# To Greenville on the Crescent, and back again



## MARC Rider (Dec 8, 2013)

A traveler's tip: If you order a martini at the Center Cafe in Washington Union Station, don't go for the rail gin, it hardly has any gin flavor and I'm not sure it has any alcohol.  When I ordered my second, I asked for Bombay Sapphire, and that was better.

I was sitting there at about 5 PM, to soak up the ambiance of the big-city terminal before heading out on the Crescent for a business meeting in Greenville,SC the next day. Right about then, my boss was out at Dulles boarding a regional jet for the one hour flight south. I was going to board at 6, leave at 6:30 and arrive in Greenville at 5 the next morning. Regional jets give me the creeps. Beside, I like to ride trains.

After killing a few brain cells with the martinis, I wandered back to the Club Acela and waited for the Crescent to arrive. At about 6, they called us up for the kindergarten walk, and off we went, down to the platform, where #19 was sitting, without a locomotive in front. I had my discussion with the SCA, asking him to wake me up at Spartanburg so I would have time to shower, dress and be ready to detrain at Greenville. He was also amenable to setting up the upper berth, my default choice on a Viewliner sleeper. I asked about dinner, and he said to go back to the diner when we got to Alexandria. This is different from my experiences boarding the Silver Meteor at WAS, where the SCA hustles you off to the diner before you even leave the station. The SCA, by the way, gave me fine service, doing what needed doing without getting in the way. He also woke me up at Spartanburg.

We pulled out of WAS on time, and I got a nice view of the Nation's capital by turning off all the lights in my room. Soon, I saw the lighted tower of the Masonic memorial come into view, so I headed for the dining car. The diner wasn't that full, service was fine. However, the steak I ordered didn't have the mushroom sauce described in the Menu, and the vegetable was roasted corn. Not bad, but made the carb count a bit higher than what I was looking for. The steak was also a bit overcooked. Maybe I should have ordered the "turkey shank" (drumstick?), but Thanksgiving was a bit too recent a memory. My dinner companion was another business traveler riding a LD train (he was headed for Atlanta), and we had a nice conversation along with the dinner, another perk you don't get flying a regional jet.

After dinner, I made myself a drink from the juice stock by the coffee station and took it up to the lounge car with my laptop. No wifi, but I had an e-book loaded in. I watched us head into Charlottesville and cross the tracks used by the Cardinal. Finally, I decided it was time to go to bed, got my room set up and climbed up into bed. Nothing like sleeping in a Viewliner. The only downside is that the route taken by the Crescent has a lot of grade crossings, I think the horn was going constantly all night. I must have gotten enough sleep, though, because I wasn't a zombie the next day.

At 4:15, we rolled into Spartanburg, and the SCA knocked on my door. Off I went to the shower and got myself nice and clean, though holding on with soap-slicked hands while the train was rocking along took a bit of care. We arrived in Greenville right on the advertised, it was dark, drizzling, and about 20 degrees warmer than where I started. The station is located in the middle of nowhere, it's just an Amshack down by the tracks, but it's well maintained. There were not cabs waiting, but the station agent was very helpful and phoned the cab company. Within a few minutes the cab rolled up, and I was downtown at the hotel where my boss was staying.

After a productive business meeting, I was ready to prepare for the return trip. Because the northbound Crescent down't arrive at Greenville until 10:53 PM, I did a promenade down Main St. with my boss and another colleague. We stopped at the Dark Corner distillery for some samples of locally distilled moonshine, the local branch of the Mast General Store, and ended up at Smoke on the Water for some really good and inexpensive barbecue accompanied by live music. Then, back to the hotel lobby, which is a far better place to hang around than the Greenville Amshack. I pulled out my laptop and found out that #20 was running about a half hour late into Gainesville, Georgia. So I had a beer and watched the football game,at least util halftime. Finally, I decided, I'd better get a ride to the station, and before long, the friendly ticket agent checked me in, and informed by that the train was running about 30 minutes late. In any event, there would certainly be no Crescent for us until the big long Norfolk Southern container train pulled out of the station. Thank God for the Amshack, as the locomotives were parked right in front of us, growling in their idle during the crew change, which took at least 45 minutes. Finally they pulled out and the long freight went on its way, and soon after, the Crescent pulled in.

The sleepers were still at the front of the train. This was nice on arrival from the north, as we detrained right by the waiting room, but heading the other direction, we sleeper pax who paid a premium got to take a long hike to the north to get to our car. Fortunately, the heavy rain had stopped,and all we had a was a bit of a drizzle. This time there was some confusion about my room. My ticket said Room 6, the SCA's manifest said room 8. The conductor came by, and after some discussion, it was room 8 for me. Don't aske me how that happened, nt that it made much of a difference. My room was not made up, which was fine with me, as I wanted to be sure the SCA would set me up with the upper berth, which he did. My previous experience with 11PM departures is on the Capitol Limited eastbound from Toledo, and in those cases, the bed is usually made up before I board. That's fine in that case, as it's a Superliner, and I prefer not to sleep in the upper. But with the Viewliner, I'm glad I was able toget the room made up to my specifications.

As soon as the room was made up, I went to the coffee station, got some orange juice, and, in the comfort of my room made my self a screwdriver with the appropriate distilled spirits I carry for such use. I turned down the lights and had my nightcap as I watched the nighttime scenery go by, Then I climbed up into bed and got a surprisingly good nights sleep. I may have awakened at Charlotte, But,basically I didn't stir until the SCA knocked at my door at 6:30 the next morning. I didn't actually get out of bed until 7, when we were stopped at a station. This was a fairly long station stop, which made my morning shower a lot easier. After dressing, I encountered the SCA in the hall. He informed me that we had made up our time and were leaving Charlottesville, and that he would be happy to make up my room while I was at breakfast.

The dining car was packed when I got there, but there was a space for me. The serving crew was busy, but fairly efficient and seemed to enjoy their work. I had the omelette with veggie filling (which was more of the roast corn), grits and sausage. When I got back to my room, all was ready, and I sat back and watched the Virginia countryside roll by. We got into Washington ahead of schedule, and left early, too, but we got held up just before New Carollton for some reason. In the end, we arrived in Baltimore right on the advertised. I was happy, despite the chilly rainy weather, it was another pleasant Amtrak long distance trip, which sure beats driving and definitely beats flying in a regional jet.


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## Bob Dylan (Dec 8, 2013)

Nice Trip and Nice Report! I like the Top Bed in a Viewliner Roomette also!  My Dad was from Greenville and the Old Yelllow Brick Southern Station Right Downtown (Long Gone) was Where I De-Trained and Boarded when I would ride the Southern and Amtrak Crescent in Slumber Coaches between WAS and Greenville! (I Couldn't Afford a Sleeper but would have Breakfast in the Diner, they used to be First Rate on the Southern Run Trains!  )


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## MARC Rider (Dec 8, 2013)

jimhudson said:


> Nice Trip and Nice Report! I like the Top Bed in a Viewliner Roomette also!  My Dad was from Greenville and the Old Yelllow Brick Southern Station Right Downtown (Long Gone) was Where I De-Trained and Boarded when I would ride the Southern and Amtrak Crescent in Slumber Coaches between WAS and Greenville! (I Couldn't Afford a Sleeper but would have Breakfast in the Diner, they used to be First Rate on the Southern Run Trains!  )


Where was the Southern Station located downtown? The current station is pretty close to downtown, but I can't see any possible reroute of the current tracks to get to the current downtown, i.e. around Washington and Main.

And I remember the slumbercoaches on the Amtrak Crescent, I rode one in 1990, coach fare plus $50 (I was going to Atlanta on that trip). They served on styrofoam plates in the diner, and I waited forever while they handled my credit card payment for dinner. The slumbercoach was sort of cool, they had one-person rooms, the 2 person rooms were about the same size as the current roomettes. We had to make up our own beds, the SCA showed us how when we boarded. The other thing I remembered from that trip was my visit to the lounge car, they still allowed smoking, and they had such an efficient ventilation system that, even with the patrons puffing away, I was amazed that I didn't smell any tobacco smoke. The slumbercoaches were a good idea, I wonder if it would be possible to revive the concept, although I would be happy with having a lie-flat business class alternative.


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## Notelvis (Dec 8, 2013)

The current Amtrak Station in Greenville is located where the old Southern Station was...... well.... almost.

The new station is about 100 feet north. The site of the old station is now the parking lot for the new station. It's not a great neighborhood and lingering in a downtown hotel having a drink and watching a ballgame with a delayed #20 was a wise choice.


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## Bob Dylan (Dec 8, 2013)

:hi: Thanks for the Update on the Station David! I Haven't Been There (Except Passing Through on the Crescent in the Dark) Since 1989!! I remember my Dad would Pick Me Up/See Me Off Up in the Dark! I Don't Think the Calling Times have Changed Much?? The "Bad Part" of Greenville Used To Be on the West Side by the Old Cotton Mills, Guess Gentrification Hasn't Caught On in South Carolina's Cities Yet??


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## cassie225 (Dec 9, 2013)

I really appreciate your trip report,makes me know why I like taking the train. I have not been on one in the rain-how is that. The longest part for me is from NO to ATL. Train travel is so relaxing,plus I don't have to be putting on brakes all the way there while riding in the car with hubbie. What a cramp in the foot I end up with. lol


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