Passenger Trains > Sport show talking about a trip on the California Zephyr

This is a little bit off-topic, but not completely.  College basketball is big in Kentucky and University of Kentucky basketball is the king.  There is a possibility that UK might end up playing a game in Sacramento.  These guys were talking about taking their trip to cover the game on the California Zephyr.  They have a few of their facts wrong, but it was sort of a local advertisement for Amtrak.  The station is in Louisville and we haven't had Amtrak service in over 20 years, so most people in Louisville never even think about Amtrak.

Start listening to this podcast from 7:51! 2023-01-24 -  KSR - Hour 1 on KSR … https://www.iheart.com/podcast/484-ksr-kentucky-sports-radio-28233652/episode/2023-01-24-ksr-hour-1-107762679/?cmp=android_share&sc=android_social_share&position=471&autoplay=true&pr=false
Listen to this starting a bit after the 8-minute mark until around the 20-minute point or so.

John

 
 

I think it is fair to say that most people in America never think about Amtrak, whether their town has service or not. My sister, who lives just outside the city of Chicago, which I think has one or two Amtrak trains, told me the other day after a friend of hers had asked whether she had considered taking the train out to go see her, "It's just not something I think about." This coming from someone who has a brother that is a career railroader. Amtrak needs to become much more visible to the general public through their advertising. That is if they even care to promote themselves, which anymore is highly questionable.

Since 05/01/1971 the AAR has spent considerable time and money telling the citizens of the USA to stay away and quit bothering them. They have stuff to do and they don’t want anyone to tell them what is right or wrong.

The propaganda ministers have done their jobs well.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

As I am a graduate of UK I found this posting very interesting. These ball players are quite tall. I wonder how comfortable they will be in the beds. And where will Amtrak get enough sleepers? None of these players will fit in a roomette berth. By the time you add the coaches, university officials, trainers and equipment managers it will be quite a crowd. Maybe they need to contact the American Association of Private Rail Car Owners for cars and operate an Amtrak charter.

irhoghead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think it is fair to say that most people in
> America never think about Amtrak, whether their
> town has service or not. My sister, who lives just
> outside the city of Chicago, which I think has one
> or two Amtrak trains, told me the other day after
> a friend of hers had asked whether she had
> considered taking the train out to go see her,
> "It's just not something I think about." This
> coming from someone who has a brother that is a
> career railroader. Amtrak needs to become much
> more visible to the general public through their
> advertising. That is if they even care to promote
> themselves, which anymore is highly questionable.

Remember the "classic" Amtrak TV and radio commercials from the 1980s and early 1990s? This is when Amtrak was sort of trying to come into their own being - as a separate entity and not just an operator that contracts out train ops. There was an appeal made that the trains are worth travelling again, and by the way, here are the great services you get to enjoy. It was brand building and it was an appeal to passengers. "Let's meet in the Diner." Ironically, these were the also the classic "Claytor years."