hi55us wrote:Definitely snag a seat in the sightseer lounge for the segment through Maryland. I love the views through Harper's Ferry and the Cumberland Pass.
For this quick overnight trip I would probably be comfortable going with a Coach seat since the arrival into Sandusky is in the middle of the night. For the 12:40 AM departure be sure to check out the status of the train on amtrak.com. There might be a delay leaving Chicago.
The CL is a nice ride. Time keeping has improved greatly recently, except of course when there is an engine failure.
Eastbound I generally wake up around Connellsville; and I find the run along the Youghiogheny and Castleman Rivers in PA equal to the Maryland scenery. See if you can spot on the hillside across the river the former Western Maryland RoW, now the Great Allegheny Passage, a bike path between Pittsburgh and Cumberland.
Geogrophy.net alert: the Cumberland Pass and Cumberland Narrows are often mixed up. The pass is somewhere near the North Carolina - Tennessee border. The narrows is a tall canyon housing two railroads, a bike path, highway, and river as you descend into Cumberland, MD.
If you are traveling during the Winter truncated consist period, a reason to go coach would be the noise. I recently rode eastbound; and the only thing separating my bedroom from the horn were two other bedrooms. It made for a very unpleasant night. Unlike last year, at least you could escape to the sightseer lounge during the day.