Union Station, Washington DC

[John Ashworth]

This really is a magnificent station building, albeit very difficult to take photos of the inside with a cheap digital camera. It suffers from the same fault as many US railroad stations (and increasingly some of the big UK terminals) that they keep you penned in the waiting areas (which at least are beautiful at Union Station) until shortly before the train is ready to leave, then you have a mad rush down the escalators into the depths of the earth to board the train.

Photos by John Ashworth, October 2010

[stuartrayner]

Reminds me of taking Amtrak from Pittsburgh to Detroit via Chicago a few years back. Union Station in Chicago is also a grand building not in keeping with the with the level of passenger train activity down in the basement. I enjoyed using Amtrak - though people in the US tend to look at you side ways if you say so! It will be interesting to hear your experiences.

[John Ashworth]

In the past I've travelled all over the USA on Amtrak (and across Canada on VIA), but on this trip we did several journeys backwards and forwards between Washington DC, Baltimore and New York. We also did the round trip from New York to a little station called Castleton in rural Vermont (even the woman who sold me the tickets didn't know it existed until she looked it up). All except one (see below) were excellent. The trains were punctual and clean, seats were comfortable and spacious, trains were not overcrowded, prices were not too bad (especially compared to UK fares). There's a sense of customer service with the onboard conductors, who were present and attentive, unlike on many British trains these days.

The one bad experience was New York Penn Station to Castleton VT. There was a fire alongside the tracks in Manhattan which disrupted all services northwards towards Albany and beyond. We were bussed to Grand Central Station, which was OK, but then there was nobody to give us any directions, and no visible sign of any Amtrak presence. Eventually a metro staff person told us to get on the metro train to Croton Harmon Station and we would find Amtrak there. After a bit of initial confusion because the train conductor wasn't aware that he had to accept Amtrak tickets (which to his credit he sorted out quickly and amicably, phoning for instructions), we arrived in Croton Harmon where an Amtrak train was standing with doors closed but the crew had no idea what they were supposed to do, as by now passengers had arrived for several different northbound trains. After an hour or so of milling around with heavy luggage on a narrow suburban platform they told us all to get on as far as Albany, and said they had no idea what would happen after that. When we reached Albany, by now about two hours late, there was an Amtrak official to take charge of us and put us in taxis - that was well organised. We shared a taxi for the two hour drive with passengers going to Rutland, the next stop to ours and the terminus for that train. The taxi driver had no idea where Castleton was, but the other passengers were able to tell him as they were Rutland locals. However they had no idea where in Castleton the station was. When we arrived there after 10 pm everything was closed except a single petrol station where we were told it was "down the road on the left". By now it was so foggy that we couldn't see anything "on the left". Eventually we drove on to Rutland to drop the other passengers and got new directions from a local taxi driver there. Returning to Castleton close to midnight it was still foggy, we still couldn't find the station but eventually the friends that were meeting us, who had left both their cellphones at home, managed to find the only working pay phone in Castleton in a closed petrol station and were able to phone us and give our driver exact instructions. We were very grateful to get back to a warm house that evening!

When we left Castleton to return to New York everything ran like clockwork, with the train departing on time and arriving Penn Station a few minutes late. Castleton Station is a neat and tidy little wooden jobbie with a platform so small that only one door of the train is opened.

[Derek Walker]

The old Union Station at Cincinnati is an amazing building too, although it no longer seems to serve as an active station but as a museum. I seem to recall its one of the larger half domes in the world. It must have a been a beaut in its heyday. I am curious about the DUKW in your second pic John , it seems to me like a DUKW out of water!

[Aidan McCarthy]

Hi Derek,

From what I have seen on TV there seem to be quite a few tour operator around the world operating DUKWs as tour vehicles. The tours seem to be a normal on road part of the city and then some of the tour in water on a nearby lake river.

Cheers

Aidan

[John Ashworth]

There's a closer picture of the DC DUKW, as well as various other amphibious buses and the London DUKWs, at http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... 221&t=6293