Dovecote
OBS Chief
On October 4, my wife Gloria and I traveled from HFY to ATL via the Capitol Limited and the Crescent. We were completing a two week stay in HFY checking on the condition of our second home which is up for sale. The housing market there is quiet and buyers are scarce. Anyone interested?
Our trip started at the HFY station and the CAP arrived nearly on time. Since we were traveling on an AGR redemption ticket with sleeping accomodations, we participated in a rarity at the HFY station when we boarded in an eastbound sleeper car. Our room attendant, Brenda, showed us to our roomette in car number 3000. She quickly informed us that we were her first passengers ever boarding in HFY into a sleeping car eastbound on the CAP for the short ride into WAS. We told her of our AGR trip and she realized then the reason for us boarding and using a sleeper. The trip into WAS uneventful and we arrived on time, if not early. We secured a Redcap at trackside and had him bring our luggage upstairs to the Club Acela lounge. The Redcap caught up with us about ten minutes later. We then walked over to the ticket counter to check our luggage to ATL.
There is about a five hour layover in WAS when the Crescent is on time. We spent the majority of our time in the lounge reading, watching television, and briefly using the well worn computer to check email messages. My wife shopped the stores in the station complex and I had the chance to see some of my old MARC commuting buddies as they headed home on the Brunswick line. The Crescent arrived a few minutes late and shortly after arriving we were escorted to the train. Our sleeping car attendant, Claude Mitchell, greeted us at trackside and we boarded our roomette in car number 1911. After departing WAS, Claude had all of his newly arriving passengers huddle to hear his introductory welcome speech and then escorted all of us to the dining car for supper.
In the dining car we were greeted by Michael and Diana. Michael, who took our orders, was all business but would occasionally crack a smile. Diana was completely the opposite and was a most pleasant server. Our dining companions were a young couple who were heading to New Orleans to party. The young lady, Jennifer, happened to be from my old hometown of New Hyde Park, NY. Small world! As usual, we both ordered crab cakes and enjoyed the hearty meal. Jennifer ordered spare ribs and the portion size could of fed two. Her boyfriend, Patrick, ordered the vegetarian meal. For dessert we ordered bread pudding and were not disappointed. He had a nice conversation with Jennifer and Patrick during and after the meal.
When we returned to our roomette, Claude returned shortly afterwards and inquired when he should prepare the beds for the evening. Claude was a pleasant and efficient individual throughout the trip. As far as service goes he raised the bar very high. We will certainly try to get him for future trips. He works car numbers 1911 and 2011 four days on and five days off. We called it a night around 10:00 PM and awoke for breakfast around 6:30 AM. Around 7:00 AM we made it over to the dining car and was greeted by stoic Michael and the smiling Diana. The majority of our meal we were alone. A gentleman from Boston joined us when we were drinking our coffee. We departed the dining car around 7:45 AM and it was not to long for the train to arrive into ATL on time, if not early.
We said our goodbye to Claude and headed up that long stairway into the station. I immediately looked for AU forum member Bill Haithcoat who was waiting to board the train to NOL and eventually The Gathering in St. Louis. Bill was easy to spot and we had another nice talk while he waited for the boarding annoucement and us for our luggage. As expected, Bill boarded the train first while we waited a total of forty minutes for our luggage. My cousin picked us up at a nearly empty station at 9:15 AM. We hit the road for the long haul home around 11:00 AM.
Until next trip,
Dovecote
Our trip started at the HFY station and the CAP arrived nearly on time. Since we were traveling on an AGR redemption ticket with sleeping accomodations, we participated in a rarity at the HFY station when we boarded in an eastbound sleeper car. Our room attendant, Brenda, showed us to our roomette in car number 3000. She quickly informed us that we were her first passengers ever boarding in HFY into a sleeping car eastbound on the CAP for the short ride into WAS. We told her of our AGR trip and she realized then the reason for us boarding and using a sleeper. The trip into WAS uneventful and we arrived on time, if not early. We secured a Redcap at trackside and had him bring our luggage upstairs to the Club Acela lounge. The Redcap caught up with us about ten minutes later. We then walked over to the ticket counter to check our luggage to ATL.
There is about a five hour layover in WAS when the Crescent is on time. We spent the majority of our time in the lounge reading, watching television, and briefly using the well worn computer to check email messages. My wife shopped the stores in the station complex and I had the chance to see some of my old MARC commuting buddies as they headed home on the Brunswick line. The Crescent arrived a few minutes late and shortly after arriving we were escorted to the train. Our sleeping car attendant, Claude Mitchell, greeted us at trackside and we boarded our roomette in car number 1911. After departing WAS, Claude had all of his newly arriving passengers huddle to hear his introductory welcome speech and then escorted all of us to the dining car for supper.
In the dining car we were greeted by Michael and Diana. Michael, who took our orders, was all business but would occasionally crack a smile. Diana was completely the opposite and was a most pleasant server. Our dining companions were a young couple who were heading to New Orleans to party. The young lady, Jennifer, happened to be from my old hometown of New Hyde Park, NY. Small world! As usual, we both ordered crab cakes and enjoyed the hearty meal. Jennifer ordered spare ribs and the portion size could of fed two. Her boyfriend, Patrick, ordered the vegetarian meal. For dessert we ordered bread pudding and were not disappointed. He had a nice conversation with Jennifer and Patrick during and after the meal.
When we returned to our roomette, Claude returned shortly afterwards and inquired when he should prepare the beds for the evening. Claude was a pleasant and efficient individual throughout the trip. As far as service goes he raised the bar very high. We will certainly try to get him for future trips. He works car numbers 1911 and 2011 four days on and five days off. We called it a night around 10:00 PM and awoke for breakfast around 6:30 AM. Around 7:00 AM we made it over to the dining car and was greeted by stoic Michael and the smiling Diana. The majority of our meal we were alone. A gentleman from Boston joined us when we were drinking our coffee. We departed the dining car around 7:45 AM and it was not to long for the train to arrive into ATL on time, if not early.
We said our goodbye to Claude and headed up that long stairway into the station. I immediately looked for AU forum member Bill Haithcoat who was waiting to board the train to NOL and eventually The Gathering in St. Louis. Bill was easy to spot and we had another nice talk while he waited for the boarding annoucement and us for our luggage. As expected, Bill boarded the train first while we waited a total of forty minutes for our luggage. My cousin picked us up at a nearly empty station at 9:15 AM. We hit the road for the long haul home around 11:00 AM.
Until next trip,
Dovecote
Last edited by a moderator:
