Blogs on a Train

Generally, I enjoy Friday the 13th. Not so much today.

I was in Williamsburg for the week and came back to New York by train today. According to the schedule, our train left Williamsburg at 9:30 AM and would arrive in New York City at 5:10 PM, at trip of about 7 1/2 hours.

The train was one hour late arriving in Williamsburg, supposedly because of an engine problem that had been resolved. When we (finally) got on the train, we were informed that the train engine was still broken and that we'd have to get a new one in Richmond (about 1-2 hours down the tracks).

We stopped just short of the suburban Richmond station a couple of hours later. A conductor announced that the engineer and another guy had just left (!!!) the train to see about getting us a new engine up ahead. About 30 minutes later, it was announced that there was no new engine and that we would have to wait for a train coming up from further south. Then we would take their engine.

We pulled into Richmond. And sat. And sat. And sat. About every 20 minutes, there would be an announcement saying that the expected train would be arriving any minute now.

The train in question showed up after about 1.5 hours. We slowly got the engine connected to our train and moved on. About this time, I went to the snack car to get something to eat, as lunch time had come and gone. I was informed that all the food that remained on the train was one garden burger. Fortunately, there was also a package of cheese and crackers, so I did not have to resort to the vegetarian food. (Ick.)

Eventually we got moving. And made it to Washington, DC -- the big stop of the train. When we got there, the conductor announced that anyone traveling beyond New Haven, CT (the train was supposed to go to Boston) would have to get out in DC and go look for another train. The announcement concluded with the hope that Amtrak could find them something, maybe.
We also found out that our new engine was no longer useable, as trains north of DC run on electric, not diesel, as the engine we then had did. So we had to wait for yet ANOTHER engine to show up and get connected to our train. This procedure of course meant that the air conditioning in the train was turned off. Who needs air conditioning in a steel tube in 85 degree heat anyway?

The (now about 4 hour) delay of our train meant that the passengers who had been waiting in DC had long since been re-ticketed onto a different train. In order to fill up our remaining seats, Amtrak had the brilliant idea of sticking the passengers from two other trains onto ours. This made for a somewhat crowded train, although I heard it was even worse in business class, where they had oversold the seats.

The train left Washington DC at a little after 5 PM. 3.5 hours from New York at the time of the train's supposed arrival.

By the time we got to Baltimore, I was thirsty and stressed. Time for cheap wine from the cafe car! Unfortunately, however, the train had been replenished with food in DC. This meant that every person who had been denied food earlier, plus every person who had gotten on at the previous two busy stops, was in line. I waited for that glass of wine for over 40 minutes. Or, put another way, from Baltimore to Wilmington, DE.

Back at my seat, the train inched its way across the several states that separated us from New York. Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey passed by in unrapid procession. Eventually, a few hours after sunset and a full FIVE HOURS after our scheduled arrival time, we pulled into New York City.

Needless to say, I splurged on a cab for the ride home.