Another Silver Florida winter trip report!

[Barciur]

As most of us in the northeast are busy with the clean up after the massive blizzard, it seems a very fitting moment to present this travel report from my round trip to Miami aboard Amtrak Silver Meteor.

I am a European living in America and some of you may know some of my trip reports (which can be found in my signature) that were mostly done in Europe. However, this will be more familiar grounds for most, but definitely a new one for me – this was only the second long-distance trip I've ever taken aboard Amtrak and the first one in the Viewliners.

The idea for this trip was born a year ago. I booked the train 11 months out to get a sleeper for perhaps the hottest period of the year to visit Miami – New Year's. The purpose of the trip was to get away from winter, which of course, there was nothing to get away from. But, not all was lost, as I got unseasonably hot temperatures in Miami (strange, isn't it?) and I enjoyed my time thoroughly. Incidentally, it was also my first time ever travelling south of Washington, D.C. I booked Dec 27 departure in a roomette and a January 1st return in coach. It was perhaps more than I wished to spend, but since I do not do this very often, in fact hardly ever, I thought I might as well splurge a little bit... I will be back to Europe this summer travelling for much cheaper

The day started at the Amtrak station in Lancaster. Here was our Christmas tree in all its glory.

View of the newly renovated station

Platforms... not so newly renovated.

And my Pennsylvanian 42 approaching the station.

Once boarded, I quickly learned that there was absolutely NO seats available. This does not happen too often, but is known to happen on the Pennsylvanian ever since they removed the reservation requirement between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. So, I was lucky enough to grab a seat at the cafe car. There, I met a gentleman who was travelling to... Miami! It was very weird, since it was just a PGH – NYP train and I happened to stumble upon a person travelling there.

The small-talk about weather and travelling ensued and in no time, I was in Philadelphia.

 

[Barciur]

30th street station

Since my departure time was not until 4:59 and I got to 30th street station as 3PM, I went for some lunch. I had lunch at Mama's vegetarian relatively nearby, near Rittenhouse. I returned to 30th street at 4PM and went into the Acela lounge. I found that Acela lounge buzzer was not working, so I could not get in. Luckily, somebody was walking out of the lounge so I just went in. I spent my time relaxing and thinking about my trip.

There was a small and interesting incident. There was a bag left behind. It was a small handbag, but by protocol, Amtrak police were called. It turns out that a lady travelling to New Orleans left it. Unfortunately, the train has now left and she was without her bag...

It was time to board. We went down in the elevator with the red caps (it was my first time in the Philly elevator) and waited for the train to arrive on the platform. Once it did, I went into my car and my room. Once I sat down, I got the very pleasant feeling of “here I am again” I thoroughly love train travel so it was great to be back in this room.

Soon, my SCA showed up and informed me that dinner is ready for me. Wasting no time, I went and got my signature steak.

This is the dining car. The one going back seemed nicer and cozier than this one.

At dinner, I talked a bit with a lady who was travelling to South Carolina. She would detrain at 6am.. It was a bumpy ride and the diner was bouncing quite a bit on those rails between Philly and Baltimore. We managed to eat our dinner and part ways.

Upon returning to my roomette, I asked the SCA if she could make up the upper bunk for me. That way I had the lower for day-time configuration and upper for laying down. She did and I had a sleeping bunk and seats to myself.

 

[Barciur]

One of the things that I miss very much about travel in America on regular trains is the ability to be in a dark compartment by myself and just watch the world go by at night. It is only possible in sleeping configurations here so I was very glad to be able to do this.

Time went by pretty quickly. I read a lot of a book that I brought with me on the trip and I jumped between going from the upper bunk to the seats. What I found is that I was not in control of the heat at all – it was either too hot or too cold and I could not change it. Only thing I could control was the fans, but it was OK – I don't complain too much.

Here is my car at WAS:

And the view of the roomette corridor:

I read my book a little more and maybe after midnight, I fell asleep. It was a bumpy ride still and I would wake up a few times in the night, but was able to fall back to sleep.

I woke up at around 9 to these views:

It was my first time seeing palm trees!

 

[Barciur]

I quickly went to the dining car and was told I had “just made it”, despite the fact it was 9:20. I am not sure when they would stop serving breakfast, but I was under the impression, from AMTRAK website, that it would be at 10 rather than 9:30. Nevertheless, I made it and was glad I did.

I went back to my room and had a strange realization – I woke up in a sleeper car in the morning and I have still 10 hours to go. This was the first time I was on a train this long but I thoroughly enjoyed it! In fact, as the time went on, I kept having this interesting feeling of being almost forced to relax and loving it. There really was not a thing I could do other than just relax and enjoy the views and peace and quiet of my room. I could not do chores, I could not go do anything, I could just do nothing or read my book. It was a fantastic experience.

Some more views from the train window.

SunRail somewhere in Florida.

CSX yard

Winter Park, FL

 

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My first and really only attempt to get a picture of the train on the curve.

Right around 11 I think the LSA (?) came over and told me he only has a 1 o'clock reservation for lunch. I obliged and at 1, just as we were pulling into Orlando (about 20 minutes late), I went for my lunch.

Pre-lunch set-up

The view of the sleeper corridor. Perhaps the most reminiscent of European trains.

After a few hours of travel, we ended up racking a one hour delay. Here are pictures approaching Miami, I believe this was West Palm Beach or something earlier.

Finally, as people kept getting off, my anticipated stop, Miami in Hialeah came about. Once I got off, the first thing that really hit me was the humidity. I have not experienced this in a while so it was quite a shock, especially since it was, after all, winter. The weather in Miami did not go below 84 degrees my entire stay, and that was at night – in the day, it went to 88. So it was a very hot period, but I loved it.

Here's the night view of Hialeah train station.

http://i.imgur.com/c7w8mc5.jpg[/img]

 

[Barciur]

I was the only person from that train to get on the city bus. It was a really ghetto bus that went through all of Hialeah, so it was a rather interesting experience. Nevertheless, it got me to where I needed to go, so all was well.

I spent most of my time in Miami relaxing on the beach and exploring Miami Beach.

The day of my return was New Year's Day. I had checked out of my hostel on Collins Ave. and went to the beach. I spent the entire night on the beach, which was a really fun experience. At 5am, I went to a 24-hour Diner to get breakfast. Then, I went to the hostel to pick-up my backpack and hailed a cab. The cab driver insisted on cash, and while normally I wouldn't do it or would say “I only have $30” (the fare was $38) and see what happens, I was so tired I just let him win and no doubt pocket the money..

Anyway, after a relatively long drive to Hialeah (I hope it was the last time and next time I can arrive at a more civilized place!) I got to see the train station at day time.

 

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The train waiting at the station.

And the Miami train station waiting room:

One thing that stood out is once again, boarding is restricted and there is no self-boarding to a train just like that. I am so used to that from Europe and it always annoys me here, but you just accept the way things are done in different places and live with it.

At the station, I got my tickets printed out and waited. The ticket agent announced that a) the Silver Star had cheaper sleeping options available and we could change to that and b) comfort kits were for sale.

Once time came for boarding, I got another surprise, which was the assignment of seats in coach. Absolutely not used to that, as this was my first time in long-distance coach, I got a window seat by a miracle. I was assigned an aisle seat, but my seat-mate had requested an aisle seat instead, so the coach attendant switched us. I was very glad.

 

[Barciur]

Some views from the window going back:

My seat-mate was a nice gentleman who was originally from Peru, grew up in Miami and lives in New York. He said he much prefers the cold of New York, but visits his parents about twice a year, usually for Christmas and in the summer. We did have some small talk every now and again about trains, which was very nice. However, I was very much ready to sleep, so I think I fell asleep at about 9 and would wake up at 11, then fall back asleep and this was a pattern that occurred until 4pm. I was told that I could make a lunch reservation, but perhaps the attendant went through coach when I was asleep. So, cafe car food it was. I despised it and would actually prefer to pack sandwiches had I known how bad it would be.

Here's the cafe car

Orlando

At Orlando, I got out to the train station. I was eager to get some fresh air, as Amtrak trains have no windows that can be opened (another thing that I love in Eastern Europe! Fresh air! But then with fresh air you get no air conditioning, so it's never quite an easy choice). It was raining a little bit and was cold – the first time I was cold since Christmas... Sign of things to come.

I went back and got myself situated in coach for a little while. Maybe at 8 or 9 I went to the cafe car for “dinner”. I had a veggie burger which was pretty lame. There, I met two people from different parts of the world travelling on the train, so it was a very interesting discussion. Stayed there for maybe 1.5 hours and got to exchange stories and plans. Made time go faster and it was a very nice conversation.

At around 10 PM, I went back and got myself ready for sleep. I noticed that most of the people knew the drill and came prepared – blankets, pillows, ear plugs etc. I was not quite ready for that and was unprepared, but I think I was still able to sleep relatively OK given the circumstances. I think I slept soundly until 5am.

As a side story, there were two elderly gentlemen travelling with a child. From what I gathered, one of them was an uncle and the other a grandfather. They were travelling with the kid back to Detroit. Somehow, I have no clue how, the men thought they would be in DC at 6 PM not AM, so they were shocked to see that we were still in Florida! They kept asking when we would be in DC... They also said they were catching the train to Detroit at 7, but as far as I know, the only connection they could have made was a 4PM Capitol Limited to Toledo. So, what their plans were I had no idea...

5am came and I learned that we were super early. I think we arrived in WAS maybe a full hour early. Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was New Year's Day so freight traffic was very light. I got breakfast soon after the diner was open and was delighted to get real(er?) food from the diner instead of the cafe car.

We were running so early something obviously have had to go wrong... a man needed an EMS intervention in Wilmington, so we spent a good 45 minutes there. He seemed OK but was still taken to the hospital. We arrived at 30th street station 15 minutes early, so good timing still and a happy end to the trip. Unfortunately, it was only 38 degrees outside and I was FREEZING!

So, all in all, I enjoyed my trip in the sleeper to the full extent. I wanted to try coach on the way back not just to spend less money, but also to see if I could do a long-distance in coach. And while I could do it, I do not really see a reason to. Sadly, it is not comfortable to do, at least solo. Maybe if I had a friend with me that I was comfortable with, it would be a lot better, as essentially sharing a bed with a stranger is a little awkward. It is also not as comfortable as a flat bed is. Finally, there is nowhere to really go freely on the train like there is on many trains in Europe – be it the corridor or the vestibule between the cars. So, while you are not stuck in the same way you would be on a bus, you are still stuck to your seat a lot more than I am comfortable with. Thus, while the trip was not terrible, I think in the future I will either take the sleeper or fly.

 

[caravanman]

Thanks for your Miami trip report... It is always extra interesting to me to hear how other Europeans feel about their Amtrak rides.

Glad you got to see your first palm trees, I remember after a 9 month long visit to Asia how I wished to see something else!

I was amused by the guys who did not realise how long their train ride north would take... they must be used to flying.

How did the hostel work out, any hints on places to stay (or avoid...) are always helpful.

Overall, I think your trip experience mirrors many that I have taken, a mixed bag... I too get that uplifting buzz when I board a long distance train.

Ed.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Enjoyed your trip report and photos. Glad you had a good trip generally. We just returned from FLA. on the Meteor and so your report provided some good memories. Palm trees are nice.. sleeping in coach..not so nice. Diner food usually very good..Steaks..excellent. Best wishes..

 

[Fred Wis.]

Interesting trip reports like this are what keep me checking in to this site. Your line of "forced to relax" is a perfect description of train travel. I often struggle to describe that feeling to my friends when they ask "why travel by train?".

 

[Barciur]

Thanks for the kind words.

How did the hostel work out, any hints on places to stay (or avoid...) are always helpful.

I stayed at Tropics hostel, which I enjoyed very much. It's very close to the beach and was a nice and clean place. Very friendly, too.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Most enjoyable, thanks for sharing! Especially liked the tip about the Hostel since Miami (and Florida in general!) is expensive in the Winter, especially in the so called "affordable" places.

 

[user 6862]

Enjoyed your report too, do like your fresh and open approach to describing your experiences and always learn something when you write.

 

[MnMotherMary]

Thanks for the memories. You described it perfectly. We started in Mpls. to Chicago to Washington D.C. & then down to Miami. The location of that station is NOT in a good area.