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Hello from cold and cloudy England. It's amazing to think that it's nearly ten months since I took the Sunset from Florida to LA, and it's now only just over two months to my next US visit and train trip. I'm flying into Dulles on the Saturday evening, taking the next day's Capitol to Chicago, changing to the Empire Builder to Portland and finally the Coast Starlight to San Luis Obispo. I'll have five or six hours to fill in Washington on the Sunday, and (assuming the trains are on time) about four hours in Portland on the Tuesday. Therefore, I'm after the usual information - are there luggage lockers, is it safe to explore the areas around the stations, anywhere best avoided, any "must sees" in the vicinity, food/restaurant facilities in/near the stations etc etc Many thanks
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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Mr. Williams, I can give you some info. If you are going by sleeper you can use the metropolitan lounge in the station to leave your luggage. It's quite safe. I don't know about coach passengers. There is a large food court with just about every kind of food on the lower level and several restaurants on the 1st level. There is an information desk in the front lobby and also in the lounge where you should be able to get all the info you need. The Capitol is close by as are museums and the Natiuonal Gallery of Art. Since we live in the area I am not aware of the timing as we don't have to concern ourselves with that. The station is quite large and on the first level there are a variety of stores. I know there are tour "trolleys" at the station but I think you can get all the necessary info at the desk. Also we always get a red cap. He comes to the lounge or tells you where and when to meet him if you are going coach. He preboards you before the crowd and to us that is worth the few extra dollars we tip him. I hope this helps. Have a great trip.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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To see as much of Washington as possible in the time you have I would take the Tourmobile from in front of Union Station. It goes past and stops at most of the attractions/sites. You can get on and off or stay on board for the full route. There are lots of food choices in the Food Court and the main level of the station.
The area around the Portland Station is safe to walk in and there is a great public transit system. It's free within the downtown area including the station.
You should be able to get more information by using Google or a similar search engine. As mentioned, there is an information desk in the main concourse at WAS. There is also a desk where you can buy the tourmobile tickets.
Have a great time!
Frank in sunny, warm SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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I am not local to either of these cities but I visited Portland in August and have been to DC a fair amount lately, so here is some info that might help.
Train Lady's info is for Union Station, Washington, DC. The area around Union Station is less busy on Sundays but should still be safe. The Capitol may not be open (I can't remember if it's open on Sundays; but anyway, you don't want to go in, because the lines are long with tourists and you don't have enough time) but all the many Smithsonian museums are, and since they are free, you can bop into one and out of another as the fancy strikes you. (One thing to remember in DC is that you will have to let officials check through any bags you may have and go through a metal detector at some museum doors for security reasons, so that does take a little time. But usually it's pretty quick.) The Smithsonian's National Gallery is pretty close, just walk up to the Mall; you can then walk across the Mall partways to the new Native American Museum or the Botanical Garden hothouse, or whatever other museum strikes your fancy. There are also lovely gardens on the Mall near the Smithsonian Castle and near the Arts & Sciences Museum (closed for alterations), and sculpture gardns near the Hirschhorn Museum. And on your way back to Union Station, you might stop in at the National Buildings Museum, also free and part of the Smithsonian. It's not on the Mall but is closer to Union Station at 401 F St between 4th & 5th St, NW, 202-272-2468, www.nbm.org. Even if you don't have time to see any of the exhibits, the interior itself is really worth seeing; galleried Italianate interior now sometimes used for inaugural balls. Also in this area by Judiciary Square is a little memorial to the nation's police officers, where I sometimes stop. Last time I went through here a big ceremony was taking place.
On your way back to Union Station (but before you stop into National Buildings Museum) you might also stop to eat in Jaleo, a trendy, attractive Penn Quarter small-plates (tapas) restaurant often too busy but it should be OK on a Sunday (and I'm pretty sure is open on Sunday--it was last year), 480 7th St NW at E St, 202-628-7949; website is www.jaleo.com. Or you can go a few blocks further and stop in Eat First in Chinatown, 609 H St NW, between 6th & 7th St NW, 202-289-1703, also open Sunday. I always go here and love the fat Singapore noodles or the hot spicy eggplant claypot dish. However, the quick way back from Chinatown to Union Station, using Av H and Massachusetts Ave over the highway, may be too deserted on a Sunday, so do go back via E Street (some of the streets don't go thru because of the highway etc). Or you can eat in Union Station, as Train Lady suggests, though I never have, except for Ben n Jerry's ice cream once when in a rush to catch a train (it makes a great meal!)
The date of your visit also sounds like you could be in DC for the cherry tree blooming. That is a Big Deal. The lovely stretch of trees are by the Tidal Basin/Jefferson Memorial; if you want to see that, you might take a taxi there (should be easy to get at Union Station) and then walk back. It all depends on how much time you have.
Re Portland: Very nice little station, with a big luggage check area and also a first-class lounge where you can leave your luggage if you are taking a sleeper. When you go outside, if you take a left, there are a few somewhat dumpy streets (near the Greyhound Station) with some homeless types hanging about, but I was a female walking there alone (on a weekday) and was not unduly worried, so I doubt you would need to be. In that direction is Portland's Chinatown, where I had very nice dim sum for late lunch (around 1:30 or 2) at Fong Chong, 301-309 NW 4th Av at Everett, 503-228-6868. I suspect they are open every day. Nearby is the new and rather pleasant Classical Chinese Garden, at the corner of Everett St & 3rd Av, 503-228-8131, but there is a fee to get in so you likely won't have time. There is also a light rail stop, if you are interested in that.
Or you can head from there (or just forget Chinatown, and head directly down) to the river and walk down along it toward Hawthorne Bridge; it's where the joggers etc go, and walking along it was one of my favorite things to do in Portland. You can then come back to the train station past Pioneer Courthouse Square (a focus of downtown, where at least on weekdays there are stands where you can buy food) or maybe even past the South Park Blocks, where some of Portland's main museums are. None of these are that close to the train, but they are all walkable--well, I'm a walker, and I like to stretch my legs before long train trips. Just be carefl to leave yourself plenty of time to catch your train! (You can likely get a cab at the train station to go down to the river etc, but I'm not sure how easily you will be able to get one back if you are in hurry!--probably not a problem but you never know)
Closer to the train station (if you go down to the river you can stop here on the way back up) and a good place to go if it's raining is the famous Powell's City of Books, a humungous bookstore at 1005 W Burnside at 10th St. And not far from here is Jake’s Famous Crawfish, 401 SW 12th Av at Stark, 503-226-1419, open for lunch M-F; and lunch has better prices than dinner. This was recommended to me by people on this board, and I quite liked it; you can have some local-color seafood here.
If you go out the main door of the train station and head more to the right, past the post office etc., you will come to the somewhat trendy Pearl District, warehouses turned to lofts and so on. I don't know the restaurants here but I did stop in a little shop/cafe called Nina's here where I had the local Umpqua ice cream, very good, especially the spumoni and the chocolate thunder.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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If possible take Jim up on his offer. He is an easy walk from the station and right in the thick of things. Also working on the hill I would guess he will have up to date info for visitors. Also the tour mobile is an very good idea if you can't contact Jim. That is what I meant by tour trolleys.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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What great suggestions! The NBM is a favorite of mine. The volunteer docents do a wonderful job of explaining the importance of the building. Jaleo and Eat First! also sound great. I've printed out all of your suggestions and put them in my D.C. file!
Frank in cloudy but warm SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Thanks everybody, great information as ever. Jim - I'll get in touch nearer the time and may well take you up on your offer, but it will be on a Sunday, remember. Yes, I'm travelling sleeper all the way in what used to be called standard on the Capitol and the CS and deluxe on the Empire Builder.
I didn't ask for info on Chicago as I've been there before but just one thought - should the Capitol be mega-late do Amtrak fly you on to MSP to pick up the EB there?
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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Depends on how late the capitol is. If its really late, they will put you up in a hotel for the night and you can catch the next days train.
Posts: 416 | From: St. Albans, Vermont | Registered: Feb 2003
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Unfortunately, AMTRAK very rarely flies people to downline cities if they miss connections -- the standard remedy for missed connections is to put you up in a hotel for the night, or to bus you to some downline station on your missed train.
However, back in 1996, on a very very late Desert Wind (7 hours -- early, compared to the current Sunset Ltd.....), AMTRAK did fly several passengers from Lincoln, NE to Chicago to make connections which would have been missed. I was one of those passengers -- back then, we still had "On-Board Chiefs" on trains, and I believe the OBC who set up the flight connection that day was a fellow named Bill Seuss (? -- something like that). I for one really appreciated his efforts, as I was able to then make the connection to the Late For Sure (sorry, I mean Lake Shore) Ltd that evening and continue my trip.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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I think Amtrak made a big mistake in eliminating that position! I remember one Russ Settel (I'm sure I spelled his name wrong)who went out of his way to help a couple on the Coast Starlight many moons ago find a hotel when we arrived very late in Eugene Or. The chiefs were the public face of Amtrak on the trains...now who is??
Posts: 171 | From: Aurora, Illinois | Registered: Jun 2005
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in 1994 i was flown from chicago to st louis to catch up with the texas eagle (my empire builder train into chicago was about 4 hours late).
Posts: 416 | From: St. Albans, Vermont | Registered: Feb 2003
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You mentioned you're flying to Dulles and arriving Saturday evening, then leaving on the Capitol Limited Sunday afternoon; are you staying near Dulles or near Union Station? If the latter, have you factored your transfer time from Dulles to DC into your plans for Sunday? Even by taxi (by far the most expensive option at around $70) Dulles is a good 45-60 minutes from Union Station. If you're planning to take public transit (had you come to DC 6 years ago, you could've taken a coach directly from Dulles to Union Station, but sadly those days are gone) then your sightseeing time could be eaten up.
Posts: 76 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Good point abefroman329 - I'm staying out by the airport on the Saturday evening. I'd like to do it by local transport if possible - am I right that there's still a bus from Dulles to the local Metro line, then a direct Metro train to Union Station?
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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There is a half-hourly bus from Dulles to the West Falls Church Metro; I think the bus is scheduled to take 20 minutes to go from Dulles to the Metro, then from there I would say you're looking at 45-60 minutes to get to Union Station (you actually have to change trains in downtown DC), especially on a Sunday. Plus you have to add to all of that the time it will take the shuttle to bring you back to Dulles. There's also a direct Metrobus from Dulles to downtown that runs about once an hour, but that's not very feasible if you have a lot of luggage.
One option I forgot, but that I'd say is the best if you have a lot of luggage (as it involves the fewest transfers but is still relatively inexpensive) is to take the airport shuttle back to Dulles and then to take the SuperShuttle from Dulles to Union Station. It's a shared van service, so travel time depends on where the rest of the occupants are headed and how many of them there are, but worst-case scenario from Dulles to Union Station is probably 90 minutes. That's around $25 one-way.
Posts: 76 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Yes, it takes two metro trains to get from West Falls Church to Union Station. Make sure you are aimed to Carrollton, not Vienna. You get off at Metro Center on the lower level and then go up to the upper level. Go toward the south, which is the front of the train as you are coming in to Metro Center to go up. The lower level is a center platform, but the upper level has side platforms, so you want to be sure you get on the right one. The destination board on the train you take out of Metro Center should say Glenmont, if I remember correctly. You do NOT want the Shady Grove direction train. You also do not want to hit downtown between 4:30 pm and about 6:00 pm. WMATA has or did have two fare levels. Traveling during the "rush hour" times costs quite a bit more than the outside of rush hour times. For fare purposes, "rush hours" are longer on both ends than we usually consider rush hour times, but I do not remember what the change times are. All stations were built to have barrier free access. Therefore, there are elevators at all stations for all levels, but they may not alwasy be easy to find. This is particularly true for the first segment, as the elevators were not in the original design, but were required to be added during the construction period.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Be very careful with the Washington Metro on a Sunday; it doesn't run as much. (And it doesn't even stop at some downtown stops, though of course it does stop at Union Station.)
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Are you sure? When I was in DC a few trips back, staying at a downtown Marriott, and needed to use the Metro on a Sunday morning, I noticed that some of the stations were closed. I'm not sure if it was all day or just till noon. This was on the Red Line, and I think was in June 2002. Since then, I haven't had cause to use the Metro on a Sunday when I've been in that part of DC, so I haven't noticed if that situation has changed.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Sojourner, My guess would be that this closure was likely temporary because of some sort of maintenance or refurbishing work under way.
Mr. Williams: You could also use the Metro to get to the Smithisonian. It is two stations beyond Metro Center on the Orange Line. Suggest you go to www.wmata.com and get your information from the horse's mouth. You can also get Washington area local bus service from the same site.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Went to the bus schedules on wmata.com and found that there is a Dulles Airport ot Rosslyn to E'Enfant Plaza express bus for $3.00. It runs about once an hour seven days a week from 6:28 am to 11:40 pm. Go to the bus page and ask for the 5A bus schedule.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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quote:Originally posted by George Harris: Went to the bus schedules on wmata.com and found that there is a Dulles Airport ot Rosslyn to E'Enfant Plaza express bus for $3.00. It runs about once an hour seven days a week from 6:28 am to 11:40 pm. Go to the bus page and ask for the 5A bus schedule.
Only trouble is that this route was never intended to get passengers to/from Dulles, but rather to get airport employees to their jobs, so the route isn't equipped for that (no luggage racks on the busses). I took the bus to catch a flight in October with a large suitcase and would definitely not recommend doing that.
Posts: 76 | Registered: Jul 2005
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