frugalist
Lead Service Attendant
SBG - BAL - WAS - SBG (07/18-23/2010)
This was a trip for father and son to spend some quality time together. I live near Sebring, Florida and took the Silver Meteor to/from the Washington, DC area. My son lives near Atlanta and took the Crescent. Both our trips were AGR rewards, except for BAL - WAS, which was a paid trip using the 40% off companion ticket promotion.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
I had printed out my ticket for my SBG - BAL trip a day earlier. My wife drove me to the station and we arrived at SBG station around 11:15 for the 11:44 departure on #98 Silver Meteor. The train arrived on time. I was met on the platform by my SCA, Ishmael, who greeted me with a friendly, “Mr. Frugalist. Going to Baltimore today?” He then offered to help me with my carry-on bag and showed me to my room, #7. Since my room faced the station, I was able to snap a photo of my wife waving me goodbye. As we pulled out of the station, Ishmael explained the layout of the room and told me he made a lunch reservation for me for 12:30. That was perfect, so he wished me a good trip and told me to contact him if I needed anything. Very nice, positive first impression to start my first-ever long distance train trip.
The room across from mine was vacant well into the night, so I was able to look out both sides of the train all day Sunday. This came in handy for taking photos over on that side.
I was quite impressed with lunch in the dining car. I chose the special of the day: curried chicken over wild rice. It came with a small salad and a dinner roll. The entree was tasty. Actually, better than I expected. For dessert, I chose the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. Excellent! I had a can of soda for my beverage. When I was finished, I was full. I’m a big guy with a big appetite, and it takes a big meal to fill me up. At about 1:40 we passed the southbound #97, which had pulled onto a siding to allow us to pass. On my return trip on #97, the northbound #98 passed us at about the same time in the same location.
After lunch, I walked through the lounge car, which I noticed was a bit warm. So, I didn’t linger there. I continued walking back to the first coach car just to see what it looked like. No surprises there, so I turned around and headed back to my room. Spent the afternoon relaxing, taking a few photos and enjoying the ride and a couple of tasty beverages. We stayed within 20 minutes of our schedule all day.
At about 2:35, we stopped in the middle of nowhere. A minute later, I saw the conductor and another guy walking outside, alongside the train. We were underway about 5 minutes later. I don’t know what the issue was, and since it had to have been fairly minor, I didn’t ask about it.
Later in the afternoon, Ishmael came by to ask me what time I wanted to eat dinner. Remembering a tip I had read on AU, I selected an early reservation time of 6:00. The reasoning behind the tip is that some menu choices may be unavailable to later diners. For dinner I chose the NY Strip Steak, which came highly recommended by Ishmael. I ordered my steak medium, which is exactly how it came. I found it to be a bit dry, but still pretty tasty. Not the best steak I’ve ever had, but not bad either. Dinner came with a small salad, a dinner roll, a baked potato and mixed veggies. For dessert, I again had the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. For beverages, I had a can of soda, then some iced tea. Another filling meal. I brought some snacks from home -- pretzels and peanuts. I don’t think I’ll be eating any of them this trip!
After dinner, I walked back to my room. We were now in Georgia, heading for South Carolina. Ishmael poked his head in my room, asked me how my dinner was, and asked what time I would like him to make up my bed. My last journal entry is for our departure from Kingstree, SC at 10:43pm. After that I turned out the light and tried to get some sleep.
“Tried” is the operative word in that last sentence. Several factors were against me: 1) I was still keyed up about the whole trip, 2) the bed is pretty small for a big guy like me - not much room to turn over, which I do a lot when I sleep, 3) even though all the curtains were pulled and fastened as well as possible, there was still quite a bit of light seeping in from the hallway, 4) various sounds and noises especially from the rocking and bumping as the train rolled on through the night. I ended up having to put in my earbuds and play an audiobook on my MP3 player to drown out the noise. It was easier to ignore the audiobook than the train sounds. Still, I had a fitful night. Slept 45 minutes, then woke up. Slept another 90 minutes, then woke up. And on and on through the night. As dawn broke, I decided to get up, freshen up and get dressed. I chalked the first night up to experience, hoping future nights on Amtrak would result in better sleep.
Monday, July 19, 2010
I went for breakfast at 7:00. On the recommendation of many AU members, I ordered the French Toast with blueberry syrup. Very tasty and the four half-slices were nicely filling. With the French Toast I had orange juice, hot tea and pork sausage patties. After breakfast it was back to my room to pack everything up for arrival in Baltimore.
Ishmael had made up my room by the time I got back from breakfast. Things were very slow-going from just south of Alexandria till well past Washington and we lost about 30 minutes as a result. Once we departed from Washington, I got down my carry-on and backpack and packed everything up. We arrived in Baltimore about 30 minutes late, which was no big deal, especially since my son wouldn’t be arriving on the Crescent for another 2 hours. As I was leaving the train, I thanked Ishmael very much for helping to make my first long-distance train ride such an excellent experience. I told him this is definitely the way to go if one has the time.
Once in the Baltimore train station, I went to the Baggage Claim area and checked my carry-on to Washington. The agent told me it would be put on the next train headed there that takes checked baggage, and it will be waiting for me when I arrive in Washington later that night.
Overall impressions:
A roomette in the daytime configuration offers plenty of room for a single traveller. Plenty of storage space for my carry-on over the sink. Lots of room under the seats to stow my backpack. I’m sure the room would be quite “snug” for two people.
Nighttime is a different story, for all the reasons I detailed above.
My only serious criticism is about the room doors not being able to be locked from the outside. Although I didn’t notice anyone going into my room, nor was anything ever missing, I am very uncomfortable with the fact that I can’t lock my door when I go to the diner. And the door doesn’t really close securely at all. Two of the three times I went to the diner, I returned to see my door had slid wide open. Yes, I had pulled the curtain closed when I left, so someone would actually have to peek into the room to see if I were gone. I had expressed concern about this issue on the forums before my trip, so it was not a surprise. Hotels and cruise ships have no problem having doors that lock. Why can’t the trains? I realize it would almost certainly mean changing the entire door and frame, but don’t most travellers have a reasonable expectation for a minimal level of security when leaving their rooms? Most of the respondents to the forum thread about this issue took a very casual “chill out - don’t worry about it” attitude. I’m not paranoid, but I would be a lot more comfortable if my room door could lock when I left the room.
Final thoughts:
I had a great trip. Ishmael was great. The food was very good. The ride was relaxing (during the day, at least). Will I ever fly again and be subjected to the stupid human tricks demanded of us by TSA, and to the dehumanizing treatment by the airlines?
To be continued.
This was a trip for father and son to spend some quality time together. I live near Sebring, Florida and took the Silver Meteor to/from the Washington, DC area. My son lives near Atlanta and took the Crescent. Both our trips were AGR rewards, except for BAL - WAS, which was a paid trip using the 40% off companion ticket promotion.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
I had printed out my ticket for my SBG - BAL trip a day earlier. My wife drove me to the station and we arrived at SBG station around 11:15 for the 11:44 departure on #98 Silver Meteor. The train arrived on time. I was met on the platform by my SCA, Ishmael, who greeted me with a friendly, “Mr. Frugalist. Going to Baltimore today?” He then offered to help me with my carry-on bag and showed me to my room, #7. Since my room faced the station, I was able to snap a photo of my wife waving me goodbye. As we pulled out of the station, Ishmael explained the layout of the room and told me he made a lunch reservation for me for 12:30. That was perfect, so he wished me a good trip and told me to contact him if I needed anything. Very nice, positive first impression to start my first-ever long distance train trip.
The room across from mine was vacant well into the night, so I was able to look out both sides of the train all day Sunday. This came in handy for taking photos over on that side.
I was quite impressed with lunch in the dining car. I chose the special of the day: curried chicken over wild rice. It came with a small salad and a dinner roll. The entree was tasty. Actually, better than I expected. For dessert, I chose the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. Excellent! I had a can of soda for my beverage. When I was finished, I was full. I’m a big guy with a big appetite, and it takes a big meal to fill me up. At about 1:40 we passed the southbound #97, which had pulled onto a siding to allow us to pass. On my return trip on #97, the northbound #98 passed us at about the same time in the same location.
After lunch, I walked through the lounge car, which I noticed was a bit warm. So, I didn’t linger there. I continued walking back to the first coach car just to see what it looked like. No surprises there, so I turned around and headed back to my room. Spent the afternoon relaxing, taking a few photos and enjoying the ride and a couple of tasty beverages. We stayed within 20 minutes of our schedule all day.
At about 2:35, we stopped in the middle of nowhere. A minute later, I saw the conductor and another guy walking outside, alongside the train. We were underway about 5 minutes later. I don’t know what the issue was, and since it had to have been fairly minor, I didn’t ask about it.
Later in the afternoon, Ishmael came by to ask me what time I wanted to eat dinner. Remembering a tip I had read on AU, I selected an early reservation time of 6:00. The reasoning behind the tip is that some menu choices may be unavailable to later diners. For dinner I chose the NY Strip Steak, which came highly recommended by Ishmael. I ordered my steak medium, which is exactly how it came. I found it to be a bit dry, but still pretty tasty. Not the best steak I’ve ever had, but not bad either. Dinner came with a small salad, a dinner roll, a baked potato and mixed veggies. For dessert, I again had the Oreo Cookie Cheese Cake. For beverages, I had a can of soda, then some iced tea. Another filling meal. I brought some snacks from home -- pretzels and peanuts. I don’t think I’ll be eating any of them this trip!
After dinner, I walked back to my room. We were now in Georgia, heading for South Carolina. Ishmael poked his head in my room, asked me how my dinner was, and asked what time I would like him to make up my bed. My last journal entry is for our departure from Kingstree, SC at 10:43pm. After that I turned out the light and tried to get some sleep.
“Tried” is the operative word in that last sentence. Several factors were against me: 1) I was still keyed up about the whole trip, 2) the bed is pretty small for a big guy like me - not much room to turn over, which I do a lot when I sleep, 3) even though all the curtains were pulled and fastened as well as possible, there was still quite a bit of light seeping in from the hallway, 4) various sounds and noises especially from the rocking and bumping as the train rolled on through the night. I ended up having to put in my earbuds and play an audiobook on my MP3 player to drown out the noise. It was easier to ignore the audiobook than the train sounds. Still, I had a fitful night. Slept 45 minutes, then woke up. Slept another 90 minutes, then woke up. And on and on through the night. As dawn broke, I decided to get up, freshen up and get dressed. I chalked the first night up to experience, hoping future nights on Amtrak would result in better sleep.
Monday, July 19, 2010
I went for breakfast at 7:00. On the recommendation of many AU members, I ordered the French Toast with blueberry syrup. Very tasty and the four half-slices were nicely filling. With the French Toast I had orange juice, hot tea and pork sausage patties. After breakfast it was back to my room to pack everything up for arrival in Baltimore.
Ishmael had made up my room by the time I got back from breakfast. Things were very slow-going from just south of Alexandria till well past Washington and we lost about 30 minutes as a result. Once we departed from Washington, I got down my carry-on and backpack and packed everything up. We arrived in Baltimore about 30 minutes late, which was no big deal, especially since my son wouldn’t be arriving on the Crescent for another 2 hours. As I was leaving the train, I thanked Ishmael very much for helping to make my first long-distance train ride such an excellent experience. I told him this is definitely the way to go if one has the time.
Once in the Baltimore train station, I went to the Baggage Claim area and checked my carry-on to Washington. The agent told me it would be put on the next train headed there that takes checked baggage, and it will be waiting for me when I arrive in Washington later that night.
Overall impressions:
A roomette in the daytime configuration offers plenty of room for a single traveller. Plenty of storage space for my carry-on over the sink. Lots of room under the seats to stow my backpack. I’m sure the room would be quite “snug” for two people.
Nighttime is a different story, for all the reasons I detailed above.
My only serious criticism is about the room doors not being able to be locked from the outside. Although I didn’t notice anyone going into my room, nor was anything ever missing, I am very uncomfortable with the fact that I can’t lock my door when I go to the diner. And the door doesn’t really close securely at all. Two of the three times I went to the diner, I returned to see my door had slid wide open. Yes, I had pulled the curtain closed when I left, so someone would actually have to peek into the room to see if I were gone. I had expressed concern about this issue on the forums before my trip, so it was not a surprise. Hotels and cruise ships have no problem having doors that lock. Why can’t the trains? I realize it would almost certainly mean changing the entire door and frame, but don’t most travellers have a reasonable expectation for a minimal level of security when leaving their rooms? Most of the respondents to the forum thread about this issue took a very casual “chill out - don’t worry about it” attitude. I’m not paranoid, but I would be a lot more comfortable if my room door could lock when I left the room.
Final thoughts:
I had a great trip. Ishmael was great. The food was very good. The ride was relaxing (during the day, at least). Will I ever fly again and be subjected to the stupid human tricks demanded of us by TSA, and to the dehumanizing treatment by the airlines?
To be continued.
