Florida At Last: Part III

An Unofficial Website

Florida at last: Silver Service and the Orlando Area

April 2-11, 2004 By Adam Reich
Part 3 of 3: The Northbound Trip

Day 9- April 10, 2004 (continued)

We got to Orlando at 11:10 am. After we checked our bag, we said goodbye to my grandfather, who was headed back to his house in Delray Beach. Train 91 arrived 11:34 and left around 11:44 am, running on Time. Train #98 left Orlando around 12:45, 24 minutes late.

The Consist for Train #91 was as follows:

48        P-42 Diesel Locomotive Phase V Paint
1230    Heritage Baggage Car Phase III
2509    “Pacific Terrace” Heritage Dorm-Lounge Phase IV
62046 “Tranquil View” Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV
62047 “Village View” Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV with Twilight Shoreliner Markings
8550    Heritage Diner Phase IV
28016 Amfleet II Lounge Phase III
25070 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
25122 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
25056 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
25005 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI

1. P-42 #48 leads Train #91 the Silver Star into Orlando, Florida
2. Heritage Baggage Car #1230 on Train #91
3. Heritage Dorm #2509 on Train #91
4. Viewliner Sleeper #62041 on Train #91
5. Viewliner Sleeper #62047 on Train #91
6. Heritage Diner #8550 on Train #91
7. Amfleet II Lounge #28016 on Train #91
8. Amfleet II Coach #25070 on Train #91
9. Amfleet II Coach #25122 on Train #91
10. Amfleet II Coach #25056 on Train #91
11. Amfleet II Coach #25005 on Train #91
12. P-42 #85 leads Train #98 the Silver Meteor into Orlando, Florida

The consist for Train #98 The Silver Meteor was:
            Unit #
               942   AEM-7 AC Phase V Paint WAS-NYP
                85    P-42 Phase V Paint MIA-WAS
            1855    Heritage Baggage Car Phase III (former Twilight Shoreliner Baggage Car, equipped with Bike Racks)
            2513    Heritage Dorm Lounge Phase IV
9811    62030 "Patriot View" Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV
9810    62008 "Eagle View" Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV   (We Rode Here)
            8509    Heritage Diner Phase IV
            28010 Amfleet II Lounge Phase VI
9840    25046 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Refurbished)
9841    25021 Amfleet II Coach Phase IV
9842    25109 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
9843    25094 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Refurbished)
            1561    Material Handling Car WAS-NYP

Immediately after boarding, and placing the luggage in our room, which was very warm, we headed for the dining car. We arrived in Sanford, Florida around 1:25 PM, where maintenance engineers came to work on the AC at our end of our car. We left Sanford at 1:30 PM, of course passing by the Auto Train at the Terminal. Meanwhile, in the diner, we were seated immediately for another great meal. I had a burger and pepsi for lunch, as well as coffee and chocolate cake for dessert. My mother had a quiche, while my brother David had Macaroni and Cheese. After Sanford, I walked through the consist to take down the remaining car numbers for my report. We arrived in Deland, Florida at 1:48 PM, leaving three minutes later around 1:51 PM. I wasn’t sure when we had stopped in Palatka, as I had taken David to the lounge to get pizza. For the first time since I began traveling on Amtrak, I was very happy that we had a lounge that wasn’t refurbished. The reason is that the train was now entirely non-smoking, and we gained that extra seating area where in a refurbished lounge, the “penalty box” would be. While there, I talked with a kid that had been returning home to the Philly area, whom I found out had also been on the same train as us going down south. While David and I had been in the lounge, our attendant handed out Dinner reservations, we of course took the 5:00 seating. We arrived in Jacksonville, the last stop in Florida at 3:48 PM. There, I got off to take pictures of the train, while my mother and brother went into the station to buy snacks from the vending machines. We left Jacksonville around 4:14 PM, which was about 2 minutes behind schedule. While I had no luck seeing the crew dorm before Jacksonville, after the crew change, I got the new conductor to take me through the car. After Jacksonville, I set David up with the upper birth and a DVD player, while Mom and David relaxed, and I charged my scanner.

13. Superliner II Coach #34130 in the yard at Sanford, Florida
14. Phase IV Auto Carrier in Sanford, Florida
15. A look at the head end of train #98 at the Beaver Street Crossover- south of Jacksonville, Florida
16. A look at the bottom of train #98 at the Beaver Street Crossover- south of Jacksonville, Florida
17. P-42 #83 in Jacksonville, Florida
18. Amfleet II Coach #25109 in Jacksonville, Florida
19. Amfleet II Lounge #28010 in Jacksonville, Florida
20. Amfleet II Coach #25046 in Jacksonville, Florida
21. Heritage Diner #8509 in Jacksonville, Florida
22. Amfleet II Lounge #28010 in Jacksonville, Florida
23. Heritage Diner #8509 in Jacksonville, Florida
24. Viewliner Sleeper #62030 "Patriot View" in Jacksonville, Florida
25. Viewliner Sleeper #62008 "Eagle View" in Jacksonville, Florida
26. Heritage Dorm Lounge #2513 in Jacksonville, Florida
27. Heritage Baggage #1855 in Jacksonville, Florida
28. Viewliner Sleeper #62030 "Patriot View" in Jacksonville, Florida
29. Heritage Baggage #1855 in Jacksonville, Florida
30. P-42 #85 in Jacksonville, Florida
31. Heritage Dorm Lounge #2513 in Jacksonville, Florida
32-33. Refurbished Interior of Heritage Diner #8509
34-38. Interior of Amfleet II Lounge #28010
39-41. Interior of Heritage Dorm Lounge #2513
42. Interior of Heritage Baggage Car #1855

Shortly after 5:00 we sat down to dinner. I had a Pepsi, steak with mashed potatoes, as well as coffee and ice cream for dessert. My mother had the same, while David had pizza. We left Jesup, Georgia at 5:55 PM, 25 minutes late. Both the dinner and the crew were great. We got back to our room at 6:15. Around 10 minutes later, I walked to and from the lounge. We stopped at Savannah, Georgia next, leaving at 6:54 PM, 28 minutes late. Once again, the American Orient Express was there, full of passengers.

43. American Orient Express Sleeper "Vienna" in Savannah, Georgia
44. American Orient Express Sleeper "Monte Carlo" in Savannah, Georgia
45. American Orient Express Sleeper "Monterey" in Savannah, Georgia
45. American Orient Express Sleeper "Grand Canyon" in Savannah, Georgia
46. American Orient Express Car "Los Angeles" in Savannah, Georgia
47. P-42 #17 in Savannah, Georgia
48. P-42 #15 in Savannah, Georgia

After the stop, it was pretty quiet in our room. Mom read her book, David played games, and I listened to my scanner, taking in the view and the sunset. We arrived in Yemassee, South Carolina at 7:42 PM, which from what I can see is very small and desolate. We left at 7:43 PM, 26 minutes late, passing a CSX train less than a minute later. At 8:00, I headed to the Lounge, but unfortunately, the attendant was on break, but the conductor told me if I saw him before Florence, SC, where the next crew change was, he’d let me have the copy of his manifest. Since the attendant wasn’t there, I went back to the room and set the beds up. Around 10:10 PM we arrived at Florence, South Carolina, we left at 10:17 PM, and I was surprised that we were now only 3 minutes late. After we left, I called it a night and went to sleep.

Day 10- April 11, 2004

I woke up after 6:35 AM, as we arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, where we departed at 6:40 AM. There was a lot of MARC equipment parked in the station. I was pleased to see that we were running 5 minutes early! The next stop was Wilmington, Delaware, which we departed at 7:30 AM, still running 5 minutes early! We went to breakfast shortly after 7:00 AM, once again a great meal. Mom and I had eggs, potatoes, coffee and orange juice/cranberry juice. David had pancakes and orange juice. After breakfast, I took David back to the Diner to get a cup as souvenir. I also found the conductor to see what locomotive was added. Later, I got a copy of the menu. We arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 7:51 AM, passing a southbound Regional just south of the station. An NJ Transit Atlantic City Line train pulled in by our train around 7:57 AM. Train 79 pulled into the station at 8:05 AM with the following consist:

      650            HHP-8 Electric Locomotive
21268        Amfleet I
21252        Amfleet I
82007        Amfleet I
28351        Amfleet I
26067        Amfleet I
1758                    Heritage Baggage Car Phase IV (former coach)

We left Philadelphia around 8:12 AM. I figured out that a Material Handling Car in Phase III Paint, #1561 was added to carry mail. We passed another southbound train around 8:19 AM and another at 8:25 AM. We arrived in Trenton, New Jersey at 8:42 AM. I could see various sets of New Jersey Transit equipment and Septa equipment as well as the River Line briefly. We left at 8:44 AM, 28 minutes early. We arrived in Newark, New Jersey at 9:22 AM, 28 minutes early. Unfortunately, our bags didn’t, so we had to go home and hope it turned up.

49. P-40 #837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
50. P-42 #200 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fortunately a few hours later, they found the bags in Philadelphia, and sent them up on Train #20 the Crescent, so we returned to Newark Penn Station to pick them up.