# Trip to Boston on Acela FC (plus some)



## pennyk (May 11, 2011)

I left Orlando on Saturday May 7, 2011 (National Train Day) for a quick trip to Boston with my sister who lives in Columbia, Maryland.

For the umpteenth time, I boarded the Silver Meteor (98) in Orlando. I was in roomette number 1 in car 9811. My attendant was excellent, but I cannot remember his name (it was 4 days ago and a lot has gone in and out of my brain since then), however, I remember it started with a “P.” (I think it was Preston and that is what I will call him for the purpose of this trip report). I immediately went to lunch in the diner and was seated with a very attractive young man (in his 20’s I think). (I am not too old to look!). I had the turkey sandwich and the cute young man with good teeth had a veggie burger. He had been visiting his father in the Tampa area and was on his way back to New York where he lives.

While waiting for the train, I engaged a man in conversation who was wearing a 2010 National Train Day t-shirt. He is from Portland, ME and was on his way back home from the West Coast of Florida. He is a volunteer on the Downeaster and gave me one of the Downeaster brochures for my perusal. During our stop in Jax, I asked him what kind of engines we had on our train. He told me P42’s. I assume he is correct, but I have no idea. The consist was 2 P42’s, baggage, 3 sleepers, diner, café/lounge, 4 or 5 coaches (I do not remember).

I forget with whom I was seated at dinner, but I know it was not a cute young man. I do remember that 2 of the 4 of us had the steak and neither liked the taste of it. I had the salmon, which is my usual dinner choice, and it was good. After dinner, I had my second dessert of the day. Since I knew I was going to be taking the Acela the next day in FC, I opted for no beer with my dinner.

Although the train left Orlando a little late, it was early to Savannah and Charleston, which in all my travels, I had not previously experienced. We were so early into Savannah, that the fresh air stop was about 15 minutes instead of the normal 5. I had time to walk to the station and take a peek inside for the first time.

The Silver Meteor was scheduled to arrive in WAS at 7:46am, however, the last few times I traveled on it, it was early. Accordingly, Preston, when turning down my bed, informed me of the possibility of an early train and also informed me that breakfast starts at 6:30am and that if I wanted to eat breakfast, I should make sure I was ready to go prior to going to breakfast. I woke up early on Sunday morning (around 5:40) in order to clean up and pack prior to breakfast. I was the first person in the diner at 6:29am. I was served almost immediately and the server brought a to-go container since we were running really early. We arrived in WAS a little before 7am. I had finished my breakfast and had time to chat with my tablemate who lives in Miami about 6 blocks from the house that my parents bought in 1954 (for about $12,000). He mentioned that the renovations to his house were over $2 million. I guess a lot has happened to Miami in 57 years.

Upon arriving in WAS, I went to the Club Acela and hung out for a while and chatted with my fellow Meteor passengers who were making connections. I think all of them were going to be traveling on the Capitol Limited (although the Cardinal was running that day). After I thought it was late enough not to wake the_traveler (Dave) and jimhudson who had stayed in WAS after the NTD festivities, I sent a text message to Dave. Dave and Jim met me at the Club Acela. The attendant was no-nonsense and she would not let the both of them come in as my guests. She would have allowed only one, so Jim (I think) used one of his passes for the 2 of them. We chatted for a while (and Dave and Jim snacked on the CA goodies). When it was time for Dave and Jim to start their whirlwind points run, I walked them to their gate. After tearful good byes :lol: , I went back to the CA and waited for my 11am Acela.

There were not too many passengers boarding from the CA, so I was not too worried about getting 2 seats together on the right side of the train. I saved the window seat for my sister, who I shall refer to as sis, who would be boarding at BWI, the first stop on the AE 2159. Immediately upon departing WAS, the lead attendant distributed menus and took drink orders. I ordered a Sam Adams beer. When my sister boarded (the only person boarding at BWI), I was already drinking and she commented to me that it was before noon and I was drinking alcohol. I responded by telling her that I was on vacation and that it was after noon somewhere. She then ordered a Corona. The attendant served nuts with the beer.

Because I am allergic to garlic and am generally a picky eater, I was prepared not to be able to eat any of the entrées. However, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a mixed green salad with sliced steak and parmesan cheese. I ordered the salad (without the garlic dressing) and used one of the packets of balsamic vinegar that I carry with me on all trips. The salad was excellent as was the tiramisu for dessert. Sis had the same entrée, but had real dressing and real butter on her roll.

Although we had my gps plugged in, we were not staring at it the entire time because sis and I were catching up and doing some power yacking. The highest speed I noticed was 135mph. I managed to find time to send some texts to Dave to let him know where we were. I am absolutely amazed what a smooth ride it was at such a high speed.

After New York, the attendants served lunch to the new passengers and offered us our second meal. Our attendant was very sweet and I think he was a bit flirty with sis. We asked if we could wait a while for our second meal and he said no – it is now or never, and then he laughed and said of course. (we received excellent service even though we were wearing comfortable (but presentable) clothes).

We each had a second salad, a second beer, but not a second roll or second tiramisu. Dave had instructed me to keep an eye out for his home station of Kingston (KIN), but I blinked and missed it. I could have lied and told him I waved, but I totally missed KIN. I will blame it on sis, the beer, the speed, the attendant, etc. or I could just admit that I was not paying 100% attention (but I will be given a second chance by Dave).

After NYP, we had a couple of instances where our power went out, but not more than 10 minutes. We arrived in BOS a little late. We bought our T tickets and found our way to catch the red line (after making one wrong turn). The station was packed with what looked like students coming back to school after spending a weekend (or Mother’s Day) elsewhere. As an aside, I learned during a tour of Boston that the average age of the population is 31, which makes it one of the youngest cities in the country, if not the youngest. It also has the largest student population of any city (which makes sense that it has a young average age).

We took the T 2 stops to Park Street and we were very disappointed that there was no escalator. Walking up stairs with luggage was very difficult for sis and I had my hands full and could not help her. I felt bad for her. We made no wrong turns from the T-stop and found our hotel 1½ blocks away. We were upgraded to a room on the 17 floor and had a magnificent view of the city.

We later met up with a friend of mine from Orlando (who summers near Dave in Kingston, RI) who was visiting her daughter in Boston. Later that evening, on our way back to our hotel (after walking several miles), sis and I went to the Cheers bar for another beer. I had a microbrew and I think it was stronger than what I am used to or I just had too many beers that day. I had a slight headache on Monday morning, but it did not stop us from walking the Freedom Trail, attending a business meeting at 11am (business meeting for me, not sis), eating an expensive lunch, going on a Duck Tour, going to Whole Foods on Beacon Hill, watching Celtic fans head out to the Boston Garden for a basketball game, eat dinner and drink Sam Adams Seasonal (only one each) at a bar next to our hotel and watch part of the basketball game (and watch the crazy Boston fans).

We were scheduled to leave BOS for WAS on Tuesday morning (5/10/11) at 9:10am on AE (FC again) 2159. Because we did not know how crowded the T would be, we allowed ourselves plenty of time. We made it with time to spare and spent time reading the paper, etc. in the Club Acela at BOS South. The attendant suggested that we get a red cap to insure that we get 2 seats together, so we did. There was a woman sitting near us who also had requested a red cap. We chatted for a while and learned that she lives in WAS and was going home after visiting relatives in BOS. I think she was one of the few passengers going all the way from BOS to WAS (at least in our car). We were boarded early and chose the same seats as we had on Sunday since we liked them so much. They were 2 seats on the right side of the train that were right in front of a four seat table. The configuration left room behind our seats to store our luggage so we did not have to lift up the suitcases in the overhead compartment and we had them right there, which was a good thing since I was in and out of my suitcase. The woman from WAS was sitting in a single seat a couple of rows behind us. I had the aisle and sis had the window again. We plugged in the gps immediately. Menus were passed out soon after we boarded. They looked the same as the ones we had on Sunday.

The FC car was pretty full when we left BOS South, but was almost completely full by Rt. 128. I can understand why some PVD passengers who want to sit together board in BOS.

Breakfast and drink orders were taken shortly after leaving BOS. I noticed that the man across the aisle from me (who I will refer to as beer-guy) ordered a Dogfish IPA (at 9am) with his breakfast. I ordered the omelet with green tea to drink. Turns out they were out of green tea, so I had black tea. Sis had raison bran and a bagel with coffee to drink. After eating our delicious breakfast and trying to keep count of the beers beer-guy was drinking (we lost count at 9, but we overheard the attendant tell him that he had consumed all 12 that they had on board), we paid close attention to the gps. The highest speed I noticed was 151 mph. I also keep a keen eye out for Kingston so I could wave to Dave’s station. I did not blink – I saw it and waved. I sent Dave a text message to inform him that the station did not wave back – just kidding.

What happened next was the topic of a thread that I started on Tuesday 5/10. To summarize, there was a suspicious package at the bus station adjacent to the Amtrak New London, CT station. The station and surrounding area was closed and Amtrak southbound and northbound trains were stopped on either side of New London. We were stopped in Groton. There was a regional train behind us that was stopped also. State Police, Amtrak Police, bomb-sniffing dogs, robots, etc. were called in. I believe the package turned out to be a yellow purse containing coaxial cable. The purse was blown up. All of that took more than 2 hours. During that time, many announcements were made by the conductor. Although he did not have a lot of information (most of my information was from fugalist in response to my post), the conductor gave us updates and assured us that we were safe. I was using Acela WiFi that was very slow and was not able to search the web as quickly as AU members were. Thanks again. I think that I had the best information of anyone in the FC car. Beer-guy continued to drink. The attendants were real troopers. They had no breaks. They passed out snack packages (because lunch was not until after New York and they would have not had enough lunches for the NY passengers). We each received a little bowl of fresh fruit and some nuts. The attendants came through the car with wine bottles and glasses and poured generously. They later came through with soft drinks and Perrier. Sis and I shared a Sam Adams. Since I did not want to drink on an empty stomach, I went into my snack bag and had some organic peanut butter on wasa bread. I thought it was yummy, but sis said “yuck.”

We got going sometime after 1pm (2+ hours later). Because some of the passengers (none in FC) had taken this train for business meetings in NY that they had missed, they wanted to return to Boston since there was no longer any purpose to their trip. They were accommodated by dropping them off at an unscheduled stop in New London where they would wait a couple of minutes for the northbound regional (that had been held up south of New London). All such passengers detrained together at the front of the train. I was informed that not all platforms can accommodate the AE, and I believe New London was one of them, so I do not know how this was accomplished. What I do know is that Amtrak was doing everything in its power to make things so as smoothly as possible. I was impressed. I do not think I heard a complaint out of anyone in FC (other than beer-guy – but more about him later).

I was also impressed about how clean the rest room was on the train. Because of all the drinking, it was used quite often and it remained clean and operable.

By the time we arrived in NYP, we were about 3 hours late. We were due in at 12:45 and arrived a little before 4pm. Amtrak changed the number of our train from 2159 to 2165 (which was due in NYP at 3:45). The NY passengers who were supposed to board our train at 12:45, instead boarded another train (that Amtrak put together that day and called it 2159). That way those NY passengers were not delayed 3 hours into WAS. It took me a while to digest all of this and figure it out. Again, I was impressed that Amtrak went out of its way to inconvenience as few passengers as possible.

I was a bit concerned at first that I would not make my 97 connection (leaving WAS at 7:30pm). While we were stuck when we had no idea when we would get going, one of the attendants suggested that I call Julie and ask her what I should do. I called the select plus number and the phone attendant told me not to worry yet – it was too soon (she was correct). However, there were several passengers on the train (including 2 in FC) that were supposed to connect with 97 in NYP. At first they were going to hold 97 until we arrived (45 minutes or so), but then they had the 97 pax stay on the AE until WAS and board there. We got to WAS before 97 (we passed it in the WIL station). There were passengers on the NE regional behind us that had connections to 97 also. They, too, stayed on until WAS. I spoke to some of them while on 97 and they admitted that they were kept informed, but they did not receive first class service. They were given a bottle of water and then told to go to the snack bar for a snack. I was told it was a stampede.

Beer-guy was very loud and the entire car could not help hearing him complain. He intended to do a triple points run from BOS to NYP, go shopping in NY, then take a NJ transit train to Newark and catch the 2166 AE back to BOS. He had chosen to board in Newark in order to get a good seat, since so many people board in NYP. We could hear him trying to explain this to the AE attendants and to the select/select-plus telephone attendant. When we arrived in NYP, 2166 was right next to us. I do not know if he managed to board the train or had to wait for the next one. All I know is that he left our train at NYP. The attendants either cut him off because he had been drinking too much and was loud or they cut him off because he consumed all the beer.

After NYP, we were served our lunch around 4:30pm. Sis and I had the same salad and we shared another Sam Adams. I ate most of my tiramisu, but sis only ate a few bites. My sister got off the train at BWI. Because it was almost 7pm when we arrived at WAS, I kind of did an OJ Simpson and ran down the platform to the station. Turns out I had plenty of time, since I think they were holding 97 for the regional passengers in the train behind us.

I got to the CA in WAS at 6:50 and was told we would be boarding in 10 minutes (which, in my opinion, is cutting it pretty close). We boarded at 7:10pm.

I was in car 9710, room 1 and my attendant was Leo. I have had Leo as an attendant previously and he is great. He had made dinner reservations for the WAS pax at 7:45pm. Dinner was good, as usual. I had salmon again (no beer) and chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert. Sitting at my table was a man and his wife from West Palm Beach. When he learned I was from Orlando, he informed me that his best friend lives in Orlando. After he described the condo building, I mentioned that it sounded like the building where I live. I know his best friend and, in fact, saw him today (Wednesday) when I was getting my mail.

Wednesday morning we arrived in JAX early and spent 45 minutes. I used that time to stretch and do yoga on the platform. I pretend that no one is staring at me.

Right after lunch, we arrived in Orlando, a few minutes late. I took at city bus part of the way home, then walked the additional half mile. The high today was 96 and I think it was a big mistake to walk with luggage in the heat, but there was shade and I need to work off all those beers and desserts.

I did not intend for this report to be this long, but once I get started, it is hard to stop me. If any of you meet me in person, be forewarned, I can be a marathon talker.


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## Acela150 (May 11, 2011)

If your attendant's name was indeed Preston and he was Younger and NOT to be racist African american I've had him before! Great guy!! Tipped him well!! Checked on me non stop from PHL-ORL! Made me feel at home! Sounded like you had a great trip Penny! Where did you stay in Boston?? I'm looking for a place to stay in the fall.. Parker House?? I know that's VERY close to Park street!


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## pennyk (May 11, 2011)

Acela150 said:


> If your attendant's name was indeed Preston and he was Younger and NOT to be racist African american I've had him before! Great guy!! Tipped him well!! Checked on me non stop from PHL-ORL! Made me feel at home! Sounded like you had a great trip Penny! Where did you stay in Boston?? I'm looking for a place to stay in the fall.. Parker House?? I know that's VERY close to Park street!


Yes, Preston was African American. He is certainly younger than I am (58), but I am not sure how old he is. Likely we are talking about the same SCA. He was great and I tipped him well also.

I stayed at the Nine Zero Hotel. It is located at 90 Tremont Street, a few doors closer to the Boston Commons than the Parker House. I chose it ahead of the Parker House because it got better reviews and they gave me a discount for traveling by train. They called it their Ride the Rails rate (at Kimpton Hotels).


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## JayPea (May 11, 2011)

Great report! I admit to just a touch of envy when AU'ers talk about their meetings with one another. I've yet to meet anyone from *AU, which is why I am so looking forward to the Seattle gathering. It will be great to finally put faces and names together. I do a lot of walking also, as I have diabetes and have not one shred of athletic talent. Walking is the one thing I can do without looking like a total fool. Last year when visiting Seattle I walked, luggage in tow, from King Street Station to my hotel, over a mile away, and mostly uphill. The desk clerk at the hotel thought I was nuts! But Seattle in late June isn't too likely to be hot, so it was worth it. And I walked a lot while there. I plan to do the same when I go to Seattle in June. And at the gathering in October.

And as for you being a marathon talker, Penny, all the better for me! I have been told, only half-joking, that I'm stuck for an answer when someone says hello to me. :lol: The more people I surround myself with who talk a lot, the better I like it! :lol:

*I have actually met one other AU'er, but only because he's my uncle, whom I've known all my life. So he doesn't count.


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## Acela150 (May 12, 2011)

pennyk said:


> Acela150 said:
> 
> 
> > If your attendant's name was indeed Preston and he was Younger and NOT to be racist African american I've had him before! Great guy!! Tipped him well!! Checked on me non stop from PHL-ORL! Made me feel at home! Sounded like you had a great trip Penny! Where did you stay in Boston?? I'm looking for a place to stay in the fall.. Parker House?? I know that's VERY close to Park street!
> ...


That's good to know!! Thanks! I will look into it!


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## Shanghai (May 12, 2011)

*Very good report, Penny. It was fun posting with you while you were stopped near New London, CT.*

*It was good that you and your sister could travel together.*


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## Traingeek (May 16, 2011)

That trip report makes me want to spend the money to go to Boston by Acela first Class (even though I buy a ticket to Wilmington, DE or use MARC south to BAL). It also answered one of my questions about a BAL-BOS trip and that is whether they would feed you only once in Acela First class.


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## Bob Dylan (May 16, 2011)

:hi: Nice Trip and Report Penny! Lots of Beer for such a Health Minded Person! :lol: It was great to see you in WAS, wish you could have been there on Saturday for NTD, Dave and I appreciated the attempt to get us into the CA, and it was Dave's Pass we used to enter, thought we were back in CHI @ the Metro Lounge! :lol: Glad you liked the FC Acela, we all should be so lucky as to have Trains like that, let alone more than One a Day in each Direction like down here!


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## the_traveler (May 17, 2011)

It was great to meet you again in WAS, Penny! Just one question - Why did you keep holding the door to the CA closed each time I tried to enter?

















To answer your question about New London (NLC). The doors on the AE do not have steps (as on the Amfleets), so they must only stop at stations that have a high level platform. The stations at New London, Mystic, Westerly and Kingston (KIN) have low level platforms. However, both NLC and KIN have built a high level platform so that it can be ADA compliant. Thus it can also be used as an AE stop if necessary.


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## Jean (May 17, 2011)

Thanks Penny, for such an entertaining report. I am amazed that the attendants continued to serve beer-guy so many beers. He could have become far more troublesome than just talking loudly. Are there not laws in the US regarding Responsible Service of Alcohol? I am not much of a drinker, but here in Australia, there is legislation relating to refusal of service to anyone judged to have had too much to drink. Sounds like Amtrak did an excellent job dealing with the late arrivals of trains.

Jean


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## AlanB (May 21, 2011)

the_traveler said:


> To answer your question about New London (NLC). The doors on the AE do not have steps (as on the Amfleets), so they must only stop at stations that have a high level platform. The stations at New London, Mystic, Westerly and Kingston (KIN) have low level platforms. However, both NLC and KIN have built a high level platform so that it can be ADA compliant. Thus it can also be used as an AE stop if necessary.


Just to clarify things a bit, both KIN & NLC have built what's called a mini-high platform. The bulk of the stations still have all low platforms, however each has a short section that has been converted to a high level platform. This section is long enough to hold just 1 car, so if your were going to be getting off at one of these stations you must be in the correct car that lines up with the mini-high or walk down the train to get to that car.


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## AlanB (May 21, 2011)

Jean said:


> Thanks Penny, for such an entertaining report. I am amazed that the attendants continued to serve beer-guy so many beers. He could have become far more troublesome than just talking loudly. Are there not laws in the US regarding Responsible Service of Alcohol? I am not much of a drinker, but here in Australia, there is legislation relating to refusal of service to anyone judged to have had too much to drink. Sounds like Amtrak did an excellent job dealing with the late arrivals of trains.
> 
> Jean


Jean,

The US has laws regarding service of alcohol in bars, but they exist mainly to cut down on drunk driving. Those laws however don't apply to Amtrak.

This is not to say that if a passenger starts to become a problem that he won't get cut off and warned, and failing to obey taken off by the police at the next stop or the next RR crossing. But as a general rule, the attendants won't cut you off unless they sense a looming problem.


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## Dovecote (May 21, 2011)

AlanB said:


> the_traveler said:
> 
> 
> > To answer your question about New London (NLC). The doors on the AE do not have steps (as on the Amfleets), so they must only stop at stations that have a high level platform. The stations at New London, Mystic, Westerly and Kingston (KIN) have low level platforms. However, both NLC and KIN have built a high level platform so that it can be ADA compliant. Thus it can also be used as an AE stop if necessary.
> ...


This past March my wife took a NE Regional from WAS to LNC (and then off to Foxwoods). On this particular train the conductor had all passengers depart the train on the mini-high platform. Exiting on this platform was a pleasant surprise compared to the low level exit that we had a year earlier. IIRC, exiting the train was a three car walk towards the rear of the train from the Quiet Car which was the second passenger car of the consist.


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## amamba (May 23, 2011)

Excellent review. Next time don't forget to wave to to me in PVD 

I was surprised this weekend when I rode the AE in FC that we had the same menu going both north and south. This was my third trip this year in that car, and the other two times we had different menus.


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## the_traveler (May 23, 2011)

Dovecote said:


> IIRC, exiting the train was a three car walk towards the rear of the train from the Quiet Car which was the second passenger car of the consist.


Unless you're talking about #66 (which is 5 cars long), all other Regionals are 7-9 cars long with the Quiet Car always the 2nd car (right behind the BC Car).


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## Robin (Feb 12, 2012)

pennyk said:


> I left Orlando on Saturday May 7, 2011 (National Train Day) for a quick trip to Boston with my sister who lives in Columbia, Maryland.
> 
> For the umpteenth time, I boarded the Silver Meteor (98) in Orlando. I was in roomette number 1 in car 9811. My attendant was excellent, but I cannot remember his name (it was 4 days ago and a lot has gone in and out of my brain since then), however, I remember it started with a “P.” (I think it was Preston and that is what I will call him for the purpose of this trip report). I immediately went to lunch in the diner and was seated with a very attractive young man (in his 20’s I think). (I am not too old to look!). I had the turkey sandwich and the cute young man with good teeth had a veggie burger. He had been visiting his father in the Tampa area and was on his way back to New York where he lives.
> 
> ...



Hi

Could you tell me more about the roomette. I am going to new york city in july and just wondering how the roomette is does it have a tv and how did you sleep?


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## the_traveler (Feb 16, 2012)

Robin said:


> Hi
> 
> Could you tell me more about the roomette. I am going to new york city in july and just wondering how the roomette is does it have a tv and how did you sleep?


Roomettes (and bedrooms) do not have TV's in them. Many people (myself included) find sleeping in a train in a sleeper very restful - with thee easy rocking motion!


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