B
Brian Kinston
Guest
Wilson to Charleston - #89
I took advantage of Amtrak’s sale prices to take my wife and 2-year old son to Charleston, SC to visit my parents. The cost was $200 round-trip. We rode the Palmetto (#89) from Wilson, N.C. to Charleston, SC on a Thursday afternoon and returned on the Sunday Palmetto (#90).
The Southbound Palmetto is usually thirty minutes to one hour late. However, checking the website earlier showed the train would arrive only 9 minutes down into Wilson. We had to hustle to make our 40 mile drive to Wilson by the 2:20 scheduled time. Being able to use the ticket machine to print our pre-paid tickets was great.
The northbound Palmetto came in and out of the station first, which I guess caused our southbound train to have to use the outside tracks.
This meant the twelve or so boarding passengers had to drag their suitcases about 40 yards away from the station to where the tracks cross Nash Road.
I didn’t write down specific numbers but the train consisted of an engine, a baggage car, a café/business class car and three passenger cars. The third passenger car was closed and remained so during the trip.
The two passenger cars in use were approximately 80% full when we got on. We were unable to get three seats together until one hour into the trip when several passengers got off in Fayetteville, NC. The deeper we got into the Carolinas the less crowded the train became. I overheard a passenger tell someone that they had been "packed like sardines" earlier in the ride.
The Amtrak employees we encountered were all courteous and several went out of their way to interact with our son. The train appeared to stay on schedule for the trip and arrived in Charleston only 5 minutes late. My main complaint is that the bathrooms were not very clean and smelled quite badly. My secondary complaint is that Amtrak should have used all three passenger cars to make it possible for families like ours to sit together as well as allowing passengers to spread out and have a more comfortable ride.
My parents picked us up at the Charleston station (which is actually in the city of North Charleston).
Return Trip - AMTRAK #90
Sunday morning my parents drove us to Charleston station where we got on the northbound Palmetto. Here is a photo of the train pulling into the station.
As the train was arriving, a P.A. system instructed passengers to wait for the train at two specific locations. The conductor must not have gotten the message because he missed those locations by about 30 yards.
The northbound Palmetto begins its day in Savannah, GA and Charleston is the third stop. This is probably why the bathrooms were noticeably cleaner than on the earlier trip. This train only had two passenger cars and both were quite full upon leaving Charleston. We were, however, able to get seats together this time. Passengers heading to DC and further were assigned to the first car while passengers with closer destinations were sent into the second car. The first car seemed to be a little warm the few times I passed through on my way to & from the cafe car, but the temperature in our car was comfortable during the trip.
Again, the Amtrak employees we encountered on the train did their jobs well and were courteous with all passengers. The load in our car got lighter with each stop while the first car remained at almost 100% occupancy. By the time we arrived in Wilson (3 minutes early!) several first car passengers had migrated to the second car in search of more room.
From what I saw, a family like ours is uncommon on this part of the Palmetto’s route. There were many elderly passengers, several women with small children (who were all well behaved from what I saw) and a few single riders of various ages. I think if Amtrak wants to attract more families to this route they should increase the ability of families to sit together as well as consider some package pricing. In our case, driving would definitely have been cheaper. But I enjoy riding the train so it is worth paying extra every once in a while. But I’d rather ride the train every time.
I took advantage of Amtrak’s sale prices to take my wife and 2-year old son to Charleston, SC to visit my parents. The cost was $200 round-trip. We rode the Palmetto (#89) from Wilson, N.C. to Charleston, SC on a Thursday afternoon and returned on the Sunday Palmetto (#90).
The Southbound Palmetto is usually thirty minutes to one hour late. However, checking the website earlier showed the train would arrive only 9 minutes down into Wilson. We had to hustle to make our 40 mile drive to Wilson by the 2:20 scheduled time. Being able to use the ticket machine to print our pre-paid tickets was great.
The northbound Palmetto came in and out of the station first, which I guess caused our southbound train to have to use the outside tracks.
This meant the twelve or so boarding passengers had to drag their suitcases about 40 yards away from the station to where the tracks cross Nash Road.
I didn’t write down specific numbers but the train consisted of an engine, a baggage car, a café/business class car and three passenger cars. The third passenger car was closed and remained so during the trip.
The two passenger cars in use were approximately 80% full when we got on. We were unable to get three seats together until one hour into the trip when several passengers got off in Fayetteville, NC. The deeper we got into the Carolinas the less crowded the train became. I overheard a passenger tell someone that they had been "packed like sardines" earlier in the ride.
The Amtrak employees we encountered were all courteous and several went out of their way to interact with our son. The train appeared to stay on schedule for the trip and arrived in Charleston only 5 minutes late. My main complaint is that the bathrooms were not very clean and smelled quite badly. My secondary complaint is that Amtrak should have used all three passenger cars to make it possible for families like ours to sit together as well as allowing passengers to spread out and have a more comfortable ride.
My parents picked us up at the Charleston station (which is actually in the city of North Charleston).
Return Trip - AMTRAK #90
Sunday morning my parents drove us to Charleston station where we got on the northbound Palmetto. Here is a photo of the train pulling into the station.
As the train was arriving, a P.A. system instructed passengers to wait for the train at two specific locations. The conductor must not have gotten the message because he missed those locations by about 30 yards.
The northbound Palmetto begins its day in Savannah, GA and Charleston is the third stop. This is probably why the bathrooms were noticeably cleaner than on the earlier trip. This train only had two passenger cars and both were quite full upon leaving Charleston. We were, however, able to get seats together this time. Passengers heading to DC and further were assigned to the first car while passengers with closer destinations were sent into the second car. The first car seemed to be a little warm the few times I passed through on my way to & from the cafe car, but the temperature in our car was comfortable during the trip.
Again, the Amtrak employees we encountered on the train did their jobs well and were courteous with all passengers. The load in our car got lighter with each stop while the first car remained at almost 100% occupancy. By the time we arrived in Wilson (3 minutes early!) several first car passengers had migrated to the second car in search of more room.
From what I saw, a family like ours is uncommon on this part of the Palmetto’s route. There were many elderly passengers, several women with small children (who were all well behaved from what I saw) and a few single riders of various ages. I think if Amtrak wants to attract more families to this route they should increase the ability of families to sit together as well as consider some package pricing. In our case, driving would definitely have been cheaper. But I enjoy riding the train so it is worth paying extra every once in a while. But I’d rather ride the train every time.
