Cardinal 50/51 From IL to DC and back

I was wondering if anyone had ridden the Cardinal recently and had any suggestions for a novice train passenger.

Thanks much,

Jay

Here are a few suggestions from a veteran (I've taken the Cardinal six times):

-It only runs three days a week, so plan accordingly

-It is a long distance train, but doesn't run with a full diner, and only has one sleeper. The "diner" and lounge are combined in one car. This means that service is often slow, the food isn't as good, and coach passengers are often unable to sit for meals.

-As mentioned earlier, the train regularly only runs with one sleeping car, so you'll want to book as early as possible if you want a sleeper.

-The best scenery is in WV, so keep an eye out for it. You'll get to see the New River Gorge, and various quaint towns and buildings.

-Be prepared for the train to be late. The Cardinal is often late, especially when going east (train 50).

General first time rail passenger tips:

-Wear comfortable clothes

-The train has checked baggage, so pack what you need immediately in carry ons, and check any larger pieces of luggage

-If in a sleeper, all meals are included, and bottled water/juice/coffee is provided.

-If in coach, you have to purchase meals separately. The cafe car sells sandwiches, snacks, drinks, and alcohol.

-Bring a small cooler with drinks and sandwiches if you want to avoid having to buy food on the train.

-Bring a pillow and blanket to assist with sleeping if in coach. Bedding is provided if in a sleeper.

-Take a book, or other form of entertainment. There is an outlet at each seat, so you can charge electronic devices.

-Lastly, have a relaxed attitude, and be willing to go with the flow. Delays can and do happen; patience is a virtue. Be sure to do a lot of sightseeing, and try to enjoy the overall experience.

Let me know if I missed anything. Have a great trip!

Hi Jay,

I just rode it for the first time on Saturday (overnight) and Sunday, eastbound from Chicago to Charlottesville, VA. There was much good, a little bit of bad, and no ugly.

First, let's get the bad (on this particular trip) out of the way. The Cardinal is a little different from most long distance trains in that it does not have a full dining car/kitchen or full lounge car, only a combo lounge/cafe car which does not have a griddle Therefore, the Card's menu is more limited, and the omelets and burgers aren't freshly prepared as they are on other trains. While many here have said the food is nevertheless OK, on our trip no one at our table of four liked or ate much of their dinner. The short ribs have been recommended, but they had sold out of those. Neither the salmon nor the pasta selection was very good on this particular day. I was the only one at our table who had the continental breakfast, and it was good. Hard to mess up packaged Special K, cup of Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and a croissant! The others said their breakfast was just so-so, but better than dinner had been. At lunch on Saturday, we all had the entree salad (which included some cubed white chicken), and it was good--as was the cheesecake. One of our tablemates had ordered the burger at an earlier meal, and said it was prepackaged and microwaved inside the plastic. They ran out of several things, including iced tea even on the first night (??), and some of the soft drink selections the next day We also had the poorest dining service of any of our four trains on the Cardinal. The Cardinal usually runs with only one sleeper car but had two this time. Therefore the dining car attendant had more passengers to serve, but he was very slow and not well organized. He never offered dessert and we all had to ask for that. Those of us who chose only water for our beverage were brought a small bottle of room temperature water and not offered any ice for it. (This level of service is not the norm in my experience on other trains.) We all thought he must be new, but then found out he'd worked Amtrak for 25 years. So if you want something, you might need to ask for it if you get this particular attendant. I will add that the Cardinal has a reputation for good service, so our experience may be the exception and not the rule. Regardless, it wasn't that big a deal to us.

I don't mean to be discouraging about the Cardinal at all, but depending on how picky an eater you are, you might want to bring some of your own food. I may have also read on the forum that coach passengers don't always get to order from the "dining" menu on this train? The "cafe" menu has more snack type food and lower prices. And ours might have just been a freaky trip. Others here take the Card often and enjoy the food.

Food is included with sleeper fare, but not with coach. Menu prices are a little high for the quality (about $17 for pasta, $11 for a burger, etc.) You will probably be seated with other passengers in the cafe car, which is usually fun and a way to get to know some of your fellow passengers. You can bring food and drinks aboard. Your own alcohol can only be consumed in a sleeper unit, however. They sell beer ($5), wine, and perhaps some other alcoholic drinks.

The two of us had a roomette, which is very small for two but we managed fine in it. I don't know if you need or want any advice on sleeping accommodations or coach.

What is very GOOD about the Cardinal is the scenery along the New River, if you are on the correct side of the train! (We were, in an odd-numbered roomette going eastbound.) The Viewliner sleepers, IME, seem to run with the bedrooms forward most of the time, but this isn't guaranteed. We were on the right-hand side of the train as you face forward in the direction of travel. Our sleeping car attendant was satisfactory but not as personable as some of them are. This was not a problem. We enjoyed our Cardinal adventure and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Our train departed and left on time or about on time. There is some very rough track on the short, aptly-named Buckingham stretch of track, but unless you have medical issues it shouldn't be a problem. Our drinks were just dancing across the table a bit as we were rockin' and rollin' along!

The coaches and sleepers have big windows so it's easy to see the scenery. You can sit in the lounge side of the cafe car if there is a vacant seat if you choose to do so.

In general, I think the keys to enjoying travel on Amtrak are to have realistic expectations, a fairly laid-back attitude, and not have to absolutely be at your destination on time. Late trains are not unusual. We had no issues on our trip. There is a lot of info about the route and equipment on amtrak.com. Amsnag.net is a good website for comparing prices and accommodations on different dates. Amtrak's prices vary a lot depending on what has already been sold for each date.

Also be aware that the Cardinal, unlike most, only runs three days a week. The sleepers can sell out early. I'm not sure if that's also true for the coach seats.

Coach on Amtrak is nothing like coach in a plane! The seats are big and you have enough leg room. There are restrooms in each car, but no shower for coach passengers. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I'm not sure if I've responded in a helpful way to your post. If you have specific questions, please just ask. There are many here who are much, much more knowledgeable than I am, and they are very helpful.

Looking at your avatar, I can't imagine that the Cardinal would dish out anything that you can't easily handle. LOL We are two retired second grade teachers, and we did fine and had lots of fun. (Wish I had a photo of Amanda standing on top of our toilet to put on her makeup.) Enjoy your trip!

(There have probably been other replies while I'm writing this--I've had distractions and taken a while. Sorry if I've repeated info.)

Yes, I see that I've echoed William a lot!

Correction: Lunch was on Sunday, not Saturday, not that it matters. We were on the Card from about 5:30 pm Saturday to about 2:45 pm on Sunday. Meals were dinner on Sat., then breakfast and lunch on Sun., for sleeper passengers.

The burgers on the snack side are cheaper than $11, but I don't recall the prices. I think they are sort of vending machine quality maybe Menus are available on amtrak.com if you want to take a look.

We brought book and Kindle but were mostly glued to the windows--or gabbing with each other. We were also across the aisle from another forum member and enjoyed chatting with her and her son. Hello, Pam and Mike!!

Guys thanks so much for all your helpful info, I got a really good rate on a roomette, so I had least have personal space and 'free' meals. That might make things a bit clearer from an advice standpoint. I'm really excited about the scenery in WV, i'm curious if I'd have a better view from the dinner/lounge combo or the roomette.

crecent2, good tip, I was planning to bring a kindle with a bunch of books and other diversions, but I suspect I will be really into the scenery I'm slightly sad that there isn't a full observation/lounge car, but since I have a roomette it's probably not a huge deal since the viewliners look like they have really nice windows.

JayMadison said:

Guys thanks so much for all your helpful info, I got a really good rate on a roomette, so I had least have personal space and 'free' meals. That might make things a bit clearer from an advice standpoint. I'm really excited about the scenery in WV, i'm curious if I'd have a better view from the dinner/lounge combo or the roomette.

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If you are on the correct side, the roomette window is better.

Do you know which is the correct side? I forget which roomette i'm in but should get my tickets this week

CoachSlumber said:

JayMadison said:

Guys thanks so much for all your helpful info, I got a really good rate on a roomette, so I had least have personal space and 'free' meals. That might make things a bit clearer from an advice standpoint. I'm really excited about the scenery in WV, i'm curious if I'd have a better view from the dinner/lounge combo or the roomette.

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If you are on the correct side, the roomette window is better.

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Edit: I just saw your question and that you don't know your roomette assignments yet. See below. I hope I'm not steering you wrong on the roomette numbers. I'm going by my experiences on Viewliners. If you do decide to try to change them, do it soon. I think they usually sell out.

I agree about the roomette windows being better, if you're on the "good" side of the train. If the sleepers run in their most common bedrooms/H unit-forward orientation for the Viewliners, try to get an odd-numbered roomette eastbound or an even-numbered one westbound. (Regulars, PLEASE correct me if I have this backward. We were on the "correct" side in roomette #7 going east, though.) However, the car orientation isn't guaranteed, so I could be telling you wrong for any particular run! I've never ridden in a Viewliner that wasn't bedrooms-forward, but others on the forum have said they have seen them run roomettes-forward at times. I guess you can try to play the odds or just take your chances, whichever you wish.

Another passenger commented that she'd tried to change her roomette to an odd-numbered one eastbound, but none were available. (They were on the "wrong" side in an even-numbered roomette and it took them a while to find empty seats in the lounge/cafe, but they were finally able to nab a couple of them by standing and waiting.) If you do call to change, please tell them to only modify your roomette number, NOT cancel and rebook your reservation, or your price might change--or the last room could get sold during the process. The knowledge level of the phone agents seems to vary. I don't want your reservation to get fouled up because of something I've posted. :unsure: But most agree that being on the river side of the train is more convenient.

We also gawked at all the windmills along some of the route. We don't see those where we live. They were very pretty (to us) even at night with the little red lights receding into the distance. (I'm sure there are those who strongly feel NIMBY about them.) We also glimpsed peach and apple orchards on the "wrong" side of the train, but didn't notice any of those on our side.

Go ahead and bring your Kindle; you never know when you might want it. I did use mine once in the middle of the night when I was wide awake and there were no lights outside. You'll have plenty of room for your bags in the roomette, and there are two electrical outlets. It's very nice for one passenger. Usually Amtrak is not strict about carry-ons as long as you can manage them yourself, so bring what you want.

My friend liked the upper bunk on the Viewliners, and said she thought the views were a little better from that window at night, being higher. You can tell the attendant which bunk you prefer to use for sleeping. With the upper bunk down (sleeping position), there was still enough headroom for us to sit in the chairs below. We're short and I don't know if that would be true for a tall person; maybe someone else will answer that. The toilet is accessible all the time, and there is a little fold-down sink. Ours must have been connected to a fire plug; it was a mini-water cannon. The shower is down the hall. Towels, bedding, and soap are provided. We found shampoo on a couple of the trains, but not on all.

Don't forget that dessert is included with your meals but you may have to ask for it. (We needed it at dinner. LOL) You can also add a breakfast meat to your breakfast selection. Our tablemates said that soft drinks are also no charge with your meals, but the menu only says coffee, tea, or milk.

It is customary to tip the dining attendant a few dollars, as well as the sleeping car attendant at the end of the trip, if the service was satisfactory, but it is not required. Their pay is much better than most waitresses get, but they also work longer hours in a rolling car. We tipped all of them something, but it's optional.

This is probably info overload; I can get carried away sometimes If you have more questions, just ask and someone will probably know the answer. One of the forum members volunteers as a guide on the Card sometimes, so she's a true expert. I hope you have lots of fun on your trip. Please let us know how it goes.

My experience each of the many times I've ridden the cardinal (eastbound all times) has been that the odd roomettes (1, 3, 5, etc) have been on the right (and correct) side. This was true both when the sleeper was on the rear and front. I once had roomette 2 and was on the left side.

I use my Kindle at night too. If we go through a town, I pause to look up and then continue reading once we're back to full dark. I find it helps relax me enough to go to sleep. Otherwise, I'm all, "Train train train omg train train train omg train," and can't get to sleep, even with melatonin pills.

The Viewliner roomettes are wonderful. I love having two sets of windows, and the in-room sink is really nice.

Well here's hoping i'm on the odd side going east and the even side going west

SarahZ said:

I use my Kindle at night too. If we go through a town, I pause to look up and then continue reading once we're back to full dark. I find it helps relax me enough to go to sleep. Otherwise, I'm all, "Train train train omg train train train omg train," and can't get to sleep, even with melatonin pills.

The Viewliner roomettes are wonderful. I love having two sets of windows, and the in-room sink is really nice.

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I love to read and listen the music so the kindle and headphones were a must, plus some movies on the laptop just in case

Despite others saying the food is subpar, I say the food is very well made and tastes great!

Be sure to use the lounges in CHI and WAS. They are a huge plus to having Sleeper tickets!

We thought some of the scenery in Virginia was very nice especially west of Charlottesville Food on our trip was

pretty good and service was decent. If no one is in any of the 2 bedrooms on the train, you can sit along the hall and get some nice photos from that vantage point as well. Have a great trip.

Acela150, I heard the sleeper passenger lounges were pretty awesome.

I wouldn't go as far as "pretty awesome" but they are much better. Free soft drinks and snacks, Pepsi Soft Drinks on the Fountain and Lays Chips with Sara Lee pastries in the morning. Coffee and Tea as well. CHI is a nice lounge as they board from the "Back Door" when you check in their is a Red cap who will store your luggage until you're ready for it. I typically tip them $2-$3 a bag. In DC the lounge is the same style. Just where you can leave bags is unattended. I've never had an issue as it's right next to the check in desk. I'm sure many other AU'ers will ditto my previous statement. The staff at the ClubAcela in DC are very friendly typically. I once missed my connection from 30 to 132. I was going all the way to BOS. They fixed my reservation to get me on 166 and when no Red Cap was available to take me to the train, since the lounge was quiet at the time one of the staff members walked me out to the train long before the train boarded. Usually they will make an announcement for the train you're traveling on as it's pulling in or before it has pulled in. Someone will take you to the platform to board the train. Although I'm not sure how it works exactly. I've only boarded one LD train out of DC and that was train 29 and the Red Cap had me on the train an hour before departure. I arrived from Philly on train 141 which pulled in around 1, got lunch and went back to the lounge. I had just started to Skype my family when they called my name for my Red Cap over the PA in the lounge. That was at 3pm. I enjoyed the lounge for about 90 minutes.

My favorite lounge is the Boston ClubAcela. Always a wide variety of drink selections. I think it has the most. Between Soda, Juices, Water, and coffee and tea. It's also by far the best looking lounge. Although the staff at times make up their own rules. Philly is my home lounge which is nice and when they board your train you get on an elevator that puts you on the platform.

I know it's silly but trains seem like such an adventure compared to air travel. I'm in Madison Wi, but CHI is my home station since we lack passenger service from here to anywhere. Union Station Washington is probably the favorite station i've seen. I remember seeing it when I was 10 and it was the coolest place ever.

Union Station DC and CHI are two of my favorite stations.

Compared to the general boarding area in Chicago, the Metropolitan Lounge is completely and totally awesome.

I like the lounge in D.C. too. It's a lot like Chicago, but with more of an '80s hospital feel. (Wallpaper and fake plants. So. many. fake. plants.)

SarahZ said:

Compared to the general boarding area in Chicago, the Metropolitan Lounge is completely and totally awesome.

I like the lounge in D.C. too. It's a lot like Chicago, but with more of an '80s hospital feel. (Wallpaper and fake plants. So. many. fake. plants.)

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ROFL "So Many Fake Plants". DC doesn't have real winter so they can have actual plans lol

I wish they'd remodel DC's Club Acela already. If you've ever watched the Amtrak services video on YouTube from 1994, the lounge looks exactly the same in that video as it does today.

I think air travel's more of an adventure, with all that cramped legroom and various other unpredictable bad things that could happen. The biggest problem I've had on Amtrak is just arrogant passengers, passengers that insist Belfield is in South Dakota, not North Dakota. :giggle:

Pack a cold dinner or something like that to bring on the train since the Card ain't got a full diner.

I wish they had full panoramic windows on the Viewliners but the double windows are pretty dang nice compared to the Superliner windows, and the headroom is far better, too. I recently rode the San Joaquin with Comet railcars, aw man, the windows were small. But I think the worst has got to be the airliner windows on the Shinkansen.

As far as one side versus the other, I prefer same side both ways so that I can see a different side going each way.

I like to see pictures so I found some Cardinal photos for you, Capitol Limited mixed in as well but I'm sure you can see the difference: http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?offset=360&where=search|-2|Amtrak|West+Virginia%2C+USA||-2||180|12||||||||-2|West+Virginia%2C+USA||Amtrak|-2|||180|-2|-2||||||1||1|||||||.

Take a look at this one, a Card with two sleepers: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=489607&nseq=490.

William W. said:

I wish they'd remodel DC's Club Acela already. If you've ever watched the Amtrak services video on YouTube from 1994, the lounge looks exactly the same in that video as it does today.

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I agree. What is that video titled? I haven't seen it but I've seen a newer one. Related to the See Something, Say Something campaign. Last summer the PHL lounge had new carpet installed. They claim the worked on the snack area, but that's almost the same.

William W. said:

I wish they'd remodel DC's Club Acela already. If you've ever watched the Amtrak services video on YouTube from 1994, the lounge looks exactly the same in that video as it does today.

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Eh, it doesn't bother me too much. It reminds me of my teen years.

I really like the posters. If they do remodel, I hope they keep those.