Just watched this engaging new trip report from Lonestar Trip Reports: “Chicago to Portland by Train: 46 HOURS on Amtrak’s Empire Builder!” A full 2,257-mile journey across eight states in about 46 hours. Great watch if you’re into rail adventures and seeing America the scenic way.
Watch the full report here: [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] I had binge watched a number of Columbo episodes last year and you can always find clips of that show on YouTube.
Columbo as a character started off in two TV movies with different versions of the character. One portrayal in the TV movie Prescription Murder, he doesn't seem like the one to mess with once he's on your trail. He starts harrassing the female accomplice telling her that he will break her.
Of course later portrayals are far more softer. Columbo is very adept at lulling his suspects into a very false sense of security. And he's "sharp as a glass" enough to get all the proof he needs to prove the committed the crime.
This video I found today via Count Akira is a love letter to this beloved TV character portayed by Peter Falk which was part of the line-up for the NBC Mystery Movie during the 1970s. I do wish they could find a way bring this character back even if they had to recast him.
[VIDEO] Former Columbo crime family captain discusses how the mob operates when it comes to athletes (college or professional) involvement in sports gambling. He illustrates how the mafia (perhaps any organized criminal organizations) are able to sink their teeth into these athletes.
Chicago Tribune: NBA’s Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups charged in sprawling sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes
[VIDEO] A few surprises especially among the two worst.
The Cardinal is a train I was on briefly but only as a last minute means to get home. I've never traveled on it to get to either Washington, DC or New York where it finishes it's journey. Watch the video to see why they consider it the worst.
And then of course the best among the 10 best is the Floridian - which essentially replaced the Capitol Limited and is intended to be temporary. The Floridian is Chicago's Florida connection and before it entered service late last year when you leave Chicago you have to change trains in Washington, D.C. to take a train into Florida. As the couple above may say this is the perfect way to get down to a cruise that departs Florida.
And then they mention my favorite standby, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles.
For me, I like trains because I like the journey. And it's not often I get to ride through the southwestern United States and see the deserts, buttes, mountains, etc.
[VIDEO] The movie guy who often likes to talk about genre films - comic books, sci-fi, etc. - delves into a different topic which is managing your money. He's right about a lot of these principles.
Of course that said, don't take financial advice from anyone you don't feel comfortable with. Also your money situation is YOUR money situation. Everyone has their own situation.
Regardless live below your means, if you can't pay in cash you can't afford it, avoid debt at all costs. Those are the easy takeaways.
[VIDEO] This house is located in the Pacific Northwest and it's very unique. A part of this house you can actually move on railroad tracks.
Not my thing but then again I like the design of the stationary home.
[VIDEO] I really liked this video. As you see Erik Van Conover say basically they don't make 'em like they used to.
Basically a huge mansion or really two row houses combined into one, which was at one point used as offices for a financial company that merged into Bank of America. Treasures like this exists in many cities and this one was largely untouched.
If only I had just about $50 million and then some to make it habitable. Could anyone replicated it today?
Hopefully something like this won't be seen on McMansion Hell...
Last nite was the Royal Rumble where - OK no spoilers - there were a few surprised some we knew were probably on their way back. The end results were not that surprising in both the women's & men's rumble.
I wanted to share with you the first WWF Tough Enough winner...oh sorry I still haven't gotten used to saying WWE....anyway the first Tough Enough Winner is Maven Huffman. He's got a YouTube channel where he talks a lot about his wrestling career. The five or so years he was in WWE and then he got released.
Anyway in his most recent video - and sorry to not have shared this sooner - he discusses the booking for the Royal Rumble. He discusses the mechanics of such a match where 30 wrestlers are participating.
How does one know when they're being eliminated? He answers that question and more [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] If I ever go to San Francisco I want to ride the cable cars and the antique street cars. I just wish that place didn't have many of the issues they seem to currently. I see one SF politico is a bit frustrated at police responses due to the fact that they also voted for defunding police.
Still I want to check out the transit infrastructure.
Meanwhile, I can live vicariously through Downie Live.
[VIDEO] This was posted to YouTube 10 months ago and I'm sorry I missed it. Paul Lucas took the long journey from Chicago, IL to Emeryville, CA. It's one train I've never been on sadly, perhaps that will change in the future.
Which you can now find at youtube.com/@LevoisJ
Also it recently passed the 100 subscriber mark earlier this week. So yay me!
Allow me to share this graphic which you might see a variation of in the future on my YouTube channel.
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| YouTube.com/@LevoisJ |
[VIDEO] Well it's hard to believe the first franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah instead of in Kentucky which is where the business began. What an interesting look at this store also referred to as Harman's cafe. Pete Harman struck a deal with Colonel Sanders to open this franchise. Now I have a reason to visit Salt Lake City perhaps I need to visit this place during the NBA season because that's the only other reason to go there. Go see how Utah Jazz fans watch basketball...
When did Virtual Railfans installed a new camera at Flagstaff? They used to have only a static webcam pointed eastbound now they have a Point Tilt Zoom cam for the east. When you see a train arrive well, now you can see it arrive and you no longer have to wait until the train is in view of camera. Check it out below!
[VIDEO] I'll miss the static east cam, however, this is a bit of an upgrade I'm liking the new perspectives. Of course there is still a static west cam so that way you can still see trains arrive at the Flagstaff stop. However, the train when it departs will slowly but surely roll out of full view.
Flagstaff, Arizona was where me and my party departed from Arizona after a day at the Grand Canyon. It's a nice town and it was interesting to set foot there. I'm going all the way back to July 2016 of course! Hmmm I shot some video of that day! [VIDEO]
And I've updated the railcam page.
[VIDEO] This video was uploaded to YouTube in 2019 and what a different world we see from back then before the pandemic era. A lot of those storefronts you see at Chicago Union Station are now closed such as a newsstand and a Pret-a-Manger. I look forward to showing you how this major rail hub in Chicago looks in 2022.
This makes me want to take a train somewhere this year. California is always a great place to visit and it's great to see the midwest, the plains and of course the southwest of America. I think it's great to see these places that you might only imagine what it's like to live there.
Now from what I know of Dylan is he is a British national. This is certainly very different for him and he appears to be an ardent world traveler. His more recent videos now have him give narration and he's showing his face. I really do like his presentation and in this earlier example the narration is provided in text form more than via voice.
[VIDEO] Been a while since I've seen videos from the Michigan Central Lines YouTube channel.
On this day they take drone footage of the Tehachapi Loop in California. This is a great piece of engineering which allows trains to move up in elevation. Perhaps better than going up a straight ramp with difficulty.
[VIDEO] Technology Connections and Connextras are two YouTube channels I've been following for a while now. Connections basically looks at everyday technology from dishwashers to TVs to analog cameras to air conditioners to car horns to amusement park rides to basically you name it. You will learn something new when you're done.
Connextras however is considered a companion channel. While it might compliment some of the material covered on the main channel basically what we're seeing here is basically what you might consider "extras". Basically everything else.
Technology Connextras is sharing with us their ride on my favorite Amtrak train The Southwest Chief. He even shows us his footage on board Amtrak's Surfliner. He breaks down his trip, his roomette accommodations, even who owns Amtrak. He might talk about price and how much it costs to see the landscape going back and forth from California to Chicago.
Basically I'm just sharing with you yet another train video that has caught my eye.
ALSO! I want seven more subs to my own YouTube channel. When I get to 100 subs I can have a fancy url like Technology Connections. Much appreciated! :)
[VIDEO] I'm a fan of youtuuba on YouTube and he shared with his subscribers this teaser showing us the process of editing and producing his Train Odyssey videos. I want to share this with you and perhaps if you do your own train vacation videos it might give you some tips.
As far as sharing my train videos I use both still shots and videos splicing them together with background music when needed. He doesn't use an editing program that's widely available as he explains in another video years ago. In my case, I use iMovie for the most part finding it relatively easy to use and especially used on an actual computer.
On Shedd School blog I shared the first part of his Train Odyssey as he takes Amtrak's Capitol Limited out of Chicago all the way to Washington, DC although the first part that I share ended with him traveling through Indiana. Then as an extension of his odyssey he visits the Florida Keys and the Everglades Nat'l Park.
[VIDEO] In 2019 I took my only trip so far aboard a Viewliner Sleeper car by Amtrak. Traveling with my mother we did one leg in a handicapped bedroom. Then on another leg we were in a Viewliner Roomette which has a toilet.
I'm glad to see the new cars in the roomettes no longer have a toilet. Utterly no privacy if you have to use the bathroom and especially if you have a roommate. And of course the next question is, if you have to use the bathroom in your roomette where do you go.
If I wanted privacy in my roomette and have a roommate then I'd have to go to the coach car on the train to do my business at least in the old model Viewliner sleepers. Probably a hell of a trek if you really need to use it bad.
I hope you enjoy this as while I don't think I took the Silver Meteor on one leg, my trip in 2019 took us to Jacksonville, Florida at that time.
I hope you enjoy this half-hour plus video from Simply Railway.
[VIDEO] Don't let the date you see to this fool you. This tour occurred in 2018 as part of YouTuuba's Train Odysseys remember those?
Anyway he's in Ticonderoga, New York to go on a tour of the original series Star Trek sets. We see him drive to a building and then a slideshow which he narrates on what he sees during this tour. It's very cool that he had a chance to sit in Capt. Kirk's chair.
This exhibit is actually located in Ticonderoga, N.Y. and you can learn more about this at startrektour.com. This is one place I would like to visit.
Oh and I didn't know this but according to that website this exhibit was created by James Cawley who played Capt. James T. Kirk in fan produced videos that were designed as a continuation of the original Star Trek. According to this Cawley's wiki page the sets here were actually seen on an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise called "In a Mirror, Darkly"
[VIDEO] This is the video I promised last nite. This is a reworked and edit video of that time I went on that Hollywood/Beverly Hills Tour in July 2016. I changed the music and added some photos of that tour and it was very fun & entertaining day to see the sites I rarely see. Perhaps see the homes of famous performers and even at one point our driver stopped to speak to a paparazzi.
As it is winter right now in Chicago, heavy snow fell and it's very cold out it's great look back when the weather was much nicer and warmer. Yes for this video we are talking about California, however, here in Chicago the sun and warm weather will be back before we know it.
Enjoy.
