A little context
This year, I’ve been working diligently to pay off my consumer debt, in addition to “getting to zero” as a general goal, it has me thinking about a lot of things in life. I want to lead a more interesting life for myself and really get out of my little world and experience more in life. I’ve questioned the work-life balance I’m used to working from home, living with my folks (that is financially helping all of this be posible) and what is next for me.
In the mix of all of these thoughts, I’ve decided that I want to travel. In getting to zero and staying there (maybe one day even net positive), I’ll need to do so inexpensively.
The idea of traveling on trains came from a few experiences, let’s talk about what really is shaping this interest. I loathe travel on commercial airlines. I sometimes travel from Ohio to Maryland for work. I used to fly, but I now drive and my colleagues think I’m crazy for a six hour drive over a plane ride.
There’s something old-world and romantic about a train ride; a nod to a more simple time when transportation was “when you got there”. I’ve been part of the rat race for long enough. I am ready for life to slow down and start adding value to my own life for a change
How does one ride a train in America? I checked out their website to see where the closest station was, when I’d be able to board, cost and travel time; doing the reverse for the return trip. I booked both tickets from Alliance, Ohio to Union Station in Pittsburgh and back for the tidy sum of $50. No unadvertised taxes or fees.
Still needed to arrange transit to and from the stations. I asked my retired parents to drop my off ohio side and would take the bus from union station with a short walk to my friends house.
Unlike a local bus line, Amtrak service at my station runs once per day each way early in the morning, instead of multiple regular intervals during the day.
Arriving at the Platform
At a busier station with multiple platforms might need more time, especially if there are unclear concerns like where to park or the station entrance… more on that later. 10 minutes before hand will suffice for Alliance, Ohio
While waiting in the vehicle before heading out to the platform, the Capitol Limited was delayed by commercial freight traffic for about 30 minutes along the route. Since Amtrak does not own most of the railroads they travel on, they are subjected to delays from priority freight that traveling on trains owned by the railroad owners.
I had a chance to talk to an older chap waiting at the platform for his granddaughter to arrive. I’m retired at heart so we both got to talk about music, current events, and other musings. I appreciated that he was wearing a felt had and drove to the station in a late 1980s sedan, complete with white wall tires!
Once the train arrived, the attendant opened the door on the superliner car and asked me for my name. After confirming who I was, she told me where I could drop my bags and head up two the second level and grab a any seat as most were free. This was a welcome experience in firm juxtaposition with any airline I have flown on. It was a simple as walking down the aisle and picking a seat. The attendant stopped by to write the three-letter code for my destination and stuck it within the fabric upholstry of the overhead storage area, apologized for the delay and talked for a few minutes with we had both worked in transportation.
Since I had barely slept, I took up the attendant’s offer to wake me up 5 minutes before we arrived in Pittsburgh; getting some well-needed rest. It took me a few minutes to fall asleep. I wore some noise cancelling headphones and leaned against the window and stared out at America’s crumbling infrastructure, slowly drifting out of consciousness from the gentle rocking of the train.
Let’s take a moment and talk about coach seating on Amtrak. Coach seats are the cheapest ways to travel the rails, but they still come with perks that buses and planes can only dream of – namely, space.
- There are two seats on each side of the aisle. One window, one aisle and they are pretty comfortable
- Coach seats can recline nearly 35 degrees and have leg support like a recliner that locks into place. a foot switch in front of you lowers a foot rest into one of two positions depending on how tall you are.
- Each seat has access to a 120-volt standard wall plug. I take my laptop everywhere, so this would be great for future trips.
- The train had Wi-Fi, but my phone was unable to connected to it. I suspect that the infrastructure is old and needs replacing to suit more users and more bandwidth, but I was able to use my phone’s data connection just as easily.
- Overhead, you will find a reading light for each seat.
- Bathrooms are available on the lower level of each car and are spacious.
Arrival in Pittsburgh
The attendant woke me up before arriving. I put my coat on, grabbed my bags and went downstairs where I was advised to “watch my step” and hopped off the train to the platform.
I followed the other passengers down the platform to the station lobby, which at one point, I’m sure was nice, but seems to have collected some “deferred maintenance”. One of the escalators was out of service, as was an automatic door near the exit. The building was clean but felt a bit run down, but for $30 to avoid 90 minutes of driving, I had no complaints.
I spent a few minutes getting my bearings and looked for someplace to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich on my way to pick up the bus.
It was a little ethereal, being in a big city during the twilight hours. It was dark, fairly cold – somewhere around 40 degrees and was misting rain a little. The streetlights and signs reflected of the large windows of the dark buildings. The quiet interrupted only by buses starting their routes. I really enjoyed that sense of peace.
It looked as if the city was trying to put together some German Christmas Village on the southern section near the Dunkin’ Donuts, that was unfortunately closed. A continuing the walk lead me to streel-level McDonald’s where I snagged a disappointing coffee that operated more as a hand warmer and a bagel sandwich which was much nicer. They were a little short-staffed so the wait was a little longer than I planned.
After grabbing my food, I walked toward the light-rail station to get out of the rain and eat where I learned that getting a GPS signal in a city with tall buildings was ineffective at best. Poor signal strength lead me on a bit of a goose chase for the bus stop.
“Missed it by that much”
By the time I almost found it, I watched my bus drive past me from the other side of the intersection. A quick glance at the printed schedule I brought indicated that I would need to kill about an hour at the stop.
I used that time to listen to music on my phone, dance to some of the better songs, read some articles, stretch a bit and ask myself why I always forget gloves when I travel in the winter. I also went ahead and purchased my ticket through the Port Authority‘s app and waited for the bus.
When it arrived, I was able to show the QR tiket code to an optical scanner and take a seat near the back of the bus. You get a small discount for using digital ticketing instead of cash.
The bus ride was interesting to me. I’ve done a lot of highway traveling over the last few years, but riding on a local route was more telling about the community I was traversing. Pittsburgh’s suburbs are a real rust-belt turned improvised communities. Some of the houses have doors that open onto the sidewalk. Urban sprawl has a heavy vibe in these parts. Every spot that could be commercialized has been. Real concrete jungle until you get further out. Kudos to the bus driver for navigating tight turns and keeping that Gillig on schedule.
I used Google Maps to make sure I was getting off the right stop. Once I arrived in town, it was a 10 minute walk to my friend’s house on the hill. The hills around Pittsburgh are no joke. Despite having nearly $2,000 worth of electronics in my wheeled luggage, I genuinely considered just letting go of the handle to make hiking my fat ass up the hill a little easier.
When I finally got to my destination, I got a glass of water, a snack and then proceeded to nap for 4 hour segments intermittently three times over the course of that Saturday.
After all that, I asked myself if it was worth it? If I had prepared a little better – I really would be.
Taking the car would have meant less total visit time, having to put up with Ohio and PA’s crap drivers, turnpike fees and about $110 in wear and tear and fuel (based on the IRS’s $0.57/mile rate) so about $120 rounding up.
The train and bus fare both ways comes to $55, lets me sleep most of the way and is a more enjoyable adventure.
What would I do differently?
- Go to sleep early, maybe take a melatonin
- Pack my bags early, and pack less. I took my beefy latop, less is more.
- If I can have a friend pick me up at the train station I will. The Bus might be $5 both ways, but missing a bus on a weekend and waiting an hour is a drag.
- Explore longer trips on Amtrak.
My friends are night owls and my parents are retired so travel between homes and stations. So asking for a ride would really make it easier.
I decided to sign up for Amtrak’s Mastercard for reward points and other benefits, I also joined the Rail Passengers Association for $60/year, which will get me 10% off Amtrak fares.
Rewards for travel accrues points you can spend instead of dollars and the more you travel, the more perks there are (to a point).
Since I work remotely and I’ve been staying with my folks during the plague, I can afford to take some longer trips and I look forward to share more stories.
Next time, I’ll remember to take more photos to share.