Crescent WAS BHM 2021 03 12

[JCTakoma]

Looks like they’re selling about half the train in coach, and maybe only half in the sleepers — two cars but I only see one attendant. We’re in a roomette. I checked online just before departure, listed as 50% full but sold out.

Preordered meals a week ago but that didn’t seem to matter. Attendant took our order upon boarding, delivered an hour later. Beef stew in red wine sauce (classic boeuf bourguignon) was tasty but undercooked - meat quite tough and not well trimmed, could have simmered at least another two hours before plating. Shrimp and sausage nicely warmed, only slightly overdone. I’d compare to decent coach food on an international flight.

The menu choices make sense — stuff that stands up well to a warming oven. But Amtrak says I’m in first class; nope, definitely not. Need a better kitchen. Up the bread quality. Don’t blame COVID for the food.

Duane (not sure of spelling) our attendant is friendly and efficient. We chatted about hopes for restoring the dining car with communal seating. I never found the dinners all that tasty, no better than now really, but I certainly miss chatting with other passengers. Amtrak leadership pronouncements about how millennials don’t like to talk to strangers is pure rubbish — I swear they always found me to be quite charming!

Duane fixed the beds at 10. Bedding is, well, unchanged from our last trip two years ago. Thin but decent foam. Rumored luxury kit hasn’t yet materialized. Perhaps they added fabric softener to the blanket - no static! And two pillows each, one fir under the knees to spare my weak back, thank you. Lots of space up top, nice on the single deckers, can sit up and read til ...

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Looks like they’re selling about half the train in coach,

Yes, they've been doing that since last year - you know, social distancing.

The menu choices make sense — stuff that stands up well to a warming oven. But Amtrak says I’m in first class; nope, definitely not. Need a better kitchen. Up the bread quality. Don’t blame COVID for the food.

Yes, blame COVID. They needed to reduce costs, so they took away the diners (hence no kitchen). Amtrak doesn't have "classes", except Business Class on some trains and First Class on Acela, but being in a sleeper you get a meal whereas coach passengers only have access to the cafe food. Plus you get to lay flat, have privacy, etc. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

[JCTakoma]

Glorious sunrise in bed as we clipped thru Northeast Georgia. It’s one of the prettier spots on the route. the rolling hills and river crossings compare well with the bays north of Baltimore, rural forested Alabama, and the bridges into outer New Orleans.

Duane thinks the coaches are more than half full. Haven’t been up there, so can’t judge. He also thinks sleepers are at capacity, but after Atlanta this morning, it looks rather empty in our car. In my experience it’s the NYC ATL segment that’s busiest even in normal times.

Coffee was quite bitter this morning, as it typically is in our experience. Sipped mine on the platform during the crew change in Atlanta. Donated half to the train gods in thanks for being on time.

We skipped breakfast. I did walk up to the dining car mid morning to collect a water. Staff had the place staked out, no passengers in sight.

Departing Atlanta, we parked outside the Norfolk Southern yards for 45 minutes or so. Approaching Birmingham we’re about an hour late now. Being late means we sneak in lunch.

Meatballs were tasty. Salad was crisp. Pasta was baked to the leathery stage. Brownies were, well, saved for later.

 

[Shortline]

From what I can see, the occupancy indicator (50%) is just for the coaches. They sell sleepers to 100%, and to Atlanta the Crescent is often full. Past Atlanta, and Birmingham, it’s pretty open.

I too, can’t wait for the dining car to return, if it ever does on Eastern trains. I take the Crescent many times a year, and really tired of the current offerings. Also looking forward to the improvements to bedding that’s supposed to come soon. That alone, will be an improvement.

First Class? No. It’s not. They don’t even allude to it being First Class anymore. Which is ok, I just want consistent, and a higher standard than the current rolling camping trip it is now.

 

[JCTakoma]

We normally hop off In Tuscaloosa where we either rent a car or have a family member collect us for the 1.5 hr drive to Mississippi‘a so called Golden Triangle. Family couldn’t do it. Didn’t want to burden friends. And this was a Saturday afternoon arrival and no rental car services were available.

Next option would have been a car service, but uncertainty about the weather meant we couldn’t guarantee being able to roll down the windows for COVID control — I’ve been vaccinated (Pfizer first dose) but it will be another 8 days before it becomes effective.

So we disembarked in Birmingham, thinking to call an Uber or taxi to the airport for our rental pickup. Goodness, what a challenge!

The Yellow Cab dispatcher said it would be an hour’s wait. An Uber accepted the job and promised arrival in 4 minutes, but then headed elsewhere. Another, possibly the same one, accepted but then immediately cancelled. A Lyft took prepayment but then had no cars.

So there we were, at first on a bench in front of Birmingham‘a lovely new and empty intermodal station, making lots of calls. Meanwhile a woman approached to request spare change. A man briskly walked by swearing obscenities at the top of his voice to no one in particular. A man who’d clearly been sleeping in the rough for quite a while paced across the street while staring at us. We retreated inside.

After an hour and four attempts, the Yellow Cab finally showed up at exactly the same time as an Uber. I gave the cabbie a 20 for his trouble. We then had a delightful chat with the Uber’s retired public school math teacher.

I will chalk this up to COVID and bad luck, but it’s indicative of the challenge of Amtrak stations that get little bus or train service, hence don’t attract any collateral services, and where getting to your final destination beyond the station can therefore be highly problematic.

In this case a very nice security guard guided us through the local public transport options. I suspect he’d have driven us himself if we hadn’t finally hit the jackpot with Uber.

We’ll drop off the rental in Tuscaloosa next week before the ride back to WAS.

 

[jiml]

I will chalk this up to COVID and bad luck, but it’s indicative of the challenge of Amtrak stations that get little bus or train service, hence don’t attract any collateral services, and where getting to your final destination beyond the station can therefore be highly problematic.

 

[Mlgraham22]

Really enjoying your trip report. We live in ATL and have been thinking of the Crescent either up or back from NYC one of these days. Your trouble with transportation in Tuscaloosa made me laugh (or cringe) at the thought of my diva wife being subjected to such treatment! Fortunately, in Atlanta Ubers are plentiful so I think we might dodge that bullet.

 

[Shortline]

Yes, the new intermodal station is nicer than what we had, but it’s still just a bus station that happens to have a train stop 3 times a week....we live up in the mountains about an hour North East of Birmingham. It’s not the best of cities......We only go to town to work, airport, or train station. Otherwise we avoid it like the plague.

Surprised about the Uber. I often fly out, and take the train back so usually need to Uber to the airport. Never had more than a 5 min wait, must have been an off day.

 

[Dakota 400]

but it’s indicative of the challenge of Amtrak stations that get little bus or train service, hence don’t attract any collateral services, and where getting to your final destination beyond the station can therefore be highly problematic.

I was surprised to find it how difficult it was to obtain a taxi at Fort Lauderdale's Amtrak station when I got off the Silver Meteor. The train was late which might have explained why there was such a small taxi line-up. But, even calling for a taxi, it took longer than I anticipated it would for a Yellow Cab to arrive. At least, I was prepared and had a couple of phone numbers available in case I needed them. Which I did.

 

[me_little_me]

Yes, blame COVID. They needed to reduce costs, so they took away the diners (hence no kitchen). Amtrak doesn't have "classes", except Business Class on some trains and First Class on Acela, but being in a sleeper you get a meal whereas coach passengers only have access to the cafe food. Plus you get to lay flat, have privacy, etc. Sounds pretty good to me.

On the Crescent? NO! That bad food started BEFORE Covid. BEFORE they took away the diners (they had the VL2 diners already). Same junk food I had on the Crescent on Jan 2, 2020 and prior to that in October 2019.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

On the Crescent? NO! That bad food started BEFORE Covid. BEFORE they took away the diners (they had the VL2 diners already). Same junk food I had on the Crescent on Jan 2, 2020 and prior to that in October 2019.

I realize that... I was on the Crescent Nov 2019. But he was saying they need a better kitchen, now, and I don't think they have a kitchen to "better" right now.

 

[Shortline]

I realize that... I was on the Crescent Nov 2019. But he was saying they need a better kitchen, now, and I don't think they have a kitchen to "better" right now.

They HAVE a better kitchen. Brand new Viewliner diners ply back and forth between New York and New Oreans every day on this train. It’s a waste, for them to just churn out heat and eat meals like this.....

 

[JCTakoma]

Surprised about the Uber. I often fly out, and take the train back so usually need to Uber to the airport. Never had more than a 5 min wait, must have been an off day.

I suspect you’re right. One day’s problem does not make a trend. I’m certainly prepared to give Birmingham Uber another chance.

They HAVE a better kitchen. Brand new Viewliner diners ply back and forth between New York and New Oreans every day on this train. It’s a waste, for them to just churn out heat and eat meals like this.....

Actually, on our Crescent today, there is just a cafe car, no dining car.

Cheers!

 

[JCTakoma]

We dropped off our rental at the Enterprise in Northport, and within minutes they arranged a drop for us to the train station. Very friendly, great customer service, thank you Enterprise.

As my first dose Pfizer hasn’t yet kicked in, we stood outside the station to wait for the Crescent 20 heading north from New Orleans to New York. I imagined twice-daily service in both directions, with connections in Birmingham to Nashville and Mobile, as well as connections in Tuscaloosa to several Greyhound routes. I imagined a small restaurant and coffee shop, with patio tables and umbrellas. Train was 1.5 hours late, and sometimes my imagination runs wild...

From my experiences, there seem to be freight conflicts all along the route between Atlanta and New Orleans, less so between Atlanta and New York. I have my eye on Norfolk Southern as I prepare to contact my as yet non-voting members of Congress — non-voting because I live in DC.

Lunch was delivered immediately upon boarding. We’ve discovered the chicken with noodles and vegetables in a light gravy. Tasty, well suited to a warming oven. Chicken was actually quite tender, well accompanied by a Barefoot Chardonnay. Back during my working days, I’d occasionally pick up a bottle of Barefoot at the commissary in the American Embassy in Baghdad. Brought back memories of diving into bomb shelters...

After supper, the countryside rolled past our window as I sipped Makers Mark and read a magazine. Traveling companion declines all alcohol, so I get two freebies instead of the one that Amtrak is currently offering sleeping car passengers, presumably as a consolation prize for the indignity of flex dining. We place the bag on the floor, tossing in our lids and used utensils as we go.


Bedroom this time. More space than a roomette of course, and the beds are both bigger and straighter. The roomette beds narrow at the feet to accommodate the in-room vanity/commode. I appreciated the ladder — much easier to use than climbing up via the commode in a roomette. (By now you’ve probably figured out I’m the top-bunk traveler.) European trains provide a ladder even for their roomettes, at least in my experience. I vaguely recall Amtrak used to do so as well, no?


The mattresses, alas, are equally as firm in the bedroom — very firm foam. Even for the lower bed, which I tested, there’s just a bit of thin foam placed in the evening atop the very firm cushions of the sofa. I imagined luxurious bedding, as David Suchet had during his documentary on the Orient Express. But I’ve been on regular night trains in Europe and their bedding is generally no better.

And of course there’s the en suite toilet and shower. Compared to the roomette, this is luxury indeed, albeit quite compact luxury. Traveling companion does like the shower. I always bang my elbows in there.

I got a reasonably good night’s sleep, from 10pm to 8am, only occasionally jostled awake by uneven tracks or a sudden brake into a station. I must say I find sleeping on a train, all things considered, to be quite fun. We’re currently an hour and a half late at Charlottesville. I’ve noticed there’s some padding in the schedule after Manassas, so who knows, we might arrive in DC on time.

 

[OBS]

Thanks for the Update! No, there was never a ladder in the roomettes. Only Bedrooms and Dbl Slumbercoaches if you go back 40 years...

 

[n714da]

Anyone with any experience getting an Uber or Lyft pickup at the Tuscaloosa Amtrak station for a ride over to the local airport? I'll be arriving at TCL on the Crescent early next month, and need to pick up a vehicle from Avis out at Tuscaloosa National Airport. Thanks.

 

[JCTakoma]

I’ve used the folks out at the airport (Hertz, Avis) and also an outfit in Northport (Enterprise) which is actually quite a bit closer to Amtrak. Uber seems ok, but there aren’t that many drivers at certain times, so you could get stuck (like I did recently in Birmingham). If you instead book with Enterprise, then call their local office, and they’ll either pick you up in one of their own cars or they’ll arrange an Uber for you. You might try calling the local office of Hertz and Avis, too, as they might also pick you up, even though they don’t advertise it. A few years back, they did drop me off at Amtrak after I left the car at the airport. Note: None of these rental places are open on weekend or major holiday afternoons. Good luck!