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So, just after 12:30 AM, I had tuned into the live rail cam in Selma, NC and noticed a beam of headlights coming around the curve to the north. The southbound Silver Meteor, Amtrak 97, emerged and slowed to a stop at the station. The Silver Meteor does not stop in Selma. Tonight it did, and off...

I recently came across this video on YouTube about the new Siemens trainsets which will replace the Genesis locomotives and Amfleet 1 cars. Most of the trains listed were daytime trains that only use the Amfleet 1 including the Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Vermonter, and so on. However, the...

I have travelled through the Wilson NC (WLN) Amtrak Station on two round trips in the past 3 months, and I have noticed quite a bit of construction going on. The northern half of the station platform has been blocked off and torn up with lots of construction equipment on site. Both of my...

I am about to book a round trip from NC to NY on 79/80 leaving two weeks from today. I am planning on going out of Wilson, NC. How is parking availability at Wilson? Should Wilson be fine or should I consider Raleigh, Selma, or Rocky Mount?

I noticed last week while riding past the Lorton Auto Train Terminal, a string of Amfleet 2 coaches just sitting among the auto rack equipment. Is there a reason why a bunch of single level Amfleet equipment would be sitting at the Auto Train terminal?

So, are you saying that the Silver Service/Palmetto, Crescent, Cardinal, Carolinian, and Northeast Regional trains that originate/terminate south of DC will use the ALC-42 Chargers for their entire journey, even on the NEC?

How bottlenecked is First Street Tunnel and the lower level of DC’s Union Station? If they are bottlenecked, I’m curious as to how Amtrak/VRE/MARC will manage increased Virginia Amtrak service, the SEHSR, increased VRE service, and potential MARC service into Virginia.

I guess these new cars will be used for non-overnight trains on the east coast, since the Pennsylvanian and Palmetto trains primarily use Amfleet 2s, while the overnight trains will keep their Amfleet 2s until Amtrak can replace those?

Definitely! They’ll give you a crick in the neck for sure.

At least the Concorde has some glamour to it. Those tin cans with wings are anything but glamorous.

I see what you mean. I live in one of the ENC Thruway Motor Coach towns, which connect to both Palmettos regardless of direction and only to the Charlotte-Wilson portion of the Carolinian. Selma/Wilson are the nearest Amtrak towns to me, at just a little over an hour away. The drive isn’t bad...

I don’t find the AM-1 windows to be “that” small, though at least they’re larger than plane windows. If you want a small window where you have to break your neck to get a good view out of, you should book a flight on a CRJ-200. Those things are brutal!

What’s wrong with the Carolinian? I find the Amfleet 1s to be quite comfortable for day trips. Haven’t ridden in an Amfleet 2 before though.

About 5 years ago IIRC, Amtrak basically reversed a lot of their train consists, which previously had the baggage car directly behind the engine. Here are two videos using the Carolinian as an example, the first one from 2015 and the second one from 2019 (pre-COVID):

I would hope that by year’s end we see the baggage car restored on the Carolinian. There are quite a few stops along the route that offer checked baggage service, beyond where the Carolinian and Palmetto split at Selma. The Carolinian has 5 stops beyond Selma that offer checked baggage, while...

Curious to see if Virginia Railway Express (VRE) will consider these for future gallery car replacements.

I am planning a trip with Amtrak up to New York right before Christmas. I will depart out of either Selma NC or Wilson NC on the Carolinian. However, I understand parking can be an issue at some stations. So, which station is better for having available parking, Selma or Wilson?

Any idea when the business class car and the baggage car will return to the Carolinian? The Palmetto, for example, has restored its standard trainset with the business class car and baggage car for quite some time since COVID related trainset reductions began, but the Carolinian is still at 5...

That’s it? That’s the horn?