A Tiring, 2 Hour Late Crescent Ride Home – Leave No Station Unphotographed

This Post is Part of my Finally the Piedmont Trip

The trip home from Charlotte took a bit of thought. When I was planning this trip alone, my plan was to spend my last night in North Carolina in Raleigh. Then take the Silver Star to Rocky Mount to the Carolinian to Peterborough, a city express bus up to Richmond and the North Regional Night Owl from Richmond-Main Street to D.C. probably for an overnight layover. Sadly, since I was using a companion coupon we couldn’t make any stopovers and the return would have to start in Charlotte to maximize the value of the Companion Coupon. The choices were saving a hotel night and taking the 1:45am to 1:45pm (exactly 12 hours scheduled) Crescent or thirteen hours on the 7:00am Carolinian stuck on Amfleet Is. We decided to go with the Crescent for new trackage, the more comfortable ride and saving a hotel night. When I booked a week before the Crescent was also cheaper ($160 versus the anytime ticket rate of over $200 for the Carolinian).

We spent our final full day in Charlotte, doing LYNX with a points run to my final 2 stops on the Piedmont thrown in, keeping an eye on the Crescent. It was within minutes of being on time until Atlanta when things fell apart and we knew the train would be between an hour and two hours late.

Midnight came to us eating and killing time in a pizza joint. Around 12:45am we realize we’ve had enough of the pizza joint (full of midnight snacking drunks) and just head up to the station to sit and wait there. The bus does run late and perhaps we should have paid the $2.20 fare (our day passes unforchunately expired at 11:59pm) and not walked the mile and a half. The walk up through the industrial area to the station was one where we didn’t feel like we were about to get shot but did have to say no sternly to some aggressive panhandlers along the sidewalk. It’s not a walk I would really recommend late at night. We were happy to get to the bright station around 1:00am and plop ourselves down on one of the not too comfortable wooden benches and try and suppress dozing off which was extremely difficult. It unfortunately didn’t seem kosher to lie down

At 2:35am the conductors come to scan our tickets while we sit in the station. Everyone tries to form a line and they scream at us to sit down, the train isn’t hear yet.
At 3:03am we hear the woosh of an entering train and there is jostling to form a line. I assume seat assignments will be handed out and am not too worried. We end up joining the back of it out of boredom, nothing else.
A few disembarking passengers get off the train with some jubilant hugs of arrival.
At 3:15 the Southbound Crescent arrives. The station staff announce we can’t board yet because of engine trouble but want anyone going south to board. Just a few people walk up.
It’s soon our turn and we slowly head up the tunnel towards the platform. It’s another inefficient North Carolina boarding process with one door open and a ridiculous 3 crew members. The two conductors are on the platform helping everyone hoist themselves up the steps while the car attendant is in the vestibule asking “Destination and how many?” We decline help but as two experienced Amtrak long-distance coach travelers it’s very satisfying to say “Two for New York” and get assigned a row and not have a stranger to sleep next two.

It takes half an hour to really move out of the station and I’m completely zoned out, trying to doze off, not recording the time whenever we do. The app says 3:42 is when we finally leave.

Wake up briefly in Salisbury 4:42

At 5:29 I wake up to High Point in the trench. I think for nobody. I enter new trackage as industry follows us around the triad.

5:39 – See some trees in the dawn light
5:40 – Some industry
5:42 – An intermodal yard
5:43 – The Geeensboro Freight yard. We pass the warehouses and I feel us switch off the Piedmont Corridor and onto the separate platform for the Crescent.

We arrive at 5:47 and there is a long line of boarding passengers with one door in use and the confusion of seats. We leave at 5:53. The car getting woken up by all the boarding passengers.
Leaving Greensboro takes awhile were our of town at 5:59 and in what else but trees

6:00 – Civilization stays with us as we leave Greensboro.
6:06 – A silhouette of a barn and cows in the dawn as we come to a grade crossing and slow down in Brown’s Summit
6:13 – The foliage of the trees is dense we pass a warehouse.
6:42 – In the trees

I doze off again and wake up as we pull into a historic station house with two levels in Danville, Virginia. We arrive at 6:57 pull up beyond the station and back up a little bit like we’ve overshot the platform. We leave at 7:01 to the attendant helping to walk a woman and her luggage beyond the train. We then cross a river and leave Danville, the city looks large but the railroad line through it seems well protected by trees. This “bonus” scenery for lateness isn’t all that interesting, just hills and trees.

At 7:07 we get our first announcement saying “We have left Danville (Georgia) and the next stop will be Charlottesville, Virigina.” the lights come on. The conductor soon gets on to correct herself to Danville, Virginia

7:17 – The view is just trees, they break for a tiny town, Dry Fork
7:24 – Trees break for the historic depot in Chatham and back to trees
7:30 – A neat old farmhouse
7:34 – Some fields and Gretna, a small town
7:41 – We follow a highway between the trees
7:43 – We pass a stopped NS Freight
7:46 – Pass a giant smoke stack in the middle of a field. The conductor pages someone. We cross the Stanton River on a high bridge and then a depot in Alta Vista
8:05 – We go through trees leisurely approaching Lynchburg
8:09 – Go under a highway and pass Liberty University as some other buildings. There is a campus expansion plan.
8:13 – Pass Lynchburg fabrication and go over another railroad line. I’ve asked the conductor if Lynchburg or Charlottesville will be the fresh air stop. And am told neither, because were so late the next stop will be Washington, DC.

At 8:16 we arrive in Lynchburg. There is a nice historic depot at the rear of the station with a new siding track that becomes an island platform extending out to our coach. The attendant walks two people up to our seats. It’s a very quick stop, we leave at 8:18. Only a few people get on. I assume most intermediate travels now ride the Lynchburger. It has left on time nearly an hour earlier. There a few more tracks and I notice a service door for I assume plugging in the P42 of the Lynchburger Northeast Regional overnight. It’s a very slow departure from Lynchburg. Were in a trench.

8:23 – Enter a genuine tunnel and into a rock cut.
8:25 – We come out of the tunnel and go over the James River on a series of two high bridges, we’re in a hilly area.
8:34 – Pass trees and cows. For the first time on this trip, in rural areas, cell service comes and goes.
8:46 – Over the Buffalo River on a high bridge. The terrain is more hilly through Appalachia.
8:58 – Go through hilly farm fields, there is barely any cell phone reception in the remote areas
9:14 – Pass Covesville a few houses to one side of the train.
9:26 – 3 to 4 minutes to Charlottesville were in the trees.
9:29 – See the houses of Charlottesville as we enter. Pass a bunch of wooden railway ties.
9:32 – Pass a former freight platform

At 9:33 we enter the Charlottesville Crescent/Regional Platform with a gate. We are getting a crew change here. I think we could have stepped off had we been in the front of the line of people getting off. We’re stopped way beyond the station. We leave at 9:39, a relatively quick stop. It’s my final stretch of new track. There is a new stretch of track.

9:43 – Were back in the woods very quickly
9:49 – See some houses on the outskirts of Charlotte. Then were back in the trees.
9:53 – A wetland and more tree
9:59 – A lumber mill and some old looking houses Barbarousville, my last new town of the trip. There are the remains of extra rails.
10:06 – The conductor is coming through asking for people making NEC Connections that will be redirected. Some are being told to switch in DC instead.
10:10 – Slow down as we approach the town of Orange to join the end of the Buckingham Branch short line used
10:12 – The Buckingham Branch used by the Cardinal to get up from Charlottesville on its different route after crossing us in Charlottesville joins us. We then pass a historic depot.
10:14 – Were late enough to get snack lacks distributed. Their smaller than before. A Knotts Berry Farm Cookie, off brand goldfish and almonds. No fake cheese spread.

We arrive to Culpeper’s Historic brick depot at 10:34 for a quick stop

10:46 – Cross a river with an abandoned adjacent bridge
11:06 – I doze off again and am awakened by the announcement for the next stop Mannasas.

We slow down and pass a water tower for Manassas as we enter. The station house is now a visitors center. It’s a quick stop at 11:10

11:11 – We slowly leave Manassas
11:16 – Pass Manassas Park, a simple side platform with a quite full parking lot.
11:22 – Pass a red caboose
11:29 – pass Burke Center that has a large parking garage
11:31 – Rolling Road, a simple VRE Platform
11:33 – Over Lake Accitonake
11:36 – Backlick Road, another simple single VRE platform
11:39 – Pass the Cardinal, it has two Viewliner Sleepers (a rarity, normally it just runs one mostly filled with crew)
11:42 – We pass the WAMTA yards and slowly approach the CSX Line to Richmond and the southbound Carolinian passes as we switch back onto the same trackage.

We arrive in Alexandria at 11:45. I think a few people are boarding, although the timetable says the station is discharge only. We pass King Street Metro again. We leave Alexandria getting the announcement for DC. There is a couple behind us trying to go Buffalo (on the Lake Shore) I hear the conductor calling for them. His original plan is to put them on 176 (The Lynchburger) to make the Lake Shore. He’s doing a very good job helping, there going to miss it by minutes.

11:58 – Cross the Potomac and the DC highways. Pass L’Efant Plaza
12:02 – Slowly go under the tunnel into Washington

We arrive into Washington, DC at 12:05 as the Lynchburger pulls out. It’s are first fresh air stop of the day, the P42 is replaced by a run of the mill AEM7. They make us reboard early at 12:25 and then I hear something about a wheelchair.

At 12:28 we finally slowly leave and pass a patio with people having lunch on an outdoor roof deck of a building.
They announce 1:00 dinner reservations for lunch. I don’t think the crew asked the coaches if they desired to eat. It’s time to doze off up the NEC after forcing myself awake at 6:00am to enjoy the bonus late scenery which really wasn’t worth it at all. I won’t bother to wake up early the next time I ride the Crescent northbound.
12:42 – We go very slowly past the Metro Yard, clearly out of slot
1:01 – Wake up as we pass West Baltimore and enter the Penn Tunnels.
We arrive in Baltimore that is full of Marc trains at 1:08. We slowly leave at 1:10 and then stop again. A double spot for baggage? We leave at 1:12. It’s the slightly scenic ride along the Chesapeake Bay Estuary as we head north of Baltimore crossing the various bodies of water.

We arrive in Wilmington at 2:03 and with baggage finally leave. Our conductor tries to make a funny announcement about going home and relaxing, unfortunately our PA has a bad buzzing malfunction.

I see the University City SEPTA Station on the line up to the upper level of Philadelphia-30th Street Station as we enter. We arrive at 2:30 even to a platform full of people on track 3. The conductor is making too much chatter including “Where you can get the best cheesecakes in the world” The Acela is also going northbound and we let it leave first. Long Distance trains are low-priority. We finally leave at 2:38.

I sleep nearly the entire way to Trenton, where we arrive at 3:10, a baby behind us is crying (they slept the entire way from Greensboro to Washington and have been quite quiet). An NJT Trenton local is leaving. We leave at the same time at 3:12.
I read some more and take another cat nap waking up in the Elizabeth
3:43 – skipping Newark Airport there are two airport monorails stopped not in stations. Our car isn’t exactly empty, a lot of the train seems to be going all the way to New York
We arrive in Newark-Penn at 3:48 without an announcement as the southbound Silver Meteor is heading south down to Miami. We leave at 3:53 as the conductor announces New York Penn Station in 25 minutes. Normally it’s 15.
We leave, passing the reverse-peak North Jersey Coast Line train to Hoboken, it looks empty.

3:59 – Stop in the Meadowlands, were the lowest priority slot.
4:04 – Skip Secaucus
4:06 – Zoom into the North River Tunnels
4:11 – As expected we stop short of the station, waiting for a platform.

We arrive in New York-Penn on track 10 at 4:16. We make a quick ClubAcela stop for the clean restrooms. I then have a subway ride home totally exhausted. Nearly falling asleep.

Luckily its already 4:00 in the afternoon so I don’t waste an entire day tired and its the end of a trip so I can just zone out. I also have no evening obligations. I think I’m turning into an old man and really feel like I only want sleepers now on overnight journeys.

Conclusion:
I’ve now finally ridden every different type of equipment Amtrak operates! North Carolina has done a good job at building a local train route using low-cost high quality equipment. The Vending Machine Lounge Car I think is a good compromise to still have some food service but as a way to avoid paying a full time employee. When the route first started they had a dome lounge for a few years that was staffed by a catering company (that obviously didn’t make any money). I’m also down to only three Amtrak routes I haven’t ridden: The Silver Star and Meteor, plus the Blue Water.