Passenger Trains > Two Amish Men

Only just noticed these two gentleman in the photo, taken at Albuquerque some years ago.  Wonder what they're doing?

Ed

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They are two inspectors from the FRA (Federal Railroad Amish). 

We have an Amish community (Yoder, KS) just south of Hutchinson, which is a stop on the Southwest Chief.

I have always seen the Amish getting on and off the train here, as that seems to be a prefered method of long distance travel for them.  Around here they come to town in a tractor pulling a pickup bed trailer with a topper on it (Amish SUV).  We even have wide shoulders on a few roads for them to commute on, and hitches to tie their horses to at places like Lowe's.

Mike
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/15 17:36 by unclebob.

Maybe looking for what size bridle and harness holds the buggy to the horses.

"Hmm, can we get 480v connected to the buggies?"

unclebob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We have an Amish community (Yoder, KS) just south
> of Hutchinson, which is a stop on the Southwest
> Chief.
>
> I have always seen the Amish getting on and off
> the train here, as that seems to be a prefered
> method of long distance travel for them.  Around
> here they come to town in a tractor pulling a
> pickup bed trailer with a topper on it (Amish
> SUV).  We even have wide shoulders on a few roads
> for them to commute on, and hitches to tie their
> horses to at places like Lowe's.
>
> Mike

Yes, probably just passengers stretching their legs. Years ago I talked with an Amish man on the SW Chief  heading east. If I recall they had been visiting an Amish community near Flagstaff and were heading home.

The Amish often go to Mexico from the Midwest for Medical Care. We live in an area of South central Michigan with lots of Amish.  my father and I are often called on to pick up or drop off Amish at Bryan or Jackson.  In fact Dad and I drive Amish to various Amish communities, bus stations and train stations.  Last summer I dove some Neighbors to a funeral in central Penn.  I dropped them off and spent the day at Steamtown, then picked them up getting back home around midnight. Our neighbors have relatives in  Up State NY and Wisconsin that often take the Lake Shore or a Wolverine.   While at Disneyland two weeks ago, I took a break from the park for an In-and-Out Burger and visited Fullerton Station,  the waiting room was full of Amish off a Surfliner waiting for that evenings SWC.

I would say that they are passengers stretching their legs and curious. Trains are convenient for them to travel and visit Amish in other parts of the country. Though this may sound a bit crude, the medical profession not many years ago encouraged them to marry outside of their home area to avoid genetic issues.  It is not unusual for them to travel btw Pennsylvania and Indiana to find a spouse, for example.  

In my experience, Amish like mechanical things and often are very handy in that way. In my area in Indiana many have shops that do lawn mower and bicycle repair. (This is interesting since, at least in my area, they are not allowed to use gasoline engines but they work on them!) And not suprisingly, many like trains. More than a few of my customers have been Amish whether they lived along the Wabash railroad I wrote about or not. I can just imagine them reading the book under lantern light in the evening! Chasing the 765 a few years ago I noticed Amish men stopping to check out the locomotive in Attica, Indiana.

There are actually some Amish vacation communities in Florida and some have purchased lake cottages in Indiana.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/15 10:12 by wabash2800.

Does the DEA ever push their weight around with these folks ?

Love that Carriage Crossing Restaurant.

unclebob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We have an Amish community (Yoder, KS) just south
> of Hutchinson, which is a stop on the Southwest
> Chief.
>
> I have always seen the Amish getting on and off
> the train here, as that seems to be a prefered
> method of long distance travel for them.  Around
> here they come to town in a tractor pulling a
> pickup bed trailer with a topper on it (Amish
> SUV).  We even have wide shoulders on a few roads
> for them to commute on, and hitches to tie their
> horses to at places like Lowe's.
>
> Mike
>  

They may own that fuel truck!  Several Amish are in the trucking business in Northwest Indiana.  Not all of them shun the modern ways.  Dan