Location: [Home] [Train Travels] A Weekend in Virginia (2)

Trip Segments: [New Haven to Boston] [Boston to Washington] [Washington to Charlottesville] [About Charlottesville] [Charlottesville to Washington] [In Washington] [Washington to New Haven]

Union Station, Washington, DC to Charlottesville, VA

Amtrak Train 51, Cardinal

Our sleeper ticket from Boston had given us the use of the Metropolitan Lounge, but I wasn't quite sure we would be able to board from there--we didn't have sleeper tickets for the trip to Charlottesville. When I asked if we should go out to the gate, however, the attendant assured me that we would be brought directly from the lounge to the train, so we stayed put. Sure enough, about twenty minutes before the 11:30 am departure, not one but two Amtrak staff members appeared to bring us and some others to the train.

As with our July trip to Washington, I found the route we walked from the Lounge interesting, as it cut through some unused waiting areas and seemed to venture outside the building once. We soon found ourselves with a small group of people on the walkway over the platforms waiting for the elevator that would bring us, our luggage cart, and Bekah in her stroller down to track level. As we waited, I glanced out the window to find myself looking down on the nose of P-40 #800 at the head of the train.

Once on ground level, we walked along the train to find out where we should board. A crew member by the stairs asked us if we were travelling in sleepers or coach, and when we replied "coach," waved us toward the end of the train. Since we had started at the engine's nose, that was a long way! At the first coach, the trainman asked us our destination and sent us on to the second--which was the last car on the train. The car attendant sent us up, and to my relief, told me to leave the luggage in the racks on the lower level.

This was Evelyn's first trip on a long-distance train, and on one of Amtrak's bilevel Superliners. She found the view and the leg room quite welcome. Being among the first aboard, we easily found four seats across. The kids again took two for themselves, though we knew quite well that this could change many times over the next two and a half hours!

The crew was pretty serious about keeping people in their assigned cars at this stage: the door to the car ahead was locked, and the crew didn't open it until the train was moving.

Our car was a Superliner I, but it had been refurbished. The seats were blue and the walls grey; the curtains were brown-orange. Both Evelyn and I really appreciated the diaper decks built into the walls of the men's and women's "dressing rooms" on the lower level; I hope that future single-level cars have this feature as well.

We set out at 11:33 am by my watch, three minutes late, and rolled along the elevated tracks through the city and over the Potomac by the Pentagon. Once south of Alexandria, the urban landscape faded away into an area of small, old-construction neighborhoods, wooded areas, and small farms.

In Clifton, Virginia, a banner over the street applauded Virginia Railway Express commuter service in that town. Clifton also sported a bright red old Norfolk and Western caboose at the VRE station.

Manassas, Virginia, was a vital rail junction during the Civil War, and the unhappy host to two major battles. The railroad station, however, is a gem, built of red brick with an orange tile roof. A sign outside proclaims its role as Manassas' Visitor Center in addition to its railroad duties. The upright of an old manual train orders signal remains on the platform roof outside a second-story bay window. On the west side of the line, another Norfolk and Western bay window caboose sits in a park. Appropriately enough, we then passed a Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of box and covered hopper cars just south of the station.

Beyond that was a good size freight yard with a wye track for turning trains, and just south of that the Manassas Regional Airport, and then a Virginia Railway Express coach yard. The land flattened out as we continued, and larger open farm fields began to dominate the landscape. The sun finally appeared, and it became a really lovely day. I still don't know why I didn't take any pictures!

I made one trip through the train to the lounge car, but it hadn't opened yet. When it was opened at 12:30, I took Rebekah along to get our lunch. The diner didn't open for another fifteen minutes yet, and when it did the crew apologized for the delay. Evelyn and Brendan had curled up and gone to sleep, and Evelyn said they'd be along if they felt more hungry than sleepy.

I had the White Castle burgers for lunch, and Bekah had pizza, then cookies, and finally potato chips--one hungry little girl! The burgers weren't bad, but I still think microwaving a beef patty with the roll will never be a great thing. All in all, I'd have preferred the diner. Bekah, however, was eating away and being very charming, which was a great relief and pleasure for her father and, no doubt, the other passengers.

As we ate, we passed another Norfolk Southern freight train. I counted four locomotives and at least one hundred cars!

We got back to our car about quarter past one, where I did what minimal repacking needed to be done. Brendan was completely asleep, and Evelyn still dozing, when we returned. She decided that they'd skip lunch.

We pulled into Charlottesville about five minutes late, and the train had to stand a while--a lot of us were getting off! The station is having a fair amount of work done, including quite a bit of earth-moving, so the parking lot looked rather ragged and had a great pool of water in it. What we really wanted to see, however, was a face we knew, and soon we saw our kids' godfather John walking along the platform toward us with a big smile.

The Amtrak station in Charlottesville is a fairly large, old brick building, just off the main street downtown. It has a good-sized parking lot, but there was a lot of construction work going on there, so the lot had both paved and dirt sections and several sizable muddy spots. The platform extended along the front of the lot, so we didn't even get close to the station before we arrived at the car.

From the station John drove us to their house so we could meet baby Claire, whose baptism was the primary reason for the trip. Charlottesville has a relatively small downtown area; just beyond it is the University of Virginia campus, which is substantially larger. We then turned onto a long stretch of strip mall road, and it boggled the mind: we must have seen at least six to eight grocery stores in about eight miles, with all the attending fast food, small clothiers, and specialty shops. How can that many shopping centers find business?