Remember the North Carolina Museum of Transportation excursion train I was psyched to ride from Spencer to Charlottesville? I happened upon the museum’s webpage last night to discover that tickets were already being sold. Though I had “sent an email for more information” way back, the museum left me in the lurch. It would seem important to know when one could actually purchase tickets, so I’m not sure why I wasn’t told about this.
Anyhow, ticket prices have been announced and range from $135 for a coach seat to $250 for a first-class dome car (with meals). After talking it over, Kelly and I agreed this was just too expensive, especially since there are no child fares. As she put it, the amount we’d spend on the train would pay for a few nights’ stay at the beach. Hard to argue with that.
The upside to all this is that I’ve decided I probably wouldn’t want to stay anchored in a musty old train seat anyway. The real show will be outside the train, watching the vintage train cars make the run north and back!
Therefore, I’m planning to chase the train on one of its trips, taking video and pictures as it goes. I’ve never chased trains before so I’ll need to learn how its done as well as get familiar with the route so that I can find the the most scenic crossings and such. I expect Google Earth to be my friend here. And working together with my geek friends (train buffs or photographers) would make it even more fun.
Cost? A tank of gas. Its still not free, but far less than being on the train and potentially a lot more exciting. Drop me a line if you’d like to come along.