Tag: Roomette

  • Amtrak’s 97 Silver Meteor from NYP to JSP in June 2025

    roomette side shot

    A few weeks ago, I rode Amtrak’s Silver Meteor 97 train from New York City to Jesup, Georgia. As I’ve reported before here and here, it was an enjoyable experience and recommended.

    I used this overnight journey to catch up on writing several letters, which I mailed from the Jesup post office after I arrived. I also made use of the on-board power to run my laptop to watch some shows and do some light Internet work. One problem on this trip was unreliable WiFi, so I relied on my phone’s limited data plan.

    The roomette was much quieter than on my last trip, which made my sleep much more restful. There was a delay at some point during the night, which made us almost three hours late (we were still on time when I had gone to bed around 1:00am). I’ve learned that delays should be expected.

    Since I was traveling alone, I asked my car’s steward if I could have dinner service in my room. I ordered the steak dinner with chocolate cake and a Heineken beer (one alcoholic beverage is included with the meal service).

    This particular car was like one that I had ridden on before with the roomette having a sink in the room, but the toilet was located at the end of the hallway by the exit. My roomette’s sink worked very well with the hot and cold water dispensing properly when I needed to wash my hands or face.

    Here are some pictures from inside my train car and roomette on this trip.

    interior hallway of a roomette train car
    interior hallway of a roomette train car
    train roomette doorway
    roomette sink and steps for the upper bunk
    right side seat with bags
    left side seat
    table folded out holding a writing tablet, pen, and laptop computer, train tracks are seen outside the window
    in-car dinner service, dinner packages are wrapped in foil and plastic
    beer in plastic cup and salad
    steak dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrots,
  • There and Back Again on Amtrak

    railroad tracks extending to the horizon

    Before we knew about Hurricane Helene, I had planned to visit my folks for two weeks to help out after my dad got out of the hospital for a back ailment. I took Amtrak’s 97 Silver Meteor from NYC to Jesup, Georgia (Sept. 24-25, 2024), and returned via the 98 Silver Meteor from Jesup to NYC (Oct. 8-9, 2024). Here are some pictures of the trains, sleeper car rooms, and meals.

    97 Silver Meteor (NYP to JSP)

    steel trusses holding up the glass roof over a floor with escalators going down

    The 97 Silver Meteor sleeper cars didn’t have a toilet in the room as my previous Amtrak ride from JSP to NYC. Otherwise, the car seemed of newer construction. However, the room door rattled constantly. I should have asked for something to wedge into the door to eliminate that noise (and sleep better as a result). I liked how the in-car sink had turn knobs, which work much better than the push button faucets (either too little water or an explosion of water). Because the dining car was full, I asked for dinner in my room. It came with all the trimmings and was delicious! The worst part of the trip was someone in my car was going to bridge between cars to smoke. They left the door open, smoke entered the car, and set off the smoke alarms in unoccupied rooms and mine when I went to investigate. The culprit did not reveal him or herself.

    amtrak train roomette with seat and sink
    amtrak train roomette with seat occupied by two bags and a pillow
    two seats inside amtrak train roomette
    amtrak train roomette sink folded down for use
    amtrak dinner service white plastic bag
    amtrak dinner service white plastic bag interior with plates wrapped with foil and plastic cup of red wine
    amtrak dinner service on foldout table in roomette--steak, potatoes, vegetables, salad, chocolate cake, roll, and red wine in plastic cup

    98 Silver Meteor (JSP to NYP)

    greetings from jesup georgia mural painted on a brick wall

    The Silver Meteor from JSP to NYP was much like my previous ride from SAV to NYP. The roomette was very similar–toilet in the room, push-button sink controls, older construction, and less vibration noise. I had breakfast in the dining car close to 7:00am. The omelet and fixings hit the spot! The downsides to this ride was that the water pressure was far too high on the sink faucet and the air conditioning was warm despite changing the thermostat.

    welcome to jesup georgia arch and fountain in front of train tracks
    amtrak train station in jesup georgia--a long brick building with a low ranch roof
    two sets of train tracks extended to the horizon and going under an roadway overpass
    a passenger amtrak train approaching the station in jesup georgia
    amtrak roomette seat
    amtrak roomette seat filled with bags, laptop open on foldout table, toilet and sink on the left
    amtrak roomette bunk bed made
    amtrak roomette sink mirror with towels and soap and drinking cups
    amtrak roomette sink with push-button faucet
    amtrak dining car breakfast of omelette, bacon, potatoes, and biscuit on a table with white tablecloth
    view of downtown manhattan skyline from new jersey