Taking the Train

I've always been fascinated by trains, and moving to Boston gave me the opportunity to try intercity commuting via rail. When I got my ticket, I was so excited I went around for weeks telling everyone I was going by train like a five-year-old. What follows is an account of my trip.

The Silver Star, or "Silver Snail" as a station attendant called it, backed in to Union Station in Tampa around 5:17 pm, the exact time it was supposed to leave according to my itinerary. Most of the passengers gathered at platform 6. A man came off and started taking tickets, seating people according to their destination. Most people ahead of me were disembarking in Orlando. They were told to wait at a different platform, and they begrudgingly dispersed. I was told seat #11, and I climbed aboard.

The interior of the coach car resembled that of an airplane, but the seats, windows, and legroom were all bigger than anything I'd seen in first class. Seat # 11 was a window seat, which meant I was right next to the two 120v outlets installed at each seat and could put my pillow against the window come nightfall. I noticed that there were a handful of other passengers in the car before the train unceremoniously lurched forward with no cry of "all aboard." We were off.

The scenery along the Silver Star is not much to look at south of the Carolinas. As the drab scrub and palm passed by I decided to check out the dinning car. Normally they take reservations for set times, but I wandered in and they seated me anyway. Across from me was an older fellow named Lanny. We got to talking, and he told me he was celebrating his recent retirement from the Tropicana Juice company by taking a sleeper car all the way to Virginia. He and a buddy were going to hike the Appalachian trail all the way back down to Florida. We both ordered Maryland Style Crab Cakes, which were pretty good but not worth the price I paid for them. The meal included a salad with semi-ripe tomatoes and a hard, microwaved roll.

Overpriced food aside, there are advantages to taking a train over an airplane. The "turbulence" on the rails is always lateral, so you never get that icky feeling in your stomach like when the plane drops a couple feet. Instead of the overpowering drone of jet engines, you experience the melodious wail of the horn whenever the train approaches a road crossing. There are plenty of places to walk to on a train, and you can see a lot of the rural America that politicians have left for dead. Also, you get three checked and two carry-on bags, (try fitting that on an airplane) although all bags must be 50 pounds or less. I never any reception problems using my cellphone.

We pulled into Union Station in Washington D.C. at about 3:15 in the afternoon. I had spent the night restlessly in my coach seat and was grateful to get off the train. I met my great aunt Marty, whom I had not seen in several years, and we proceeded to stroll around the station. In the '80's Congress spent over $160 million to save Union Station from the wrecking ball. Their efforts did preserve some interesting architecture, but the station today is essentially a shopping mall surrounded by train terminals and is not a welcoming place for history buffs.

Once Marty and I saw all there was to see, I went out into the city and took a few exterior shots of the station as well as of the capital building. Marty and I then had dinner at a neat little cafe perched in the middle of the grand lobby. After dinner I bid her farewell. I still had several hours until my next train to Boston arrived, and by the time it did I was suffering from a sinus infection, lack of sleep and a desperate need to shower.

My train from D.C. to Boston had a distinctly commuter feel to it. The seats now faced each other, and the footrests, trays, sleeper car and dinning car were now gone. Fortunately the 120v outlets remained. Another restless night awaited me, but as the sun came up I caught shadows of cape cod style homes overlooking pristine lakes and marinas stocked with yachts. At times I felt like I was on a toy train traveling through an idealized model of New England landscape.

At 7:55 am on the third day of my trip I finally pulled in to South Station. A roommate picked me up and we drove out to Jamaica Plain without incident (I only forgot one bag!) After hauling my luggage upstairs I concluded my voyage with a well-deserved shower.

Overall my trip was 39 hours, with 32 hours on the rails. It began on the Silver Star Line from Tampa to Washington DC (22 hours) capped with a seven-hour layover in DC. The last leg was a 10 hour trip on the Northeast Regional to Boston. The ticket cost me $113 dollars, thanks in part to a 10% discount that Amtrak gives to all AAA members.

Was it worth it? After all, I could have gone by plane for roughly the same price and saved so much time. I will say that traveling coach over the long haul on a train is not for the squeamish or fastidious. The worst part about it is not having access to a shower. I do think it was worth it for the experience, but if I ever travel overnight on Amtrak again I will pony up for a sleeper car so I can sleep peacefully and shower.