Well, it came time for yet another Spring Break trip to Florida during grad school. Some of the highlights of this particular trip involve my earning my PADI certification while in Florida, and spending time with the relatives.
The Builder showed up on time for my departure March 4, 2005. For me, that meant getting to the station at 5 am, not that big of a deal. The trip down the Mississippi was smooth and o.k., but not as picturesque as my Christmas holiday trip I posted earlier. I saw a couple of eagles and a few Canadian geese as the train wound its way southbound along Old Man River. The train filled as we went along, again quite the contrary to the impression that "no one takes the train." My experience is that people will travel by train if given the option. We arrived into Chicago on time, as well, and none the worse for wear. Another trip on the Builder, and all goes well as per the usual. I had an on-time departure aboard the Capitol Ltd., and found my sleeper was in a car that gave me every impression that it was fresh out of the shop. Wow! This was nice! I liked it.
Everything appeared newly rebuilt and refurbished. I didn't take the time to see the coaches, though. The service in both the diner and the snack bar was good. The next morning, I awoke to the sights of the river east of Connellsville PA and watched as the rapids flowed vigorously and we traveled along downstream. The river's name escapes me, though. It wasn't the Potomac - yet. Perhaps one of the forum members here can list the river's name - the one upstream of the Potomac along the Capitol's route. We arrived in Washington DC on time. I then took the time to walk to the Capitol Mall, and go to the Smithsonian. The Air & Space Museum is a must-see for those who have the time. I also went and had lunch at the Capitol Brewery, which is located inside of the old Post Office complex immediately adjacent to Union Station. Yum, yum.
I embarked aboard #98 southbond that same day, and we departed on-time at 6:25 that evening. The dining car steward came around the sleepers a few minutes after departure and made arraingments for my dinner, at the latest seating. The food was good nonetheless. I think I had the steak that evening. Even though we were all going to Florida for the Spring Break, I have no wild holiday train bacchanals to relate - the passengers were all well behaved. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale 20 minutes early, so neither my ride nor I had to wait. Even though I enjoy winter and winter sports, the warm Florida sunshine felt good.
The return trip began on Saturday, March 12. The train was about 20 minutes late, and once we got delayed by freight traffic around Jacksonville (what can I say? Jacksonville can be a busy port sometimes, and the landlord RRs make their money on freight.) which put us down about an hour or so. However, we made up the time by the time we reached DC the next morning, so we arrived only 20 minutes down. The entire trip, the lounge car steward made periodic announcements regarding the fact that she had every expectation we would indeed make up the time, as wel as annoucing what she had available and when she would be on break. The numerous announcements helped out in a few ways, and help to placate passengers who would otherwise be totally ignorant as to why the train had stopped out in the middle of nowhere. I say, Amtrak should continue this practice aboard all of its trains, as passengers appreciate being kept up to date on what's going on, who the landlord RR is, etc. I then took time in Washington to head back to the Smithsonian (I just can't seem to get enough of that place) where I went to the History Museum. This is one side trip I would recommend for anyone taking the Capitol to DC - go see the Smithsonian. The return trip aboard the Capitol was unremarkable, with the exceptions being the view as the train worked its way west up the Potomac and (the name of this other river escapes me right now - perhaps someone else knows) river valleys. Harper's Ferry looks very picturesque, and one can envision the soldiers martching up and down the hills during the Civil War, along with seeing the difficulties that a soldier of that era would face. I sat with a young college woman, who was taking her first train trip, and she seemed to like it as well. I think Amtrak made another return customer with this trip.
The sleeper I was in for the return trip via Chicago was one that wasn't new. However, it fit the bill for me just fine. We arrived into Chicago about 20 minutes late.
Unlike other Spring Break trips I've taken, this time I chose not to go to the Museum of Science & Industry, and, instead, I just hung aroung Union Station for the couple of hours. I had to continue to catch up on my reading for grad school, anyways.
The Builder left on-time, I had a nice dinner aboard, and then, when I felt I had caught up sufficiently with my reading, I went to the lounge car for a few nightcaps.
Overall, I had a fun trip. If I'm still in grad school this time next year, I shall do this a fourth time. All aboard. B)
The Builder showed up on time for my departure March 4, 2005. For me, that meant getting to the station at 5 am, not that big of a deal. The trip down the Mississippi was smooth and o.k., but not as picturesque as my Christmas holiday trip I posted earlier. I saw a couple of eagles and a few Canadian geese as the train wound its way southbound along Old Man River. The train filled as we went along, again quite the contrary to the impression that "no one takes the train." My experience is that people will travel by train if given the option. We arrived into Chicago on time, as well, and none the worse for wear. Another trip on the Builder, and all goes well as per the usual. I had an on-time departure aboard the Capitol Ltd., and found my sleeper was in a car that gave me every impression that it was fresh out of the shop. Wow! This was nice! I liked it.
Everything appeared newly rebuilt and refurbished. I didn't take the time to see the coaches, though. The service in both the diner and the snack bar was good. The next morning, I awoke to the sights of the river east of Connellsville PA and watched as the rapids flowed vigorously and we traveled along downstream. The river's name escapes me, though. It wasn't the Potomac - yet. Perhaps one of the forum members here can list the river's name - the one upstream of the Potomac along the Capitol's route. We arrived in Washington DC on time. I then took the time to walk to the Capitol Mall, and go to the Smithsonian. The Air & Space Museum is a must-see for those who have the time. I also went and had lunch at the Capitol Brewery, which is located inside of the old Post Office complex immediately adjacent to Union Station. Yum, yum.I embarked aboard #98 southbond that same day, and we departed on-time at 6:25 that evening. The dining car steward came around the sleepers a few minutes after departure and made arraingments for my dinner, at the latest seating. The food was good nonetheless. I think I had the steak that evening. Even though we were all going to Florida for the Spring Break, I have no wild holiday train bacchanals to relate - the passengers were all well behaved. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale 20 minutes early, so neither my ride nor I had to wait. Even though I enjoy winter and winter sports, the warm Florida sunshine felt good.
The return trip began on Saturday, March 12. The train was about 20 minutes late, and once we got delayed by freight traffic around Jacksonville (what can I say? Jacksonville can be a busy port sometimes, and the landlord RRs make their money on freight.) which put us down about an hour or so. However, we made up the time by the time we reached DC the next morning, so we arrived only 20 minutes down. The entire trip, the lounge car steward made periodic announcements regarding the fact that she had every expectation we would indeed make up the time, as wel as annoucing what she had available and when she would be on break. The numerous announcements helped out in a few ways, and help to placate passengers who would otherwise be totally ignorant as to why the train had stopped out in the middle of nowhere. I say, Amtrak should continue this practice aboard all of its trains, as passengers appreciate being kept up to date on what's going on, who the landlord RR is, etc. I then took time in Washington to head back to the Smithsonian (I just can't seem to get enough of that place) where I went to the History Museum. This is one side trip I would recommend for anyone taking the Capitol to DC - go see the Smithsonian. The return trip aboard the Capitol was unremarkable, with the exceptions being the view as the train worked its way west up the Potomac and (the name of this other river escapes me right now - perhaps someone else knows) river valleys. Harper's Ferry looks very picturesque, and one can envision the soldiers martching up and down the hills during the Civil War, along with seeing the difficulties that a soldier of that era would face. I sat with a young college woman, who was taking her first train trip, and she seemed to like it as well. I think Amtrak made another return customer with this trip.
The sleeper I was in for the return trip via Chicago was one that wasn't new. However, it fit the bill for me just fine. We arrived into Chicago about 20 minutes late.
Unlike other Spring Break trips I've taken, this time I chose not to go to the Museum of Science & Industry, and, instead, I just hung aroung Union Station for the couple of hours. I had to continue to catch up on my reading for grad school, anyways.
The Builder left on-time, I had a nice dinner aboard, and then, when I felt I had caught up sufficiently with my reading, I went to the lounge car for a few nightcaps.
Overall, I had a fun trip. If I'm still in grad school this time next year, I shall do this a fourth time. All aboard. B)
