Oh, that's disappointing. But I guess that's true, not really going out West or anything.
Is it mostly all flat terrain or are there long parts over water or anything?
The "tunnel of trees" comment someone made earlier is accurate. Especially between Richmond and Fredericksburg (where the WiFi won't work, BTW, because there's no cell service).
But I can tell you that in Virginia, the trains do go over some pretty dramatic river views. Based on my Northeast Regional trips here's what you can expect to see between Petersburg and Washington:
Upon leaving Petersburg station it's trees, trees, and more trees. Then, out of nowhere, acres and acres of desert-painted Hummers, tanks and other Army trucks as you pass the massive US Defense Supply Center Richmond just north of Chester. The rows of military vehicles seems to go on forever. That'll be to the right of the train as you head north.
Then it's more trees with the occasional warehouse and some people's back yards as you near Richmond. Then you cross the James River and the view is pretty dramatic as this is the part of the river above the Fall Line so the river is shallow and angry with lots of rocks and rapids. The rail bridge is pretty tall so you've got a bird's eye view of the river and the river-hugging tracks below you. At the shore the tracks merge with a highway and you'll find yourself in the median of I-195 for a few miles. Then you leave the highway and turn left into the CSX yard.
From here everything's pretty industrial for a while, including the Richmond Staples Mill station stop. Once you pass under I-295 it's back to forest for a few minutes until you pass through Ashland and the Randolph-Macon College campus. Then comes the tunnel of trees as you enter the abyss north of Doswell, crossing under I-95 and losing LTE service until you get closer to Fredericksburg. Leaving FBG you cross the rather narrow and nondescript (at this crossing) Rappahannock river and plunge back into the woods.
After a while you'll start to parallel the Potomac river, bisecting the Marine Corps Base Quantico. For the next several miles you will cross over the mouths of many creeks emptying into the Potomac. These rather low bridges give you some awesome water views. Northbound, the Potomac is to the right and the tributary creeks to the left. The northernmost of these crossings, the Occoquan River, marks when the train enters the southern reaches of the DC metro area and the scenery changes to concrete.
As you pass Alexandria you get up close and personal with DCA Airport and then cross the Potomac into DC. Once in the district you'll enter the First Street Tunnel and be in the dark for a few minutes approaching Union Station.
