Richmond, Va

[TEREB]

I know this belongs in "What to do, what to see"...but there is no listing for Richmond.

It looks like I will have a 4 hour layover in Richmond while waiting for Train 91. What is at the station? Is there a first class lounge to sit at? What is there to do or see around the station? I'm a senior female traveling alone.

My other option is to go north to Washington DC, spending some time there, then catching either train 91 or train 97 from there. Going north first will add about 3 hours to an already very long trip south.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Guest]

I've not been in the main street station, but the Staples Road station is on the outskirts of the city. There's not a first class lounge that I know of (but I usually am there with my ride, so we just chat until I board.

 

[Big Iron]

Try the link below, some Richmond options were discussed there. If the link does not work go to the search function for forums and type in Maymont.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/47603-what-to-do-in-richmondva-during-5-hrs-layover/page__hl__maymont

 

[Mid Atlantic]

There is nothing at the Staples Mill station that is within walking distance and there is no special first class lounge. However, it is too risky to travel further on your first train as the next stop north where you can catch the 91 train is Alexandra which isn't much of station either and there is always the potential for a delay and missing the 91 train. A much better choice would be to take a 15 minute cab ride to downtown Richmond to see one of the numerous sights downtown. Suggestions include the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Museum of the Confederacy, and a great Civil Museum in the old Tredagar Iron Works down by the river.

 

[Ryan]

I know this belongs in "What to do, what to see"...but there is no listing for Richmond.

That's all you need to know.

Seriously, the others covered it. Richmond Staples Mill is a functional station, but not somewhere that I'd want to spend a long layover unless I had a good book to kill the time.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Here's a link that could help: http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/richmondva.htm

 

[Anderson]

There is nothing at the Staples Mill station that is within walking distance and there is no special first class lounge. However, it is too risky to travel further on your first train as the next stop north where you can catch the 91 train is Alexandra which isn't much of station either and there is always the potential for a delay and missing the 91 train. A much better choice would be to take a 15 minute cab ride to downtown Richmond to see one of the numerous sights downtown. Suggestions include the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Museum of the Confederacy, and a great Civil Museum in the old Tredagar Iron Works down by the river.

There's also the Science Museum of Virginia, which is both not a bad museum and the ex-Broad Street Station.

 

[TEREB]

Hi all, thanks for your responses. I found the links to "What to do in Richmond" and the links to station photos very informative and interesting. It reminds me of the Jacksonville station.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Yeah, it does look like JAX. It's that standard 1970s look when Amtrak had just taken over te trains and were trying to build new stations. They built these larger stations and the small "Amshacks." It also looks like MSP.

 

[Michael061282]

it's almost outlived its usefullness everytime I catch a train there the place is packed, especially since they let a vendor build a snack shack inside, when two come in at the same its almost like a natural disaster evacuation. When it was built in the early-mid 70's Richmond only had 4 or 5 trains and it was plenty big, but now, even with Main St. Station on the NPN line, RVR is ridiculously crowded.