# SBG - BAL - WAS - SBG



## frugalist (Jul 25, 2010)

*SBG - BAL - WAS - SBG (07/18-23/2010)*

This was a trip for father and son to spend some quality time together. I live near Sebring, Florida and took the Silver Meteor to/from the Washington, DC area. My son lives near Atlanta and took the Crescent. Both our trips were AGR rewards, except for BAL - WAS, which was a paid trip using the 40% off companion ticket promotion.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

I had printed out my ticket for my SBG - BAL trip a day earlier. My wife drove me to the station and we arrived at SBG station around 11:15 for the 11:44 departure on #98 Silver Meteor. The train arrived on time. I was met on the platform by my SCA, Ishmael, who greeted me with a friendly, “Mr. Frugalist. Going to Baltimore today?” He then offered to help me with my carry-on bag and showed me to my room, #7. Since my room faced the station, I was able to snap a photo of my wife waving me goodbye. As we pulled out of the station, Ishmael explained the layout of the room and told me he made a lunch reservation for me for 12:30. That was perfect, so he wished me a good trip and told me to contact him if I needed anything. Very nice, positive first impression to start my first-ever long distance train trip.

The room across from mine was vacant well into the night, so I was able to look out both sides of the train all day Sunday. This came in handy for taking photos over on that side.

I was quite impressed with lunch in the dining car. I chose the special of the day: curried chicken over wild rice. It came with a small salad and a dinner roll. The entree was tasty. Actually, better than I expected. For dessert, I chose the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. Excellent! I had a can of soda for my beverage. When I was finished, I was full. I’m a big guy with a big appetite, and it takes a big meal to fill me up. At about 1:40 we passed the southbound #97, which had pulled onto a siding to allow us to pass. On my return trip on #97, the northbound #98 passed us at about the same time in the same location.

After lunch, I walked through the lounge car, which I noticed was a bit warm. So, I didn’t linger there. I continued walking back to the first coach car just to see what it looked like. No surprises there, so I turned around and headed back to my room. Spent the afternoon relaxing, taking a few photos and enjoying the ride and a couple of tasty beverages. We stayed within 20 minutes of our schedule all day.

At about 2:35, we stopped in the middle of nowhere. A minute later, I saw the conductor and another guy walking outside, alongside the train. We were underway about 5 minutes later. I don’t know what the issue was, and since it had to have been fairly minor, I didn’t ask about it.

Later in the afternoon, Ishmael came by to ask me what time I wanted to eat dinner. Remembering a tip I had read on AU, I selected an early reservation time of 6:00. The reasoning behind the tip is that some menu choices may be unavailable to later diners. For dinner I chose the NY Strip Steak, which came highly recommended by Ishmael. I ordered my steak medium, which is exactly how it came. I found it to be a bit dry, but still pretty tasty. Not the best steak I’ve ever had, but not bad either. Dinner came with a small salad, a dinner roll, a baked potato and mixed veggies. For dessert, I again had the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. For beverages, I had a can of soda, then some iced tea. Another filling meal. I brought some snacks from home -- pretzels and peanuts. I don’t think I’ll be eating any of them this trip!

After dinner, I walked back to my room. We were now in Georgia, heading for South Carolina. Ishmael poked his head in my room, asked me how my dinner was, and asked what time I would like him to make up my bed. My last journal entry is for our departure from Kingstree, SC at 10:43pm. After that I turned out the light and tried to get some sleep.

“Tried” is the operative word in that last sentence. Several factors were against me: 1) I was still keyed up about the whole trip, 2) the bed is pretty small for a big guy like me - not much room to turn over, which I do a lot when I sleep, 3) even though all the curtains were pulled and fastened as well as possible, there was still quite a bit of light seeping in from the hallway, 4) various sounds and noises especially from the rocking and bumping as the train rolled on through the night. I ended up having to put in my earbuds and play an audiobook on my MP3 player to drown out the noise. It was easier to ignore the audiobook than the train sounds. Still, I had a fitful night. Slept 45 minutes, then woke up. Slept another 90 minutes, then woke up. And on and on through the night. As dawn broke, I decided to get up, freshen up and get dressed. I chalked the first night up to experience, hoping future nights on Amtrak would result in better sleep.

Monday, July 19, 2010

I went for breakfast at 7:00. On the recommendation of many AU members, I ordered the French Toast with blueberry syrup. Very tasty and the four half-slices were nicely filling. With the French Toast I had orange juice, hot tea and pork sausage patties. After breakfast it was back to my room to pack everything up for arrival in Baltimore.

Ishmael had made up my room by the time I got back from breakfast. Things were very slow-going from just south of Alexandria till well past Washington and we lost about 30 minutes as a result. Once we departed from Washington, I got down my carry-on and backpack and packed everything up. We arrived in Baltimore about 30 minutes late, which was no big deal, especially since my son wouldn’t be arriving on the Crescent for another 2 hours. As I was leaving the train, I thanked Ishmael very much for helping to make my first long-distance train ride such an excellent experience. I told him this is definitely the way to go if one has the time.

Once in the Baltimore train station, I went to the Baggage Claim area and checked my carry-on to Washington. The agent told me it would be put on the next train headed there that takes checked baggage, and it will be waiting for me when I arrive in Washington later that night.

Overall impressions:

A roomette in the daytime configuration offers plenty of room for a single traveller. Plenty of storage space for my carry-on over the sink. Lots of room under the seats to stow my backpack. I’m sure the room would be quite “snug” for two people.

Nighttime is a different story, for all the reasons I detailed above.

My only serious criticism is about the room doors not being able to be locked from the outside. Although I didn’t notice anyone going into my room, nor was anything ever missing, I am very uncomfortable with the fact that I can’t lock my door when I go to the diner. And the door doesn’t really close securely at all. Two of the three times I went to the diner, I returned to see my door had slid wide open. Yes, I had pulled the curtain closed when I left, so someone would actually have to peek into the room to see if I were gone. I had expressed concern about this issue on the forums before my trip, so it was not a surprise. Hotels and cruise ships have no problem having doors that lock. Why can’t the trains? I realize it would almost certainly mean changing the entire door and frame, but don’t most travellers have a reasonable expectation for a minimal level of security when leaving their rooms? Most of the respondents to the forum thread about this issue took a very casual “chill out - don’t worry about it” attitude. I’m not paranoid, but I would be a lot more comfortable if my room door could lock when I left the room.

Final thoughts:

I had a great trip. Ishmael was great. The food was very good. The ride was relaxing (during the day, at least). Will I ever fly again and be subjected to the stupid human tricks demanded of us by TSA, and to the dehumanizing treatment by the airlines?

To be continued.


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## pennyk (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks for an interesting trip report. I am looking forward to reading part 2. I travel on the Silvers quite often and I am pleased to read positive comments.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Jul 25, 2010)

Great report! I do require "Warrior Portions" at mealtime to get full and never have any problems with that on Amtrak, although I miss being able to hit the gym-just have to wander and explore for exercise! I fully agree about the size of the Roomette, although I base my experience on Superliners as I have yet to experience a Viewliner. And it's been over 3 years since I've flown and I do not miss it at all


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## frugalist (Jul 25, 2010)

*Trip Report - Part 2 of 2*

Monday, July 19, 2010

After spending a great day playing tourist in Baltimore, my son and I headed back to Baltimore’s Penn Station to catch our 8:18 Northeast Regional to Washington. Other than the train being about 40 minutes late leaving BAL and arriving in WAS, the ride was uneventful. We managed to grab two seats together in the Quiet Car, which was very welcome. My son commented that the legroom in coach on the NE Regional was a bit less than on the Crescent. Not a criticism, just an observation.

When we arrived in WAS, we went to the baggage claim area to claim the carry-on bags we had checked in BAL earlier that day. A baggage claim supervisor unlocked the gate securing the baggage storage shelves, we picked up our bags and we were on our way.

We headed to the Metro, bought 7-day Short Trip Passes, which we would use during our 4-day stay in the DC area. We boarded the Red Line to Metro Center, then transferred to the Orange Line to Vienna/Fairfax. A short cab ride later found us at our hotel. We spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday and most of Thursday exploring in and around DC.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

After checking out of our hotel, we took a taxi to the Metro station, then took the Metro to Union Station, where we printed out our tickets for that night’s trains south. Next, we went to the ClubAcela and dropped off our carry-on bags for the day, taking only our backpacks for the day’s exploring around the city.

We returned to the ClubAcela at 4:00 to wait for our trains home. My son’s Crescent was scheduled to leave at 6:30 and my Silver Meteor was scheduled for a 7:30 departure. Even though both of our trains ended up about 30 minutes late, I’m glad we got to the CA early. When we arrived, we had our choice of seats. By 5:00 the Club was SRO. The First Class Lounge access is a great perk for sleeping car passengers and their family and/or guest. Sure beats fighting the masses out in the main waiting area. And priority boarding can’t be beat.

At around 7:15, an announcement was made “Inviting passegers waiting for train #97 to gather our belongings and wait at the East doors, where we will be escorted to our train.” Nice touch!

My SCA on #97 was very different from my SCA on #98. It seemed to me that he did the minimum required by his job (whereas Ishmael on #98 went over and above to make sure I had a great trip). He wasn’t bad … he just wasn’t great. For starters, I didn’t get any kind of personal attention on the platform boarding the train. He just looked at my ticket, told me to turn right and my room would be on the left. I assumed that was because WAS station was a tad bit busier than SBG station was. He didn’t offer to help me with my carry-on (I didn’t need the help … I make this comment only to compare the two SCAs). He never came by to explain the layout of the room. He did tell me when my dinner reservation was for. Later, he did ask me when I wanted my bed laid out. And the next day he did ask when I wanted my bed made up. Like I said, he wasn’t bad, he just seemed to do the minimum required.

We left WAS about 30 minutes late. Shortly after we left, I headed for the diner. For dinner I selected the Marketplace Special, which was broiled salmon with a clam chowder sauce and wild rice. Dinner came with a small salad and dinner roll. The salmon was good, though a bit dry. For dessert I chose the chocolate peanut butter pie, which came highly recommended by many on the AU forums. Delicious! I also had a soda and iced tea. Another tasty and satisfying meal.

Not much to write about the rest of the day. I went back to my room to relax before my SCA came by to put down the bed and I would try to get some sleep. I slept a little bit better than I did on my trip north. I found a good position around 4:00 and managed to sleep for about 3 hours. Slept with my earbuds in with some music on. Better that than the unavoidable train sounds.

I have a few “nature sounds” CDs. Sounds of The Ocean, Sounds of The Forest, Sounds of Rain. Next trip, I’m putting those on my MP3 player to listen to while I try to sleep.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Breakfast was around 7:30. As I was walking to the diner my SCA asked me if I wanted him to set the room for daytime. I asked him if he could hold off until I went to lunch later, since I actually found it more comfortable sitting on the bed than in the chair. I think the difference was I was able to fully stretch out my legs on the bed and have them fully supported. I had the same breakfast on 97 as I had on 98.

After breakfast, I laid down and actually had the best sleep of my entire train journey. At least two hours of very deep, restful sleep (I still had to have music playing in my ear to drown out the train sounds).

When I woke up I made a reservation for a 1:00 lunch. The rest of the morning passed uneventfully.

My choice for lunch was the Angus Burger with cheese. Good-sized burger. Bigger than I expected. I wasn’t asked how I’d like it prepared, and it came a bit more well-done than I would have ordered. Still, it was good, with tomato, onion and A-1 Sauce. It was served with potato chips and a pickle spear. Dessert was again the chocolate peanut butter pie. I ordered a soda and iced tea to drink.

I returned to my room (the door was wide open) and it was set to its daytime configuration, as I had requested. We were about 25 minutes late at this point, and continued that way for the rest of my trip. The last 90 minutes or so passed uneventfully, except for a lot of heavy rain. I was now in familiar territory and was really looking forward to getting to Sebring and seeing my wife again.

We went through pockets of heavy rain associated with Tropical Storm Bonnie. I had called my wife earlier and she said it was raining hard back home. I asked my SCA if we would be making a double stop at SBG, since it’s a long, exposed walk from the front of the train to the station building and parking area. He wasn’t sure. In fact he looked at me rather quizzically when I asked him that. Turns out we did not make the double stop. When we arrived at SBG, it had stopped raining. But there was a BIG puddle the width of the walkway on my path back to the station building, with no way to walk around it (the train was blocking me on my left and a fence was blocking me on my right). I had to wait until the station agent came by on his luggage cart and hitch a ride with him back to the station and my waiting wife. Interesting way to end the journey!

Overall Impressions:

I really enjoyed this trip. Taking a sleeper is the only way to go on a LD train, in my opinion. The peace and quiet and privacy are truly priceless. Access to the First Class Lounges is also a valuable perk. The food in the diner is quite good with larger portions than I expected. Both trains were within about 30 minutes of their schedule, although on-time performance was not a concern for me on this trip. I’ve read enough on this forum to know what to expect in that regard. My experience with my SCAs was mixed. One excellent. One adequate.

Final Thoughts:

I would not hesitate to do this again. In fact, we have another trip planned already. In December my wife and I will be taking 98 all the way up to NYP in a bedroom. My son and his girlfriend will be taking the Crescent to meet us in NYC for six days of holiday sightseeing and shopping in the Big Apple before heading home on our southbound trains. I’m so glad I found this forum and all the helpful, friendly people on it. You guys sure helped make my trip better than it ever could’ve been without your help. Thanks.

I’d be happy to answer any questions, or respond to any comments.


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## Rail Freak (Jul 25, 2010)

Glad you had a Great Trip, neighbor!!!


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## frugalist (Jul 25, 2010)

*Addendum:*

IMHO, one of the coolest tech inventions ever for consumers is the portable GPS receiver. I have a Garmin Nuvi and I brought it with me on my trip.

I used it on the train, and it worked beautifully. The information it provided me made the trip so much more interesting than it would have been without it. Before I boarded the train, I made sure I had a good satellite lock. I also changed the navigation mode from "Fastest Time" to "Off Road". I also enabled the option to show the path that has been followed. In my room I set the GPS on the seat in front of me. As we got under way, the GPS continuously showed our current location, our speed and direction of travel. As we were leaving Sebring, I searched the Points Of Interest database for Amtrak-Winter Haven Station and told the Nuvi to "Go" there. Although the projected route was a straight line from our current location, it provided a reasonable estimate of the distance to WTH and our ETA. As we reached each station, I would search for the next station up the line and have Nuvi "Go" there. I always had a pretty good idea of how far we were from the next station.

If I zoomed in to the 800-ft level, the display screen showed the CSX Transportation tracks and I could see exactly where we would be going.  I especially found it useful to glance at the display and see when we'd be coming up to a river or lake so I could get my camera ready and position myself to take photos. I could also see when we were approaching a major highway. At any point, I could readily see what town we were at.

For power, I have a number of portable rechargeable Li-Ion battery packs that attach to the Nuvi via a USB > miniUSB cable. Each provides 3-6 hours of power, then can be swapped out for a fresh pack while it is being recharged.


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## hello (Jul 25, 2010)

Thank you ... I really enjoyed your report and comments!


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## RailFanLNK (Jul 25, 2010)

So glad things went well. First impressions are so much a lasting impression.


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## Railroad Bill (Jul 25, 2010)

Enjoyed your trip report. We have not traveled on the Silver trains and look forward to it in the future. 

You did not mentioned your lunch/dinner companions in the diner. Did you meet anyone of special interest? Part of our positive experiences on the train is meeting lots of interesting people along the route when we dine. 

Thanks for the great report


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## WMJ_NJ (Jul 26, 2010)

I agree with your comment on the GPS. I take a Netbook with me when I travel and I run Microsoft Trips and Trips on it. I plug the GPS puck into a USB port and suction it to the window. It's very handy if you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where you are or if you are on time.

I keep the route traveled in blue and am able to save the map for later review.

Bill


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## frugalist (Jul 26, 2010)

Railroad Bill said:


> You did not mentioned your lunch/dinner companions in the diner. Did you meet anyone of special interest? Part of our positive experiences on the train is meeting lots of interesting people along the route when we dine.


Didn't meet anybody famous. Or remarkable.

I know my attitude about being seated with strangers in the diner is different from a lot of folks on this forum. I usually don't open up very easily to people I don't know or expect to have a continuing relationship with. So in the diner, I tended to keep my mouth shut unless I was putting food in it. Since I wasn't looking to tell the story of my life to a stranger, I didn't ask any probing questions of my tablemates. We usually got as far as "How far are you going? Where did you get on?" and that was about it. I used to be the same on cruise ships. Now my favorite cruise line offers tables for 2 in the dining rooms and my wife and I enjoy each others company very much. Like I said, I know I'm weird!


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## frugalist (Jul 26, 2010)

WMJ_NJ said:


> I agree with your comment on the GPS. I take a Netbook with me when I travel and I run Microsoft Trips and Trips on it. I plug the GPS puck into a USB port and suction it to the window. It's very handy if you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where you are or if you are on time.
> 
> I keep the route traveled in blue and am able to save the map for later review.
> 
> Bill


I was wondering if I would have to stick it to the window, but it turns out I didn't. Once it locked on to the satellites, it stayed locked. When I went to the diner, I put the Nuvi in my backpack under my seat. At night, I had it on the little ledge near the room's door, which, of course, is near the center of the car, about as far away from an outside window as you can get. Never had a problem losing the satellites.

I also like saving the route to my Google Earth. Very cool to see just where we went. I do that all the time when we go on road trips.


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