Day 028 - Elkton, MD to Strasburg, PA - Two Far 2023 - Oranges to Apples

May 13, 2023

Day 028 - Elkton, MD to Strasburg, PA

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It was a good ride today. If it: 1) hadn't been so cool, 2) hadn't rained the entire ride, and 3) had less traffic on twisty 2 lane roads, it would have been a GREAT RIDE!

One thing I must note is that today was hilly (over 2500 ft in 37 miles) and my Florida legs weren't quite ready for that. So far, the entire trip has been flat, with the biggest climbs usually being bridges. In fact, until today, all of the rides have averaged less than 20 feet of climb per mile, with most days having less than 15 feet of climb per mile. Today my average climb per mile was 66 feet and my knees were letting me know it. Having said that, I'm actually looking forward to the next several days, because for me, climbing hills is a nice change of pace.

Speaking of pace, I figure that the fairly constant pace that I'm used to riding will be gone for a while, at least until I get to central OH where the terrain flattens out again. I figure that for the next several days, I'll be like a Yo-Yo - crawling up hills and then zooming down the other side.

Because of the aforementioned rain, I have no pictures of the ride. It's disappointing because it was a scenic ride. I entered Amish country today and enjoyed looking at all the well-kept farms, as well as the vistas that the hills provided. I must admit, however, that it is very humbling to get passed by a horse and buggy as happened to me today.

After checking into our motel, we visited the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It is a nice museum that we have visited before, but if you're not into trains, the rest of the post probably won't interest you.

The museum is housed in a VERY large building.

This is a type of steam locomotive I've never heard of. It does not have a boiler. Instead, it is filled with compressed steam from a stationary source. The information panel said it could hold enough steam to run most of the day and likened it to an oversized Thermos bottle.

The car was on jacks to ease the stress.

I couldn't get a good picture of the engine, but it was one of the few locomotives you could go up on. They had removed several of the access panels to show you the items listed on this board.

Detail of the gearing on a Shay Locomotive.

Finally, the following 2 photos are for Gail and Jerry and their grandkids.

Tomorrow is another short day to Columbia, PA.

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 1,417 miles (2,280 km)

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Kelly IniguezHave you ever stayed in lodging that was a former train car? We stayed in a caboose in Canada. It was memorable for the wrong reasons! There's also a high dollar place in Montana, close to Glacier National Park - Isaac Walton Inn - that has very deluxe train car lodging. I couldn't talk the guys into staying there. At least my caboose fail was a cheap one - cleanliness was our big complaint. We slept in narrow bunk beds. It was an experience, that's for certain.
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11 months ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Kelly IniguezWe have never stayed in a converted train car. The few I've looked at seemed over priced for what they offered. I think your experience is probably not uncommon. We have stayed in a real train car when we rode the Amtrak Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle about 15 years. That was a great experience. With the sleeper compartment and dining car, I felt like I was in a 1940's movie!
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11 months ago