# Mini Trip Report for my Midwest Adventures



## AlanB (Mar 2, 2004)

Well I’m back from my round about trip through the mid-west a day earlier than expected. Thanks to a silly, stupid mistake on my part I was forced to rework the end of my planned trip. While I will do a full trip report eventually, I did want to tell the a bit of my story. Additionally I wanted to address a few questions that had been asked on the BB recently. So to that end, here goes.

My original itinerary was as follows:

Leave NY on the Lake Shore Limited on Tuesday Feb 24th.

Transfer to the SW Chief in Chicago, riding that to Kansas City.

Then overnight in KC.

Catch the Ann Rutledge on Thursday, which runs back to Chicago via St. Louis

Check into a Chicago Hotel for 4 nights as a base of operations.

Ride the Wolverine to Pontiac, MI. on Friday, returning that night on the Twilight Limited.

Saturday & Sunday, riding CTA & METRA trains with a friend.

Monday the 1st, catch the International to Toronto.

Spend one night in TWO, then catch VIA’s Enterprise the overnight run between TWO & Montreal.

Returning home from Montreal to NY on Wednesday, via the Adirondack.

Well things went quite well for the first 6 days with most trains running very close to on time. The worst was the Ann Rutledge, which thanks to UP, was 3 hours late into St. Louis. My luck ran out on Monday morning, when I made the mistake of thinking that the International left at 9:50 AM. It leaves at 9:40 AM and I have no idea how I got that time into my head.

I was actually in Chicago Union Station long before that time. I stopped and grabbed breakfast at the McDonalds in CUS. Then I had a client page me and thinking that I still had time I decided to return that call from the McD’s since reception is better upstairs, than it is down in the waiting room. After talking for about 5 minutes, I ended the conversation since I knew that I was getting close. As I headed down the escalator, I heard the engineer of the International say goodbye to the gate agent.

My 10-minute mistake in departure times had cost me my ride. For that matter, had I not removed my earpiece for the scanner, I probably would have heard the call for passengers my scanner. But I had removed that for a few minutes so that I could better hear on the cell phone.

So after watching the taillights of my train fade into the distance, I sat and quickly considered my options. Trying to get to Toronto on my own, postponing my trip by one day, or just giving up and returning home. I decided that I would save the money and return home.

So I traded in my International & Adirondack tickets towards the price of a sleeper on the Lake Shore. I then went into the Metropolitan Lounge, got on-line with my laptop, and canceled my VIA reservations and my Toronto hotel reservation.

So word to the wise, always take your breakfast food to the waiting area. 

Now moving on, while a decision was made to remove the TV screens from the Viewliner sleepers, this project is not moving all that quickly, as I screens in both of my sleepers. Additionally at least one report that I had seen, although I can’t find it right now, had stated that Amtrak would immediately stop showing movies in the cars, even if the screens had not yet been removed.

This has not happened, at least yet, as I had movies in both directions and I did not have the same car on my return that I had on the way to Chicago. So I don’t know when or if Amtrak plans to stop the movies, but it clearly hasn’t happened yet.

Next the NY Lake Shore connection to the Boston section, or lack thereof. Westbound there was quite clearly no across the platform transfer as promised by Amtrak. In fact the Boston section wasn’t even in the station when we arrived and the passengers from Boston were not visible on the platform. The Boston passengers boarded our train with the rest of the passengers boarding from Albany.

On the return however, there was indeed an across the platform transfer, as the Boston shuttle was sitting alongside the platform. The pitiful looking section can only be called a shuttle, as there were only 3 cars and 1 engine. One P42, one US mail car substituting as a baggage car, one Amfleet I Amcoach, and one Amfleet I Amcafe.

Next as a few others have already confirmed, sodas have indeed been removed from the sleepers. Only juice, water, and coffee are still provided. In an interesting twist however, when one rides business class on the mid-west trains (like the Ann Rutledge) soda is still included as a perk. Also juice, coffee, and tea are included. However, one can no longer get bottled water for free in business class.

Amtrak wants consistency and yet they have now instituted to completely different policies, even if the service classes are largely different. One of the reasons, supposedly, for the removal of soda from the sleepers was the fact that not all attendants would put the soda out. So to make things consistent Amtrak removed soda from the list of free things. Yet one can still get soda in business class for free, but not water, which one can still get for free in a sleeper. Go figure.  :blink:

By the way in a final stunning end to my week on the rails, the so-called Late Shore was really the Lake Shore today. We arrived 9 minutes early today into Penn Station. 

And that will wrap up my mini-report.


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## AMTRAK-P42 (Mar 2, 2004)

Sounds like you had an exciting trip. Glad to hear it!


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## engine999 (Mar 2, 2004)

Assumption can be dangerous


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## Anthony (Mar 2, 2004)

Are you going to try to take the International before it isn't the International anymore?


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## AlanB (Mar 2, 2004)

Anthony said:


> Are you going to try to take the International before it isn't the International anymore?


Well I still hope to try and get a ride in before it fades into history. However I've yet to start really looking at schedules, money, and other issues.


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## AlanB (Mar 2, 2004)

By the way I forgot to add the following info about the cross platform transfer at Albany.

It should also be mentioned that due to the track configurations at Albany, any time Amtrak does provide a true cross platform transfer, it requires the Boston shuttle to perform a backup maneuver. The line from Boston can only directly access the main track at Albany, which is the only track at the first platform. The second platform at Albany is a center island that serves the other two tracks at Albany. These tracks lead only to NY when heading south.

So the Boston section must backup to a point past the old station, then pull forward crossing over a switch to the main track in order to reach the branch line running to Boston. Either that or they must pull south towards NY, then perform a backup move onto the main track, and then once again pull forward onto the Boston bound branch.


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## Bill Haithcoat (Mar 3, 2004)

Thanks for the exceptionaly interesting report, Alan. Too bad about missing the International.... and the other trains after that..what a difference ten minutes makes.

Twice in my life I have come within seconds----yes, seconds----of missing a train but it has not happened yet. Must really be a sinking feeling.

Hope you can try again soon while you still can. And, this time, skip the McDonald's!!!!!!


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## Save Our Trains Michigan (Mar 3, 2004)

I would never think of Alan missing a train :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

But it looks like you had fun and thats what counts


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## battalion51 (Mar 3, 2004)

> Twice in my life I have come within seconds----yes, seconds----of missing a train but it has not happened yet.


My closest call is about two minutes. I made it to Ft. Lauderdale at 7:41 for a 7:43 departure, if it weren't for my speeding on 595 I would've missed it for sure.


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## Amfleet (Mar 3, 2004)

They way CUS operates you would've thought you're train would depart late anyway. I would've been incredibly pissed though is I saw the markers of my train slowly fade into the distance. :angry:


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## Bill Haithcoat (Mar 3, 2004)

Amfleet said:


> They way CUS operates you would've thought you're train would depart late anyway. I would've been incredibly pissed though is I saw the markers of my train slowly fade into the distance. :angry:





> Many times I have been hanging around stations when I had to witness people seeing the markers disappear. This is in smaller stations, where you can more easily tell what is going on. Seen it a number of times. Always feel bad for the people. Also feel bad for the agent when they are chewing him out about it afterwards.
> 
> I do recall once when my father was driving around in a strange city, they were going to put me on the train to go home, while they drove. Daddy got lost but finally found the station, 20 minutes after train departure, but fortuantely the train was still in. The day was saved.
> 
> All kinds of reasons for people to be late at the station.


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## Viewliner (Mar 3, 2004)

Wow, talk about your bad luck, sorry to hear you missed the International and your Canada portion. I believe (and I hope) that your first time missing this train will be your last. The closest I remember being to missing a train (though I may have actually missed an NJT at one point), is once an incorrect announcement said that the New York Train would be boarding on the outbound track, the train then pulls on to the inbound track shortly after, but thankfully we managed to get on the train, despite having to go under it (using the stairwell of course).


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## battalion51 (Mar 3, 2004)

Bill Haithcoat said:


> Many times I have been hanging around stations when I had to witness people seeing the markers disappear. This is in smaller stations, where you can more easily tell what is going on. Seen it a number of times. Always feel bad for the people. Also feel bad for the agent when they are chewing him out about it afterwards.


Actually usually it's the passenger that chews out the agent, not the other way around. I've been on board several times (it always happens at Deerfield Beach for some reason), when we'll do our station work, wait on the card. Once watches hit 08:02, the Conductor will high ball the engine, and they'll dial down the gates. It seems like once every five trips or so, once those gates have been dialed down the agent will say on the radio "Hold on hold on I've got some late people here." 9 times out of 10 the Conductor will say back to him "Next train's in three and a half hours," and on we go to Delray Beach. Never show up late and expect a pity stop, because most of the time you won't get it.


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## coachseats (Mar 4, 2004)

Once when I boarded the Capitol Limited in Cleveland, a lady who was supposed to get on the Lake Shore Limited (which was following directly behind but the situation was well explained with station announcements) got on our train instead! I overheard on the conductor's radio as they decided that she would have to ride all the way to D.C. and then connect to NYC because there was no safe way to transfer her to the correct train. Don't feel bad, Alan, not only did she miss her train, she got on the wrong one!


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## Bill Haithcoat (Mar 4, 2004)

battalion51 said:


> Bill Haithcoat said:
> 
> 
> > Many times I have been hanging around stations when I had to witness people seeing the markers disappear. This is in smaller stations, where you can more easily tell what is  going on. Seen it a number of times. Always feel bad for the people. Also  feel bad for the agent when they are chewing him out about it afterwards.
> ...


No big deal B51 but I think you mis-read me on that point....I did, indeed, mean (as did you) that the passenger would chew out the agent.

Though I did not hang around the station nearly as much as you do, we did "kind of" know the ticket agents and would thus feel sorry when they would be given a hard time over something which was not their fault.


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## panamaclipper (Mar 5, 2004)

Years ago I was in Philly and had boarded the train with some friends. We had some time before departure so I decided to run back upstairs to get a magazine. When I came back down to the platform - no train. Boy that's the worst feeling. As it turned out, I had gone down the wrong ramp and my train was still there a platform away. But I still remember that feeling of staring at those empty tracks. Not good.


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## whc6 (Mar 8, 2004)

This past holiday season I was in Wilson NC waiting for the southbound Carolinian to take me home to Davidson. About 1/2 hour before the train was due to arrive, an extremely agitated woman burst onto the platform, snarled a bit, then stomped away to her car.

Shortly thereafter, the station master strolled out looking a bit harrassed. It seems the women was mad because she missed her train - the Palmetto. Apparently the Palmetto had been running consistently late, so the women arrived at the station about the time the consistently late train had been arriving. Unfortunately for her, the train was on time that day and was long gone. In her demented worldview, it was Amtrak's fault the train was on-time.


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## engine999 (Mar 8, 2004)

whc6 said:


> This past holiday season I was in Wilson NC waiting for the southbound Carolinian to take me home to Davidson. About 1/2 hour before the train was due to arrive, an extremely agitated women burst onto the platform, snarled a bit, then stomped away to her car.
> Shortly thereafter, the station master strolled out looking a bit harrassed. It seems the women was mad because she missed her train - the Palmetto. Apparently the Palmetto had been running consistently late, so the women arrived at the station about the time the consistently late train had been arriving. Unfortunately for her, the train was on time that day and was long gone. In her demented worldview, it was Amtrak's fault the train was on-time.


:lol: People always figure Amtrak will be late, but they never actually take the time to call amtrak and ask for train status. It takes less thena minute and can save aggrivation. That reminds me og a guy who was supposed to get on the southbound star in the morning at about 10:30. Turned out the train came in and he just stayed sitting on the bench, and it left without him.  Maybe people need to pay alittle more attention. Luckily there was still the southboand meatear so he was able to leave the same day.


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