Took a round trip on the Capitol Limited this week from DC to Connellsville, PA, riding in coach. Train was sold-out, and I was given an assigned seat in the last coach. Headed up to the lounge car before it got too dark and watched the sun going down as we headed (north)west. The train on Saturday 11/29 had 2 of the Cross Country Cafe cars, of which only one was being used. Dinner was overall good, had the flat iron steak, though my vegetables were a bit overcooked. Arrived in Connellsville only 5 minutes down.
Returned to DC on Tuesday 12/2, boarding in Connellsville. I had my scanner with me and when I got to the station I heard 30 calling a stop signal just outside of town. Signal crews were cutting in new signals (the old B&O CPL signal at the station is no more) and trains were being talked through the area. Finally after about a 30 minute delay with getting around 2 other freights the train pulled in and I boarded. Train was pretty full and I was given a seat assignment once again. Dropped off my luggage in the rack above my seat and headed to the lounge. The scenery heading along the Yough river out near Ohiopyle was awesome, had some snow a few days earlier which was still around. Got breakfast in the dining car, and found a bit of a surprise, our train had a real diner with the regular booth seats, not a CCC car. Not sure on why they had a real diner in the consist but I definitely like the diner better than the CCC. Had the scrambled eggs which were decent. We encountered a few MOW crews replacing rail along a few stretches east of Cumberland and we ended up losing an hour total, we pulled into DC around 2:30pm.
Overall a good trip, was good to relax and go along for the ride and not worry about driving.
Returned to DC on Tuesday 12/2, boarding in Connellsville. I had my scanner with me and when I got to the station I heard 30 calling a stop signal just outside of town. Signal crews were cutting in new signals (the old B&O CPL signal at the station is no more) and trains were being talked through the area. Finally after about a 30 minute delay with getting around 2 other freights the train pulled in and I boarded. Train was pretty full and I was given a seat assignment once again. Dropped off my luggage in the rack above my seat and headed to the lounge. The scenery heading along the Yough river out near Ohiopyle was awesome, had some snow a few days earlier which was still around. Got breakfast in the dining car, and found a bit of a surprise, our train had a real diner with the regular booth seats, not a CCC car. Not sure on why they had a real diner in the consist but I definitely like the diner better than the CCC. Had the scrambled eggs which were decent. We encountered a few MOW crews replacing rail along a few stretches east of Cumberland and we ended up losing an hour total, we pulled into DC around 2:30pm.
Overall a good trip, was good to relax and go along for the ride and not worry about driving.
