Trip Part 2: The Whistle Goes Woo

We finally made it on the train! After waiting for almost five hours in the Indianapolis train station, we were finally able to climb aboard and crash in our spacious seats. The train was two hours late getting into Indianapolis, so the dark, quiet train car was a welcome change from the harsh buzzing lights of the station.

Boarding the train was different than I expected. All passengers getting on were lined up and we were allowed to board by size of group (large parties first) and then by the order that we were standing in line. They assigned us seats on the fly. Keith and I were the first couple in line so we were given seats at the front of the first train car. We have a large set of windows, seats that recline and have leg rests and foot rests. We were given the seat numbers to sit in when we boarded, but several people have switched seats as people have gotten off. The only complaint about our seats so far is that there is an Amish family sitting behind us and they woke up way earlier than my 3am bedtime would have preferred. Not only did they wake up early, but they were talking in normal voices across the aisle, not helping us get a full morning's rest. This could happen in any travel situation, so no marks against Amtrak for this. I do think it would be worthwhile to try traveling in a private room during a long distance trek. I haven't tried exploring beyond the dining car to see if this train has any.

We have a single power socket on our section of the wall, which we have used to recharge our laptops from their use in the train station (picture also posted later). So far access to gadget food has been a pleasant surprise. The people food, however, met my expectations exactly. Expensive, mediocre, and runs out fast. With the train being near full capacity the whole trip, several of the food choices have diminished before we ventured back to eat. Both hot and cold options were listed including pizza, hot wings, hot dogs, sub sandwiches, chips, candy, and a variety of drinks. I bet we will stock up on food supplies for the trip back.

The scenery as of late has been very pleasant. We are somewhere in West Virginia and there are creeks and rivers winding along our path, and we are surrounded by green foothills. At least I'm guessing they are foothills.

As the second section of our journey, things have gotten better. I would rate this long distance train better than the smaller, slow trains in Europe, but nowhere near the high speed, first class trains like the TGV, not surprising. Our first real stop will be Philadelphia where we will be attempting to use the public transit system to get around!

Update: Picture of power on the train