Amtrak Guest Rewards - Anniston, AL to Indianapolis. Interesting routes/trains?

Hi everyone-

I need to get from Anniston, AL to Indianapolis. I have lots of time and am considering stopping in 1 or more cities along the way.

The most direct route appears to be through Charlottesville, but I am interested in alternative routes. Seeing DC, Philly, NY, etc are options.

My question to this forum isn't what city I should visit, but rather what routes give me the coolest trains? I have only taken Amtrak twice, once when I was a kid (AL to Chicago but don't rememeber the route), and once LA-San Diego.

I would like to have a nice, interesting, and comfortable journey and travel time is a very low consideration.

Thanks for your help!

The Cardinal (the one that connects in Charlottesville) is arguably the most scenic--the New River Gorge in West Virginia is one of the more pretty parts of the country Amtrak travels through.

However, the Cardinal is also the eastern U.S.'s ....... child train--it only runs three times a week, only has one sleeping car (that also houses the crew, so there are only a couple of rooms available to the public), and only has a cruddy Diner-Lite that serves a very limited menu and doubles as the lounge.

The Capitol Limited (WAS-CHI) probably has the best equipment. It runs double-decker Superliner cars, has a Sightseer Lounge (domed windows--great place to watch scenery!) in the consist, and a true dining car (well, it's what they call the "Cross Country Cafe," which has a slightly more limited menu than a full-featured dining car such as on the Empire Builder but also sometimes features some very good regional specialties). It also has very nice scenery through the mountains of West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Lake Shore Limited would allow you to spend time in NY, but it's single-level equipment with a Diner-Lite, and most of the scenery it passes by (including its namesake lake) is at night. The first part out of NYP up the Hudson River valley is quite scenic, though.

IMO the cardinal takes FOREVER......the lake shore limited isn't bad but for some reason each time i have taken it, several pax were removed in Rochester by immigration.....

The Cap Limited is my second favorite train after the EB (haven't taken any others except the CoNO)

The Capitol Limited (WAS-CHI) probably has the best equipment. It runs double-decker Superliner cars, has a Sightseer Lounge (domed windows--great place to watch scenery!) in the consist, and a true dining car (well, it's what they call the "Cross Country Cafe," which has a slightly more limited menu than a full-featured dining car such as on the Empire Builder but also sometimes features some very good regional specialties).

The Capitol Limited's menu is the same as many of the other Long Distance trains and is not limited in any way. It uses the same menu as the Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Cal Zephyr, the Silver Service, and the Sunset Limited.

IMO the cardinal takes FOREVER......the lake shore limited isn't bad but for some reason each time i have taken it, several pax were removed in Rochester by immigration...I've taken the Lake Shore Limited only once in the last 15 years (westbound) and someone was also pulled off the train in Rochester.

Hi everyone-

I need to get from Anniston, AL to Indianapolis. I have lots of time and am considering stopping in 1 or more cities along the way.

Thanks for your help!

You have a choice of going:

north to Washington DC on the Cresent and taking the Cardinal to Indy

north to Washington DC and taking the Capital to Chicago and the Cardinal to Indy or

north to New York and taking the Lake Shore to Chicago and then the Cardinal....

or going south to New Orleans and a train to Chicago and then the Cardinal.

The Cardinal only runs a few days a week from Washington to Indy so you could build a stop over into your schedule.

Bob H

Thanks everyone for the advice. The Cardinal looked like sub-par equipment so that's why I was thinking of another route. I didn't know it had such great scenery though, so maybe I'll consider it.

Going through New Orleans was a thought, though it would be a bit crazy routing. Any unique experiences going this route?

Any advice on Amtrak's search engine to get different options? Should I try to buy a trip with a stopover or seperate tickets? It seems difficult to use when you have flexible travel plans, especially when certain trains don't run every day.

Maverick,
I wouldn't discount a Charlottesville layover as an option, to be frank. Charlottesville has a LOT to offer and is, IMHO, well worth a day visit. But if you want some variety, here's what I'd suggest, especially if you want a good sampling of Amtrak's equipment.

Unless you're up for a road trip to Mississippi to catch the City of New Orleans, you're looking at single-level equipment in and out of Anniston. That's fine--we'll just have to work in some double-decker equipment later in the trip.

1). Take the Crescent to Washington, DC; you'll have a half-day layover there where there's PLENTY to do. If you need ideas, just let me know.

2). Take the Capitol Limited from DC to Chicago. The Capitol runs with double-decker Superliner equipment and is the only east coast-touching train with that option (aside from the Auto Train). The superliner equipment is much roomier and more adventurous than the single level cars on the Crescent and Cardinal.

3). From Chicago, take the Cardinal or Hoosier State eastbound to Indianapolis. The Cardinal runs out of Chicago on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and the Hoosier State runs the rest of the week in the same timeslot. An advantage to timing your trip for a Cardinal departure from Chicago is the fact that you'll be able to get a waited dinner on the train out of Chicago.

4). After Indianapolis, catch the eastbound Cardinal to Charlottesville. The reason I'm recommending you head east is because the Cardinal has some of the best scenery Amtrak has to offer east of the Mississippi River, and you stand to see the most of it when heading on the eastbound timing, even if the train is running late.

5). Again, I personally think Charlottesville is one of Amtrak's best kept layover location secrets. You are literally within walking distance of a ton of really good restaurants; the UVA campus is also walking distance (about a 10-15 min walk) and the historic significance alone is worth a trip. Besides the Jeffersonian dome of the library, which Jefferson designed, you can also go see Edgar Allen Poe's room on the colonnade. You are also walking distance from downtown Charlottesville's main street, which is now a closed-to-traffic outdoor mall, complete with restaurants, patio eating in the middle of the brick-paved street, and a classic three-screen (I think) movie theater, which is great to help kill the layover.

Rafi

Thanks Rafi for the detailed examples. :) Lots to think about.

Worth noting though, that I am just doing a 1-way trip. I need to get from Anniston to Indianapolis, but I'm driving back to Anniston from there. So i don't think I'd do both Chicago and Charlottesville but I could stop in Charlottesville on the way to DC.

5). Again, I personally think Charlottesville is one of Amtrak's best kept layover location secrets. You are literally within walking distance of a ton of really good restaurants; the UVA campus is also walking distance (about a 10-15 min walk) and the historic significance alone is worth a trip. Besides the Jeffersonian dome of the library, which Jefferson designed, you can also go see Edgar Allen Poe's room on the colonnade. You are also walking distance from downtown Charlottesville's main street, which is now a closed-to-traffic outdoor mall, complete with restaurants, patio eating in the middle of the brick-paved street, and a classic three-screen (I think) movie theater, which is great to help kill the layover.

Rafi

Agree wholeheartedly. I had a layover in CVS (Amtrak's code for Charlottesville) between my northbound Crescent from CLT and my westbound Cardinal to CHI. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there--so much so that I went back and spent a full three days in CVS (well, it helped that I had a friend at UVa to bum around with). The pedestrian mall is full of great shops and restaurants, and the historic UVa campus is definitely worth a few hours of your time. There's a free shuttle bus that loops around the city and college campus that makes sightseeing really easy.

It's harder to get to Monticello without a car, but if you can figure out some way to do that, I'd highly recommend it as well. Given the amount of things to do in CVS itself, though, I don't think you'd have enough time to get up there on a layover between the Crescent and Cardinal.