On April 20th and 21st I attended the NARP Spring Council meeting and the annual Day of the Hill event. This was my first time participating in any NARP events outside of my home region. This was also my first time entering the halls of our national government.
There was never a doubt in my mind that I would be taking Amtrak to and from Washington, DC. My Amtrak itinerary was a round trip from Atlanta to Washington on the Crescent. I booked a sleeper for the northbound trip leaving Atlanta on Sunday, April 19th with a return on April 21st in coach.
Train travel is not the easiest option for Middle Tennesseans and East Tennesseans. For me, in my part of the state, Atlanta is the most logical choice for trips to and from the northeast, but it's not without a few challenges.
The Atlanta Amtrak station is nowhere near as accessible as it should be and parking is limited at best. I looked into riding Megabus from Chattanooga to Atlanta because Megabus has cheaper fares and the Atlanta Megabus stop is not far from the Amtrak station. The trip down on Megabus would be doable, but the return trip would require a layover of almost 6 hours. Since I live 60 miles from Chattanooga I would either have to park my car in an unfamiliar part of town or have someone take two hours out of their day to drop me off and then pick me up. No Megabus for me!
I considered catching the Groome shuttle service that goes from a stop near my home to the Atlanta airport, but that would cost over $100 round trip. It was cheaper to drive my car to Atlanta and pay to park at the airport. And here I thought the whole point for having an airport shuttle service was to save the cost of gasoline and parking fees!
I decided to drive my car to the Atlanta airport and leave it in the Park-and-Ride facility, which is relatively inexpensive. I then could use the MARTA service to get from the airport to the Amtrak station. This plan was cheaper than the airport shuttle service and it gave me more flexibility with my time. On Sunday morning I left home early, attended a church service in Chattanooga, and then spent three full hours in Tennessee's most beautiful city. I had lunch downtown, rode the electric bus service the entire route, visited Warehouse Row, and then ventured over to Coolidge Park where a small arts event was under way.
I then made the two hour drive to Atlanta with no traffic problems whatsoever. I parked my car, got on a bus shuttle, walked over to the MARTA rail station, bought a BREEZE ticket, and got on the train all in less than 15 minutes.
To get to the Amtrak station you take the train to the Arts Center Station and then transfer to bus #110, commonly known as "The Peach". The Amtrak station comes up after about four blocks. I walked with my luggage across the street and walked into the station about an hour before the scheduled arrival of the train. It was already getting crowded in there. This station is much too small for a city this large! It's a good-looking facility, but definitely inadequate. The conductor stopped by to scan my ticket and was proud to tell me that the train was on time. In the time I spent waiting I saw the station go from crowded to very crowded. When #20 rolled into town the ticket agent walked into the lobby and asked everybody to clear a path for arriving passengers to get to the front door.
She walked back through a few minutes later, as arriving passengers were walking through, and called for sleeper passengers. I walked among the small crowd and I think I was the only one that took the stairs instead of the elevator. (I knew I could get to the bottom much faster on my own two feet!)
The sleepers were on the rear of the train, which made for a nice long walk. And I must say the platforms in Atlanta are so narrow that there's barely enough room to walk with your elbows out. I made my way to the sleeper and saw that one of the new Viewliner II Baggage cars was tacked on the rear.
Tina would be my attendant. She was ready for me and called me by name. I really enjoyed her and I could tell that she is committed to doing her job well.
Just as the train pulled out, about 10 minutes late, Tina stopped by my room and the room across the hall to let us know that we could make our way into the dining car. I walked through the next sleeper and then arrived in one of the Heritage diners that received the late-90's interior makeover.
They sat me down at a table with two ladies - a mother and her college-aged daughter on their way to Philadelphia where the daughter attends school. They live in the Atlanta area and this was their first train trip. The daughter said that she was sick of flying back and forth and decided to try train travel for a change. The mother was not open to the idea but finally gave in at her daughter's insistence.
We talked a great deal about train travel and they were impressed to know that I have logged over 37,000 miles on Amtrak. They were surprised to see how small the Atlanta station is, and I told them how much they would be impressed by Philadelphia's station when they got there. They noticed how old the dining car was, and I explained that it was almost 60 years old and still going strong, but soon to be retired and replaced with a brand new design. By the end of the meal they started feeling sorry for the dining car getting retired until I told them that it may start life anew on a tourist railroad.
I ordered the steak, which came with a baked potato and green beans, salad and a roll. I wondered if the meal might be a disaster given all I've heard in rail circles about cuts in service, cuts on quality, and employee morale in the dumps. I must say that this meal was as good as any meal I have had on Amtrak. The servers were prompt. The salad was fresh and cold. The steak and potato were perfectly fine. The green beans were a little overcooked, but they were nicely seasoned. The table had silk flowers and everything on the table, including the basket of condiments, was carefully placed. The ladies at my table were pleased with their choice as well. I ordered the chocolate dessert, which I enjoyed, and the serving was a little larger than I expected. While we were eating the cook in the kitchen started singing and had the two servers in stitches. Maybe these stories about bad dining car experiences are overblown, or maybe the train I was on is the exception and not the rule!
I went back to my room and spent the next couple of hours reading and unwinding. I started to set up the room with the upper bunk, but Tina stopped and said she could fix that for me in just a few seconds. Sure enough, she had it ready for me in less than a minute.
My first night on a train is never particularly restful. I did wake a few times in the night thinking that the shocks and springs on our Viewliner sleeper were taking a huge beating. At one point we hit a spot so rough that I woke up and thought the bottom of the car would scrape the ballast!
I woke early and headed to the shower. I needed to be ready to go because I had a meeting to attend in Silver Spring, Maryland as soon as I could got there. It was a cold shower either because the hot water wasn't working or because I could not figure out the mixing valve. It woke me up more so than the coffee that Tina made!
After getting ready I made it to the dining car for breakfast. I chose the French toast and visited with my table companion, a student from Mississippi who was just accepted to Harvard. He told me that he plans to ride the train back and forth to New Haven when he enrolls and hopefully never have to fly. The only part of the trip he did not look forward to was Penn Station, which was where he would change trains. I suggested he try to schedule his future connections in D.C.
My mother called me and was concerned that my southbound trip would be in coach and insisted I call Amtrak and book a sleeper. I told her that last I checked the sleeper fare was up to $740 dollars and it was not worth it. She insisted I try to book one, so I agreed to check with the ticket office in DC and see if they had a better price. She reminded me that I'm no longer a twenty-something who can go all night without a decent sleep. I hate to admit it when she's right!
We arrived in DC five minutes early. This was a great trip and I was ready to shift into gear and get on with business. I went directly to the ticket office and the sleeper back to Atlanta for $520. That wasn't cheap, but it was less than I expected, so I booked it. My mother was pleased when I called her back.
From there I made my way into the Metro station, bought a fare card and went down to track level. I arrived at Silver Spring and walked six blocks in very nice weather to the Double Tree hotel.
My two days in the DC area were pleasant and a good experience for me. I met with staff members for both Tennessee Senators and with the office staff for five of the Congressmen from our State. I did not make any sentimental appeals in asking them to support Amtrak. Instead, I gave them honest facts and numbers.
It was a long day with a tight schedule, and when 4:00 p.m. came around I bid farewell to my colleagues and made my way back to Union Station. I checked in at the Club Acela, which I found to be very pleasant. It's quieter than the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, but not as large. The Crescent arrived on time. When they called us for boarding we made our way to the platform and wouldn't you know I saw Tina! She was glad to see me and said she would remember to fix the top bunk for me.
The mechanical department was working on our car because the air conditioning went down and the car was a little stuffy. About twenty minutes later the air came on and Tina stopped by to tell everybody how worried she was that we could have been downgraded to coach. I was grateful that they fixed it!
She made 6:45 dinner reservations for all of us in the dining car. When that time came I went two cars forward again, but this time it wasn't the one with the interior redo. This one had the older style interior. Even though this train had the same sleeper attendants, we had a different dining car crew. We had two high-energy waiters who were lightning fast. I thought I would try something else this time, so I asked the waiter if the pasta gets good reviews. He said that the pasta was fine, but that he strongly recommended the steak. I ordered it, same as before, but then my table companion ordered the pasta. The salad was just as fresh as the salad on the other train, but the portion was a little larger this time. The steak and potato were just as good also, and this time the green beans were cooked just right. I ordered the cheesecake, which I liked as well. My table companion, a man from New Orleans returning home from a business meeting, said he liked the pasta.
I returned to my room and was so tired I didn't feel like reading. I slept so soundly that I don't remember the train stopping anywhere beyond Lynchburg. I did wake up at one point thinking that the springs and shocks took another hard lick, but then drifted right back to sleep. I woke up around 7:00 with just enough time to get a shower and get to breakfast. This time the hot water worked! I enjoyed my breakfast and then wondered if this might be my last time eating a meal in a Heritage diner.
We arrived in Atlanta on time to the minute. I walked through the station and got to the street just as a MARTA bus was rolling to a stop. I went through the Arts Center station and got to the bottom of the escalator just as a train was rolling in. I hopped on and got the airport in no time flat. A quick walk through the terminal and I was on a parking lot shuttle and back in my car a few minutes later. The drive back to Tennessee got off to a slow start as downtown Atlanta was still in rush hour. Or, shall we say, the sit-still-on-the-pavement hour!
This was a very good train trip. Every aspect of the service was good from the dining car to the on-time performance.
My only regret is that the station in Atlanta is too small, and I don't see the city leaders fixing that anytime soon.
There was never a doubt in my mind that I would be taking Amtrak to and from Washington, DC. My Amtrak itinerary was a round trip from Atlanta to Washington on the Crescent. I booked a sleeper for the northbound trip leaving Atlanta on Sunday, April 19th with a return on April 21st in coach.
Train travel is not the easiest option for Middle Tennesseans and East Tennesseans. For me, in my part of the state, Atlanta is the most logical choice for trips to and from the northeast, but it's not without a few challenges.
The Atlanta Amtrak station is nowhere near as accessible as it should be and parking is limited at best. I looked into riding Megabus from Chattanooga to Atlanta because Megabus has cheaper fares and the Atlanta Megabus stop is not far from the Amtrak station. The trip down on Megabus would be doable, but the return trip would require a layover of almost 6 hours. Since I live 60 miles from Chattanooga I would either have to park my car in an unfamiliar part of town or have someone take two hours out of their day to drop me off and then pick me up. No Megabus for me!
I considered catching the Groome shuttle service that goes from a stop near my home to the Atlanta airport, but that would cost over $100 round trip. It was cheaper to drive my car to Atlanta and pay to park at the airport. And here I thought the whole point for having an airport shuttle service was to save the cost of gasoline and parking fees!
I decided to drive my car to the Atlanta airport and leave it in the Park-and-Ride facility, which is relatively inexpensive. I then could use the MARTA service to get from the airport to the Amtrak station. This plan was cheaper than the airport shuttle service and it gave me more flexibility with my time. On Sunday morning I left home early, attended a church service in Chattanooga, and then spent three full hours in Tennessee's most beautiful city. I had lunch downtown, rode the electric bus service the entire route, visited Warehouse Row, and then ventured over to Coolidge Park where a small arts event was under way.
I then made the two hour drive to Atlanta with no traffic problems whatsoever. I parked my car, got on a bus shuttle, walked over to the MARTA rail station, bought a BREEZE ticket, and got on the train all in less than 15 minutes.
To get to the Amtrak station you take the train to the Arts Center Station and then transfer to bus #110, commonly known as "The Peach". The Amtrak station comes up after about four blocks. I walked with my luggage across the street and walked into the station about an hour before the scheduled arrival of the train. It was already getting crowded in there. This station is much too small for a city this large! It's a good-looking facility, but definitely inadequate. The conductor stopped by to scan my ticket and was proud to tell me that the train was on time. In the time I spent waiting I saw the station go from crowded to very crowded. When #20 rolled into town the ticket agent walked into the lobby and asked everybody to clear a path for arriving passengers to get to the front door.
She walked back through a few minutes later, as arriving passengers were walking through, and called for sleeper passengers. I walked among the small crowd and I think I was the only one that took the stairs instead of the elevator. (I knew I could get to the bottom much faster on my own two feet!)
The sleepers were on the rear of the train, which made for a nice long walk. And I must say the platforms in Atlanta are so narrow that there's barely enough room to walk with your elbows out. I made my way to the sleeper and saw that one of the new Viewliner II Baggage cars was tacked on the rear.
Tina would be my attendant. She was ready for me and called me by name. I really enjoyed her and I could tell that she is committed to doing her job well.
Just as the train pulled out, about 10 minutes late, Tina stopped by my room and the room across the hall to let us know that we could make our way into the dining car. I walked through the next sleeper and then arrived in one of the Heritage diners that received the late-90's interior makeover.
They sat me down at a table with two ladies - a mother and her college-aged daughter on their way to Philadelphia where the daughter attends school. They live in the Atlanta area and this was their first train trip. The daughter said that she was sick of flying back and forth and decided to try train travel for a change. The mother was not open to the idea but finally gave in at her daughter's insistence.
We talked a great deal about train travel and they were impressed to know that I have logged over 37,000 miles on Amtrak. They were surprised to see how small the Atlanta station is, and I told them how much they would be impressed by Philadelphia's station when they got there. They noticed how old the dining car was, and I explained that it was almost 60 years old and still going strong, but soon to be retired and replaced with a brand new design. By the end of the meal they started feeling sorry for the dining car getting retired until I told them that it may start life anew on a tourist railroad.
I ordered the steak, which came with a baked potato and green beans, salad and a roll. I wondered if the meal might be a disaster given all I've heard in rail circles about cuts in service, cuts on quality, and employee morale in the dumps. I must say that this meal was as good as any meal I have had on Amtrak. The servers were prompt. The salad was fresh and cold. The steak and potato were perfectly fine. The green beans were a little overcooked, but they were nicely seasoned. The table had silk flowers and everything on the table, including the basket of condiments, was carefully placed. The ladies at my table were pleased with their choice as well. I ordered the chocolate dessert, which I enjoyed, and the serving was a little larger than I expected. While we were eating the cook in the kitchen started singing and had the two servers in stitches. Maybe these stories about bad dining car experiences are overblown, or maybe the train I was on is the exception and not the rule!
I went back to my room and spent the next couple of hours reading and unwinding. I started to set up the room with the upper bunk, but Tina stopped and said she could fix that for me in just a few seconds. Sure enough, she had it ready for me in less than a minute.
My first night on a train is never particularly restful. I did wake a few times in the night thinking that the shocks and springs on our Viewliner sleeper were taking a huge beating. At one point we hit a spot so rough that I woke up and thought the bottom of the car would scrape the ballast!
I woke early and headed to the shower. I needed to be ready to go because I had a meeting to attend in Silver Spring, Maryland as soon as I could got there. It was a cold shower either because the hot water wasn't working or because I could not figure out the mixing valve. It woke me up more so than the coffee that Tina made!
After getting ready I made it to the dining car for breakfast. I chose the French toast and visited with my table companion, a student from Mississippi who was just accepted to Harvard. He told me that he plans to ride the train back and forth to New Haven when he enrolls and hopefully never have to fly. The only part of the trip he did not look forward to was Penn Station, which was where he would change trains. I suggested he try to schedule his future connections in D.C.
My mother called me and was concerned that my southbound trip would be in coach and insisted I call Amtrak and book a sleeper. I told her that last I checked the sleeper fare was up to $740 dollars and it was not worth it. She insisted I try to book one, so I agreed to check with the ticket office in DC and see if they had a better price. She reminded me that I'm no longer a twenty-something who can go all night without a decent sleep. I hate to admit it when she's right!
We arrived in DC five minutes early. This was a great trip and I was ready to shift into gear and get on with business. I went directly to the ticket office and the sleeper back to Atlanta for $520. That wasn't cheap, but it was less than I expected, so I booked it. My mother was pleased when I called her back.
From there I made my way into the Metro station, bought a fare card and went down to track level. I arrived at Silver Spring and walked six blocks in very nice weather to the Double Tree hotel.
My two days in the DC area were pleasant and a good experience for me. I met with staff members for both Tennessee Senators and with the office staff for five of the Congressmen from our State. I did not make any sentimental appeals in asking them to support Amtrak. Instead, I gave them honest facts and numbers.
It was a long day with a tight schedule, and when 4:00 p.m. came around I bid farewell to my colleagues and made my way back to Union Station. I checked in at the Club Acela, which I found to be very pleasant. It's quieter than the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, but not as large. The Crescent arrived on time. When they called us for boarding we made our way to the platform and wouldn't you know I saw Tina! She was glad to see me and said she would remember to fix the top bunk for me.
The mechanical department was working on our car because the air conditioning went down and the car was a little stuffy. About twenty minutes later the air came on and Tina stopped by to tell everybody how worried she was that we could have been downgraded to coach. I was grateful that they fixed it!
She made 6:45 dinner reservations for all of us in the dining car. When that time came I went two cars forward again, but this time it wasn't the one with the interior redo. This one had the older style interior. Even though this train had the same sleeper attendants, we had a different dining car crew. We had two high-energy waiters who were lightning fast. I thought I would try something else this time, so I asked the waiter if the pasta gets good reviews. He said that the pasta was fine, but that he strongly recommended the steak. I ordered it, same as before, but then my table companion ordered the pasta. The salad was just as fresh as the salad on the other train, but the portion was a little larger this time. The steak and potato were just as good also, and this time the green beans were cooked just right. I ordered the cheesecake, which I liked as well. My table companion, a man from New Orleans returning home from a business meeting, said he liked the pasta.
I returned to my room and was so tired I didn't feel like reading. I slept so soundly that I don't remember the train stopping anywhere beyond Lynchburg. I did wake up at one point thinking that the springs and shocks took another hard lick, but then drifted right back to sleep. I woke up around 7:00 with just enough time to get a shower and get to breakfast. This time the hot water worked! I enjoyed my breakfast and then wondered if this might be my last time eating a meal in a Heritage diner.
We arrived in Atlanta on time to the minute. I walked through the station and got to the street just as a MARTA bus was rolling to a stop. I went through the Arts Center station and got to the bottom of the escalator just as a train was rolling in. I hopped on and got the airport in no time flat. A quick walk through the terminal and I was on a parking lot shuttle and back in my car a few minutes later. The drive back to Tennessee got off to a slow start as downtown Atlanta was still in rush hour. Or, shall we say, the sit-still-on-the-pavement hour!
This was a very good train trip. Every aspect of the service was good from the dining car to the on-time performance.
My only regret is that the station in Atlanta is too small, and I don't see the city leaders fixing that anytime soon.
