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Just got back from an "intermodal" trip from Ocala to Saratoga and return. I drove my vehicle to Palatka on Mon., hopped on the Silver Meteor, caught an Empire Service train from NYP to Albany on Tues., and finished the trip by rental car to Saratoga. Reversed the route on Fri. Generally, more positives than negatives, as Gil likes to say.
Going up on #98, we got delayed around Richmond Hill, GA for an hour and a half because of a storm that dropped a couple of Gil's "seen one, seen them all" pines on the rails. CSX crew cleaned up and we were about that late for the rest of the night. There was a 2-yo boy in coach who seemed unable to channel his incessant screaming into any semblance of intelligible speech (probably will grow up to be a politico). I felt sorry for the young mom who really had her hands full with this guy, until he mercifully fell asleep. The lounge car closed somewhere in Northern VA, and didn't open again until the somewhat irritable conductor got finished shaking everyone down for ticket receipts. Guess he was looking for stowaways. It's amazing how the surliness factor of the on-board staff increases as you go further and further north. Another thing I noticed was that the air conditioner must have been set for 62 degrees (better than 82 degrees, I guess), and me with no jacket or sweater. We got into NYP nearly two hours late (a NJ Transit train had broken down between the tunnel and the throat of the station, affecting all operations somewhat). I used the mezzanine level to switch from track 11 to track 5 and catch #283 to ALB. Made a mental note of the railroad oddity that some N/B trains into NYP have even numbers, while some N/B trains leaving NYP have odd numbers. Realized that N/B into NYP is really EAST-bound, while N/B out of NYP can be WEST-bound, hence not such an oddity.
The return trip was remarkable for the perfect timekeeping of trains 280 and 97 the whole trip. Only thing worthy of note is that the cafe car attendant on #97 had a bit of a meltdown because there were 5 or 6 people on line. She shut down service while she regrouped and called for assistance. Now, with two servers working, the line moved HALF as fast, not TWICE as fast as one might have expected. Amtrak at its best!
Got home Sat. afternoon, a little the worse for wear and tear, a little lighter in the pockets, and a little heavier around the waist (excellent food around Saratoga this time of year, and we overdid it a little).
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Glad you had an unremarkable trip, Mike - the best kind on Amtrak as their surprises are usually not good ones.
Did you sample the diner? That kind be a pleasant oasis if you're spending time in coach.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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No, didn't hit the diners on this trip. Cafe car snacks, and my spots at NYP filled the bill.
When my wife and I traveled on the CZ with a bedroom around 5 years ago, we were very pleased with the dining care fare and service.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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