Have you ridden a train in a foreign country?

Yes.  Germany and Mexico. Quite a long time ago in Germany (behind steam during a planned steam event) and a VERY long time ago on Mexico (1964).

Yes, in France.  The speed was incredible and that was 20 years ago.  The stations were like I have seen in the movies.  And they serve liquor on the platforms.  I asked for a cup of coffee and got espresso.  When I told them I wanted brown coffee they told me to go to McDonalds.

The stations along the route were old, but fairly well kept, the streets were narrow in the towns, churches everywhere, people really nice especially if you attempted to speak their language and didn't assume they should all know English (most of them do though).  Ask them about the railroads and they complain, but they wouldn't trade them for the world.  Their cars are tiny and their subways have tires in addition to the steel wheels making them quiet.  They too haul _ _ _ when they run.

Loved it,

John

Yes

Canada will start the reopening process on July 21, 2021 - This means I will be able to drive to Windsor, Ontario to catch a train to Toronto. About twenty miles from my train room.

Gary

I do remember riding a train in Europe but not sure if it was Italy ( most likely ) or France.

Yes - Canada, England, France , Germany (East , West & United), Poland and Slovakia.

More than I can remember -

Europe ---

UK - London to Land's End and Scotland (Edinburgh and Land's End)  - Lived in Oxford, so Oxford to Edinburgh, Bath, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Lancaster, Stratford-on-Avon

Norway - Bergen to Oslo

Sweden Stockholm to Gothenberg - Also lived in both cities so many local trips.

Amsterdam to Brussels and Brussels to Luxemburg and Brugges

Paris to Lyon

London through Basel Switzerland to Lucerne to Zurich

Zurich to Innsbruck (train stopped in Lichtenstein)- Lived in Innsbruck, Austria  so lots of shorter trips

Rome to Naples

Athens to Naflio Greece

Vienna to Bratislava and Vienna to Budapest

Local trips while in St Petersburg Russia

Local Trips in Berlin

Munich to Stuttgart to Metz, France to Paris

Asia -

Tokyo to Yokahama ---  Local Trips around Tokyo

Australia -

Melbourne to Balarat via both passenger routes

"Railfanned" the Kuala Lampur, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Copenhagen, Dublin, Brixen, Italy, Catania, Italy stations, but did not get on a train.

I'm sure that I missed a few - Have lots of great memories and near misses like John had!

Lad

Yes.  Aside from subways and trams, I have ridden trains in England, Spain, Italy, and Germany.  I have taken quite a few trains in Germany including Deutsche Bahn (DB)'s ICE.

While on the ICE, they displayed the speed of the train, and several times it topped 300 kmh (186 mph).  Interesting, when entering tunnels at that speed, your ears would sometimes pop due to the pressure waves.

When possible, I always try to take the train when in Europe.

As I'm nearing retirement, I would also like to take the VIA Rail Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver.

Jim

Korea

At the Marcelo Salado Sugar Museum in Cuba I got a $5 cab ride to the next town in a circa 1910 Baldwin.  They also had a boneyard of mostly Baldwin steamers.

PeruRail has some vintage Alcos, MLWs, and DMUs.  The ROWs are often used for walkways.

Rode first class from London to Edinburgh departing at Midnight and arriving for breakfast.  Slept the entire trip.

Also, numerous intercity trips in N. Ireland and Ireland on golf trips.  Many links golf courses in GB and IRL were built by the sea in the early 1900's to promote destinations for holiday travelers with the railroads building the hotels for their stays.

Played Royal St. Georges in Sandwich, England with an American who traveled to the course by rail from London where he'd been staying with his wife--thought that was pretty cool.

Apologies for veering off topic.

Yes.

Rode the the Metronome from Cuxhaven to Hamburg and back.  Also rode the U Bahn in Munich a few times.  In Switzerland I took the Pilatus Railway to the top of the mountain outside Luzern.  It’s a cog railway and was definitely the most interesting train I’ve ever ridden.

The Tokaido Shinkansen in Japan blew my mind.  The ride was so fast, smooth and quiet.  We rode from Tokyo to Odawara to see this medieval castle.

@ESPEE 8722 posted:

PeruRail has some vintage Alcos, MLWs, and DMUs.  The ROWs are often used for walkways.

I love the way those look.

John

VIA from Montreal to Toronto in the 70's. A CN steam trip from Montreal to Quebec City (posted photos on the Rail-fanning Photos thread.

Yes, Britrail, Eurostar, Paris metro, and the tube!

Many times in Canada and a couple times in the Netherlands.

When I was with one of my earlier employers, we would load ships in Houston destined for two port discharge in Montreal and at Hamilton, ON. I would meet the ships in Montreal and supervise discharge there and in Hamilton. When a ship would complete its work in Montreal and sail toward Hamilton, my preferred means of getting from Montreal to Toronto was by train, typically first class on a Via LRC. I’d rent a car near Union Station in Toronto and drive from there to Hamilton.

In the Netherlands, our corporate office was in downtown Amsterdam and it was easy to fly into Schiphol and take the train downtown.

Curt

Yes  August 2019    Rode the Train London to Paris then Paris to Rome.  Train was nice, not super elegant, but reasonably clean and comfortable.  I was disappointed that the trains we rode on did not have a dining car, they did have a snack bar.  But, yes they are very fast when in open country. There was a display in the car with a map that showed your route location, next station stop and speed.  We traveled in August and it was very Hot.  In Italy the rails were painted  white due to the extreme heat.

There was a display in the car with a map that showed your route location, next station stop and speed.

249 Km/hr = 154 MPH

The Algoma Central from Saulte St. Marie to Hearst and back (Twice, once in Fall, once in Winter.)

The Ontario Northland from Toronto to Porquis Junction and the Polar Bear Express from Timmins to Moosonee and back, with ONR bus rides between Porquis and Timmins.

CP Rail shuttle train from Calgary to Alyth shops on an NMRA tour. (OK, this one's a cheat, but it was an Extra on CP Rail...)

And the Molli Train in Germany from Bad Doberan to Ost.

Rusty

May 2001 Germany.

High speed from Stuttgart to Frankfort.

Excellent on train service, timely, swift, and smooth.

A very nice experience. 

Everyday - from Degerloch to Vaihingen and back again.

China, Korea, Japan, Peru, Chile, Canada, Italy, Monaco, Spain, Greece, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherland,  Switzerland, Hungary

It is hard to list them all:

England:  Numerous trains in and around London.  This was 1957 - 1959 and most trains were steam powered.  Diesels were a novelty.  

France:  My first trip was on a steam powered express between Le Harve and Paris and return.  This was in 1964.  

Germany, Denmark, Holland:  Numerous commuter and intercity trains.  These trains were diesel or powered by the overhead electrical systems.  

Switzerland:  Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt.  This is beautiful trip but the train is really not an express.  I highly recommend this trip in either direction for spectacular mountain scenery and unbelievable railroad engineering.  I also rode several other Swiss intercity trains.  

Mexico:  Copper Canyon train.  This is another beautiful train ride through rugged mountains.  Of course, the mountains are completely different from those of Switzerland.  

Thailand:  Local train on the River Kwai.  This was a very rustic trip.  The passenger cars had wood seats and floors.  The trip is through steep gorges with very fast running water.  

Japan:  Bullet Train and local trains around Tokyo.  

Canada:  This is my favorite trip.  VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto.  The train consisted of refurbished 1950s Bud and Pullman passenger cars with domes, etc.  The diner served meals on real plates with stainless silverware.  The food was some of the best that I have eaten anywhere.   The western mountain scenery is spectacular and the plains in central Canada have their own beauty.  I highly recommend this trip for anyone who wants an old fashioned "Pullman" experience.  

NH Joe

Switzerland, Paris/London, and Austria/Hungary.

Continental Insurance company chartered a train and as a part of a two week trip, took their leadership group from Vienna to Budapest for the day. It was more than first class.

High speed Ave from Madrid to Seville and Barcelona.  High speed Frecciarossa from Florence to Rome. Local / regional trains in Italy, Spain and France. Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (Macchu Picchu) in Peru.

Chile when Salvatore Allende was pres,Korea in steam ,Argentina ,Canada...

Yes, Germany early 90's not too long after the wall fell.  I was on a high school foreign language class trip.  We took an overnight train somewhere in Germany.  The sleeping cars were 6 people to a compartment, bunk bed style.  I remember the bunks were stiff as a board.  My best friends feet stank so bad from wet shoes we put him on the top bunk and opened the window.  The only reason the we didn't stick his feet out were the fear they would be cut off by a passing obstacle.

Our train was pulled by a diesel of some kind but I remember seeing a steam 0-6-0 switching one of the passenger stations.

The best was going to the station in Munich.  The Orient Express was there along with two ICE units and a host of other trains.  Also one of the best exchange rates in town.

Racing through the Russian wilderness at 219 mph (136mph). What could go wrong.

Included was a rather delicious salmon dinner with a nice salads and dessert.

UK & Europe, surface and subway.

The latest was in France in 2019.  Over 200 mph.

That made me think how cool it would be if we actually had high speed rail from city center to city center in the US.  I could go from St. Louis to Dallas in 3 hours!  Or Chicago in a little over an hour.

Alas, I will file that under "and monkeys might fly out of my..."

I rode the Eurostar high speed train from London to Paris (with stops at Dover and Calais) under the "chunnel" and it was a nice smooth ride- only three hours between the two cities.

In contrast, I rode trains throughout Italy and learned always to buy 1st class tickets for personal safety and stay away from the gypsy children that will swarm you to pick your pockets. When leaving Rome, I boarded the train and found my seat in the compartment. While the train was still sitting at the platform, I smelled an electrical fire (Navy experience) and told my fellow passengers "Andiamo! Fuego!"  We headed to the far end of the car away from the fire to exit and the doors were locked shut. The conductor came running down the aisle and went into a panic kicking the door as smoke filled the car. Railroad men were finally able to pry the door open from outside and we were able to exit. Close call!

Canada early on, Cartier Ry, they loaded our canoes in a baggage car & dropped us off in a network of lakes for a week of fishing.  Years later , a trip to Europe, with a round trip on a Kaiserslatern - Paris train. The French portion had speeds up to 302 kmh, according to the in-car speedo.  Very smooth.  Then a local in the Swiss Alps to the bottom of the Eiger.  Great memories.

I traveled through much of Western Europe when I was in college but have to settle for my Marklin models these days...

Back in March, 1983, I rode the Red Arrow, which was the overnight train from Moscow to Leningrad (St. Petersburg). It was a very modern trainset for the day, and a smooth ride. I remember the train stopping at 2 AM at a  small, yellow station in the hinterland. It  was snowing, and the platform was full of Soviet soldiers waiting to board. It was like a scene from Dr. Zhivago. In the morning the car attendants served everyone hot, sweet tea in glasses as we approached Leningrad. It was a memorable trip.

Does riding the metro mover down in Miami count? If so, Yes!

@Strap Hanger posted:

Does riding the metro mover down in Miami count? If so, Yes!

It sure does.....

Metro mover in Hartsfield-Jackson  Airport in Atlanta

@modeltrainsparts posted:

Metro mover in Hartsfield-Jackson  Airport in Atlanta

So,,,,,,,,,Atlanta is in a foreign country?????   If you say so.

I have ridden trains in England, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Korea and Japan.  My favorite Japanese train journey was on the "Hokutosei" (Big Dipper) from Tokyo's Ueno Station to Higashi Muroran in Hokkaido, a trip of some 14 hours.  It was a "shindai tokyu" or sleeper train.  I had one of the four "Royal" rooms on the train.  The room had a bed/sofa, a desk and chair along with its own private shower (with 6 minutes total of available water)!  Dinner was a french multi-course meal served the dining car "Gran Chariot".  Dinner service was expertly attended with white linen tablecloths and sterling silver flatware.  Of course, I ordered the Hokkaido Furano wine to accompany my dinner.  This train sadly no longer runs.  The dining car is now a stationary museum of sorts in Sendai, and one of the sleeping cars is used as a train themed hotel.  Today, the Hokkaido shinkansen (bullet train) covers this service between Tokyo and Shin Hakodate.  Connecting express trains run to Muroran and Sapporo.  During my last visit to Japan, I traveled by Hokkaido shikansen "Gran Class" which is one step up from the ordinary "green car" first class.  I had a dedicated attendant to myself as the Gran Class car was empty except for me!  Lunch with complementary wine, sake or beer was served as part of the ticket.  The train was very well appointed, and the service was the typical defferential Japanese efficiency, but I really missed the old "Blue Train" as the sleeping trains were known in Japan.

The best meal I ever had on a regularly scheduled train was on the "Frecciarossa" (Red Arrow) between Milan and Rome.  My wife and I traveled "executive class" which is one step up from first.  There are only eight seats in one half of a 70' coach, so the seat pitch is extravagent to say the least.  The meal was served at our seats and consisted of a pasta course and beef brasciola.  Both Franciacorta sparkling wine and Italian still wine were served, all part of the ticket.  The meal was on par with some of the best restaurants I have visited in Italy.  The leather seats, designed by the Italian Cannelloni firm (they do the high end car interiors for ALFA and Maserati) were very comfortable.  So comfortable that my wife and I did not want to leave the train at Roma Termini!

Hot Water, IMO, having lived in Nashville, Lexington, and Atlanta for too many years anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line is a foreign country to me.

Respectfully,

For me, my foreign country rail rides have been:

Jamaica: Jamaica Railway Corporation when I was a teen, one of the trips was by myself from Kingston to the Mandeville area in the center of the island to visit relatives while my parents and siblings drove in the car.  This train nut felt so grown up

Canada: GO Transit; Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) - When visiting relatives in the Toronto metropolitan area

Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden, England, and Scotland. Oh, and California! 😄

@modeltrainsparts posted:

Hot Water, IMO, having lived in Nashville, Lexington, and Atlanta for too many years anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line is a foreign country to me.

Respectfully,

Somehow, I really don't think that the original poster was asking about "anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line...."!   To each his own.

One time from Tokyo to Kyoto on the bullet train, if memory is accurate it was the late 80's.

It was a unique experience.

This is a great thread, yes, my wife and I took a ride on one of the 200 mile per hour bullet type trains from Busan to Seoul South Korea, and one of the most amazing things was it was mostly underground, via neat tunnels. 3/4 of South Korea is mountains, beautiful green trees, beautiful landscaping on their highways. Happy Traveling Everyone.

My wife and I rode around France a couple of times on the SNCF and the TGV.  The interesting thing about the TGV is the lack of adequate luggage space. Everyone on the car piles their luggage in a small space at the end of the car, first come first serve.  Great ride though and quick way to travel long distances.  Some of the older stations are beautiful.

In 1971, when I was a teenager, I rode the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto and back with my family.  We were visiting my sister and her husband who were living in Japan at the time.

Neal Jeter

I've ridden the Swanage Railway in England which was originally built in 1885.    It's now a charming tourist steam railroad in Dorset County.  I rode the train here back in 1999 when the line was only a few miles long.    The line now connects with mainline trains at a junction near the city of Wareham.  It's a beautiful train ride  through gorgeous countryside.  Swanage is a picturesque  seaside resort town on the English Channel and that is where the line begins.  Swanage is also my Mother's home town.  

When I was working for AXA/Equitable in the late 90s, I took a business trip to France and rode the TGV roundtrip from Paris to Bordeaux. It put Amtrak to shame. It traveled at 200 mph and it felt like you were riding on air. The seats were huge, and extremely comfortable.

AXA's training school was in Bordeaux, in the middle of a vineyard that AXA owned. Don't remember much about the trip, other than the red wine, which was outstanding. Became a red wine drinker after that trip.

Pat   

Well, l certainly envy many of the posters on here, who have managed to "get out of the county".  I have ridden behind steam from Skagway, Alaska into B.C. Canada, the Glacier Express around Switzerland, out of London to access Stonehenge (missed the return bus back to the station for London, and had a walk through the English countryside, which my girlfriend of the time did not enjoy, but we caught a bus back to the sation at a crossroads in the boonies (try that in this country), the tube around London, and a train up through Edinburgh to Inverness to rent a car and drive around Loch Ness.  I have ridden the rack rail up from the floor of the fjord to catch the train from Bergen, Norway through Oslo and down through Denmark to Frankfurt. And have ridden the train up the canyon to access Machu Picchu in Peru.  Also have ridden behind steam on the Welsh narrow gauge.

Germany: Bremem to Hamburg and back.

Holland: Amsterdam airport to city and back

If subways count, London and Singapore, numerous times

Tri Rail in south Florida to Miami (Miami is a bit foreign, lol)

I do not know what railroad it was but I have taken the train from Victoria Station in London to Brighton on the south English coast and also from London to Hampton Court and back.

Many times, UK, France, Canada, Germany, Austria, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Korea, China, Austrailia.  All very modern, and efficient.

Many times.  Ireland, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Austria.  Even Egypt (on a local train, not intended for tourists).  I'm not even mentioning metro lines like subways.

My favorite train ride in the world is the Bernina Express in Switzerland, especially if you start in Milan and change at Tirano for the narrow gauge over the Alps to St. Moritz and Chur.  The Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt is a worthy continuation of the journey.

The steam engines on the Furka Dampfbahn are up there as well.  The Swiss felt guilty about tearing down a beautiful old railway in the '80s so they built it back in the '90s and '00s and now it's like Valhalla for meter-gauge cog steam engines: the Swiss gather them up from as far as Vietnam and let them retire to the headwaters of the Rhone.

I hope Lionel (and MTH, if they ever make new tooling, and Atlas and the rest) all notice that Americans have a bounty of fond memories and interest in foreign railways and foreign locomotives.  I'm a huge fan of classic American engines like the Big Boy and the Challenger and the Hudson and the PRR T-1 and the NYC S-2 or the GG-1 but I'm also a fan of a Gresley A4 or a Crocodile (which MTH has done) and the Allegra units in the Grisons.  I know it feels like a lot to ask for new tooling in 2021 but I would be very excited if Lionel and the rest began branching out into trains that have either never been done in 3-rail AC or have very rarely been done.

@Rich883 posted:

Many times, UK, France, Canada, Germany, Austria, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Korea, China, Austrailia.  All very modern, and efficient.

Rich,

I have also ridden trains in Chile. Smooth, quick, and efficient. My wife's father came from Chile, my wife was born here but was raised in Chile and Peru, her mother was from Minnesota. We went from Cuzco to Machu Picchu by narrow gauge. I have spent about a year in Chile and very much like it.

Dick

I rode several subways in Japan and the bullet train from Yokohama to Kyoto.  It was impressive experience

I've ridden trains, trams, and subways extensively all throughout Europe, including the North Yorkshire Moors railway in England, the Eurostar through the "chunnel," the Jungfrau-Interlaken train in Switzerland, and the Nevsky Express in Russia from St. Petersburg to Moscow.  I successfully evaded the notorious pickpockets in Italy, and witnessed the sad reactions of those who hadn't. Russian subways are incredible as many stations are mini, deep underground palaces.  I suppose they have big equipment over there as the Russian's utilize a track gauge that is a little wider than ours. (Generally speaking, Soviet-era engineering was really enthralled with "bigness" in general, perhaps equating it with "better" but nonetheless always looking to leverage bragging rights over evil capitalists!) Well, this thread made me realize how lucky I am to have had all these experiences.  I really cherish those memories along with the family and great friends I rode them with.

Only vicariously. 

I have been following the "Mighty Trains" TV series and am struck by the S.E Asian rail lines featured 7/11/21 which on many lines use wide ties spacing with what looks like light weight rail and the host reported annual train wrecks numbering in the scores.  Sixty, eighty and over a hundred crashes per year were reported with a quantity of fatalities due to derailments, unguarded grade crossings and broken rail.

The video series shows previous crashed equipment simply left laying on the side of the right of way.  Also there is a lot of low lying roadbed which is frequently flooded from heavy rains leaving washed out uneven ballast and stranded trains.  Fares can be high on the name trains but life seems of little value.

The really striking aspect were the fares charged.   On their name trains the fares range well into five figures.  The fancy trains with all the expensive amenities travel over the same vulnerable right a way.

In India, a browser fare search of the Maharaja Express the best accommodation was their Presidential service which Is priced at $74,000 USD per person for a one way cross country journey.  There were lesser fares with stripped out services.

There are cheap local service trains using antique equipment not evidencing much in the way of hygiene concern which I doubt I would want to enter.

The Mighty Trains TV  video series seems to be the safe bet.

We took a train from Amsterdam to Cologne Germany while we had some time during the IBC show a few years back.  Really enjoyable.

from Vancouver to Halifax  .. highly memorable... a two week trip

also, from Helsinki to just inside Russia;

from Frankfort, Germany to Basil, Switzerland [ you better be on time and in place or you will be left behind ];

inside Norway and England

Always, friendly and helpful people crossed our paths on these trips ..

Sadly the only train I  rode in a foreign country was the funicular up the side of a hill on the isle of Capri ( did the same in Pittsburgh).

Italy in 1976.

Rome to Pisa, Florence overnight to Venice, Venice overnight back to Rome, local from Rome to airport.

Austria-Switzerland in 1988.

Funicular rail in St. Anton, Local rail in Zurich.

Soon. Will be in Europe for three weeks visiting family in a month or so and already have train travel planned. Hope to get some good pics.

In 1956 my (Welsh) mom took me and my brother to England to see our grandparents who lived in Chester.  While there, they took us to London to visit my aunt and uncle for a few days.  My mom and brother went back to Chester and I stayed an extra week in London.

When it came time to go back my uncle took me to the London station and put me and their cocker spaniel Juno on the train, then went to get the tickets.

Soon the train pulled out...minus my uncle!!!  When he came back with the tickets the train was gone, an express going somewhere in Scotland as best as I can recall.

They radioed ahead and actually had the train stop in/near Chester.  When they came to pick me and the dog up they found me sitting at the station drinking milk and eating cookies.

I was 5 years old and scared stiff.  Little southern boy who couldn't understand what anyone was saying (and I'm sure they couldn't understand me) on a train with strangers for what seemed like days instead of hours.

So yeah, been on a train in a foreign country, 65years ago!

Oh...and while there went to Wales and rode on one of those small trains they have there.  Can't recall where it was in Wales, but is could have been Caernarfon.

Yes, the Bullet Train in Japan numerous times as well as going across Europe a few times. Nice, clean, fast, on time and well funded.

Other than public transit services, the only train that I foreign train that I rode was in Greece; a rack system that went through some really spectacular scenery. I did see some steam in service, a German-built (Henschel?) 2-10-0. Later on the trip, I heard a peanut whistle in the distance and thought that I would see another European steamer; wrong, it was a "GI" 2-8-0 still in service (1972).

We took a train from Kingston to Montego Bay in Jamaica in the late 1970s when we lived there.  I often saw passenger trains with dare devils riding, standing on the car roofs, leaning into the wind. My ride to the plant where I worked paralleled the train tracks for several miles

I might as well say I also witnessed the rear door open of an old sedan, going 40 mph on the main highway.  A guy got out on roller skates and worked his way to the rear bumper, hang on awhile and then work his way back into the car.

They did not have mental hospitals there then and they turned the mentally ill out on the streets.  Ganja or marijuana was all over the country.

Charlie

Yes.  In several countries in Europe a few in the Middle East, and a few in Asia.  In Europe the commuter trains are ok and the long haul trains are decent to nice depending on what you pay for.  In the Middle East we rode a long haul train from Alexandria to Cairo in First Class and I still shudder think what economy must look like.  In Dubai the commuter train is beautiful.   In Asia it depends on the country.  I only really rode commuter trains - some were awesome and some were scary.  The best was probably in Singapore and the worst was probably India (Mumbai).  

Not yet, but late next spring I will be spending three days on the Rocky Mountaineer and 4 days on the Canadian.  I can't wait.

Along with the other former military members, I rode the German Railways several times and got lost on the French Metro Railways in Paris.  Thank goodness there were some American Tourists on the train also to get me above ground or I might be still riding that train today.

In 2005 I had a five week business trip in Europe where after the first week my adult daughter joined me.   I purchase a duo Euro-rail pass giving us unlimited travel for a month since each week I had to be in a different country.  The train system was great, ran like clockwork, was clean and very convenient.   Day time, and even a couple of over night sleeper trips.    I did have to pay for us to go through the Chunnel to London for the weekend, however it was a nice surprise to find Ireland was part of the system so our passes were still good.   

When we left Cork Ireland for our last location and a few days of pub crawling in Dublin the train was only maybe 30% full.  What we didn't know was that very night there was a huge soccer match in Dublin so at each stop more and more got on until even the standing room was packed.  Naturally a lot of those carried a lot,.. a LOT of beer and were quite happy to share.  It was a wild, wild trip.   However the things I noticed most about the system was dedicated dual track passenger routes, elevated or lower grade so limited road crossings (no bells at night), and of course the always on time trains.    It was a fun trip and most was on expense account.

@marshelangelo posted:

Along with the other former military members, I rode the German Railways several times and got lost on the French Metro Railways in Paris.  Thank goodness there were some American Tourists on the train also to get me above ground or I might be still riding that train today.

Like Charlie in Boston!

Does the New York subway count? 

Mitch

(who has ridden the Skyway in Vancouver, if that counts) (also a rider on the San Diego Trolley to Tijuana in the early 80s, which comes close)

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Does the New York subway count? 

Mitch

(who has ridden the Skyway in Vancouver, if that counts) (also a rider on the San Diego Trolley to Tijuana in the early 80s, which comes close)

No.

Italy in 2016.  First Class to Third Class.

The fast trains over there were very enjoyable...with an excellent bar and wine car.  260 kph was very smooth.  Everything was clean.

When going to my dad's village out in the boon docks, we rode a slow train that stopped at seemingly every town.  No refreshments, windows open and no A/C.

All in all....very positive experience.

I've been lucky - plus I've been a bit focused on riding trains....

New Zealand, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, China, UK & No Ireland, Rep of Ireland, France, W. Germany, E. Germany, & now plain ol' Germany), Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Czechoslovakia, USSR, (riding later, Russia), Austria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, India, So. Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, USA, Canada, Jamaica (I was able to ride the island train as did someone above from Montego Bay to Kingston, many years ago), etc.

I'm missing some, somewhere ... probably remember tonight.  LOL.

Belgium - Rnd trip local Ghent to Brussels.  Bullet train Brussles to Paris.  Wow what a ride.   

I have ridden trains in Europe since the 90s,Switzerland,Bernina Express,Glacier Express and Numerus other Trains,three night trains,Vienna to Florence,Milan to Paris,Paris to Salzburg,Spain,Seville to Madrid on the AVE,Madrid to Barcelona AVE,Madrid to Toledo, St Malo to Cologne ,Prague to Linz,Wernegrode to Mt Brocken[Steam]Vienna to Simmering Pass on to Murschlagg,Vienna to Bratislava,Paris to Avignon,Paris to Giverny,Paris to Chartres,Lyon to Paris,Paris to St Pierre des Corps,Lyon to Tournon,Tournon to Lamastre[Steam],Budapest to Eaztergom[Steam] .We have also Ridden Numerus regional runs plusCog Rail in the Mountains.

Mikey

Just Canada, but their trains are the same as in the U.S.

In the nineties, I rode the TGV  from Paris to Lyon while I was student in Grenoble. I also had a Eurrail Pass and I went to Zurich and to Munich (for Oktoberfest).  I have also been on the train from Busan to Seoul while my brother and his family lived in Seoul.  Two years ago, we took the train from Dublin to Belfast to visit the Titanic Museum.

Tourist train,  Nova Scotia, Canada.

I was blessed to live in Europe for 15 years of a 20-year military career and rode just about every type of train, regular service and tourist/museumsbahn, I could find.  Most memorable was the Allied Duty Train that departed Berlin every evening and arrived in Frankfurt the following morning.  Being in Berlin, our only way to the West was hopping a C130, driving the official corridor, or the train.  It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable - 6 to a sleeper compartment - but was always memorable, especially after the Wall came down and our Soviet military escorts realized they would be going home soon... they actually started to smile at us!  

1. London Underground--tube

2. British Rail--overground

3. SNCF--through France

4. DB --West Germany to East Germany(took the train around West Germany)

5. East Germany to warsaw Poland

6. warsaw to Krakow

7. Eurostar to paris

8. Paris to Brussels

9. Eurostar from Brussels to London.

I think that's it

lessee - UK:  London underground; Heathrow - London express; regional trains London - Bath, London - Salisbury; Eurostar* London - Paris

Continent:  Thalys*: Paris - Antwerp; TGV*: Paris - Bordeaux; Deutsche Bahn: Luxembourg City - Koln; ICE*: Koln - Bremen - Berlin; Norwegian regional: Oslo - Flam; Italo*: Rome - Venice; Trenitalia*: Venice - Florence; Italo: Florence - Rome; DB (long ago) Salzburg - Copenhagen ("night train - back when the Germans insisted on smoking on the train - aargh")

Bucket List:  ICE or TGV Paris to Berlin; Berlin to Milan (high speed rail - all DB?); TGV: Milan to Paris (inspired by the man in seat 61 -- website: seat61.com -- a great train travel website, especially for Europe); also something trans-Canada - Vancouver to Ottawa on VIA, or is it CN??

* high speed trains

Yes Siree, I one rode the Amtrak train from Boston to NYC, hauled by an F40PH as far as New Haven and a Swedish electric for the remainder.

(well its foreign to me) :-)

@Limey posted:

Yes Siree, I one rode the Amtrak train from Boston to NYC, hauled by an F40PH as far as New Haven and a Swedish electric for the remainder.

(well its foreign to me) :-)

Sorry, but that was NOT in a foreign country.

Does West Philadelphia count?

Does the subway in Montreal count??

Lets's See:

London Underground, Tokyo Subway, British Rail, and Dublin to Blarney Castle County Cork.

We are booked on the Toronto-Vancouver later this year.  Any words of wisdom?  John

Commuter train from Leuven, Belgium (the home of Stella Artois) to Brussels, then the Thalys from Brussels to Paris (at around 160- 180 mph). Paris by Thalys back to Leuven.

John

Montreal Metro at Lucien-Allier, first time riding the new trains with open gangways (2017):

---PCJ

Took quite a few trains in the UK. Edinburgh (Princes Station) to Glasgow, Edinburgh to York for the National Railway Museum, and more. Fast, clean, and frequent. Some were DMU, others were locomotive-hauled.

@Hot Water posted:

Sorry, but that was NOT in a foreign country.

Well it has been since 1776.

A Train

Local, express, bullet, subway in Japan. The subway in korea. The tube in London. Thats about it so far. No other OCONUS/canada places I have been have either not had rail at all (caribbean e.g.), or I just car'd it (canadia).

New Zealand North Island 1970, Wellington to Auckland express railcar.

Port Pirie to Perth 1969 with change of train and gauge at Kalgoorlie. Not my pic but representative of the 1960's train from Kalgoorlie approaching Perth. EMD power.

France 2007

UK 2007

Only one was in 2019 on the Rocky Mountaineer from Banff Canada to Vancouver.  Went 1st class on their gold leaf service.  Full dome car with a full service restaurant on the first floor and unbelievably beautiful views from our seats.

Dalat Vietnam

"Montreal Metro at Lucien-Allier, first time riding the new trains with open gangways (2017):"

Is that what those are called? I never knew what the correct term was for the space between passenger cars. I always called them vestibules.  Learn something new every day.

Vestibule is inside (inside your ear, for instance, or just inside a building). Gangways are external to the body, so boats, trains, as a point of entry into the vessel. Any walk between cars is across a gangway. The "open gangway" in the photo you will see in, of all things, busses nowadays:

-> https://articulated-bus.com/in...ucts-category-1.html
ATG can provide custom solutions for your application, whether you require a complete gangway solution or a single component such as an articulated joint, platform, cable guide or centre hoop with bellows.

Almost every bus in the DC/Metro area nowadays is a newfangled articulated with enclosed gangways. :|

This is a great topic with many nice pictures. Happy Traveling Everyone.

Rode the rail service from London Heathrow several times as well as the Tube. I also rode the train from Switzerland Zurich airport to the downtown  station which connected the light rail service running through the streets

My wife and I have ridden the subways in most European capitals.  We also took the cog rail train to Jungfrau glacier in Switzerland, ridden the Canadian VIA from Windsor to Toronto, taken train service from Calais, France to Bremen, Germany and the TGV from Paris into Spain as far as it went at the time.  All very pleasant experiences.  The TGV was absolutely wonderful.  We took along a bottle of wine and some baguettes which we shared with some French citizens who instantly became our traveling companions.  They supplied the "fromage" and we, the rest.

35 years ago I rode VIA Rail in Canada from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Toronto numerous times. Trains were always Budd RDCs.

Rode GO Transit with F40s and Hawker Siddley double deckers on occasion.

Used the TTC subway in Toronto, often too. It was a class operation 35 years ago….

Tom

England, Germany & Canada

Yes. England's tube and a commuter train as well as Montreal's subway.

Yes, a steam locomotive in Japan, about 1975.

The Canadien in "you-know-where'.   The Vista Train and others in Mexico circa 1974.  Numerous unnamed trains in Ireland. Numerous trains as part of the Paris France RER.

That Mexico trip was on the line Arthur Stillwell envisioned but never saw completed as part of his Kansas City, Mexico & Orient RR.  It is an engineering marvel.

Yes we have! - Japan in particular stands out.  In 2016 we vacationed using a rail pass from Tokyo in the north to Kagoshima in the south.  Rode everything from the subways to the Shinkansen.  Fantastic time and every train was fascinating to me!

Kelunaboy, Wow, now that’s a fun train vacation, and I’m sure a fantastic ride. Thanks for posting pictures. Wow, this is a fun thread… Happy Railroading Everyone

1) DB Frankfurt to Mainz

2) DB Frankfurt to Fuessen -- Gotta be a tourist and see Neuschwanstein and where they shot The Great Escape

3) DB Frankfurt to Freiburg im Breisgau

4) DB Freiburg to Breisach

5) DB Freiburg to Basel Bad Bahnhof

6) SBB Basel Bad to Geneva

7) SNCF Geneva to Portbou, Spain

8) RENFE Portbou to Barcelona

9) RENFE Barcelona to Madrid - on a Talgo, this was 1988

10) RENFE Madrid to Toledo

11) RENFE Madrid to El Escorial

And back the way I came.

My regret is that I never road the DB Hoellentalbahn route while I studied in Freiburg.

I can slightly remember two rail trips in Ireland when my wife and I were visiting friends who lived in County Tipperary and we went to Dublin by train to do some shopping and another trip to Ireland when we had arranged a family trip to Ireland and took the DART between the town in which we were staying in a Bed & Breakfast and Dublin to do some sight-seeing.

On a another time my wife and I went to England to do a tour of Wales and friends, who we had met in Bermuda, in Southern England invited us to spend a few days with them before we started the tour. So we took the train from London down to a town near the White Cliffs of Dover where the friends met us and, when it was time to meet our tour group, they drove us back to London.

While assigned to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India in the mid-10970's, rode the Taj Express from New Delhi to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.  Indian rail was still in the early transition from steam to diesel, and most to the rail equipment, including a large number of steam locomotives, was from the British Raj period.  The locomotives normally assigned top the Taj were the WP-7003's, some of which were build by Baldwin.   The train's carriages dated from the 1920's and first class seating air conditioning consisted of small electric fans near each seat.  The windows of the cars needed to be open and a good amount of smoke and cinders managed to make it inside - the Lackawanna "Phoebe Snow" jingles always came to mind during each trip.

Canada and Mexico.

In Canada, of course, it was so much like USA railroading, that it was virtually the same.  Leaving Toronto on the Laurentian, I stood in the dutch door of my sleeping car and took in all the fantastic Alco sounds of the three MLW cab units up front in cold, night air.  The crews were always friendly and competent.

Mexico was like USA railroading in 1945, with kerosene marker lamps at the rear of every freight and passenger train.  Again, I traveled in Primera Especial class, on a Pullman sleeping car.  I also rode on those weird-looking Kinki Primera class chair cars, and, on occasion in Segunda, open window, coaches.  It was always fun.  I ate steak, pancakes, chilaquiles, and other delicious meals in the coche comedor.  The train orders were perfectly understandable, even though written in Spanish, as they were in the same form as on US railroads.

Train handling in Mexico was always interesting.  Some Maquinistas were artists in the use of the air brake, while others were, shall we say, unsophisticated.  There did not seem to be any middle ground.

Germany - was there for 5 weeks during summer vacation between Jr and Sr year in high school with my girlfriend.  We rode lots of trains , subways etc.  Nothing stood out in my mind other than people staring at us all the time on the train.

France - Paris - was there on a business trip for 10 days when I was 20.  Rode the subway every day to work and  I still can remember how litter free and clean the system was.  Nothing at all like the next item on my list.

NYC subway ( yes, that is a foreign country ! )  Can count on two fingers the times I went, back in the early 70's and both for Broadway - saw Hair and Phantom  of the Opera. 

JP 

Yes, various trains in Europe (DB-ICE, TGV France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Ulster, Great Britain, and Italy), in Japan, and the Algoma in Canada. Great experiences!

The most memorable, however, was the Belmond Grand Hibernian that a good friend and I took on a luxury tour of the Republic of Ireland two years ago. Below are pictures of the motive power (built by EMD), a dining car, and the lounge car interior.

@rattler21 posted:

Did you ride any trains in other countries?

John

Nope, never been out over the country

When I lived in Australia in the 90s I rode the Sydney ring trains almost every day.  At the time they were gradually replacing their single level self propelled coaches with newer modern 2 level cars also self propelled.  The early trains were affectionately  known as "growlers" because of the distinctive sound their motor/axle gearing made.

I also was fortunately able to ride the green Pacific on one of its excursion runs before I left for home.  Great time with lots of run by viewing.  I also visited the museum at Thirlmere where they were in the early stages of evaluation of the big Garrett loco for restoration to operation.  Their equivelent to the Big Boy.  Quite a massive engine!.  Have some pictures here somewhere but can't find them right now.

Rolland

Rode the Shanghai maglev bullet train a few years ago on a work trip. 260+ mph.

Yup

Down There

Down Under

Back Over That-a-Way

Somewhere to the East

...and back the other way

Via Rail Canadian... Vancouver to Toronto.... then VIA rail to Montreal several times. Next time I'll just round trip back to Vancouver on the Canadian. I had a lower birth, best sleep I ever had.

K'Town Germany to Paris. Felt like Superman - faster than a speeding bullet.

I've travelled on trains extensively in Austria,Germany,France,Switzerland,Sweden,Denmark,Hungary,The Netherlands,Belgium and Luxembourg. I've ridden the Swedish SJ X2000,Several different "flavors" of the SNCF TGV,The NS/SNCB/SNCF Thalys,The German ICE 1,2,3 and 4 as well as many steam powered museum trains. When working in Europe,I spend my weekends riding trains and attending train shows which are large,very popular and well attended. Here's some pix of the Frankfurt,Germany Main Station which I make many connections while travelling by train.

@richs09 posted:

lessee - UK:  London underground; Heathrow - London express; regional trains London - Bath, London - Salisbury; Eurostar* London - Paris

Continent:  Thalys*: Paris - Antwerp; TGV*: Paris - Bordeaux; Deutsche Bahn: Luxembourg City - Koln; ICE*: Koln - Bremen - Berlin; Norwegian regional: Oslo - Flam; Italo*: Rome - Venice; Trenitalia*: Venice - Florence; Italo: Florence - Rome; DB (long ago) Salzburg - Copenhagen ("night train - back when the Germans insisted on smoking on the train - aargh")

Bucket List:  ICE or TGV Paris to Berlin; Berlin to Milan (high speed rail - all DB?); TGV: Milan to Paris (inspired by the man in seat 61 -- website: seat61.com -- a great train travel website, especially for Europe); also something trans-Canada - Vancouver to Ottawa on VIA, or is it CN??

* high speed trains

This topic brings back great memories (I was on military leave from the NYC and thus officially a railroad man)

1962 - First trip to Europe, Icelandic AL to Luxembourg, on the way to spend a week in Paris with my future (and still now) wife, via Switzerland on a Swiss Holiday ticket.  First night in Basel, then Zurich, Arth-Goldau and Lucerne.  Lucerne to Interlaken on my first combination rack/adhesion railway.  Side trip to Kleine-Scheidegg, but didn't ride the Jungfrau Bahn which would have been three hours of looking at fog.

Interlaken to Brigg on the Loetschberg line - a cab ride on one of the most spectacular rides down a mountain slope in Europe.  Managed to talk my way into the cab as a fellow railroader using my awful high school German.  The a round trip to Zermatt and view of the Matterhorn, another combination rack/adhesion RR.

Next a language /culture shock.  To Lausanne, where I had booked a Wagon-Lits berth to Paris.  I'd been traveling in German speaking Schweiz and arriving about noon, found myself in French speaking Suisse - totally disorienting, didn't know a word of French.  So hooped on a train to Bern and had a pleasant four hours back in German speaking Schweiz.  A beautiful city with two interurban lines to Worb Dorf leaving from terminals a few hundred yards apart, leaving berne in opposite directions. (i was also a traction fa as much as a railfan).

Then back to Lausanne and sleeper to Paris.

Most notable for a railfan in Paris in 1962 was steam powered suburban service.  I made a side trip to Poissy behind a 2-8-2 tank locomotive.

Enough for now.  I'll continue later with my next trip to Pris which included a ride on the original Talgo train from Madrid to Hendaye (French border).

I've had the pleasure of riding quite a few Japanese trains while visiting in 2014 and 2016. I rode the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto, including stopping once at Atami (I hope they are able to recover from the recent landslide disaster, it was so sad as Atami is a beautiful city). I also rode Kyoto's metro, including the double decker cars, and the Tokyo subway as well as some private railways. A highlight was defiantly seeing some of the Odakyu Railways 7000 series Romance Car still in service (they are retired now), they are a very distinctive classic streamlined EMU. Next time I manage to visit Japan I really want to visit the new railway museum in Umekoji, Kyoto (it started out as a massive roundhouse full of steam locomotives, and then got even bigger), which I have missed the last two times I have gone thanks to it being on the opposite side of the city from the hostel we stayed at. There's also a Meji Museum, that recreates Japan from 1867-1912, that has some of the oldest operating steam locomotives in Japan, one American and one British built that I'd love to see.  

@Conductor Earl posted:

My wife and I rode around France a couple of times on the SNCF and the TGV.  The interesting thing about the TGV is the lack of adequate luggage space. Everyone on the car piles their luggage in a small space at the end of the car, first come first serve.  Great ride though and quick way to travel long distances.  Some of the older stations are beautiful.

We rode the TGV to Nimes around 1990.  Even going first class, it wasn't a great ride even with a sumptuous (and expensive) lunch served at our seats.  Cramped seats and boring view on the HS part of the line.  Day trip to Carcassone on a regular express train was a much more pleasant ride.

Best ride in France was Paris to Bayeux (Normandy beaches) in 2013.  Ordinary fast intercity trains (most lines electrified) had a normal running speed of 200 kph (125 mph).

But that's not a legitimate comparison to the non-development of such lines in the US.  Highway competition is nothing like our interstates, and France has the much higher population density necessary to support frequent HS service,

@colorado hirailer posted:

Well, l certainly envy many of the posters on here, who have managed to "get out of the county".  I have ridden behind steam from Skagway, Alaska into B.C. Canada, the Glacier Express around Switzerland, out of London to access Stonehenge (missed the return bus back to the station for London, and had a walk through the English countryside, which my girlfriend of the time did not enjoy, but we caught a bus back to the sation at a crossroads in the boonies (try that in this country), the tube around London, and a train up through Edinburgh to Inverness to rent a car and drive around Loch Ness.  I have ridden the rack rail up from the floor of the fjord to catch the train from Bergen, Norway through Oslo and down through Denmark to Frankfurt. And have ridden the train up the canyon to access Machu Picchu in Peru.  Also have ridden behind steam on the Welsh narrow gauge.

My train riding in Norway was all north opf the Arctic circle.

On a business trip beginning with a Monday morning meeting near Stockholm, I thought it a good weekend for some sightseeing.    Having known for a long time about the scenic iron ore line from the Swedish mines near Kiruna to the Norwegian port of Narvik,  I flew to Kiruna and took the train to Narvik.  Overnight in Narvik with a hard time getting to sleep as it never gets close to dark at night in July.

Sunday am took the train back to Boden in Sweden and got on the sleeper to Stockholm for the most frightening sleeping car ride of my life.  I had to get off early in the morning at Uppsala, about 45 minutes before Stockholm.  I woke up in the middle of the night and it was daylight outside.  My watch said 3:00 and I was sure it had stopped and I might miss my station.  So I stayed awake until we came to the next station, where I could check the station clock and verify that it really was only 3:00 am and y watch was right on time. - That was only about 400 miles south of the Arctic circle.

Had the opposite experience in Helsinki on a consulting assignment the first week of January.  Siting in a conference room at 9:30, we could look out the window at the sunrise.

@Erik the Newbie posted:

Vestibule is inside (inside your ear, for instance, or just inside a building). Gangways are external to the body, so boats, trains, as a point of entry into the vessel. Any walk between cars is across a gangway. The "open gangway" in the photo you will see in, of all things, busses nowadays:

-> https://articulated-bus.com/in...ucts-category-1.html
ATG can provide custom solutions for your application, whether you require a complete gangway solution or a single component such as an articulated joint, platform, cable guide or centre hoop with bellows.

Almost every bus in the DC/Metro area nowadays is a newfangled articulated with enclosed gangways. :|

Gangway sounds European to me.  In all my hundreds of rides in passenger trains in the 50's through 70's, I never heard that space called anything other than a vestibule.

Canadian border opens up for US citizens, but not without regulations.

On Monday August 9th., 2021 - Canada opened up its borders to Americans. Below are just some of the rules to cross into Canada.

• Must have proof in the past 72 hours of a Covid test before entering Canada. Canada will also take a second test at the border at their discretion.

• Must have a Passport or an Enhance Drivers License. I use my Michigan Enhanced Drivers License with the embedded passport.

• Must have proof of an approved Covid Vaccine.

• To speed up this process Canada has an App that you can use with a phone, to enter all the above information along with their entry questions.

Gary 🇺🇸🇨🇦