Feb 2002 Anniston AmTrak Trip

Here is a first for all of us.  We have never been on a train and age 56 we ride our first Amtrak train from Anniston, AL to Birmingham, AL.  We got on at 10 am rode to Birmingham, got off, ate lunch near the terminal ( we had a 2 hour layover ).  At 2pm we boarded the train back to Anniston.  It was a great ride and a fun experience - you get to see the back yards of all the houses and apartments along the tracks and you get to see old railroad stations that have since closed but were in use when few folks had cars.  Amtrak offers a dining car with basic breakfast and sandwich/burger lunches but the dinner meals are meat and potato style.  A little expensive but the experience is well worth it.  Seats are large and very comfortable with plenty of leg room - and you are free to roam about the various cars while traveling up and down the tracks - a nice way to stretch your legs. For about $125 per day ( and night ) they offer sleeping cars with private quarters