Should I embark from Richmond, Petersburg or Columbia

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andersone

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Jackson. Ohio
Thinking of taking one of the Silvers south to Miami to catch a boat to see some friends in Freeport.

The Cardinal from South Shore and then bus to Richmond is all the rail route. (sort of)

Leaving South Shore @ 5:45 am and Arriving Charlottesvile @ 3:20 pm then the bus to Richmond for a 5:00 PM arrival then catching the Silver @ 5:20 PM. This of course brings the three day a week calendar game into the ballgame. It does allow for a trip through the New River Gorge, which would not be virgin territory for me,

I would consider driving to either Richmond or Petersburg (5:30 hrs or Richmond (6 hrs)

Which easier to get to and has the better long term parking?

The drive @ 6 hrs means I could leave the house @ 10 am as opposed to 4 am. It allows me to also do some Civil War stuff on my way home (weakness for history) or take the back roads through WVA (if you have ever driven US 33 across the sate you know what I mean) or even stop @ Blackwater Falls on the way home.

The Meteor departs Richmond at 9:30 pm and arrives in Miami @ 6:30 pm

The Silver departs Richmond at 5:17 pm and arrives in Miami @ 6:00 pm

The arrival times for either @ Petersburg (Star 3:30 am or Silver 11:30 am) seem to favor the Silver

Am i correct from reading the other threads that the Star DOES NOT have full service dining?

My other option is to drive the 8 hrs to Columbia to hang with my Brother In Law By Marriage #1 (of 7) which then limits my options to the Star.

So which do you all prefer?

As always your help is appreciated. You all never steer me wrong,,,,,,
 
I can answer your question about the Star. It does not have a dining car. It has a cafe car and it menu contains more items than that of the Silver Meteor.

I have waited in the Richmond waiting room and it is fairly comfortable. I have not been to Petersburg.

Richmond has a fairly large parking lot, but it seemed to be pretty full every time I have been there. Since I was last there, the lot has been expanded, so I am unsure of its current status. Hopefully a local will chime in with more up to date information.
 
Catching the Silver at 5:20 requires the Cardinal to be on-time into CVS, (don't bet on it) on 5/25 it arrived 56 minutes late, on 5/27 it arrived 5+ hours late. So if you want to take the train all the way go with the Meteor out of RVR.

http://dixielandsoftware.net/Amtrak/status/StatusPages/CardinalStatus.htm

will let you figure your odds.

Parking at RVR is very tight around 11 a.m., but is ok after 2 p.m. The cost is $8 per day and you pay a machine inside the station in advance (don't forget to pay :eek: )
 
Plan B (if you can spare an extra day)

Take the Cardinal to Alexandria, VA (Old Town, Va). and book your Meteor ticket from WAS (Union Station) to Miami.

You don't have to worry about how late the Cardinal is running.

There are several hotels within a 1 to 3 blocks walk, very safe area, from the station. Hilton is 1/2 a block, Embassey Suites and Hampton Inn (both are part of the Hilton chain) are 1 block, Hilton Garden is 2 blocks, and a Westin (SPG chain) is about a three block walk.

I like the Embassey Suites the best since you get a full breakfast (free) each morning.

The Cardinal normally arrives on the platform across from the station building. When you get off, walk in the direction or the engine, to the very end of the platform, take the steps down (assuming you can manage your luggage), hang a right at the bottom of the stairs cross under the Metro tracks. The Hilton will be on your left, the Embassey is 45 degrees to your right (Metro Station entrance is on your right.)

The Metro station (King Street) is next to the train station so it is a very short walk from your hotel.

If you are only staying one night, in the morning get breakfast, get on the Old Town Trolley free shuttle (it stops in front of the Metro Station and is about a 20 minute ride in each direction) and take a tour of Old Alexandria.

Next, take the Trolley back to the Metro Station and take the Metro to Union Station.

Once arriving at Union Station go up to the main level of the station, once you get off the escalator take the second walkway on the right, once you get to the Amtrak Police desk on your right look to your left and go into the Metro Lounge (ClubAcela - first class area) and check-in, leave your luggage and tour D.C. The Capital is a two block walk. The Metro can take you to the museums and monuments.

The Meteor leaves D.C. (WAS) at 7:25 p.m. so you will get dinner on the train.
 
Plan B (if you can spare an extra day)

Take the Cardinal to Alexandria, VA (Old Town, Va). and book your Meteor ticket from WAS (Union Station) to Miami.

You don't have to worry about how late the Cardinal is running.

There are several hotels within a 1 to 3 blocks walk, very safe area, from the station. Hilton is 1/2 a block, Embassey Suites and Hampton Inn (both are part of the Hilton chain) are 1 block, Hilton Garden is 2 blocks, and a Westin (SPG chain) is about a three block walk.

I like the Embassey Suites the best since you get a full breakfast (free) each morning.

The Cardinal normally arrives on the platform across from the station building. When you get off, walk in the direction or the engine, to the very end of the platform, take the steps down (assuming you can manage your luggage), hang a right at the bottom of the stairs cross under the Metro tracks. The Hilton will be on your left, the Embassey is 45 degrees to your right (Metro Station entrance is on your right.)

The Metro station (King Street) is next to the train station so it is a very short walk from your hotel.

If you are only staying one night, in the morning get breakfast, get on the Old Town Trolley free shuttle (it stops in front of the Metro Station and is about a 20 minute ride in each direction) and take a tour of Old Alexandria.

Next, take the Trolley back to the Metro Station and take the Metro to Union Station.

Once arriving at Union Station go up to the main level of the station, once you get off the escalator take the second walkway on the right, once you get to the Amtrak Police desk on your right look to your left and go into the Metro Lounge (ClubAcela - first class area) and check-in, leave your luggage and tour D.C. The Capital is a two block walk. The Metro can take you to the museums and monuments.

The Meteor leaves D.C. (WAS) at 7:25 p.m. so you will get dinner on the train.

That's a damn good plan. I LOVE Old Town Alexandria.

I love old towns, even though they are basically cut from the same cloth.

That being said, even they bus late Cardinal passengers to intercept their train, it is entirely too risky since it often falls apart on the Buckingham Branch.
 
I'd second the Alexandria plan (as someone who lives there)--it's a great option. And, it's not necessary to go to WAS to board the southbound Meteor or Star, as they both stop in ALX, though it would be close to last call for dinner on the Meteor. The only plus going up to WAS is waiting in the lounge and/or getting a red cap if you need it, but it typically takes 30-40 minutes on the metro or at least 20 minutes driving to get there.

Richmond parking can be a mess, and the station's nothing fancy (I think it was the original Amshack?), but on a nice day there's an outdoor patio area where you can sit and watch the trains.

I don't know anything about Petersburg. If the parking is convenient that could be a good choice although (at least from the train) the area looks a little depressed.
 
Thanks,,, I had great Aunt who lived in Alexandria and enjoyed my time there in the 70's. Only person I ever knew that had her kitchen ceiling painted red. She said it was a southern tradition,However I left the city a long time ago and if I am going to have extra days I would rather do some civil war sties or maybe take the time to go to Williamsburg (on my bucket list) . I also would rather have free parking - from the Amtrak website there appears to be fifty long term spots at Petersburg (doesn't indicate if there is a charge)

From the posts it seems Richmond as a mess,,, So I need some local Petersburg eyes,,,,

Having been raised on the west side of Chicago,depressed areas don't challenge me.

as always you all set me straight, thank you
 
If you will have checked baggage, make sure it is available at the station in question for the train you will be on. There are a few stations that have baggage, but not for all trains.
 
If might ask, what is the parking situation at Petersburg? are the a good number of spots? Google Earth shows tons of vacant land and it looks like an Amshack,,, Richmond looks much nicer, but do they charge for long term?

i appreciate all your help with this
 
If might ask, what is the parking situation at Petersburg? are the a good number of spots? Google Earth shows tons of vacant land and it looks like an Amshack,,, Richmond looks much nicer, but do they charge for long term?

i appreciate all your help with this
Petersburg (Ettrick) has ample free parking and it is just an amshack. The old station is not in use. There is not much to do in Ettrick but a short 5 minute car ride would have you in the Old Towne area of Petersburg. Plenty of civil war history there. Ettrick is a safe area, mainly a small college town, Virginia State University. So is the Old Towne part of Petersburg. There would be plenty of restaurants open in the timeframe you are looking at.
 
If might ask, what is the parking situation at Petersburg? are the a good number of spots? Google Earth shows tons of vacant land and it looks like an Amshack,,, Richmond looks much nicer, but do they charge for long term?

i appreciate all your help with this
Richmond does charge for long-term parking, not sure how much. The RVR lot an be frequently full and the alternate lot is a pretty hefty walk away.
 
I did some thinking outside the box and came up with a plan C

can depart from Cary NC 6:30 or Southern Pines 6:35

This would be similar to what i do on the zephyr - drive to Galesburg because I can be home before the Cardinal ever leaves Chicago. It also eliminates the Petersburg 3:30 AM arival ....

How did I live without Google Maps?
 
Columbia is a zoo to board at. Usually fifty people mob one door and I don't like it. Plus currently half the parking lot is torn up for some sewer pipe the city of Columbia is installing. I live just north of Columbia and when possible I make use of Camden which is unstaffed (never leave my car) and Florence(would leave my car). Southern Pines is a lovely station and so is Cary
 
Being from Richmond, I am somewhat biased, but I would get the train in Richmond. Star or Meteor... I personally like the silver star and I don't really care that much about the dining car, especially for only a one night trip...I can just as easily go to a restaurant at my destination and get great food if I really need it.

Parking At Richmond isn't great but having used it for about 20 years there has never been a time where I or my family couldn't find a spot to park. Yes it gets crowded around the holidays and between 10 and 12 on week days... but if you are arriving for the Star or definitely the Meteor, you won't have to worry about it since many of the commuters will have gotten their cars by then and if you get their early enough, you shouldn't have an issue. It does cost to park there, as mentioned above, but I personally wouldn't feel safe leaving my car overnight in Petersburg, especially for many days. The station itself may be fine, and again I may just be biased against Petersburg. PLUS if you leave from Richmond you can go over the James River Bridge (in daylight if you take the Star).

I also like the Alexandria idea... there are also several hotels in Crystal city (only a few stops on the yellow or blue line). Alexandria is a fun place with good weather, with the waterfront and an Art (?) Museum an easy, but long walk from King St. Station... and lots of shops along the way. You can leave Washington on either the Star or Meteor the following afternoon/evening.
 
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