Your opinion - is the Cardinal worth it?

[R30A]

Capitol vs Cardinal- The Cardinal has fantastic scenery, probably the best in the east. The Capitol is probably the second best. I'd highly suggest the Cardinal if one has already done the Capitol, And would suggest the Cardinal if one had not. If I was traveling with other people who may not be into riding the train as much, I'd probably go for the capitol as its Superliner is a nicer train. The Cardinal DOES have an Amfleet 2 lounge, but that has nothing on a Sightseer.

 

[abcnews]

I am watching this thread pretty closely as I am planning a trip for next year and must choose between the CL and the Cardinal. I really want to take the Cardinal for the scenery, but my wife and I will be traveling with 2-4 other people. I think the lack of a real lounge would really be a downer. We would be connecting to the Silver Meteor and when I try and tell the others the scenic route includes a bus ride, that is a very hard sell.

The bus is nice, but it is a bus... I think that if you have a group - the Sightseer is a must have. You can all sit together in the lounge.

But it's not just the scenery, it is also the schedule. The westbound Cardinal leaves Alexandria in the late AM - the Capital departs DC at 4:05 PM. If you travel in winter, or early spring, the Capital Limited does not offer very much daylight. In the winter you may get one hour on the outbound, and maybe a 2nd hour the next morning in Indiana. The Cardinal will give you 6 good hours in Virginia (wonderful scenery too), plus about 3 hours the next morning in Indiana. In the summer, I can see opting for the Capital Limited - and the Sightseer lounge. But for winter travel, the Cardinal is just a much better option for scenic riding. Also the Viewliner cars are really nice in the mountains, you can actually use both windows, the big picture window - and the one just above is good for looking up at mountains and rock cuts, cliffs, hawks, eagles, etc...

If you do choose the Cardinal, best in a Viewliner.

 

[Cumbres]

I did a round trip just after Thanksgiving from Washington to Chicago, heading west on the CL and then back east on the Cardinal.

I enjoyed the CL; nice ride, nice equipment, and a fabulous steak dinner. I did miss most of the scenery out of DC due to darkness.

The Cardinal coming back was just fabulous. I loved the laid back feel of the train. It really felt like a unique experience. I had very low expectations for the food after reading some posts on this board. Granted, it was not as good as on the CL, but nonetheless enjoyable. I had a wonderful SCA named Delisa. I must admit, I also prefer the Viewliner roomettes to the ones on the Superliner. I like having a sink and toilet in the room and there are more places to store stuff on the Viewliner. Having the upper berth windows is a big plus as well. The scenery was as advertised; I was lucky enough to be able to switch into a roomette on the scenic side which is on the right coming east. Otherwise, I would have spent much of the trip in the lounge viewing the gorge.

Both trips were nice, but I think years from now it will be the ride on the Cardinal that will still be fresh in my memory. The Cardinal has character.

 

[dlagrua]

The reason to have the Cardinal is to provide a direct vital link to the midwest through PHL, VA , and WV. It provides train service to Indianapolis, Cincinatti and crosses 9 states along the way. Its just too bad that Amtrak was not given the resources to have top notch equipment on this route. The late senator Byrd from WV was the proponent for this route and now that he is gone who knows what the future will hold. Washinton would rather use the taxpayers money to fight senseless foreign wars than to spend it on something that serve the public interest and saves energy. Coincidently $1 trillion in mineral deposits was recently discovered in Afghanistan. Draw your own conclusions as to who runs this country.

 

[VentureForth]

I also found out that my dad and I combined have 11000 points, so that would cover the fare (I think he's willing to let me use his).

If he can convert some back from Continental (I don't know if that's possible) then I would have enough for a roomette, in which case I think it would be a no-brainer.

Boy now I'm getting excited!

Any converting from Continental ends on 12/31 this year. DO IT NOW!

 

[rrdude]

Capitol vs Cardinal- The Cardinal has fantastic scenery, probably the best in the east. The Capitol is probably the second best. I'd highly suggest the Cardinal if one has already done the Capitol, And would suggest the Cardinal if one had not. If I was traveling with other people who may not be into riding the train as much, I'd probably go for the capitol as its Superliner is a nicer train. The Cardinal DOES have an Amfleet 2 lounge, but that has nothing on a Sightseer.

You are technically correct sir, the Cardinal DOES HAVE a "lounge". But the "lounge" is nothing more than an AmCan with tables. I hardly call that a lounge..............

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Nice scenery, awful food, if you are gonna eat at the diner car.

 

[Palmland]

If you're in coach, I'm not sure I'd want to do it on the Cardinal with the relatively small windows in the Amfleet car and no decent lounge. I also wouldn't want to do an early morning train change in Pittsburgh. Why not take the Capitol to Washington then a short ride up the NEC to Phila. A quick check of fares in Jan. showed the Cardinal Vs. Capitol/Pennsylvanian vs. Capitol/NEC were all within $1 of each other.

 

[Thunder Road]

If you're in coach, I'm not sure I'd want to do it on the Cardinal with the relatively small windows in the Amfleet car and no decent lounge. I also wouldn't want to do an early morning train change in Pittsburgh. Why not take the Capitol to Washington then a short ride up the NEC to Phila. A quick check of fares in Jan. showed the Cardinal Vs. Capitol/Pennsylvanian vs. Capitol/NEC were all within $1 of each other.

I am.

Going back WB, I'm not decided yet. Most of the CL will be in darkness, while I can see almost all the Pennsy in the light (and it'll be different scenery). But then I get stuck with the 4-hour wait at PGH. :/

 

[acelafan]

It will run late... Won't be a 4 hour layover.

 

[Thunder Road]

It will run late... Won't be a 4 hour layover.

I thought the Pennsy had a pretty good OTP actually.

Oh unless you mean the CL will be late, so it will end up being like a 6-hour layover. Yeah, hmmm.