Mooney column: Riding the rails — From scrap yards to risqué murals, Amtrak journey brings different perspective
Published 12:10 am Saturday, November 5, 2022
The No. 74 Piedmont at the Salisbury Station platform. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Salisbury Station. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Every locomotive on the Piedmont line is named after a North Carolina city. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Coach class seating. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Downtown Thomasville is one of the many towns the Piedmont line travels through. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
An excavator works in a scrap yard on the outskirts of Greensboro. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Countryside scenery along the journey. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
The Greensboro skyline, as seen leaving the Greensboro station. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Downtown Durham. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
The State Fair. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
The platform at Union Station in Raleigh, after the No. 74 Piedmont pulled in. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
Union Station in Raleigh, as seen from the platform. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.
There is just something about trains.
A rail journey has always been appealing to me. It is lower stress than traveling by automobile since trains have cars with refreshments and each car has a restroom. There are no long security check-ins as with airports, and trains have more space and freedom to move about than airliners do.
But perhaps the best part is the chance to see the countryside. A way to sit back, relax and watch the world go by. A chance to travel through communities instead of flying high above them or spending hours on the interstate. There are plenty of sights that you wouldn’t necessarily encounter anywhere else but by rail.
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I decided on a day trip to Raleigh, as it is 2.5 hours from Salisbury and would provide plenty of time to discover what train travel is like. Meeting up with a cousin who lives there gave the trip even more purpose.
Amtrak has six trains a day that stop in Salisbury on the Piedmont line, the route that runs between Charlotte and Raleigh. Trains on the Piedmont line are operated by Amtrak, but owned by the NCDOT and sport the N.C. flag livery. Each car is named for a state symbol, and each locomotive bears the name of a city. And, yes, there is one for Salisbury. The Crescent and Carolinian routes each make two stops a day here as well.
I booked a departure on the 11:11 a.m. train for Raleigh. The No. 74 Piedmont was right on time. I was traveling in coach, where you board any car you wish and sit wherever you like. The reclining seats are comfortable, with generous legroom. Each seat has a fold-down tray in front, and a power outlet for charging devices. The train also has free Wi-Fi. Amtrak trains usually travel around 60-70 mph, sometimes faster, but slow down in populated areas, and slow to a crawl when approaching an oncoming train.
Once underway, it wasn’t long before reaching the Yadkin River and on into Davidson County. The train rolled north, passing the freight yard in Linwood, an area of multiple tracks for putting together freight trains. Even though the yard is no longer in use, several freight cars are still parked there, waiting for their next destination. Around this time, the train slowed while an oncoming freight train carrying mostly shipping containers sped past. It is not everyday you experience a freight train going by only a few feet away, which was really interesting to see.
Passengers on board are from all walks of life. Although it was difficult to judge, the train was probably around a third to a half full. Just observing people, I heard a man a few rows ahead on his cell phone, an activity he continued for most of the trip. I heard two friends a few rows back, apparently looking at a travel brochure and discussing what activities to do once they reached their destination, wherever it was. A gentleman across from me was sipping on a hot cup of coffee he purchased in the lounge car as he was working on his tablet. Some people slept, some read. There are two seats to each side of the car, but I was able to sit by myself for the trip to Raleigh. I brought my AirPods in case I was stuck sitting next to a chatty passenger, but fortunately for an introvert like me, that didn’t materialize. I was probably the only person on board who was constantly looking out the window, snapping photos and videos, completely absorbed by the experience.
The control tower of the Davidson County Airport was the first sign Lexington was approaching, which provided a steady stream of houses, businesses and industrial sites. Not long after moving on, Thomasville was next up. The train goes right through the heart of the downtown area, slowing down enough to catch a glimpse of people going about their day. Something not seen anywhere else is being on the other side of the railroad crossing arms, and the cars waiting for the lights to stop flashing before continuing on. This may not be fascinating to anyone else, but it certainly was to me.
After passing a fire station, garage and graffiti-covered school bus, the train continued on for a bit when the conductors and PA system began to alert passengers that the High Point station was coming up as the first stop. As the train pulled into the station, the platform is surrounded by concrete walls, with a staircase leading up to a level above the station. A few people got off and others boarded the train. Most stops last only about three minutes.
Leaving High Point behind, the train slowed to a crawl while crossing the I-73 bridge on the outskirts of Greensboro at the D.H. Griffin scrap yard as the southbound No. 75 Piedmont Amtrak whizzed by. Since the railroad tends to be the “back door” of communities, it’s mostly warehouses and industrial sites near the tracks.
A few minutes later, the Greensboro station was next up. This area is really neat, and behind the station the skyline appears, complete with parking decks, apartment buildings and skyscrapers. Buses were lined up in front of the station, waiting to take passengers on other journeys. A tower crane was among the structures downtown, something I saw quite a few of along the way. It seems that construction is booming everywhere.
Right after leaving the station, something very eye-catching appeared. Named “Rising Tulips,” it is a 130-foot long mural of a nude woman lying down, adorned with pink tulips. It is not really in the public eye, basically only visible either from the train or a nearby apartment building. I noticed several other buildings that had murals and creative graffiti, so Greensboro must have a thriving arts culture like we have in Salisbury. Somehow I don’t believe a building-sized naked lady painting would go over here.
After leaving Greensboro, the train continued on through McLeansville and then past small bodies of water and pastures. Travel between towns is mostly in wooded areas, so trees are common. Gibsonville soon appeared and Elon shortly after, the tracks going right past the picturesque campus of Elon University.
Burlington was the next stop. Continuing after that, the tracks paralleled U.S. Highway 70 through Mebane and on into Hillsborough. Durham was the next station, and it is a thriving city, with plenty of large office buildings, parking decks and skyscrapers. Shortly after Durham was the Cary station. It was around this area that I noticed pine trees were becoming a lot more common.
Raleigh was up next, the last stop on the route. The State Fair happened to be open that week, complete with large Ferris wheel, lots of vendors and food trucks and plenty of people. Not far from the fair, the train went through the campus of N.C. State University before pulling into the station a short distance away.
The train arrived at Union Station right on time at 1:41 p.m. The platform is flanked by two tracks, and leads to an underground walkway to the main building. Union Station is a large, open multi-level building that was completed in 2018. Like Salisbury Station, it is a popular place to host events.
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After meeting with my cousin for a few hours, it was time to head back to board the No. 79 Carolinian, which was departing at 5:30 p.m.
It runs daily from New York City to Charlotte. The area near the ticket counter had a large number of tables with white tablecloths, so it looked like the staff was preparing for a shindig of some sort for that evening.
The boarding call came, and everyone made their way to the platform. I booked business class on the return trip because I was curious how it was different from coach.
Business class was the last car on the train, and it has assigned seating. I rode beside someone, and I would have preferred to sit alone, but there weren’t any issues. The seats and legroom seemed comparable to coach. The Carolinian has a cafe car, which serves hot dogs, bagels, chips and the like. The food was prepackaged, but it was microwaved to provide a hot meal. The cafe car was open between Cary and High Point and attendant Chris eagerly took everyone’s orders. A bottle of water, normally $2.75, was free for business class passengers.
The train arrived at Durham station as the sun was setting, bathing the city in a warm glow. After the sun set, everything was silhouetted against a brilliant orange sky. Traveling on, twilight arrived, and it was nearly dark when the train arrived in Greensboro. Traveling at night is peaceful, but it doesn’t offer the same views. Cities and towns are mesmerizing when lit up, but traveling between them is mostly dark, with an occasional street light as the only common sight.
After the High Point station, the conductor let me know that Salisbury was next, arriving in about 30 minutes. I believe I was the only passenger in business going to Salisbury; most everyone else was going on to Charlotte.
As we neared the station, the conductor called me up to the door to get ready to get off. It is a good thing that the door area has grab handles, I might have lost my balance from the motion because it can be a little disorienting to stand on a moving train. Once the train stopped and the door opened, I was back home.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, one I plan to repeat in the future. I’m also interested in a getting a roomette for a long-distance train trip. Avid runner and cyclist David Freeze is also a rail fan. He booked a roomette on the Crescent for a 20-hour trip from New Orleans to Salisbury after completing his cycle journey along the Mississippi River. “It was the most relaxing long distance trip I have ever taken,” he said. “I would endorse that for anyone.”
Andy Mooney is a copy editor and page designer for the Salisbury Post.
