I was recently in western NC for a wedding. In part because of weekday cancelations (trackwork), I decided to drive down from NYC and take the train back up. The drive — via Skyline Drive and parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway — was beautiful, despite plenty of rain. After the wedding, I returned the car in Greensboro and caught the Carolinian back north.
Greensboro station is beautiful and a nice place to wait, though I was only 20 minutes or so early. I’m not sure if there was a separate waiting area for business class, as I didn’t think to look, but the main waiting area was sunny and comfortable. I had gotten less than an hour of sleep between the previous “night” of driving down very foggy CCC roads from a mountain top on the Tennessee border and the “morning” drive from a B&B south of Asheville to the Greensboro airport to return the rental car. (FYI, cab from the airport to the train station was $27 without tip but with “fuel shortage” surcharge. Trip took about 20 minutes with no traffic.) Sitting on the long wooden benches at the station, I met three sisters there who looked so much as if they were part of my family that I struck up a conversation with them. We didn’t find a family link (though one of them had dated someone with one of our family names), but as it turns out, our people are from close enough to each other that we’re talking the same gene pool anyway. I love North Carolina.
The train arrived more or less on time — I wasn’t keeping careful count. Business Class was 2+2 seating and the train was full, so the attendant told us to pair up. Luckily, I wandered on board behind a very nice young woman who commutes from Greensboro to DC weekly, and we ended up sitting together. She offered me the window since I’m not here as often, and I enjoyed seeing my home rush by, between cat naps. I hate to waste a daytime train trip by sleeping, but at a certain point, my brain ceases to be in charge of that decision.
Service was nice. Drinks offered at least 4 or 5 times between Greensboro and NYP. Maybe more — I did doze off. I didn’t get offered a paper, though some folks had them. Maybe they brought their own? It didn’t seem worth fussing over. Drinks were usual sodas in small cans (served with cups of ice) plus water and orange and apple juice. One man asked for coffee and the attendant offered to bring it and also told him he could show his stub to the cafe attendant for free coffee.
By the time we were in Rocky Mount, we had lost about half an hour, which stayed lost to DC. Engine change was pretty quick, but we still ended up about 20 minutes late into NYP.
Pictures of the whole trip here.
...and a few from the road:
Work on a new station in Durham.
I woke up for Rocky Mount
I do love watching the cotton fields go by.
We also drove through Martinsburg, WV, earlier in the trip, in the hope of finding a ticket machine or station agent to print my ticket in advance. No such luck -- the station isn't manned for most of the day and has no machine -- but did see the beautiful restored roundhouse. Too bad you can only walk over to it during Rail Days.
(more in flickr set)
Greensboro station is beautiful and a nice place to wait, though I was only 20 minutes or so early. I’m not sure if there was a separate waiting area for business class, as I didn’t think to look, but the main waiting area was sunny and comfortable. I had gotten less than an hour of sleep between the previous “night” of driving down very foggy CCC roads from a mountain top on the Tennessee border and the “morning” drive from a B&B south of Asheville to the Greensboro airport to return the rental car. (FYI, cab from the airport to the train station was $27 without tip but with “fuel shortage” surcharge. Trip took about 20 minutes with no traffic.) Sitting on the long wooden benches at the station, I met three sisters there who looked so much as if they were part of my family that I struck up a conversation with them. We didn’t find a family link (though one of them had dated someone with one of our family names), but as it turns out, our people are from close enough to each other that we’re talking the same gene pool anyway. I love North Carolina.
The train arrived more or less on time — I wasn’t keeping careful count. Business Class was 2+2 seating and the train was full, so the attendant told us to pair up. Luckily, I wandered on board behind a very nice young woman who commutes from Greensboro to DC weekly, and we ended up sitting together. She offered me the window since I’m not here as often, and I enjoyed seeing my home rush by, between cat naps. I hate to waste a daytime train trip by sleeping, but at a certain point, my brain ceases to be in charge of that decision.
Service was nice. Drinks offered at least 4 or 5 times between Greensboro and NYP. Maybe more — I did doze off. I didn’t get offered a paper, though some folks had them. Maybe they brought their own? It didn’t seem worth fussing over. Drinks were usual sodas in small cans (served with cups of ice) plus water and orange and apple juice. One man asked for coffee and the attendant offered to bring it and also told him he could show his stub to the cafe attendant for free coffee.
By the time we were in Rocky Mount, we had lost about half an hour, which stayed lost to DC. Engine change was pretty quick, but we still ended up about 20 minutes late into NYP.
Pictures of the whole trip here.
...and a few from the road:
Work on a new station in Durham.
I woke up for Rocky Mount
I do love watching the cotton fields go by.
We also drove through Martinsburg, WV, earlier in the trip, in the hope of finding a ticket machine or station agent to print my ticket in advance. No such luck -- the station isn't manned for most of the day and has no machine -- but did see the beautiful restored roundhouse. Too bad you can only walk over to it during Rail Days.
(more in flickr set)
