I'm currently in downstate New York visiting family, but I reside in Western New York. On Tuesday, my girlfriend realized that she had left all the course materials for her online class, back in the apartment up by Rochester.. This was Tuesday around 2pm. I decided it'd be a perfect opportunity for a little train trip. The plan was to take 49 to ROC, get in at 11:09, go to the apartment, spend the night, and get back on 48, at 9:50 the next morning.
I got ready, packed up, and went to CRT, where I boarded the 49 destined for Chicago.
We pulled out of CRT at 4:23 on Tuesday, and all seemed fine. Then, ominous storm clouds started surrounding us, and it started raining, with strong winds and thunder/lighting. Ten minutes after leaving CRT, we stopped at Metro-North's Cortlandt station, one not served by Amtrak. It was announced we'd be holding for a few minutes due to the weather. Then minutes turned into hours. At dinner, I had the Butternut Squash Risotto, which, as always, was pretty good, followed by the wonderful chocolate raspberry tart.
. At 8:30pm, after I had dinner, and we were still at the Cortlandt station, it was announced that MNR wouldn't be able to let us proceed until 4AM. This was not looking good. From Cortlandt, it's another 7 hours to ROC, so I wouldn't be there until 11. I decided to go to sleep early, so that I could at least get some rest.
I was woken up by the sudden movement of the train at 1:45 AM. Nine hours after we had arrived, and 2.5 hours earlier than they thought we'd be able to leave.
I went back to sleep, and woke up 30 minutes outside of Syracuse. As always, I slept very well, although the temperature control knob didn't seem to have any impact on the temperature of the room, so it got a bit hot.
Went to breakfast, and while eating the French Toast, I checked the status of the EB 48. I was in luck. 48 was 1h44 minutes late. Despite my arrival 10 hours late, I'd still have 2 full hours in ROC, to get what I needed.
We arrived at 9:30, 10 hours and 20 minutes late. I jumped in a cab, went to the apartment, grabbed what I needed for her class, and went back to the station with an hour to spare. 48 came in at 12:15, 2h25 behind schedule. I boarded, and got settled in, in Bedroom A of the 4812 car. I was completely exhausted from this adventure, so I asked the SCA to put the bed down so I could rest. There was a medical emergency, so we didn't leave Rochester until 12:45.
Went to lunch at 1:15, and it was frankly a disaster. I was seated with three elderly people, one of whom was a gentleman with Parkinson's. The man had ordered a burger, and once it arrived, the waiter said sternly "I'm going to need your set of silverware, there's a shortage." The man tried to explain that his hands weren't stable enough to pick up a burger. The waiter this time raised his voice and said, "I NEED THE SILVERWARE." The man refused, and the waiter walked away, mumbling obscenities under his breath. I received my meal, the Goat Cheese/Grape salad, but there was no dressing basket on the table. I waited a few minutes, and then asked our server if I could have some dressing for the salad. He replied in an exasperated way "I'll get to it when I get to it. OK?" 15 minutes, when everyone except me had finished their meals, he came around and asked "what do you want?" I reiterated that i needed salad dressing for the salad, and he finally brought it. Pretty horrifying.
I rested for the remainder of the trip, and reached CRT at 20:10, 28 hours after boarding the train. In that 28 hour window, I spent 25 hours on the train. I didn't mind the delay. I slept, and all worked out!
I got ready, packed up, and went to CRT, where I boarded the 49 destined for Chicago.
We pulled out of CRT at 4:23 on Tuesday, and all seemed fine. Then, ominous storm clouds started surrounding us, and it started raining, with strong winds and thunder/lighting. Ten minutes after leaving CRT, we stopped at Metro-North's Cortlandt station, one not served by Amtrak. It was announced we'd be holding for a few minutes due to the weather. Then minutes turned into hours. At dinner, I had the Butternut Squash Risotto, which, as always, was pretty good, followed by the wonderful chocolate raspberry tart.
. At 8:30pm, after I had dinner, and we were still at the Cortlandt station, it was announced that MNR wouldn't be able to let us proceed until 4AM. This was not looking good. From Cortlandt, it's another 7 hours to ROC, so I wouldn't be there until 11. I decided to go to sleep early, so that I could at least get some rest.
I was woken up by the sudden movement of the train at 1:45 AM. Nine hours after we had arrived, and 2.5 hours earlier than they thought we'd be able to leave.
I went back to sleep, and woke up 30 minutes outside of Syracuse. As always, I slept very well, although the temperature control knob didn't seem to have any impact on the temperature of the room, so it got a bit hot.
Went to breakfast, and while eating the French Toast, I checked the status of the EB 48. I was in luck. 48 was 1h44 minutes late. Despite my arrival 10 hours late, I'd still have 2 full hours in ROC, to get what I needed.
We arrived at 9:30, 10 hours and 20 minutes late. I jumped in a cab, went to the apartment, grabbed what I needed for her class, and went back to the station with an hour to spare. 48 came in at 12:15, 2h25 behind schedule. I boarded, and got settled in, in Bedroom A of the 4812 car. I was completely exhausted from this adventure, so I asked the SCA to put the bed down so I could rest. There was a medical emergency, so we didn't leave Rochester until 12:45.
Went to lunch at 1:15, and it was frankly a disaster. I was seated with three elderly people, one of whom was a gentleman with Parkinson's. The man had ordered a burger, and once it arrived, the waiter said sternly "I'm going to need your set of silverware, there's a shortage." The man tried to explain that his hands weren't stable enough to pick up a burger. The waiter this time raised his voice and said, "I NEED THE SILVERWARE." The man refused, and the waiter walked away, mumbling obscenities under his breath. I received my meal, the Goat Cheese/Grape salad, but there was no dressing basket on the table. I waited a few minutes, and then asked our server if I could have some dressing for the salad. He replied in an exasperated way "I'll get to it when I get to it. OK?" 15 minutes, when everyone except me had finished their meals, he came around and asked "what do you want?" I reiterated that i needed salad dressing for the salad, and he finally brought it. Pretty horrifying.
I rested for the remainder of the trip, and reached CRT at 20:10, 28 hours after boarding the train. In that 28 hour window, I spent 25 hours on the train. I didn't mind the delay. I slept, and all worked out!