Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
Today you could say I finally got to unwrap my birthday present, and its been well worth the wait. I received a trip to Chicago Illinois with my best friend. We split the cost of the trip down the middle, while I get all the AGR points 
. My friend moved to the Washington DC metro area a few years ago. My friend decided he would give long distance train travel a shot, since he has done a fair amount of riding on the Northeast Corridor.
My trip started at 6:15 AM June 30, 2009 when my cell phones alarm woke me up to get ready for the day. I was ready in record time, and my mom drove me to Middletown, NJ train station to catch a New Jersey Transit commuter train into New York City. We said our good byes, and I officially began my trip. I caught a early morning express train and got to the city in about 70 minutes. The ride its self was uneventful I was unable to get a window seat, but it didn’t matter I knew I was going to be doing some great riding later anyway.
Got to New York Pennsylvania Station (NYP) around 2 hours early for Amtrak Northeast Regional 95. I spent the time in the Club Acela lounge where I caught up on some AU posts, and downloaded some PDFs of things I wanted to read while on the train . I inquired about a Business Class upgrade in which I was unsuccessful. The attendant of the club was great I was leaving 15 minutes early to get closer to the tracks. The attendant said I had no need and he gave me the track number before it was announced.
I made my way to track 13 East 5 minutes before the official cattle call putting me in a great spot to get a window seat. I was one of the first 10 people down the escalator, so I walked back to the second to last coach, and found an empty pair of seats that provided me a full window view. I was ecstatic to say the least, personally I find the ride south of NYP to be more interesting rail wise. When you go through Rhode Island you are going as fast and even faster, but when you cut down across New Jersey you can see the other tracks and you can fell the speed. Just how I see it, feel it.
We left NYP on time and started the journey down the NEC. We made our stops in Newark and Metropark with quite a few passengers boarding at both. I then caught a glimpse of the engine on the head end through the window it was an HHP-8! That made me feel even better about the approaching 125 MPH zone. The run did not disappoint as I got the GPS set up I could see we were going 110 and then I felt to small pushes and we were going even faster! We topped out at 124 MPH. I really enjoyed having the GPS to glance down at while we flew through NJ.
Slowed and made our stop in Trenton and on to Philly. At Philly they said there would be an engine change? I didn’t think they did that. It meant a 15 minute stop and a smoke break. I watched part of the power change because its more interesting then sitting in the dark. Okay way more interesting! I didn’t risk taking out the camera don’t want to create problems for myself. I have a question though, do they always change in Philly for Virginia trains or did it happen because this morning they had low voltage in Penn Station? Thanks in advance for the replies.
I thought switching to a P42 would mean losing speed, but it wasn’t the case. The P42 was moving us at 100+ MPH. Its actually nicer because there are no phase gaps so the lights never go out. I am surprised by the change still though.
The approach to Wilmington was great we passed a yard and shops that I assume has to be Bear. Saw some P40s in Phase V paint, and other equipment I don’t get to see often. Wilmington was not a popular stop for people detraining or boarding. We took on a handful of passengers, and the whole station area felt pretty dead. Saw the Amtrak operation center, now there’s a place I could never work :lol:
We were held somewhere before BWI for a good 20 minutes. I wasn’t listening to my scanner so I have no idea behind the rhyme or reason. Finally we were allowed to proceed and made it to BWI 25 minutes late. I was disheartened by the delay.
We made our stop in New Carrolton where I joked about jumping on the METRO since it would be faster then the Amtrak train. Anyway we got to Washington 25 minutes late.
I met my friend, John, at the gate and we made our way into the Washington Club Acela. It was a nice club it was a strange shape though that didn’t do a good job of maximizing seats. The only seats we could find were in one of the conference rooms. This actually worked out quite nicely as we were the only occupants. We sat for the next 90 minutes using the club’s wi-fi was we were going to slip into a grey zone for the next 18 hours.
We heard the call for the Capitol Limited, and we made it to the doors. We were behind one older couple. When we got to the platform I nudged John and said, “Let’s be the first on the train.” With that we walked pasted the older couple and past all the coaches to our sleeper 2900. We then met our attendant Josh.
He took one look at me and said, “Let me guess rail fan?” I simply smiled and said depends on who’s asking. I smiled and said we have room 06 and were in a Superliner 2 sleeper. I suppose that answered his question, because he smiled and welcomed us aboard.
We settled into room number 6, and waited for departure. We pulled out right on time, and our trip began. At this moment I will break from the commentary to say I usually write my reports after each station stop, but didn’t want to be a slave to technology, so the report is being written on board my train home.
Alan gets bonus points for highlighting the approach to Harpers Ferry. Of course though as soon as we got out on the river an eastbound CSX train rolled in front of the window. I really just don’t get along with CSX I suppose since they always seem t be there when I don’t want them to be. Its unbelievable to me that my luck with them is so bad. It was still a lovely station and town.
We elected for a 6 P.M. dinner reservation, hoping we could step off at the scheduled smoke stop in Cumberland, MD. This plan turned out to work well. We both elected to try the new version of the flat iron. I talked to the SA about the change, and about the standard heating. I guess I caught him off balance, because he stammered for a moment before saying, “What route do you work?” That’s 2 Amtrak employees in 3 days. I told him I was just a crazy railfan. Anyway the new steak was not much of a steak. To me it felt more like a brisket. It was good though I just would no longer call it a flatiron steak. The folks we sat with were quite interesting. He was retired entomologist who donates a month of his time as well of several thousand insects each year to the Smithsonian Institute. They were pretty chatty and made the meal pleasant.
Our plan worked we had finished our dessert of Key Lime Crumb Cake 10 minutes before our scheduled stop in Cumberland, MD. I had planned to detrain, but they were only opening 1 door in the second coach. I was kind of sad about that, and me and John elected not to walk the 4 cars to step off.
The next stop was Connellsville, PA at least thats what the timetable said. The route guide however pegs Connellsville in Maryland. Instead of firing up my GPS I used the discrepancy as an excuse to start a conversation with our neighbors, who had their GPS up and running on their window. He turned out to be a railfan. I guess the scanner and GPS should have been the first sign he was interested in trains. He zoomed out a little with the GPS and said it was indeed in Pennsylvania and the route guide was wrong.
The stop in Connellsville came and went with little fanfare. The attendant had overheard our conversation, and said as far as he knew the only one who noticed. Time to call Amtrak Media Relations
John had decided that he wanted to try a shower aboard the train, and reported that it was easier and nicer then he had expected. I followed his lead and upon his return took a shower. It still is interesting to me to take a shower on the train.
After Connesllsville we had the room made up for the evening. It had been 11 months since I had to make the climb into the top bunk. It was not as cramped as I had expect since I have grown almost 2 inches and gained...well to many pounds since last August. John and I didn’t have to much trouble getting to sleep. Sleep came easily for me, and it was 6:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time before I knew it.
We woke up and since we had showered last night to just go straight to breakfast. I didn’t need to see an menu to know what I was going to order. We had the same SA from dinner. I ordered the Railroad French Toast with a side of bacon. It was just as good as any other time. Our table mates were sister-in-laws traveling home from Florida to Springfield. They were unaware they could could use the Metropolitan Lounge since they were only going coach. They were throughly impressed with my knowledge of and thanked me for the tip.
We returned to our room and packed and cleaned the room for our arrival in Chicago Union Station. We hit the bumper 23 minutes early. I was shocked I’ve never been early before. We then took our stuff and made our way to the Metropolitan Lounge where there was a line of people waiting to check in. We were given our pass back into the lounge, and made our dinner reservation. We were the first to do so, and the attend laughed that we came in on 29 and were leaving on 30. We were the first to check in for train 30, so getting a 7:00 PM reservation was not a problem.
We sat in the lounge for a little while, then headed over toward the Sears uhh I mean Willis Tower. It was a rainy day in Chicago, and I knew it was not going to clear up any time soon, so I said we should go early. That way we beat the rush, and see what we see. It worked out well because there were no lines or crowds. We got up to the top with no hassle and no problems. It was nice to be up there even with the clouds limiting the view.
We walk back to Union Station and explored a station I have not spent a lot of time in. We of course started in the Great Hall. Its really an amazing place. I still am torn between it and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. Either way its a sight to see and a window on to the past glory and grandeur of the railroad. Its amazing when you walk down the worn stairs the grooves fit your feet just right. To me it feels like a universal human connection. In newer modern structures things like this don’t happen. On those stairs you are walking in the way that has been cleared by thousands and thousands of other people. (Was that something deep from me thats rare :lol: )
After some more milling and time killing it was time for lunch. For the location there was of course no debate. Giordano’s on Jackson Street. The bridge is closed to vehicles, but the sidewalk is open. We walked in and were greeted and seated with no delay. Much unlike last time I was at Giordano’s. We were seated in the same room the First Amtrak Unlimited Members Gather lunch was held. I chuckled a little and noted that even AU was starting to have its own trivia.
The food did not disappoint John and I were able to finish a medium pizza. Pretty impressive, but what you would expect from a pair of hungry teenagers? Anyway the rest of time in Chicago doesn’t need narration so let’s cut to the eastbound boarding.
At 5:20 I motioned to John that we should switch our seats to something closer to the boarding door. John said, “Steve no way we can be first again!” I smiled I figured there was no reason we couldn’t. He didn’t trust my confidence, but I told him if he listened he would understand. The PA system in the lounge isn’t done in real time. They record the message and then it replays. The delay isn’t more then a few seconds, but hey thats all I need. I guess for this trick you have pretty decent hearing, because the seats close to the door are quite a distance from where the attendant sits.
I heard her mention “Capitol Limited” and “Boarding” and grabbed my bags and walked to the little black rope. Guess who was first? The boarding call then began playing and the rest of the passengers queued up by the door.
It was the same crew as coming west. Josh our attendant from the night before was standing at the door to the 3000 car. He did a major double take at us two in front of everyone once again boarding the Capitol Limited. We had the other attendant, as we were in the 3001 sleeper.
The boarding process went smoothly, and I was ready to get rolling. That sadly would not be happening. They said we would be held here for 1 hour. Since the Empire Builder was running seriously late. I had chosen the 7:00 PM reservation so we wouldn’t have to eat sitting in the station. Well that idea didn’t work.
We went to dinner while parked in Chicago Union Station. The dinning crew also was surprised to see us. We had the same SA for dinner who was just as pleasant. He said he has been an Amtrak Employee for 9 years, and has enjoyed every day of it. I elected to have the vegetarian pasta dish, which was stuffed shells with roasted peppers and cheese. It was a good choice as I was still stuffed from lunch. John went with the roasted chicken which was to much for him to finish. Our table mates were pretty quiet, they had connected from the Southwest Chief.
After dinner the SCA made his first appearance. He started with, “You can just put the beds down, or I mean uh... you know I can do it at some point to.” I was like oh man here is Amtrak’s best and brightest. I told him I would take care of the beds since I didn’t want to be a bother. It was better this way since John and I were not planning on going to bed to early since there was no point in getting up super early.
The rest of the night passed by quickly with just some good conversation, and a trip to the lounge car. John was impressed noting he wasn’t board and he wasn’t glued to his computer. That was the point I was trying to make, train travel goes by quickly on LD trains with few distractions.
At around 11:30 I got to play sleeper car attendant, as I set up our bunks for the night. I mean I know its his job and all, but it wasn’t really a big deal. I had the beds done in just a couple of minutes. We both were quickly asleep and had no problems sleeping.
At 7:30 AM we both woke up and changed to something decent enough to wear into the diner. I of course had another order of Railroad French Toast with a side of Bacon. It was of course fantastic, and the last breakfast of the trip. Our table mates were a journalist an his daughter. They drove to catch the SWC in Kansas even though they lived way closer to the Texas Eagle. He said it was just easier for them. I didn’t quite get it, but at the same time I really didn’t care. They were enjoying the trip so far, and he was a good speaker, so I enjoyed listening to his summary of his ride on the SWC. He said they were sold on Amtrak after a quick day trip on the Heartland Flyer. Nice guy thats for sure.
We returned to our room where we sat for just a few hours before hearing the dining car making its last call for the capitol limited's “brunch”. We made our way down to the diner neither one of us being overly hungry. I wanted to have another meal since I had a long day of travel to get home.
I was torn between ordering some more of the French Toast or the Angus Burger. I elected to get the burger. The SA was amazed we were having a full meal just a few hours after breakfast. After reminding him we were bother teenagers he laughed and admitted if he was still 17 he would have done the same thing. Lunch was pretty good. The Angus Burger was not as good as on the California Zephyr, but was editable for sure. It was just me and John at our table. Several other groups came in some as late as 20 minutes after the last call, and acted like it wasn’t a big deal. I felt bad for the dining crew.
We returned back to our room we were still about an hour and fifteen minutes late. John was optimistic that we would make the time up. I however had my doubts. There was only one more long stop in Cumberland, and since it was a crew change I knew we couldn’t cut it to short. There is some clear padding at the end of the run when you compare the eastbound and westbound timetables. Like allowing an hour to travel between Rockville and Washington a distance of just 15 miles.
This time we were able to get a better look and some pictures of Harpers Ferry, MD. It was getting near the end of the run. John and I packed up and cleaned the room. He said how much enjoyed the trip and said we should plan another one for some point in the future.
As we pulled out of Rockville I joked to John that the doors may not even open since I hadn’t seen our SCA since that night when he made it clear he didn’t want to put the beds down. We then made the approach to Washington, and said our farewells. He caught a red line train to get home Alexandra.
We hit the platform and everyone detrained. We walked out of the sleeper surprised to see our SCA commenting on the lack of tips. John against my advice tipped him, which generated quite a reaction. He suddenly became very friendly and wanted handshakes. I just shook my head as we shuffled down the platform and back into the station.
We ended up 40 minutes late into Washington which wasn’t to bad since we started off on the wrong foot. I checked into the Club Acela even though I only had about a 20 minute wait for regional 148. I was worried about getting a good seat since I was pretty new to the boarding procedures at WAS. Since I only ride southbound to see John I usually start my trips in Alexandria to make things easier on his family.
I decided to make up my own boarding procedures. I saw that it was leaving from B12. About 20 minutes before the scheduled departure I walked through the doors labeled “West” in the Club Acela. I then walked to the boarding platforms and stood against a wall near track 12.
When I saw them start boarding coach I simply met up with that group and was one of the first people on the train. I know this probably isn’t the right way to do things, but hey I really wanted a window seat. I walked up to the third coach since I would be detraining at Metropark and no they are doing work on the platform.
I then fired up the laptop and began writing this report. Usually I wouldn’t just stare at my laptop screen when I am on a train, but writing the trip report is the easy part for me. I am a touch typist so I just pecked out the report while staring out the window. Went back and fixed any obvious typos. I got a seat mate at New Carrolton. She was pretty nice. She was from Nashville and this was only her second time on the train since she was just in Washington for the summer. We talked a little and then at BWI when a pair of seats freed up she disappeared.
Made our usual stops everything was pretty standard. In Wilmington I got my second seat mate of the trip. Didn’t talk to much says she rides amtrak a lot. I guess its more my fault as I look involved in writing this, or since this is a regional people are less likely to open up.
Well my theory was correct. After stowing the macbook since I had written the report up to the present. I began conversing with my seat mate. I had gotten my quick assessment wrong when she sat down. I thought she was 35-40 on business, which is why she had no desire to talk to me. Well when I started to talk to her it became clear we were close to the same age. We had a nice conversation which was a first for me on a non long distance route.
The rest of the ride went smoothly, and on time. It looked like the crews had finished working early since tomorrow July 3rd is federal holiday. This meant smooth sailing in Metropark. I said my farewells to my seat mate and collect my duffel bag from the over head rack.
Stood by the door and waited to the wheels stop turning. When the train came to a stop in front of the platform I took a deep breath, and just try and take in every last second in the final seconds of my trip. I exhaled as the doors slid open and stepped into the New Jersey summer air. This ended my 2,000 mile journey to America’s heartland.
Thank you so much for reading!
I wish my writing was a little more polished, but I think you will find this readable.
The pictures are here. I posted a selection of the best IMHO. The rest can be found Here
. My friend moved to the Washington DC metro area a few years ago. My friend decided he would give long distance train travel a shot, since he has done a fair amount of riding on the Northeast Corridor.My trip started at 6:15 AM June 30, 2009 when my cell phones alarm woke me up to get ready for the day. I was ready in record time, and my mom drove me to Middletown, NJ train station to catch a New Jersey Transit commuter train into New York City. We said our good byes, and I officially began my trip. I caught a early morning express train and got to the city in about 70 minutes. The ride its self was uneventful I was unable to get a window seat, but it didn’t matter I knew I was going to be doing some great riding later anyway.
Got to New York Pennsylvania Station (NYP) around 2 hours early for Amtrak Northeast Regional 95. I spent the time in the Club Acela lounge where I caught up on some AU posts, and downloaded some PDFs of things I wanted to read while on the train . I inquired about a Business Class upgrade in which I was unsuccessful. The attendant of the club was great I was leaving 15 minutes early to get closer to the tracks. The attendant said I had no need and he gave me the track number before it was announced.
I made my way to track 13 East 5 minutes before the official cattle call putting me in a great spot to get a window seat. I was one of the first 10 people down the escalator, so I walked back to the second to last coach, and found an empty pair of seats that provided me a full window view. I was ecstatic to say the least, personally I find the ride south of NYP to be more interesting rail wise. When you go through Rhode Island you are going as fast and even faster, but when you cut down across New Jersey you can see the other tracks and you can fell the speed. Just how I see it, feel it.
We left NYP on time and started the journey down the NEC. We made our stops in Newark and Metropark with quite a few passengers boarding at both. I then caught a glimpse of the engine on the head end through the window it was an HHP-8! That made me feel even better about the approaching 125 MPH zone. The run did not disappoint as I got the GPS set up I could see we were going 110 and then I felt to small pushes and we were going even faster! We topped out at 124 MPH. I really enjoyed having the GPS to glance down at while we flew through NJ.
Slowed and made our stop in Trenton and on to Philly. At Philly they said there would be an engine change? I didn’t think they did that. It meant a 15 minute stop and a smoke break. I watched part of the power change because its more interesting then sitting in the dark. Okay way more interesting! I didn’t risk taking out the camera don’t want to create problems for myself. I have a question though, do they always change in Philly for Virginia trains or did it happen because this morning they had low voltage in Penn Station? Thanks in advance for the replies.
I thought switching to a P42 would mean losing speed, but it wasn’t the case. The P42 was moving us at 100+ MPH. Its actually nicer because there are no phase gaps so the lights never go out. I am surprised by the change still though.
The approach to Wilmington was great we passed a yard and shops that I assume has to be Bear. Saw some P40s in Phase V paint, and other equipment I don’t get to see often. Wilmington was not a popular stop for people detraining or boarding. We took on a handful of passengers, and the whole station area felt pretty dead. Saw the Amtrak operation center, now there’s a place I could never work :lol:
We were held somewhere before BWI for a good 20 minutes. I wasn’t listening to my scanner so I have no idea behind the rhyme or reason. Finally we were allowed to proceed and made it to BWI 25 minutes late. I was disheartened by the delay.
We made our stop in New Carrolton where I joked about jumping on the METRO since it would be faster then the Amtrak train. Anyway we got to Washington 25 minutes late.
I met my friend, John, at the gate and we made our way into the Washington Club Acela. It was a nice club it was a strange shape though that didn’t do a good job of maximizing seats. The only seats we could find were in one of the conference rooms. This actually worked out quite nicely as we were the only occupants. We sat for the next 90 minutes using the club’s wi-fi was we were going to slip into a grey zone for the next 18 hours.
We heard the call for the Capitol Limited, and we made it to the doors. We were behind one older couple. When we got to the platform I nudged John and said, “Let’s be the first on the train.” With that we walked pasted the older couple and past all the coaches to our sleeper 2900. We then met our attendant Josh.
He took one look at me and said, “Let me guess rail fan?” I simply smiled and said depends on who’s asking. I smiled and said we have room 06 and were in a Superliner 2 sleeper. I suppose that answered his question, because he smiled and welcomed us aboard.
We settled into room number 6, and waited for departure. We pulled out right on time, and our trip began. At this moment I will break from the commentary to say I usually write my reports after each station stop, but didn’t want to be a slave to technology, so the report is being written on board my train home.
Alan gets bonus points for highlighting the approach to Harpers Ferry. Of course though as soon as we got out on the river an eastbound CSX train rolled in front of the window. I really just don’t get along with CSX I suppose since they always seem t be there when I don’t want them to be. Its unbelievable to me that my luck with them is so bad. It was still a lovely station and town.
We elected for a 6 P.M. dinner reservation, hoping we could step off at the scheduled smoke stop in Cumberland, MD. This plan turned out to work well. We both elected to try the new version of the flat iron. I talked to the SA about the change, and about the standard heating. I guess I caught him off balance, because he stammered for a moment before saying, “What route do you work?” That’s 2 Amtrak employees in 3 days. I told him I was just a crazy railfan. Anyway the new steak was not much of a steak. To me it felt more like a brisket. It was good though I just would no longer call it a flatiron steak. The folks we sat with were quite interesting. He was retired entomologist who donates a month of his time as well of several thousand insects each year to the Smithsonian Institute. They were pretty chatty and made the meal pleasant.
Our plan worked we had finished our dessert of Key Lime Crumb Cake 10 minutes before our scheduled stop in Cumberland, MD. I had planned to detrain, but they were only opening 1 door in the second coach. I was kind of sad about that, and me and John elected not to walk the 4 cars to step off.
The next stop was Connellsville, PA at least thats what the timetable said. The route guide however pegs Connellsville in Maryland. Instead of firing up my GPS I used the discrepancy as an excuse to start a conversation with our neighbors, who had their GPS up and running on their window. He turned out to be a railfan. I guess the scanner and GPS should have been the first sign he was interested in trains. He zoomed out a little with the GPS and said it was indeed in Pennsylvania and the route guide was wrong.
The stop in Connellsville came and went with little fanfare. The attendant had overheard our conversation, and said as far as he knew the only one who noticed. Time to call Amtrak Media Relations
John had decided that he wanted to try a shower aboard the train, and reported that it was easier and nicer then he had expected. I followed his lead and upon his return took a shower. It still is interesting to me to take a shower on the train.
After Connesllsville we had the room made up for the evening. It had been 11 months since I had to make the climb into the top bunk. It was not as cramped as I had expect since I have grown almost 2 inches and gained...well to many pounds since last August. John and I didn’t have to much trouble getting to sleep. Sleep came easily for me, and it was 6:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time before I knew it.
We woke up and since we had showered last night to just go straight to breakfast. I didn’t need to see an menu to know what I was going to order. We had the same SA from dinner. I ordered the Railroad French Toast with a side of bacon. It was just as good as any other time. Our table mates were sister-in-laws traveling home from Florida to Springfield. They were unaware they could could use the Metropolitan Lounge since they were only going coach. They were throughly impressed with my knowledge of and thanked me for the tip.
We returned to our room and packed and cleaned the room for our arrival in Chicago Union Station. We hit the bumper 23 minutes early. I was shocked I’ve never been early before. We then took our stuff and made our way to the Metropolitan Lounge where there was a line of people waiting to check in. We were given our pass back into the lounge, and made our dinner reservation. We were the first to do so, and the attend laughed that we came in on 29 and were leaving on 30. We were the first to check in for train 30, so getting a 7:00 PM reservation was not a problem.
We sat in the lounge for a little while, then headed over toward the Sears uhh I mean Willis Tower. It was a rainy day in Chicago, and I knew it was not going to clear up any time soon, so I said we should go early. That way we beat the rush, and see what we see. It worked out well because there were no lines or crowds. We got up to the top with no hassle and no problems. It was nice to be up there even with the clouds limiting the view.
We walk back to Union Station and explored a station I have not spent a lot of time in. We of course started in the Great Hall. Its really an amazing place. I still am torn between it and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. Either way its a sight to see and a window on to the past glory and grandeur of the railroad. Its amazing when you walk down the worn stairs the grooves fit your feet just right. To me it feels like a universal human connection. In newer modern structures things like this don’t happen. On those stairs you are walking in the way that has been cleared by thousands and thousands of other people. (Was that something deep from me thats rare :lol: )
After some more milling and time killing it was time for lunch. For the location there was of course no debate. Giordano’s on Jackson Street. The bridge is closed to vehicles, but the sidewalk is open. We walked in and were greeted and seated with no delay. Much unlike last time I was at Giordano’s. We were seated in the same room the First Amtrak Unlimited Members Gather lunch was held. I chuckled a little and noted that even AU was starting to have its own trivia.
The food did not disappoint John and I were able to finish a medium pizza. Pretty impressive, but what you would expect from a pair of hungry teenagers? Anyway the rest of time in Chicago doesn’t need narration so let’s cut to the eastbound boarding.
At 5:20 I motioned to John that we should switch our seats to something closer to the boarding door. John said, “Steve no way we can be first again!” I smiled I figured there was no reason we couldn’t. He didn’t trust my confidence, but I told him if he listened he would understand. The PA system in the lounge isn’t done in real time. They record the message and then it replays. The delay isn’t more then a few seconds, but hey thats all I need. I guess for this trick you have pretty decent hearing, because the seats close to the door are quite a distance from where the attendant sits.
I heard her mention “Capitol Limited” and “Boarding” and grabbed my bags and walked to the little black rope. Guess who was first?
The boarding call then began playing and the rest of the passengers queued up by the door.It was the same crew as coming west. Josh our attendant from the night before was standing at the door to the 3000 car. He did a major double take at us two in front of everyone once again boarding the Capitol Limited. We had the other attendant, as we were in the 3001 sleeper.
The boarding process went smoothly, and I was ready to get rolling. That sadly would not be happening. They said we would be held here for 1 hour. Since the Empire Builder was running seriously late. I had chosen the 7:00 PM reservation so we wouldn’t have to eat sitting in the station. Well that idea didn’t work.
We went to dinner while parked in Chicago Union Station. The dinning crew also was surprised to see us. We had the same SA for dinner who was just as pleasant. He said he has been an Amtrak Employee for 9 years, and has enjoyed every day of it. I elected to have the vegetarian pasta dish, which was stuffed shells with roasted peppers and cheese. It was a good choice as I was still stuffed from lunch. John went with the roasted chicken which was to much for him to finish. Our table mates were pretty quiet, they had connected from the Southwest Chief.
After dinner the SCA made his first appearance. He started with, “You can just put the beds down, or I mean uh... you know I can do it at some point to.” I was like oh man here is Amtrak’s best and brightest. I told him I would take care of the beds since I didn’t want to be a bother. It was better this way since John and I were not planning on going to bed to early since there was no point in getting up super early.
The rest of the night passed by quickly with just some good conversation, and a trip to the lounge car. John was impressed noting he wasn’t board and he wasn’t glued to his computer. That was the point I was trying to make, train travel goes by quickly on LD trains with few distractions.
At around 11:30 I got to play sleeper car attendant, as I set up our bunks for the night. I mean I know its his job and all, but it wasn’t really a big deal. I had the beds done in just a couple of minutes. We both were quickly asleep and had no problems sleeping.
At 7:30 AM we both woke up and changed to something decent enough to wear into the diner. I of course had another order of Railroad French Toast with a side of Bacon. It was of course fantastic, and the last breakfast of the trip. Our table mates were a journalist an his daughter. They drove to catch the SWC in Kansas even though they lived way closer to the Texas Eagle. He said it was just easier for them. I didn’t quite get it, but at the same time I really didn’t care. They were enjoying the trip so far, and he was a good speaker, so I enjoyed listening to his summary of his ride on the SWC. He said they were sold on Amtrak after a quick day trip on the Heartland Flyer. Nice guy thats for sure.
We returned to our room where we sat for just a few hours before hearing the dining car making its last call for the capitol limited's “brunch”. We made our way down to the diner neither one of us being overly hungry. I wanted to have another meal since I had a long day of travel to get home.
I was torn between ordering some more of the French Toast or the Angus Burger. I elected to get the burger. The SA was amazed we were having a full meal just a few hours after breakfast. After reminding him we were bother teenagers he laughed and admitted if he was still 17 he would have done the same thing. Lunch was pretty good. The Angus Burger was not as good as on the California Zephyr, but was editable for sure. It was just me and John at our table. Several other groups came in some as late as 20 minutes after the last call, and acted like it wasn’t a big deal. I felt bad for the dining crew.
We returned back to our room we were still about an hour and fifteen minutes late. John was optimistic that we would make the time up. I however had my doubts. There was only one more long stop in Cumberland, and since it was a crew change I knew we couldn’t cut it to short. There is some clear padding at the end of the run when you compare the eastbound and westbound timetables. Like allowing an hour to travel between Rockville and Washington a distance of just 15 miles.
This time we were able to get a better look and some pictures of Harpers Ferry, MD. It was getting near the end of the run. John and I packed up and cleaned the room. He said how much enjoyed the trip and said we should plan another one for some point in the future.
As we pulled out of Rockville I joked to John that the doors may not even open since I hadn’t seen our SCA since that night when he made it clear he didn’t want to put the beds down. We then made the approach to Washington, and said our farewells. He caught a red line train to get home Alexandra.
We hit the platform and everyone detrained. We walked out of the sleeper surprised to see our SCA commenting on the lack of tips. John against my advice tipped him, which generated quite a reaction. He suddenly became very friendly and wanted handshakes. I just shook my head as we shuffled down the platform and back into the station.
We ended up 40 minutes late into Washington which wasn’t to bad since we started off on the wrong foot. I checked into the Club Acela even though I only had about a 20 minute wait for regional 148. I was worried about getting a good seat since I was pretty new to the boarding procedures at WAS. Since I only ride southbound to see John I usually start my trips in Alexandria to make things easier on his family.
I decided to make up my own boarding procedures. I saw that it was leaving from B12. About 20 minutes before the scheduled departure I walked through the doors labeled “West” in the Club Acela. I then walked to the boarding platforms and stood against a wall near track 12.
When I saw them start boarding coach I simply met up with that group and was one of the first people on the train. I know this probably isn’t the right way to do things, but hey I really wanted a window seat. I walked up to the third coach since I would be detraining at Metropark and no they are doing work on the platform.
I then fired up the laptop and began writing this report. Usually I wouldn’t just stare at my laptop screen when I am on a train, but writing the trip report is the easy part for me. I am a touch typist so I just pecked out the report while staring out the window. Went back and fixed any obvious typos. I got a seat mate at New Carrolton. She was pretty nice. She was from Nashville and this was only her second time on the train since she was just in Washington for the summer. We talked a little and then at BWI when a pair of seats freed up she disappeared.
Made our usual stops everything was pretty standard. In Wilmington I got my second seat mate of the trip. Didn’t talk to much says she rides amtrak a lot. I guess its more my fault as I look involved in writing this, or since this is a regional people are less likely to open up.
Well my theory was correct. After stowing the macbook since I had written the report up to the present. I began conversing with my seat mate. I had gotten my quick assessment wrong when she sat down. I thought she was 35-40 on business, which is why she had no desire to talk to me. Well when I started to talk to her it became clear we were close to the same age. We had a nice conversation which was a first for me on a non long distance route.
The rest of the ride went smoothly, and on time. It looked like the crews had finished working early since tomorrow July 3rd is federal holiday. This meant smooth sailing in Metropark. I said my farewells to my seat mate and collect my duffel bag from the over head rack.
Stood by the door and waited to the wheels stop turning. When the train came to a stop in front of the platform I took a deep breath, and just try and take in every last second in the final seconds of my trip. I exhaled as the doors slid open and stepped into the New Jersey summer air. This ended my 2,000 mile journey to America’s heartland.
Thank you so much for reading!
I wish my writing was a little more polished, but I think you will find this readable.
The pictures are here. I posted a selection of the best IMHO. The rest can be found Here
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