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It looks like I may have time for a train trip in November or early December, and it also looks like I may NOT have time for the trip I was planning in March. But I hate train trips in November and December because of the lack of light! My questions are:
Would it be worth taking the eastbound Cardinal for scenery that time of year, or does it get dark too early (I am assuming, I hope rightly, that the foliage won't be a visibility problem then, that far north, as some of you have told me it is in summer on the Cardinal)
Would it be worth taking the southbound City of New Orleans them, or should I hold off for a better time, lightwise?
I really don't want to miss too much of the usual scenery, or spend too much money when it's too cold or dark to enjoy myself. OTOH, I like to grab a chance to take the trains when I can, esp the Cardinal, which I have never taken and consider rather endangered.
Any advice?
graynt Member # 17
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Sojourner, The Cardinal travels through the most scenic areas before sunset,even in November. You ll get West Virginia and a good portion of Virginia before the sun sets.It s a very scenic ride and you may still see some foliage early in November.
The City of New Orleans is fine,too. You arrive in New Orleans in the afternoon so from Memphis southward you ll have daylight.
I sure miss the Superliners on the Cardinal, but as you mentioned it might be an endagered route. Remember,it only runs three days a week.
notelvis Member # 3071
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And with the Cardinal, time-permitting, I would maximize daylight travel by breaking the trip with an overnight stay in either Charlottesville or Manassas, VA continuing on to New York the following morning aboard the Crescent.
My very favorite ride aboard the Cardinal was the Friday after Thanksgiving in either 2000 or 2001. My wife and I did a 'daytrip' from Charleston, WV to Clifton Forge, VA and back. It had snowed on Thanksgiving Day but was sunny when we boarded the train. The scenery was lovely, the superliners were still there, the train was ahead of schedule into every station so we waited 5 minutes or so 'for time' at each section, and we had a really nice chicken pot pie for lunch. During our layover we did a little Christmas shopping in Clifton Forge.....my gift turned out to have come from the C&O Historical Society shop across the street from the station.
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