2013 NYC by Train 3 - Trackin' Down the Rails

Our route began in the midnight darkness and continued that way until just past Cleveland. Could not see much except flashing lights and reflections. No details, no outlines, a bit boring. I was able to catch a few winks off and on, but really could not find a comfortable position to sleep in. We bought fresh new neck pillows to support our heads, but that really didn't take the place of our fave bed pillows. Mike just could not sleep for even a moment, but was entertained by his iPod and Kindle books.

Near Cleveland (6am), I was up for the count. We had visited Cleveland recently (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and knew some other landmarks to look for (Cleveland Browns Stadium, wind turbine, Lake Erie, downtown skyline). It was still dark, but we could recognize a few. It's hard to get a good photo on the train, especially at night. The train is so bumpy, there are lots of unwanted reflections, and the windows are dirty/streaky.

Near Erie PA the sun burst through the clouds in a lovely sunrise and a sign of wonderful traveling days ahead. Around 6:30am we jolted our way to the dining car. It was a bustle. We got the last open table and were soon joined by Brett, an interesting man from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He and his son had sleeper-ette seats (not a sleeper room but reserved seats that completely recline to make a bed) and told us all about how that works. He owns a recording business and travels on the train a lot. We chatted about the interesting places we had all been to and experienced.

You had four choices for breakfast. I chose the scrambled egg and grits. I always get grits when they are available on vacation, cuz I never make them at home. Mike had pancakes. Our table mate had a spicy Mexican frittata. All the dishes and silverware were thin plastic, unlike the fancy china you see on trains in movies. I was expecting at least ceramic, but it did display the Amtrak logo. The food was not outstanding, but acceptable. The waiter was brusque, but likable. The coffee was excellent.

Back in our seats, we traveled along the Erie Canal with its numerous mini-locks. After seeing the Soo Locks earlier this year in upper Michigan, these seemed VERY small. Here's a photo of our two engines as we traveled around a wide curve. We figured there were nearly 20 cars on our train including the sleepers, lounge, dining, baggage and cargo storage, and reserve seat cars.
We saw train after freight train going in the opposite direction and some passing along side us in the same direction. I mean one at least every 10 minutes or so. One complaint of many avid train travelers seems to be that they feel Amtrak should own its own tracks rather than sharing with freight trains. I have to say many places along the way were very bumpy and sway-y. So bumpy at times that I was looking for my non-existent seat belt. I'm sure it is due to the heavy dual usage on this rail infrastructure. Mike compared this with his train experiences in Europe and commented "those Europeans must be appalled when they ride our rails."

Soon we got into the New York State area and views got a little more interesting. We traveled through the Mohawk River Valley, Berkshire Mountains, and the Hudson River Valley. We did not realized just how very wide the Hudson is. It is 315 miles long and must be over a mile wide in some areas. We saw at least four lighthouses along the river, conveyances of every kind (freighter, tug, Chinese junk, canoes, kayaks, speedboats, classic sailboats, sea-doos, ...). There were huge beautiful mansions cut into the hills with perfectly manicured emerald green lawns terraced down to the river's edge.

We went to lunch about 2pm and met two more interesting folks--a lady professor that was traveling from Seattle to upstate New York and a typical Italian New Yorker headed to Croton. One too chatty, the interesting one not so much. The prof had a sleeper room and gave us the low down on that. I asked about the meals. They are included if you have a sleeper or sleeper-ette. But there were only 4-5 choices for each meal and it turns out these are the same every single day. No changes. Ugh! Not good for foodie devotees like us. I had a veggie sandwich (very good) and Mike had penne and meatballs (good taste, too dry). 

Back to our seats. More interesting views included numerous vineyards and crops of soy, corn, etc. Although the water looked too brown for me, there were many swimmers and water enthusiasts. I imagine it was sanitary, but just "muddy" from the swift downstream current. We saw a bald eagle and lots of wild flowers. A few trees were beginning to turn red ALREADY! We saw a MetLife blimp hovering over the city of Rochester. There was lots of artful graffiti on the walls, tunnels, bridges, and boulders along the way. We saw interesting structures in the cities we passed--domes, churches, skyscrapers, modern, classic, abandoned factories, lots of junkyards, and fronts and backs of old houses in the smaller towns. We saw a cool farmer's market in Syracuse.
In Albany, the train let loose of those cars headed to Boston, as well as the cafe car (snack and bar car). We got a replacement engine and continued on our way to New York City. At this point our car was right behind the engine. We hadn't noticed it before, but we could now clearly hear the train whistle at most highway intersections. We continued to follow the Hudson for the last 2-1/2 hours to our New York City destination. Near the end we crossed over a few bridges and then through a tunnel under the Hudson River. We arrived at Penn Station near sunset and pretty much on time at 6:35pm.