Vice President-Elect Joe Biden is a well-known train geek, so we have to assume he was involved in the decision for him and President-Elect Barack Obama to arrive in Washington on Jan. 17 via Amtrak. Sure, the Lincoln-loving Obama says he’s replicating his presidential hero’s journey to Washington by starting out in Philadelphia and stopping in Baltimore on his way, but Biden made the fact that he rides the train between D.C. and Wilmington almost every day one of his talking points during the campaign, so the symbolism works for both of them rather nicely.

Biden can surely offer Obama some advice about what to expect on the train ride from Philly to D.C., but as there are many veterans of that trip among the DCist staff and commentariat, we thought we’d throw the floodgates open. What should Obama know about his upcoming train ride? Here’s a few of our ideas; add yours in the comments.

• Don’t worry if you can’t understand anything the conductor says over the PA system when your train stops for no reason. Amtrak delays aren’t meant to be understood, they’re meant to be endured while scratching your head and wondering, why did I pay all this extra money again?
• Be careful if you ask someone to move to another seat so you and Michelle can sit together. Folks who regularly ride the Northeast Regional can be a little possessive of having double seats to themselves.
• The snack car line can sometimes take forever, but some of the snacks are surprisingly good, so don’t skip it. Pass on the hot dog, but do get the hot breakfast sandwich, and later on remember that the box of chocolate chip cookies is a really good deal.
• When you finally do arrive, make sure not to take any photos in Union Station! You may be the President-Elect, but that doesn’t mean Jones Lang LaSalle’s security guards will treat you with respect or dignity.

Photo by erin_carly