I loved it, the scenery is very green and abundant north of Birmingham. There is a lot of elevated track .

Short Story from trip: We arrived at Hotel Le cirque on Lee Circle in New Orleans , cut on the TV to see an Amtrak train sprawled over the Countryside. I got a cold Shrill through my body, the City of NOL had derailed, I was really paranoid that we were going to De-rail on the trip home especially crossing Lake P'train.

I spent two weekends in Atlanta in December 2003 and February 2004 and observed the Crescents arriving on-time into Atlanta in each direction on both trips. That doesn't insure an on-time trip for you but it does suggest that Norfolk Southern is still able to make a legitimate effort to get the train over-the-road efficiently.

Scenery between Lynchburg and Charlottesville is pretty going north but you are there before dawn during some months. The southbound train is always there after dark. The section between Atlanta and Birmingham is fascinating with some grades, a number of small towns, and more curves than one would expect. (An Atlanta-Birmingham rt is a good daytrip.)

Hope you have a good time.