What is it you like about trains?

[subway156]

Since I was born a block off 3rd Avenue in the South Bronx, I learned to love rail travel from my earliest recollections. Elevated and subway trains were my first love. Then came the Long Island RR, because the train ran at the end of our street. Today, I just love train travel, the size, feel look and everything else that goes with it. The Tubes amaze me. After reading the story of how they came about, it have enamored with them. I still travel over 100 miles by car and bus just to ride the NY subway. I am have little knowledge of Philadelphia and there is a bad social-safety reputation there. I have ridden ScotRail from Edinborough to Leven as well as Falkirk. They were beautiful rides due to the locations, scenery, people and the trains themselves. I have to say that the people I met while traveling and visiting through parts of Scotland were wonderful making the journey more enjoyable. I haven't been on this site much latlely as my wife and I moved to a new flat. Less money, much more modern and closer to work. Anyway, good to be back. Wish I were riding somewhere with all of you now.

 

[Demps]

voyager centre coaches.

 

[Sun Chariot]

For me, escapism and adventure:


As a youngster that meant a Rail-Rover, independence, adventures around a newly-explored part of the UK. Oh, and underage drinking in local hostelries!


These days, it means scenic splendour and sensory overload - check out the Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway, in southern India; and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad, over the southern US Rockies. Attached is a photo on the C&T.

Whilst the above routes also benefit from the sounds, shudders and smells of vintage steam, imagine that you're gently clattering along, on a service train through southern India; door open and legs dangling over the side of the carriage; watching the vermillion sun dip over the palm trees and elephants grazing near the trackside. A rejuvenating tonic...


Sadly, a daily London commute and weekly business travel between London and Manchester, stifled my passion for UK rail travel a long time ago.

Well, that and the appalling service I received, from a grumpy and unhelpful bar-steward, on the "Caledonian Sleeper" a few years ago...

 

[poshbakerloo]

Theres a few things I like about trains when I'm in the mood, a I do like the sounds and feeling of trains, but if I'm on a long distance XC route, I like it to be quiet and smooth.

 

[43050]

Why I think people including me like trains are for one all their interesting liveries and design, sometimes even the sound eg: me and the good old Valenta's, they just sound wonderfull in trains.
I also like the sheer speed, you just cannae beat a HST at top whack.
Put it this way all those speeding around in cars on roads ment for 30mph are better off joining use rail guys, as you can legally do 125mph and not get arrested and charged with an offence...or kill people, unless they stray on the tracks of course.

 

[SWT Driver]

Having just had a few glorious days in the West Country, I'm now starting to realise how much I absolutely detest working trains...

The thought of starting work before the crack of dawn to work SWT suburban c**p really makes me wonder what the hell I was doing when I joined BR!

 

[JustinStacey.x]

SWTdriver: we KNOW you hate trains, because you express it in any way you possibly can wherever you possibly can. This is a thread for why people LIKE them, in case you hadn't noticed...

 

[starrymarkb]

Travel.... I love to see new places

Its telling that I've done quite a few of the Indie's best rail journeys
Glacier Express (not the full I'm afraid - just Brig to Chur)
Esk Valley
Exeter - Penzance (my local line too)
Spiez to Brig via Kanstersteg (The Lotschberg Mountain route)
Liskeard to Looe (I had friends in Looe)
Centrovalli (Missed most of the view as the train was rammed - still my only experience of Italian Rail - not counting the Simplon as that is SBB territory)

I've also done a lot of scenic Swiss stuff not on the indies list including
Brienzer Rothorn
BernerOberlandBahn and Wegenalpbahn up to Kleine Scheidegg (not being rich I couldn't afford the £30 extra for Jungfraujoch - wasn't covered by a Swiss Pass)
Brunigbahn
Pilatusbahn
Murrenbahn
Gotthard
Schillenge Platte Bahn

 

[jayc]

Seems like a good topic for my first post!

I got interested in trains back in 1996 at the age of 16, when a house move from Hampshire to Sussex resulted in me living away from home and staying with relatives to finish my last 8/9 months at school. I used to catch the 16:03 from North Camp to Gatwick every Friday and changed on to another service at Gatwick and made the reverse journey on Monday morning.

I've always appreciated engineering and machines that move - I love cars so trains were the natural progression. I didn't (and still don't) care much about 'trainspotting', but the 165/166 Thames Turbo's were pretty decent – the styling, the comfort, the sound of the engine – a million miles from the old slam door trains used mainly by SWT/Connex or even the Thameslink 319's I got on the rare occasion South of Gatwick.

 

[Demps]

No no, wait, i like 142 bogies, they are the best bogies.

 

[emoaconr]

I like visiting different places, and the ease of it.

I particulary enjoy long-distance journeys (in less crowded times, of course ), seeing places go by without the annoyance of planning around traffic and routing. I like to be able to add to my map of places I've visited, and fill in another line on the chart (that was posted on here a few weeks ago haha)! Trains themselves... I like variation... seeing progression and how different trains by different TOCs are operated and look, along with tech aspects!

Living close-by to a 101-worked line until 2003 has had me fascinated by history, and childhood visits to a local heritage railway had captured an early interest! Adding to that, my house is built on former railway trackbed!

 

[PRVAAA]

I do not especially like trains or railways. They are a means to an end. I like the places I can visit using trains. I think theres a difference.

 

[Lampshade]

I wouldn't say I like trains as such but I enjoy travelling on them. I really wasn't fussed about them until April 2008 when I travelled with SWT and liked the look of the 458s because they were different to the 450s which have all the excitement of an accountant's meeting - which got me into photography.

 

[aspierail]

I enjoy traveling on them also like the sound of their engines and different types of liveries aswell.

 

[CosherB]

They just make so much sense! Instead of a bunch of power freaks charging nose-to-tail down the M1 (or more likely, staring at the stationary car in front! But hey, at least THEY are still at the wheel!) you can relax with a G&T at 125mph. Who wants to spend 4 hours driving a tin box when you can sit back in comfoirt and enjoy the (2 hour) ride?

Trains are civilised! Perhaps now Concorde has gone, the ONLY civilised way to travel!

 

[ungreat]

Having just had a few glorious days in the West Country, I'm now starting to realise how much I absolutely detest working trains...

The thought of starting work before the crack of dawn to work SWT suburban c**p really makes me wonder what the hell I was doing when I joined BR!

Nice post mate..sometimes I wonder too,but then again,I still like the job deep down.Summers coming,which means the summer gear girls will be out!

I hate early turn,but watching the sun come up is nice! Rather do it with my dog though! Walking him is far better than carting the ungrateful cattle to their office every morning.They don't care that you were up at 3 am to get their train ready.

Right now,I pray for a big lottery win.I do like driving,its the crap that comes with it I detest!