Amtrak Capitol Limited Thread

[spencer8b75]

Traction motor# four on engine#191 failed near Waterloo, IN. I am sure NS had to supply a unit to get the train moving again.

[walt]

The Westbound Capitol Limited was also held up for a period of time in Rockville, MD a couple of days ago----- seems there was a suspicious package on the train--- held up that train, several MARC trains and the Metrorail Red Line.

[alex45]

Where can i find these details?

[CarterB]

The Cap limped into WAS this morning at 7:51 am Arrived 18 hours and 21 minutes late. Any report on whether they reprovisioned the diner/lounge?

Today's EB Cap is running 5 hours and 48 minutes late. Yesterdays WB Cap left on time but is running 6 hours and 47 minutes late.

[MudLake]

That wounded train arrived in Pittsburgh 12 hours and 17 minutes late. It actually made up a few minutes between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. How in the world did it lose another six hours going from Pittsburgh to Washington making that leg a total of 13 hours? You can drive between those cities in less than five hours.

[traindude]

Hey all,

I am going to take my first long distance train trip soon, and it will be Capitol Limited 29 from Washington to Chicago in a Roomette. My questions are
1) What are some good sights to look for on the route
2) How are the accomidations for roomettes (service, space, etc)
3) How long are the trains and what type of superliners (I, II, referbished, etc)
4) What are the normal delays for the route
5) Trip reports about the route.
Any info is appreciated,
Traindude

[x-press]

Hey all,

1) What are some good sights to look for on the route
2) How are the accomidations for roomettes (service, space, etc)
3) How long are the trains and what type of superliners (I, II, referbished, etc)
4) What are the normal delays for the route
5) Trip reports about the route.
Any info is appreciated,
Traindude

1) The whole route is pretty cool . . . rolling hills from DC to Harper's Ferry (DON'T miss Harper's ferry, gorgeous river/bridge/tunnel/town/mountains), mountains from there to Pittsburgh, farms in the midwestern plains, and even the "rust belt" steel mills and factories around Gary are pretty interesting.

2) Having traveled pretty regularly on the Capitol, I humbly believe that the spirit of the old B&O hospitality lives on . . . the crew is consistently wonderful. Space? Well, check out the diagrams on Amtrak.com (at least they used to be there) . . . Look forward to the bed at night, one of the most magical experiences in the world as far as I'm concerned. Very, very small room by most standards, but I love them.

3) Luck of the draw. I've had all kinds.

4) ay yi yi. HISTORICALLY, this route has been "late, but predictable." Virtually always 2-3 hours late, but rarely much more than that. It's sad, but that's actually a lot better than some routes, which have had delays measured in days, random last minute cancellations due to CSX trackwork (with no alternate transportation), equipment problems . . .

Lately, however, this route has had some real trouble. NS, for whatever reason, seems to really struggle on the Cleveland-Chicago part of the line (they're a pretty well-run RR, I don't know why they have such trouble there). I've seen some 6+ hour delays, and I seem to recall one catastrophic one longer than that (can't remember off the top of my head). There was an engine breakdown recently, too.

I don't know when your trip is, but it is reasonable to hope that these problems correct themselves, and the train goes back to its "normal" delays.

5) Trip Reports? I've got a bunch, but nothing spectacularly interesting. I love the route, I love Chicago, I love the mountains in the east and plains in the west. The latest I have ever been was just a hair under 5 hours late (eastbound), though that was largely due to the now-discontinued mail/express program. Earliest was, well, ontime (once). Track is rough west of Cleveland (again, why I don't know).

Have a great trip!!!

JPS

[mtuandrew]

1) Yup, Harpers Ferry is very pretty. Ohio and Indiana are a bit dull to look at (if it's light out there), but the sun rising over Lake Michigan would be a pretty sight once you get close to Chicago. Most of the journey, with luck, would be at night anyway.

2) Dunno, my one and only trip was in Coach.

3) I had Superliners - it's possible you could get an Amfleet train though? Seems like it's normally a Superliner outfit.

4) Gah. I rode WAS-PGH and the train came into Pittsburgh 45 minutes late, but that's not too bad. Re-boarding the train in Pittsburgh a day later, it had been delayed due to a bomb scare in Washington, so it got there 3 hours and 30 minutes late. That's an extraordinary delay though, and I wouldn't expect the same to happen. We also lost another 3 hours on the way to Chicago, and that would be a lot more likely to occur.

5) Check my post in the Travel Reports section of this Forum about my recent trip on Amtrak... it covers the Capitol Limited from end to end.

[traindude]

Thanks for the info, do you know anything about car amk # 2900 sleeper as that's what I am traveling in. A serch yeilded no good results.
As for the view; how long will it stay light (I'm traveling in EARLY april) and I wanted to know how much daylight I will have to view the sights.
Traindude

[nickrapak]

The 2900 is just a "line number" that basically says that it is the only sleeper on train no. 29 (Cap. Ltd. wb).

[FatNoah]

Traindude, when are you travelling? I'll be taking the Capitol Ltd. from WAS to CHI next month.

[traindude]

Does anyone know what to expect;
Tips for best viewing of scenery
Ride Quality
Service
and daylight viewing hrs?

Traindude

[gprimr1]

According to Sunrisesunset.com, the sun will be setting in Charlestown West Virginia at about 7:50pm for the first week of April.

I've never traveled long distance but a few things come to mind from what I've gleemed here.

Service can be unpredictable. You can have any type of service.

I would suspect you will ride on a mix of welded rail and joined rail, so it could get bumpy at times.

I always here steaking out a good spot in the Lounge car is useful.

P.S. I think your avatar is a little big.

[traindude]

Thanks for the info and yes my avatar is a bit big but I couldn't find anything smaller that I liked. Traindude

[Jersey_Mike]

1) What are some good sights to look for on the route

You'll have B&O CPL's out of DC to about Point of Rocks...then more between Pont of Rocks to WB tower at Brunswisk. The CPL's start again at HO tower at Hancock and run to Mexico near Cumberland. Finally, you get them again on the Keystone Sub between Rockwood and Pittsburgh.

Past Pittsburgh you'll be in PRR PL land all the way to CP-LEETS...then there's the Conway yard complex and the Fort Wayne which has some PL's until CP-ALLIANCE. Next interesting bit is Cleveland and DB tower...between there and CP-502 its pretty much as it was in NYC times...you have all sorts of interesting bridges and interlockings in Sandusty, Toledo, South Bend and Elkhardt. CP-502 has HICK tower followed by the old PRR 4-track raceway between CP-505 through 21St interlocking at the mouth of the Chicago Union Station.

2) How are the accomidations for roomettes (service, space, etc)

Very nice. Enjoy your dining car meals.

4) What are the normal delays for the route

Train usually runs no more than 1 hour down.

5) Trip reports about the route.

I have photos of trips on the Capitol Limited at

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics ... nails.html

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics ... nails.html

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics ... nails.html

Also keep in mind that the windows on the Superliner doors are user operable.

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics ... -coal1.jpg

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics ... ertake.jpg

enjoy your trip.