Questions about the Cardinal #50

My wife and I will be on the Cardinal the end of Nov. We are going from Chicago to Charlottesville, then bus to Richmond, Va. Scheduled to arrive at 4:40pm that would be perfect to pick up a rental car before they close at 6;00pm. Does the Cardinal have a very good "on time record" for CVS. I can't find an updated consist. Is the Viewliner sleeper the last car. This will be my first Viewliner roomette. I really like the idea of windows on the top bunk. Any other good or bad comments. I can't seem to find any info on the diner. What kind of car is it. I've seen comments, with mixed reviews, concerning the food and the car but I don't know if they are current. It almost seems that the Cardinal is just a funky little train that nobody cares about except for the scenery. I'll just look at it as another experience on a different long distance train Since we are returning on the Capitol Limited I know what to expect and it's always been good. Thanks as usual for your help.

The one time I rode the Cardinal in 2009 we were about a hour late into CVS. Also the coach I rode in was very hot. Spend most of the trip in the excuse for a lounge car. The Card has a mixed lounge and dining car. Did you get a good price on a roomette?

Jim G. said:

My wife and I will be on the Cardinal the end of Nov. We are going from Chicago to Charlottesville, then bus to Richmond, Va. Scheduled to arrive at 4:40pm that would be perfect to pick up a rental car before they close at 6;00pm. Does the Cardinal have a very good "on time record" for CVS. I can't find an updated consist. Is the Viewliner sleeper the last car. This will be my first Viewliner roomette. I really like the idea of windows on the top bunk. Any other good or bad comments. I can't seem to find any info on the diner. What kind of car is it. I've seen comments, with mixed reviews, concerning the food and the car but I don't know if they are current. It almost seems that the Cardinal is just a funky little train that nobody cares about except for the scenery. I'll just look at it as another experience on a different long distance train Since we are returning on the Capitol Limited I know what to expect and it's always been good. Thanks as usual for your help.

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The eastbound #50 has among the poorest on-time performance of all Amtrak trains. It is worse than the westbound #51 because the eastbound train has to go against the prevailing freight traffic flow of empty CSX coal trains on the Buckingham Branch railroad between Clifton Forge and Gordonsville VA. The Buckingham Branch tracks are getting in better condition with funds for maintenance and track repair from the state of Virginia shortline railway fund, but the track work is funded in annual increments through VA state fiscal year 2015.

That having been said, #50 has been better at staying closer to the schedule in the past several months, The completion of a Chicago CREATE project appears to have helped on the western end of the route. I did a round trip from DC to Charlottesville (CVS) on Sunday on the #51 and #50 Cardinals. Got lucky with the Great Dome car on the end of #50 on the return leg. #50 got into CVS about 1 hour 20 minutes late, not atypical. You should be prepared for the #50 to get into CVS an hour to 90 minutes late. Might be close to on-time, but you should not count on it. If you are planning to get a rental car at Staples Mill, you should look into arrangements to be able to get one after 6 PM if you run late.

The Cardinal consist is listed in the FAQ section sticky on consist listings. It normally runs with a baggage car, one Viewliner sleeper, an Amfleet II diner/café car, 3 Amfleet II coach cars. So it does not have a full service diner. The Cardinal will benefit greatly when the CAF Viewliner IIs (if that is what they will be officially called) are delivered. The Cardinal should get a baggage-dorm, a second sleeper car, and I would think a full service diner to turn it into a properly equipped LD train. In the meantime, look at it as an adventure in dining with great scenery.

We took it several years ago round trip from Chicago to NYC. Took it also another time. The first time it was very late getting back to Indy. I don't remember the second time. These were both in summer.

Timekeeping on the Cardinal varies....... the last time I rode it a couple of years ago it was within 30 minutes of on-time in each direction. Of course I've also been on the Cardinal with the train 3-4 hours late.

Best advice is to have a provision for picking the rental car up after 6pm....... or maybe not until the following morning if you can make it through the first night in VA without one.

Jim G. said:

My wife and I will be on the Cardinal the end of Nov. We are going from Chicago to Charlottesville, then bus to Richmond, Va. Scheduled to arrive at 4:40pm that would be perfect to pick up a rental car before they close at 6;00pm. Does the Cardinal have a very good "on time record" for CVS. I can't find an updated consist. Is the Viewliner sleeper the last car. This will be my first Viewliner roomette. I really like the idea of windows on the top bunk. Any other good or bad comments. I can't seem to find any info on the diner. What kind of car is it. I've seen comments, with mixed reviews, concerning the food and the car but I don't know if they are current. It almost seems that the Cardinal is just a funky little train that nobody cares about except for the scenery. I'll just look at it as another experience on a different long distance train Since we are returning on the Capitol Limited I know what to expect and it's always been good. Thanks as usual for your help.

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We've taken the 50 twice within the last 2 months and it was pretty much on time both times to CVS (maybe about 30 minutes late into CVS both times). Where it seems to run into trouble is once it starts running late, then I think it runs over it's scheduled track time and the freights begin to interfer with it.

It tends to fall off time after Charlottesville heading into NYP. The last time we were on it was Oct. 24 (just last week). The sleeper is the front car, it's a one engine train followed by the baggage car, sleeper (you can capture the tail of the train, but not the engine), diner, and then coaches. You'll get mixed reviews on the Cardinal's food -- I tend to love it, and can't tell the difference from other trains; while others swear it's worse than other trains, so go figure. I was supposed to be on it yesterday, but obviously that was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. The Beckley area was hit hard with 2 feet of snow, the area of SE Ohio where I live (near HUN) got hit with 6" which is a normal snowfall for Dec-Feb, but obviously NOT October.

If there's anything else I can help you with, please ask. I live on the Cardinal's route, and as you can see in my sig line travel it fairly often.

Linda T.