Month: July 2023

USRJ S3 Ep12 Philadelphia to Washington on The Crescent

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:12 — 16.7MB)

Philadelphia to Washington on The Crescent – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 12

In ‘Philadelphia to Washington on The Crescent’ I continue my journey 0n  The Crescent as we travel towards New Orleans.

To view the photographs for this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Philadelphia:

The Dining Car staff are making up boxes whilst we wait in Philadelphia for the passengers to board. These boxes will be used for the passengers wanting ‘room service’. They’ll miss out as the Dining Car is the place to meet fellow  travellers!

The driver is soon hard on the horn because we are late leaving Philadelphia. Our path takes us past houses and industry and then the Delaware River. We make fast progress to Wilmington.

Wilmington:

Our stop in Wilmington is an opportunity to see a bit of the station opened in 1908. It’s dedicated to Joe Biden who took over 7,000 round trips to Washington when he was in the Senate.

As we continue our journey south the speed reaches 105 m.ph. The train rattles loudly; when these carriages were built I’m sure that this was an exceptional speed!

The first dinners start to be taken to the passengers using room service as we pass Newark in Delaware. Unless they are getting off soon it seems very early to eat!

We slow to almost a stop as we change track round maintenance work. Once we have passed it we speed up.

Baltimore:

We stop at Baltimore, say goodbye to some passengers and greet others. Soon we pass the short platform of Baltimore West station. Then we pass through BWI, a station built for passengers flying from Baltimore – Washington International Airport.

Our journey into Washington takes us past a number of carriage sidings for both Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express.

Washington for our loco change:

We make good time into Washington where our Siemens ACS-64 locomotive, also known as an Amtrak Cities Sprinter, leaves us. As I watch the loco detach I realise I’m not the only interested observer.

Lets hope our GE Genesis power arrives quickly.

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as I continue my journey south on The Crescent towards New Orleans.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and The 50’s V12 for use in this podcast.

© The MrT Podcast Studio 2019 – 2023

TH2022 Ep19 19th Century Colonialism

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:25 — 43.4MB)

Season 2022 – Talk 19 – 19th Century Colonialism – did the National Trust get it right?

In 19th Century Colonialism – did the National Trust get it right? Peter Duffy discusses how the spread of the ‘Anglo’ communities was different to previous centuries.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

His own experience:

He tells us that as a young boy, he and his brother left England to live with his Aunt in Canada because a German invasion was expected at any time.

We learn about their journey to Regina. First across the Atlantic, where they were in the charge of a family friend, followed by a train, in the charge of the guard. The train journey takes some days with Peter having happy memories of meals in the Dining Car.

In Regina:

In 1940 Regina is already a large city. It also houses the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Peter’s aunt is married to a retired Mountie.

We hear that the two brothers sang the Canadian National Anthem every morning in school with Saturday mornings reserved for the Cinema!

Rudyard Kipling:

Many people associate Rudyard Kipling with the Empire however they often forget his writings about the US and Canada. Peter tells us about the book  Captains Courageous which recounts the adventures of 15 year old Harvey Cheyne Jron and life on the Grand Banks fisheries.

He falls from a ship and is saved by a fisherman. When he finally reaches shore his parents race across the US by train to be reunited with him.

Emigration from poverty:

Peter tells us that many of the people who emigrated from the British Isles did so to escape extreme poverty. He tells us about the vast numbers who set off for a new life in the 19th Century.

Listen to the podcast and hear Peter tell the full story.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History  Group.

It is not always possible to use all of the images in the original talk for copyright reasons.

The Farnham u3a site is here.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use as the theme music.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2023