Recommended same-day joyrides from D.C.?

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domefoamer

Train Attendant
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May 27, 2005
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I'm beginning to plan one of our regular visits to our in-laws in Washington, D.C. in late winter. Wait, that's not as bad as it sounds. My in-laws are wonderful, generous, welcoming people, and I look forward to the trip. But I'd also look forward to a day spent on unfamiliar rails. We live in Denver, too far from DC to make the journey there very practical on a limited, working family's schedule. A day's out-and-back excursion from the DC hub seems a lot more workable. I have no idea what I want to see-- the Potomac valley, or the high-speed corridor, or what? I don't even know if I'll carry out my plan. But I'd be interested in seeing what you all might suggest. About the only essential would be a returning connection so I'm back within the day, without needing overnight accommodations. All ideas will be cheerfully accepted, if not taken.
 
I'm beginning to plan one of our regular visits to our in-laws in Washington, D.C. in late winter. Wait, that's not as bad as it sounds. My in-laws are wonderful, generous, welcoming people, and I look forward to the trip. But I'd also look forward to a day spent on unfamiliar rails. We live in Denver, too far from DC to make the journey there very practical on a limited, working family's schedule. A day's out-and-back excursion from the DC hub seems a lot more workable. I have no idea what I want to see-- the Potomac valley, or the high-speed corridor, or what? I don't even know if I'll carry out my plan. But I'd be interested in seeing what you all might suggest. About the only essential would be a returning connection so I'm back within the day, without needing overnight accommodations. All ideas will be cheerfully accepted, if not taken.
Take the morning regional down to Williamsburg and the evening regional back to DC.
 
the two that come to my mind are as follows:

On one of the days the Cardinal is operating, take the w/b out in the morning to Charlottesville, make a 1 hour or so stopover and return on the Eastbound.

If you're in the mood to do more touring than riding, then hit my hometown of Baltimore. Take the last morning MARC train up to Camden Station, and visit the Harbor, Sports Legends/Babe Ruth Birthplace, or B&O Museum. Enjoy seafood such as raw oysters and a Crab Cake, and then hop the light Rail into Penn Station to get an Amtrak train back to DC.
 
I vote for Virginia regionals too-- you could overnight on the CL, but for a day trip the regionals sound like the way to go. I'm glad they expanded service.
 
I'm beginning to plan one of our regular visits to our in-laws in Washington, D.C. in late winter. Wait, that's not as bad as it sounds. My in-laws are wonderful, generous, welcoming people, and I look forward to the trip. But I'd also look forward to a day spent on unfamiliar rails. We live in Denver, too far from DC to make the journey there very practical on a limited, working family's schedule. A day's out-and-back excursion from the DC hub seems a lot more workable. I have no idea what I want to see-- the Potomac valley, or the high-speed corridor, or what? I don't even know if I'll carry out my plan. But I'd be interested in seeing what you all might suggest. About the only essential would be a returning connection so I'm back within the day, without needing overnight accommodations. All ideas will be cheerfully accepted, if not taken.
Spending time on the train is always fun! I guess it would depend how much time you want to spend on the rails versus going to a destination and exploring outside the train station. If you are like me, you want to maximize train time so you could do something like Washington to New Haven and back - although that might make for a long day. Still, you would get to ride a good portion of the NEC and see some NYC skylines. The other suggestion of DC to Williamsburg sounds interesting, although I have yet to ride that section so I can't speak for it personally. Hope you get a chance to ride!

PS. There are some blackout dates but the NEC fares are still 25% off through sometime in March.
 
If you're interested in going to Baltimore, just remember that MARC only runs on weekdays. You could still do a round-trip on Amtrak, but it will be more expensive, and Amtrak only serves Penn Station--which is a lovely building, but is uptown from the harbor (you'd need to take the light rail, or maybe a $15 cab ride).

I've made the trip to Williamsburg about a half-dozen times and would definitely recommend it. From the station, it's a fairly short walk to town, Colonial Williamsburg, and the William and Mary campus. The ride from DC to Richmond is fairly scenic... but getting across Richmond, and over to WBG, is a lot of single-track running that can be very slow, and sometimes gets delayed. (And as the cafe car attendant told us one time when running *very* late, "Send your complaints to CSX.com!") Heading south, you'll have a great daylight ride, but the trip back will more or less be in the dark.
 
I vote for Virginia regionals too-- you could overnight on the CL, but for a day trip the regionals sound like the way to go. I'm glad they expanded service.
The extended Regional service from DC to Lynchburg, VA does not provide for a day trip from DC. The extended Regional, as does the Crescent, goes from DC to Charlottesville, VA late afternoon / early evening. The Regional overnights in Lynchburg and both trains head to DC in the morning. The extended Regional allows for a day trip from Charlottesville or Lynchburg to DC and back, but not in the other direction. A day round trip on one of 3 days a week Cardinal to Charlottesville or to Culpepper is possible, but is a little risky with a 1 hour connection if the southbound Cardinal runs late on the way to Charlottesviile. No other trains back to DC until next morning. If they someday add the proposed TransDominion Express service, it could make for a scenic DC to, say, Roanoke VA round day trip.

The suggested round trip to Williamsburg, VA is a good idea. But with only 2 Regionals a day going pass Richmond to Newport News, not much flexibility in the schedule. Lot more options for a day trip to Richmond Staples Mill Road station and back.

With the NEC, day round trips to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City are all possible. If the cost is not a problem, take the Acela one way and the Regional the other. Or even the Acela round trip, although Amtrak does charge a healthy premium for peak early morning trips from DC northward and peak 4 to 7 PM period trips out of NYP for the Acela. Take a day trip to Philly and do some sightseeing in Philly. Or a day trip to NYP to check out the madhouse that is Penn Station and what sights in NYC you can take in in a few hours or half a day.

In DC, one should also check out the Washington Metro. One of the best subway systems in the US, in my opinion, outside of NYC. Much of it is underground in DC so there is not much to see out the window on those parts, but it worth taking a trip and checking out one of the major connector stations. Could try something like taking the Metro on the Yellow line which is above ground across the Potomac and in VA to the Alexandria stop which is next to the Amtrak station. Or out to the end of one of the other lines and back. Besides all the normal tourist stuff on the National Mall and in DC.
 
I was just saying that the service to Virginia was nice... <_< Its a nice state with plenty of scenery.

The Acela is good for an expensive psuedo-thrill. Going out of WAS is a waste of money, the scenery is less than wonderful and you do not see much faster speeds than a regional. In fact IMHO its worse since on the Acela you don't feel the speed. You couldn't tell 150 from 100, good for design but if the sole reason you're taking the train is to go fast... Aren't the slowest parts of the Acela's route here?
 
I believe that Acela will hit 135 MPH between WAS and BAL. Doesn't stay there too long, but it does get up there. Of course that's only 10 MPH faster than the Regional would do.
 
I was just saying that the service to Virginia was nice... <_< Its a nice state with plenty of scenery.
The Acela is good for an expensive psuedo-thrill. Going out of WAS is a waste of money, the scenery is less than wonderful and you do not see much faster speeds than a regional. In fact IMHO its worse since on the Acela you don't feel the speed. You couldn't tell 150 from 100, good for design but if the sole reason you're taking the train is to go fast... Aren't the slowest parts of the Acela's route here?
No, the slowest part of the Acela's route overall is in Connecticut, as is the route on the NEC for the Regionals. I have taken GPS systems with me a number of times on Acela and Regional trips between WAS and NYP. The max speeds for both as I recall was 125 mph between DC and Baltimore. The tunnels in Baltimore are slow for both trains. The Acela hits 135 mph on several stretches between Baltimore and Wilmington and again on the long straight-away in NJ. People may knock the Acela, but it is around 30 minutes faster between WAS and NYP (in part because it an express train with fewer stops) and it does get sold out at peak travel times, so enough people are willing to pay for the higher end service.

Yes, the views in parts of Baltimore and Philadelphia are not pretty, unless abandoned / rundown urban buildings / the whole post-apocalypse look are your thing. :blink: The scenery in the Virginia countryside is a lot prettier, but there are not nearly as many trains to choose from.
 
The Acela is new-er, it is clean, stylish, but one thing it is not... a super-duper awesome HSR project. There is only a modicum of improvement in performance over the Regional. If you live in the DC area you may find time to take the Acela for functional purposes. But if you're out there to have fun and take a short turn-- I wouldn't waste a ton of money on it.
 
The Acela is new-er, it is clean, stylish, but one thing it is not... a super-duper awesome HSR project. There is only a modicum of improvement in performance over the Regional. If you live in the DC area you may find time to take the Acela for functional purposes. But if you're out there to have fun and take a short turn-- I wouldn't waste a ton of money on it.
Occasionally you can get lucky, and spot a low-bucket Acela and a high-bucket Regional at about the same time -- and in that case, the Acela can be the same price or even very slightly cheaper. It's rare, but I've seen it (and benefited from it) a few times. Unless you luck into this unusual pricing, I wouldn't think the Acela is worth it in your situation. Also, someone referred to the Acela being more AGR above -- note that that's only true if you're going from WAS to Metropark or further north. WAS-PHL doesn't get you any Acela city-pair bonus points.
 
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I would recommend at least doing a one way trip on the Acela. If you catch one of the early morning Acelas you can easily get up to NYP and have the day to sightsee, get some NY pizza, etc. and then return on a Regional. Or flip flop it and take the Regional north and Acela south. Either way, I highly recommend at least getting on the Acela at some point in your travels.
 
I have to say that as you're flying there (I assume), I come down on the side of not taking the acela, as the experience isn't much different (Right down to the luggage lockers!)

imho, the ride south to Virgina is a much more pleasant ride, and one that does fun train things like running in the middle of the road and stopping at low platform stations that you don't get on north of DC. We might have the hourly Richmond service by then, in which case stopping off at the towns along the way as and when they take your fancy would be quite possible. Williamsburg is worth a trip, I think, though the times aren't very flexible.

It's annoying that Harpers Ferry, which is an interesting historical site, isn't possible in a day! Such is the problem with commuter rail trains that are JUST for commuters.
 
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