Posted April 9, 20187 yr In Part 1, we traveled from Cleveland to Boston and spent two days in Boston: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,31909.msg906170.html#msg906170 Here's Part 2 and the second half of our trip -- traveling to Washington DC, walking around DC and our return home to Cleveland.... And once again, we are at Back Bay station, this time to catch the Acela Express to Washington DC. The conductor on the train seemed surprised at me taking the wife and kid on this train which normally caters to business travelers. He said "Oh so you're taking the family?".... It was the Boston Red Sox's home opener, so the late-morning commuter trains had lots of Soxers.... Providence, RI.... SW of Providence, we neared the line's max speed of 150 mph, fastest in the Western Hemisphere. Afterwards, we scooted on Amtrak-owned tracks along the coast to New Haven at 90-135 mph. But on CtDOT/MetroNorth tracks from New Haven to NYC, we never got above 75 mph and often stayed below 50 and still arrived New York-Penn on time. Disgraceful.... The view of Manhattan from Hell Gate Bridge is one of my favorite vantage points of NYC.... And where the hell did this new downtown next to Amtrak's Sunnyside Yards come from?? Long Island City wasn't here a few years ago. Now I see that there are several dozen major new projects underway or planned for this area that was a dump for much of the past 50 years. Incredible.... New York Penn Station -- America's busiest transportation terminal -- where nearly all of our train-full of Boston passengers got off and was replaced by a new train full of DC-bound business travelers. Some people had a hard time finding a seat.... Newark-Harrison NJ.... Philadelphia, PA Wilmington, DE, site of a major Amtrak maintenance facility.... Susquehanna River crossing -- on Amtrak's wish list of multi-billion-dollar projects to replacing aging infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor and reduce trip times.... Crossing the Bush River north of Baltimore.... Baltimore MD -- which had a cool video loop promoting the city to people on the station platform and to passersby on the trains.... Getting off Acela Express at Washington DC Union Station which is a lot busier than the first time I walked around in it in 1986 (when it was just starting a long-overdue renovation). The place was just overwhelmed with people at 6 p.m. when we arrived from Boston.... Our hotel was maybe two blocks from Union Station.... We walked 30 minutes to a Georgian restaurant but it was closed due to a broken stove hood. So we took a cab back to a restaurant near our hotel -- The Dubliner (its next door neighbor Kelly's Irish Times is a popular college hangout). Some of the historic buildings along our walk were repurposed quite creatively though I'm sure many more were lost to DC's building boom. And BTW, DC's traffic is mind-blowing.... The next day found us along The Mall and over by the Tidal Basin and Reflecting Pool. Our timing was perfect -- the cool spring meant a later peak of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms which we got to see. My wife was VERY happy to see this. We went by the US Capitol, US Courts buildings, White House and departmental buildings -- giving my wife and son views of the physical sites of the legislative, judicial and executive branches... Time to board the Capitol Limited at Union Station for Cleveland through Harpers Ferry and the Appalachian Mountains. We left 70-degree Washington DC for several inches of snow just outside of Pittsburgh and into Ohio.... And back at the quiet Amtrak station in downtown Cleveland, far from the hustle and bustle of the East Coast.... Hope you enjoyed this Amtrak trip from Cleveland to Boston to Washington and back to Cleveland! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 9, 20187 yr Nice trip! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 10, 20187 yr so nice to see the cherry blossoms, they were not out yet for the gun violence rally --- a sign of spring for sure!
April 11, 20187 yr Author What was the total travel time on the trains? 32 hours over 1,573 route miles -- an average of 49 mph. The biggest slow spots are Albany-Boston (6 hours over 200 miles, or 33 mph) and Washington DC-Pittsburgh (7.75 hours over 300 miles, or 38 mph). But those were also the most scenic. The faster portions, the remaining 1,073 miles, were traveled at 18 hours for an average of 59 mph. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
Create an account or sign in to comment