Jj017798@aol.com wrote:
I recently took the Cardinal Eastbound from Cincinnati, Ohio to Washington, DC. My accommodations were coach. The coaches in this train were brand new Superliners. The train was jammed packed full. (Something you don't typically see on the Cardinal). But, in our car we had an electrical problem. Everytime someone would flush the toilet downstairs, the electricity would go out upstairs, including a/c and all. I take the Cardinal frequently between Cincinnati and Huntington, but I have never seen this happen before. Other than that, the trip was beautiful. The New River Gorge scenery was fantastic, and the sightseer car offered an even better view. I enjoyed the hospitality hour on board.
The trip back westbound on train # 51 was something different. The coaches were Superliners, but were older and weren't in the best shape. The a/c didn't work very well, and the seats didn't have leg rests. The New River part of the trip was again beautiful, but was not as enjoyable from the windows of our old sightseer lounge car. The lounge car had no snack bar in the lower level, just tables. The attendant for the snack bar had set up shop in the older dining car. The whole train was in bad need of refurbishing! We stopped for about 25 minutes in Huntington, WV to attatch a private car going to Chicago. (Adding to our lateness). We arrived in Cincinnati about an hour and a half late. (Which is not unusual for the Cardinal). I had a great vacation aboard the Cardinal.