We leave the Friday evening traffic outside Union Station, Washington, DC, and join the southbound CRESCENT on November 14, 2008. A glimpse of the departure board at the station shows it is time to go. As we depart, we roll past double-decked commuter cars of the VRE, Virginia Railway Express. After rolling through Alexandria, VA, we eventually roll into Lynchburg, VA. Amtrak's three-story Kemper St. Station welcomes Train #19 with some very bright lighting during its late-night stop. We ...