Florida at last: Silver Service and the Orlando Area
April 2-11, 2004 By Adam Reich
Part 1 of 3: The southbound trip
Day 1- April 2, 2004
I’d been waiting for this day for a long time, when at last it finally arrived. As the time for us to leave our house grew nearer, time grew longer. Our taxi came at 10:15 AM, and it took us about half an hour to get to Newark Penn Station. We waited in the McDonalds at the station until 11:15. I had an Orange Juice there, while my mother had water, and my little brother, David, had water and French fries as well as popcorn from the newsstand. After we left the McDonalds, we went to the customer service office across the way to check whether ARROW and the manifest reflected our change in destination from Delray Beach, Florida to Orlando. The woman there offered little help telling us that we had to be reticketed. Still, we just headed up to the platform, to wait for our train to arrive. While on the platform, I observed several NJ Transit trains travel through the station, as well as a PATH train and two Acela’s.
1. First Class Car #3201 on Northbound Acela at Newark Penn Station, NJ
2-3. Power Car #2025 on Northbound Acela at Newark Penn Station, NJ
4. Platform work at Newark Penn Station, Track 5
5. NJ Transit Arrow III #1425
6. NJ Transit TVM (Don’t ask me why I took a picture of it)
7. HHP-8 #663 leading Train #91 the Silver Star into Newark, NJ
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The departure board on the platform level showed our train, #91 the Silver Star, as “All Aboard” for the status. We headed out to the platform, having to wait several minutes before it actually pulled in. While on the platform, I noticed crews doing platform work on track 5. Train #91 finally arrived around 11:50, with an interesting consist. Instead of a Heritage Dorm, it had an extra Viewliner, as well as the baggage car with a view (a window). The consist for train #91 was as follows:
Line# Car#
663 HHP-8 Electric Locomotive NYP-WAS
49 P-42 Diesel Locomotive Phase V WAS-JAX
1 P-42 Diesel Locomotive Phase V WAS-MIA
1126 Heritage Baggage Car Phase IV (unique feature: the single window on one side)
62037 “Southern View”, Viewliner Sleeper, Phase IV (acting as the Dorm)
9111 63038 “Spring View”, Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV
9110 62020 “Moonlight View” Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV (refurbished) ßWe traveled here
8507 Heritage Diner Phase IV (Temoinsa Rebuild)
28001 “Atlanta Club” Amfleet II Lounge Phase VI (refurbished)
9140 25090 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
9141 25086 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Concept 2000)
9142 25005 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Concept 2000)
9143 25055 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Concept 2000)
9144 25023 Amfleet II Coach Phase VI
11 Roadrailers were on the rear of our train: PHL-JAX
We sat down to lunch around 12:05. At one point I had to retrieve my book and David’s hat from our room during the meal. Our attendant’s name was Larry, but I’ll mention more about him later. Twice going back towards my room, I was asked if I was traveling in that car, which does show that at least some crew members do keep security in mind, at least some of the time.
For lunch, I ordered a burger, and David got chicken tenders. At this point I turned my scanner on, but it took a while to pick up anything. For dessert, Mom and I had Coffee, and all of us had the Chocolate Bombe. During the meal, we stopped in Trenton, arriving at 12:36, and leaving at 12:38. Despite hearing in several forums that Movies were not being shown in the sleepers, they were showing movies in our car. When the conductor came to collect our ticket, his manifest did show us as traveling to ORL, which eased some of our fears about the trip back, involving the destination change. After Lunch, we returned to the room, and shortly afterward, I walked toward the rear to record the rest of our consist. Getting back to the movies, the video system in our room stopped working, the display showing it needed a new lamp in the screen. We arrived in PHL around 1:05, early on at our stop, our work train passed us. Its consist was as follows:
523 GP40PH Phase III
11815 Orange Safety Paint
11823 Orange Safety Paint
11812 Orange Safety Paint
11831 Orange Safety Paint
11316 Orange Safety Paint
11393 Orange Safety Paint
11624 Orange Safety Paint
11518 Orange Safety Paint
527 GP40PH Phase III
There was a Northbound Regional at the far end of the station. A southbound regional with 651 at the head end pulled in on Track 5 around 1:20, leaving about 2 minutes later. Its consist was as follows:
651 HHP-8 Electric Locomotive
44915 Amfleet I Phase IV
44724 Amfleet I Phase IV
28367 Amfleet I Phase VI
44718 Amfleet I Phase IV
44943 Amfleet I Phase IV
44992 Amfleet I Café Phase VI
The work train left around 1:25. Around this time my mother grew upset, because Larry wasn’t making an effort to address the problem with the movies. He’d told her to call Amtrak, which she did, then said there was nothing they could do. We lost power at 1:30, which I later learned was to add roadrailers to our train. Meanwhile around 1:37, an NJ Transit Atlantic City Line train arrived on track 9. Before that however, Acela Express #2154 arrived, with power car #2014 on the southern end, leaving at 1:46. The Atlantic City Line train left at 1:50. Though my mother was still annoyed with our movie situation, she found our that our neighbors in room B also had experience with Amtrak before, and had come prepared with a DVD player, a Playstation 2, and even AOL. (We had brought a DVD player and CD player along on the trip). We finally regained power at 1:53. Around this time, Larry came around with dinner reservations, we took the 5:30 seating. At 1:35, 951 came in with a Northbound Regional and 917 lead a Southbound regional. The consist for the Southbound Regional was as follows:
917 AEM-7-AC Phase V
82059 Amfleet I Phase VI
82064 Amfleet I Phase VI
21123 Amfleet I Phase IV
82061 Amfleet I Phase V
44606 Amfleet I Phase IV
82034 Amfleet I Phase IV
85001 Amfleet I Phase VI
44983 Amfleet I Phase VI
HHP-8 652 passed on track 7 at 1:58 as the southbound train left. While recording the consist of that train in PHL, the 11 car attendant came and told be I couldn’t stand in the vestibule, when we weren’t even moving! Meanwhile, 2 more Amtrak trains headed north out of Philly. We were basically the only thing not heading anywhere. Just to show how “dedicated” Larry had been so far, he asked us in the beginning of trip, he asked us if we knew how to turn down the beds, or if he had to do it. Apparently, we were almost ready to go, I listened on the scanner as they had to test the brakes before departure. I should mention that the Dining Car crew on this train was outstanding, which made this train basically the opposite of 97, which usually has great Sleeper attendants, and a not-so-great Dining car crew. At least that was the case when I had ridden it in the past. At 1:16, power car #2032 lead a Southbound Acela into the station. Behind it was First Class car #3216. Apparently, train 41 had been in Philadelphia too, but I didn’t see it, just heard its crew on the scanner. The consist for the entire train was as follows (from South end to North end):
2032 Power Car
3216 First Class
3553 Business Class
3556 Business Class
3301 Café Acela
3557 Business Class
3419 End Business Class
2034 Power Car
We finally left Philadelphia at 2:23, 46 minutes late. At a curve South of the station, I saw we still had 663 at the Head End. At that point, I was still unsure on the cause of our delay, but I later found out after a visit from the conductor a few minutes later. Around 2:33, a conductor came to try and address the problems we had. He politely suggested contacting customer service, as a way of getting action/compensation. I found out from him then, that we’d been delayed because they had to add 11 roadrailers on the bottom, doubling the length of our train. I did get to look at the manifest, at which point I found out that 49 and 1 would be the P-42’s added to our train in Washington. Around 2:51, we arrived in Wilmington on track 3. We left Wilmington 2 minutes later, at 2:53, now 48 minutes late. After Wilmington I set up a DVD player and the upper berth for David and Book on CD for my mother. I walked through our car in an unsuccessful search for water. Fortunately, a few minutes later, I found Larry and managed to get a few bottles of water. When taking another walk through the train, we passed what I believe to be train 92 because of the roadrailers. Also, we passed a Regional with inspection car #10002 “Corridor Clipper” on the bottom. We arrived in Baltimore, Maryland at 3:57. As we pulled in, train 148 departed from Track 6, headed for Springfield, Massachusetts. Before leaving, train 133 pulled in, also headed for Washington. I got a partial consist:
915 AEM-7-AC
48913 Amfleet I
44602 Amfleet I
82030 Amfleet I
44723 Amfleet I
44139 Amfleet I
1. Smoking Lounge in Amfleet II #28001 “Atlanta Club”
2-3. Unrefurbished Amfleet II Coach Seats in #25090
4. Interior of Amfleet II #25005
5. Restroom in #25023
6. HHP-8 #651 in Philadelphia 30th Street Station
7-8. Interior of #25023
9. Interior of #25055
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We left Baltimore at 4:04 as train 133 was pulling in, now we were 52 minutes late. We arrived in Washington DC, just before the Capitol Limited, Train 29 departed. Washington was of course where we changed engines. I briefly got off to take a few pictures. Train 29 left the station at 5:27. After it left, I was able to see one of the VRE Sounder sets a few tracks over. I took advantage of this time to get pictures of the lounge, now that it was empty. We left Washington and the Northeast Corridor around 5:31, now 56 minutes late.
1. Amtrak Express Car #71203 on the Capitol Limited #29
2. Heritage Diner #8507 in Washington DC Union Station on Train #91 the Silver Star
3. Heritage Baggage #1717 on the Capitol Limited #29
4. Superliner II Transition Sleeper #39005 on the Capitol Limited #29
5. Heritage Baggage #1717 on the Capitol Limited #29
6. Superliner I Sleeper #32026 on the Capitol Limited #29
7. Amfleet II Lounge #28001 “Atlanta Club” on Train #91 the Silver Star
8. Heritage Diner #8507 on Train #91 the Silver Star
9-10. Interior of Amfleet II Lounge #28001 “Atlanta Club” on Train #91 the Silver Star
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Around 5:40, we were seated in the diner for dinner. I had Pepsi, a New York Strip Steak and for dessert, Coffee and Ice Cream. Mom had the same thing, except for having a Diet Pepsi and the Chocolate Bombe. David had a Pepsi and Macaroni and Cheese. During the meal, we stopped in Alexandria, leaving at 5:45, 49 minutes late. Alexandria, like Washington also hosts the Washington Metro, and Virginia Railway Express. We were seated with a woman that was headed to Kissimmee, Florida. From there, she was headed to Melbourne, Florida where she had family living there. She’d been fairly familiar with Silver Service and the Auto Train, so we discussed the service a little, and a little comparison with the Auto Train. Towards the end of the meal, David started getting impatient, so I took my coffee to the room. I charged my scanner and camera, and just sat there, writing and enjoying the view and the sunset.
My mother went to the lounge to get snacks shortly after returning from dinner. After she returned, David again watched a DVD, and Mom the CD, while I of course listened to the scanner. We arrived in Richmond, Virginia (Staples Mill Road) at 7:53. In Richmond, a CSX freight passed on one of the adjacent tracks. We had been on track 4, while Train #83 arrived on Track 3. Our train was long enough where it blocked the pedestrian crossing between the station and platform. Because of a lack of personnel, we had to wait for one employee to unload the baggage, then to go back, and then load the mail. I didn’t see train #83 until it left at 8:17, until it pulled out at 8:17, with P-42 #3 and an all Phase VI consist of Amfleet I’s. We waited until we got a slow clear, leaving at 8:30, without the mail. (Our crew had told James, who had been handling the Baggage/Mail that we would only wait until the slow clear, then he’d have to put the mail on another train). We were now 1:41 late. After Richmond, my mother went to sleep, while David and I still stayed up. We left Petersburg, Virginia at 9:07, about 1:45 late. I decided to go to bed at 9:15.
Day 2- April 3, 2004
I woke up at 6:05, somewhere north of Savannah. At 6:30, we walked to the diner for breakfast, only to find it packed. We gave one of the attendant’s our name, number of people, and headed back to the room.
We arrived at Savannah at 6:53, leaving at 6:55, now 1:33 late. It was exciting to see the American Orient Express in the station, even for my mother. Around 7:00, we tried our luck at the Dining Car again. Breakfast was perhaps the best meal of the train. My mother and I went for Eggs and Potatoes, Coffee and Croissant, while David had the Pancakes and Orange Juice. We passed by Jesup, Georgia at 7:46, which is served only by the Silver Meteor. Afterwards, we headed back to the room. Once again, my mother used her CD player, while David and I looked out the window. Around 9:40, Larry informed us that we could watch movies in one of the unoccupied rooms if we wanted to.
1. P-42 #15 in Savannah, Georgia leading the American Orient Express
2. P-42 #17 in Savannah
3. Baggage Car on the AOE
4. Sleeper “Pacific Star” on the AOE
5. Sleeper “Grand Canyon”
6. Dining Car “San Francisco”
7. Sleeper “Istanbul"
8-9. “Santa Fe”
10-11. Sleeper “Berlin”
12-13. Observation “New York”
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When we arrived in Jacksonville, Florida, Mom and David headed into the station, while I took a few pictures. Here, P-42 #49 and the 11 roadrailers were removed from the train. Meanwhile, two tracks over, a southbound CSX train was stopped, waiting for us. Around 9:35, we lost HEP to handle the roadrailers, and moved a little. We left at 9:38, passing engine #49 about 5 minutes later now 1:23 late. At the Beaver St. crossover, I made sure to get a few pictures because of the wide curve, and the ability to see the front and rear of the train. We got to Palatka, the second stop in Florida at 10:49. I enjoyed having our car stopped right at the grade crossing, seeing all of those cars stopped in long lines, waiting for us. We left around 10:50, 1:16 late. Before Deland, my mother began to pack, as preparation for our arrival in to Orlando, a few stops further down the line. We left Deland at 11:40, 1:17 late. Around this time, I heard that 98 was still on time. As we arrived in Sanford, I was of course able to see the Auto Train, getting ready for its departure just a few hours away, as well as its facility. We left at 12:01, 1:18 late. We left Winter Park, perhaps the nicest stop along the entire route, at 12:23, 1:14 late. From there it was the home stretch, the last miles before Orlando. I found myself just taking in the view for that remainder. We arrived in Orlando at 12:40 PM, 1:16 late.
1-2. Viewliner Sleeper #62038 “Spring View” in Jacksonville, Florida
3. Viewliner Sleeper #62037 “Southern View” in Jacksonville, Florida
4. Heritage Diner #8507 in Jacksonville, Florida
5-6. Amfleet II Lounge #28001 “Atlanta Club” in Jacksonville, Florida
7. Viewliner Sleeper #62020 “Moonlight View” in Jacksonville, Florida
8-9. Amfleet II Coach #25090 in Jacksonville, Florida
10. Amfleet II Lounge #28001 “Atlanta Club” in Jacksonville, Florida
11. Amfleet II Coach #25086 in Jacksonville, Florida
12. Amfleet II Coach #25005 in Jacksonville, Florida
13. Heritage Diner #8507 in Jacksonville, Florida
14. Viewliner Sleeper #62037 “Southern View” in Jacksonville, Florida
15. Heritage Baggage Car #1126 in Jacksonville, Florida
16. Looking towards the Head End in Jacksonville, Florida
17-18. Looking towards the Head End at the Beaver Street Crossover, south of Jacksonville, Florida
19-20. Looking towards the Bottom (rear) of the train, Beaver Street Crossover, south of Jacksonville, Florida
21. Auto Train Station, Sanford, Florida
22. Auto Carriers being loaded at the Auto Train Terminal, Sanford, Florida
23. Superliner II Coach and Sleeper in Sanford, Florida
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Once we got off, my grandfather was there waiting for us. It was nice seeing him for the first time since the previous summer. We walked towards the baggage claim, where a long line formed. It took a while for the 5 people working at the station to handle all of the baggage. I convinced my mother to let me get a picture of the head end, just before the train left. I got the picture just seconds before 91 pulled out. Afterwards, my grandfather and I headed back towards Mom and David at the baggage claim, just as the bags were being brought back. After we got our bags, an announcement was made that Train #98 was only 17 minutes away from the station. I found it hard to believe that the personnel would be able to handle the line and the arriving train in such a short time span. Nevertheless, we headed for the Westgate Villas.
The Picture links to a larger sized image of #1 leading Train #91.
1. Amfleet II Coach #25023 in Orlando, Florida as many passengers detrain from the Silver Star
2. Amfleet II Coach #25086 in Orlando, Florida as many passengers detrain from the Silver Star
3. Amfleet II Coach #25023 in Orlando, Florida
4. Amfleet II Coach #25055 in Orlando, Florida
5. Amfleet II Coach #25005 in Orlando, Florida
6. Looking towards the head end of Train #91, the Silver Star in Orlando, Florida
7. Looking towards the head end of Train #91, the Silver Star in Orlando, Florida, with a lot of baggage that needs to be unloaded
8-9. P-42 #1 in Jacksonville, Florida
10. A look inside Baggage Car #1126 and at the window in it.
11. Amfleet II Coach #25023 Bringing up the Rear of #91
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