rtabern
Conductor
Ok, time to finish the trip report.
Mike and I left New Orleans on the Crescent #20 at 7:05am on March 12th. We were both pretty tired from staying up in New Orleans... but we managed to get up and make it over to the station on time. We got quite a good scare at the station – fearing #20 was not going to run – or there might be a detour. Around 6:45am an Amtrak Police Officer came out and stated that passengers who were going between New Orleans and Atlanta were going to be BUSSED. Of course, the Amtrak cop wouldnt give any more details... so we thought maybe there was going to be a detour or something between New Orleans and Atlanta. While that would have been fun – I was making a connection to the Capitol Limited in Washington and only had 6 hours. I was worried some wacky detour could throw even off the connection between #20 and #29. The thought of scrapping the trip and flying home from New Orleans even crossed my mind!!! We needed to get more info – so Mike went off trying to find the conductor – while I decided to try my luck at the ticket agent. Well, it turned out we were fine. I guess one of the coaches were bad ordered – so they were running with just 3 instead of 4 – meaning the train was oversold and they had to bus some passengers. Anyone in coach going from New Orleans to Atlanta were bussed. And then we later found out in Atlanta, that any coach passengers going between Atlanta and Lynchburg, VA were also getting the bus. WOW... I hate busses... and couldnt even imagine that. I guess that’s another reason to always go sleeper (atleast that’s my opinion).
Leaving New Orleans, we got some pretty interesting views of the neighborhoods devistated by Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, I was a television producer and spent a couple of weeks in New Orleans covering the events for CBS... so I was pretty familiar with the disaster. But, it was still sad to see neighborhoods in ruins going on 6 years later now. There were some signs of life... you could see people building new homes on stilts along the tracks. I’d say maybe 1/3 of the homes appear to be re-built. From there it was great views of Lake Ponchatrain (?-spelling) and north.
They made the call for breakfast around 7:30am. Mike went... but I decided to skip the meal and get some sleep. I nodded off around Slidell. Mike came back to the room about an hour later... He was getting pretty tired and crawled into the upper bunk and also took a nap. I think we both woke up around 10:30am as we were coming into Meridian, MS. I felt pretty crappy getting just a few hours of sleep, but it was my own doing staying out so late in New Orleans... but how can you not party it up in NO? As much as I like the Crescent and the train, there was part of me that was wishing it would leave later. I dont know if I would do the early morning turn on #20 again... hahaha.
After getting some shots on the Meridian platform, I set out to get some pictures on the train – and especially of the Heritage Diner. I had some cell/internet reception on my phone near Meridian and was able to Google the car and find out that it was Budd built in 1952 and served as a lounge/parlor car on the PRR. I am still amazed with my iPhone that I got a week before leaving for the trip – and though it was cool I could actually know the history of the car instead of wondering about it and then checking when I got home. All of the pictures of the car showed it on the Lake Shore Limited – but I guess it was swaped out on the Crescent for us. I think its VERY cool Amtrak still has the Heritage Diners. Mike and I spent some time as we rolled across the Mississippi-Alabama State Line wondering what the future of the great cars would be after the Viewliner Diners come out in a couple of years. It’s too bad they are single level cars and couldnt be turned into some special First Class car (like a PPC) on the Empire Builder or something. I just hope they dont scrap them... or even sell them off... it’s nice to ride in a car that was built when my dad was only 16 years old and my mom was only 11.
Anyway, for a couple of months now, we were planning to meet AUF member Bill Haithcoat at the Birmingham, AL station and he was going to ride with us to Atlanta, GA. Bill told us he was planning to take #19 from Birmingham to Atlanta in the morning... would layover in Birmingham for a couple of hours and then ride home with us. Anyway, we thought those plans would have to be cancelled... as when we rolled into Birmingham we learned that #19 has not made it through at all due to engine problems. AND there was no sign of Bill. We thought maybe he would have to jump in Anniston, AL – or maybe he just decided not to go at all knowing the late train. The station platform and the station itself were completely crazy from what I heard... I guess delayed Southbound passengers werent paying enough attention to the announcements and were trying to get on our Northbound train... The conductors were trying to sort out the mess. Anyway, thinking Bill wouldnt be able to join us – I decided to run up the head end and get some photos.
Well, when I returned – there was Mike AND Bill. Yeahh!! Bill said he was worried about making the connection between #19 and #20 in Birmingham because of the time change... so he decided to come down to Birmingham the night before and ride back with us. Bill got a coach ticket, but sat with us in the sleeper. We had a great time getting caught up and sharing stories. Bill was nice enough to bring a couple of timetables from his collection – including a Great Northern and a couple from the Southern Railroad on which we were traveling. It was amazing to see all of the old trains that used to pass through Atlanta and Bill’s hometown of Chattanooga. It’s sad that only 1 train each direction now passed through ATL. All 3 of us wished that Amtrak would restore some sort of service from Chicago to Florida. Right now you have to connect via NYP or WAS – and it’s a 2 night trip. No family who is going to Disney World from the Midwest is going to want to use 4 days of their 7 day vacation to go via Amtrak – if it was just a 1 night trip each direction – more would consider it I think. What was really impressive about Bill’s Southern timetable collection was that he was the ORIGINAL owner of them... actually going down to the station in the 50’s and 60’s to get them... one owner!!! Very cool!!!
Since Bill was getting off at 7PM-ish in Atlanta, we decided to get the first call for dinner and continued the pleasant conversations. Bill ended up getting me a Starbucks tumbler glass (I collect Starbucks city mugs like that) from Atlanta and I exchanged an old magazine ad from 1941 that I found at a train show talking about the new Pullman sleeping cars on the Tennesseean and the Southern Crescent. I think he really got a kick out of them. Anyway, we got off in Atlanta and saw Bill off. He gave us about a 3 minute brief tour of the station. We ended up leaving ATL about 20 minutes late... I am not 100 percent sure what the delay was about – but it appears it might have been for some woman who was having trouble getting down the stairs and into her sleeper because of the BIGGEST stroller I have ever seen in my life... **groans**... Mike and I stayed up to we passed through Toccoa, GA... and hit the hay. I was so tired I dont even remember waking up once. I was sorta hoping to get up to get some shots of the station at Charlotte, NC... but that didnt happen.
Day #10 (March 14, 2010) began when I woke up when the northbound Crescent came to a stop at Lynchburg, VA around 6AM. I could see one of the Lynchburg regionals sitting on the track there at the station... I noticed in the timetable that it left Lynchburg at like 7:30AM and made it to Boston by 7:30PM, actually getting Mike home a couple of hours sooner than taking #20 to NYP and transfering to the Acela. I say joking of course because I dont think you could have paid Mike (or anyone else) enough to give up the nice bedroom we had through NYP – and his First Class on the Acela to BOS. Yeahhh... as much as I like Amtrak... I also couldn’t picture sitting in coach from Lynchburg to Boston on a 12 hour trek. Even though Lyncburg was a smoke stop and I could have gotten off, there really wasn’t time because I was still in my jammies... hahaha.
Mike went back to sleep after we passed through Lynchburg, but since I would be getting off in a couple of hours in Washington, I decided I’d better start packing my bags up and take a shower... I let Mike sleep in... and ended up taking a shower down the hall... then I hung out for awhile in the other Bedroom on the car waiting for him to finish. What I really should have done is head to the diner to snag a seat in there... but I didnt think it was going to be that crowded. Well, I was wrong... they were at capacity... and the hostess said to come back in 15-20 minutes. According to my GPS, we were only about 70 miles away from WAS... so I didnt think there would be time for breakfast and I was pshyc-ing myself just to skip it and get something off the train. Mike convinced me that we should give it a try... and we actually were able to squeeze in breakfast... despite the somewhat slow service in the diner. We didn’t finish though until between Manassas and Alexanderia... leaving me just enough time to head back to the room, use the bathroom, and head out.
When we got to Washington, Mike got off the train with me – and we watched them take off the Diesel engines and put on the electric ones. I pointed out how ugly I thought the “toasters” were – but Mike said he still had a certain fondness for them – comparing them to his love for classic cars that were also considered “ugly” in many people’s books. Hahaha. It was sorta funny... we were keeping our distance from the crew members switching... but one of the guys really barked at us and told us to go back to our sleeper. Well, a couple of minutes later “grumpy pants” walked away and the other 2 guys involved with the switching appologized and said we could go back to where we were standing to get some more photos. I can see how the switching crews would find some rail fans annoying... as I have seen some people out at Spokane taking pictures like inches behind the crew trying to get the cars off... but Mike and I knew to keep a respectable distance... over 20 feet away. Maybe “grumpy pants” was just having a bad day or had a bad run-in with a rainfan who wasn’t be respectful.
I walked with Mike back to the sleeping car and we chatted for a few more minutes... I joked with him how he was going to explain my “disappearance” to the sleeping car attendant (who was still “sleeping in” at WAS and letting the attendant in the #2011 sleeper handle her duties for whatever reason). What had happened, is when we made the reservation I explained to the agent that I we wanted the Bedroom from New Orleans to New York-Penn – but I would be just traveling in it from NOL-WAS while Mike would be traveling from NOL all the way to NYP. The agent made Mike the primary person on the reservation, but I told the agent that was wrong – I wanted to be the primary person on the reservation as I was paying for that leg of the trip and wanted the AGR points to go into my account. The agent said she didn’t think she could make a reservation where the primary person was getting off before the secondary person – so she said she was just going to ticket us both through to NYP, even though she knew I would be hopping in WAS and Mike would solo it between WAS and NYP in the bedroom.
Mike and I parted ways just a few minutes before #20 was to continue its journey north. Be sure and read Mike’s seperate post that he wrote and posted a few posts before this to hear about the remainder of the trip on #20 between WAS and NYP... and his trip on the Acela up to Boston.
After saying goodbye to Mike – I made my way up the escaltor. I saw a few gates down that there were some people getting off the Acela – and decided to try my chances with security there and head out to the 2 Acelas that were sitting there and get some pictures. I had pictures of myself with Superliner, Viewliner, Surfliner, and the Talgos on the Cascades Service from this trip – so why not complete the whole Amtrak cycle and get some pictures with the Acelas??? I got my photos... and surprising no one ended up hassling me on the platform. The whole trip I have been using a new tripod for my digital camera with magnectic feet – I was sure some Amtrak cop was going to come out and question what I was doing by using one of the platform poles and attaching my tripod too... but nope. Got some good photos to complete the Amtrak equipment cycle. I actually thought about staying on #20 and riding it up to Baltimore and then heading back to Washington on the Acela – just to say I rode Acela, Superliner, Viewliner, Talgo, and Surfliner equip all on the same trip – but the prices were just way too redicilous on the Acela from BAL to WAS. It was something like $40+ for Business and almost $79 for First Class. I have ridding Acela before and will be taking it a lot in July when I am out railfaining the NEC – so really $79 was not worth it just to say I rode on the Acela and all of the equipment. Plus, it was a nice day in Washington and after 10 days on the train – I wanted to stretch my legs and get some walking in there. So, I checked into the Club Acela and dropped off all my bags... bringing just my wallet and camera and map of Washington, DC with me.
The first stop on my extreme walking tour of Washington was the US Capitol... I got some shots of myself outside. From my many visits to Washington, DC as a television producer, I could tell that the US Senate was in session, but the House was not. You can tell if the flags over each side of the building are up or down. There were a lot of tourists all taking pictures outside of the Capitol. Using my tripod and help from strangers... I think I got some nice shots there. From there, walked over a block to the US Supereme Court and got a quick picture... then made a loop around the Capitol again... and headed down the National Mall... stopping to take pictures of the Capitol which was behind me and also of the Washington Monument which was getting closer and closer. I noticed that they put fences up over the grassy sections along the National Mall again – I know in 2008 and 2009 they did that to try and restore some of the grass – but removed it in 2010 when the grass was back. I wonder if this will be a permanent thing or not. I guess you cant trust people to stay on the paths!!! Hahahaha.
Anyway, walked upto the Washington Monument... and then continued along the National Mall until I hit the World War II Memorial. I remember when they were building that – and think its one of the nicest memorials in Washington. I continued my stroll and noticed that crews had a lot of “closed areas” between the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. I guess they were doing some work on the Reflecting Pool because it was totally drained of water – I’ll have to Google what they are doing, but it looked like putting in new retaining walls or something. Crews also looked to be making some progress on the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. I guess there was a plaque or something there before, but they are going to be building an actual memorial to MLK. I am curious to see what it’s going to look like when they’re done. All I could sneak a peak through the fence was the rounded top of some sort of the monument. I also wonder when it’s going to be done!!!!
I made a quick jaunt over the Korean War Memorial – and finally the Lincoln Memorial. I dont know if its because of the fact I was born in Illinois and lived there until I was 18 (and we had Land of Lincoln crammed down our throats!)... but I love reading about Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial is always my favorite Washington, DC monument. So, I walked up the steps... got my picture with his statue... and spent about 10 minutes sitting on the steps just enjoying the view. When Mike and I went to Washington in March 2010, we learned that there was actually a mis-spelling on the text that was engraved into the Lincoln Memorial on the right side. I think a “P” was made a “R” or vice-verca or something like that. Anyway, they tried to fill it in... but you can still see it. If you ever make it to the Lincoln Memorial ask one of the National Park Service rangers about it... I am sure they can point it out.
From there, I made a quick jaunt by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and over to the White House. I took my picture on the south side of it... and then the north side of it. I always prefered the shots and seeing the White House from the north side because you are so much closer to the building. There was a pretty good sized protest going on there... so I tried to get my picture, but also stay clear of the people. I am not sure what they were all upset about – it sounded like they were asking for the release of some prisoner or something. There was some dude just walking around in a jock strap... it was pretty disturbing... and that was when I knew it was time to go. There was a pretty good police presence out there too watching “jock strap man”... probably 10 squads from the US Park Police... and a few Secret Service squads. Since I work for a police dept in Wisconsin, I snapped some pictures of the Secret Service squads... I am surprised I didnt get questioned about that. Then again, maybe you have the right to take photos as long as you are out in a public spot???
From the White House, I ended up walking a few blocks over to Metro Center and caught the Red Line to Shady Grove/Glenmont – and took it just a few blocks to Union Station. I ended up meeting a friend of mine at 2:15pm for some tea... We had a nice time chatting and getting caught up. I haven’t seen this friend in about 4 years now... so it was good to hear what was going on. He recently got a job in Washington DC and was wrestling with the decision to stay where he had been living... or move to Washington – which apparently is really expensive. I wonder what the costs for an apartment are in Washington... because I hear from everyone it’s super expensive. I wonder how it compares to Chicago or New York?
Anyway, the next thing I knew it was 3:30PM already when we were done chatting. I made a quick stop off at the Starbucks inside Union Station to see if they had my city mug that I collect... and surprisingly they did!!! YEAHH!!! I ended up getting one. Everytime I passed through there before... they didnt have them. When I was in Washington in 2010, I even made a mad trip around Washington looking for the mugs and no one seemed to have them. My parents are big history buffs, so I ended up also buying them mugs. The lady at the Starbucks at Washington was really nice – and since I was just buying the mugs and not waiting for coffee – she let me skip to the front of the line. You rock!! And from there, it was a quick dash by Aunt Annie’s Hot Pretzels (yummm!!) before going back to Club Acela.
By the time I made it to Club Acela it was 3:40PM and the sleeping car passengers were just leaving... I couldnt have timed it perfectly. I walked out to the train and got on around 3:45PM. It was just enough time to stash my bags and get some pictures of the train. I forgot that the Capitol had 2 ½ sleepers on it (well, 2 real sleepers and they sold some rooms in the Transition Sleeper)... I dont know I was thinking that the Capitol was like the Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans and only had 1 ½ sleepers. Basically, the consist of the Capitol was 2 engines – baggage – transition sleeper – 2 sleepers – diner – SSL – and 3 coaches. There were actually an equal number of sleepers and coaches!!!! The 2 other things I noted while walking the outside of the train and getting pictures was the fact that the ‘real’ diner was back on the Capitol. When I took it in November 2010, they were still running Cross Country Cafe Cars. Also, I noticed that our lead engine on the Crescent (Engine #52) was NOW the lead engine on the Capitol. It was kinda cool to know I got the same engine from NOL-WAS and I was going to get WAS-CHI. My guess is they pulled it off #20 to put the electrics on and then tacked it on the Capitol Limited.
This (the Capitol Limited) was the only part of the trip I was going in Roomette... on the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight sections of the trip Mike and I had our own seperate Bedrooms with the adjoining doors open during the day and closed at night. Then, on the Southwest Chief, City of New Orleans, and Crescent legs... we shared a Bedroom. When I went to book the Capitol Limited, the difference between a roomette and a bedroom was like $170 more. I really couldn’t justify spending that much for a bedroom – specially on the Capitol – where you pretty much get on at 4PM, eat dinner, go to bed, and wake up outside of Chicago. It was still weird to have a Roomette after having 7 nights in a bigger Bedroom.
I opted for the last seating at dinner (7:30PM) – despite the fact the LSA was really pushing for everyone to take an early diner time. However, with my stop at Aunt Annie’s in the station and the fact I wanted to get off and get some photos at the 7:14PM smoke stop at Cumberland, MD... I insisted on the later time. There was a VERY VERY light passenger load (sleepers) on #29... and I’m thinking that the LSA wanted to wrap up dinner as early as possible so he could get to bed sooner. Can’t blame him I guess... He said #30 on 3/15 out of CHI was totally sold out and it was going to be a long trip. Shoot, I wish I remember his name... but the voice of the dining car LSA was great... he should have been on the radio. He had a French Carribean accent – and I wish he made all of the announcements through the whole trip – it sounded like you were enterting a fancy restaurant. I had dinner with a nice woman who lives part of the time in Sandusky, OH and part of the time in Washington. She was a substiute teacher and also hosted a religious talk show on the radio. So we mainly swapped stories about radio... since I worked at a radio station in the late 90’s. She was nice company... very cheerful and upbeat. Even with that, I was sorta missing Mike’s company... It was weird to eat alone after having 27 meals on Amtrak on this trip together!!! Hahaha... I think I almost said “party of 2” when entering the diner.
It was almost 9PM when we finished... and I was the last one out of the diner. When I got back to the room, I crawled into bed and stayed up for about an hour watching some of the countryside and stars go by outside the window... one of my favorite things to do on Amtrak after dinner and at night. Just before pulling into Connellsville, PA, I heard the dining car LSA get on the PA and say “AC & Conductor needed in the Lounge Car immediately”... Having done Trails & Rails for Amtrak for 5 years... I know that is one of the key words said in an emergency. We sat at Connellsville for 20-30 minutes, but I didnt really see any activity (police or fire) out on the platform... and wasnt really picking up anything on my scanner... so I decided just to go to bed and not worry about it. From what I heard the next morning, someone might have jumped from the moving train in a suicide attempt somewhere between Cumberland and Connellsville. I dont know if that was the truth, but that is what some of the people at the dining car table were talking about the next morning. I fell asleep about 20 miles before Pittsburgh.
And now, we’re on to today... the final day of the trip... March 15, 2011. I slept REALLY good... not waking up until we were crossing the Ohio/Indiana State Line. I checked my watch and saw that it was already 6:40am – and wanted to get some breakfast before they stopped serving at 7:30am. I had the cheese omlet, my usual breakfast on Amtrak, except on the Empire Builder wherer I get the fresh pancakes sometimes. By the time I got back to the room we were just rolling through South Bend... I spent a few minutes getting the room together... and watching the steel mills fade and Chicago grow closer and closer. Pulling into the yard, I noticed an engine that looked like it caught on fire. Once I get my photos up in the coming days, you can check it out.
We got into Chicago right at 9AM... checked into the Met Lounge... waited an hour. The WiFi was up so I was able to post about the trip on #59. Around 10AM, I posted, headed to the Hiawatha gate.... and caught the 10:20AM to Milwaukee... getting to the Milwaukee Airport where my car was parked for the last 11 days... and yes, now I’m home.....
So, there it is... 2 AUF members on a 9,000 mile cross country trip.
Hope you enjoyed the trip reports.
Between today and the weekend, I will be uploaded photos from the trip and posting the links here.
Mike and I left New Orleans on the Crescent #20 at 7:05am on March 12th. We were both pretty tired from staying up in New Orleans... but we managed to get up and make it over to the station on time. We got quite a good scare at the station – fearing #20 was not going to run – or there might be a detour. Around 6:45am an Amtrak Police Officer came out and stated that passengers who were going between New Orleans and Atlanta were going to be BUSSED. Of course, the Amtrak cop wouldnt give any more details... so we thought maybe there was going to be a detour or something between New Orleans and Atlanta. While that would have been fun – I was making a connection to the Capitol Limited in Washington and only had 6 hours. I was worried some wacky detour could throw even off the connection between #20 and #29. The thought of scrapping the trip and flying home from New Orleans even crossed my mind!!! We needed to get more info – so Mike went off trying to find the conductor – while I decided to try my luck at the ticket agent. Well, it turned out we were fine. I guess one of the coaches were bad ordered – so they were running with just 3 instead of 4 – meaning the train was oversold and they had to bus some passengers. Anyone in coach going from New Orleans to Atlanta were bussed. And then we later found out in Atlanta, that any coach passengers going between Atlanta and Lynchburg, VA were also getting the bus. WOW... I hate busses... and couldnt even imagine that. I guess that’s another reason to always go sleeper (atleast that’s my opinion).
Leaving New Orleans, we got some pretty interesting views of the neighborhoods devistated by Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, I was a television producer and spent a couple of weeks in New Orleans covering the events for CBS... so I was pretty familiar with the disaster. But, it was still sad to see neighborhoods in ruins going on 6 years later now. There were some signs of life... you could see people building new homes on stilts along the tracks. I’d say maybe 1/3 of the homes appear to be re-built. From there it was great views of Lake Ponchatrain (?-spelling) and north.
They made the call for breakfast around 7:30am. Mike went... but I decided to skip the meal and get some sleep. I nodded off around Slidell. Mike came back to the room about an hour later... He was getting pretty tired and crawled into the upper bunk and also took a nap. I think we both woke up around 10:30am as we were coming into Meridian, MS. I felt pretty crappy getting just a few hours of sleep, but it was my own doing staying out so late in New Orleans... but how can you not party it up in NO? As much as I like the Crescent and the train, there was part of me that was wishing it would leave later. I dont know if I would do the early morning turn on #20 again... hahaha.
After getting some shots on the Meridian platform, I set out to get some pictures on the train – and especially of the Heritage Diner. I had some cell/internet reception on my phone near Meridian and was able to Google the car and find out that it was Budd built in 1952 and served as a lounge/parlor car on the PRR. I am still amazed with my iPhone that I got a week before leaving for the trip – and though it was cool I could actually know the history of the car instead of wondering about it and then checking when I got home. All of the pictures of the car showed it on the Lake Shore Limited – but I guess it was swaped out on the Crescent for us. I think its VERY cool Amtrak still has the Heritage Diners. Mike and I spent some time as we rolled across the Mississippi-Alabama State Line wondering what the future of the great cars would be after the Viewliner Diners come out in a couple of years. It’s too bad they are single level cars and couldnt be turned into some special First Class car (like a PPC) on the Empire Builder or something. I just hope they dont scrap them... or even sell them off... it’s nice to ride in a car that was built when my dad was only 16 years old and my mom was only 11.
Anyway, for a couple of months now, we were planning to meet AUF member Bill Haithcoat at the Birmingham, AL station and he was going to ride with us to Atlanta, GA. Bill told us he was planning to take #19 from Birmingham to Atlanta in the morning... would layover in Birmingham for a couple of hours and then ride home with us. Anyway, we thought those plans would have to be cancelled... as when we rolled into Birmingham we learned that #19 has not made it through at all due to engine problems. AND there was no sign of Bill. We thought maybe he would have to jump in Anniston, AL – or maybe he just decided not to go at all knowing the late train. The station platform and the station itself were completely crazy from what I heard... I guess delayed Southbound passengers werent paying enough attention to the announcements and were trying to get on our Northbound train... The conductors were trying to sort out the mess. Anyway, thinking Bill wouldnt be able to join us – I decided to run up the head end and get some photos.
Well, when I returned – there was Mike AND Bill. Yeahh!! Bill said he was worried about making the connection between #19 and #20 in Birmingham because of the time change... so he decided to come down to Birmingham the night before and ride back with us. Bill got a coach ticket, but sat with us in the sleeper. We had a great time getting caught up and sharing stories. Bill was nice enough to bring a couple of timetables from his collection – including a Great Northern and a couple from the Southern Railroad on which we were traveling. It was amazing to see all of the old trains that used to pass through Atlanta and Bill’s hometown of Chattanooga. It’s sad that only 1 train each direction now passed through ATL. All 3 of us wished that Amtrak would restore some sort of service from Chicago to Florida. Right now you have to connect via NYP or WAS – and it’s a 2 night trip. No family who is going to Disney World from the Midwest is going to want to use 4 days of their 7 day vacation to go via Amtrak – if it was just a 1 night trip each direction – more would consider it I think. What was really impressive about Bill’s Southern timetable collection was that he was the ORIGINAL owner of them... actually going down to the station in the 50’s and 60’s to get them... one owner!!! Very cool!!!
Since Bill was getting off at 7PM-ish in Atlanta, we decided to get the first call for dinner and continued the pleasant conversations. Bill ended up getting me a Starbucks tumbler glass (I collect Starbucks city mugs like that) from Atlanta and I exchanged an old magazine ad from 1941 that I found at a train show talking about the new Pullman sleeping cars on the Tennesseean and the Southern Crescent. I think he really got a kick out of them. Anyway, we got off in Atlanta and saw Bill off. He gave us about a 3 minute brief tour of the station. We ended up leaving ATL about 20 minutes late... I am not 100 percent sure what the delay was about – but it appears it might have been for some woman who was having trouble getting down the stairs and into her sleeper because of the BIGGEST stroller I have ever seen in my life... **groans**... Mike and I stayed up to we passed through Toccoa, GA... and hit the hay. I was so tired I dont even remember waking up once. I was sorta hoping to get up to get some shots of the station at Charlotte, NC... but that didnt happen.
Day #10 (March 14, 2010) began when I woke up when the northbound Crescent came to a stop at Lynchburg, VA around 6AM. I could see one of the Lynchburg regionals sitting on the track there at the station... I noticed in the timetable that it left Lynchburg at like 7:30AM and made it to Boston by 7:30PM, actually getting Mike home a couple of hours sooner than taking #20 to NYP and transfering to the Acela. I say joking of course because I dont think you could have paid Mike (or anyone else) enough to give up the nice bedroom we had through NYP – and his First Class on the Acela to BOS. Yeahhh... as much as I like Amtrak... I also couldn’t picture sitting in coach from Lynchburg to Boston on a 12 hour trek. Even though Lyncburg was a smoke stop and I could have gotten off, there really wasn’t time because I was still in my jammies... hahaha.
Mike went back to sleep after we passed through Lynchburg, but since I would be getting off in a couple of hours in Washington, I decided I’d better start packing my bags up and take a shower... I let Mike sleep in... and ended up taking a shower down the hall... then I hung out for awhile in the other Bedroom on the car waiting for him to finish. What I really should have done is head to the diner to snag a seat in there... but I didnt think it was going to be that crowded. Well, I was wrong... they were at capacity... and the hostess said to come back in 15-20 minutes. According to my GPS, we were only about 70 miles away from WAS... so I didnt think there would be time for breakfast and I was pshyc-ing myself just to skip it and get something off the train. Mike convinced me that we should give it a try... and we actually were able to squeeze in breakfast... despite the somewhat slow service in the diner. We didn’t finish though until between Manassas and Alexanderia... leaving me just enough time to head back to the room, use the bathroom, and head out.
When we got to Washington, Mike got off the train with me – and we watched them take off the Diesel engines and put on the electric ones. I pointed out how ugly I thought the “toasters” were – but Mike said he still had a certain fondness for them – comparing them to his love for classic cars that were also considered “ugly” in many people’s books. Hahaha. It was sorta funny... we were keeping our distance from the crew members switching... but one of the guys really barked at us and told us to go back to our sleeper. Well, a couple of minutes later “grumpy pants” walked away and the other 2 guys involved with the switching appologized and said we could go back to where we were standing to get some more photos. I can see how the switching crews would find some rail fans annoying... as I have seen some people out at Spokane taking pictures like inches behind the crew trying to get the cars off... but Mike and I knew to keep a respectable distance... over 20 feet away. Maybe “grumpy pants” was just having a bad day or had a bad run-in with a rainfan who wasn’t be respectful.
I walked with Mike back to the sleeping car and we chatted for a few more minutes... I joked with him how he was going to explain my “disappearance” to the sleeping car attendant (who was still “sleeping in” at WAS and letting the attendant in the #2011 sleeper handle her duties for whatever reason). What had happened, is when we made the reservation I explained to the agent that I we wanted the Bedroom from New Orleans to New York-Penn – but I would be just traveling in it from NOL-WAS while Mike would be traveling from NOL all the way to NYP. The agent made Mike the primary person on the reservation, but I told the agent that was wrong – I wanted to be the primary person on the reservation as I was paying for that leg of the trip and wanted the AGR points to go into my account. The agent said she didn’t think she could make a reservation where the primary person was getting off before the secondary person – so she said she was just going to ticket us both through to NYP, even though she knew I would be hopping in WAS and Mike would solo it between WAS and NYP in the bedroom.
Mike and I parted ways just a few minutes before #20 was to continue its journey north. Be sure and read Mike’s seperate post that he wrote and posted a few posts before this to hear about the remainder of the trip on #20 between WAS and NYP... and his trip on the Acela up to Boston.
After saying goodbye to Mike – I made my way up the escaltor. I saw a few gates down that there were some people getting off the Acela – and decided to try my chances with security there and head out to the 2 Acelas that were sitting there and get some pictures. I had pictures of myself with Superliner, Viewliner, Surfliner, and the Talgos on the Cascades Service from this trip – so why not complete the whole Amtrak cycle and get some pictures with the Acelas??? I got my photos... and surprising no one ended up hassling me on the platform. The whole trip I have been using a new tripod for my digital camera with magnectic feet – I was sure some Amtrak cop was going to come out and question what I was doing by using one of the platform poles and attaching my tripod too... but nope. Got some good photos to complete the Amtrak equipment cycle. I actually thought about staying on #20 and riding it up to Baltimore and then heading back to Washington on the Acela – just to say I rode Acela, Superliner, Viewliner, Talgo, and Surfliner equip all on the same trip – but the prices were just way too redicilous on the Acela from BAL to WAS. It was something like $40+ for Business and almost $79 for First Class. I have ridding Acela before and will be taking it a lot in July when I am out railfaining the NEC – so really $79 was not worth it just to say I rode on the Acela and all of the equipment. Plus, it was a nice day in Washington and after 10 days on the train – I wanted to stretch my legs and get some walking in there. So, I checked into the Club Acela and dropped off all my bags... bringing just my wallet and camera and map of Washington, DC with me.
The first stop on my extreme walking tour of Washington was the US Capitol... I got some shots of myself outside. From my many visits to Washington, DC as a television producer, I could tell that the US Senate was in session, but the House was not. You can tell if the flags over each side of the building are up or down. There were a lot of tourists all taking pictures outside of the Capitol. Using my tripod and help from strangers... I think I got some nice shots there. From there, walked over a block to the US Supereme Court and got a quick picture... then made a loop around the Capitol again... and headed down the National Mall... stopping to take pictures of the Capitol which was behind me and also of the Washington Monument which was getting closer and closer. I noticed that they put fences up over the grassy sections along the National Mall again – I know in 2008 and 2009 they did that to try and restore some of the grass – but removed it in 2010 when the grass was back. I wonder if this will be a permanent thing or not. I guess you cant trust people to stay on the paths!!! Hahahaha.
Anyway, walked upto the Washington Monument... and then continued along the National Mall until I hit the World War II Memorial. I remember when they were building that – and think its one of the nicest memorials in Washington. I continued my stroll and noticed that crews had a lot of “closed areas” between the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. I guess they were doing some work on the Reflecting Pool because it was totally drained of water – I’ll have to Google what they are doing, but it looked like putting in new retaining walls or something. Crews also looked to be making some progress on the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. I guess there was a plaque or something there before, but they are going to be building an actual memorial to MLK. I am curious to see what it’s going to look like when they’re done. All I could sneak a peak through the fence was the rounded top of some sort of the monument. I also wonder when it’s going to be done!!!!
I made a quick jaunt over the Korean War Memorial – and finally the Lincoln Memorial. I dont know if its because of the fact I was born in Illinois and lived there until I was 18 (and we had Land of Lincoln crammed down our throats!)... but I love reading about Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial is always my favorite Washington, DC monument. So, I walked up the steps... got my picture with his statue... and spent about 10 minutes sitting on the steps just enjoying the view. When Mike and I went to Washington in March 2010, we learned that there was actually a mis-spelling on the text that was engraved into the Lincoln Memorial on the right side. I think a “P” was made a “R” or vice-verca or something like that. Anyway, they tried to fill it in... but you can still see it. If you ever make it to the Lincoln Memorial ask one of the National Park Service rangers about it... I am sure they can point it out.
From there, I made a quick jaunt by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and over to the White House. I took my picture on the south side of it... and then the north side of it. I always prefered the shots and seeing the White House from the north side because you are so much closer to the building. There was a pretty good sized protest going on there... so I tried to get my picture, but also stay clear of the people. I am not sure what they were all upset about – it sounded like they were asking for the release of some prisoner or something. There was some dude just walking around in a jock strap... it was pretty disturbing... and that was when I knew it was time to go. There was a pretty good police presence out there too watching “jock strap man”... probably 10 squads from the US Park Police... and a few Secret Service squads. Since I work for a police dept in Wisconsin, I snapped some pictures of the Secret Service squads... I am surprised I didnt get questioned about that. Then again, maybe you have the right to take photos as long as you are out in a public spot???
From the White House, I ended up walking a few blocks over to Metro Center and caught the Red Line to Shady Grove/Glenmont – and took it just a few blocks to Union Station. I ended up meeting a friend of mine at 2:15pm for some tea... We had a nice time chatting and getting caught up. I haven’t seen this friend in about 4 years now... so it was good to hear what was going on. He recently got a job in Washington DC and was wrestling with the decision to stay where he had been living... or move to Washington – which apparently is really expensive. I wonder what the costs for an apartment are in Washington... because I hear from everyone it’s super expensive. I wonder how it compares to Chicago or New York?
Anyway, the next thing I knew it was 3:30PM already when we were done chatting. I made a quick stop off at the Starbucks inside Union Station to see if they had my city mug that I collect... and surprisingly they did!!! YEAHH!!! I ended up getting one. Everytime I passed through there before... they didnt have them. When I was in Washington in 2010, I even made a mad trip around Washington looking for the mugs and no one seemed to have them. My parents are big history buffs, so I ended up also buying them mugs. The lady at the Starbucks at Washington was really nice – and since I was just buying the mugs and not waiting for coffee – she let me skip to the front of the line. You rock!! And from there, it was a quick dash by Aunt Annie’s Hot Pretzels (yummm!!) before going back to Club Acela.
By the time I made it to Club Acela it was 3:40PM and the sleeping car passengers were just leaving... I couldnt have timed it perfectly. I walked out to the train and got on around 3:45PM. It was just enough time to stash my bags and get some pictures of the train. I forgot that the Capitol had 2 ½ sleepers on it (well, 2 real sleepers and they sold some rooms in the Transition Sleeper)... I dont know I was thinking that the Capitol was like the Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans and only had 1 ½ sleepers. Basically, the consist of the Capitol was 2 engines – baggage – transition sleeper – 2 sleepers – diner – SSL – and 3 coaches. There were actually an equal number of sleepers and coaches!!!! The 2 other things I noted while walking the outside of the train and getting pictures was the fact that the ‘real’ diner was back on the Capitol. When I took it in November 2010, they were still running Cross Country Cafe Cars. Also, I noticed that our lead engine on the Crescent (Engine #52) was NOW the lead engine on the Capitol. It was kinda cool to know I got the same engine from NOL-WAS and I was going to get WAS-CHI. My guess is they pulled it off #20 to put the electrics on and then tacked it on the Capitol Limited.
This (the Capitol Limited) was the only part of the trip I was going in Roomette... on the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight sections of the trip Mike and I had our own seperate Bedrooms with the adjoining doors open during the day and closed at night. Then, on the Southwest Chief, City of New Orleans, and Crescent legs... we shared a Bedroom. When I went to book the Capitol Limited, the difference between a roomette and a bedroom was like $170 more. I really couldn’t justify spending that much for a bedroom – specially on the Capitol – where you pretty much get on at 4PM, eat dinner, go to bed, and wake up outside of Chicago. It was still weird to have a Roomette after having 7 nights in a bigger Bedroom.
I opted for the last seating at dinner (7:30PM) – despite the fact the LSA was really pushing for everyone to take an early diner time. However, with my stop at Aunt Annie’s in the station and the fact I wanted to get off and get some photos at the 7:14PM smoke stop at Cumberland, MD... I insisted on the later time. There was a VERY VERY light passenger load (sleepers) on #29... and I’m thinking that the LSA wanted to wrap up dinner as early as possible so he could get to bed sooner. Can’t blame him I guess... He said #30 on 3/15 out of CHI was totally sold out and it was going to be a long trip. Shoot, I wish I remember his name... but the voice of the dining car LSA was great... he should have been on the radio. He had a French Carribean accent – and I wish he made all of the announcements through the whole trip – it sounded like you were enterting a fancy restaurant. I had dinner with a nice woman who lives part of the time in Sandusky, OH and part of the time in Washington. She was a substiute teacher and also hosted a religious talk show on the radio. So we mainly swapped stories about radio... since I worked at a radio station in the late 90’s. She was nice company... very cheerful and upbeat. Even with that, I was sorta missing Mike’s company... It was weird to eat alone after having 27 meals on Amtrak on this trip together!!! Hahaha... I think I almost said “party of 2” when entering the diner.
It was almost 9PM when we finished... and I was the last one out of the diner. When I got back to the room, I crawled into bed and stayed up for about an hour watching some of the countryside and stars go by outside the window... one of my favorite things to do on Amtrak after dinner and at night. Just before pulling into Connellsville, PA, I heard the dining car LSA get on the PA and say “AC & Conductor needed in the Lounge Car immediately”... Having done Trails & Rails for Amtrak for 5 years... I know that is one of the key words said in an emergency. We sat at Connellsville for 20-30 minutes, but I didnt really see any activity (police or fire) out on the platform... and wasnt really picking up anything on my scanner... so I decided just to go to bed and not worry about it. From what I heard the next morning, someone might have jumped from the moving train in a suicide attempt somewhere between Cumberland and Connellsville. I dont know if that was the truth, but that is what some of the people at the dining car table were talking about the next morning. I fell asleep about 20 miles before Pittsburgh.
And now, we’re on to today... the final day of the trip... March 15, 2011. I slept REALLY good... not waking up until we were crossing the Ohio/Indiana State Line. I checked my watch and saw that it was already 6:40am – and wanted to get some breakfast before they stopped serving at 7:30am. I had the cheese omlet, my usual breakfast on Amtrak, except on the Empire Builder wherer I get the fresh pancakes sometimes. By the time I got back to the room we were just rolling through South Bend... I spent a few minutes getting the room together... and watching the steel mills fade and Chicago grow closer and closer. Pulling into the yard, I noticed an engine that looked like it caught on fire. Once I get my photos up in the coming days, you can check it out.
We got into Chicago right at 9AM... checked into the Met Lounge... waited an hour. The WiFi was up so I was able to post about the trip on #59. Around 10AM, I posted, headed to the Hiawatha gate.... and caught the 10:20AM to Milwaukee... getting to the Milwaukee Airport where my car was parked for the last 11 days... and yes, now I’m home.....
So, there it is... 2 AUF members on a 9,000 mile cross country trip.
Hope you enjoyed the trip reports.
Between today and the weekend, I will be uploaded photos from the trip and posting the links here.
