

[@diannaherrada7442]

@@EddieLeindecker-re1hg oh, yes, I have nothing but good things to say about Amtrak. Not because my father, my brother and nephew worked there, but from my uplifting experience. I really enjoyed riding the trains. I haven’t written in quite some time, but I love to see the videos of Amtrak trains here on KZbin. Especially, when the person who is making the video describes everything that goes on. It makes me feel as though that I am right there on the train with them. You have a very lovely, blessed, happy and prosperous new year. May 2024 bring peace, love, happiness, and better health for us all.

[@ronaldschmidt5140]

Thank You for this series. I have never been on these routes nor will I ever be able to ride Amtrak on a long trip train. Please keep them coming. The eastern trains are tedious and you did your best to share the experience. We will be watching for more.

[@TheIrene3333]

I use to ride to Croton Harmon 60 years ago. I remember quite a few people getting off at the Sing Sing station. I am 77 years old and watching your videos gives me a chance to travel..

[@llama_rides]

I really enjoy your train videos - what’s next?. I find them relaxing and you have great reviews and analysis, keep the food pictures coming too. Also I dig your G-Shock shown in this video; FYI they make many new ones with atomic timing that updates every night, probably have a model similar. I’ve had mine for 15 years, it’s also solar powered so I’ve literally never set it for time (it even knows the DST switch) or replaced a battery.

[@cynthiafeagin5185]

These videos are very calming.

[@lwk4229]

The little whistling in the elevator. Love your videos!

[@TheMonkeyrock77]

I'll watch this tonight when i'm done welding. I love your videos.

[@riseabove3133]

So interesting and relaxing to watch. Thanks!👍🏼

[@kdabaviation5032]

I spent the longest time wondering how you could afford all these long-distance and expensive Amtrak trips. But now I see that you were an engineer!

[@youtuuba]

Electrical and software engineer, college professor, professional musician and studio voice artist, publisher, pipe organ builder/repair, writer/author, and some other things, mostly retired or nearly retired now. But, this does not mean that I am rich! Just an upper middle class income, really. And I dare say that most people travelling first class on AMTRAK are simply middle class, not wealthy. And for my part, I don't do this all the time, so what I spend on my train trips is not as expensive as what many other people spend taking a cruise, or spending a week in Vegas, etc.

[@johnp139]

Oh, I thought that you meant train engineer!

[@richardcummings1474]

youtuuba za

[@AnJah]

Another enjoyable ride along, love it! I will always remember the first time we crossed the Tappen Zee bridge my dad didn’t realize he needed to pay a toll and just drove through without paying. Nothing came of it thankfully though he got dinged on another toll bridge because the attendant never came so he gave up and drove through.

[@cats0182]

Again, thanks for the ride and for the memories. Wonderful tour de force.

[@chax2004]

I used to take a train from Albany to Montreal in the late 80 s. Those were great experiences. The trip took almost nine hours. Because of poor track, the train had to go very slow at times, according to the conducter.

[@gsetful]

Loved the music in the elevator!

[@mariposapapillon9261]

I was thinking the same thing. I love how he whistled "The GIrl from Ipanema."

[@W.E.]

03:08 INSTANTLY SUBBED! "Garota de Ipanema" As many others have said, you have outstanding videos. I have binge-watched about a dozen so far. Looking forward to making some of these myself.

[@notlimey]

Loved the whistling!

[@aquliesfranzotti]

Hell0.... right now I am in Brazil and had a chance to watch your videos. I want to congratulate you. They are veri nice and explain everything you got to know. The only information I miss is the ticket price. I allways think to go in the States and do the same trip but I have to make some numbers to see if my budget suports that adventure. I usted live in US and I went, by train, from Orlando, Fl, to New Orleans. First Class...it was amazing....Thanks or your time...Aquiles

[@youtuuba]

I cannot tell anyone the prices, because I am not AMTRAK, and I do not have a full, up to date understanding of their price structure. Just as with the airlines, the price can vary a lot depending on several variables. I think the AMTRAK website is not set up very well to help travelers figure out how to get the best prices for a train trip, so I always call AMTRAK reservations on the phone, since they seem to be able to quickly review and compare various options to arrive at the best possible price that still works for my overall itinerary....getting the best price often means shifting my schedule slightly to travel on different days.

[@tomokra]

Took me a couple of minutes to get your elevator music joke.

[@peterbond1081]

Is the route down to New York City the" water level route" of the New York Central of years ago

[@chrisryan5339]

Great stuff thanks. Chris from England.

[@lonewolfette]

The "lounge section" in Albany is technically the boarding area. There's a lounge area on the other side of the Enterprise desk. In the several years I've been at that station, I've never seen it that empty! Edit to add: I've never seen a train ending at NYC Penn that empty either! The ones I take are always jammed to the rafters. (I travel business class, though.)

[@joewood1335]

my family friend is a locomotive engineer out of the rensselaer crew base , trying to get hired right now for chicago or dc , only places that are hiring for conductor

[@Bogieking78]

I used to ride the Philly-NYC train when I lived outside Philly-I know that train trip really well lol.

[@cats0182]

Trains also run to Montreal ("The Adirondack") and to Rutland, VT ("The Ethan Allen Express") And yes, there is one train between Toronto and NYC. At various points on the trip you can look across the Hudson River and see freights on the old New York Central West Shore Division (now the CSX River Line). It's "Rip Van Winkle" ("le", not "el").

[@TheMonkeyrock77]

I enjoyed that. I've never seen small power poles made of meddle before.

[@jonathanroberts8981]

Sad no video crossing Spuyten Duyvil. They had removed the bridge for renovations and only recently put it back.

[@lonewolfette]

Ah, the rerouting to Grand Central Terminal confusion. That was supposed to end before Labor Day. They started that around Memorial Day. I decided to move my trip a week earlier so as to not have to deal with going into Penn & leaving from GCT.

[@apr859]

Empire Service runs 110mph between Hudson and Albany and 110mph between Albany and Schenectady. There are freight tracks across the river that merge with the Empire line in Hoffmans NY. There is no regularly scheduled Amtrak service into grand central unless there is track work on the empire connection

[@davidharris2519]

I wonder if your first trip is more scenic in the winter with no leaves on all the trees

[@cats0182]

New Hamburg and the other stations between Poughkeepsie and Croton-Harmon are served ONLY by MetroNorth Railroad's Upper Hudson Line. Yes. At about 36.00 was Bannerman's Island and the structure.

[@Howoldareweanywayyipes]

I wake up each morning and watch who is called Jaw Tooth (an old CB name of his) who has great local to him train videos... and in the later hours of the day or night I tune into youtuuba for some professional train riders videos which are excellent to learn about long haul train ridership.

[@shsav2012]

once you hit Poukipse you are sharing track with the Metro North Commuter railroad. most of the stations bypassed are stopped at by the Metro North Trains

[@mikewalt8642]

I have watched all of your films....thank you for provideing. Do you have a new scanner. I'm looking for one to purchase, your recommendations. How do you find the rail road channels. thanks

[@youtuuba]

I do not have a new scanner. On this Train Odyssey 3, I only used the scanner in Part 1. I do not have any recommendations for scanners. For finding frequencies, look at my KZbin channel and watch my video on that subject....you don't need to do everything that I show in the video; for example, you can simply enter frequencies manually into a scanner, and do not need to use the software and cable method.

[@bobhidley9037]

Loving your vids. I'm binging, so what I'm watching is kinda old. You mentioned your phone GPS thingy doesn't show ground speed. Have you tried the free cell app called Waze ? Pretty useful road destination/info tool.

[@youtuuba]

Bob Hindley, the Waze app has screwed me on almost every instance where I tried to use it. Their algorithm has a number of serious issues. The worst one I have encountered was when driving on a motorway in England, Waze had me detour off the motorway into a nearby town, presumably because lots of other people on the same motorway using Waze were reporting a traffic slowdown. Then while in the town, Waze had me driving a crazy route all around town, presumably because it was afternoon rush hour and tons of local commuters using Waze were reporting all the usual congestion slowdowns. If I had not been using Waze, I be probably would have just stayed on the motorway and arrived at my destination earlier and with a lot less aggravation.

[@bobhidley9037]

Well, there is that problem sometimes. Waze has been 99 percent reliable, but it has taken me on some crazy journeys a couple times. But I mentioned it because it gives you speed. Sorry.

[@johnp139]

The Rip Van Winkel Bridge opened in 1935, but it seems just like yesterday!

[@moishglukovsky]

They didn’t put your car in the consist “backwards.” Keystone Service runs in one direction, reverses, and runs back. All the cars are in one direction to Harrisburg, and in the other direction the other way.

[@FordEscape12345678]

Just a side note: The Amtrak that goes to Toronto is actually The Maple Leaf, not the Empire service.

[@youtuuba]

Ford Escape, that is probably true, but AMTRAK employees and AMTRAK schedules I found online said differently, which is why I said what I did.

[@renardfranse]

you are correct. amtrak has the side you are traveling and is exclusively passenger, while conrail (freight) uses the other side of the hudson. they both serve different venues.

[@jfmezei]

Tracks between Renssalear and Poughkeepsie are owned by CSX. But Amtrak has a deal with them for exclusive use during the day whoch allows higher speeds (otherwise FRA would limit speeds). Amtrak is also spending mucho $ to upgrade track conditions and signaling. Along the tracks you see Amtrack crews and trucks for maintenance.

[@jamesmark782]

The line fast of Albany is predominately passenger with some local freight and some larger manifest freight. Since the Poughkeepsie Bridge fire during the Penn Central era, trains must go thru the Selkirk Hurdle from the freight-only West Shore line to get to NYC.

[@denzildon9202]

How would I get on 50 metres is about it for me and then I’m on the ground or a seat. Great video thank you Sir I have not been able to grasp your name please tell me. Thank you.👨🏼

[@danmathers141]

Why do these older stations have high ceilings?

[@deanw194]

Have you done a pipe organ repair video?

[@ronfields3001]

Are those New seats, I ride LD trains mostly and have never seen this type on the Superliners.

[@cats0182]

Yes. AMTRAK spent a "gazillion" dollars refurbishing those old AMFLEET l coaches.

[@jbaymanec]

I must admit, I like the trips where you're in a sleeper much more.... Hope you keeping safe. When is your next trip?

[@youtuuba]

Thank about it....does ANY person doing videos reveal their personal schedules to anonymous people on KZbin? Does ANY person making travel videos give their itinerary in advance?

[@jbaymanec]

@@youtuuba I was asking in general, not for the specific date and place.....

[@cats0182]

"Peekskill" has 2 "e's", not "ea".

[@murraymaxwell835]

The seats on this train look really nice. Are they leather?

[@EddieLeindecker-re1hg]

I live in Pittsburgh, where the Amtrak Pennsylvanian runs between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to New York City We also have service from the capital Limited which runs from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia New York City Washington DC. I believe it goes to Chicago. Also I am not sure about that but the Pennsylvanian. Is going to be getting some much-needed improvements over the next few years One of these days I hope to take a trip on the Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Philly

[@petrarussell6215]

i love your youtube video

[@richardcummings1474]

A little taste of home for me. Spent many many hours on metro north to and from the city. Thanks.

[@barroningram7286]

at 12:05 smoother and faster, i think they run these trains at 110 mph it would be nice if amtrak could run 110 between washington dc and charlotte nc i just saw a news story about a fast train between charlotte and atlanta 110 not be high speed but its faster than 79

[@swimcoach3702]

How did they do the engine switch on the Lake Shore if there are no pantographs in the station?

[@youtuuba]

The two engines used on The Lake Shore Limited train between Chicago and Albany are normal Diesel powered models. At Albany, the train is split into those cars going to New York City and those cars going to Boston. The Diesel-only locomotives are not used for the New York City section; instead a similar looking dual-mode locomotive is used, The dual-mode loco continues to run under Diesel power all the way down to NTC, where presumably the loco switches over to electric power because the tracks run underground under the Manhattan skyscrapers for quite a long distance, and the Diesel exhaust would be a problem. The dual-mode loco, when running on external electrical power, does NOT use an overhead power cable with pantograph contact mechanism, instead it uses an electrified "third rail" system. So the locos have no problem running on Diesel almost all of the time, except when needed under NYC.

[@carminecuzzo6424]

No private room this time?how boring!;)great vid tho!!!

[@rickt4552]

The movie Witness Harrison Ford was shot in the Philly Station 1985

[@youtuuba]

Besides Witness, some other movies filmed at 30th Street Station include Blow Out, Trading Places, Unbreakable, plus some TV shows, etc.

[@lindsaymoore7232]

Is this a part of Amtrak's water-level route? Made famous by the New York Central Railroad.

[@cats0182]

Yes. But really in name and route only. It is nowhere near the quality of it's heyday.

[@icestorm40]

That has to one of my favorite elevator music songs!!!

[@davidharris2519]

wasn't that used on the blues bros movie

[@icestorm40]

Yup it was;)

[@mariposapapillon9261]

"The Girl From Ipanema" written by Jobim; version sung by Astrud Gilberto made especially famous. Gotta love bossa nova!

[@davidharris2519]

love airplanes but like your videos and your narration you sound like a tv or radio person

[@davidharris2519]

are the brakes unusually loud

[@cats0182]

I rode those trains a lot decades ago. I can't remember the brakes sounding like that.

[@KU84dh37]

This is the 1st 'Train Odtseey' that does NOT have 'su8btitles / closed captions which is bad because the Commentator was speaking several times and was blocked out by the train horn. JMS

[@youtuuba]

KU84dh37, please stop commenting on subtitles/closed captioning. I have never put any of that on my videos. If you have seen them in my videos, they were added by KZbin and I have no control over it. As a result, your commenting on it is pointless and irritating.

[@KU84dh37]

@@youtuuba Ku84dh37, back to your same old self, harassing me again! Also, your lack of subtitles/closed captioning. shows a much "lower grade" of video but I should expect that of someone who specializes in harassing Train Odyssey viewers. It "IS" really unfortunate for me that I have to try to deal with someone like you. Unfortunately, again I can not tell you what I "REALLY" think of you! JMS

[@danmathers141]

The graffiti artist is everywhere.

[@davidharris2519]

you mentioned bad scenery the trip between Chicago and springfield IL you parallel I-55 most of the trip

[@youtuuba]

Not sure what your point is.... 1) that was a completely different video, so why make the comment to THIS video? 2) that other trip does parallel I-55 and I say so in that video..... So again, what is your point?

[@davidharris2519]

why so crabby ..all I did was make a comment

[@youtuuba]

Why do you think I am crabby? I always try to help answer my viewers' legitimate comments and questions, since the reason I post videos is to share information, advice, and adventures with others, and I don't even profit from it (as so many others do). I was trying to figure out if you had a question, or were trying to make a point. Your writing was unclear, so I was asking you a follow up question. If that makes me 'crabby' in your view, then tough.

[@W.E.]

01:26:36 Slightly bigger than a 'roomette'! lol

[@moishglukovsky]

No, it’s Tappan “Zee,” not “Zay.”

[@jamesdigiorgio5820]

No way I'd walk that far to return or rent a car. It's on the car rental folks to figure out how take care of their customers without any undo inconveniences... like having to hike quite a ways to return a car.

[@noramusk4689]

Whistling in the elevator is against the law in New York state and it’s also bad luck for your FYI

[@AmtrakEnthusiast]

15:22 What is elocution lessons? Otherwise great video. I took a trip up to Hudson, NY a few months back and it's a cool spot. To answer your confusion on whether the Empire Corridor is soely for passenger trains, It mostly is, but is owned by CSX between Rennselear and Poughkeepsie, yet only about 4-6 freight trains operate on this stretch (most of them running in the middle of the night). Speeds on this section is 110 mph for some of the way between Rennselear and Hudson and from 80 to 90 MPH between Hudson and Croton Harmon and then only 80 mph into New York.

[@youtuuba]

Should be easy enough for you to look up, but 'elocution' refers to the act of speaking (clearly), so I as noting that the conductor or car attendant was not speaking clearly and could stand to get some remedial attention in that regard.

[@AmtrakEnthusiast]

Ok, thanks.

[@cynthiafeagin5185]

This part of the trip made up for not being able to see the great lakes.

[@Mr20909]

The train to Toronto is the maple leaf

[@youtuuba]

Yeah, I thought it must be a different train, but on a Google search I found an AMTRAK schedule that showed the Empire Service starting in Toronto before proceeding to Niagara Falls, then Buffalo, etc. So I guess the Empire Service train must have done that at least sometimes, at some time in the past.

[@Mr20909]

youtuuba if u look at the schedule look at Amtrak 63-64 I live a hour from Toronto

[@youtuuba]

@@Mr20909 , I can't be sure what 'the' AMTRAK schedule is. I found a Lake Shore Limited schedule on their website that included Toronto. A conductor I talked to thought they might go there sometimes, or had gone there in the past, but not on his watch. I also found others LSL schedules when I went digging around that were quite different from what applied to the train I was on, and I am not referring to delays. My guess is that AMTRAK has run different versions of the LSL and has not done a good job of purging invalid schedules from the books and crannies if their website.

[@tonyd8499]

@@youtuuba The Amtrak online schedule lists them as different services - Empire (NY - Buffalo) Maple Leaf (NY - Toronto) and Adirondack (NY - Montreal) , even though the first two use the same route as far as Niagara Falls NY. The Adirondack uses a different route by Lake Champlain.

[@pedrocabrera6225]

What brand of equipment do you use? ( camera & GPS)

[@youtuuba]

Pedro Cabrera, see my separate video about the equipment I use, it is called "By Request"

[@oldbowler1879]

Had a very bad experience with Enterprise. Company was rude and didn't care. I would never use them again.

[@youtuuba]

I have had at least one bad experience with virtually every car rental company, every American car manufacturer, every commercial airline, every hotel chain, every pizzeria and fast-food restaurant chain. If I took a "I had a bad experience with.........once, so I will never use them again" stance, I would be severely limited in my future activities and plans.

[@oldbowler1879]

true

[@72Keydet]

It is perplexing to me that Amtrak engines blow their horns so much. Modern signaling and safety barriers should offset this noise pollution added the additional tasking of the engineer. I do not wish to compromise safety at all, I do not correlate noise with safety.

[@youtuuba]

Zeno Henninger, it seems that you are just making up your own rules. The trains are required to blow horns at certain places, that is the law. And AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE MANY TIMES, the train was NOT blowing its horn all that often. It is only because of my editing that it seems so in this video.

[@kispangit3912]

@@youtuuba Time to change that law maybe. I noticed that too, that trains are pretty happy to blow their horns, and multiple times/crossing. Trains don't blow horns in Europe, unless there is an imminent danger.

[@jonschuster1029]

@@kispangit3912 Europe is not a fair comparison. They have nowhere near the number of level crossings per mile of track. And a fair number of the level crossings that DO exist have 4-quadrant protection. There is also, presumably, a higher level of rules-compliance than we have here in the States. All of which is to say that American laws force train engineers to signal crossings because otherwise it would be carnage and mayhem 24/7.

[@johnconnolly6011]

You give Amtrak a bad name for not keeping windows clean. Outside windows will start to get dirty again as soon as it's out of the carwash. The trains look very clean on the outside. They look pretty clean on the inside too.

[@youtuuba]

Johnconnolly6011, speak for yourself when you think the AMTRAK cars are clean. Regardless of WHY the windows are so often dirty (and in spite of what you say, they are very often dirty even right at the beginning of routes), the cause is unimportant to all the passengers who pay for expensive scenic trips with the expectation that the windows will at least start out clean. And AMTRAK often fails to even clean the dust bunnies from under the seats.

[@cynthiafeagin5185]

Girl from ipanema

[@KU84dh37]

I'm "VERY" disappointed in this video, I've been in NY state but never NY city, and I thought I get to see it here, not the Commentator jumping to another train and leaving NY city. JMS

[@youtuuba]

KU84dh37, you seem very confused. I have no idea why you would expect to see NY City on a train video.

[@r-meltransportation8849]

E

[@ursonate]

penn station is the worst.

[@russbear31]

Oh, wow! You passed President Trump's future home! (51:03) ;-)

[@cats0182]

Why the hell don't you bury that crap. That is, unless you have some concrete information to present to authorities.

[@billypowell8082]

What a mindless lemming.

[@seminolegonzalezairlines7757]

I was in school, that day

[@youtuuba]

I am curious why some people make comments like this one....nobody knows who you are, so information that you were in school that day seems to be of use to absolutely nobody. And yet the comment is made anyway. Maybe this is due to the whole Twitter mentality and subculture, where people feel the need to broadcast to the world even the most trivial aspects of their lives....I don't get it. Makes me feel old.

[@seminolegonzalezairlines7757]

youtuuba SHUT UP

[@seminolegonzalezairlines7757]

youtuuba Don't ask.

[@youtuuba]

@@seminolegonzalezairlines7757 , sorry, I thought I was exchanging comments with an adult. I don't debate with 3rd graders.

[@seminolegonzalezairlines7757]

youtuuba I am in Middle School