train journey, day 1 Photo Gallery by Patricia Lay-Dorsey at pbase.com

train journey, day 1

This gallery starts at the Amtrak station in Dearborn, Michigan at 7:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 28, 2007. It was the first leg of my train journey between my home in Detroit and San Diego, California. But first I needed to get to Chicago's Union Station where I was scheduled to board the Southwest Chief--destination Los Angeles--at 3:15 p.m. CST.

It was a cold grey morning when we departed Dearborn, and I'm sorry to say the train windows were pretty dirty, so the photos between Dearborn and Chicago are not the best. Actually, that's why I always carry a small bottle of window cleaner and paper towels with me on these trips. But, unfortunately, it is only helpful on the cross-country trains, not the commuters. And I'm happy to say that the windows on the Southwest Chief were sparkling clean, thanks to my wonderful sleeping car attendant Nina, who washed them for me herself before we left Chicago!

So here we go...

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That's Ed sitting next to my folded-up walker	Ed carries my bags to the train	the lift that gets my scooter & me up onto the train	my worldly belongings, for 3 weeks anyway
a student who boarded in Ann Arbor	the old unused Jackson, MI train station		Dowagiac, Michigan
			Niles, Michigan
arrival in Chicago	Red Cap unloads my bags	Chicago's Union Station

train engineer Darnell & my conductor, David			Amtrak ticket counters
waiting for a train
All aboard the Southwest Chief!	my sleeping car	my wheelchair-accessible compartment	Nina, 19 years on the job
Illinois countryside

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comment |

Pat Shawyer		11-Feb-2008 08:38
What a great gallery !! Makes me want to go travelling again !!

boy yniguez		03-May-2007 15:41
cool! check out this project of mine in 1985http://www.pbase.com/robertoyniguez/berlin. better viewed as a slideshow!

sue anne		27-Apr-2007 23:32
I enjoyed your train trip pictures, I never did some like this, will try to do it at least once. :)

Ryan		26-Apr-2007 20:09
just fantastic first day! can't wait for the second (and third, et alii) seeing our country from the inside. thanks so much ( my wife allows me only three "so's" per day.) keep up the excellent work. in the ny times today is an article on photo alteration for a living, sometimes with photoshop. it is so good! (that's two)..

Matylda Lempel-Chareza Photography		24-Apr-2007 17:49
very nice diary!

Manuel Libres Librodo Jr.		24-Apr-2007 11:14
I like this a lot....so much story in all pictures. V

kbefkhl		20-Apr-2007 19:55
fantastic! best train trip of all! love the small cities from the "inside" view, and the grandeur of the chicago station. Can't wait for the next installment. you are the greatest.

Jeanne		19-Apr-2007 21:01
i just think your railroad trip to chi and across illinois is just great.

Maxim Popykin		19-Apr-2007 07:21
wonderful live trip! Voted

an americal mother		18-Apr-2007 20:27
terrific. its just like taking a train ride, like that samantha story on londonia, great ocean liner of 1906. i felt there. and the goodsy warmsy feeling of americal small towns up close. just super.

Morgan Rose		17-Apr-2007 11:25
Your photos brought back memories of my own cross country Amtrak. How I wish I could do it again! MorganRose

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