Which side of the Cardinal am I on?

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Mystic River Dragon

Engineer
Joined
Dec 26, 2014
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4,447
I just booked the Cardinal for the first leg of the Gathering, and I got roomette #1. I am happy about that (1 and 2 are my favorite Viewliner roomettes), but don't know if my room is on the scenic/New River Gorge side or the other one. Also, what should I look out for besides the Gorge? Thanks.....
 
Since the gathering is a few weeks earlier than normal you might get to see the gorge. If the Cardinal is on time. :eek:

I took it, in coach, to the 2013 gathering in Chicago and we were running a bit late and it was dark before we got there. :(

I took it eastbound in May 2015, so did see it then. :)
 
On our three trips on the Cardinal 2014-2016 from PHL to CHI (1 in May and two in August) our sleeper faced the river side of the tracks. Its a very scenic trip but the prices in the sleepers are extremely high and the food is sub par. This year we switched to NEC, and CL; two trains. The NEC train leaves three hours later, there is a four hour layover in WAS for the CL and still the trip gets us into CHI an hour earlier than the Cardinal.
 
dlagrua said:
On our three trips on the Cardinal 2014-2016 from PHL to CHI (1 in May and two in August) our sleeper faced the river side of the tracks. Its a very scenic trip but the prices in the sleepers are extremely high and the food is sub par. This year we switched to NEC, and CL; two trains. The NEC train leaves three hours later, there is a four hour layover in WAS for the CL and still the trip gets us into CHI an hour earlier than the Cardinal.
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1). You didn't bother to tell what rooms you were in. That would help us know which rooms were on the river side.2). Why are you bad mouthing the Cardinal in a thread where the OP has already booked her trip, and apparently is fine with paying the price, and is asking for advise about which side of the train is the most scenic. We already know how you detest the Cardinal and will never ride it again.
 
AmtrakBlue said:
dlagrua said:
On our three trips on the Cardinal 2014-2016 from PHL to CHI (1 in May and two in August) our sleeper faced the river side of the tracks. Its a very scenic trip but the prices in the sleepers are extremely high and the food is sub par. This year we switched to NEC, and CL; two trains. The NEC train leaves three hours later, there is a four hour layover in WAS for the CL and still the trip gets us into CHI an hour earlier than the Cardinal.
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1). You didn't bother to tell what rooms you were in. That would help us know which rooms were on the river side.2). Why are you bad mouthing the Cardinal in a thread where the OP has already booked her trip, and apparently is fine with paying the price, and is asking for advise about which side of the train is the most scenic. We already know how you detest the Cardinal and will never ride it again.
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Not badmouthing but just trying to share some info and give an opinion for future trips. Do the comparisons with alternative routes and decide for yourself. We traveled in bedroom A twice and bedroom B once. . Looking towards the front of the train that is the left (river) side.The scenic nature of this route is certainly worth experiencing. I do not detest the Cardinal as you say; just looking for better value. On every trip on that route the staff has been wonderful, even the time that the sleeper car lost the A/C last August. .

My posts make an effort to be helpful and adding ones opinion on value should not be construed as negative. Our train travel decisions are often based on the ideas, opinions,, experiences and information presented here including yours.
 
I do appreciate everyone's input and understand that views sometimes disagree. I chose the Cardinal for two reasons: I got lucky with my travel date, and the fare is only about $40 higher than the other choices for that date. Also, I want to ride the Cardinal in case it is in more trouble than the Cap. Ltd. and perhaps i won't get another chance.

Also, I am leaving from ALX instead of Philly or NJ, starting in VA for a short trip first, so I will make sure to have a huge and good breakfast before boarding! :)
 
I was on the westbound Card in Feb. this year in Bedroom B. The sleeper was on the back, the vestibule was in front and the bedroom was on the wrong side for the gorge. As roomette #1 is on the same side as the bedrooms it looks to me like your roomette would be opposite the gorge.

There is some scenic river runs in western part of WV and into Ohio on the bedroom side of the car. Charleston was interesting at night. You didn't state where you were boarding but I found the countryside from Manassas to Staunton interesting.

I have to concur with Diagrua, the food on my particular run was sub-par to me, however the diner lite crew and my SCA we all well above par. It was a very enjoyable trip and I hope yours is the same.
 
Thank you, Big Iron. I am leaving from Alexandria and had forgotten that I want to take a look at Staunton as we go by--will that be on the opposite side of the Gorge? Or the same? I will look forward to the countryside in VA and WV especially--thanks for reminding me about that.

A good crew is more important to me than the food (the only things I use in the kitchen are the microwave and coffee pot, so just about any food is above what I could cook myself :p .)

Whatever happens, it will be an Adventure! :)
 
You can sit in the cafe car if it's not busy. And remember it too is community seating so don't be shy about sitting with others.
 
Good point, AmtrakBlue--I spend so much time on Amtrak avoiding the cafe car that I forgot it has its useful times! I will do that if the Gorge is between mealtimes and on the other side.
 
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AmtrakBlue said:
You can sit in the cafe car if it's not busy. And remember it too is community seating so don't be shy about sitting with others.
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These days it's more like "Don't be shy sitting next to stone faced automatons glued to their phones and tables like mindless zombies."
 
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Devil's Advocate said:
AmtrakBlue said:
You can sit in the cafe car if it's not busy. And remember it too is community seating so don't be shy about sitting with others.
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These days it's more like "Don't be shy sitting next to stone faced automatons glued to their phones and tables like mindless zombies."
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... who won't even noticed that you sat next to or across from them. ;)
 
Many of you know what I think about people glued to their phones, but DA beat me to it this time! I once pointed out to a young woman next to me on the Pennsylvanian that we were rounding the Horseshoe Curve and she looked up from her phone, glanced out the window, said in a bored voice "That's nice," and went right back to her phone. Go figure.

Thanks for the pointer on Staunton, Dave.

I get the feeling I will be on the wrong side of the train for most of the trip, so I may make use of that cafe car more than I ever have before!

One more question--where can we take a break for a few minutes off the train? I think Charlottesville? But not sure where else. (DC doesn't apply since I'm getting on after that.)
 
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Mystic River Dragon said:
Many of you know what I think about people glued to their phones, but DA beat me to it this time! I once pointed out to a young woman next to me on the Pennsylvanian that we were rounding the Horseshoe Curve and she looked up from her phone, glanced out the window, said in a bored voice "That's nice," and went right back to her phone. Go figure.

Thanks for the pointer on Staunton, Dave.

I get the feeling I will be on the wrong side of the train for most of the trip, so I may make use of that cafe car more than I ever have before!

One more question--where can we take a break for a few minutes off the train? I think Charlottesville? But not sure where else. (DC doesn't apply since I'm getting on after that.)
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I believe the stretch stops west of Washington are Charlottesville, Huntington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.
 
That sounds right to me. The stretch from Huntington to Charlottesville felt like quite a long break without Air on my Cardinal trips.
 
It wasn't on my first trip on the Cardinal! :giggle:

We were stranded in Thurmond due to a derailment up ahead that closed the track. We could get out and stretch our legs on the main line for a couple of hours. (It was not active due to being closed by the derailment.) (I think we increased the population of Thurmond by 1,000% for those hours! :giggle: ) Then the Cardinal pulled into a siding just past Prince, where they arranged to bustitute us to CVS. That took another couple of hours.

The good news was that I arrived on the Cardinal on time into CVS at 2:47! :) The bad news was that I arrived in CVS at 2:47 AM, not the scheduled 2:47 PM! :eek:
 
Mystic River Dragon said:
Thank you, Big Iron. I am leaving from Alexandria and had forgotten that I want to take a look at Staunton as we go by--will that be on the opposite side of the Gorge? Or the same? I will look forward to the countryside in VA and WV especially--thanks for reminding me about that.

A good crew is more important to me than the food (the only things I use in the kitchen are the microwave and coffee pot, so just about any food is above what I could cook myself :p .)

Whatever happens, it will be an Adventure! :)
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If you have a SCA that goes by "Momma J" then you will be well taken care of. She was always walking the car, visible and if you kept your door open would pop her head in to see if you needed anything. If I remember correctly, she said she was a 37 year Amtrak veteran.
 
There a stretch on the Cardinal through the gorge where one track is one side and one track is on another, so during that mileage (a particularly scenic stretch IIRC) you really cannot pre plan as it is based on dispatcher discretion.
 

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