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I'VE BEEN A BIT SPOILED. Almost
all my Amtrak trips are in Superliner sleepers on long-distance trains
over mostly scenic Western routes, with first-class amenities (endless
free
coffee and bottled water, paid-for dining-car meals). But my latest
trip last week featured two workaday East Coast day trains--Amtrak's
bread and butter, the kind most American train travelers ride.
Debby and I had United frequent-flier miles to burn, so rather than
taking the overnight Capitol Limited as usual, we flew between Chicago
and Washington National (I'm too set in my ways to call it Reagan) to
visit family in Arlington.
At ORD and DCA security I had to endure the usual knee-replacement
patdown (and yes, they touched my junk, the creeps) but the experience
was mercifully short and impersonal. It could have been worse and
sometimes is.
We have family in Richmond, too, so we took Amtrak from suburban
Alexandria 109
miles south to Richmond Staples Mill aboard Train No. 79, the Carolinian. This
is a day train, partly subsidized by the state of North Carolina, that
covers the 489 miles between New York City and Charlotte, N.C., in a
little less than 11 hours.
Alexandria is a busy stop on Amtrak's Atlantic Coast Service route,
serving nearly a dozen trains each way every day. Some 30 people
boarded the Carolinian when
it rolled in exactly on time from Washington Union Station, and being
older and no-longer-so-adventurous folk, we chose to pay the small
supplement for business class.
The sole security at Alexandria seemed to be a cheerful Amtrak station
worker who made sure his charges safely crossed a set of tracks to the
platform on the other side and directed them to the proper spots for
boarding.
The Carolinian's business class car had its own attendant, who briskly
arranged tickets for the conductor, humped baggage, and cheerfully
served soft drinks. The uncrowded Amfleet II car's appointments were
not new, but in good shape all the same, and the bathrooms were
reliably clean--and kept that way. (That alone is worth the extra.)
For lunch we bought packaged ham and cheese sandwiches and yogurt in
the club car just behind the business car. Neither was gourmet quality,
but they were still fresh and tasty, and the prices a fraction of what
we've paid for similar meals at O'Hare Airport.
On arrival at Staples Mill Road, we were surprised to be met by a golf
cart that trundled us and our bags from train to taxi stop outside the
station. I suspect that's an amenity only seen on the "name" trains,
not the routine Northeast Regionals. (The cartman waved away my offer
of a tip, too.)
We overnighted at the historic five-star Jefferson Hotel in downtown
Richmond, chosen for its genteel Southern luxury (we splurge once a
year or so) and for its superb although pricey Lemaire restaurant,
which serves a five-star Virginia pork chop and a particularly sinful
creme brulee.
The Jefferson, Richmond's finest and most historic hostelry. (Photo
courtesy of the hotel.)
Our more-than-spacious room in the Jefferson.
Debby working at the computer in our room at the Jefferson. The Wi-Fi
connection, happily, was free. We've found that to be rare in a
five-star hotel anywhere.
Our time in Richmond was short--its purpose was to touch
base over
dinner with kin--but if we had had more time, we'd have visited the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which through May 15 is hosting 176
visiting treasures from the Musee National Picasso in Paris while the
French institution is undergoing renovations. Those works were chosen
by the artist himself to insure his legacy.
Train 94, an unnamed Northeast Regional, arrives at
Staples Mill Road station, Richmond.
Back at Staples Mill the next day, we noticed that it was even busier
than Alexandria, with upwards of 40 passengers waiting to board
northbound Train 94, a Northeast
Regional
that leaves Virginia Beach, Va., at 6:55 a.m. and ties up at
Boston South Station at 9:15 p.m. It arrived at Staples Mill at 10:59
a.m. and we were away at 11:04.
Evidently there are no business-class attendants on Northeast Regional
trains, but the car on No. 94--an Amfleet I model--was OK. Though the hardware
was in good shape, the carpeting and upholstery badly needed deep
cleaning, as they always seem to do on vintage Amtrak rolling stock.
That was a small complaint, though.
We could have scored free drinks in the cafe car at mid-train, but we
chose to wait lunch until arrival in Alexandria at 1 p.m.
Both ways the trip was not only painless but actually pleasant. The
scenery is unremarkable, just basic houses-and-thick-trackside-trees,
with a little open water from time to time. The ride, however, is
smooth, conducive to reading or napping, and business class always seems to be quiet and, at least on this run, uncrowded.
Just as we debarked from the Northeast Regional back at
Alexandria, two vintage Norfolk Southern GP38-2s in shiny livery thundered past with a
load of empty coal hoppers.
Our
one real concern: The PA system on No. 94 was so soft and scratchy that
Debby could barely hear announcements--only when she listened carefully
did she hear the conductor call the Alexandria stop. We're not
sure if
novice riders would have monitored station calls. Amtrak needs to be
more careful
about these small details.
Links:
Please visit my blogs: The Reluctant Blogger
and The Whodunit
Photographer
Also see my books website, www.henrykisor.com
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