This trip was truly a unique experience for my family.
Recently our lives have been pretty hectic and I thought this trip would be a more relaxing and enjoyable choice for my family. It was a fun and new family experience we would like to do again.
We arrived at the Utica Station about 8:00am. Which is including a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts Drive-Thru for breakfast and a gas fill. So, considering no unplanned detours/construction, kids emergencies, or vehicle mishaps, we made good time. The ticket window didn’t open until 8:45 am leaving us plenty of time to take bathroom breaks and check out the station before boarding.
The architecture of the Utica Train Station is described as “Italianate” and is nothing short of historically impressive. From the brick walk-ways to the giant marble columns it made me feel like I went back in time. It is a very well preserved historical building.
The ceilings have textural octagonal, gold trim features that are definitely unique to it’s historical design. I also added some pictures below of the view from the overpass that connects the far side platform along with pictures viewing the main room of the station and the main connections to the overpass.
At 9:15AM we boarded our First-Class Car.
The Diamond Class Upper Tickets gives you a table in the upper part of the dome car which seats you at a 4 person table. The Diamond Class Lower Tickets provide comfy lounge chairs in the lower area. I would probably suggest the lower lounge chairs are more for couples. The Upper area is more family suitable.
Breakfast and Drinks were served as soon as the car left the station right at 9:30am and hors d’oeuvre’s were served after the 4.5 hour layover in old forge headed back at 4:30.
Yes, there are also some cocktail and alcoholic beverage choices. I like mimosa’s because they’re pretty good any time of the day. These drinks definitely came in handy on the ride home when everyone in our first-class car became vitally aware they also had first-class tickets to see me handle my kids fighting and kicking each other under the table from being irritable and tired after our 4.5 hour layover in Old Forge on a 90 degree day.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip, but next time we’ll probably book a round-trip with a shorter layover. We enjoyed our time in old forge, but I felt 4.5 hours was too long on a hot day in July.
I hope this provides you with some extra adventure input and if you have taken part of this experience or have questions, please leave your comments below and let me know what you thought. You can also message me directly at [email protected].
Thank you and enjoy your summer!
