This train would originate out of New York and we departed Penn Station at 4:44pm, running 2 minutes late. I was seated in Amfleet I Coach #82591, a Capstone car with 72 seats and I would not have a passenger sitting next to me, though the train itself was actually nearly full in the other cars (I was in the last car of the train which may explain why it wasn't full). I tried to get in a few high-ISO pictures once we got out of the Hudson River tunnels as we were now in New Jersey but it was after sunset and what little light was left was fading fast. I'm sorry, but I can't stand losing daylight savings time as I would have another hour to get a few more pix in, oh well! We made our first stop at Newark, NJ at 5:00pm and departed at 5:01pm, running 3 minutes late. Now with it being dark outside, I decided I was just gonna relax on this ride back to Washington. We made our next stop at Metropark, NJ at 5:14pm and departed there at 5:15pm, now 2 minutes late. I headed to the Cafe Car which on this train featured tables on both ends of the car with the bar in the middle. The tables were all being used by other passengers so I ordered my Turkey Gouda Wrap and Heineken Beer along with a Diet Pepsi and took them back to my seat. The wrap was delicious and the beer was ice cold, probably a little too cold as there was ice in the beer! Overall though, everything was good! We made our next stop at Trenton, NJ at 5:36pm and departed there at 5:37pm, now running on time. I would pass the time playing Tetris on my phone and a few Sudoku puzzles as well as check the maps app every so often to see where we were along the route. We made our next stop at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station at 6:04pm, having arrived there 4 minutes early and departing on time at 6:09pm. There was no announcement that I could hear saying anything about a smoking break here so I just stayed in my seat (I would have used the said break to take pictures).
We would eventually parallel I-495 near Wilmington, DE and noticed traffic severely backed up behind an accident. That is one thing you really don't have to worry about on this train, being stuck in that kind of traffic! We made our next stop at Wilmington, DE at 6:28pm and departed on time at 6:30pm. I went back to the Cafe Car one more time for a Diet Pepsi and a box of those Entenmann's chocolate chip cookies, which were actually very good! We made our next stop at Aberdeen, MD at 6:56pm and departed there at 6:58pm, 1 minute late, no big deal regarding any of the timekeeping on this trip! The next stop would be Baltimore-Penn Station at 7:22pm. Acela Express Train #2167 had just arrived on another track and I would get a quick high-ISO photo of it while there. We departed Baltimore 1 minute late at 7:25pm. By now, the train was emptying out as many passengers departed at the previous stops. We made our next stop at Baltimore-Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport Station at 7:37pm and departed there at 7:38pm, running 2 minutes late. The next stop at New Carrollton, MD was drop-off only and we arrived there at 7:52pm and departed quickly at 7:53pm, 2 minutes late. I gathered up my stuff and we would make our arrival at Washington Union Station 2 minutes early at 8:03pm.
I would take a few pictures before heading inside and would talk briefly with an Amtrak mechanic about the AEM-7's eventual retirement. Interestingly enough, I would have one of the "meatballs" as he called them for power on both trains today even though the ACS-64's being built by Siemens in Sacramento, CA are now arriving on the property and going into service. Anyways, this guy wasn't being nasty or anything but he tried to tell me photography wasn't allowed on the platform. This would conflict with Amtrak's own photography policy which allows hand-held photography on the platform by ticketed passengers when boarding or alighting from their train. I had no tripod and was using a handheld camera on the platform. The reason why photography was supposedly not allowed according to this guy was because of an act of vandalism that occurred in California which did not involve photography at all. Well, I explained to the guy that I was a passenger on the train that just arrived here and I'm NOT photographing him. In the end, I was able to photograph Acela Express Train #2167 while there and he didn't stop me from taking any further pictures, I headed in side, and that was that. Today, I was also given no trouble getting any photos inside New York Penn Station either. In the end, this was one amazing day!!!
I eventually made my way over to the Metro Rail Station inside, paid for the fare card and headed to the platform. I would make the same trip that got me here today, back in reverse. I took the Metro Red Line to Metro Center Station, then the Silver Line to Wiehle-Reston East Station. Once I got to Metro Center, two other passengers, one who lived in Virginia but was originally from Utica, NY noticed my Syracuse hoodie! The passenger he was with was originally from Rochester, and I was wearing a Buffalo Bills hat so we all had good conversation on the train before they eventually got off at their stops. I eventually made it to the Wiehle-Reston East station and took the bus back to Dulles Airport, then had the hotel shuttle van bring me back to the hotel. I ran over to a nearby CVS/Pharmacy that was open 24 hours and picked up some more Diet Pepsi and water for the hotel room and some snacks at a nearby gas station as it was late and I didn't feel like eating a big meal knowing I had to get up early again the next morning. After catching up on the election results from today as today was also Election Day, I eventually called it a day, and what a great day it was!!! Check out some photos from my ride back to DC by clicking the link below, then we'll head over to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum to see Space Shuttle Discovery!!! |
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