Thank you for the information. I had no idea about Ft. Monroe. I tried to find the NS frequency but ended up just using the scan function and hoping. Ironically, it's the same frequency as in my neck of the woods. As for the rail, parts of it weren't bad, but it certainly did have parts that were jarring. I could see it being nostalgic for a scenic ride.

Is Buckingham Branch replacing all the jointed rail on the Amtrak portion? I am guessing with money from VDOT?

I hope they replace the sub ballast as well. It's the sub ballast that supports the train. You can have smooth looking continues rail and it will ride very rough if the sub ballast is worn out. Trains maybe able to run 79 mph on that section if the signaling is up to that speed.

Thank you so much Anthony. I really do appreciate it. I'm hopeful to take the California Zephyr or Empire builder in the next 2-3 years (it's tough getting time off from work). I am going to take the Coast Starlight (San Francisco [Emeryville], California to Los Angeles) next summer. I'm really looking forward to that trip. I hope you continue to enjoy Amtrak and all the places it goes. Let me know if you'll ever be in Cincinnati and I'd love to get your thoughts on the system. I hope you have a great day.

@@nkyrailfan the only time I have been to Cincinnati is when passing through on the Cardinal ! I really must make a special visit, though the Cardinal stops there at most awkward times ! Enjoy the Coast Starlight, as the scenery is stunning !

That is one heck of a Christmas story! Never heard of camping on Amtrak 😂😂😂

When was this nightmare trip?!

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. I agree. I think the Southwest Chief sounds like a great trip. Although, I think I'd try to pick it up in San Antonio. I'd also like to do the California Zephyr from Denver to Emeryville.

Thanks for the great info, Greg. I do appreciate it. I will definitely see about making it out there in October. That sounds like a whole lot of fun and I would love to check out the bridge.

Thanks for the info. I'd rather the Cardinal terminate in DC and have Superliners than its current consist. I figured it would be first to get picked over since it seems to be a route Amtrak doesn't want to keep.

@@nkyrailfan Well, there are more direct routes between NYC and Chicago (Lakeshore Limited) and DC and Chicago (Capital Limited), so the board sees the Cardinal as a redundant route. Maybe if the Cardinal had a different western terminus (DC, Cincinnati, St. Louis), it wouldn't be treated so poorly. However, the Cardinal did get a $500,000 FRA grant as part of the Corridor ID Program to restore it to daily service. The Sunset Limited received a similar grant for the same reason. We will see if either pans out.

I wish the Cardinal could be split in two from Cincinnati or maybe Huntington , WVa and terminating in DC in the east. I think it's a worthwhile route in both directions but the timing of it really limits it's usefulness for people. If it left at a decent time, I'd happily take it to Chicago. We'll see what changes take place with the new Amtrak funding.

@@TheFarix2723 Amtrak is expected to finish their FY 2021 refurbishment program by the end of 2024 bringing 12 wrecked Superliner cars back into service. For the Sunset Limited to restore back to a daily service Amtrak will have to scratch up three train sets. Maybe, maybe not. Cross your fingers Amtrak doesn't suffer another derailment of Superliner cars... Hopefully, I didn't jinx Amtrak...

Thank you very much. I do appreciate it. I hope VA DOT does upgrade the BBRR line.

I am surprised I missed the Blue Ridge Mountain Tunnel. It's because I'm not familiar with this area and didn't know to look for it.

Thanks for the clarification Curtis, I do appreciate it.

Thanks, Douglas. I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the video. I agree the Cardinal is not for folks looking to take it from Chicago to DC or NYC or vice versa, but I certainly see the usefulness for the WV and VA towns. It would be great if Amtrak could put an observation car in the consist so people could really enjoy the New River Gorge and more.

My thoughts exactly Pamela. An observation car would add a lot to the Cardinal. I hear all three Chicago to the west coast trains feature stunning scenery. I hope you're able to make that trip sooner rather than later.

I recently had my first Amtrak trip. I rode the Blue Water in coach from East Lansing, MI to Chicago (that's a 4-hour ride) and business class back. Business class seating is better than coach. However, I can't picture myself in those seats for 24 hours or more. That would be absolute agony. I would rather get a roomette. But for the price and the time it takes, in my view, taking a plane is more practical for cross-country trips.

My thoughts exactly! Great for shorter trips but not so for anything longer.

Thanks for all the great info and riding experience, Nathan. You certainly know your Amtrak trains. I never thought about your point on overnight travelers, but that would be tough to deal with if you're heading from anywhere west of Cincinnati east.

I agree with you regarding the smaller WVa towns, and for folks living there, it's great to have since it comes through at a reasonable hour and gets you to DC at a decent hour. I just wish they could schedule it to come through the western half at a decent time. I'd love to take it to Chicago, but it makes zero sense to do so with its schedule. Hopefully, with all the money Amtrak is receiving, the Cardinal gets an upgrade. You're right about the turntable. A satellite view shows a turntable at the very northeast corner of the yard.

Thank you as always. It was a lot more difficult than I expected to put the video together. It was fun though to revisit the trip while going through the footage. The other KZfaqrs' videos I thought added a great deal in mixing it up, and showing the surrounding areas.

Glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend too!

@@nkyrailfan Your welcome and thanks also.

That's great! Hopefully, continuously-welded rail is in the future.

I never heard about this idea, but it would make sense. Crazy you can't go from Indy to St. Louis!

@@NYCS19339absolutely!

I desire Amtrak return the Burlington Texas Zephyr from Denver to Houston via Colorado Springs, Amarillo, and Dallas-Fort Worth... I recall the Burlington T-bone steak with a stuffed baked potato. None of this frozen entrees microwaved crap. Just this train alone would finally get Amtrak to provide a direct daily service between Dallas and Houston, two of the ten largest metros in the second largest populated state in America. Without any doubt whatsoever, Texas is poorly served by Amtrak. Imagine a metro of nearly SEVEN million not having a daily Amtrak train.... Pathetic...

You could just take to trains. One from Indiana to Illinois, and the other train to Missouri.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! That's pretty cool we passed each other. Do you get to ride very often?

@@nkyrailfan I really never, that was my first ever Amtrak ride

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm hopeful to ride it a few more times. I'd love to catch it in the fall as the leaves change color.

I have had local flooding cancel Amtrak trips. I have also had flights and cruises cancelled, delayed, and ports rearranged as well.

Thanks for the info Scott. I do appreciate it.

Thank you very much for the info Gregg, I do appreciate it.

I hope to travel the country via Amtrak one day. It's just a matter of getting the time off and deciding on a route.

Thanks for sharing Cory, I do appreciate it. I'm envious of all the routes you've been able to ride. I hope to ride as many as I can over the coming years. Living in the Cincinnati area, it is frustrating to experience the NEC and how relatively efficient it is and then try to get anywhere else in the system in a timely manner.

I think it was more the rattling of the car than the tracks themselves. When the car wasn't rattling it wasn't bad and almost faded into the background like white noise. Also, since I didn't have any sleep, that probably played a little role in my disdain of the section.

I would certainly say your service helps in that regard. I also bet traveling from DC to Cincinnati is not as bad since you get the rough trackage out of the way and then have the beautiful scenery. Plus, you're not leaving in the middle of the night like you are if you travel from Cincinnati or Indianapolis for instance. As for the trackage, who knows, It may have just been a while since they had replaced it and all the joints were getting worn out.

@@nkyrailfan I heard it's slightly better going west then east. Would I do it again? Maybe if I went longer, like New York to San Francisco 🤔

@@nkyrailfan last replacement was between 1938-48 which was probably a replacement of the original 1850 rail. Various spots have already been replaced and all will be replaced by 2025 except for the 9 mile section between Orange and Gordonsville. BB recently received a federal grant for rail, bridge and crossing replacements as well as tunnel upgrades. All of it is for the North Mtn sub between Gordonsville and Clifton Forge which is what Amtrak runs on. The orange brach which is the 9 mile section that connects to NS wasn't mentioned in the grant but BB already put alot of money in to fix track so trains could go 60 instead of 10. They fixed ties and ballast and cleared right of way but didn't put in new rail.

@@charlottesvillerailfan Is there any local traffic on the BB? From the video, it seems still to be used by CSX for empties returning from Newport News. CSX got quite a deal... sold to BBRR, retain trackage rights and gets the state of VA to upgrade the track.

Thank you for the great information, I really do appreciate it. I hope you like the video. Have a great day

My guess is you met the empty grain train at Afton. There are two more sidings before Charlottesville, at Crozet and Ivy.

@@fakecumberland there's also two rast of Charlottesville as well. I believe the coal train I mentioned held off on the peidmont sub in Gordonsville so people on Amtrak wouldn't have been able to see it.

Thank you. I should have double checked to see how it was pronounced.

These things aren’t intuitive. Also, Rye-vanna, like Savannah.

Thank you for the detailed response Jay. I do appreciate it. I agree with your points for the most part. I would love it if Amtrak were given the money and infrastructure (I would like to see Amtrak use eminent domain and place tracks next to CSX/NS/BNSF/UP so it no longer needed to use the freight rails) needed to improve and increase service, but given the politics in America and lobbying forces against Amtrak, I don't see that happening. As for your point about long distance trains serving intermediate markets, I would argue a hub-and-spoke bus service from medium size cities would better serve many of the communities served by Amtrak. I think partnering with regional, state and local agencies to provide bus service to those surrounding areas and reducing the number of small town stops on trains like the Cardinal would improve efficiency, decrease trip time and enable more people to ride at a reasonable cost. Granted extremely isolated places like Thurmond, WV would likely not fit into that model, but they wouldn't need to given the extremely low ridership. Given the high cost-to-revenue (I believe the Cardinal is the #2 worst train in terms of revenue), I feel that money could be used elsewhere in the system more efficiently. I think the only way to improve Amtrak service outside the NEC is to make it more efficient to draw more riders and more revenue. Unfortunately, I think the only way to do that is to cut service to some spots to decrease trip times to make it more attractive to those in larger markets. I think your comment about the interstate highway system traveling through rural areas highlights my premise. The interstate travels through those areas, but does not have exits for every small town along the way. It may have an entrance/exit ramp every 10-20 miles (even further in extremely sparsely populated areas like Wyoming and Montana), which means anyone living in one of those communities must travel a bit before being able to enter the highway. I was unable to find stats regarding how many people use Amtrak's longer routes for intermediate service for cities less than 200 miles away. I think that number should have a role in dictating service levels. If there are a high number of people going from Staunton, VA to Alexandria, VA for instance then it would dictate keeping both stops. However, if most of the people getting on at Staunton are heading to D.C. or points further north, I would argue that means service stops should be cut and someone would be better suited taking a bus to a place like Charlottesville and then riding. Lastly, I was actually planning two Amtrak trips before writing this. One is to the New England area via the Ethan Allen north and then the Vermonter back to NYC. The second is a trip on the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Los Angeles. I do plan to ride the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief at least once each because I think the views are worth the extended trip time. To sum it up, I am all for Amtrak and wish it would receive the funding needed, but I don't see that happening and until it can become more of a revenue generator, there will always be those fighting against it. I think strong passenger rail service benefits everyone by forcing bus and air travel to remain somewhat competitive. I look forward to further Amtrak discussion in the future and hope you have a great day Jay.

Will do. Thanks for the offer!

I am hoping to take the Zephyr one day as well. It certainly looks incredible.

I think the track is scheduled for an upgrade in the coming years. Hopefully, that's true and it gets continuous-welded rail.

I'm not sure, Patrick. Because the building doubles as a museum and event space, it has a very large parking lot. However, I'm not sure what the rule is for leaving your car there for more than a few days. I wouldn't think it would be that big of an issue, but I would double check before doing it.

I hope you enjoy the trip. You'll get to see most of the beautiful stuff during the day. As for which side is best, it depends. There two routes it can take through part of the trip so one side might be better for that portion and the other might be better on the other line. Either side should give a great view. Where are you taking it to and from? Or are you doing the entire route from NYC to CHI?

@@nkyrailfan Thanks for the info! I'll be riding from Manassas, VA to Indy.

Nice. I hope you enjoy the trip. Please report back and let me know what you think after the trip.

@@nkyrailfan Will do, thanks!

​@nkyrailfan PS, I think the passing Amtrak around the 33:00 mark is a NE regional bound for Roanoke, VA. I've ridden that route and there is brief overlap with the Cardinal.

Unfortunately, I was in and out in less than a day. I was only there for about 12 hours.