Recent content by jhjr

I would agree with the Greensboro recommendation. Elm Street is only a block or two from the station and there are restaurants/bars in both directions on Elm Street. Some should be open on Sunday.

Kudos to Amtrak. I'm booked on GRO-WAS-FTL tomorrow and I can't believe I'm going. Granted, the refund would have made my nephew's christmas a little more lucrative.

Limited long distance service tomorrow - the Crescent and Silver Meteor are running out of Washington instead of Penn Station. http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/news/article_c75be072-22d8-11e2-b868-001a4bcf887a.html

Lynchburg, VA TV station is reporting Amtrak station closed Tuesday and Charlotte, NC newspaper is reporting no Amtrak service north of Raleigh on Tuesday. http://www.wset.com/story/19937710/sandy-causes-some-travel-cancellations-in-lynchburg...

It looks like the northbound Silver Meteor was stopped in Washington DC and now the nb Crescent is there too. Any chance they might try to run either one of these southbound out of Washington DC in the coming days?

I would recommend using the porters in both NYP and Montreal - they are available in both locations and will guarantee you get first shot at seats. We sat on the left side out of Montreal and really enjoyed the views. I didn't see any need to arrive super early, but if you're not going to use...

It appears that most are OK - interesting pictures http://www.news-record.com/content/2012/08/16/article/train_truck_collide_near_jamestown

This thread should be helpful - if I can figure out how to cut and paste it. The name of the thread just in case was "Carolinian BC worth it?" http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/46239-carolinian-bc-worth-it/page__p__347029__hl__carolinian__fromsearch__1&do=findComment&comment=347029

I've ridden the Carolinian a bunch, but usually on short hops between Raleigh and Charlotte. The advantages of business class in my mind are cleaner restrooms and the cabin is usually quieter.

I just rode the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto last week. Yes, the prime rib is cooked on board - I was talking to one of the cooks and she mentioned that they slow roasted the prime rib on board beginning in the morning. I agree - it was terrific and the portion was big. Also, VIA was...

I"ll echo what others have said - In about 30 or so overnight sleeper trips I've never witnessed any theft and the only time something went missing it was found. I just put things out of sight. If you need something for your own peace of mind, you can buy a type of travel lock that uses a wire...

If you've already paid for your ticket with a company card, could you go online and upgrade with a personal card? Of course, this assumes business class seats are available....

Took the Via Ocean round trip from Montreal to Halifax over New Year's. Budd equipment on the way out and renaissance on the way back. I preferred the Budd equipment slightly, but both types of equipment have good features. Best renaissance feature is the ability to lock your room with one of...

It might have been there for days, but I just noticed the "redeem points" tab in the booking area of amtrak.com's front page. Anyone used this successfully yet?

Close call. I've done both and would probably vote Cardinal just because of the Pittsburgh layover. One thing that worried me was if the CL happened to run really late, I could be stuck in Pittsburgh for a long time. Scenery is great on both the Cardinal and the Pennsylvanian - with the...