The proposal to add a westward extension of the Crescent to Fort Worth, TX which would split at Meridian Mississippi is gaining steam! Amtrak is also returning 5 Viewliner Dining cars to the rails this fiscal year. Hopefully they will be assigned to the Crescent since the Silver Service trains and the Lakeshore Limited already have one.
@@Kendra-sm6cn Did you ride on the Boston section? The dining car operates on the New York section due to the larger passenger volume. While the train does have a Viewliner diner, it still has the flexible dining. So it’s more of a lounge space for sleeping car passengers.
I don't understand why Amtrak doesn't work on improving their existing services rather than running off half-cocked to add more routes. Just government doing what they do best, throwing good money after bad.
According to Amtrak management, the Crescent is the next train scheduled to return to traditional dining, likely followed by the Lake Shore Limited. I would love to know how those new Viewliner II sleepers will be used to expand capacity, especially once Amtrak brings back all the Viewliner I sleepers into service.
The Carolinas really get hosed on the timing of the through Amtrak lines. The Carolinian, originating from DC, will hit Greensboro during the day, and the Palmetto does Savannah to NY during the day. The sleeper trains are all in the middle of the night.
The Crescent is quite a nice train. That shot at the beginning of the video with the Capitol in the background was beautiful. You always do great videography! Also great review
I personally grew up on both the P42 and AEM-7 (later AEM-7AC) of Amtrak's fleet. Definitely true classics of their service roster, along with the unsuccessful HHP-8s that came along with the AEM-7s, as well.
It's funny that you mention the line continues farther north than New York; in the before days, the Southern Railway did have a contract agreement for the Crescent and Southerner (the current Crescent's two predecessors) to continue to Boston South Station via a haulage agreement with the PRR and New Haven. From what I'm able to tell, Boston appeared in many older timetables as limited through cars for the two trains.
Too bad the train only averages 50 mph compared to Brightline's 66 mph which I had hoped would have been closer to 80 mph. Without the 30 minute delay the average speed would have been a still slow 55 mph.
I have boarded the train a number of times at Danville. Been to DC a few times, And south all the way to New Orleans. Always a good ride. My last trip from DC to Danville a few years ago was also delayed by a freight and got to Danville 45 minutes late.
Joke: “Did you see *The Rectifier?”* (Washington *DC.* ) Ps: I would not be able to sleep on such a train. Trips much over a few hours long would *demand* a Roomette, as I need some special arrangements to sleep due to health issues I was largely born with.
I wonder if the Amfleet IIs can run all the way to Providence Rhode Island Final Destination Boston South Station. Back in the day when the Crescent used to end at Boston I wonder how would they deal with Providence Rhode Island bound passengers
4:53 I believe only the Cardinal uses that easterly route from Culpeper heading west into Charlottesville (instead of north as the Crescent and NE Regional do)
Washington’s Station is awesome! I love the sculptures outside and it has a LOT of unique design. Your channel is awesome, too! I don’t know what it is about watching people ride Aircraft and Trains, But it is entertaining. It would be cool if in the near future you could ride Jim Thorpe, PA’s Vintage Reading Rail Ride that is in the Mideast PA. Lots of Railroad history out in those areas! Love your channel! Thanks for all the amazing content. Keep up the good work!
If the Crescent had better views, it would be one of the best. Either way, I still love the crescent with the points that was discussed in this vid. Amfleet 2 are the best! Great vid!
Yeah, Union Station is beautiful but in need of renovations. The parking and access is convenient enough though. I sometimes use it as parking when I’ve got a few places to hit in DC. I don’t recall ever taking Amtrak out of there, maybe a MARC train once or twice (I have friends that live in MD).
I always enjoy your videos but this ia a dull trip on a dull, dirty and dinerless train I used to conduct between WAS and NYP, but dinner in the diner would have rocked and made your video something special. Some passengers traveling between New York and DC on #19 would buy a ticket to Alexandria just so they could enjoy the delicious food served on the Crescent during the 90's.
I really wish there was a daylight hours route that serviced the stations in the Carolinas that only get Crescent service in the dead of night, similar to the role the Palmetto route plays on the Silver Meteor line.
This will be our final leg on our honeymoon this summer going West to East via train (though we'll pick up in Charlottesville). I really appreciate seeing the Amfleet 2's! We rode up to Raleigh on the Carolinian and were worried about spending several hours on the Amfleet 1. Nice to see how spacious it will be on our last ride to home.
Just restore Dining Car service on all Overnight trains East of the Mississippi for crying out loud and while you're at it, will someone please train the Snack-Car Attendants how to mix a Cocktail? Throwing all the ingrediencies into a cardboard box is insulting for the $20 price tag...
Nice VID indeed! I’ve been on that line recently and many years ago as a child. There’s something about a train ride with that rumbling sound thats not too loud but does take some getting used to when you’re trying to sleep. But not too bad as when we were forewarned about flushing anything other than basic TP that’s in the bathroom. Otherwise there is a possibility there will be a blockage that will render the bathroom unusable until the train arrives which would be difficult to hold your need to use the bathroom for an extended period of time 😳
One thing wrong with the dining car video. Typically, at least two tables are taken up by AmTrak employees paperwork and general stuff. I’ve yet to see a cafe car without this dynamic.
I took this very train to Greensboro the night after Christmas in 2017; it was very painful because I found out (while in transit) that a friend of mine had lost a battle with liver cancer on Christmas.
I've spent 24 hours on the Cardinal, 25 hours on the Silver Star, and 30 hours on the Silver Meteor over 4 nights on these Amfleet 2s, plus some more day trips (Pennsylvanian, Palmetto, and Maple Leaf to name a few). the seats are amazing every single time and I've had no problem sleeping in them. I'd honestly recommend overnighting in these just for the experience (crying babies and all). highly recommend getting some sort of noise-cancelling eartips like the yellow 3M foam ones though. much cheaper to have those fall out of your ear than something like airpods. I've done both Crescents, but only Newark-Trenton southbound and Princeton Junction-New York northbound thanks to a fare loophole that doesn't exist anymore where you could get same-day Amtrak for $19 between Newark and Trenton on all trains except for some northeast regionals, which included the Silver Star, Crescent, and Silver Meteor. I'd love to actually ride the train some day, seems like a neat route.
Its really foolish and inconsiderate that freights cant wait a couple seconds for a train that has actually people on it to pass, but the passenger train has to wait almost 2 hours for a stupidly long slow frieght to pass.
:15 The Northeast Corridor includes Virginia Services. 2:13 The Gate there shows where the original gate would have stood before they remodeled the station
I don't believe Washington Union Station is the southern terminus of the Amtrak's Northeast Regional Service. Amtrak's website says it goes on to Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, and Virginia Beach. In fact, with the traffic nightmare that is I-95 south of DC, more and more people traveling in Virginia are choosing rail, with Amtrak and VRE.
Great video! If you ever get the opportunity to ride the Crescent in its entire route, you should do it for Mardi Gras! I've never been, but I've heard it's so much fun down there!
I've been a Crescent passenger since 2002 when I started visiting family after HS graduation. I miss the old heritage diners and fresh-cooked meals in sleeper service. It's still a good trip but it used to be much more memorable. Also...I grew up with the F40s and hated the GEs originally. But, the tired old GEs are proving to be as reliable as the new Siemens garbage (which is a shame since new equipment should be much more reliable than tired old equipment), plus many still have great old mechanical bells, so I've slowly been warming up to them.
Interesting the $79 ticket is the same as Brightline for 50 miles more and 2.2 hours longer. Someday Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Silver Star will terminate at Jacksonville when Brightline is extended to Tampa and Jacksonville.
