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crescent2

crescent2

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Joined
Sep 15, 2012
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1,337
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a little south of normal
I recently purchased points with the 50% bonus, so now they are trying to burn a hole in my pocket. My dream CZ trip is on indefinite hold for several reasons, mostly logistics, but what are the pros and cons of the simpler trip below?

I'm asking here instead of on the AGR forum because most of my questions are also applicable to paid travel.

On a Tuesday-Wed.: ATN-WAS Crescent

(connection 9:53 am-4:05 pm in WAS)

Wed.-Thurs. WAS-CHI Capital Limited (or could do Card)

(connection 8:45 am-5:45 pm in CHI)

Thurs.-Fri. CHI-CVS return on same day, Cardinal (or could do CL)

(connection 2:49 pm-8:52 pm in CVS)

Fri.-Sat. CVS-ATN Crescent

I entered this as a round trip for ATN-CHI on Amtrak's website. The Capital Limited and the Cardinal were options for both legs of the trip. I entered Cap Ltd going up, but only because the connection time in CHI for the return trip is a little longer. Entered Cardinal for the return leg, just for different geography and a different train. (Also, because it's a Viewliner, I could do roomettes instead of bedrooms, saving some points.) I could take the Card in either direction. I want to take the CL for a least one leg because I've never traveled in a Superliner, but I could take it in either direction, or both. All the connection times are several hours and would therefore (I think) be guaranteed.

My questions:

Are the connection times between these trains pretty safe? Any special maintenance or other foreseeable delays that you know about?

What are the pros and cons of the Capital Limited vs the Cardinal? Is one direction of travel better for each? Better as pertains to scenery, reliability, service, equipment, food, connection times and cities, or anything that comes to your mind. I've never traveled on either.

Amtrak's website let me put this trip into my cart using "Round Trip," but please confirm for me that a same-day return from CHI is allowed on either the CL or Cardinal. I would rather not stay overnight in CHI unless the connection probably can't be made. Only AU people would understand that four nights on trains isn't a totally crazy plan. :)

I've never been to Charlottesville. The website says the station is open until 9:30 pm, so is CVS an OK place for a solo older female traveler to spend several hours? If the #19 Crescent runs late, does the staff remain until the train arrives? (8:52 pm scheduled connection) I wouldn't want to wait in an unstaffed station at night unless there were several other passengers also waiting, and I have no way of knowing how many others there might be.

Because these are published routes, I can think of no reason it couldn't be done on points as well as a paid trip. By raking and scraping and converting and buying, I have enough points.

This is an AGR question, but I didn't want to start two new threads. Would this trip be two 2-zone awards? In another thread I read that re-entering a zone doesn't add a third zone.

Any other info on these trains or this itinerary is appreciated. Thanks!
 
The trip works and it's a good one.

I think this would be 2 2-zone awards, but I'd be real interested to see what would happen when you try and book it, since it violates the "no circle trip" rules.

CVS is a nice place, I wouldn't worry about it.

I think eastbound is a better direction for the Card, so you're doing the trip in the right direction.
 
Thanks, Ryan and Jim!

I know about the circle rule, but "you can't get there from here." :) These are the only published routes. Just not a lot of trains in this neck of the woods.

Not sure when I'll be able to book it. Plugging in random dates for this summer, sleepers aren't always available, and some days the Cardinal doesn't run. And I have a few (non-train, bah!) trips to work around too. But I'm definitely having an Amtrak attack!
 
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The eastbound Cardinal is according to many (including me) the most scenic route in the east! :) (The westbound Cardinal may get to the most scenic area after dark.) CVS is a nice place to wait, and yes the station will remain open and staffed until the train arrives. (Due to a freight derailment, I arrived at CVS 12 hours late at 2:47 AM and the station was staffed!)

Also remember that the Cardinal has only 1 sleeping car - with some rooms used by the staff. Because of this, rooms can be hard to come by and/or very expensive! If you use points at least one way, I would use points on the Cardinal.
 
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RyanS said:
I would be hellaciously pissed if I was told I couldn't book an AGR trip to anywhere but and Eastern Zone city because I lived in the wrong part of the country.
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I would hope an agent would offer the option to split it into two redemptions, one one-zone and one two-zone in order to complete the trip. That being said, perhaps the rule needs a revision (such as "number of unique zones passed through" or something like that, tied with the "only published routes" rule) for instances such as this.

The main reason I recommended coach is because it's just one stop away from the zone border, and no meals would be lost (breakfast is served coming into ATL and dinner is served leaving ATL.) It's probably not worth an additional 30,000 points just to get that extra one stop in with a redemption.

EDIT: Perhaps there could also be an exception to the unpublished route rule in NOL, where if a route is impossible to do given the AGR rules, but is possible with an overnight layover in NOL, then the customer can do the overnight on the same redemption. But, honestly, I think the first rule is probably a bit more ideal, though it's also more open to loophole trips (Kansas City to Columbus would still be able to be done at a two-zone redemption price, for example.)
 
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Thanks, guys.

Sorry about the spelling error of the CL--I'm another of those who wrote "city" instead of "building"!

Good to know that CVS will be staffed late in case of a late Crescent.

Y'all have me a little more worried about the circle rule now. ATN-ATL definitely isn't worth using an additional award each way. And wasn't there some kind of rule that prohibited adding a paid segment to an award trip? Has that changed, or was that never a problem? With no other way to get there, I wasn't too worried about the circle rule, but maybe I should be. (Well, there is another way, via New Orleans, but that isn't an option, presumably because of the overnight.) I've only taken the Crescent north of ATL once and would prefer the published routes.

I plan to use points for both parts of the trip, although that will knock a big hole in my AGR account. I hope more 50% bonuses are in the future. When Skymiles adds one-way awards next year perhaps my CZ trip can be made to work.

Last night I found a few dates that had sleepers available and worked with the Card's schedule later this summer. I'm going to try to pull them back up and make a call to AGR. *fingers crossed for luck*

Another question: Which part is the most scenic section of the Card's route?

Thanks!
 
The New River Gorge in VW and the State of Virginia itself into WAS is the Highlight of the Cardinal Route! Eastbound is the way to roll, you'll get to see them in Daylight!

It gets dark after leaving CHI as you go through the Indiana Corn Fields and From Indianapolis to Cinncinnati And along the Ohio/Kentucky Border on the Ohio River it is dark!

Once the sun is IP in West Virginia and you've had Breakfast get ready for great scenery from Prince clear to the time it gets dark ! (The Cardinal usually runs Late into WAS!)
 
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crescent2 said:
And wasn't there some kind of rule that prohibited adding a paid segment to an award trip?
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If there was, there isn't now. I booked my trains to/from the gathering with AGR for 2-zones and paid for the 3rd zone (each way). The AGR agents handled it all.
 
I took the Cardinal to WAS and took the CL on the trip back to CHI for the same reason you are. I had never been on either of them, I had heard about the Cardinal but I thought that the CL was almost as scenic.

The Cardinal goes through some spectacular places along the New River that can only be seen by rail, rafting or hiking. The river is a story in itself.

On the CL you go through parts of rural Maryland, WV and PA that are quite lovely. I was surprised to see how far the Potomac River extends. Download the route guide, you may be pleasantly surprised.

I lived in Charlottesville briefly many years ago and it was a very nice town - when I went through there a few weeks ago the station looked very safe.
 
Thanks so very much, everyone. You really have me even more excited about this trip than I already was.

And wonder of wonders, Danno has booked it! :)

I plugged several dates that worked for the Cardinal and me into the website, and was able to find sleepers on all four segments. I just got off the phone with a very pleasant and helpful AGR agent named Portia, and got the trip booked without a hitch and without any whining or pleading on my part. Neither "circle rule" nor "three zones" was uttered! I am booked for later this summer from Anniston to Chicago and back, two 2-zone awards on separate reservations. I did venture to ask, "So starting in Anniston is OK?" and was told yes. Bedrooms on the way up, Viewliner roomettes on the way back for 60,000 (ouch!) points total.

The total price of the trip on the website was just under $2,000. Portia said I got the last two bedrooms and the last two roomettes on these four trains, so choosing a unit was a decision I did not have to make.

I asked about the cancellation policy and was told I would get all points refunded if I cancelled the reservations before their departure times. I asked if the trip would show in Amtrak's app and she said it would not, because it was booked over the phone. She emailed the e-tickets to me.

I'm looking forward to my first solo train trip, my first trip on the CL and Card, and my first (brief) visit to Charlottesville. Any special tips or suggestions?

Again, thanks all. Your information was very helpful to me in planning the trip.
 
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Outstanding!,Do you need someone to ride with you as a tour guide? I'm retired! LOL

Be sure and see the U of V and if you have time go out to Monticello! Charlotsville is a great place!
 
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Monticello might be a stretch for this cautious passenger, but I'd love to glimpse UVA. There is a virtual geocache (ask Tom Fuller) at Jefferson's Rotunda that I want to grab if the Cardinal's not running too late. There are also a few in the other direction near the theaters and carousel, but I'll be happy to find just one. Do you know if there's a bus line that's easy to take down Main St., or would a taxi be easier?

This small-town traveler probably needs a whole team of professional guides. I can get lost in nearby towns. I've flown solo and driven solo, but never traveled solo very far otherwise. I've been to Chicago briefly, but not Union Station area and not solo. The language barrier is often a handicap; fluent Southern = broken English. LOL

My family and friends are probably going to think I'm insane when they find out about this. I did it sort of spur of the moment. There's a chance a (non rail fan) friend might want to tag along but I'm not counting on it. June the C R is an inspiration--if she can do it then I'm game too! Wish me luck, gang...
 
crescent2 said:
My family and friends are probably going to think I'm insane when they find out about this. I did it sort of spur of the moment. There's a chance a (non rail fan) friend might want to tag along but I'm not counting on it. June the C R is an inspiration--if she can do it then I'm game too! Wish me luck, gang...
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Join the club - Widows Gone Wild! :lol: My friends & family probably think I'm crazy too. I've gone to the last 2 Gatherings - just to ride trains with other crazy people. :eek:

I'm not one to travel just for the heck of it ($ being one reason) so I'm glad I found AU to have a reason to visit parts of the country I've never been to. And just recently I took a solo trip to Boston and only spent a couple of hours exploring before heading home (train ride was 6-1/2 hrs each way).

Enjoy the trip.
 
Widows Gone Wild! I love it! I'm already a member of a couple of "named" groups: Caching Girls Gone Wild, and Western's Good Girls. I'll be a WGW soon, too! :)

the_traveler said:
Fluent Southern can not be any worse than Bostonian! :giggle:
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IMO, this is true---but trust me, we are in a minuscule minority on that!! Ah'm holdin' yew to that if ah eva come to a Gath-rin'!

We don't pahk the cahs, but we par-ark thu car-ars. We ma-ash (neva press) buttins. OK, ah'll sto-op now-ow.
 
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