# MSP - CHI - FLG



## dan72 (Apr 14, 2008)

Sorry this is so late in posting. Time really got away from me! 

March 4th – We arrived at MSP Midway Station about 7:10 a.m. I had called Julie earlier that morning and she indicated it was running 29 minutes behind, but was expected to be on time. Sure enough, when I crossed over the tracks on Transfer Road, the EB was already at the station. We found a parking spot, unloaded, and hauled our gear into the station.

This trip was a first-ever father-son trip on Amtrak. My dad and I had talked about taking an Amtrak trip for quite some time and it was decided to make it happen this year. Originally, he had wanted to take the EB west, but with his sister and brother-in-law now permanently residing in Arizona, a trip out on the SWC made the most sense. We headed to the waiting area which had about 1/3 as many people as last July when I headed east to Boston. We were going to look for a place to sit when I they made the boarding call. It was a generally one and not by destination which has been the norm. We got in line for the conductor and were on board in short order. Seats were abundant this time around and we managed to get a good pick for a window. Since we were on the left, we headed for the lounge car shortly before leaving MSP to be able to look out on the Mississippi as we made out way southeast. We promptly left at 7:50 a.m.

Another new dimension for me was that this was my first trip with a scanner. I found a used pro-82 on ebay. Although clearly used, it functioned fine. I had all the frequencies programmed in from MSP to CHI and from CHI to FLG. In fact it was very useful when just north of Lake City, MN, one of the track detectors indicated a hotbox. We stopped, a visual inspection was made and with no problems found we continued on. Later on the same thing happened and it was announced that the detectors sometimes malfunction in colder weather (it was about 25-28 MN that morning), but they do need to check it out just in case. We spent a fair amount of time in the lounge car where we got to know a couple from Alberta who were traveling on down to St. Louis where they were going to rent a car and heading down to Branson.

After stopping at Wisconsin Dells, the dinning car made the call for lunch and we promptly headed there and were seated right away. We ate with a couple from Muskeegan, MI. They had boarded in Winona and were returning from a visit to Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I had the Angus burger which was very good. After lunch, we settled into our seats for awhile. As we made our way into Milwaukee, we headed back to the lounge car as my dad wanted to take in the sights of Milwaukee. For many years in his youth, my dad took the old Milwaukee Road Hiawatha trains from Red Wing to Milwaukee to catch the then-Milwaukee Braves. Since this was pre-Minnesota Twins, this was one of few ways for him to get his baseball fix. He recalls riding in the sky-dome observations cars from time to time. We took some shots of Miller Park as we passed by. Just as we were hoping to get some shots of the Mitchell domes, our view was blocked off by a freight train. I guess that’s one of the hazards with traveling by rail.

The portion between Chicago and Milwaukee was new for him. We made good time an arrived into CUS 12 minutes early that day. After getting our bearings, we headed to the taxi stand and headed for the Radisson Hotel on Huron Ave. Since I travel several weeks a year, I usually stay at Country Inns and was able to accrue enough Gold Points to make our stay in Chicago a free one. Although our room was nice, the hotel was undergoing extensive renovations. Much to my dismay, I also found out it will not longer be a Radisson. So much for future stays.

A couple of comments about the EB equipment. Our coach was one of the ‘slightly refurbished’ cars with only minimal cosmetic changes. The counters were the dark blue in the bathrooms, but that was about it. Our lounge car was in pretty poor condition as the dark blue paint was wrinkling and peeling up along the windows frames. I realize this is a low season for the EB, but I found this consist to be in rather poor condition. I would find the equipment on the SWC overall to be in much better shape.

The next morning we headed to the Corner Bakery a block from us for some breakfast. We took a cab to CUS at about 11:00 and roamed around for a little bit and found we were feeling pretty hungry. We checked into the Metropolitan lounge and stowed our suitcases and obtained our passes for the lounge I’m glad my stomach was again growling as I really wanted to check out Lou Mitchell’s before we left town. What a great place! I ordered the scrambled eggs and Greek toast which really hit the spot. My dad had some coffee cake which was about two times too big for him. Anyway, I’m glad I read about that recommendation on this message. It will be a new tradition for me to stop there whenever I am in the CUS vicinity.

After Lou Mitchell’s we headed back and explored the Great Hall (my dad had not seen it before other that in ‘The Untouchables’). It was coming up on 2:00, so we decided to head back and relax in the Metropolitan Lounge before boarding. We watched the Zephyr (after a one hour delay) and EB board out the back door. About 2:40, the conductor for the SWC started wandering around the lounge taking our tickets. Everybody knew we were about to board and started gathering at the back door. However, they announced boarding out the FRONT door, so we were all hustling for the front door to head out onto the platform. Our sleeping car was a Superliner II which was the ‘Kentucky’ sleeper. It was in good shape and we were assigned to room #5 which put us on the right side this time (I was on the left in May 2006 when my wife and I took this train). We departed from CUS promptly at 3:15 p.m.

Being on the right side, We did miss checking out the Amtrak maintenance yard, but did have a chance to see the Metra side. Shortly after departure, the LSA came around and took our reservations. After that, what became the reoccurring joke of the trip happened. Jose from the lounge car came on to invite us to the lounge car which was good to hear. However, he then proceeded to read everything from the lounge car menu…and I mean EVERYTHING. Not only did he list every item but went into descriptions as to what was on the sandwich, etc. etc. The LSA finally butted in to announce the next seating and he continued to talk OVER the LSA. After a short pause, Jose takes a breath and says ‘and now to our drinks’ and gave details as to where the wine was from, what kind of taste to expect, etc. My dad and I are in stitches by this time. Our seating time was called and we headed into the dining car. The OBS staff were at the dumb waiter station, looked up at us as we walked in and said ‘would you please tell that guy to SHUT UP!’ We started laughing again. By the time we sat down, Jose was finally done with his sales pitch – about, and I’m not exaggerating, 20 minutes later.

That staff on the SWC were great! Mike was our attendant who was a very no-nonsense guy, but made sure our needs were taken care of. Our car was having toilet troubles and he was reminding us at every stop to let him know if there were not flushing as he would reset the circuit breakers. The staff in the dining car was, by far, the best I have encountered so far on Amtrak. Great sense of humor, great service, and you could tell they were having fun with it. Seating was on time for each meal and we found the food to be very good. I had the scrambled eggs and the chicken apple sausage for breakfast (the sausage was very good), the open-faced turkey biscuit for lunch, and roast game hen for dinner.

I was able to get into the Kansas City Union Station this time during our stop in Kansas City. What a beautiful building! Unfortunately, the lighting was dim, but you could still make out the incredible details of that station. We only had about twenty minutes, so after 15, we hustled back down to the platform. Just as we were about ready to leave, the Ann Rutledge came rolling in her passengers scrambled across the board the Chief. Talk about close timing!

I awoke the next morning with us ambling down the tracks slower than I expected. I turned on my dad’s GPS to find that we were barely halfway across Kansas and were going a leisurely 45 miles per hour. Our OBS in the dining car informed us that we under slow orders and were close to 2 hours behind. However, they were positive we would make up time in the day.

One thing I always wanted to experience on Amtrak was a snowstorm. Well, I got my wish this time around. It was snowing as we made our way up Raton Pass. One thing I really enjoyed this time about this trip was the fact I could anticipate some sights such as Dick Wotoon’s Ranch, Raton Tunnel, Shoemaker Canyon, Starvation Peak, and Apache Canyon. Probably my biggest complaint this time around was the fact that the windows were very dirty – especially in the sightseer lounge. Although they did get a good cleaning in Albuquerque, it was almost dark by the time we departed.

Our lead locomotive was #161 which interestingly was the 2nd trailer when my wife and I took the SWC out in May of 2006. Our consist this time was:

-- 2 P42’s

-- 1 transition sleeper

-- 2 sleepers (1 Superliner I and 1 Superliner II)

-- 1 diner

-- 1 lounge

-- 2 coaches

We arrived into ABQ about 2 hours late. The locomotives were refueled, crews changed, and the windows washed just in time for it to turn dark. We left after about 20 minutes (a lot of people boarding at this stop) and headed off west into a beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, being so late, I missed out again on the scenery west of ABQ. Oh well, I just need to take it heading east sometime. We arrived in to Flagstaff at 11:30 p.m. – about 1.5 hours late. Overall, it was a great trip and I was quite relieved that my dad had a good time as well. I think he could be talked into another trip in the near future!

Also, I have assembled a slide show of the trip. It can be found here:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=56465..._id=701&utm

If your connection is slow, hit pause for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and enough of a buffer should build up for it to run smoothly.

Dan


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## had8ley (Apr 14, 2008)

A real class video...how your trip was as nice.


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## Radparker (Apr 14, 2008)

That was very cool. Thank you for sharing!


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## Rail Freak (Apr 14, 2008)

dan72 said:


> Sorry this is so late in posting. Time really got away from me!
> March 4th – We arrived at MSP Midway Station about 7:10 a.m. I had called Julie earlier that morning and she indicated it was running 29 minutes behind, but was expected to be on time. Sure enough, when I crossed over the tracks on Transfer Road, the EB was already at the station. We found a parking spot, unloaded, and hauled our gear into the station.
> 
> This trip was a first-ever father-son trip on Amtrak. My dad and I had talked about taking an Amtrak trip for quite some time and it was decided to make it happen this year. Originally, he had wanted to take the EB west, but with his sister and brother-in-law now permanently residing in Arizona, a trip out on the SWC made the most sense. We headed to the waiting area which had about 1/3 as many people as last July when I headed east to Boston. We were going to look for a place to sit when I they made the boarding call. It was a generally one and not by destination which has been the norm. We got in line for the conductor and were on board in short order. Seats were abundant this time around and we managed to get a good pick for a window. Since we were on the left, we headed for the lounge car shortly before leaving MSP to be able to look out on the Mississippi as we made out way southeast. We promptly left at 7:50 a.m.
> ...


WOW!!!!

That was great, especially since I went to Sedona last September.

THANX FOR SHARING


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## RailFanLNK (Apr 14, 2008)

Dan,

That was just too dang cool! I lost my dad Christmas Day 2004, I didn't discover Amtrak until 2006. He rode trains during WWII and we would have LOVED taking a trip like this. Do this while you can, so many of us get "too busy" with the game of life and the game of life doesn't last forever. Great job Dan!

Al


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## dan72 (Apr 14, 2008)

Thanks everybody for your kind words! It was fun to put together! 

Al, I'm sorry to hear about your dad. And yes, it was a driving factor behind doing this. He was hemming and hawing about it for awhile, but I'm glad I convinced him to do it. My mom flew down ahead of us as she does not care for trains plus she does have some health issues that would have made the ride tough for her. My dad is in good health, but he is nearing 70 and as I am finding out head towards 40 myself, things can change all too quickly without much warning. I do hope we get a chance to do it again!

Thanks again!

Dan


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## Steve4031 (Apr 14, 2008)

I liked the music with it to. U2 really nailed it with the sunrise on the Chief.


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## Cascadia (Apr 14, 2008)

Great report, thanks Dan. I have ridden from MSP to Chicago and enjoyed the route very much. Never done the Southwest Chief though and would sure love to do that sometime. Glad you had a nice trip and that you and your dad got to enjoy it together.


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