The Train to Washington

Posted on 12/16/2008 at 9:03 am by Bob Cesca

President-elect Obama is paying tribute to Lincoln’s journey to Washington:

On Jan. 17, Obama and his family will start the day with an appearance in Philadelphia, where they will board a chartered Amtrak train. The train will stop in Wilmington, Del., where the Obamas will be joined by Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Then comes a stop in Baltimore before the group’s arrival that evening in Washington.

“He’s replicating the last leg of Lincoln’s inaugural journey to Washington,” said historian Harold Holzer, author of “Lincoln President Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861.” “This guy’s reverence for Lincoln has no bounds.”

Now if only we could get a train here in Reading. Sadly, there hasn’t been commuter rail here for many, many years and re-establishing the line connecting Reading to Philadelphia has been discussed without actual results for as long as I can remember.

Ultimately, there’s no reason why towns the size of Reading (SMSA 125) shouldn’t be interconnected with commuter rail lines. The debate has been mostly about federal vs. state funds and Pennsylvania has been demanding that Washington pay for up to 80 percent of the $2 billion budget.

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  • http://unrelatedcontent.com Travis D

    Huntsville at 130 makes me realize how small of a town I live in.Also I think with Biden at VP there’s at least a chance some rail programs will get off the ground. It’s insane that, for instance, you can’t take a train from Cincinnati to Cleveland.

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    I take the train from the Hudson Valley to Grand Central at least 3 days a week. It’s a long commute, but I’m grateful to have it. Having grown up in New York City (Brooklyn native) I have been a subway rider all my life. The history of the NYC Subway is a fun and fascinating convergence of private enterprise and public interest, and the Metro North railroad mirrors that history. I would happily tell the story from memory if anyone cared to listen. :) Anyway – I do hope that we see more rail lines, but I do believe it will take government intervention. I don’t think conditions were ever as ripe for what happened in NY to happen anywhere else. It can happen – but without government intervention, I don’t think it will.I’m pretty excited about the rail trip – but I’m hurt that New York isn’t on the route.QT

  • ceu

    The trains are so poorly managed, it’s unbelievable. In my area, we have 2 choices – Metro North or Amtrak.Amherst, MA has a number of colleges around it. The main campus of UMass, Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith – this are within 10 miles of each other. So there’s a pretty large pool of students who might want to travel on a weekend. The Amtrak goes through Amherst ONCE on a Friday, around 1 or 1:30. It takes 2 1/4 hours to reach Hartford – about 60 miles away. It takes almost 5 1/2 hours to get to Grand Central…maybe 125 – 150 miles. $63. Who wants to do that??Metro North runs more trains, and are a lot cheaper – $12.50 to NYC from Waterbury, CT. Unfortunately, Waterbury is the northern end of the line – no train into Hartford, another 25 miles or so. PLUS there’s so little parking available that it’s laughable.If Joe Biden & Barack Obama can get the trains running again, half of New England would kiss their asses.

  • ceu

    [Ooops - Amtrak goes into Penn, I believe - and now I'm second guessing myself over a stupid detail]

  • GItheJOE

    Bob, I am in Williamsport PA and they opened the tracks up for a scenic Christmas light trip for the next couple weeks. I am going this weekend. I have never been on a train and I am sure that I am not the only American to have never been on a train which is sick seeing how it is so popular in that pussy Europe place.

  • chris

    Wait, didn’t Lincoln take a train in the middle of the night because he didn’t want to get off’ed in Maryland? Of course, it’s a blue state now…