Every year a friend of mine, who lives in Hartford, CT, and I get together in New York City (she works the Quidditch World Cup, and I'm usually free post-election day). I live in Virginia, so this is obviously a bit of a hike. Thus, I took the train.
Rather than grabbing the morning train out of NPN, I opted to go via RVR. I did this somewhat by accident last year, and it gave me a lot more flexibility coming back than I would have had otherwise (9 trains daily vs. 2, and a much later non-train 67 departure time is available NYP-RVR vs. NYP-NPN).
This year, on doing a fare check, I found that taking a roomette from Richmond on 98 was about the same price as taking business class on the 6 AM train out of RVR. Setting aside the fact that coach is cheaper on 98 than on the other train...I was boarding at about 4:30 AM and wouldn't be getting much sleep beforehand as a result (I have to leave home at about 2:30 AM to be sure of making the train), so I decided to grab the private room for the pre-dawn departure.
I've got to say that it was very nice boarding the train and more or less having a bed waiting for me (I had to ask for my bed to be down, but in the SCA's defense, 4:30 AM is a "toss-up" time on that train). It is somewhat embarrassing to admit how normal this felt, though: I'm beginning to lose count of how many late-night/early-morning trains I have boarded, and getting onto a train and having a bed more or less right there is something I'm used to. So, within a few minutes of boarding, my bed was down, I shaved quickly, and I was falling asleep to a very full, very bright moon outside illuminating the countryside and the car rocking.
Though I woke for a moment at WAS (probably during the power cut), I really woke up sometime just before we hit Baltimore Penn Station. I made my way to the dining car, ordered up my usual (french toast, bacon, coffee, and orange juice...I didn't bother with my usual glass of milk for some reason). While sitting at a table (alone; I was one of the last to muddle in for breakfast), I had the pleasure of watching an Acela blow by southbound while we went north. That was a surreal experience: Watching one of the shinier new trains in the country go by in a blur while eating in a 53-year-old dining car (#8509).
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we arrived in NYP far, far ahead of schedule (sometime not too long after 10 AM, if my call records are any indication). My time in NYC was pleasant, and my friend and I grabbed some Japanese for lunch and Persian for dinner. Ahh, New York...
Coming back, I also grabbed a room. My logic here, I must confess, is a bit more dubious, but it stems from the diner roulette I often end up playing between WAS and RVR. I just wanted not to have to worry about that, and the fact that a nearly $35 dinner gets thrown in didn't hurt things. It was also nice to have the privacy when I ended up on a rather sensitive phone call concerning money matters.
Opting for the 5:00 dinner time on the way back, I was able to make my way to the diner a few minutes after we pulled out of Philadelphia (I was in car 9812, so I wanted to let the hall clear and give everyone a few minutes to settle in). I got into the diner just as the last sunlight was vanishing from the sky (something which made for a rather haunting sight as we shot down the coast of the Delaware Bay, with just a little bit of purple light in the sky while a few city, house, and ship lights twinkled on the horizon). Dinner was good...again, I had my usual (steak, medium rare; baked potato; milk to drink, dessert sorted out afterwards), which made for a slightly amusing moment when my order followed my tablemates' steak orders (one medium, one medium-well...fortunately, no mixups occurred).
After dinner and dessert (a nice bundt cake...I do miss the pies they used to have, though), I retired to my room, took the aforementioned phone call around WAS, and settled into reading a book the rest of the way to Richmond.
Though it wasn't the cheapest way to go, there was something nice about having a private room both ways...and something doubly nice considering that both times I passed through RVR, it was nighttime (4:30 AM one way, 9:40 PM the other). There was something a bit surreal about going in the sleeping car over such a short distance (well, comparatively speaking), but it wasn't too far out of what BC would've cost me either way (which is sort of absurd when you think about it...I spent $1 more one way for a bed vs. a reclining chair and for full meals included vs. a free drink and the option to buy a breakfast sandwich), and I'm beginning to find that the privacy and included benefits (and ability to rest my feet on the toilet in the room) are rather worth it if it's in the budget to grab a room when heading to New York.
An odd point: I could, in theory, have saved a few bucks by grabbing the Star SB as opposed to the Meteor. I didn't do so partly because I prefer to have dinner onboard (the Star hits RVR about 5 PM) and partly because I didn't trust myself to be at Penn Station by 11 AM (I am not a morning person), and I'm pretty sure that both options were far less than the relevant Acela options.
Rather than grabbing the morning train out of NPN, I opted to go via RVR. I did this somewhat by accident last year, and it gave me a lot more flexibility coming back than I would have had otherwise (9 trains daily vs. 2, and a much later non-train 67 departure time is available NYP-RVR vs. NYP-NPN).
This year, on doing a fare check, I found that taking a roomette from Richmond on 98 was about the same price as taking business class on the 6 AM train out of RVR. Setting aside the fact that coach is cheaper on 98 than on the other train...I was boarding at about 4:30 AM and wouldn't be getting much sleep beforehand as a result (I have to leave home at about 2:30 AM to be sure of making the train), so I decided to grab the private room for the pre-dawn departure.
I've got to say that it was very nice boarding the train and more or less having a bed waiting for me (I had to ask for my bed to be down, but in the SCA's defense, 4:30 AM is a "toss-up" time on that train). It is somewhat embarrassing to admit how normal this felt, though: I'm beginning to lose count of how many late-night/early-morning trains I have boarded, and getting onto a train and having a bed more or less right there is something I'm used to. So, within a few minutes of boarding, my bed was down, I shaved quickly, and I was falling asleep to a very full, very bright moon outside illuminating the countryside and the car rocking.
Though I woke for a moment at WAS (probably during the power cut), I really woke up sometime just before we hit Baltimore Penn Station. I made my way to the dining car, ordered up my usual (french toast, bacon, coffee, and orange juice...I didn't bother with my usual glass of milk for some reason). While sitting at a table (alone; I was one of the last to muddle in for breakfast), I had the pleasure of watching an Acela blow by southbound while we went north. That was a surreal experience: Watching one of the shinier new trains in the country go by in a blur while eating in a 53-year-old dining car (#8509).
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we arrived in NYP far, far ahead of schedule (sometime not too long after 10 AM, if my call records are any indication). My time in NYC was pleasant, and my friend and I grabbed some Japanese for lunch and Persian for dinner. Ahh, New York...
Coming back, I also grabbed a room. My logic here, I must confess, is a bit more dubious, but it stems from the diner roulette I often end up playing between WAS and RVR. I just wanted not to have to worry about that, and the fact that a nearly $35 dinner gets thrown in didn't hurt things. It was also nice to have the privacy when I ended up on a rather sensitive phone call concerning money matters.
Opting for the 5:00 dinner time on the way back, I was able to make my way to the diner a few minutes after we pulled out of Philadelphia (I was in car 9812, so I wanted to let the hall clear and give everyone a few minutes to settle in). I got into the diner just as the last sunlight was vanishing from the sky (something which made for a rather haunting sight as we shot down the coast of the Delaware Bay, with just a little bit of purple light in the sky while a few city, house, and ship lights twinkled on the horizon). Dinner was good...again, I had my usual (steak, medium rare; baked potato; milk to drink, dessert sorted out afterwards), which made for a slightly amusing moment when my order followed my tablemates' steak orders (one medium, one medium-well...fortunately, no mixups occurred).
After dinner and dessert (a nice bundt cake...I do miss the pies they used to have, though), I retired to my room, took the aforementioned phone call around WAS, and settled into reading a book the rest of the way to Richmond.
Though it wasn't the cheapest way to go, there was something nice about having a private room both ways...and something doubly nice considering that both times I passed through RVR, it was nighttime (4:30 AM one way, 9:40 PM the other). There was something a bit surreal about going in the sleeping car over such a short distance (well, comparatively speaking), but it wasn't too far out of what BC would've cost me either way (which is sort of absurd when you think about it...I spent $1 more one way for a bed vs. a reclining chair and for full meals included vs. a free drink and the option to buy a breakfast sandwich), and I'm beginning to find that the privacy and included benefits (and ability to rest my feet on the toilet in the room) are rather worth it if it's in the budget to grab a room when heading to New York.
An odd point: I could, in theory, have saved a few bucks by grabbing the Star SB as opposed to the Meteor. I didn't do so partly because I prefer to have dinner onboard (the Star hits RVR about 5 PM) and partly because I didn't trust myself to be at Penn Station by 11 AM (I am not a morning person), and I'm pretty sure that both options were far less than the relevant Acela options.
