WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — State Senator Stephen M. Sweeney was having none of it on Thursday.
For decades, New Jersey’s political and business establishments have joined hands and — unintentionally, at times — feet, backs and other body parts in an annual New Jersey rite of political passage.
Mr. Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester County, had his own memories of his first ride aboard the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s annual chartered train to Washington — people spilling beer and liquor while he was wedged between two crowded cars, exposed to the wind and rain.
Make that first, and only, time. Ever since that experience seven years ago, Mr. Sweeney has persuaded a growing group of allies to take an earlier train so that they can move about freely without fear of losing a seat or getting sandwiched.
Sandwiched on this day meant he supplied the hoagies — or submarines for those who live north of Mercer County — from a delicatessen in West Deptford.
“This is so much better,” said Mr. Sweeney, who was traveling with about 30 local officials and union representatives. “You can actually talk to someone, and you can do a lot of networking with people in a comfortable way. Me personally, I don’t like drinking at 10 o’clock in the morning.”
What did he succeed in avoiding? The chamber calls it the Walk to Washington, since the goal is to walk the length of the 18-car train, shaking hands and doing business. But given the overflow of people and spirits, it has also been called the Schmooze Express, the Booze Cruise, the Gravy Train and even, according to female legislators and lobbyists, the Grope Train.
“You have to have a strategy plan for the bathroom or the snack car, because you’re crushed, you’re stepped on, you’re hot, and there’s never enough air,” said Magdalena Padilla, president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey, who rode the same train as Mr. Sweeney.
This year, the 70th, was no different; the chartered train was sold out. And starting in Newark, it gathered more than 1,000 people who work for or do business with New Jersey and deposited them in Washington to begin a nightlong marathon of parties and meetings, bracketing a dinner speech from Gov. Jon S. Corzine (who flew here, by the way).
But increasingly, and especially in years not featuring an election for governor, people say they prefer to make it to Washington by a different — and no doubt quieter and more sober — route.
“This is better than the real thing,” said Mike Vrancik, director of government relations for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
He took the same train as Mr. Sweeney’s group, and was able to have a long conversation about proposed local spending caps with Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli, another Democrat from Gloucester County. “These are human beings, and if you can have a civil discourse, that’s always a good thing,” Mr. Vrancik said.
For the record, Mr. Vrancik, Mr. Sweeney and the others rode Acela Express 2151 on Thursday morning.
They shared the same train with Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, the state Democratic chairman, who explained that he had meetings during the day with the Democratic National Committee and could not tarry on the chamber’s official train. Still, Mr. Cryan also said that he was looking forward to an uninterrupted couple of hours to read, and perhaps nap.
Yes, there were Republicans, too: Rich Levesque, executive director of the Burlington County Republican Party, and Bill Layton, executive director of the New Jersey Concrete and Aggregate Association. Mr. Layton said that in years past, he brought three suits with him because food and alcohol would invariably be spilled on his clothing.
But on a train filled with businessmen and lawyers glued to their BlackBerries and laptops, it was Mr. Sweeney who cut a distinct figure.
A union representative by background, Mr. Sweeney wore sweats and a navy New Jersey State Police turtleneck. He hauled a black trash bag filled with 30 hoagies from the Sicilian Deli. And, with the smell of onions piercing the air, he talked politics and policy with allies like Donald Norcross, president of the Southern New Jersey Central Labor Council and co-chairman of Camden County’s Democratic Party.
Last year, Mr. Sweeney said, that discussion about offering free or low-cost Internet wireless access to all Camden and Gloucester residents began on the train. This year, he talked earnestly about a bill he is sponsoring that would establish paid family leave.
Unusual things can happen on the non-chamber train. On at least one other occasion, some of the New Jerseyans said, they had run into Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware. This year, Julie Andrews was on the train, also by coincidence, although in a different car.
But Assemblyman David R. Mayer said nothing could top what happened in 2001, when he found himself sitting across from Monica S. Lewinsky. When the word spread, New Jersey officials started coming up, one by one, to talk to Mr. Mayer about anything and everything.
Ms. Lewinsky noticed the parade and told him, “You’re the most popular person on this train.”
