A Luxury Ride Back in Time on the Hudson River Rail Excursion 

The bridge you saw at 6:28 is officially known as the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, but everyone calls it the Tappan Zee Bridge since that was the name of the original bridge (the original was built in the 1950s; replaced in 2017 by this one)! I'll always call it the Tappan Zee because Tappan Zee just rolls off the tongue so much better. It's also acknowledging both the indigenous and Dutch heritage. Tappan's the name for the natives who lived in the area, while Zee for sea due to it being a widening (and Henry Hudson thought this widening would lead to the Northwest Passage). And it's just the name of the overall geographic feature, so no matter the name of the bridge, you're still going over the Tappan Zee! Doing this corridor during the Fall with the incredible foliage, on top of the fact you're in the Tavern Lounge....is the perfect way to take it all in! Talk about doing this in style! The Hudson section of the Empire Corridor has done wonders for the communities along the river. I lived the first eight years of my life riding the MNR's Hudson Line, it was the line that got me train-pilled and realize all the possibilities of trains and transit in general, and so I have a personal connection to it! I'm glad you were able to grab tickets for this excursion! They had the Hickory Creek and Tavern Lounge out during the NJT 40th Anniversary event at Hoboken Terminal too, and they let everyone in free of charge, and of course did the red carpet as well!

The Hudson Palisades are absolutely wonderful! The basalt cliffs are the margin of a diabase sill, formed about 200 million years ago at the close of the Triassic period! This was formed by the intrusion of molten magma upward into sandstone. The molten magma then cooled and solidified before reaching the surface. Water erosion of the softer sandstone left behind the columnar structure of harder rock that exists today as the Hudson/NJ Palisades! The Lenape called the cliffs "rocks that look like rows of trees", or Weehawken which would end up becoming the name of the town in Hudson County where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr did their infamous duel! When the English took over Dutch settlements in 1665, they renamed the city Albany in honor of the Duke of Albany, the future James I. Albany in turn refers to the parts of Scotland north of the River Forth. The NY State Capitol is pretty cool! It was built between 1867 and 1899. Three teams of architects worked on the design of the Capitol during the 32 years of its construction which were Thomas Fuller (from 1867 to 1875), Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Hobson Richardson (1875 to 1883), and Isaac G. Perry (1883 to 1899). Thomas Fuller designed the buildings of Parliament Hill in Ottawa! As the result of the different architects, the state capitol is in different styles throughout including Romanesque and French Renaissance.

Thanks for a great memory. I went to pharmacy school in Toledo, Ohio in the 1950's, and I would take the train to and from Toledo and Cleveland. I recall riding the Empire State, but it's fuzzy if I ever road the 20th Century. Of course, these were the end days of passenger service and the trains were in bad shape. But it was handy and cheap at the time. Then in my last year I got a car and that was that. So, my wife and I enjoyed taking Via Canadian Pacific the last time they ran through from Toronto to Vancouver, and then the Amtrak Auto Train several times to and from Florida in the 2010. I recently took the NE from Norfolk to Rhode Island. Long trip, but I enjoyed the pace. Thanks for this video. I still have a place in my heart for a train, but today we are always in such a hurry. Keep up the good work!

Awesome video! I took the same trip in 2022 on the first train of the season, and had an absolute blast in the Hickory Creek car. Only main difference in experience other than the car itself is a fully cooked, gourmet meal, which unsurprisingly blows Amtrak’s catering way out of the water. Speaking of catering, URHS seems to love using Costco for many of their onboard food items, so I’m willing to bet you got some of Costco’s finest deli sandwiches onboard 😅 Also for next time, use the bus that stops right in front of the station to go into town. Costs less than $1 and runs very frequently

I was on the train in front of yours. I was looking at the fall foliage and I took the Lake Shore. Sad to say, no food!

The water level route of the 20 th Century Limited.

"Almost two years ago, in this very cafe...I bought a key chain." LOL Love your videos, Thom. Cool tour of the Hickory Creek car. Nice appreciation of the staff.

I'm from NYC and our summer camp was near Albany. We took the train from Grand Central on that Hudson River route each year

Great Video! Love to see the history of the New York Central Preserved!

I have friends that live in Poughkeepsie, New York, and routinely use the Metro-North railroad to travel to New York City It is really cool seeing these vintage railroad cars, fully restored to their original glory

Looking forward

I love filming these cars

13:42 There has been talks about them building a gondola across the Hudson from the station to Albany but that hasn’t happened yet.

I've been marveling at your pure plain American pronunciation. I never hear a Dutch accent. But your Dutch background surfaced in your bit at the Albany-Rensselaer station. You pronounced it "rensselahr", which I suppose is the Dutch pronunciation. New Yorkers say "rensseleer", rhymes with "ear".

Nice video, harking back to a time when travel was humane and rather elegant. The trip itself was part of the destination.

i like that the vintage coaches are still in service

A Friday the 13th no less😊

In 2021, I did a PV rail journey on three Amtrak routes. The cars were ‘Pacific Union’[ex UP sleeper]. ‘Cimarron River’[ex MP sleeper] and ‘Vista Dome 549’[ex NP]. The Amtrak routes were the following: ‘Texas Eagle’. Chicago to San Antonio ‘Sunset Limited’. San Antonio to LA ‘Southwest Chief’. LA to Chicago

Crazy Amtrak tags newer cars to the two tour cars cause they need to make profits still 😂😂😂

I’m 23 so will I be the youngest probably on the train 😂😂😂 tomorrow is the ride hope it’s fun! Haha

Classy! So much history on this line.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing

Brilliant video sir!

I enjoy the video👍👍

Great excursion to enjoy.🎉

Excellent video. Great views along the Hudson River. Thanks.

Tra, you make the best videos!

18:37 wow travelling back in the 1940s was fantastic time compared to today’s train travel

nice video. I have taken the Empire Service to Buffalo quite a few times. When you are leaving NYC the telephone poles are the same ones in the North by Northwest movie.

Great video. Back in the dark ages, I used to work after school across the street from the main Penn Station and one of my jobs was taking sacks of mail to the post office that is now Moynihan Train Hall (part of the building is still a post office). Unfortunately, the building I worked in, built in the 1800s, has been torn down.

What a fun day!

I love Lindsey's green eye shadow too!

Finally got some time to view this wonderful day out you and Lindsey had on a classic train journey. Five months to the day in fact! Glad you were able to enjoy it and thanks for sharing the experience. Cheers from Michael downunder in Melbourne, Australia.🙂🙂🙂

I watched the premiere and live stream!

Great video.

Man that had to be a nice excursion! I’ve seen that Hickory Creek rail car on the Joliet Rocket led by Nickel Plate Road 765 steam locomotive in New Lenox 6 years ago. I went out earlier this afternoon and saw the last steam excursion train coming from Summerville, GA and was heading back to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. It’s the last one of the season and I plan on doing that excursion maybe sometime in June or July. It should be back in April along with the Chickamauga Turn diesel train excursion.

I rode the 20th Century Limited in 1967 as it was about to be shut down, but only from Dayton(?) Ohio to Chicago. Sic transit gloria mundi. It was pulled by a nasty purple Pennsy engine, and the Pullman car was well past it sprime. I actually got off at Wrigley Field because it was closer to my home, and I had to bribe the porter to retrieve my bicycle. I'm glad you got toexperience a bit of the gloria retroube.

Hi Thom, Thank you for sharing a wonderful trip. So glad you and Lindsay had a great day. Best Wishes from New South Wales, Australia. Rob

Great video, and what a nice time for you and your lovely bride. Living in the area, I've taken both Amtrak and, to a lesser extent, Metro North Hudson line frequently and never tire of the view of what NY Central called the water level route. If you're ever up this way again, you have to check out: 1. Tarrytown: especially fun in October due to its connection to author Washington Irving and the Legend of the Headless Horseman. 2. Bannermans Castle, that you can access by water shuttle from the Metro North Beacon station, and that has occasional music performances and film/plays. 3. Walkway Over the Hudson, a former D&H railroad bridge, now a state park, via Poughkeepsie station, serviced by both Amtrak and Metro North (and a great train hall still bearing the NY Central name above). 4. Rhinebeck via Rhinecliff Amtral station, our favorite Hudson Valley town and foodie paradise, plus nearby historic Hyde Park (FDR home/presidential library) and Vanderbilt Mansion (of NY Central fame). I'd be happy to host you both if you're ever up this way again. Your best advice on this video: NEVER walk from Rensselaer to Albany😂

Wunderschön!!

That was really fun for me to virtually ride along with you! Glad you were able to get these tickets since I know how quick they sell out.

What a delightful trip! Thank you for sharing it with us!

Be still, heart! No one needs your passionate suffrage to select this glory, this is our lordly Hudson hardly flowing under the green-grown cliffs. -- Paul Goodman A lovely video. Thank you for it.

This is amazing!

The P32AC-DMs can run on that third rail, but they use diesel because acceleration and top speed is faster than in third rail mode. They switch to diesel as soon as they leave Penn Station.

What an awesome experience on an awesome train!!! I’m glad you got tickets and were able to see the other part as well. It’s nice to see people so interested in preservation and sharing this amazing train with others!!! Awesome!!!

That was one heck of a nice ride along that beautiful river. Your personal approach is admirable. I crossed the Huson once back in '83 driving in my brother's Ford pick-up truck. I got very lost on the way home to Ancramdale NY, but somehow found the way. My last train ride was on KTX ttain set no. 21 from Seoul to Daegu i S Korea. Many reports have been made, but you could beat them all hands down!

Can't wait!

What a great ride. It’s definitely on my to do list. I was an engineer for Metro North and had many chances to run trains on the Hudson Line. It is by far Metro North’s most scenic route. Thanks for sharing this wonderful adventure with us.

Thank you for your stop in Albany! Yes my French Huguenot ancestors arrived there from the Netherlands

Fantastic video Thom, I am from that time when train travel was king. Thanks for the memories.

Thanks and go on with your great job here! Thomas (from Germany)

Such a well planned video! Love how your teaching us on the history of trains! Kevin did a great job, which made the video more interactive with you as you can focus on the views !

Thank you, Thom, for taking us along on this adventure. Brought back memories of when i took the 20th Century Limited from Chicago to New York City in the early 1960's. Red carpet and all! Because that day the train was a little late getting into NYC we were treated to a free breakfast in the dining car. t was a wonderful overall experience!!!

great content bud! Love your channel!

Great video...Beautiful scenic accents of the Hudson and Albany is a very picturesque area. It would be great if the Railroad Society could extend the trip to Chicago by adding slumber services

I’m pretty sure that that’s not an original toilet. Original toilets opened up and dumped right onto the ballast and ties. There were signs that said something to the effect of, “Do Not Flush Toilets While Train is in Station.” I remember as a kid in the early 60s, when riding the trains, flushing the toilet and actually seeing the ballast rushing by under the train. It was cool looking. I never gave much thought back then to the environmental side-effects of that stuff on the tracks. Thanks for the ride along!

This look amazing. Definitely going to be adding this to my Wishlist next time I’m in the NYC area

Thank you so much for this video. You may be the youngest people there, but judging by the excitement and anticipation of the others, everyone was your age in there head. I'm guessing that all wish they could have done this at your age...I know I do!

Glad you had a clear sunny fall day to experience the train.

Such a great video and I’m glad you really enjoyed it! That’s a beautiful route which I used to often take on Amtrak before the pandemic, between NYC and Montreal. But this was obviously special.

What a lovely trip report, what a lovely trip. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Thom... for another unique and picturesque Amtrak jaunt, try the Ethan Allen Express to Burlington VT. The train changes direction 3 times traveling Southbound, including the wye you mentioned near Rensselaer so the diesel-electric locomotive is out front going into NY Penn where diesel is prohibited. Fun, and Burlington VT is a super cool town where you and Lindsey would fit right in!

At 13:41, the building behind you looks just like Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts. I wonder if the same person designed it. (also great video, I really need to ride along the Hudson some day)

A nice trip to travel to Big Band music 🎵 too!Glenn Miller I think who's body is probably at the bottom of the English Channel unless he faked his own death like Elvis!

being based in florida now I am looking to do some excursion lines. hoping I find some videos for Florida to say texas or florida to DC. or something like that

Wow! What a very cool experience... Love it! It is all year round trips??

There was a Broadway Show The Twentieth Century, later made into movie and still later into Musical called on the Twentieth Century. The action takes place on, you guessed it, the Twentieth Century, Chicago to New York. takes place in the 1930's. Lots of fun. Check them out.

Did you see The Avengers compound from the train? It should be there, on the Hudson River! No, wait. You wouldn't see it. Because it got destroyed in Endgame. 😂

Sorry to see that you missed commenting about West Point.

#whoosh wish one day you can travel to indonesia to try our newly launched hsr

What a great ride and a wonderful video! Last year, in October 2022, we were in Moynihan’s Metropolitan Lounge waiting for Amtrak’s Vermonter when we noticed several people in 1940s period clothing. Thanks to your video we now know what they were doing, and again thanks to this video, we’re thinking about a ride on this excursion next year. We missed seeing you in the Metropolitan Lounge this October by a week. We rode the Cardinal, Acela, and Downeaster from Ashland (AKY) to Brunswick, Maine 18-19 October 2023 with an overnight in NYC. We’re looking forward to seeing more of your adventures! Thanks for all you do.

Love your vids; always learn a lot! You look just like my childhood best friend haha

This was wonderful!! Loved the tour, loved the nostalgia the sunset and the snacks!! 😊

Great video!! Glad you both had fun! I'm a huge fan of your content! If you're ever back in the Albany area again and need transportation, let me know! Walking over the Dunn Memorial Bridge is scary!!

It would be possible to expand the route (or abbreviate it, actually) so it goes direct to Albany, with the now pretty-much-vacant Albany Union Station as a a big passenger draw. It's an expensive project that no one wants to bother with, particularly the cabal of railroad engineers and freight carrier administrators fused at the hip with the FRA who had it shut down in 1968 - and who more recently brought us the first leg of California High Speed Rail coming in 2028, being six miles longer than the parallel 105-mile route laid out by the Southern Pacific in the 1870s, with it's luxurious stations, as against the new line's serpentine and circuitous elevated configuration - far less suited for high speed than than the old one - and it's remote, elevated stations. And Texas Central by the wrong route, though it's ten miles longer than the correct one, yet has about another ten miles to go so it can reach a proper terminal in downtown Houston. THAT (and CAHSR) were designed almost wholly by the FRA and their allied engineers: they're always introducing "exigencies" cleverly designed to achieve extreme waste, expense and lack of utility. But by making it impossible to provide service to the numerous big towns along the way in Texas, where a huge waiting market exists, the Texas Central line will always fail to cover its construction cost, and operate permanently at a loss. The big US engineering firms have now broadened their scope abroad to include HS2, which won't be going to the intended terminal in Central London either (in criminal law that's called "a pattern") stopping about six miles short of it, although they spent the past ten years demolishing things and digging it up to get it there. But why would you have it at Euston when HS1 terminates at St. Pancras? (Might be a scheme to benefit taxi cabs?) That's what happens when these people take advantage of a deluded public and trusting politicians, and now it's happening in England too, EVEN England, where railroads were practically invented. Coming generations will see the decadent-age planning machinations etched in stone and steel of practical permanence, and wish it could have been stopped. An Albany Union Station revival would eventually pay for itself given the pleasant morning walk to the government buildings it would afford, and the greatly increased convenience and time saving involved in reaching Albany from NYC. I think it would rate a one-seat connection to Long Island too at Ronkonkoma. Getting the line back through Albany is sort of a necessary precedent to having anything viable going west, with the 'Water Level Route' being the easier option to implement first as a 'western gateway' - especially since it can be made to serve passengers bound for Toronto. While the NYC requires a lot of heroic and expensive abbreviations and such to bring it up to 21st Century standards, it's easier than trying to build a whole new PRR right away. A tunnel route from Grand Central with an underground station at 125th Street, then direct through to the Hudson Line, seems to suggest itself very strongly - though I don't know to who other than me.

Next time you go to Albany check out the state capital and state museum. Corning tower is open on weekdays and has fantastic views.

I used to be a daily Hudson line MNR rider and yes the views are breathtaking! I never rode the line higher than Peekskill so I can't speak to the upper part of the journey. The ride looked lovely and I didn't realize that the Albany Amtrak station was in Rensselaer!

That was awesomely relaxing and how was the meatloaf?

Great trip. I have done that route as far as Cold Spring, which was ironic given how hot it was, on Metro North and the entire route on the LSL on route to Chicago. I have taken numerous main line heritage trips in the UK from steam trains to Deltics. I love having meals on board and relaxing watching the scenery pass by. Defiantly beats regular travel for comfort. I hope to travel on The Northern Belle next year which uses Pullman coaches. I look forward to your next Amtrak pass video you both look to be having a great time.

The LIRR is part of the MTA. The third rail on Amtrak' GE Genesis dual-modes are compatible with THAT particular MTA third rail. Metro-North's New York Central-spec third rails are underhanded, so the Amtrak third rail shoes have to retract in order to avoid smashing into them. Metro-North's dual-modes don't need to retract their shoes, but still switch to diesel mode as soon as they leave the Park Ave Tunnel. Amtrak is planning on replacing the Genesises with Siemens Chargers with a battery car. They'll run on battery power in Penn Station and adjoining tunnels, and diesel once out of the tunnels.

The Hudson River is always amazing (from Ny originally)

Looks great the only negative comment is those paper plates bad for the environment, but also not so classy on a classy train trip!

How about "North by Northwest"?

I very highly recommend traveling farther upstate via the Adirondack at some point, at least to Plattsburgh, if not all the way to Montreal. The scenery north of Albany along Lake Champlain is absolutely stunning. Also, from Plattsburgh Burlington, VT is a short ferry ride away, so you could take the adirondack up, and then the Vermonter or Ethan Allen Express back...

That's amazing! Of course I can't wait for the Coast Starlight video, but this train is really special.

The famous New York Penn Station and Newly Moynihan Train Hall I love it!❤

I have a question now. Which lounge is better? Chicago or NY. Would you prefer showers or semi-luxurious snacks and seating

What a lovely trip! I've taken MetroNorth and the Empire Service and Lake Shore Limited up the Hudson, but your trip does add a real first class experience to the beautiful river views. I'd love to do this at some point myself.

16:42

Cool vintage train ride, beautiful scenery, that definitely looks worth it.

So... you had the meatloaf? and the train was going like a bat outta hell?

Pullman was acquired by Bombardier back in 1987, now Bombardier is Alstom!!

That train experience looked so cool! From the tickets to the decor, narration, postcards, and tour, that was a really special train excursion. Thank you for sharing!

If you go back to Chicago go to fox lake on the mdn line. There are amazing views along the line

What an enjoyable video. It must have been wonderful to ride that historic train.

What a truly fabulous day out ! The run up the Hudson river valley is one of my all time favourite runs, and to travel in the 20th Century Limited cars is amazing. Whilst I have looked around the tavern car Hickory Creek, I have not yet ridden it. This must be corrected in 2024 ! I must say Albany is a delightful City, and as the State Capitol of New York State is really splendid. I must confess I have not crossed the river bridge by foot into Rensselaer ! Many thanks indeed.

I've done it on the normal Amtrak in business class, this actually seems to be cheaper than the normal Amtrak. (I was going to Niagara Falls, didn't get to actually be in business past Rochester because I broke my journey there to see a friend, so the last bit was in what Americans insist on calling "coach".)

I see the old New Haven railroad engine is still at Croton Harmon. Excellent journey and video. Wouldn't it be nice if they could start the journey at Grand Central Terminal?

Very cool. And I totally want a curry hot coco. The Hitchcock movie North X Northwest either actually shot interiors on the 20th Century or more likely carefully recreated the train interiors as a movie set, because it looks a lot like the interior of these train cars.