The Vermonter pulls into the station.

The day after our wedding, Andrew and Dan had to return to Washington, DC. They took the Vermonter from White River Junction in Vermont. It's a 12 hour ride. I drove them down Sunday morning. We had breakfast at P&H Truck Stop at Exit 17 of I-91.. It's the best place for breakfast (read articles about it here and here). I made sure the boys had lunch so that they wouldn't need to buy Amtrak food, and we finished the ride to White River. We arrived 10 minutes before the train. Now I could get my Amtrak photos! I took the portrait of the boys below, and it was time to board. (Note the hazy sky — we had not heard of the Quebec forest fires at this point, and I remember wondering why the usually sparkling Vermont air was dirty as if we were in Connecticut.)

Dan & Andrew just before boarding.

I took advantage of the time between when they boarded and when the train left the station to take too many photographs. Here are a few with a couple of links to more:

The boys board the train.

The Vermont leaves White River

The White River train station.

Note the cupola and copper locomotive weather vane on the train station in the photo above. I have a full size photograph of the weather vane on meeyauw's Photo a Day that is worth a look.

Engine 148 was at the end of the Vermonter.

A sad moment: the Vermonter was on its way to Washington

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Plaque on Engine 494

On the day before our wedding, one of my jobs was to pick Andrew and Dan up at the railroad station in White River Junction (the closest train station to us, one and a half hours away to the south). Of course I had my camera with me. I have always wanted some Amtrak photos. I had some Amtrak photos on our 2006 train ride to Washington, DC. But I left the camera on the train and lost the photos! So May 28 was my day to take more photos, with a better camera, of Amtrak trains.

Engine 494

While waiting for Andrew's train to get in, I took these photos of old Engine 494. I have copied the text of the information below. When I was done, the train from Washington came in. And my camera battery died. So much for the Amtrak photos!

Engine shelter, coal tender and caboose

B&M Engine 494 Restoration Project

Boston & Maine Railroad No. 494 was built by the Manchester Locomotive Works in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1892 and served B&M hauling passenger cars and light freight. The engine was renumbered No. 905 in 1911. Near the end of its service, the 905 hauled coal for the Mount Washington Cog Railway and was retired in 1938. In 1939, the 905 was restored to No. 494 for display at the 1939 World's Fair. Donated to the Town of Hartford (VT) and dedicated on July 27, 1957. This equipment was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1995.

The current restoration project was officially launched on September 13, 1997. The three major prioities of this restoration are:

1. Stabilization
2. Construction of a Shelter
3. Cosmetic Restoration

Major funding for the restoration project is made possible by a ISTEA Federal Grant, White River Junction Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and volunteers contributing their time, energy and expertise.

Engine 494, its Tender and Caboose are owned by the Town of Hartford Parks & Recreation Department. The structures are routinely maintained by dedicated members of the Engine 494 Restoration Committee.

For more information call the Hartford Parks & Recreation Department, (802) 295-5036. Inquiries & donations can be sent to Engine 494 Restoration, 17 Bridge St, White River Jct., Vermont 05001.

Coal tender

Caboose

Train weather vane on White River Junction station

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We left the hotel at 6:30 AM and thought we would grab a taxi. We got a limo instead (actually just a large black car) but the price was the same. We drove by Vermont Avenue and Martin Luther again.

Now that I was awake and was to spend so much time waiting in Union Station, I had an opportunity to appreciate how large and beautiful it is. This small photograph of the barrels and arches inside is linked to a page with more photos. (You have to look up the history of the station yourself.) I kept imagining Louisa May Alcott arriving here to nurse the Civil War soldiers so the whole experience for me had enormous romance. When you leave the station the Capitol dome is visible straight ahead.

Finally we boarded the train (Amy never left the waiting area!) and as soon as the train began moving, I fell asleep. I woke up at various times to see Wilmington, Delaware; the Delaware Memorial Bridge, New York City, and New Haven. We changed engines in New Haven and I wish I had called ahead to Anna to ask her to meet us, if only for a few minutes. It was much colder by then and I wished I had worn something warmer.

In Springfield, we went into the station and got a couple of Pepsis and stretched our legs.

We got into White River Junction at 6:30pm, just as advertised. It was very cold and wet. We tried to find a place to eat but everything seemed closed and we got lost, so we went home. The weather deteriorated as we went north: from rain to fog to snow. Lots of snow at Sheffield Heights, and during moose season, too. So I took it easy while Amy fretted and called Andy to pick her up at my house (so she wouldn’t have to spend anymore time with me as necessary!). He came soon after we arrived: with my cats!

And the next day I went back to work exhausted, disoriented and sad.

Now I know why business on Amtrak is disappearing. There is little separating them as a passenger train from a cattle car. We arrived in White River one hour before the train was to arrive. Amy argued with me about every single thing I was taking, especially the 2nd computer that I brought for her in case she wanted to play a game alone or play a networked game with me.

We all got our stuff to the train station and parked the car in the long term parking area. If you leave your car overnight, a man comes and tours the lot and leaves a bill on your car for the parking. When you return you have to figure out how much you owe them and mail it in. If you don't, and if you ever want to park overnight there again, they have kept track of your license plate and will tow you away.

The train was over an hour late. It was cool outside, but it was exciting. A whole four days together with the kids! I didn't even blink an eye at a twelve hour train ride. All of my previous (short) train rides had been fun. So this would be even more fun.

We sat backwards until Springfield. The scenery was great in most areas of Vermont. But the trip dragged on and on and on and on. There was a smoking stop in Springfield. Then in New Haven. It was not dark yet. I wish I had told Anna we were going to be there so that she could meet us. I still missed her nearly every single day.

The bathrooms on the train were just awful. Small and filthy. They were never cleaned the whole trip. The food was worse! The train was cramped. After 8 hours you begin to feel it. Amy had brought food but not enough for this length of time. I had made many assumptions: that the food on the train would be better, that there would be longer stops so that we could buy something somewhere. I assumed that Amtrak had actual train stations that served a purpose. But none of that happened.

The conductors changed occasionally. The last one we had wanted to set the world's land record to Washington so that we would not be late. How do you make up 90 minutes on a train? Somehow he managed to cut the time lost down to 30 minutes. He was reasonably good tempered but I still didn't like him. He was too familiar, and played favorites with too many people.

We finally got into Union Station about 11:30 PM. We got a cab to Andrew's building and he came down. Then we all walked to Rhode Island Avenue, with all our bags, to the Helix Hotel. Nothing about this reunion came about the way I visualized it. I had no time with Andrew, and Andrew seemed tense. He did not want us upstairs. All I wanted was to go to bed. Andrew and Amy walked way ahead of me as if I had cooties (that continued the whole weekend).

The Helix is a fun hotel. Clean, pretty, very fifties retro. The furniture in the rooms is flimsy but the bed was great. The TV was great. But you could barely turn around in the room because it was so small. My room was on the tenth floor overlooking the front of the building, with the patio area for the restaurant/bar directly underneath.

Once in the room, I could relax and be myself. The tension left me. This was going to be a great trip! I didn't get to bed until after 1 AM.

But I had left my camera on the train at Union Station. So all the photographs for these four days are from my 2003 airplane trip to Washington or are from flickr photos.

Technorati tags: Amtrak Washington+DC Helix+Hotel
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