Everydaymatters
Engineer
On Saturday, April 25, I took my first trip on the Cardinal to Washington DC.
While the Cardinal does not have a baggage car, I was able to check my suitcase through to Washington on the Capital Ltd.
The scenery was very pretty going through the mountains, much nicer than the Capital Ltd’s route. There was a tour group who had a narrator, which was an extra bonus as he pointed out places along the way. One of the highlights he pointed out was a beautiful bridge; I think it was over the New River Gorge. The narrator said that if you put the Washington Monument under it, you’d still have another 300 feet before you could reach the bridge. This bridge was absolutely fascinating. Makes one wonder how in the world they managed to construct it. He also pointed out the women’s prison where Martha Stewart and Tokyo Rose were incarcerated. That group debarked in White Sulphur Springs, WV, and we were no longer treated to the commentary.
The café attendant, Wayne, spent almost the entire trip sitting at a table doing paper work. The dining attendant kept telling him when there were customers and most of the time he’d reply “I’ll be right there.” I was amazed at the amount of paperwork that is required for his position.
At Culpepper, I was in the lounge car as the train was pulling out of the stop. I looked up and saw a lady with a clipboard. She was wearing a lanyard and the strap was imprinted “Homeland Security.” The train progressed toward Washington and everyone in the lounge was told to return to their seats and prepare to show their ticket and their ID. After mine was checked, I asked if I could return to the lounge and I was told “not until we have completed the sweep.”
That was the first time I experienced a “sweep” of the entire train. Security often comes up in the discussion topics, and I can now tell you it does exist.
The train was about an hour late getting into Washington, where I retrieved my suitcase, went out by the taxis and got the shuttle to my hotel.
The hotel had an hourly shuttle to Union Station, which is where I launched my 1-1/2 days of sightseeing from and ate a couple of meals at.
As had been my custom five years ago when I often traveled between Chicago and Washington, I bought a sandwich to take with me on the train back to Chicago. The Capital Ltd. was behind part of the way, but caught up and arrived in Chicago on time. It had been 5 years since my last trip to Washington, and I thought there was another stop in Indiana back then, but I could be wrong. I don’t have a timetable handy to check it.
The crews on both trains were pleasant and the trips were uneventful. It was kind of my “farewell” trip to Washington. This probably sounds melodramatic, but I always wished I had started my career in Washington. I like the beat of that town, the importance of everything that happens there. I was first introduced to Washington by my father, who was an alumnus of Georgetown University. He took my family through the nooks and crannies of Washington that few people get to see. But time does have limits and the years keep piling up against me to take a lot more trips.
While the Cardinal does not have a baggage car, I was able to check my suitcase through to Washington on the Capital Ltd.
The scenery was very pretty going through the mountains, much nicer than the Capital Ltd’s route. There was a tour group who had a narrator, which was an extra bonus as he pointed out places along the way. One of the highlights he pointed out was a beautiful bridge; I think it was over the New River Gorge. The narrator said that if you put the Washington Monument under it, you’d still have another 300 feet before you could reach the bridge. This bridge was absolutely fascinating. Makes one wonder how in the world they managed to construct it. He also pointed out the women’s prison where Martha Stewart and Tokyo Rose were incarcerated. That group debarked in White Sulphur Springs, WV, and we were no longer treated to the commentary.
The café attendant, Wayne, spent almost the entire trip sitting at a table doing paper work. The dining attendant kept telling him when there were customers and most of the time he’d reply “I’ll be right there.” I was amazed at the amount of paperwork that is required for his position.
At Culpepper, I was in the lounge car as the train was pulling out of the stop. I looked up and saw a lady with a clipboard. She was wearing a lanyard and the strap was imprinted “Homeland Security.” The train progressed toward Washington and everyone in the lounge was told to return to their seats and prepare to show their ticket and their ID. After mine was checked, I asked if I could return to the lounge and I was told “not until we have completed the sweep.”
That was the first time I experienced a “sweep” of the entire train. Security often comes up in the discussion topics, and I can now tell you it does exist.
The train was about an hour late getting into Washington, where I retrieved my suitcase, went out by the taxis and got the shuttle to my hotel.
The hotel had an hourly shuttle to Union Station, which is where I launched my 1-1/2 days of sightseeing from and ate a couple of meals at.
As had been my custom five years ago when I often traveled between Chicago and Washington, I bought a sandwich to take with me on the train back to Chicago. The Capital Ltd. was behind part of the way, but caught up and arrived in Chicago on time. It had been 5 years since my last trip to Washington, and I thought there was another stop in Indiana back then, but I could be wrong. I don’t have a timetable handy to check it.
The crews on both trains were pleasant and the trips were uneventful. It was kind of my “farewell” trip to Washington. This probably sounds melodramatic, but I always wished I had started my career in Washington. I like the beat of that town, the importance of everything that happens there. I was first introduced to Washington by my father, who was an alumnus of Georgetown University. He took my family through the nooks and crannies of Washington that few people get to see. But time does have limits and the years keep piling up against me to take a lot more trips.
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