# Flagstaff to Washington, DC



## greatcats (Apr 13, 2010)

This is my only trip east this year, technically living in Arizona, and after this will return to my tour bus job in Ketchikan, Alaska. I stayed in the very good Drury Hotel in Flagstaff, as they permit me to leave my car in their covered parking garage and it is less than half a mile walk to the station. At 4:40 am I walked out the door of the hotel and down cold and windy streets, for the 5:11am departure. Arriving into the station, it was posted as arriving at 4:55, over ten minutes early. It was a good thing that I wasn't walking over any later, as the train would have blocked the Beaver Street crossing and walking around the back of the train in the dark would not have been very safe! ( As of last month, an agreement was finally reached to silence the grade crossing whistles within Flagstaff, and the town is much quieter. ) A moderate size crowd of perhaps 20 or so passengers were waiting. I have good things to say about the service provided by two of the regular Flagstaff agents, Gary Chester and Carol Perez.

My attendant, a gentleman by the name olf Simon Gonzales, was very friendly the entire trip and he took good care of his car. Off we went toward Chicago, on an uneventful and pleasant trip. This is not the first time by any means that I've ridden this route. I know what to expect. Having driven around New Mexico a week or two before, I once again enjoyed the vast vistas and mountains. Frankly, I found the food to be quite good. Yes, it would be nice to have it served on china, but those plastic plates at least bear a resemblance to something other than a picnic. Spinach quiche for breakfast was downright tasty. I have not had a steak on Amtrak recently, and this dinner was fine. Is this fine cuisine? No, but in my opinion, it is very acceptable food service. I believe there is a staff of two in the kitchen and three upstairs: the LSA, Monika ( a tall stauesque blond originally from the Czech Republic ) Cynthia and Dana. These three ladies ran a sharp operation. They did not serve an entire dining car, seating about half of the car, but this resulted in efficient service.

The principal fault of this trip was the toilet situation in the sleepers, known to be temperamental. When I boarded the train in Arizona, the gauge read two thirds full. By later that evening, they were not flushing well - either because they were too full or the altitude played a factor. By the time we reached Kansas City, it had been resolved. We were on time until Ft. Madison, Iowa, when we had to wait for more than one freight and we arrived Chicago twenty-five minutes late, not bad. I set up the laptop in the lounge where I spent the entire layover.

Now for the part of the trip which was new to me, the Cardinal. I am aware this is the " Mom and Pop " train and lacking in any frills. I boarded the sleeper, with attendant Charles, who did his job properly, but was not a great conversationalist. The Viewliner sleeper, " Majestic View " was in pretty good working order, but shows evidence of hard use and is somewhat battered looking. What I liked about the Viewliner, also not the first time I have ridden one, is the excellent ventilation within the room . I have slept in the upper bunk previously, but since I use a CPAP machine , I did not want it located below me out of reach, so I left the upper bunk down with my baggage above ( would not fit in cubby space ) and slept below. I was fairly comfortable in the lower bed, and slept about five hours soundly.

Now to the Diner Lite. It appeared that those being served meals were sleeping car passengers, not coach. The young lady doing the serving was very nice, but she had her hands full. I decided to be patient, as she seemed to have a system, and I wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. I ordered the salmon, which was on the menu, but she said none had been delivered to the train. ( Who stocks these items and why weren't they there at the beginning of the trip? ) I then ordered the pasta dish, Pasta Agnelotti, or something like that. Was this tourist dog food? NO! It was really very good, accompanied by a half bottle of wine. Pre-cooked or whatever it is, reheated on the train, yes, but I had no complaints about the meal. Apple Streusel pie for dessert also won points. What I don't like about the car is the tacky use of space. I was seated by myself at a table for two facing b ackward, looking into a pile of crates and supplies and a receptacle right in front of me where the served dumped used utensils. Maybe there is not much choice with the available space, which is not very well thought out. Breakfast ( French toast ) was fine, but lunch was not so great - it took forever to be served and the Bistro chicken sandwich was ordinary.

I have driven around Virginia and West Virginia more than a few times, but have never been through these parts on the train. The ride through the New River Gorge and over the mountains and down the valleys of Virginia breaking out in spring foliage and blossoms was enthralling. ( Bring on the dome cars - Ha! ) I'm aware that most of this trip is over the former Chesapeak and Ohio mainline, but some of the trip, like through Staunton, did not look very mainline to me. I always wondered why this train follows a separate route from the north into Charlottesville. The answer became apparent, as it crosses the southern mainline, but not a juntion, at Charlottesville station, stopping at a separate platform. The tracks then go up a rural line for quite a few miles where the Southern mainline is joined near Orange .

The Cardinal arrived Washington 25 minutes late, not bad, but I saw later arrived over three hours late into New Tork, due to problems that day on the Corridor. It was a rather bare bones trip, but the service was fairly good and the territory covered was beautiful and fascinating.

QUestion for the experts: What territory is the Buckingham Branch? Is this part of CSX, or a separate railroad? Thanks for reading. More to follow - going to Greensboro from DC tonight, and will return west next Monday on the Capitol and SWC>


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## KayBee (Apr 13, 2010)

greatcats said:


> QUestion for the experts: What territory is the Buckingham Branch? Is this part of CSX, or a separate railroad? Thanks for reading. More to follow - going to Greensboro from DC tonight, and will return west next Monday on the Capitol and SWC>


The Buckingham Branch Railroad is a shortline based out of Dillwyn, VA. They have leased the former C&O line between Richmond and Clifton Forge from CSXT. It is known as the Richmond and Alleghany division. Amtrak operates the Cardinal from Orange to Clifton Forge on the R&A division. They also operate lines between Dillwyn and Bremo Bluff (the Buckingham division), and between Burkeville and Clarksville (the Virginia Southern division).

The Old Dominion Chapter of the NRHS operates excursions on the Buckingham division in the Spring and Fall.


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