I don't know your geography terribly well either, but I adore trains. I understand, though, it's still a seven-hour ride if you take the 7:20AM train from Pittsburgh, but dr_p_venkman led me to believe that was due to terrain. [Last year, my Michael had an interview in PA, and we started looking into commuter-y things, which are vastly different in PA than what I've gotten used to in NYS and in MA.]

But the rate for one-way for the 7:20AM Amtrak train, no transfers, is $47.00.