posted
Here's a report on my three-day railfan holiday this past weekend....I post here rather than on trip reports because, frankly, more people read and respond on this thread than they do on that one -
Saturday, September 29
I woke up early and made a cross-state drive to Rocky Mount, NC in order to catch train 80, the Northbound ‘Carolinian’ due out at 12:30pm to Baltimore. There are nearer stations to me than Rocky Mount but I specifically wanted to come back to North Carolina on train 89, the ‘Palmetto’ which narrowed my choice of stations somewhat.
The ‘Carolinian’ was delayed (perhaps by NCDOT track/signal work on Norfolk Southern trackage and was nearly an hour late in departing Rocky Mount. The coaches were nearly full (typical for this train on a weekend) and Business Class was maybe two thirds full. We ran the CSX gauntlet of single-tracked, over-crowded railroad to Petersburg, VA losing a mere 10 additional minutes and only grinding to an unexplained stop in the middle of nowhere one time. This is actually remarkable as more often than not trains can lose one to two hours between Rocky Mount and Petersburg.
From Richmond north we lost no additional time and managed to gain about five minutes back by getting out of Washington, DC in less time than is normally allowed. Arrival in Baltimore was about 65 minutes late. The crew on the Carolinian was about average. No one stood out as particularly good but no one stood out as particularly bad either. There was one incident that could have been ugly when a blind passenger boarded the train in Fredericksburg. The car attendant insisted that she go with her through the café car and back to coach as her ticket read. The passenger, who apparently was a regular on this train between Fredericksburg and New York, wanted to upgrade to business class if space was available. The car attendant, told the new passenger that she could seat her in coach or leave her on the platform but that she wasn’t going to upgrade her to business class. The assistant conductor overheard this and over-ruled the car attendant and did, in fact, sell an upgrade. I don’t know the particulars but the business class car attendant, who was otherwise OK on this trip, created needless ill will with someone who, again, has been a regular patron. Sadly, this is the only thing about this particular ‘Carolinian’ trip that stands out.
In Baltimore I waded off the train and into the station with a throng of passengers just off a southbound regional train. I had forgotten just how darned many people there are in the northeast USA. Many of these folks are wearing baseball jerseys representing various MLB teams…….a few Orioles jerseys, a bunch of Yankees jerseys, even a pretty healthy crowd of folks wearing Red Sox shirts and jerseys. We all morph toward the light rail with the baseball crowd hoping to make Camden Yards in time for a 7:35 first pitch in the Yankees – Orioles game. I fall in, completely by accident, with the Red Sox people and learn that they, unable to score tickets for the Red Sox game in Boston, have settled for the next best thing…….coming to Baltimore to root against the Yankees. Personally, I was changing to a BWI-bound light rail train as I was staying at the BWI Red Roof Inn for two nights. In a nutshell, here’s the scoop on the BWI Red Roof – It’s perhaps the most affordable ‘acceptable’ hotel in the Baltimore-DC area. Depending on the day of the week and the accommodation, rooms range from $79.99 to $109.99 per night. The beds are decent. The rooms are clean and have been redone in the current Red Roof style………kind of a faux art deco with laminate floor in the bathroom. I kind of like it. I most like the fact that they are a fraction of the cost of other nearby hotels and even your typical Amtrak sleeper accommodation charge. This Red Roof provides free shuttle service to both the airport and BWI Amtrak stations which is also a plus. If you don’t want to wait on their shuttle to come get you from the train or plane, it’s about a $7.00 cab ride from either. I would stay here again BUT I do prefer the Henry Clay Inn in Ashland, VA…….trains to watch right outside your door and you don’t have to rely on any ground transit (other than your feet) to get you to/from the train you rode in on.
Downside to this Red Roof – lot’s of airport noise and the place is not within easy walking distance of a decent place to go out for supper. There is a Quizno’s next door and a McDonald’s up the street so, while you won’t starve, you won’t particularly have much besides your room to entertain you.
Sunday, September 30
Only fisherman off to the water wake up earlier than I do when there are trains to ride. My wake-up call comes in at 5:15am and 35 minutes later I’m shaved, showered, dressed, and waiting in the lobby for the Red Roof shuttle to the airport. I have a Southwest Airlines flight going out at 8:00am to Providence, RI. The flight is cheap and the plane is only about two-thirds full……the lightest payload I’ve seen on an airplane in years. Because my recent flights have all been aboard regional jets (and Albuquerque-Atlanta is a little further of a trip than the Regional Jet designers intended….), the SWA 737 seeming HUGE and spacious by comparison. We were on the ground by 9:10am in Providence and by 9:45am, following a $30.00 cab ride, I was strolling about the grounds of the Rhode Island State Capitol building eating a bagle and waiting for Amtrak’s ‘Regional’ #150 to take me on to Boston at 10:36am.
The regional clacks in right on time……..7 amcoaches behind a toaster of a locomotive. I could have ridden this train up from BWI, but it would have meant waking up three hours sooner. The train is about two-thirds full but I find a seat to myself midway through the third coach. The ride is only about 45 minutes so I spend the time reading in my seat……no point in exploring a train which is essentially the same as the ‘Carolinian’ I rode yesterday. We arrive in Boston about five minutes late at 11:25am and I take a short hike in the neighborhood but return about 12:15, eat a couple of slices of pizza, and board Amtrak 2255, the ‘Acela Express’ for the ride back to BWI.
The Acela’s are popular and about twenty minutes before departure the redcaps begin escorting those passengers who are in first class to the train. Those of us who are merely ‘business class’, the equivalent of coach, are held in a line forming at the end of the platform. Right at 1pm our tickets are checked and we’re allowed down the platform and onto the train. I manage to find a window seat on the right side of the train……I would have preferred the left side but those had already been taken by passengers who had pre-boarded for some reason or another. The train was full by the time we pulled out from the Route 128 Station ten miles down the line and train stayed full. At each station more passengers crowded on and a number of folks who were not finding seats wound up sitting in the bistro car. This is not an optimum situation as the Acela bistros are horribly designed space. Seven tiny stools about the size of a frisbee crowd up to a curved, narrow counter. When the train swings into a curve with the tilt mechanism activated, one feels like they might be in danger of sliding right off the stool into the floor.
Here are a few things that I observed about the Acela – the trains are fast and quiet. They are smooth. I love the fact that the windows are huge compared to those in the Amfleet cars which normally carry passengers in these parts. I am amazed that the ride from Trenton to the Philadelphia Zoo, about 30 miles, passes in fifteen minutes. This train was intended to carry lots of passengers quickly……kind of like an airplane on rails……and it succeeds in doing so.
BUT - - the carpets are beginning to look worn. The curtains have started to fray. The interior décor that looked so radical just five years ago looks tired now. The crowds keep coming and the train still does what it is supposed to do but at some point business class on a regular corridor train might be as appealing. Hard to say as I was riding on a Sunday afternoon when the trains are very busy.
The benefits of a high-speed train are absolutely negated in Metro North territory between New Haven and New York where the Acelas must operate at the same speed as a conventional train. Because the Acelas were built slightly wider than intended, there are a number of curves where they must slow down in order to pass one another. Finlly, the northeast corridor still seems to be two separate corridors in tat most of our passengers got off in New York only to be replaced by new passengers riding to points south. I am glad to have checked back in with the Acela for the first time in three or four years but it will be awhile before I feel the urge to go out of my way to ride another one.
We made it to BWI just a few minutes off schedule and, not wanting to wait for the shuttle, I caught a cab back to the Red Roof Inn where I checked my email and climbed into bed.
Monday, October 1
Another early wake-up call and I’m checked out of the Red Roof Inn by 7:00am. The shuttle drops me at BWI just in time to get a MARC commuter train departing at 7:19am for Union Station in Washington, DC. Even though this train has eight of the newer double-decked commuter cars, it is standing room only by the time it departs the next station, Odenton. I was fortunate enough to find an aisle seat downstairs and most enjoyed riding through some station areas that I was familiar with from my graduate school days. It was also kind of interesting ‘ankle-watching’ at the stations. The downstairs of these relatively short double-deckers has the passenger seated such that you are eye-level with the footwear of passengers on the NEC high-level platforms. Again, I marvel at just how many darned people live in the northeast. No matter what MARC does to meet the demand, they simply cannot increase service and increase capacity fast enough it seems.
In Union Station I spend some time looking around. This is my favorite huge station and has been from the time I first saw it. That was in 1975 when my mother and I arrived to visit an aunt in DC coming in from Salisbury, NC aboard Southern Railway train #6, the ‘Piedmont’……a train which operated Washington to Charlotte at that time and not to be mistaken for the modern era ‘Piedmont’ which operates Raleigh to Charlotte.
My train, number 89 the ‘Palmetto’ is delayed slightly but we are boarded early enough to depart just 15 minutes late. I’m in the business class which on this train is 2-1 seating in the front half of the unrefurbished AmCafe car. Only a dozen or so passengers have upgraded into these extra large, extra comfortable seats so I actually was without a seat partner for the entire trip. The train was comfortable, the staff pleasant, and we only managed to lose 45 minutes as we made our way south through the CSX ‘black hole’….this is in spite of three or four cases where we ground to an unexplained halt. I believe that on future rail trips to the DC area or points north that I will plan to use the ‘Palmetto’ for my return…..we’ll see.
So…..in summation, Amtrak is still out there providing basic transportation. It isn’t super nice but it’s consistently……well…….consistently OK. My purpose in making this trip was just to get on some trains and see how they are compared to the last time around. I was also eager to build up a few more guest reward points towards some first class service on one of the western long-distance trains soon. Thanks to the new Guest Rewards Master Card, I think I managed to accomplish the mission.
zephyr Member # 1651
posted
Always enjoy your trip reports. Thanks for taking the time to post.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
quote:Originally posted by zephyr: Always enjoy your trip reports. Thanks for taking the time to post.
Appreciate the feedback.......they're much easier thanks to 'copy and paste'.....I can write a little here, a little there as time permits and then paste it all on the forum when it's ready.
sojourner Member # 3134
posted
Thanks for the trip report, David. Everything sounds fine to me--well, except for the plane part hahaha!
smitty195 Member # 5102
posted
Great report---thanks for posting it. I agree with your assesment of the cafe/bistro cars. I took my first Acela trip last June, and was surprised how much wasted room there was in that car.
BTW, you mention starting out at Rocky Mount, NC. I'm in California, and have never been to your neck of the woods. But we have big-rig trucks driving through here all the time from "MBM" trucking that says Rocky Mount, NC in HUGE letters down the side. Not sure what they're transporting, but they're all over the place out here in the SF Bay Area.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
No idea what's in the big trucks from Rocky Mount.....pickles maybe.....but if you ever get this way, the Rocky Mount train station is a must see.....100 years old, three stories tall, and fabulously renovated by the NC DOT.
Another guess on the trucks - maybe it's fast food restaurant stuff. The old Hardees Restaurants, long-ago bought out by the Carl's Jr. folks, used to be headquartered in Rocky Mount, NC.
RRRICH Member # 1418
posted
Great report, David!! Thanks for posting!!!!
20th Century Member # 2196
posted
Nice report,David. I never thought they would sell more tix than seats on the Acela like they do on the regionals. I always thought that an Acela ticket would be a certainty for a seat because it was 2x2 business and 1x2 first classes. Did I get that configuration correct? It was Nov.,2002 when I was on it.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
quote:Originally posted by 20th Century: Nice report,David. I never thought they would sell more tix than seats on the Acela like they do on the regionals. I always thought that an Acela ticket would be a certainty for a seat because it was 2x2 business and 1x2 first classes. Did I get that configuration correct? It was Nov.,2002 when I was on it.
That's the correct configuration. I too was mildly surprised to see people with luggage packed into the bistro......but they were clearly there because they had nowhere else to sit. By Providence people kept piling on and we could see their faces fall upon realizing "OK....here's another car where there are no open seats".
palmland Member # 4344
posted
Good to hear CSX was OK, it's always a concern to take a trip involving them. Certainly by not having any same day connections or scheduled activities on arrival you reduce the anxiety level.
Based on your comments we tried the Red Roof Inn this summer on our return from a long trip. We acquired a new *** and they are a pet friendly hotel. We sprang for the Business class room ($5 extra) and enjoyed the stay. Clean rooms and good coffee in the morning at $50 a night - near Nashville. Who needs more.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
posted
Why is it forbidden to use the short three-letter word meaning canine? Is it a Railnet thing?
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
quote:Originally posted by palmland: Good to hear CSX was OK, it's always a concern to take a trip involving them. Certainly by not having any same day connections or scheduled activities on arrival you reduce the anxiety level.
Based on your comments we tried the Red Roof Inn this summer on our return from a long trip. We acquired a new *** and they are a pet friendly hotel. We sprang for the Business class room ($5 extra) and enjoyed the stay. Clean rooms and good coffee in the morning at $50 a night - near Nashville. Who needs more.
CSX did seem to be trying harder....the train dispatching wasn't fabulous but it was significantly improved.
As for Red Roof........they seem to be pretty consistent in terms of cleanliness. Some are better than others but there have only been a couple of them that I would not revisit....and those two have been spun-off to Econo-Lodges now anyway. I'm glad that the one near Nashville (was it the one by the airport?) worked out for you.
palmland Member # 4344
posted
Yes, it was the Donaldson Rd exit for the airport.
I forgot this site doesn't like the d-g word.
train lady Member # 3920
posted
Henry, if you go to faq an scroll down to censorimg question you will hve the answer to the canine situation
Tanner929 Member # 3720
posted
Hey Notelvis,
Sorry I did not see your posting about Providence Airport. Rhode Island has a very good Bus system to and from the Airport. I try to get train riders to use mass transit rather then taking a taxi.
I hope you walked down the hill from the Amtrak Station across the canal and walk around the Old Providence Union Station. They did a great job of revitalizing it into a public and commercial area the center of the city's summer Water Fire nights.
You have discovered the dopeyness of the Acela project. Its a nice fast looking train but through most of the route it has to obey the speed limit. I read once that the tracks along the NEC are not able to handle the trains full speed. Many riders look at the price of the Acela vs the Regionals and the time saved does not equal the price.
Camden Yards has become a Mecca for Baseball fans I've taken the train down and draws fans from all over. For a Yankee Oriole game I saw many fans with Red Sox and National hats. The street atmosphere before a game is what brings many fans to travel there. The Orioles have not had a winner in years but Baltimore is still winning.
smitty195 Member # 5102
posted
Okay, now you guys have gotten my curiosity raised. I can't think of any reason why the three letter word for canine would be banned. That's an odd one. So I went to the FAQ which is listed on the home page of www.railforum.com, and when I click on FAQ, it says "Page can not be found" and displays an empty page.
So what's the scoop???
train lady Member # 3920
posted
Smitty, I scrolled up to the top of this page and FAQ came right up. I find sometimes when page cannot be found comes up all I have to do is click refresh or clost the page and click on what it is I want again. the 2nd time is usually fine.
train lady Member # 3920
posted
Sorry I clicked reply before I finished. I think the reason the canine word is banned is because that word in another context can be an insult as in "she was a real..."
smitty195 Member # 5102
posted
Thanks for the explanation, but I suppose I still don't really get it. I've never seen that word edited in any online forum before.
As for the FAQ, maybe I'm just not seeing it....but I read all of the FAQ questions and didn't see any mention of it anywhere. Thanks for pointing out the FAQ at the top of this page---I didn't see that. The FAQ on the main railforum page still goes to a blank page though. I see from the FAQ that there are ways to do private messages, upload photos, and have emails sent whenever someone responds to a topic. Hmmmm.....I guess I'll have to read through all of that stuff, because I didn't know that was possible. I always go to the Amtrak board and just see what's at the top of the list and then click on a topic to look for new replies. I'm used to using another railfan website (Trainorders), and their interface is extremely simple. This one is a bit confusing to me.
train lady Member # 3920
posted
Smitty, the one you wawnt is "are there any censoring features".
royaltrain Member # 622
posted
I once tried to write hot *** and chicken ****** in attempting to describe a meal, and the little stars come on. You can get around it by using dashes as in hot d-o-g and chicken b-r-e-a-s-t. Why these two words should be censored has always been a great mystery on this board.
Judy McFarland Member # 4435
posted
I was once sysop on a bbs system that wouldn't allow one of our users to use their legal name: Cumberland Hospital When I asked the bbs software help desk why, the young man blushed ( he was making an onsite visit) and said the name started with a "bad word" But why the common name for a canine is banned here is beyond me.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
posted
Snoop Dogg. Doggone it. Make a clean ****** of it. Titfield Thunderbolt. (Just experimenting here.)
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
posted
The enemy threw up breastworks.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
posted
This is getting addictive ... maybe the authorities had better step in and stop the thread.
train lady Member # 3920
posted
people, the computer thinks the word is an insult.
tarheelman Member # 6095
posted
Sorry for the late post, David, but I just now read your report. It contains the first recent description of a ride on the Acela that I've read---thanks for taking the time to post it.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
Hi Tanner,
Thanks for your comments and observations.
I would have ordinarily gone for the transit alternative but with what I was trying to do I had less than 90 minutes from landing until the train I needed to be on rolled. I felt like trying to tie local transit in was taking a risk.
As for ACELA, this was my third ride on the speedster but my first time north of New York City. I have always (and still do) felt that the United States would have had more appropriate 'fast-trains' sooner and for less money had we just bought the Swedish X2000 off the shelf back in the mid-1990's. I got to ride that train back during the experimentation period and found it to be more impressive than the ACELA.
Camden Yards - I caught a couple of games there while I was in graduate school with the girl from Baltimore I was dating at the time. Having spent most of my formative years in North Carolina and/or Kentucky I have always been more of a college basketball fan. I certainly always enjoyed strolling about the stadium and people-watching though.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
quote:Originally posted by tarheelman: Sorry for the late post, David, but I just now read your report. It contains the first recent description of a ride on the Acela that I've read---thanks for taking the time to post it.
No problem. First time I've had the chance to peruse Trainweb in days myself.
MetSox Member # 6035
posted
David & Tanner:
Both of you are abbolutely right about the shortcomings of the Acela project.I ride the Acela every few months from Boston to New York because it's a nicer train than the Amfleet "Regionals" and despite all the problems, it's still the most pleasant way to make the trip. Even if Amtrak had bought the X2000, the same obstacles would still be there.
The "Shore Line" from Boston to New York is totally unsuitable for a "high speed" train because there are just too many curves, grade crossings and drawbridges. The Acela can reach it's top speed of 150 MPH on two short streaches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for a combined total of eighteen miles, or 4% of the total 456 miles from Boston to Washington. Not only that but it's limited to 75 MPH on the 55 miles of Metro North track from New Haven to New Rochelle. As a result the train travels at half speed for a distance of three times that which it can go full speed.
Most Acelas take 3:35 for the BOS-NYP run, an average of 64.7 MPH. To put it in perspective, in 1970 the United Aircraft Turbo made the trip in 3:44. When you consider that this was accomplished by the then-bankrupt Penn Central over tracks that were not in the best of shape. Then again, the Turbo's route was three miles shorter because it used Grand Central instead of Penn Station. Is nine minutes all we get from a $2.5 billion investment?
RRRICH Member # 1418
posted
Mr. MetSox -- I haven't been on AMTRAK north of New York City for many years, but I thought there were now ZERO grade crossings at all on the NEC between WAS and BOS......?
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
There are still several open grade crossings north of New Haven.......particularly around New London. There just wasn't enough space between the tracks and the waterfront to build the neccessary overpasses to close them all.
One advantage of the X2000 (beyond being available immediately and at a lower price) was that the X2000's were three or four inches narrower than the Acela's and could take better advantage of the tilting mechanism on the tighter curves north of New Haven. Doesn't do anything for the Metro North territory but would have been worth something.
posted