Suggestions for Taking the CL in 3 weeks

[JayMadison]

You guys were great at suggestions on how to enjoy the cardinal (which btw was awesome) and I was wondering if you had any suggestions for enjoying the CL.

I booked myself into a roomette, and after last time have a better sense of what I should or shouldn't bring to do a better job at light weight packing.

So yea Let the suggestions fly

 

[SarahZ]

I posted this in the other thread, but it bears a repeat:

Make your way to the lounge car before you reach Harpers Ferry, WV. You're going to want photos from both sides of the train.

 

[Acela150]

I posted this in the other thread, but it bears a repeat:

Make your way to the lounge car before you reach Harpers Ferry, WV. You're going to want photos from both sides of the train.

This! Point of Rocks Station will be on the left going to DC and is worth a photo.

 

[JayMadison]

Are any of the OBS worth seeking out? I heard some of them have the reputation of being unhelpful

 

[SarahZ]

Are any of the OBS worth seeking out? I heard some of them have the reputation of being unhelpful

I had the BEST server in the dining car, and the LSA was really nice too. They were a great team. I have their names written down somewhere. I really need to write that trip report.

 

[Acela150]

Last trip on the CL I had I think it was Russell and Stephen? They were both great!

 

[JayMadison]

Oh well, maybe the reputation isn't deserved. That's good news for me

 

[chakk]

The region just east of Cumberland also includes an interesting engineered section (now 100 years old) from the B&O called the Magnolia Cutoff. Several tunnels adjacent to bridges crossing the Potomac River. In the Old Days (when West Virginia was a "dry" state), the B&O lounge car attendants would advise customers when the train was approaching the state line, so they could "legally" get a refill of their favorite alcoholic beverage.

 

[zephyr17]

Are any of the OBS worth seeking out? I heard some of them have the reputation of being unhelpful

Unfortunately, YMMV applies strongly to onboard service. You can have a great or a rotten experience on any train. Although crew base does seem to influence. Generally I've found the common wisdom that crews based out of Chicago tend to be problematical has some truth to it, but, again YMMV and you can't just assume that a Chicago crew will be bad and an LA crew will be great. On any given trip the opposite can be true.

 

[JayMadison]

Are any of the OBS worth seeking out? I heard some of them have the reputation of being unhelpful

Unfortunately, YMMV applies strongly to onboard service. You can have a great or a rotten experience on any train. Although crew base does seem to influence. Generally I've found the common wisdom that crews based out of Chicago tend to be problematical has some truth to it, but, again YMMV and you can't just assume that a Chicago crew will be bad and an LA crew will be great. On any given trip the opposite can be true.

IDK the people on the cardinal were all pretty great, some were quirky but I kinda enjoy that.

 

[greatcats]

I had an SCA on 30 in Oct. 2012, who was outstanding. Jordan Lombardo. Have not seen any other mentions of him.

 

[Dovecote]

You guys were great at suggestions on how to enjoy the cardinal (which btw was awesome) and I was wondering if you had any suggestions for enjoying the CL.

I booked myself into a roomette, and after last time have a better sense of what I should or shouldn't bring to do a better job at light weight packing.

So yea Let the suggestions fly

By the way, what will be your arrival station? As others have indicated the scenery is top notch the following AM after departing Pittsburgh for pretty much the duration of the train route. The scenery returning west in the summer months on the CL lasts until maybe past Cumberland when darkness sets in. You might want to consider returning home via the Lake Shore Limited (out of NYP via DC on a regional) to notch up another train route and view spectacular scenery along the Hudson River. Just a thought.

 

[SarahZ]

I found my notes!

On the WB CL, the server was Miles, and the LSA was Donna. They were incredible.

 

[kbmiflyer]

Be aware of the differences between the viewliner you had on the Cardinal and the superliner you have on the CL. The CL roomettes don't have the luggage cubbyhole in the room above the hallway, or a toilet. Also, there is also no upper windows.

On the flip side, there is a large storage area downstairs for luggage, as well as several bathrooms and a shower. I tend to use the restrooms downstairs as they seem to be a little cleaner and larger.

Do you know if you roomette is upstairs or downstairs? You can tell by the room number on the ticket, 11-14 are downstairs, the rest are upstairs.

Are you departing from Chicago or DC?

 

[JayMadison]

Be aware of the differences between the viewliner you had on the Cardinal and the superliner you have on the CL. The CL roomettes don't have the luggage cubbyhole in the room above the hallway, or a toilet. Also, there is also no upper windows.

On the flip side, there is a large storage area downstairs for luggage, as well as several bathrooms and a shower. I tend to use the restrooms downstairs as they seem to be a little cleaner and larger.

Do you know if you roomette is upstairs or downstairs? You can tell by the room number on the ticket, 11-14 are downstairs, the rest are upstairs.

Are you departing from Chicago or DC?

Downstairs eastbound, upstairs westbound, even w/o a luggage rack in room I do like that the stairs to the upper bunk can hold stuff (not such much if it's your toilet lol)

 

[JayMadison]

Oh yes, I"m going chi -> was and was -> chi

 

[crescent2]

We traveled on the CL from WAS to CHI in a bedroom. (Came back on the Cardinal in a roomette.) We are pretty low maintenance and had no complaints with the service. The one time we went to the lounge car, it was full--and eerily quiet, so quiet we'd have felt conspicuous carrying on a very quiet conversation had there been empty seats. That's probably not the norm, but I've never spent any time in the lounges so I don't really know.

This won't affect you, but the upper berths are very tight--very little headroom and no window. The Viewliners are much better for anyone who has the upper berth. Also, unlike the Viewliners, there is no sink or toilet in the roomettes as has already been noted.

We enjoyed the CL and ran pretty much on time, too. Have another great trip!

 

[Acela150]

I've done the CL each way. Although I've only gone westbound once. Going west we were only 20-30 minutes late. That was early February. When I last did the CL it was east in late September and we departed well over an hour late, and lost more time enroute. A car got stuck on a grade crossing in Indiana which held us up further. We were booked on the 325pm Regional to RTE. Missed that so I was hoping and praying that the Cap would pull in around 345pm so I could quickly book the 4pm AE to RTE. But as luck would have it we pulled in as 2258 was departing. Since it was a Sunday there was a train at 520pm to BOS which we were rebooked on. Needless to say I wasn't really happy as the train pulled into RTE at 1am and we had to drive to Allentown Monday.

 

[FormerOBS]

For the record, the Capitol Limited uses Washington DC-based crews.