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PAX East Train Alliance (PAXTrain EAST!)
Moe Fwacky
Right Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModerator Mod Emeritus
Right Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModerator Mod Emeritus
PAX East Train Alliance!
I stole this thread from the West Coast Train Trip and modified it to suit our needs. More changes/additions will be made as necessary.
What it is
For those of you just joining us, the PAX East Train Alliance (PAX ETA), or "PAXTrain" for short, is a coordinated effort for PAX-goers to ride the same train at the same time going to Boston for PAX East- both as an alternative to driving or flying, and to enjoy an intimate "mini-convention". Obviously, it is impossible for EVERYBODY to be on the same train, so this is a coordinated effort to get as many people together as possible.
Why the train?
Why not? We don't care if you're new - this ain't no private party, and all people going to PAX are welcome. We invite you to join us!
How to get on the PAXTrain
Check the map and schedule below to find out what train is closes to you and when you should be on it.
Stuff You Need
You'll need to be prepared to survive on PAXTrain. Following is a list of stuff you probably should bring if you want to have a liveable experience on the rails.
Other things to bring
This is all the essentials - if you want to burden yourself with bringing more, that's fine, but it's also window dressing. If you're thinking about bringing more shit and saying "I'll hook it up in my hotel later after PAX closes", you're so wrong - you should either be sleeping or heading to a bar or party, not going back to the hotel to play some video games. You just did that all day.
The Rules
The Passengers
To be added to the list post the following:
What line you will be on:
Name:
Location:
Boarding Stop:
Ticket Purchased: Y/N
I stole this thread from the West Coast Train Trip and modified it to suit our needs. More changes/additions will be made as necessary.
What it is
For those of you just joining us, the PAX East Train Alliance (PAX ETA), or "PAXTrain" for short, is a coordinated effort for PAX-goers to ride the same train at the same time going to Boston for PAX East- both as an alternative to driving or flying, and to enjoy an intimate "mini-convention". Obviously, it is impossible for EVERYBODY to be on the same train, so this is a coordinated effort to get as many people together as possible.
Why the train?
Why not? We don't care if you're new - this ain't no private party, and all people going to PAX are welcome. We invite you to join us!
How to get on the PAXTrain
Check the map and schedule below to find out what train is closes to you and when you should be on it.
Stuff You Need
You'll need to be prepared to survive on PAXTrain. Following is a list of stuff you probably should bring if you want to have a liveable experience on the rails.
- You are allowed to carry on two bags, and check three (if you board at a station that allows checked baggage). We suggest checking a suitcase for your PAX supplies and packing a seperate carryon bag / backpack. This pack should contain personal effects and clothing, as well as everything else you think you'll need on the train.
- Earbuds and an eye mask. It is considered PAXTrain courtesy to be quiet in all coach areas, where people may be sleeping - but still, be prepared. If you're upstairs people will be walking through at all hours.
- A toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, a comb, and if you need them, shaving razors and cream. No showers are provided for coach passengers, so if you're on the train for two days bring wipes or a sponge or something to wash the stank off in the bathroom sink the second day. Ignoring basic hygene highlights a disregard for your fellow gamers, who are great people who don't need to know what you smell like after two days without cleaning yourself in a cramped environment.
- Snacks. There is a snack cart and a dining car, but it's not cheap. You can save some money if you bring some food and water with you.
- Your meds. Nobody needs to see you off them.
- A power strip. We plan on bringing power squids and some power strips, but there are never enough outlets.
- A handheld system - a Nintendo DS is the preferred item for wireless gaming. A PSP is welcome but has more of a personal role rather than multiplaying with the cool kids.
- A book for pleasure reading. We advise everyone to take a break from train festivities to "regroup", and read a book or listen to music.
- Headphones, preferrably a pair of earbuds rather than studio headphones, but to each his own.
- Cash. Dining with fellow PAXtrain goers is a good way to relax and get to know some people. Expect about one breakfast (from the snack cart), two lunches and two dinners with each trip (either from the snack cart or the dining car), each meal running about 10 dollars. Apart from that, bring spare cash for snacks or bring your own in your travel backpack.
Transparent wrote: »I notice you want citation for meal prices. Here is a sample dining car menu (varies by train's locale, for example the Lime Line additionally has gumbo and the yellow line has a BBQ brisket sandwich). If you let the train know in advance they will stock kosher or vegan food for you, and if you get a sleeper car meals are included.
Here is an example menu of the snack bar on the lounge car.
Other things to bring
- Power strips and extension cords. It is better to have too many than not enough. Power management can become a problem on the train. If you can, grab something from home before you go, or go buy a cheapie power strip for 15-20 bucks.
- Card games. Bring your Magic deck, your Fluxx deck, your Curses deck, your WoWTCG deck, your Pokemon deck, or shit, even a Sailor Moon TCG deck, I don't care. Bring it. If you have a silly game that's easy to learn bring it, We didn't Playtest This was a big train hit on the west coast.
- Fans. An electric fan can reduce the temperature of a room by up to 10 degrees.
- Television sets (optional). Small, lightweight affairs. Don't bring anything you can't afford to replace if it breaks, but don't bring some ancient monolith because you were planning on giving it to Goodwill anyways. If you're BYOC and have a big monitor that can double as a TV, we'd apprectiate you offering it's use for the good of the Party.
- Consoles to go with the televisions. Further organization of this will come later
- You win 10,000 internets if you bring snacks to share with everyone during the trip. Whatever it is, we don't care, as long as it isn't hilariously messy or unsafe. Please do not bring home-cooked goods - we have no way of knowning what's in your killer brownies, duuuuuude. (Cookie Brigade excluded of course. People selling cookies for charity are surely trustworthy)
This is all the essentials - if you want to burden yourself with bringing more, that's fine, but it's also window dressing. If you're thinking about bringing more shit and saying "I'll hook it up in my hotel later after PAX closes", you're so wrong - you should either be sleeping or heading to a bar or party, not going back to the hotel to play some video games. You just did that all day.
The Rules
- Don't be a dick
Just don't. Play nice, children. And if you don't like someone, don't start shit stirring and backtalk. - Don't be an asshole to the Amtrak staff
Train staffers are generally pretty cool and will let us do what we want with little explanation. Be nice to them, and if they tell you to do something, do it. - Don't be a loud prick
Other people may be sleeping in other cars. Or whatever. We usually sack the arcade car and half of the observation car as our Headquarters and keep it there - that muffles the sound pretty well, it’s been tested, even when shouting. Still, noise discipline. Be quiet in the coach areas and sleeper cars, be polite in the dining cars and don't try to overrun the observation deck during the day if other people are using it. - Don't be a freak to kids
When kids are around, mind your tongue. Pretend Mommy's right behind you. Don't give anyone a reason to complain about PAXTrain. - Don't get too hammered. Public intoxication laws apply, even on a train.
The Passengers
- The Blue Line
Name: Brian (Coldbrew)
Location: Everett
Boarding Stop: EVerett
Ticket Purchased: Y - The Copper Line
Name: Tiger
Location: Cottonwood, Ca
Boarding Stop: Sacramento, Ca
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Dan Borders
Location: Iowa City, IA
Boarding Stop: Mount Pleasant, IA
Ticket Purchased: Y - The Green Line
Name: Nick (Smerk)
Location: Sydney, Australia
Boarding Stop: LAX or Victorville
Ticket Purchased: N - The Yellow Line
Name: Haikufrenzy
Location: Bryant, AR
Boarding Stop: Little Rock, AR
Ticket Purchased: N (Get my tax refund for that)
] - The Lime Line
Name:
Location:
Boarding Stop: - The Lava Line
Name: Moe Fwacky
Location: Lakewood, Ohio
Boarding Stop: Cleveland, Ohio
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Matt (Ekkosangen)
Location: Sarnia, ON
Boarding Stop: Chicago, IL
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Colin, Eric, Ken (yes 3 of us)
Location: Various Michigan
Boarding Stop: Toledo, OH
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Katie
Location: St. Louis, MO
Boarding Stop: Chicago, IL
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Jay (quietjay)
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Boarding Stop: Elkhart, IN
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Eric Majkut
Location: Amherst, OH
Boarding Stop: Cleveland, OH
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Nick (cornlord)
Location: Queensbury, NY
Boarding Stop: Albany, NY
Ticket Purchased: Yeppers
Name: Ken (Bob Jackass), Mark (Werezwolf), Dean (not a forum member...yet)
Location: Chicago
Boarding Stop: Chicago (Union Station)
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Sam, Nakesha, and Daniel
Location: Dayton, OH
Boarding Stop: Toledo, OH
Ticket Purchased: yes
Name: Dustin
Location: Marietta Ohio
Boarding Stop: Cleveland Ohio
Ticket Purchased: not yet but soon
Name: Jeremiah (Bistream) and Denis
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Boarding Stop: Chicago, IL
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Daniel (Moofed) and Autumn
Location: Bloomington, IN
Boarding Stop: CHI
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Stephen (sano)
Location: New York Mills, NY
Boarding Stop: Utica, NY
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Corey (Locutus)
Location: Sarnia, ON
Boarding Stop: Chicago, IL
Ticket Purchased: Y - The Orange Line
Name: Jason (Spartan Samuel) +1
Location: Biloxi, Mississippi
Boarding Stop: Picayune, Mississippi
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Baka, Emu (bakasama)
Location: Atlanta, GA
Boarding Stop: Atlanta, GA
Ticket Purchased: Y - The Emerald Line
Name: Kyle (kaleedity)
Location: Charleston, SC
Boarding Stop: Charleston, SC
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Sean (SquadronROE)
Location: Charleston, SC
Boarding Stop: Charleston, SC
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Joe (freakish light)
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Boarding Stop: Florence, SC
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Albert (-Phil-)
Location: Miami, Fl
Boarding Stop: Miami, Fl
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Will (Thetheroo)
Location: Raleigh, NC
Boarding Stop: Rocky Mount, NC
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Bobby, Mathew, Mark and Rick
Location: Raleigh, NC
Boarding Stop: Rocky Mount
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Nicole & Bruce
Location: Tampa, FL
Boarding Stop: Orlando, FL
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Ryan
Location: Ashland,Va.
Boarding Stop: Ashland,Va.
Ticket Purchased: N (but soon)
Name: Peter
Location: Hollywood, FL
Boarding Stop: Hollywood, FL
Ticket Purchased: Nope
Name: Andy (Bama)
Location: Washington DC
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Yes
Name: Tim MacNeil
Location: Raleigh, NC
Boarding stop: Rocky Mt, NC
Ticket Purchased: Y - The Stone Line
Name: Ian Irwin (DaNerd)
Location: Brooklyn
Boarding Stop: New York City - Penn Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Steve Strasser (psychotix)
Location: DC
Boarding Stop: Washington DC, Union Station
Ticket Purchased: n
Name: Eli Mergel (sp1te)
Location: Brooklyn
Boarding Stop: New York City - Penn Station
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Dan Rosenthal (SWAT Jester) and Kristin Jessup
Location: Washington, DC
Boarding Stop: Union Station, Washington D.C.
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Carl (pearsonca) & Juliet
Location: Washington, DC
Boarding Stop: Union Station, DC
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Jon
Location: Washington, DC
Boarding Stop: Union Station, DC
Ticket Purchased: N
Side Note: May bring a guest if she's able to make it.
Name: Zak
Location: Long Pond, PA
Boarding Stop: New York, NY
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Eric Palakovich Carr (BigSassy)
Location: Rockville, MD
Boarding Stop: Washington DC, Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Sal G
Location: Washington DC
Boarding Stop: See above
Ticket Purchased: Yes
Name: Alan (PuddingSenator)
Location: Gambrills, MD
Boarding Stop: New Carrollton, MD
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Chris (Sherlok)
Location: Haskell, NJ
Boarding Stop: EWR (Newark, NJ)
Ticket Purchased: Soooooon
Name: Susana
Location: Northern New Jersey
Boarding Stop: New York Penn Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Sam Rosoff (ElSantos)
Location: Bridgeport, CT
[Boarding Stop: Bridgeport, CT
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Yana
Location: Central New Jersey
Boarding Stop: Metropark
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Will (Lugh Lamfhada)
Location: Fairfield, Va
Boarding Stop: Charlottesville, Va
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Molly Sheffer (sharkweek)
Location: Fairfield, CT
Boarding Stop: Bridgeport, CT
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Brian Depaul (punk7688)
Location: NYC
Boarding Stop: NYC
Ticket Purchased: N
Name: Chris (yatesc)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Judy (MightySylven)
Location: Baltimore, MD
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Jason (Jandru)
Location: Ashburn, VA
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Jonah (elfonnzo)
Location: [Classified]
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Jeph (phej)
Location: Alexandria, VA
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Joe (rincione)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Jeanne (sleepycat)
Location: Herndon, VA
Boarding Stop: Union Station
Ticket Purchased: Y
Name: Chris
Location: Delaware
Boarding Stop: Wilmington, DE
Ticket Purchased: Y
To be added to the list post the following:
What line you will be on:
Name:
Location:
Boarding Stop:
Ticket Purchased: Y/N
Moe Fwacky on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
The Blue Line
Train: 8 Empire Builder (SEA to CHI)
Originating Station: Seattle, WA (SEA)
Departure Date/Time: March 22, 16:45 PDT
Travel Time: 45h10m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 24, 15:55 CDT
Layover Time: 5h5m
The Copper Line
Train: 6 California Zephyr
Originating Station: Emeryville, CA (EMY)
Departure Date/Time: March 22, 09:50 PDT
Travel Time: 51h40m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 24, 15:30 CDT
Layover Time: 5h30m
The Green Line
Train: 4 Southwest Chief
Originating Station: Los Angeles, CA - Union Station (LAX)
Departure Date/Time: March 22, 18:45 PDT
Travel Time: 42h35m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 24, 15:20 CDT
Layover Time: 5h40m
The Yellow Line
Train: 22 Texas Eagle
Originating Station: San Antonio, TX (SAS)
Departure Date/Time: March 23, 07:00 CDT
Travel Time: 30h52m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 24, 13:52 CDT
Layover Time: 7h08m
The Lime Line
Train: 58 City of New Orleans
Originating Station: New Orleans, LA (NOL)
Departure Date/Time: March 23, 13:45 CDT
Travel Time: 19h15m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 25, 09:00 CDT
Layover Time: 12h00m
The Lava Line
Train: 448 Lake Shore Limited
Originating Station: Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Departure Date/Time: March 24, 21:00 CDT
Travel Time: 23h3m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 25, 21:03 EDT
The Orange Line
Train: 20 Crescent
Originating Station: New Orleans, LA (NOL)
Departure Date/Time: March 24, 07:05 CDT
Travel Time: 26h5m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 25, 10:10 EDT
Layover Time: 1h55m
The Emerald Line
Train: 98 Silver Meteor
Originating Station: Miami, FL (MIA)
Departure Date/Time: March 24, 08:40 EDT
Travel Time: 23h6m
Schedule/Stops:
Arrival Date/Time: March 25, 07:46 EDT
Layover Time: 4h19m
The Stone Line
Train: 176 Northeast Regional
Originating Station: Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)
Departure Date/Time: March 25, 12:05 EDT
Travel Time: 7h55m
Destination Station: Boston, MA - South Station (BOS)
Arrival Date/Time: March 25, 20:00 EDT
I may do this.
<Qs23> I just need to get my dicks in a row
<prox> i work for dicks
#paforums_pax, all about the dicks.
Honestly, I'm torn on whether to train from my place of residence, all the way across the country, or fly to Chicago and catch the Lava Line to Boston. Reno to Boston will be like 80 hours of train. That's a lot of train.
But I will be doing one or the other. I will be on a train for PAX. I'm not missing this for the world.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
To be added to the list post the following:
What line you will be on:
Name:
Location:
Boarding Stop:
Ticket Purchased: Y/N
Name: Ian Irwin
Location: Brooklyn
Boarding Stop: New York Penn
Ticket Purchased: Y
From there, you arrive at North Station and it's a very short ride on the T to Back Bay which is right next to the convention center!
I'll be running the MMT this year so I'll be heading into town early, but other New Englanders be sure to take notice and hop on the train!
Sorry Moe, I'm flying this time.
Also, I don't expect a huge turnout from the far west. I anticipate most of the action to be within a day to day and a half travel each way.
If we come up Amtrak it will be from New London, CT on the Stone Line probably Thursday sometime, too soon to know exactly when
Here is an example menu of the snack bar on the lounge car. Keep in mind "specialty chicken sandwich" and "flame broiled burger" are the prepackaged microwave kind you find at quality establishments such as 7-11.
What line you will be on: Blue
Name: Isha
Location: Seattle, WA
Boarding Stop: Seattle, WA
Ticket Purchased: N
Where are all the WCTT people at?
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
I posted last page. :P
You did, and you'd be on my train. This is a good omen.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Name: Marshall
Location: Appleton, WI
Boarding Stop: Milwaukee or Chicago, depending on what I decide.
Ticket Purchased: N