Train 98 connection- DC (29) vs NY (49)

[D.P. Roberts]

We're thinking of taking a round trip this summer from Toledo to Orlando. On the way out, that means a layover in DC between trains 30 and 97 of about 6 hours. Being that Union Station is so close to the National Mall and all the museums, I'm sure we'll find lots to do. We've never taken either of those trains (at least east of Ohio), so the scenery will be all new to us.

My dilemma is about the return trip - do we take the same trip in reverse (98 to 29), connecting in DC again with a layover of almost 9 hours, or do we connect in New York to train 49, with a layover in New York of only 4.5 hours?

From my brief looks at timekeeping, it appears that all the trains involved are "Amtrak late" - sometimes early, sometimes late, averaging out to about an hour late overall, but occasionally 6-8 hours or more. Is that traditionally true for these connections?

Considering Amtrak's general propensity for lateness, is the connection in New York really going to leave us much time to do any sightseeing? On the whole, I'd rather see a different city on the way back, and it does appear that NYP is within walking distance of the Empire State Building, Central Park, and other classic NY attractions, but it would be a bummer to end up with a really tight connection and not get a chance to see anything.

How does the scenery compare between 49 and 29? My general impression is that the Capitol Limited as not as great westbound, since you see most of the good scenery on 30 during daylight hours, which we will already have done on the way out. It sounds like the LSL has some great scenery along the Hudson River Valley, so my feeling is that 49 wins on that count.

So, which one would you Amtrak regulars recommend for the best combination of layover and scenery?

 

[Bob Dylan]

For scenery take #49 from NYP-TOL!

Even if you don't get to sightsee in NYC due to a late #98, you can have Lunch in NYC, use the CA in NYP to wait for #49 and as you said get to enjoy the trip up the Hudson River ( left side) to Albany,( you'll have Dinner in the Diner between NYP and ALB) and get to watch the switching when the #449 Section is added!

Since you're going in the Summer, if #49 isn't running too late, you may have daylight to Schenectady or even Utica, then sleep the night away and arrive into Toledo in the morning before Breakfast!

 

[Acela150]

I wouldn't count on a 6 hour layover in WAS. Everytime I've ridden train 30 it's been hours late into WAS. Last time it was late enough for me to miss a connection. I got lucky we got back on a Sunday. We were able to take a Regional to RTE that left at 520, a Sunday only train. 30 was pulling in just as the last AE to BOS was departing which was a pain in the rear end. Not to mention the ticket agent at the ticket counter took our BC ressy and managed to make it a coach ressy. A call to AGR fixed that. Bottom line is don't have 6 hours worth of plans in DC.

 

[acelafan]

We're thinking of taking a round trip this summer from Toledo to Orlando. On the way out, that means a layover in DC between trains 30 and 97 of about 6 hours. Being that Union Station is so close to the National Mall and all the museums, I'm sure we'll find lots to do. We've never taken either of those trains (at least east of Ohio), so the scenery will be all new to us.

My dilemma is about the return trip - do we take the same trip in reverse (98 to 29), connecting in DC again with a layover of almost 9 hours, or do we connect in New York to train 49, with a layover in New York of only 4.5 hours?

From my brief looks at timekeeping, it appears that all the trains involved are "Amtrak late" - sometimes early, sometimes late, averaging out to about an hour late overall, but occasionally 6-8 hours or more. Is that traditionally true for these connections?

Considering Amtrak's general propensity for lateness, is the connection in New York really going to leave us much time to do any sightseeing? On the whole, I'd rather see a different city on the way back, and it does appear that NYP is within walking distance of the Empire State Building, Central Park, and other classic NY attractions, but it would be a bummer to end up with a really tight connection and not get a chance to see anything.

How does the scenery compare between 49 and 29? My general impression is that the Capitol Limited as not as great westbound, since you see most of the good scenery on 30 during daylight hours, which we will already have done on the way out. It sounds like the LSL has some great scenery along the Hudson River Valley, so my feeling is that 49 wins on that count.

So, which one would you Amtrak regulars recommend for the best combination of layover and scenery?

I agree with the other comments, I would take 49 on your return trip to see a different route. The ride up along the Hudson is great, and you'll even see some scenery along the Mohawk River west of Albany. It's a great route!

 

[pennyk]

I also agree with prior posters regarding train 49. When possible, I try to connect from 98 to 49 going west. Sometimes I have time in NY to do stuff, sometimes not. Since I live in Florida, I have no choice but to take 30/97 coming home. Almost every trip, I have plenty to time to do something in the DC area after 30 arrives (even if it is a bit late).

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I have done similar connections twice and by using WAS on the southbound and NYC on the return, not only to I get to ride different trains, I get to enjoy riding "under the Wire" between WAS-NYC (something I cannot do every day in the Sooner Nation) and enjoy a good lunch somewhere in Midtown between trains.

 

[afigg]

I wouldn't count on a 6 hour layover in WAS. Everytime I've ridden train 30 it's been hours late into WAS. Last time it was late enough for me to miss a connection. I got lucky we got back on a Sunday. We were able to take a Regional to RTE that left at 520, a Sunday only train. 30 was pulling in just as the last AE to BOS was departing which was a pain in the rear end. Not to mention the ticket agent at the ticket counter took our BC ressy and managed to make it a coach ressy. A call to AGR fixed that. Bottom line is don't have 6 hours worth of plans in DC.

CL #30 has been doing quite well in getting into WAS close to on-time or even early in the past 3 weeks. Amtrak Status Maps archive results below for the last 3 weeks. The average was 6 minutes early! Enough time to walk to Capitol Hill, check out the Library of Congress exhibits, or take the DC Metro for a short trip.

Of course, this is winter with little to no track work underway. For a summer trip via #30 with NS and CSX track work projects in full swing, should expect and be prepared for arriving an hour or two late. Provided that NS does not have a system melt-down again this summer.

History for Amtrak 30 at WAS
Origin Date Sch AR Act AR Comments Service Disruption Cancellations
02/07/2015 02/08/2015 1:10 PM 12:57PM Arrived: 13 minutes early. 
02/06/2015 02/07/2015 1:10 PM 12:38PM Arrived: 32 minutes early. 
02/05/2015 02/06/2015 1:10 PM 12:35PM Arrived: 35 minutes early. 
02/04/2015 02/05/2015 1:10 PM 12:40PM Arrived: 30 minutes early. 
02/03/2015 02/04/2015 1:10 PM 1:00PM Arrived: 10 minutes early. 
02/02/2015 02/03/2015 1:10 PM 12:30PM Arrived: 40 minutes early. 
02/01/2015 02/02/2015 1:10 PM 1:43PM Arrived: 33 minutes late. 
01/31/2015 02/01/2015 1:10 PM 1:17PM Arrived: 7 minutes late. 
01/30/2015 01/31/2015 1:10 PM 1:40PM Arrived: 30 minutes late. 
01/29/2015 01/30/2015 1:10 PM 1:43PM Arrived: 33 minutes late. 
01/28/2015 01/29/2015 1:10 PM 12:29PM Arrived: 41 minutes early. 
01/27/2015 01/28/2015 1:10 PM 1:28PM Arrived: 18 minutes late. 
01/26/2015 01/27/2015 1:10 PM 12:49PM Arrived: 21 minutes early. 
01/25/2015 01/26/2015 1:10 PM 12:58PM Arrived: 12 minutes early. 
01/24/2015 01/25/2015 1:10 PM 12:48PM Arrived: 22 minutes early. 
01/23/2015 01/24/2015 1:10 PM 1:18PM Arrived: 8 minutes late. 
01/22/2015 01/23/2015 1:10 PM 1:45PM Arrived: 35 minutes late. 
01/21/2015 01/22/2015 1:10 PM 1:09PM Arrived: 1 minute early. 
01/20/2015 01/21/2015 1:10 PM 1:27PM Arrived: 17 minutes late. 
01/19/2015 01/20/2015 1:10 PM 12:47PM Arrived: 23 minutes early. 
01/18/2015 01/19/2015 1:10 PM 12:35PM Arrived: 35 minutes early. 
Average AR delay for 21 records found:  6 minutes early

 

[D.P. Roberts]

For scenery take #49 from NYP-TOL!

Even if you don't get to sightsee in NYC due to a late #98, you can have Lunch in NYC, use the CA in NYP to wait for #49 and as you said get to enjoy the trip up the Hudson River ( left side) to Albany,( you'll have Dinner in the Diner between NYP and ALB)...

Thanks everyone for the replies. Based on your replies I'm really starting to lean towards the 49 connection - even if we don't have much time at either layover, at least we'll have the good scenery heading west on 49.

Speaking of which... this will be my first overnight trip in a Viewliner. I'm used to the Superliners, where car orientation is a crapshoot, but it sounds like the Viewliners are generally consistent. Is it true that the cars are oriented vestibule forward on 49? It seems like things got changed around when they redid the consists a few years back. If they're vestibule forward and the good scenery is on the left, that means we'd want an even-numbered roomette, correct?

We were thinking of splurging for a bedroom for the return trip (one zone AGR redeemptions aren't too expensive), but if the good scenery on 49 is all on the left side & vestibules are forward, then all the good scenery will be looking out the door across the hallway, so maybe a bedroom isn't really worth it then.

It sounds like there isn't much in the way of scenery on the Silver Service trains, but any suggestions on roomettes would be appreciated there too.

 

[the_traveler]

Viewliners (at least the first one) must have the vestibule against the dining car. Since the NYP section is on the rear of 49 after ALB, the sleepers are on the rear. Thus the first sleeper will be facing with the H-Room and bedrooms forward.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Viewliners (at least the first one) must have the vestibule against the dining car. Since the NYP section is on the rear of 49 after ALB, the sleepers are on the rear. Thus the first sleeper will be facing with the H-Room and bedrooms forward.

I had heard that the sleeper behind the diner always had the vestibule / bedrooms forward - it appears that 49 has 2 NYP sleepers, are they both going to be that way, or is there a chance that the second sleeper might have its vestibule at the back?

 

[kbmiflyer]

I think the 49 consist is pretty consistent even in the later cars. The bedrooms will be in the front, and the roomettes in the back. You want one of the even numbered rooms if possible to get the best view of the sunset over the Hudson.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Another vote for 30 eastbound to WAS and 49 westbound from NYP. We have done this routing several times from CLE and everyone is correct about the best scenery directions. But as was mentioned, if NS and CSX go on another track hoarding event next summer, it could be a nightmare to predict OTP.

Definitely go over to the Library of Congress and even the Botanical Gardens are neat, both close enough for a short WAS layover.

 

[chakk]

Just be alert that summer afternoons in D.C. can be brutally hot and humid, so you might not be inclined to do much walking around outdoors.

 

[Guest]

Speaking of which... this will be my first overnight trip in a Viewliner.

...

It sounds like there isn't much in the way of scenery on the Silver Service trains, but any suggestions on roomettes would be appreciated there too.

Since you'll be in a sleeper, don't forget about making use of the ClubAcela lounges in either NYP or WAS, for at least some of your layover time.