wayman
Engineer
There isn't a whole lot to relate here. The Crescent was right on time into LYH where about thirty passengers boarded. We were all boarded to the rear coach, which was completely empty up until Lynchburg. Nine new passengers were high-school-age Girl Scouts, accompanied by a few leaders. As one leader walked through the car she told each of her girls to tell the car attendant they were going to Washington, not Boston, since they'd be changing trains in WAS; and she also told them where the food cars were but said they'd only go to the diner en masse for dinner on their return. As she passed by my seat (I still had a free seat next to me) I got her attention to ask where they would be boarding the Crescent for their return--I was worried they might change in Washington again, and dinner for twelve would be a very difficult reservation to secure! But she said they were changing in New York on the return, which should work well. But we got to chatting, and after a minute I invited her to join me (in that free seat) and we kept talking until at least Culpeper, with a short break while she got up to help three more Girl Scouts board in Charlottesville.
Their group of twelve girls and four leaders were on their way to western Maine for three days of dogsledding! (I didn't know they did that in Maine.) Then a stay in Boston before their return. She'd been organizing the logistics and fundraising for this trip for over a year, and was extremely relieved and pleased it was happening with so many girls and leaders after an initially tepid response when she floated the idea. For everyone but her and her daughter (they'd been to New Orleans before) this was their first trip by train in America (a few girls had been on trains in Europe). It sounded like they were all having a great time so far from overheard chatter on the train and from detraining with them in Washington
It was nice that we had a coach all to ourselves, we who boarded at Lynchburg, so there was no concern with our commotion waking sleeping passengers at 6 AM.
After fifty more passengers boarded in Charlottesville, we had a completely full train until Washington where it half-emptied.
At or just before Culpeper I headed to the diner for my usual scrambled eggs, hash browns, and biscuit, always good with the new dining menus of last year. My dining companion and I didn't chat much until the after-breakfast coffee, but once we got to know each other we chatted until past Manassas. Everyone on trains is fascinating in some way, but she lives a more dangerous life than some: she's a political officer in the State Department currently stationed in Moscow! In addition to talking about foreign policy and Russian economic development and whether Russia and the US will ever drop their visa requirements (not until the number of visitors who overstay their visa drops below 2%, or probably never in her view), I learned that she grew up in Hyde Park, Chicago where I lived for a while and very near where my dad grew up. She said the Moscow subway truly was one of the best in the world, and one of the cleanest places in Moscow.
That day's business car in WAS was Pacific Patrol. And here's an interesting photo of the new Amtrak "piggy-back" service :lol:
And from WAS to PHL there was pretty much nothing of note, since my seatmate was gone and the NEC on that stretch is, well, just not all that exciting.
The end!
PS, after that I only need two roundtrips on the Keystone to make Select!
Their group of twelve girls and four leaders were on their way to western Maine for three days of dogsledding! (I didn't know they did that in Maine.) Then a stay in Boston before their return. She'd been organizing the logistics and fundraising for this trip for over a year, and was extremely relieved and pleased it was happening with so many girls and leaders after an initially tepid response when she floated the idea. For everyone but her and her daughter (they'd been to New Orleans before) this was their first trip by train in America (a few girls had been on trains in Europe). It sounded like they were all having a great time so far from overheard chatter on the train and from detraining with them in Washington
It was nice that we had a coach all to ourselves, we who boarded at Lynchburg, so there was no concern with our commotion waking sleeping passengers at 6 AM.After fifty more passengers boarded in Charlottesville, we had a completely full train until Washington where it half-emptied.
At or just before Culpeper I headed to the diner for my usual scrambled eggs, hash browns, and biscuit, always good with the new dining menus of last year. My dining companion and I didn't chat much until the after-breakfast coffee, but once we got to know each other we chatted until past Manassas. Everyone on trains is fascinating in some way, but she lives a more dangerous life than some: she's a political officer in the State Department currently stationed in Moscow! In addition to talking about foreign policy and Russian economic development and whether Russia and the US will ever drop their visa requirements (not until the number of visitors who overstay their visa drops below 2%, or probably never in her view), I learned that she grew up in Hyde Park, Chicago where I lived for a while and very near where my dad grew up. She said the Moscow subway truly was one of the best in the world, and one of the cleanest places in Moscow.
That day's business car in WAS was Pacific Patrol. And here's an interesting photo of the new Amtrak "piggy-back" service :lol:
And from WAS to PHL there was pretty much nothing of note, since my seatmate was gone and the NEC on that stretch is, well, just not all that exciting.
The end!
PS, after that I only need two roundtrips on the Keystone to make Select!
