posted
Traveling for business at the end of May, I decided that I would do this one by rail instead of flying. Took the Carolinian down on 5/22. Drove from home and parked in the new garage at 30th St. It was expensive at $18/day, but on the company's dime, convenience was the order of the day. Busy weekday morning at 30th St. Several queues waiting to go down to track level for boarding. I noticed Amtrak police with canines sniffing the NY bound passengers.(the canines doing the sniffing, not the officers) Made a quick stop at Dunkin D's, where a shrill clerk was too busy yelling "NEXT! NEXT!" to get my order correct-I'm all for expedience, especially in a busy rush hour situation, but not if you can't get it right at the expense of quickness. 79 was shortly called and arrived on time. On aspect of boarding at 30th St that amuses me is the queuing at the top of the stairs, and the hurry by inexperienced travelers to get a good spot, not realizing that they will be let down onto the platform before the train even arrives...everyone is in the same boat, no matter what your spot on line. Down at track level I ambled away from the crowd, and upon boarding secured my self a set of 2 open seats. Weather was good, and the ride to DC was quick and uneventful. Made our engine change at DC, and were shortly on our way south. Lunch from the cafe car was a hot ***...the dogs are good, but I wish they didn't nuke the bun, which ends up chewy. We crawled soutward across VA and NC, making several stops for CSX freights, losing time, and arrived in RGH an hour late, give or take. Stayed in the Sheraton downtown Raleigh, which is about 4 blocks from the station. Raleigh is a nice little city, and upon completing my business the following day, I went to lunch at Clyde Coopers for some famous NC style BBQ, which I love, and took a stroll around downtown. My return to PHL would be 5/24 on #92, which was scheduled to arrive at RGH at 5:40 AM. Knowing the on-time record of the Star, I figured a few calls to Julie would be in order. Since I was so close to the station, I could call for updates starting around 4:45a, and maybe get seom extra shuteye if she was running late. Sure enough I called right before I went to bed and 92 was already an hour down. Another call in the wee hours revealed more time was lost. With each subsequent call at half hour intervals, more time was lost, and my final call at 7:30 gave an estimated arrival of 8:50, 3+ hours late. I figured on giving some cushion, and decided to leave my hotel room about 8:00, just in case some time was made up. I assumed Julie would be pretty accurate as the train was closing in on RGH. Walking down to the station, full from the room service breakfast I was able to enjoy thanks to 92's tardiness, imagine my shock and horror as I was still 2 blocks away, but could see 92 sitting at the station. Uh oh...I picked up the pace, thankful for my light packing, crossed in front of the train at the grade crossing, and managed to catch an AC who was, luckily for me, trying to help a Hispanic couple find their Mother who was supposed to have been aboard. Had it not been for this lost Mother, I would have very likely missed 92, and would have had to change my tickets and wait an extra 3 hours for the northbound Carolinian. Soaking wet and huffing and puffing I boarded, and was lucky enough to get an open pair of seats. The moral here is that Julie is only to be believed to a certain point. Next time I'm going to be a little more skeptical of her info, and will give myself a little more leeway. Once on the move, I cooled off a bit and we trundled northward on the interminable journey that is CSX track through NC and VA. Went to the diner for lunch at 1, and it was nearly empty, save for one table of three. I was seated alone, and had the supreme pizza, which was pretty good, especially on the company's dime and compared to the nuked AmDog I had going south. I liked the heritage diner, and wondered where it came from. I like going through Northern VA...Ashland, and crossing a few nice rivers on high trestles, and then the view of DC as we approach. DC was made about 3 hours off schedule, and the engine change was done quickly. Our trip was made longer in Baltimore as a door stuck, and an inspector had to be called to the scene. Being close to 4 hours down now, the crew handed out snack packs consisting of cheese and crackers, trail mix and a cookie, and a bottled water to all the remaining passengers. I thought that was a nice touch, and it was much appreciated by everyone. We mercifully made into Philly about 6:15. For me it was not so bad as we only lost an hour on my leg of the trip, and rush hour traffic was winding down by the time I got to my car and onto the highway. All in all I give Amtrak good marks for the trip...the employees were all very good, and we ran about as well as could be expected in the busy CSX corridor. My only complaint was with Julie's terrible information, especially to be so far off when the train was so close to my boarding station. I wonder how many people have missed trains because of this. Most enjoyable were the quizical looks I got from my coworkers when I told them I made the trip by train instead of flying!
-------------------- "that's no way to run a railroad!"
~my grandfather, who worked on the NY,NH&H Posts: 14 | From: PA | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sounds like a nice trip. Thanks for describing it! I missed stopping in Raleigh when I had to cancel my FL trip this winter but am planning on visiting next time I have a chance. Re Julie: Doesn't she always say "trains can make up time"? Anyway, glad you made the train in spite of all.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your trip report. Thanks also for your promotion of North Carolina BBQ. (Personally my favorite comes from a non-descript dive in Fayetteville called the BBQ Hut! It's good on a sandwich with some hush puppies and sweet tea, the house wine of the south.)
Being just an hour late into Raleigh on the southbound 'Carolinian' these days is almost like being on-time. People considering that train are generally advised to expect to be a couple of hours late by those of us who keep an eye on such things.
I often describe CSX between Rocky Mount, NC and Richmond, VA as a 'Black Hole' where trains can enter virtually on-time yet pop out on the other side less than 125 miles away running three hours late. CSX's decision twenty years ago to singletrack their former ACL mainline through the Carolinas has turned out to be one of the most shortsighted decisions in modern railroading.
And Julie......does she still give you 'details' which include what time the train left the last station? That is sometimes a good way to gauge how a train is doing at 'making up time' as 92 does have some padding in place between Southern Pines and Raleigh.
I like that you choose the earlier departure (79 southbound and 92 northbound) in both directions for your trip. You were anticipating lateness and took the appropriate steps to minimize it's impact on the arrival end. In English that means you didn't want to drag in to Raleigh at 1:00am on 91. Thanks for your first report. We look forward to hearing more from you!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for the positive feedback...In September I will be heading to Montreal on the Adirondak, and then on to Gaspe aboard VIA's Chaleur, and will be sure to post a report. I'm very excited for my first ride on the stainless trainset with a real dome.
If I recall correctly, Julie only gives the estimated arrival time into the station you give her. In hindsight, a better practice may have been to 'trick' Julie into giving me actual arrival times at stations en route, but being a good order follower, I kept on giving her "Train 92 into Raleigh" for my estimated arrival, when really I should have been checking actual times. Live and learn...
-------------------- "that's no way to run a railroad!"
~my grandfather, who worked on the NY,NH&H Posts: 14 | From: PA | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
