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The view from the cockpit

Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 1:38 PM by Barbara Raab
Filed Under:

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Today's train ride from Washington back to New York was far from ordinary. I spent much of the journey in the "head end," as they refer to the cockpit in the train business. I was in the single passenger seat, alongside the locomotive engineer, a very friendly 39-year-old Amtrak veteran from Long Island. In front of me was a wraparound dashboard of guages. Central among them is the speedometer, which for a lot of our trip registered 130 mph. It's a great way to travel, along the same track bed first established in the early 1800's, alongside track that FDR travelled, back and forth between Washington and his beloved boyhood home in Hyde Park.

I had to wear safety goggles (the occasional thrown rock has in the past breached both layers of thick safety glass), but otherwise it felt like a bouncy, vaguely floating ride in a Captain's chair. Amtrak officials know that I'm planning to commission a story for Nightly News on the status of high-speed passenger rail in this country -- especially along the vital Northeast Corridor. It's difficult to ride on France's exquisite TGV high-speed rail (averaging more than 200 mph) and not wonder why the nation of the Iron Horse isn't able to offer travel at the same level of speed, stability and comfort... if not better. It's quite a juxtaposition -- rumbling at a crawl in a sleek, Canadian-made train through the old, leaky, stone-lined Baltimore tunnel, "1870" carved in the archway above. But it was a great experience today and did a lot for my understanding of the issues along the rails from Washington to New York.

So it's back to New York with senior members of our team -- back to our editorial meeting and an actual template of the broadcast heading into tonight. Always the producer, our Executive Producer Alex Wallace has already scratched out a rough outline of the major stories and their placement in the broadcast while on the train... and as I write this, we're about to pull into Penn Station.

We'll see what the staff has cooked up for us at 30 Rock, and we hope you'll tune in for the final product tonight.

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Comments

How true, after riding the TGV from Paris to Marseilles, US trains are such a step into the past.  Still would be exciting to see it from the perspective you had today.  It is unfortunate that train travel is not more popular in this country as it is such a great way to see the countryside.

Amanda - Ridgewood, NJ (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 3:52 PM)

Brian,
I look forward to the story on the high speed rail (whenever that comes). When I lived in PA, there was constant chatter about it, but nothing ever materialized. With today's jet fuel costs, traveling up and down each coast at 200 mph would be a nice option I would imagine.

Carmine, Missouri City, TX (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 4:18 PM)

Good Evening Mr.Williams, How exciting for you to sit in the "head end" or cockpit of the train next to the locomotive engineer. Truly a great way to travel and fast. Glad to hear you were wearing safety goggles! Keep you safe from the rocks that might hit the safety glass. I will look forward to the story you will do on the rails. I rode a high speed train from Rome to Florence and it was very smooth and comfortable. Glad to have you back in New York for the broadcast! Looking forward to the broadcast this evening. Peace to all!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie and Stephanie!
Be well always!

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:10 PM)

I would love to see trains come back, there has been talk for years of a high speed train from Dallas to Houston.  We have 1 train that goes between Dallas and Fort Worth, The Trinity Railway Express, and it is so nice to ride to the American Airlines Center to watch the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks games.  No parking No traffic.  Then there is Amtrak's train that goes between Chicago and San Antonio...Constantly Hours late and one could walk between Fort Worth and Austin in the time it takes to travel by train.

Glynn, Arlington,TX (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:53 PM)

Mr. Williams,

I have a wonderful news story that I think you would be very interested in covering.  In this current political race, there is a 4th candidate, that I believe is not being represented fully to the American People, as he should.  His name is Huricane Akara Turbofire, (aka Turbo, or just plain Tubey).  Turbo is a red and white Siberian Husky, and he is running for Pawsident.  He has MANY followers, who believe in his vision, values, morals, and views on the current state of our nation.  Please visit his blog at www.worldofturbo.com, or his lovely campaigne coordinator Khyra, http://khyraskhorner.blogspot.com.  I assure you, you will NOT be disappointed and might even come to realize that Turbo will make a great Pawsident for our country. He is not very patient, as Siberians generally aren't, so if you do not jump at this chance to scoop the competition, you might miss the chance to bring wisdom, knowledge, and most of all laughter, to the millions of people who watch you nightly.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Princess Holly the Beautiful
http://hollyshouse.blogspot.com

Holly, Omaha NE (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 6:36 PM)

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another great broadcast this evening. First of all regarding Mr.Costello's report on Pope Benedict XVI and his meeting with victims of the church abuse scandal. I think it was extremely important for the Pope to meet with them and acknowledge the pain and suffering they have endured over the years. The cost to the Catholic Church is huge not only in money, but in the image of the church which shows fault on so many levels. Yet,most important the cost of pain and suffering of the victims. The mass held at Washington National Park looked very impressive, but the words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI should be even more. Not all priests cause abuse and suffering to people and it is shameful that certain priests caused such terrible abuse to people. There are many issues this Pope needs to address and this is the first step. The report concerning the cost of war to our brave military showed how continuous tours of duty can lead to so many mental disorders which cannot ne clearly seen. The military leaders need to take action to help these soldiers effected by PTSD and provide them with the best treatment possible. These soldiers are constantly fighting in dangerous areas and they cannot keep this up year after year. It is just too much! I really hope this region finds a way to eventually calm itself down and stop fighting with eachother and attacking our troops. Too much suffering for everyone. Peace needs to be the norm. Finally, the report of the mother training for the Olympic marathon and her four year old daughter battling luekemia was very inspirational and heartwarming. Much determination on everyones part to succeed and overcome obstacles. Thank you for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Peace to you and to all!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie and Stephanie!
All be well!!

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:30 PM)

One of these days I'm going to get on the Amtrak Downeaster and take a ride to Boston - because I can.  We've had rail service from Portland to Boston for... at least 6 years and I have yet to try it.  However, I will also tell you that I'd drive NYC or DC any day before I drive in Boston again!  The train is sooooooooooo worth it.  Ours only goes a measly 65 mph.  Our rail system is just not stable & strong enough to handle higher speeds and no one can seem to agree on who pays for the upgrades. Riding up front must have been really cool!

I'm thinking that after all my hard earned money is paying for the most expensive building in the world, I should be entitled to live in one room rent free.  I know Baghdad is a rough commute to visit the family here in Maine, but eesh... my first thought after listening to Andrea Mitchell's story was the allegory of putting the law abiding citizens behind walls and letting the criminals go free. Where else can you find such grand amenities?  What a waste of taxpayer money!  I filed my taxes for THAT?

I hear that ABC is getting a serious lambasting out of its handling of last night's Democratic debate.  Does that mean they'll keep the debates on MSNBC?  :)  Seriously, though: who makes the decision on who hosts the debates?  After hearing Brian talk about all the planning that he and the team put into a single debate (and they come across as a walk in the park) I can't help but wonder: did someone dropped the ball last night? I am sure of one thing: every time Clinton & Obama tangle, it makes the GOP look better and better.  That scares me!

Did anyone feel spring in the air today?  It was 70 outside my living room windows today.  Had both of them open wide and ran errands in shorts for the first time this season.  With most of the bad weather hitting the news, just thought I'd share the beautiful day we had today, considering that a year ago yesterday was the anniversary of the '07 Patriots' Day Nor'Easter that seemed like it would wash and blow Maine off the map.

Hello ladies!  Tomorrow's TGIF!

Stephanie-Umbro, Maine (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:40 PM)

Hi Brian it's still early here in California. I'm glad your riding the train. I travel from the West Coast to the East Coast by train when visiting my daughter, family and friends in New Jersey. I get to set and look at many parts of the US. The food is not bad either. Most people are in a rush and miss the beauty of our country. I gotten to meet people from all over the USA while traveling the rails.

I watched the ABC Debate for a little while. Thank goodness for Robert Adler as I used the remote control. Mr. Gibson was someone else at the Debate. He and George were getting questions fed to them by Hannity of Fox News. Even Hillary and Obama were mad because none of the issues of today were asked. So many once honesty non bias reporters have gone the way of propaganda and political preference. It's getting easy to spot. I know the TV sponsors and advertisers will be questioning if they want to pay for time on ABC with no viewers. Look CBS has had that problem with Katie Couric as her ratings are the lowest in history. Charlie just lost his viewers with that debacle Debate.

See you at 6:30 pm

Jackie Rawlings Riverside California (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 8:39 PM)

Regarding the water bottle issue, I just discovered that the 5 Gallon bottles I used for my family (for years now) are marked with the dreaded #7.

It seems to me that this issue has a wide effect on most of us here in America.

L. Lopez (Sent Thursday, April 17, 2008 8:58 PM)

Brian the picture of the US Billion dollar Embassy will soon be in the hands of the Iraq Government. I couldn't figure out why the White House kept saying we had to stay in Iraq. Then I remembered our troops are guarding the oil fields. We need our Government back quick.

I was very proud of you and your team on the ABC Debate Mess. With the high rate of viewers it was clear that it was to benefit the Teflon John McCain. As usual it back fired. People are talking but not about McCain but how either Dem will do. With the need for the Republicans to do what ever it takes again to get their candidate in office it's like to many cooks in the kitchen.

all the best to my friends Lisa, Laural and Stephanie

Jackie Rawlings Riverside California (Sent Friday, April 18, 2008 12:06 AM)

Brian the Car Fleet is about 33 years old the Diesel Locomotive Is only 10-15 years old. That's young for Passenger fleets.

Mike, Indpls., In (Sent Tuesday, April 29, 2008 7:22 PM)

In response to tonight's question as to why we don't have world-class rail service, part of the problem is that not enough of us are aware of the benefits. Tonight's segment was a much needed one to increase public awareness. The more our citizens are educated, the more they will likely get on the right track.

Aaron Gonya, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:57 PM)



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