It's a 4 1/2-hour drive to Washington, D.C., from Pittsburgh. So, why would anyone take a 7 1/2-hour train ride to the nation's capital? Especially when it leaves before dawn on a Saturday morning?

Turns out our recent experience on Amtrak's Capitol Limited was as much of an attraction as the show at the National Gallery of Art we were headed to see.

Our journey began in the small Amtrak waiting room on the first floor of the once grand Pennsylvania Station on Liberty Avenue, near Grant Street. At one time as many as 10,000 travelers daily passed through this 14-story station, designed by Daniel Burnham & Co. in 1903. Train passengers waited under the majestic rotunda with a central skylight, vaulted ceilings and corner pavilions. After years of neglect, the station was restored in the 1980s and most of the structure was turned into plush condominiums called The Pennsylvanian, leaving a nondescript room painted in institutional yellow-gray to carry on the building's original purpose.

On this recent morning -- at 5:30 to be exact -- a television in the room was playing a '60s black and white Western. A loud snore emanated from the back row of plastic seats, coming from a man who appeared to be homeless.

The train was supposed to arrive at 5:45 a.m., but didn't show up until 7 a.m.

An assortment of young families, singles, students and older couples took the escalator to the boarding platform. In this post-9/11 era, there were no X-ray security checks, no metal detectors, no searches of luggage. We just showed our ticket and climbed aboard, joining passengers already en route from Chicago, many sound asleep.

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If you go: By train to Washington, D.C.

For information about local Amtrak service, go to www.amtrak.com or call 412-471-6172.

While you can take two pieces of carry-on luggage, pack light. Arrive at the Amtrak station (1100 Liberty Ave.) about 30 minutes before departure time. Call ahead to see if the train is on schedule (as it often is not). Costs vary. We took advantage of the AAA rate of $37.80 per person, one way, advance purchase, but prices can run higher based on time of purchase and availability. Seniors get a 15 percent discount on most trains, and sometimes there is a special rate for children ages 2 to 15: Fifty percent off the adult rate (up to two children per paid adult).

Surprisingly, there is no parking at the station. The new bus station and garage are under construction and will be convenient for train passenger parking in the future. We had to leave our car at the Ninth and Liberty parking garage and walked the three plus blocks to the train station at 5 a.m. Yet another reason to pack light!

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As the train chugged slowly out of Pittsburgh through the Strip District, familiar sites took on a new perspective.

One of the things I enjoy most about train travel is this unexpected view: no highways, street signs, restaurants, billboards. We were on the other side of the tracks -- literally -- riding along rail beds that have been part of our area's history for more than a century.

The train entered a tunnel, and suddenly upon emerging there were the nighttime views of familiar Oakland landmarks: the Cathedral of Learning, the Engineering Hall at Carnegie Mellon University, Panther Hollow pond, seen from deep in the valley along the rail route.

An attendant announced that breakfast was being served and the four of us navigated through three cars to reach the dining car. We settled comfortably at a table with white tablecloth and flowers -- artificial, but flowers nonetheless. As the first welcome cup of coffee arrived, we passed a glowing car of hot metal at the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock. The fire, the smoke of the steel industry were still impressive even in its diminished state in the Mon Valley.

The train picked up speed as breakfast arrived. French toast and omelets, scrambled eggs, oatmeal were on the menu, ranging from $6.50 to $10. We passed the new lock and dam on the Monongahela River.

After breakfast we found a spot in the glass observation car. Some passengers already were communing with their computers, others soundly asleep. As the sun rose, the train wended south into the mountains. The land was covered by snow as we approached Ohiopyle in Fayette County. We wondered how much the view had changed since the Kaufmann family traveled by train on its way to nearby Fallingwater.

This view from the second tier was wide open: trees, snow and the swirling waters of the emerald Youghiogheny below us. I'm sure each season offers its own special charm along this route, but we could see quite a distance through the leafless trees. We'd ridden on the Yough bicycle trail on the opposite bank and heard the whistle of the train winding through the valley. Now we were on it.

Shortly after passing Confluence, metal-clad giants crested the top of the ridge near Meyersdale. Two-hundred-foot-high windmills slashed the air like creatures out of "Star Wars," a strange contrast with the quiet farm valley below.

We finally returned to the coach car. The seats recline and had footrests. There was more leg room than on a bus or a plane. The comfortable rocking of the train could lull you to sleep.

The train stopped in Cumberland, Md., with a view punctuated by many church steeples. A worker was taking down the town's Christmas decorations. This train route took us through some of the oldest parts of towns filled with picturesque train stations, charming Victorian homes, but also junkyards, trash and graffiti-covered walls and buildings.

The train funneled through the hills and emerged at Harpers Ferry. Frame houses with two-story porches were perched along the hillside. In the distance was the Potomac River. While we ate burgers for lunch in the club car, we were treated to a little history lesson on the town and the C&O Towpath, which parallels the rail line. We could see many people on bicycles and hikers enjoying the morning. This path is part of the Great Allegheny Passage that links the rails to trails from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

At 2:30 p.m. -- 7 1/2-hours after we had departed Pittsburgh -- we emerged at D.C.'s elegant Union Station. The rail center is a busy hub of activity. Restaurants and shops and a movie theater fill two levels of the bustling station.

We booked a hotel by the nearby U.S. Capitol and were able to walk to all our destinations from Union Station.

But time was tight. Most of the museums and galleries in Washington, D.C., close at 5 p.m., so if your train is running late, your time may be short. We were able to catch one show at the National Gallery and then strolled through the Penn Quarter for dinner. We had time on Sunday to see some additional shows at the National Gallery and the Botanical Gardens. But travelers may like to plan for an extra day or so in D.C.

The 4:05 p.m. return trip to Pittsburgh left promptly and the facilities were in much better condition than our first trip. We watched the sunset from the observation car with river views and deer and wildlife in the farm fields at dusk. The train attendants were attentive and helpful, distributing pillows for the nighttime journey home.

We traveled the now familiar route north, but after dusk, it was a challenge to discern the landmarks we had observed by day. As we approached Pittsburgh, the U.S, Steel Tower dominated the skyline. Pittsburgh once more, shimmering with light. Home: 11:45 p.m. and on time.