Going to Washington D.C.

[docsnavely]

Hey everyone. I will be going to D.C. on business around the second week in November. Since I'll be going from Japan, and I haven't been stateside for about 2 years now, I'm up for some sightseeing during my off hours. I of course will be going to alot of the memorials and such, but what about train stuff? Is there anything worthwhile in the D.C. area that relates to trains/model trains. I am currently working on a Japanese layout of present day, but I am all about seeing new/different things! If anyonw has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'll go googling also, but it's always nice to hear suggestions from real people!:thumb: Thanks!!!

V/R,
-doc

 

[N Gauger]

Neat doc All I know of is the smithsonian institute, Travel (Train) exhibet But they have a whole lot of great stuff there

My father-In-Law just went to japan on a business trip. Why do the children get dreessed up in a "uniform" to ride the trains in the toy stores. He was in Nogera(sp?) and was taking pics & he saw this He didnt have a chance to ask anyone

Have a safe trip!!! You'll be 2 hours South of me, I'm near Phila, PA

 

[docsnavely]

Mikey,

Thanks for the info. I thought the smithsonian would have something, but I wasn't sure.

As for the kids, I am assuming they were school kids going to/from school. All school aged kids (excluding kindergarten) wear uniforms to school. It's dictated by the ministry of education, and each prefecture (county/state) has the room to slightly modify it. If it was something other than a school uniform, let me know and I'll look into it! :thumb:

Thanks again!!

V/R,
-doc

 

[N Gauger]

Here's one of the pics he took (took me a while to find it)

It's a train inside a toy store And they tell the kids they have to get into one of these military looking uniforms to ride in the train. If anything we would think they would be wearing an engineer's uniform

I was just wondering if you knew

Thanks!!!

 

[TrainNut]

Okay, the first picture is a map centered on the Capitol mall area. Look at the sorta circle in the top right. That is Union Station. While not very exciting for watching the trains, it is really neat from an architectural standpoint. Hence, my second picture - inside Union Station. The last picture is inside the American History museum of the Smithsonian collection. If I remember right, as they have many museums, it is the building in the smaller yellow circle of the first picture. There is also a subway but I never rode on it. We hoofed it everywhere instead!!! Have fun!!

 

[TrainNut]

Also if you will be anywhere near the town of Frederick (roughly 1 hours drive NW of DC), stop in at the Dutch's Daughter for dinner. Absolutley fantastic food.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]FROM WASHINGTON DC AREA:[/font] [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Interstate 270 North, In Frederick it changes to Route 15N (Frederick/Gettysburg). [/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]F[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]rom 15N take the Rt. 40 (exit 13B) West Patrick Street. Go to 4th traffic light nd turn left onto Hillcrest Drive. Go 1/2 mile and turn left onto Senica Drive. At stop sign, turn left onto Himes Avenue, Dutch's is on the left.[/font][/font]

http://www.dutchs.info/

 

[Chessie6459]

Have a good trip and be safe.

 

[docsnavely]

Wow!!

Thanks a million for the map train nut!:thumb: That should get me pointed in the right direction!!

Mikey, as for the pic, you've stumped me! I'll see what I can find out though. The uniform looks like the master conductor (rough translation) uniform. Master conductors are either large train station managers or high risk/profile drivers (i.e. Shinkansen trains or rides given to heads of state). I'll get back on it though.

Train Nut, thanks again for the info!

V/R,
-doc

 

[CarlFidy]

B&O Museum reopening...

If your going to be in the DC area November 13 or later, the B&O Museum will be open again.

If you plan on having a rental car while your here, I would suggest flying into Baltimore(cheaper). That is what I did a couple years ago, and scheduled a late flight the day I left and spent that day at the museum.

Have a safe trip and take lots of pics to share.

 

[TR-Flyer]

Hi Doc:
I spent my first 37 years in NoVa. Here’s a few favorites.

The museum Trainnut has circled is the Natural History museum. The one you want is to the left. Has a nice collection of old cars near the train. At Dulles Airport is the new air and space annex. It houses an SR-71, Concord, Shuttle Enterprise, and a DC-3. Think there are also some cars there as well. If you're arriving or departing from Dulles i'd definitely schedule four hours there. The Smithsonian is HUGE so definitely scope it out on line. My personal favorites are the train and pendulum at American History, early man and dinosaurs’ exhibits at Natural History, Dali’s crucifixion at the Art Gallery, the east wing just for the building, the kinetic art in the Hirshorn, and the IMAX and lunar lander in the Air and Space. I haven’t been back since the Native American museum opened but would like to see that too. A lot of folks like the Holocaust Museum but I had moved away before it opened and haven’t been to it yet. The Renwick Gallery used to have some great glass on exhibit.

The monuments each have their own special character and speak to each of us in their own way. My favorites, in no particular order, Lincoln – go up and sit on the steps first thing in the morning and watch the sunrise over the Washington monument. Jefferson, very pretty setting, quite a man. Roosevelt, this one is a surprise. It just keeps drawing you in and each part is different from the one before. Does a good job of helping you understand just how great an impact he had. There’s a nice monument to Albert Einstein on the north side of Constitution Avenue just after you come into the city from Virginia. It’s a fun statement on his character. And shortly there after is the Vietnam memorial on the south side. There’s nothing quit like it. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a special place. Try and arrive there on the hour to observe the changing of the guard.

There’s not a lot of railroading in DC. Union Station is an impressive building. The yard in Alexandria has a fair amount of activity. Definitely ride the Metro rail. It can make getting around the city SO much easier and the stations are unique. It stops at National Airport, Ronald Regan now.

There’s a bunch of other stuff in the area to do of course. Look into the schedule of events and see what you can find. Watch your time. It’s very easy to spend a day in each of the Smithsonian buildings.

Regards,
Ted

 

[docsnavely]

CarlFidy,

Thanks for the advice, but I am not able to pick where I fly into. Most likely it will be dulles. And do I ever wish I could rent a car, but the government is stingy on paying for rental cars, and I don't wanna pay for one. Anyways, would you want your tax dollars paying for my rental car? Thanks for the advice though!!!:thumb:

Ted........WOW!!!!!

Everything you mentioned is right up my alley! I am a big history nut! Being my first trip to DC, I am going to have to budget my time very wisely and try to hit as much as possible. If only I didn't have to go to my conference!:cry: Then again, if I didn't have to go, I would have no reason to be in DC. I am going to print this thread and study it on the flight over (18 hours should be enough time ). I will probably be hitting all the monuments at night during the week, and all the exhibits and such during my 1.5 day weekend. I can't thank you enough for the help! I will comeback with gigs of photos, and I'll make sure to post all the train related stuff! Thanks again!!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

V/R,
-doc

 

[dcfxq]

If you SHOULD get to take Metro, if you go to King St. station in Alexandria you will be on the main NS/CSX north-south line which has both Amtrak and varied freight (lots of intermodals and some coal consists as well. The Amtrak Sta. is just across from the elavated Metro stop at King St. and can be easily walked to.