Well, I went and did it. I got to ride part of the eleventh revenue Amtrak trip towards Roanoke, and the twelfth revenue Amtrak trip leaving Roanoke, since service to the city resumed on October 31st. I scheduled myself on two-segment trips in each direction, broken by dwells of just under 3 hours in Washington in each direction. This allowed me to have a meal off the train rather than requiring two meals of the same thing on a single longer trip. All 4 segments were in Business Class.
I travelled from Trenton to Washington on Regional #95, the most crowded of my 4 segments being midday on a Friday. Then a late (for me) lunch in Washington Union Station and some time sitting in the Club Acela filled my in-between time. About 45 minutes before my next train to Roanoke was scheduled to leave, I went down to the waiting area for the lower level (Virginia-bound) tracks to get first dibs on the expected line. I ended up third in line.
Regional #171 was somewhat late, and it took a while for its discharging passengers to clear the escalators before we were let down to track level to board. I claimed my seat to await the further boarding process. Although the engine change was done rather quickly, there were also operations at the rear end of the train as a private car was added. And so there went my railfan window. After the power was finally turned on we finally left Washington at 5:13 PM, 23 minutes late. The railfan window would really not have done me any good, as by the time we emerged from the Capitol Hill tunnel, it was the tail end of a very red sunset; the trip would be in darkness as expected.
Timekeeping got steadily worse as we went down the line. By Manassas, I noted we were 27 minutes late as I consumed my Angus Cheesburger and hot dog from the café car. We were 33 minutes down by Charlottesville, and the same at Lynchburg. After leaving Lynchburg, we were told by the crew that it would be a little more than an hour to Roanoke. The train had of course emptied out by now, as it contained only those headed for its newest stop.
About a mile or so after leaving the Lynchburg station, we veered right to branch off the Norfolk Southern mainline. I noted that we were going much slower here, and that we were on stick rail. For a while I thought this was similar to the Cardinal's trip via Gordonsville, VA. My worries did not last long, as after we passed some yard areas and went through wyes within Lynchburg, we sped up to track speed. It was a smooth run on welded rail from there to Roanoke.
We ended up arriving into downtown Roanoke at 10:26 PM, 31 minutes late. The train stopped, and then had to jog up a few more feet to get the private car fully adjacent to the platform. There were people standing on the platform presumably to meet arrivals, and no doubt see the train and its private car. The platform and the general area around it were brightly lit.
The tracks, which run east-west, bisect the city. Luckily my Hampton Inn was on the same side of the tracks as the platform. The walk as expected was about 4 blocks. No time to really see much of the city other than the streets on which I briskly walked as it was in the low 30's. I figured on seeing a little bit in the morning before my departure.
On Saturday morning, after breakfast at and check-out from my hotel, I walked back to the train platform area. As part of installing the new platform, a Railside Linear Walk was put in parallel to the right-of-way. It is basically just a wide sidewalk on the track side of Norfolk Avenue.
Railside Linear Walk, with Amtrak platform in background. Market Street Walkway above.
On the north side of the Norfolk Southern right-of-way is the other half of the city (although most of the downtown is south of it). Immediately across the tracks is the Curio Hotel Roanoke (former Doubletree) and the O Winston Link museum. A large skywalk was created (known as the Market Street Walkway) to carry pedestrians over the tracks between the two sides of the city. The walkway comes complete with elevators and escalators for easy access.
View from Market Street Walkway looking west. Amtrak platform on left, and beyond it, Virginia Museum of Transportation. Apologies for window glare in this & next photo but had I waited for morning sun to get higher in the sky I would have missed the train.
View from Market Street Walkway looking east. Tracks on left go off to north. Track on right turns south (former Hilltopper/Mountaineer route), and also leads to the current train's storage track. Two tracks in center are mainline followed by the current Northeast Regional trains between here and Lynchburg. O Winston Link museum on left.
After only walking partially over the walkway I returned to the correct side of the tracks and made my way to the Amtrak platform.
Platform canopy for Roanoke has stars denoting it as the Star City.
Roanoke Amtrak platform. Across parking lot is bus terminal including Greyhound and local Valley Metro.
Departing passengers had already begun to assemble. As I walked down the platform, the train consist was backing in from its storage location.
Train consist, having just backed into station. Note private dome car on rear.
By 8:30 AM the train, now Regional #156 (of course the same consist as last night's #171 including private car), was ready for boarding. We departed on time at 8:40 AM. Now came the new scenery that could not be enjoyed on the southbound trip. The train maintains a good speed even as it crosses hilly terrain associated with the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Typical view from train in Blue Ridge Mountains.
Again we were slow negotiating the curves and jointed rail coming into Lynchburg, but we maintained on time status through that city's station as well as those up to Charlottesville. There, I got a snack and my complimentary soft drink from the café car. We began to lose a few minutes up the line, through Burke Centre.
Alexandria came on time thanks to usual schedule padding. But we were a little slow in getting from there to Washington, where we arrived two minutes late at 1:37 PM. I detrained there, and after stashing 2 of my 3 pieces in the Club Acela, went to have another late lunch.
After more time in the lounge, I then went to Gate E to be among the first on the queue for Regional #146, which originates in Washington. Station personnel were a bit late in starting the boarding process, so we were lucky to get out just one minute late as the process was completed rather quickly. It would be another trip in darkness, as the sun was down by the time we got to Baltimore. We remained within 3 minutes of the schedule, and my arrival into Trenton was as expected at 6:49 PM. After quick pizza dinner within the station, I headed home.
A few notes about this trip: My only seatmates in Business Class were Trenton-Philadelphia and Philadelphia-Baltimore on #95. I had a pair of seats to myself on #171, #156, and #146, which is the way I like it. All four trip segments (the second and third were the same consist) I had newly refurbished cars, which leads me to believe that all or most of the Business Class coaches have been rehabbed and placed back into service. On #171, contrary to what I have observed as the norm, there were plenty of available seats in some coaches while the Business Class car was busier. Also, Burke Centre is primarily a VRE station but it did decent business for this train, including some people who rode between there and points south in both directions.
Two long days on the rails, but I am glad I got to do it!