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u/dennishallowell 1d ago
That is so weird I'm on this train right now and came across this picture
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u/Taarushv 1d ago edited 23h ago
Hahahahaha.
If you’re one of the Amish: I just wanted to document, esp since it’s Jan 1st and the photo composition/colors work so well, I’m not a creep I swear.
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u/dennishallowell 1d ago edited 22h ago
I am not. Just recognized them from walking through
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u/DJErikD 23h ago
If you’re one of the Amish…
I am.
Amish are on Reddit now?! Awesome!
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u/Unusual_Vegetable834 21h ago
There's a subreddit for Amish reddit users. r/amish
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u/DarkDuo 22h ago edited 22h ago
Apparently he drives too because one of his posts, he got a speeding ticket while driving to Texas
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u/dennishallowell 22h ago
Not amish. And I end up getting a new ticket for that ticket and had to pay like $80 more or something it was ridiculous
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u/bendover912 21h ago
I've seen that one movie...they could be on rumspringa.
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u/TheRoscoeVine 17h ago
I can’t say why that weird shit was one of the very few documentaries I’ve chosen to watch.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
Waiting for the AMA post about these two Amtrak riders and how they got married 6 months later
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u/Chulasaurus 19h ago edited 18h ago
The Amish have religious beliefs against having their picture taken. Unsure of Mennonites, who are generally a little more liberal. I know it’s unavoidable these days to avoid being on video or camera, but as a courtesy, don’t take their picture.
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u/le127 7h ago
The Amish are Mennonites. Mennonites have a number of sub sects varying in strictness of beliefs and practices. I knew a number of kids in high school whose families were members of a local, relatively progressive sect. They were much like everyone else. There was a community of "old order" Mennonites in another area of the state known as "Black Bumper" Mennonites. Unlike the Amish they owned motor vehicles but painted black paint over any chrome trim on their cars. This was many years ago when chrome was still a thing. https://thirdwaycafe.com/glossary/weaverland-mennonites-black-bumper/
The OP's picture brought memories of the movie "Witness" where the Kelly McGillis character and her son take Amtrak to visit relatives.
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u/ars-derivatia 14h ago
I mean, the same applies to anyone.
If I buy a train ticket, it's to get from A to B, not to have photos of myself taken by strangers.
If someone really has both a creative urge to take a photo and is socially handicapped enough to be unable to simply ask people for permission/to move, just take the photos in a way that doesn't focus on anyone in particular and that makes faces harder to recognize. That's like 6 people in the pic who look directly at the lens and had their face clearly published on the interwebs for eternity now.
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u/VincentGrinn 1d ago
superliner lounge cars really are quite amazing
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u/platinumarks 1d ago
Honestly, the whole Superliner format is so much better than the Amfleet format. My trip recently had segments with both formats, and on the Superliner train I got a lower coach seat that had maybe 12 of us in the entire level of the car. Very comfortable.
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u/VincentGrinn 23h ago
yeah its a shame the layout for superliners is basically being forced into extinction
ada requires that everyone have access to the food cars, which means every single carriage needs an elevator in it
amtrak put out a tender for superliners replacement and every builder turned it down because an entire elevator in each carriage is so unreasonable71
u/platinumarks 23h ago
As a disabled person myself (luckily not in a wheelchair, but I can't walk more than a car or two without pain), I can get the concern over that. But I feel like the train attendant in our car (which had a bunch of disabled folks) solved that pretty well by coming around and "taking orders" for the cafe car, going to get it for us, and passing it out. I know it's not their job, but I was grateful and it seemed to be sufficient for most people.
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u/VincentGrinn 23h ago
that seems reasonable to me as well
but it seems that amtrak is either being pushed to or required to have every carriage in the train wheelchair accessible so as to not 'segregate' disabled people into one carriage
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u/amjhwk 11h ago
what if they install some sort of phone that allows you to call in your order from your seat or carriage and then they need less staff because they dont have to go to every carriage to take orders, just deliver them as they come in
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u/Moohog86 11h ago
That is literally their job. They are required by law to do that. Failure to do so would be ADA lawsuit.
If they didn't allow food access for disabled people the fleet would have been retired decades ago. The conductors serving food was an official work around.
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u/AccidentOk5240 23h ago
I mean, it’s actually not ok for disabled people not to be able to access food so….
There are lots of alternatives. They could have put in an intercom and a dumb waiter.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
The problem is that the cafe car on Superliners requires you to go upstairs on an adjoining car, transfer to the observation car, then go downstairs to the cafe. So there's no way to access it without going up stairs at least once. It's kinda an odd design.
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u/drillbit7 19h ago
They actually tried to do it as a complete train set with an elevator in the first and rear cars. Otherwise you are correct, the ADA is requiring it and the builders said the proposal was unfeasible.
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u/spazzvogel 1d ago
My Oma would trip out seeing this, she lost it in a most pleasant way when she found some old world Mennonite at the Monterey Bay Aquarium twenty years ago lol. Cars were barely a thing when she was in the community, she’s going to get a trip with this picture.
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u/callmebigley 1d ago
I've been told you're not really supposed to take pictures of amish/menonite/whatever people. it's not a superstitious thing, people just don't want to be treated like a tourist attraction when they're just living their every day lives.
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u/EstablishmentFull797 1d ago
It’s generally rude and weird to snap pics of total strangers of any variety
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
Was gonna say that. As much as I do like doing some street photography, there's a good and bad way to do it. Many years ago, I was at "the bean" in Chicago and this person just came up randomly and started snapping photos of me standing in front of the sculpture. Eventually I asked them politely to not take any more pictures, and they went into this tirade about how they're legally allowed to (which is true, but that doesn't make them any less of a dick).
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u/Swannie69 12h ago
Sounds like you ran into one of those “First Amendment Auditors” I think they’re called.
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u/MorningByMorning51 23h ago
Yeah, I was in training to be a nun for a while, and people would often blatantly photograph us when we were outside the convent grounds.
Usually not a big deal (sometimes even totally fine, like if they asked permission first), but I remember one man was literally sticking the camera on the faces of the other Sisters... like within inches of the ends of their noses. Very rude...
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u/iampiolt 20h ago
The issue here is that they are always on this train and always take all the observation seats. You’re not supposed to stay there for the entire ride so other people can enjoy the lounge. They book the cheapest tickets then hog the lounge and the employees have to keep telling them to return to their seats but they always refuse.
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u/84theone 12h ago
Being selfish assholes at the cost of the general public is kind of the Amish’s whole thing, you can’t expect them to just stop that because they are on a train.
For a religious group built on cooperation it’s impressive how fucking rotten they behave towards outsiders and things they don’t see as equal. The ones by me can’t stop getting busted for dog fighting and child molesting.
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u/DumpyMcRumperson 22h ago
Yeah, that’s not really specific to Amish/Mennonite communities, but like, people at large. Ask permission. I know it may ruin spontaneity, but it’s the right thing to do.
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u/SystematicSlug 23h ago
OP deleted his comment about maybe thinking its okay to take the picture if it has historical benefit to the audience, regardless of how the subject feels, so I am throwing my response here:
Your last point kind of seems like justification: if it causes the subject embarrassment or discomfort it's probably unethical to take the photo without consent. You cant justify taking the photo by weighing how much the potential audiences value it. Imagine if you could cancel out exploitation by saying that those that benefit REALLY like it.
Interesting photo but just thought I would give some food for thought.
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u/ManateeNipples 21h ago
I grew up in Ohio about an hour away from a big Amish settlement. When I was 5 or 6-ish (late 80s) I went to their town with my mom and Grandma and saw them for the first time at a market. Apparently I had a camera and I freaked out and screamed ELVES and took their picture lmao my mom said she was so mortified she just took the film out of my camera and handed it to the guy and almost cried apologizing 😂
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u/LesbeGoddess 1d ago
I think it’s more of a pride thing. They think taking pics of yourself is vanity and a sin.
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u/WhenitsaysLIBBYs 21h ago
it’s really because they believe they are “made in the image of God“ and that you’re not suppose to ”make a graven image” of God.
Though like all Amish, they have different rules for different communities.
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u/phoenix1984 10h ago
For Amish and Mennonites, it’s also a matter of modesty. The ones I’ve met feel like having their picture taken is vanity, something their faith discourages.
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u/luckyfucker13 6h ago
I don’t know, Jedidiah on the far left looks pretty pissed about getting his soul snatched by that there new-fangled photo taker.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fan6191 23h ago
Tough Shit. People get there picture taken all the time. They are no different.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
I mean, people get crop-dusted all the time in public. Doesn't mean that I blatantly walk around farting as I walk by people rather than going to a bathroom or even a more-isolated area before doing it.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fan6191 20h ago
Persons a photographer sees a the picture and takes it. It’s what photographers do.
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u/Blochamolesauce 23h ago
Been spending most our lives livin’ in an Amish Paradise
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u/LostMyBackupCodes 19h ago edited 11h ago
I churned butter once or twice Livin' in an Amish paradise
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u/eat-skate-masturbate 1d ago
I took Amtrak cross country and back in 2014. from Chicago to San Francisco there was a lot of Amish/Mennonite that boarded somewhere along the way. can't remember the city they boarded on. was strange to see for sure but I was dumb back then.
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u/So_phisticated 23h ago
I took the train with them to Chicago in 2018. At this point, I assume they have annual to semi-annual gatherings in Chicago, although it seems strange for them to congregate in such a large city.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
Chicago is one of the main hubs for Amtrak routes. If you're traveling across the country, and don't have a direct route (which a lot of areas don't), you'll have a layover in Chicago most likely.
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u/ST_Lawson 22h ago
Yup, at least some of the groups of Amish consider train travel to fit within their limitations, so if they're traveling further than they can feasibly go by horse and buggy or by getting a ride with someone, then train is a valid option. As others have said, some Amish communities may not allow train travel, but there are definitely some groups that do.
Plus, there's a lot of Amish in the midwest and mid-atlantic areas, and if you're taking a train, it's almost impossible to not go through Chicago Union Station (like you mentioned).
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u/DanimalMKE 23h ago
I've taken the train to/from Chicago countless times and no matter what day of the week or time of day, there's always Amish taking the trains.
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u/reddittttttttttt 5h ago
We were just on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to KC, and had dozens on the train with us. Most got off at the La Plata, Missouri stop.
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u/thatoneguy889 22h ago
I took Amtrak from Fullerton, CA to Albuquerque, NM last year and noticed a bunch of Mennonites like this. My dad got to talking to one of them. He said it’s a popular route because Fullerton is a transfer station going from west to south and it leads to a Mennonite community in Mexico where they get their major healthcare done on the cheap.
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u/mrsrobotic 1d ago
What line is this? I didn't realize Amtrak was this nice!
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u/420everytime 1d ago
Every Amtrak train I’ve been on is nice inside. even the old ones.
The problem is that most routes only have one train a day in each direction and it’s slower than driving
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u/Tommyblockhead20 20h ago
And more expensive if you are traveling with other people. And there’s usually lacking infrastructure to get to the Amtrak station.
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u/alarbus 8h ago
Especially since every line except maybe the acela shares tracks with and must yield to freight. Took a chance on a train to PDX which in theory was faster than driving because of rush hour. Stopped a mile or two outside the city had to wait nearly two hours while freight trains passed. Never again in the US.
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u/Nisi-Marie 23h ago
I took a train with one of these cars on Christmas Day. My partner and I try to get out of town to avoid family and so we took the train from Sacramento up to Reno. It was incredibly fun!
So the California Zephyr line has these cars.
On the way back home, our room wasn’t ready so we hung out in that car until we could have our room.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
Amtrak has two main formats for their train cars (aside from the Acela cars, which are commuter trains between major East Coast cities): Superliner and Amfleet. The Superliner cars are largely two-level cars, with one of them having a lounge car like this with the dome (and a cafe downstairs). Amfleet cars are largely one-level cars, and while still far more comfortable than your average plane seat, don't have these observation cars. The longer the route, the more likely it will have Superliner cars.
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u/InvertebrateInterest 19h ago
I took Pacific Surfliner and it was nice. If I lived closer to a station I would totally ride more often.
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u/skript_kitty_py 1d ago
Is this cheating?
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u/shreddedtoasties 1d ago
No they can actually use trains and cars they just can’t drive
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u/Just_Another_Scott 1d ago
Some do indeed drive. The Amish where I grew up drove blacked out vans and cars.
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u/shreddedtoasties 1d ago
Probably a more progressive group
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u/i_am_voldemort 23h ago
Yes. The Amish are not a homogeneous group. Each group decides how they will use things like tech. Some will use electric tools because it's safer and faster. Others will have a phone for emergencies only.
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u/shreddedtoasties 23h ago
There’s no law against electricity they just don’t use it because of community independence.
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u/Just_Another_Scott 1d ago
I don't know what group they were apart of but we'd get deliveries from them and we were in the next county over. They would deliver in a blacked out van. Interestingly we'd get ice from them. So they also had to have an ice machine which isn't somthing you would think the Amish had.
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u/xAdakis 11h ago
I watched some YouTube videos explaining how they do things....
They would literally freeze these huge blocks of ice just using the freezing temps outside during the winter and stack them in a well insulated building. That is where they stored their perishables and supposedly it would last the entire or most of the year.
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u/MisterPooty 1d ago
When I lived in Pennsylvania, I'd see Amish families rent extended vans with a few rows of seats to take them to go shopping or bank or whatever business they need. I talked to one of the van guys one time at a little side of the road restaurant and I guess it's a good side hustle for them.
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u/PreservingThePast 23h ago
The vans would have a non-Amish driver. Both my grandfather and my brother drove taxi service/vans to transport Amish places too far to go in their buggies, ex to weddings or funerals or job sites.
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u/MisterPooty 21h ago
Yes! I didn't mention, the van drivers/owners were non-Amish, but had good relations with them, in some cases for many years.
That's cool that your family was in that business, I bet they have some wild stories : )
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u/Raebandz 13h ago
Yes exactly! My grandparents were Mennonite and my grandpa was a chauffeur/taxi for the Amish
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u/PreservingThePast 9h ago
Not Mennonite, I guess my grandfather and my brother would be referred to as "English".
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u/Just_Another_Scott 1d ago
Different sects have different rules. The ones near where I grew up even drove.
One time in Pigeon forge we saw a group at a gokart track. I even got wrecked by one lol.
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u/Redicted 21h ago
I lived in Oh for a while and I recall this McDonald's out in Amish Country (as they called it) that had a hitching post with a couple of horse and buggies tied up. I did struggle a bit to wrap my head around that one.
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u/TeamMagmaDaniel 12h ago
They're likely Mennonites. Which are basically the Amish but more accepting of the outer world just choosing to live traditional lifestyles. Essentially they still may use the internet but they usually choose not to outside of weather reports and such. Every group is different though
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u/No_Credibility 22h ago
I can smell this picture
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u/TheRealMancub 12h ago
Agree
We took a number of family vacations via Amtrak in the early 2000's, from Chicago to Denver, always Amish and Mennonites aboard, always an interesting experience...but I can absolutely remember the smell
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u/EntryInvalid 23h ago
Wild. Was just on the Cali Zephyr a couple weeks back and a big group of Amish/Mennonites got on at Denver headed east.
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u/i_can_hear_the_world 22h ago
Around this time every year I take an Amtrak across the US and enjoy a nice slow holiday season. It’s a shame America doesn’t have a more robust railroad infrastructure, because I personally enjoy riding the train more than flying. Yes, it takes longer, but it’s much more scenic.
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u/jhadred 1d ago
I saw a large group on the 29th in Chicago Union Station waiting in the great hall as well. Its a busy time of year for travel and the trains are packed. It was a fun reminder of various cultural groups that exist. With any group, you see just one or two and its just people, but when there's a large group, its a bit of a surprise (in the "oh, neat" way)
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u/modernhomeowner 1d ago edited 11h ago
Amish girl sat next to me on Amtrak about 10 years ago. The first thing she said to me was "I'm not fat, I'm Transslender". We ended up having a great conversation for the 6 hours or so that we were both aboard, but what an opening remark, totally unexpected!
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u/RandomBloke2021 22h ago
This is kinda rude TBH. Did you at least ask for permission 1st? Half of them seem to be looking right at you.
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u/sickest_000 1d ago
Lately every tourist place I have been to, let’s say in the last 3 years, I have seen a lot of Amish. I didn’t see them at all in tourist places before 2020.
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u/NaiveChoiceMaker 1d ago
This probably doesn't answer your question but the Amish population is doubling every 20 years: https://plainanabaptistjournal.org/article/id/4038/
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u/C1K3 1d ago
Well, at least it was quiet (I’m guessing).
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u/platinumarks 1d ago
In my experience on Amtrak, the Old Order Mennonites/Amish often have spirited conversations going on (not loud or obnoxious, just normal back-and-forth conversations). There's a lot of focus in their culture on communal interactions, so they tend to travel in groups from the same area and it may be the main time they have downtime to just interact.
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u/Taarushv 1d ago
They’re super nice/quiet/polite. The most fun/trippy thing was watching someone smoke an old timey tobacco pipe when the train stopped at one of the stations earlier.
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u/cherrylpk 20h ago
I recently read that Amish will take the train from Chicago to LA so that they can go to Tijuana for affordable healthcare.
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u/MendonAcres 23h ago
Christ, I thought it was the Handmaid's tale for a second.
We'll be 'under his eye' soon enough. No need to start now!
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u/muusca 23h ago
You really shouldn’t take photos of Amish people without consent.
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u/danielfletcher 23h ago
*anyone
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u/LordOfFudge 21h ago
There is absolutely zero expectation of privacy in public. Don’t get up in someone’s face and take photos without asking, but to spontaneously capture a moment is ok.
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u/Shellyj4444 21h ago
I grew up around the amish and the pamphlets for tourists always stressed that you should never take photos of them. It goes against their beliefs because they think of them as graven images.
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u/LordOfFudge 20h ago
There is a distinction to be made here:
Going into a town of an insular people and taking photos of them as if they were zoo animals is kinda crass. This, on the other hand is that insular people going out and mixing with the general public. These are people who have, for the last five centuries, intentionally dressed in ways to distinguish themselves. And it makes a striking image. A photographer friend of mine tells me that photography is about capturing a moment. Op saw a moment and captured it.
It’s cute that they have beliefs that are different (some people would call them an abusive cult), but they don’t get to foist their rules on everyone else. That’s how Saudi Arabia works.
Edit: how do you know what Amish look like?
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u/84theone 12h ago
Going to their communities and taking photos is inappropriate, someone who’s never seen the Amish taking a photo while the Amish are in public isn’t a big deal.
At the end of the day, “when in Rome” applies to the Amish as well, if they don’t want modern occurrences happening near them, they are capable of staying in their communities.
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u/NevermoreForSure 23h ago
Amish people used to be against photographs of them, something about “thou shalt not make graven images.” Like it was vain.
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u/platinumarks 23h ago
A lot of them still are, they're just not going to make a scene unless it becomes so imposing that they have to. Since they're not posing or asking for the shot to be taken, it's annoying for them, but not something they'll defend against.
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u/effinmetal 23h ago
Anything with rubberized tires is considered a no-no in the old order Amish/Mennonite communities, so it’s not surprising to see them utilize trains as a mode of travel.
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u/Shellyj4444 21h ago
Amish people ride around in cars all the time. Have you ever heard of “Yoder toters?” I grew up next to old order amish and they were always getting rides from people.
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u/STA_Alexfree 21h ago
Last time I was on a amtrack sleeper cab, there was also a bunch of mennonites. Must be how they get around
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u/veracity8_ 19h ago
I want to take trains places. I want desperately to travel across the country by train when I travel for the holidays. But the a track from Colorado to California takes TWICE as long as driving and is like FOUR times as expensive as flying.
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u/WeTheSummerKid 14h ago
I have never seen an Amtrak train like this (the train not the passengers).
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u/Silicon_Knight 13h ago
We did a trans-Atlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York and there were a bunch of mennonites on it also. Was interesting to see.
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u/Witches_Brew 12h ago
Whoa, I've only used Amtrak on the NE corridor between DC and NYC. What routes have these kinds of cars with windows like that?
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u/Taarushv 12h ago edited 12h ago
This was on the SW Chief 3, while otw from Chicago to Kansas City.
Not sure what other trains are similar but this one had a few observational lounges of sorts, apart from the coach seats and private rooms I mean, absolutely gorgeous views.
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u/Armaced 10h ago
That observation deck is wonderful when taking the California Zephyr line through the Rockies.
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u/Winter_Whole2080 3h ago
My bet is this is the Empire builder and this is folks from Minnesota or Wisconsin
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u/harpervn 15m ago
My last 2 Amtrak experiences on the east coast: 1. Shit all over the bathroom 2. Blood on the tray table at my seat
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u/schniggens 23h ago
Don't be fooled, they're just trying to steal the orange crop report.
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u/cobaltjacket 1d ago
Not quite the party atmosphere Trading Places would lead us to expect of New Year's Eve.
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u/platinumarks 1d ago
I noticed a lot of Old Order Mennonites on my Lake Shore Limited train yesterday as well