Chicago to Charlottesvile on the Cardinal 50

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
1,291
Location
Charlottesville VA
I was on the Cardinal 50(28) returning to Charlottesville from Detroit. We departed on time with the 3 Horizon coaches on the rear which I never see in Charlottesville. Immediately after departure we sat for awhile waiting on something. When we got to Brookston we picked up the lame coaches from the accident that morning. This took about an hour, much of the time with the power off. When we got to Indianapolis we lost another hour when we had to drop the 2 separate sets of Horizon coaches - now 3.5 hours late. When we got to Huntington we lost another hour picking up three PVs. I'm sure Amtrak management thinks they have good reasons for making these decisions but they seemed ill-considered to me and other passengers. They seem anti-customer, not just to the passengers on the train but all the others down the line all the way to NYP waiting on this train.

However, the ride was beautiful and I got to see Kentucky along the Ohio River which is usually dark. The very hard-working, non-complaining and pleasant worker in the diner section was named Craig. He was outstanding. He didn't even complain about 40 extra folks wanting lunch who had intended to be in White Sulfur Springs for lunch and had no hope of that happening. He received the largest tip I have ever given on Amtrak. The SCA was also very good IMO - his name was Tom. He went out of his way to make the trip pleasant even offering to wake us up with a cup of coffee and then offered to bring coffee to your room at least once more. He had ice available as well as juices and bottled water. The food was OK; portions seem smaller to me. It was served on plastic but Craig presented it with some flair. There were cloth tablecloths and napkins. Garden salads were available but you had to ask for them. The chocolate mousse was very good. I enjoyed my trip and totally did not mind the extra 5.5 hours on the train. Fall folige = awesome!
 
Nice trip John, I'm envious! We're dry as a bone down here in Texas, very few fall colors to be seen!

I'd like to see the Ohio in daylight too, every time I've riddden the Card EB its been pitch dark from Indy to Cinncinnatti to WVA.
 
Two things I remember from doing that trip in 2010. One was the Card was an hour late into CVS. The other event was the conductor giving all kinds of attitude over a very warm Amfleet coach. I spend most of the trip in the lounge.
 
Back
Top