Traveling for Work by Train (MMM #28)

Hello all,

Madeline here with the 28th entry in the Movie Minute! For this entry’s topic, we’ll be diving into something special- my Amtrak ride on the way back home from the 2025 Gold Star Family Picnic!

It all started when myself and Jacob were figuring out travel plans for our shoot at the picnic for Legacies Alive. Since my hometown of Savannah, GA is quite far from Pittsburgh (the area where the picnic was being held), Jacob would usually have me fly. And while Allegiant Air did offer flights from Savannah directly to Pittsburgh on the way there, they did not on the way back. And although he could have also put me on a connecting flight with another airline, the available schedules were inadequate, and connecting flights can be super chaotic especially with tight connections as well as constant delays and cancellations.

So, in addition to booking the Allegiant flight, Jake gave me the opportunity to take an experience I’ve wanted to for many years: to head home via Amtrak train. As someone who has wanted to try Amtrak for years, I was more thankful than ever that he gave me this chance to experience it, and I still am today. Knowing his experiences with riding to jobs and back home by train, such as the Auto Train that lets you bring your car with you, I’m sure he believed I would enjoy it.

You can watch a behind-the-scenes video of Jacob and Taylor’s Auto Train experience from Sanford, FL to Lorton VA, here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTIhz4vhKbs&t=250s

My journey started on the morning of July 6: After saying goodbye to Jake and his family, I took a ride with Dave Dudo from Legacies Alive and the Gold Star Riders all the way to downtown Pittsburgh, where the train station is located. Though the station itself seemed quite large, the waiting room was a bit small. Once they called our first train, the Pennsylvanian, to board, I was able to smoothly walk to the train car and place my bags in the overhead bin (one carry-on for my clothes and a backpack for my camera equipment). No need to worry about TSA or anything- just hop on and relax! Around our scheduled time, we were off!

As the Pennsylvanian pulled out of Pittsburgh, we took a scenic ride through the Appalachian Mountains and countryside. Other than myself being startled a bit when the conductor approached me to check my ticket, it was such a comfortable and amazing experience. Not only did we get a good view and free Wi-Fi on board, but it was much more spacious and less cramped compared to airlines. I even got to have breakfast on board from the cafe car. For the first meal of the day, I went with some omelet bites. They were quite tasty and surprisingly flavorful, especially compared to the few times I’ve had airline food!

After passing through places such as Harrisburg and Lancaster, we then arrived in Philadelphia’s massive 30th Street station. Knowing that I would have at least an hour layover, I took advantage by meeting up with a close friend of mine who lives in Philly, and she brought me a Philly cheesesteak, of course! However, our second train was arriving late, so I spent some more time with my friend until she had to leave, so in the interim I just hung out at the station. I would have taken some time to explore had the station not been under renovation.

Our second train, the Silver Meteor, finally arrived at around 5:30 PM. Once they called for us to board the train, we saw it pull in, having me anticipate the next leg of the journey. We eventually pulled out, this time with an electric locomotive as we were on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which stretches from DC to Boston via Baltimore, Philly, and NYC. One amazing thing about these trains is that even the Coach class (comparable to Main Cabin on airlines) is way more comfortable than what it would be like flying. We got to see some nice cities and rivers along the way! As we pulled into DC on time, we had to wait to have the train switched to a diesel locomotive, so I decided to pull out my travel pillow and blanket for the rest of the trip. After a long night, our train finally arrived in Savannah on Monday morning, bringing the Amtrak journey to a close.

Would I say the Amtrak ride was worth it vs. flying or driving? I would most definitely say yes! Although it wasn’t perfect, it was still miles ahead of what the journey would’ve been like if I had to sprint across the Atlanta airport to catch a connecting flight. I would most definitely take another Amtrak ride as much as I can. Maybe one day I could take a sleeper train on a multi-day trip! We’ll see what the future holds…

Overall, as someone who often has to travel for work and back home, doing so by train can be an amazing experience. Sure, it might be slower than just flying, but getting to enjoy a comforting and scenic journey vs. airport chaos is such an opportunity that I cannot refuse. If I ever am offered any more chances to travel by train, I would most definitely jump on.

That’s all for this entry in The Movie Minute. See you all in 2, and stay tuned for some more interesting entries! -Madeline

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