Many people have flown in airplanes and they have a pretty good idea of what a terminal looks like. Train travel, on the other hand, is a little bit of a rarity, so folks often ask me lots of questions when they find out I routinely take the Amtrak train to visit my grandchildren.
This blog post is for the people who are curious about what a typical train station looks like. First of all, let me say that each station is unique. Amtrak stations are not cookie cutter carbon copies. Having said that, I will say that the Cleburne station is smaller than the gigantic, sprawling Fort Worth station, and it is larger than the San Marcos bench (about all there is at the San Marcos stop).
If you look closely, you can see your faithful blogger reflected in the window as she takes the photo of the exterior of the station. This side faces the tracks. I am standing about as far back as I can without stepping on the rails, which is not very far at all. So, if you are dropped off at the Cleburne station, you just walk from the parking lot, through the small building, and a few more paces to the train.
The interior of the station is very clean and spacious. If you have to wait in the winter, you can stay warm, and if you have to wait in the summer, you have cool air conditioning to keep you comfortable.
The gentleman wearing the cowboy hat is travelling to Austin for the weekend, just to have some fun. He plays the blues on the guitar, and he plans on spending some of his time in Austin listening to the great musicians that play in every bar, cafe and bus stop there. His "Duck Dynasty" friend is keeping him company while he waits for the train.
This young man made his reservation on line, but he needed his ticket. He could get his ticket here if he had his confirmation number, which was unfortunate for him, because he did not have it. When that happends, you can get a ticket from the conductor on the train, but your ticket costs a bit more.
The Texas line starts every day in San Antonio at 7:30 am and heads north to Fort Worth, where it is supposed to arrive around 2:10. There are often delays, because Amtrak rents the use of the rails from the train companies that own them, and their freight trains take precendence over Amtrak. Some times, the Amtrak train must pull over into a siding and wait for a freight train to pass. It may take a few minutes or it may take a while. You never know. So, you travel better if you have a patient nature.
When I arrived at the Cleburne station to head south, the north bound train had just dropped off passengers. For a minute, when I saw the train, I though I was late, but thankfully, it wasn't my train. My train ended up being about twenty minutes late, which is not bad for Amtrak.
When you have to wait, it is nice to have access to snacks. The Cleburne station has a snack machine and a Coke machine. At least you won't starve.
I got to the station at 2:30. The northbound passengers should have debarked at 1:10, so they were about one and a half hours late. That is not unusual.
Now, don't get me wrong. Even though I have mentioned the tardiness of the train, I want to say that I love travelling on the train. It has roomy seats, a great view out the windows, friendly staff, and the fellow travellers are generally very quiet and courteous. I just wish Amtrak had more routes.
