Amtrak Autumn Express: Review 2017

Last updated: August 14, 2020

Here are my pictures and notes from riding the Amtrak Autumn Express up and down the Hudson River Valley on October 15, 2017.

Pictures

The Autumn Express runs on two days: Saturday, and Sunday.

My friend Danielle Strle and me, ready to depart at 8am in the Cafe Car

Logos for this year’s Autumn Express 2017, on the paper route and custom button or pin.

The first thing that I noticed upon arriving to the track was how many cheerful, happy Amtrak volunteers were working.

You could tell they were volunteers because they were wearing orange shirts branded with the Autumn Express logos.

Amtrak volunteers wearing the special orange Autumn Express 2017 shirts.

The trip started at Pennsylvania Station in New York City.

The Train

Locomotive pictured during our long stop.

Amtrak employee, looking out the door during one of our stops on the Autumn Express

My friend Danielle, waving Hello, pictured with one of the happy Amtrak volunteers

The Ride

Sitting in the cafe car, this is a lot of what we saw looking out the windows.

Sometimes we had very pretty views, like this tall grass.

Danielle and I, sharing some love for the lunches which each passenger received. (Turkey sandwich, bottled water, chips)

Agenda and Schedule

During this trip, we passed by such famous sights as:

New York Penn Station
Newark, New Jersey
New York Harbor
Bear Mountain Bridge
Storm King Mountain
West Point (United States military academy)
Poughkeepsie Bridge
Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge
The ex-NYC Water Level Route
Pollepel Island (Bannerman’s Castle)
Peekskill
Break Neck Tunnel
Spuyten Duyvil moveable bridge
Amtrak Empire Connection

Random Notes

Rail fans: People who make videos, pictures, etc of trains. Like plane spotters.

Foamers: Derogatory term for particularly excited rail fans.

Videos

Many videos on YouTube, search for “Amtrak Autumn 2017”

Conclusion

This is a great summary of the trip on FlyterTalk.

Thank you to my friend Danielle Strle who bought the tickets and invited me as her guest. Read her awesome stuff gift guide! I would definitely recommend this experience and hope to do it again in 2018.

Related: Danielle and me joined a First Aid and CPR workshop in New York City.