Silver Star and the Silver Meteor

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TylerP42

Conductor
Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
1,223
Location
Detroit, Michigan
Alright guys,

In March I will be visiting a very special person in Florida, and I have the amazing opportunity to ride the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor for the first time! (Well, I rode the Star once - but for about 15 miles).

I will be riding the Star down, and the Meteor back up. Between Washington DC and Winter Haven.

Now my question is, and I know I will get a lot from my very special person, but I want to hear it from you guys as well, what should I look for, and when should I have my eyes looking outside?

I am excited to see all of the cool stuff going down on the train to Florida.

Also, is there any variation in route for the Star and the Meteor?
 
Surely you are aware that these two trains take different routes. The Star is a slower trip and goes inland via Columbia, SC, mostly in the middle of the night. These routes are not noted for their great scenery, although I recall the crossing of the James River in Virginia has something to say for it. You are also aware that the Silver Star lacks the diner. Supposedly they made some additions to the cafe menu, but I would tend to bring some of my own munchies. I bet you are riding coach, which I would think you are used to by now. I also like the approach over the Potomac going into DC. The train also goes down the middle of the street in I believe Ashland, VA. Other, chime in, please. We want Tyler to have a good trip.
 
I am actually very blessed to be in roomettes. But anyways I'd love to make this trip 100X as better as it could be, especially since the trip is very special to me.
 
Good. You will enjoy being in a roomette. Just looked up the times and I see that Winter Haven comes after Tampa. The several mile long backup into Tampa should pique your interest. That is a beautiful station, but if you duck in for a look, better be fast. ( When I was last there 5 years ago, the platform area looked rather derelict, but the inside of the station is a gem. )
 
Good. You will enjoy being in a roomette. Just looked up the times and I see that Winter Haven comes after Tampa. The several mile long backup into Tampa should pique your interest. That is a beautiful station, but if you duck in for a look, better be fast. ( When I was last there 5 years ago, the platform area looked rather derelict, but the inside of the station is a gem. )
Wait, it goes to Tampa, then pretty much backtrack to Winter Haven?
 
You'll be passing my hometown going south at exactly one am if your on time. PM me the date and maybe I'll drive into Columbia which is an unofficial smoke stop to put a face to a name. Special someone I'm kinda interested in who.
 
The Tampa routing makes the star an interesting run. The train backs into the Tampa station. The section south from Richmond is interesting too in that most of that is covered in darkness on the Meteor. After the star switches off of the meteor's route to head to Raleigh it heads in a northeast direction until Cary and then heads south.
 
If you have an iPhone motion x gps maps is a cool download. You can download maps along the train route before the trip. The phone gps will follow your progress on these maps even if there is no cell signal. Maps show train tracks.
 
It will stop in 2 different Lakeland locations in and out of Tampa, then proceed to Wth.
Say what? Two different Lakeland locations? Since when? Isn't it the same station but traveling in opposite direction? Where is the second Lakeland station that you speak of?
 
It will stop in 2 different Lakeland locations in and out of Tampa, then proceed to Wth.
Say what? Two different Lakeland locations? Since when? Isn't it the same station but traveling in opposite direction? Where is the second Lakeland station that you speak of?
Same station stop. Stops on the way to Tampa and then after Tampa, on the way to Winter Haven.
 
See the Amtrak station list on the app. Apparently, yes, there is one station, but two codes depending on the direction of travel. A bit confusing.
Yes, that is because in one direction it is dropoff and in the other direction it is pickup, or something like that, since there is no point in sending everyone going from Lakeland to the south on 91 and Lakeland to the north on 92, via Tampa, Similarly, for people coming from the south to lakeland on 92 or from the north coming to Lakeland on 91.
 
The Star (only) goes to Tampa, the Meteor does not (it turns towards Orlando at Auburndale). The Star stops at Lakeland first to discharge passengers only, then goes to Tampa (including the backup move) and then returns to Lakeland to receive passengers only before continuing on.
 
If you're into that sort of thing, there's a large area of beaver dams and lodges along the tracks north of FBG. You'll only see it from the Star - the Meteor goes through there at night.
 
Now my question is, and I know I will get a lot from my very special person, but I want to hear it from you guys as well, what should I look for, and when should I have my eyes looking outside?

I am excited to see all of the cool stuff going down on the train to Florida.
I guess it depends on what you think of, as cool. You'll see a lot of people's back yards, many of which, are not exactly professionally landscaped. :D There are many, many miles of swamp land. There are also runs thru the less desirable parts of town, and you'll get to read all the graffiti and see the abandoned junk. Occasionally, there are some homeless people living off the sides of the track.

You aren't going to see 24 hours of non-stop scenic beauty like that found in some travel documentary.
 
You will cross the St. Johns River several times in Florida between Palatka and Orlando. It is one of the few rivers that flows south to north in the US. The first bridge that you cross after leaving Jacksonville is the Ortega River that flows into the St. johns and not the St. Johns itself.

If you are into river bridges, you will cross many interesting ones. Leaving aside the ones on the NEC and the Long Bridge across the Potomac, some of the interesting ones further south (traveling N to S) are several creeks off of the Potomac between Alexandria and Quantico. Then the Rappahannock River just before Fredericksburg, James River just south of Richmond. The Appomatox just before you get to Petersburg, Roanoke River near Weldon NC, Savannah River just before arriving in Savannah GA.
 
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Lots of beautiful rivers all the way down, especially in Virginia and (as jis says) Florida. Get off at Jacksonville for a few minutes--it is such a weird (but nice) feeling to walk outside to palm trees and warmth first thing in the morning after starting out in the cold up north. Also, that far south, you will see people out on boats fishing.

I actually like the scenery on the Florida routes--I find it peaceful, rather than boring.
 
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Lots of beautiful rivers all the way down, especially in Virginia and (as jis says) Florida. Get off at Jacksonville for a few minutes--it is such a weird (but nice) feeling to walk outside to palm trees and warmth first thing in the morning after starting out in the cold up north. Also, that far south, you will see people out on boats fishing.

I actually like the scenery on the Florida routes--I find it peaceful, rather than boring.
It would not necessarily be warm at Jacksonville. Getting off 91 at Jacksonville it is usually near the coldest temperature of the morning which in winter averages in the low to mid 40s. If you got on in the afternoon up north, it would likely actually be a similar temperature compared to when you boarded. However, I would also recommend getting out and stretching after being on the train overnight.

In my opinion, the best scenery is the northern section of the route from PBG-WAS.
 
See the Amtrak station list on the app. Apparently, yes, there is one station, but two codes depending on the direction of travel. A bit confusing.
What is even more confusing is that Amtrak won't sell you a ticket between either Lakeland station and Tampa.
 
I suggest you start your looking before boarding. Look on Google Maps for a pizza place along the route so you can order a decent hot meal. Perhaps, you can get together with others in the sleepers and all order delivery in Jacksonville or Orlando.

Remember, no diner on the Star.
 
I have traveled by the Star now several times between Kissimmee and Washington DC and vice versa. In general I have not found the absence of the Diner to be a major issue at least for me. I have found adequate stuff to have for breakfast and lunch, which really is the only major meal I have needed to take on board where it was impractical to bring along food before boarding the train. I would still prefer it if Amtrak would enhance the menu in the Lounge Car with some further additional healthier items. but even absent that I am OK with the service for the amount saved in Sleeper fare. As it is I tend to eat less than what the full three course food in the Diner provides, so all in all sort of OK. I have yet to see the Sleepers in the Star run empty, so I guess there are many others that agree with me. But then again the Star also has a hgher complaint rate about on board service than the Meteor, so there are more dissatisfied passengers too, but not enough to cause a severe drop off in ridership.
 
Tyler, another place to look for is Winter Park, with its lovely park bordered by the station on one side and an avenue with fancy stores on the other. Both the Star and Meteor stop there, both in daylight, and so you can get a good look at the park. It will be on the left going down and the right coming up. (It's the stop right before/after Orlando, depending on which direction you're traveling.) Also, if you're interested in commuter rail down there, look for SunRail trains in that area as well.

Also, wear a jacket if you stop off at Jacksonville. I forgot that it might be cold, as mentioned above (I think I'm always warm because I get fooled by the palm trees into thinking I should be! :) )
 
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