The whole journey takes 30 hours, if the train stays on schedule.She engaged a roomette for the day trip, something that I opted not to do on a shorter Birmingham to New Orleans jump four years ago, and that mostly enhances her experience. (There's a pull-out tray between the lower seats for a reason, but if you've made down that bunk for a nap ...)
But what the Crescent from Atlanta may lack in speed, it makes up for in atmosphere and amenities.
The food is pretty tasty -- rail cuisine doesn't suffer the same tinkering that goes into preparing food that will be served at 35,000 feet. The train is spacious; there's a dining car, a lounge and you can walk around, recline, even lie flat.
It took me about five minutes to wrestle the two floor-level seats into a flat lounger. But I far preferred the narrow, pull-down bunk above.That's an option on the Viewliner sleepers, one missing, however, from the Superliner sleepers serving most of the lines outside the Official Region. The opportunity to meet travellers and swap stories in the dining car lasts, at least for now.
The bunk is a one-person affair (completely ill-suited to intimate encounters, one passenger reported from experience). And the compact toilet/table begs a high level of familiarity with your cabin-mate.
The trance state facilitated by the train's rhythmic bumping along the rails is reason enough to ride. And I cannot overstate how relaxing it is to loll on the top bunk, watching the sunlight change on the trees as the day rolls by through a smudgy body-length window.
She had to rush back to Atlanta. That's when reality returned.
Would I do it again? Yes, but I had planned to hurry home from this trip.Unfortunately, Hiawatha style timings and Empire Corridor style frequencies are unlikely along the Peach and Crescent line anytime soon.
My flight was delayed by several hours.
Tucked into a rigid seat at the airport gate, snacking on a bag of gummy bears, I couldn't help but think of the romance of the rails.
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