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West-by-God Virginia
September 19, 2010
10:09 am
10:09 am
masseybrown
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Ever since the kids' college bills stopped coming my wife and I have been using the cash for a September-October trip, usually to Europe and usually on Continental.
This year, maybe as a sign of age, we decided that the hassle of international flying wasn't worth it and we're taking Amtrak to the mountains of West Virginia for a vacation. The westbound Cardinal is supposed to be pretty good and reliable; the eastbound train is notoriously late.
If it turns into anything remarkable, I'll post.
September 19, 2010
12:59 pm
12:59 pm
redngold
Northeast Ohio
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Have fun AMTRAKing! I love taking the train; once I took it all the way to Las Vegas on the Desert Wind. That train does not run anymore, but the Capitol Limited does... I took that one all the way to Washington DC last year.
September 19, 2010
3:20 pm
3:20 pm
nconrad
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Wow, the Desert Wind has been gone for YEARS! The Southwest Chief runs a similar route and crosses the Grand Canyon in great splendor! The Capitol Limited runs DC-Chicago, via Pittsburgh as well as various stops in Northern Ohio (I know Sandusky for sure; I think also a stop in Cleveland?). I have an Amtrak trip I'd love to take that circles the United States, just hopping train to train. It would take several days, and would get a bit pricey! Amtrak is just as much--if not more than--flying anymore and it rarely runs on time. But I guess you'll have that when Uncle Sam starts to tinker with stuff!
September 19, 2010
4:55 pm
4:55 pm
masseybrown
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I have been wanting to take the Capitol Limited for years; but time and tide have never worked out right. The Cleveland arrival/departure times are the middle of the night. Ouch. Amtrak used to drop off the Cleveland sleeper cars and let you sleep 'til 7AM or so in the station, but no more.
Somehow I have always found a reason to slink off to DCA or BWI and take CO.
September 19, 2010
7:16 pm
7:16 pm
redngold
Northeast Ohio
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I was on one of the last runs of the Desert Wind in December 1996; in fact, AMTRAK had canceled it earlier, but was forced to keep it running for two more months because of all of the tickets that were pending. We were six hours later into Las Vegas due to a combination of factors, but on time when I returned.
I have lots of experience riding Northeast Corridor trains since I used to take them between home (Croton-Harmon or New York-Penn) and University of Delaware (Wilmington or Newark, DE).
The Capitol Limited stops in Ohio at Toledo, Sandusky, Elyria, Cleveland and Alliance. I'm not sure if it makes a stop in Bryan, OH anymore. I took it eastbound last year October 30 and returning westbound on November 1. The drawback is that, yes, I had to catch the train in the middle of the night, and the trip was almost twice as long as if I had driven. My logic: I can't sleep, study or do homework while driving! We were on time going in to Washington (made up the 30 minute delay at Cleveland) but were an hour late returning (freight trains dispatched ahead of us; a tree on the tracks).
I also recently took the Lake Shore Limited to and from Croton-Harmon. We were running a little late into Albany (where the train is split into two sections, one heading to Boston and one down the Hudson River to New York-Penn) but we made up time and more hurtling down the river. We were on time coming back to Cleveland.
I am a die-hard fan of AMTRAK. I believe that if we do build high speed rail service in the US, people will use it. I think we need to give teeth to the law that gives AMTRAK trains the right of way on freight-owned tracks. No more of this petty "You're thirty seconds late so we are going to hold you for an hour until we get our freights out" crap.
September 20, 2010
7:34 am
7:34 am
nconrad
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RedNGold wrote:
I am a die-hard fan of AMTRAK. I believe that if we do build high speed rail service in the US, people will use it. I think we need to give teeth to the law that gives AMTRAK trains the right of way on freight-owned tracks. No more of this petty "You're thirty seconds late so we are going to hold you for an hour until we get our freights out" crap.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes!!! Traveling on Amtrak is wonderful, beautiful and relaxing! I love the idea of the Three-C corridor train (or whatever they're calling it), but to do it any other way than a high-speed train is such a pity and a waste of time and resources. I've often wondered why Delta (when they had their CVG hub) and/or Continental with its CLE hub didn't get on the ball with building one instead of their puddle-jumper flights within Ohio. They could use it in place of those flights, but would also get a LOT of commuters between those cities as well. Especially with the housing market taking a dump, people are willing to commute much, much farther and a high-speed "3-C" train with a couple stops between each "C" would be a smashing success!
I saw a special once--I think it was Modern Marvels--on either History or Discovery (I forget which channel that show's on) about various high-speed trains around the world. It was the high-speed train in Japan that allowed for long-distance commuting, in turn boosting that country's economy so much so that it's now one of the G-8! With an adequate network of these trains, airlines would be able to do away with their less-profitable routes and would have a better bottom line.
September 20, 2010
10:14 am
10:14 am
masseybrown
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RedNGold wrote:
I am a die-hard fan of AMTRAK. I believe that if we do build high speed rail service in the US, people will use it. I think we need to give teeth to the law that gives AMTRAK trains the right of way on freight-owned tracks. No more of this petty "You're thirty seconds late so we are going to hold you for an hour until we get our freights out" crap.
Amtrak has financed and built three track switching stretches on the Wash - Florida lines which allow their trains to go around slow freights. If Congress would fund some of their capital backlog, they could do it in several places on the Lake Shore Limited line as well. It's in their budget, the project just never makes it above the funding cut-off line.
Amtrak had "shovel-ready" projects that could have been funded under the stimulus package but weren't. I can't figure out why not.
Unfortunately Amtrak seems stuck in some sort of suspended animation; it's not popular enough to get the money it needs but too popular to kill.
Red, were you at Univ of Del in the '00-'04 years? A great friend of one of my kids was there then. No, it wasn't his 'safety' school (cough, UofMD, cough). He got a football scholarship.
September 20, 2010
12:38 pm
12:38 pm
redngold
Northeast Ohio
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I was at UD 1992-1996. It started as a safety school for me but after I met other music students during auditions and honors students at the scholarship exams, I got hooked.
October 3, 2010
10:54 am
10:54 am
masseybrown
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We're back. West Virginia was great but Amtrak was only half-great. The westbound train was an hour and a half late because it was sidelined to allow the eastbound train to go first and then had to follow a slow freight from Charlottesville to Clifton Forge. That was actually tolerable; we weren't in any particular hurry and what's an hour and a half spend with a very friendly bunch of passengers?
The eastbound train upheld its poor reputation and was far worse . We were five hours late on what should have been a five and a half hour trip. Just about everything that could go wrong did. I'll spare you the details except for the worst part. Approximately one minute short of the Charlottesville station, the crew timed out. They shut the train down in the middle of Charlottesville and walked off. The conductor apologized to the passengers and then quit also. We sat until a new crew could be mustered and transported to the train.
ONE MINUTE! That's either a stupid law or an arrogant union.
October 4, 2010
2:26 am
2:26 am
djr107
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It's a federal law concerning how long railroad crews can operate equipment. When I worked for Norfolk Southern back in 1999-2000, the limit was 12 hours. I seem to remember the penalties for going over the limit could be severe. Many times we only got within 30 miles of Buffalo before being sent to a siding to wait 1-2 hours for a ride to the NS yard office. If you want some details, check the Hours of Service Act of 1907. Also check out the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
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