# Boston to LA and Back on Amtrak



## NETrainfan (Nov 21, 2010)

Cross-Country Amtrak Trip -November 2010

Route: Boston to Chicago on the Lake Shore Limited

Chicago to LA on the Southwest Chief

LA to Ventura on the Pacific Surfliner

Ventura to LA on the Amtrak Bus

LA to Chicago on the Southwest Chief

Chicago to Washington D.C. on the Capitol Limited

D.C. to Boston on the Acela

Background: My sister and I recently took our 4th cross-country Amtrak trip together. (I have also taken 2 other cross-country train trips.) We travel together each year from Boston to Florida or California to vacation with relatives. Our husbands are not LD train riders, so they mind the “forts”!

This was our first Amtrak trip with sleepers. On other trips, we have stopped over at various sites to spend the night and refresh. This time, we decided to have roomettes all the way- a total of six nights. We enjoyed 4 sunny, delightful days in California with family and enjoyed 6 days and nights on the train (except for the top bunks on the Superliners.)

On the way out to CA: We arrived at South Station in Boston in good time, found the Acela Lounge and were impressed with the service and facilities. This Lounge was quiet, relaxing, well designed, and comfortable. The ceilings look like artwork.

In a timely fashion, a friendly, helpful Red Cap took us right to our LSL Sleeper Car #4920. We had reviewed the dimensions of the Viewliner roomettes online, but were still surprised at how compact they are- very good for one person- a bit snug for two. We also had a good laugh about the sink, as it sputtered and sprayed a bit until we got the gist of use!

We had lunch with our neighbor (and her travel companion) from across the hall. The lunch was the offering I had read about- a giant Walnut Fruit Salad or a Roast Beef Bleu Cheese Sandwich. We all opted for the huge salad and Apple Pie for dessert. (I will have a separate section on the Food- the selections we had were always very good to excellent- yea for Amtrak food!) The dining car was very attractive, done in green and pink. We had never seen this type of dining car. Question? What is the name of this type of dining car?

We had been on the LSL several times. The interesting, but familiar, scenery was dotted with snow and we were glad to be heading to warmer climes.

We discovered what many have said- the Viewliner roomette is quite comfortable for sleeping both up and down. This was my bunk night and I found the top bunk quite comfortable. I enjoyed looking at the stars and stops as we chugged to Chicago.

At about 1:30 a.m. my sister woke me to ask if I smelled smoke. The train had stopped and sure enough- it turned out that a pile of leaves had caught fire due to a wheel spark (according to what we were told.) Men were out near the Baggage Car with flashlights-the fire was doused, and we were on our way. The conductor came through our car to reassure us that all was well. Of course, in the meantime we had dressed quickly and were ready to evacuate. Turns out, only our end of our sleeper had smoke odors. Oh- and a ways down the road we had strong skunk smell. An exciting first evening in a sleeper, for sure!

At Chicago Union Station, we went to the Metropolitan Lounge. In our opinion, the service and facilities are not as good as the Acela Lounge in Boston. Wonder if others on the forum agree or disagree?

We boarded the SWC, car #0331 and discovered the details of a Viewliner vs. a Superliner roomette. In the Superliner, the roomette seating was as comfortable as in the Viewliner, we didn’t miss the sink or toilet in the room, we liked having the bathroom at one end of the car and the three extra bathrooms and shower and changing room downstairs. (By contrast, the shower and changing room in the Viewliner were tiny and ice and other stuff was stored there-ICE?) The Superliner upper bunk is just way too small compared to the Viewliner. We took turns in the upper bunk and feel we earned our Girl Scout Upper Bunk Camper Badges. On our next cross-country train trip we are reserving 2 roomettes for ultimate sleeping comfort.

The Southwest Chief is one of our favorite Amtrak routes to date. The New Mexico landscape and the Raton Pass are highlights. We have stopped off in Santa Fe before, from Lamy, and have developed a passion for the Southwest. We had only one glitch on this segment of the trip- the Crew Dorm had to be removed at Albuquerque due to a spring problem (we were told). The crew were housed in empty rooms or coach seats. Amtrak and the passengers handled this well.

We took the Pacific Surfliner from LA to Ventura. Our 4 days in California were filled with sun, fun with family, wine tastings in the Santa Ynez Valley, a visit to Solvang, a harbor cruise, and much walking to explore.

On our trip back to Boston from LA, we were in car #0430 on the Southwest Chief. It was another beautiful ride through New Mexico and the Midwest. We slept right through a stop to take a couple off of the train due to fighting. They were arrested (we were told.)

We took the Capitol Limited (car #3000) from Chicago to Washington D.C. where we spent a night at the Hyatt Regency near the Capitol- not far from Union Station. We boarded the Acela at 9:00 a.m. the next day to Boston.

Service: The service on our long train journey ranged from good to excellent with the exception of the desk service at the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. We had two excellent attendants on the Southwest Chief and fine dining car service all the way.

Food: To our tastes, the food in general was delicious. There were generous portions. We had the scrambled eggs, biscuits, potatoes or grits(on some trains), coffee, & juice for breakfast- had the Walnut Salad, Angus Burger (2x), Turkey & Cheese Sandwich(2x) for lunches.

For dinner, we both enjoyed the Roast Chicken, the Crab Cakes, and the Shrimp Scampi- I also had the BBQ Brisket and my sister had Flat Iron Steak, among other selections.

Desserts were fabulous and filling. I had cheesecake, apple crumb pie, and a brownie with caramel (sooo rich). My sister had apple crumb pie, the brownie, ice cream, and a chocolate peanut butter pie. Yum.

We appreciate Amtrak’s attention to food quality and the good service provided on a moving train- no small feat.

Per usual, we had the best time meeting Train Fans from all over the country. Certainly one of the perks of traveling in a sleeper is having all meals in the dining room and chatting with folks who choose the train. We swapped stories and learned so much about the Amtrak trains we have not yet been on. We dined with a country song writer, a retired Amtrak employee, a retired Coast Guard captain, a man who wore two cowboy hats in the LA station, a fire chief and his wife, a lady from CA, two ladies from MA, two women from British Colombia, a man from Wisconsin, and a student from China, among others. Good times; good memories.


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## J-1 3235 (Nov 21, 2010)

Thanks for sharing your trip report with the forum. It seems you and your sister really enjoyed yourselves aboard Amtrak.

The diner is a Heritage Dining Car. The pink and green interior was installed when the diner was rebuilt; it is known as a "Temoinsa" rebuild.

The Club Acela is much nicer than the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. Of course, it handles only a fraction of the passengers that CHI does, so the traffic and noise level is much less. I am biased a bit, being from the Boston area.....

Thanks again for the TR.

Mike


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## jim hudson (Nov 21, 2010)

:hi: Nice trip! Always good when things run smoothly on LD trips but even things like delays due for various reasons like your trip turn into memory book stuff. Totally agree about the top bunks in Viewliners vs. Superliners, I love the top bunk in Viewliners, overall like the Superliners when I get to sleep on the bottom. As to the 2 roomettes vs. a bedroom, sometimes the bedroom is cheaper, sometimes the 2 roomettes, depends when/where you travel, which route but the Bedrooms are very comfortable for 2, several of our members took their Honeymoons on LD trains! :wub:

The Club Acelas are pretty nice, Chicagos lounge, as you said, can be crowded and the Brown Shirt women that "man" the desk and gates can be, well, sort of less than friendly! Thanks for the nice report, have you been on the California Zephyr, Empire Builder and Coast Starlight yet, if not start planning for a Great trip!


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## jim hudson (Nov 21, 2010)

:blush: My apologies, should have checked your signature, I didnt have my readiong glasses on and the print is faint/small on my old Dell. The Empire Builder. both sections (Portland and Seattle)are great, guess it's time to start p[lanning yallks next adventure!  Jim


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## Shanghai (Nov 21, 2010)

*Thanks for the great report. I think the Boston Lounge is one of the best*

*in the system. I also like those desserts and find the food to be good.*

*Glad you had a good trip.*


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## hello (Nov 21, 2010)

_NETrainfan, thank you for your review ... I enjoyed it! _

_ _

_We always do 2 roomettes across from each other ... as neither one of us is great at climbing into the top bunk. That way we, also, get to look out of both sides of the train!_

_ _

_I also thought the Boston Acela Lounge was great ... quiet, relaxing .. and beautiful! The Chicago lounge was enjoyable, but a LOT more crowded!_


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## NETrainfan (Nov 22, 2010)

J-1 3235 said:


> Thanks for sharing your trip report with the forum. It seems you and your sister really enjoyed yourselves aboard Amtrak.
> 
> The diner is a Heritage Dining Car. The pink and green interior was installed when the diner was rebuilt; it is known as a "Temoinsa" rebuild.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the name of the dining car. I'll have to research the differences between those and the "usual" dining cars. We also experienced the semi-circular seating in the dining car on the Capitol Limited (Cross Country Cafe?). People we dined with thought this dining car would be transferred to the Coast Starlight. Is this the case?


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## NETrainfan (Nov 22, 2010)

jim hudson said:


> :blush: My apologies, should have checked your signature, I didnt have my readiong glasses on and the print is faint/small on my old Dell. The Empire Builder. both sections (Portland and Seattle)are great, guess it's time to start p[lanning yallks next adventure!  Jim


Jim- The Empire Builder is on our "to do" list. Our next Amtrak trip is to Florida in March on the Silver Meteor.

Family wants to meet in Sedona, Arizona - so our Autumn 2011 Amtrak trip will be the SWC again!


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## NETrainfan (Nov 22, 2010)

Shanghai said:


> *Thanks for the great report. I think the Boston Lounge is one of the best*
> 
> *in the system. I also like those desserts and find the food to be good.*
> 
> *Glad you had a good trip.*



The concern we had with the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago was the attitude of some of the front desk people. In over 20 years of LD Amtrak travel- have never heard such rudeness to everyone! (Only 2 people at that desk were like this with all passengers -on our way West and return to the East.)

The Lounge itself has very comfortable seating and plenty of space, but in our opinion the friendly, helpful front desk in the Boston Acela Lounge sets the pace for a positive experience.


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## NETrainfan (Nov 22, 2010)

hello said:


> _NETrainfan, thank you for your review ... I enjoyed it! _
> 
> _ _
> 
> ...


Two roomettes across from each other are what we are considering for our next Superliner trip.


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## AlanB (Nov 22, 2010)

NETrainfan said:


> J-1 3235 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for sharing your trip report with the forum. It seems you and your sister really enjoyed yourselves aboard Amtrak.
> ...


Amtrak calls those cars the Temoinsa rebuilds because a Spanish company named Temoinsa built the kits that were used to refurbish the cars interiors. The car itself is the same as the older looking dining cars on the outside (structurally) and mechanically. Only the interior was gutted and the "kit" used to rebuild the inside of the car, what the passengers sees and the operating crews also.


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## PaulM (Nov 25, 2010)

As a Midwesterner and a frequent patron of the Metropolitan Lounge, I enjoyed your comments about it. I once lived in Boston but before the days of 1st class lounges; so I can't compare the two.

If you were able to get a peek any day around 5:00pm at the pens and gate wardens located just to the South of the lounge, you would realize why we out here don't complain too loudly about it.

It's true that some the staff guarding the door at the lounge fit the stereotype of what Midwesterners would expect in New York (I'm ducking). Although none of them exactly ooze charm, not all of them are as bad as have been portrayed.

PS. I think Chicago's customer service makes up for the other deficiencies.


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## NETrainfan (Nov 26, 2010)

PaulM said:


> As a Midwesterner and a frequent patron of the Metropolitan Lounge, I enjoyed your comments about it. I once lived in Boston but before the days of 1st class lounges; so I can't compare the two.
> 
> If you were able to get a peek any day around 5:00pm at the pens and gate wardens located just to the South of the lounge, you would realize why we out here don't complain too loudly about it.
> 
> ...



As mentioned, 2 (and only 2)of the desk people in the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge were less than polite to the passengers (in general) in the Lounge - on our way West and on our trip home we observed this. It wouldn't have concerned us much if it had been once- but twice with the same desk people? We haven't experienced this type of customer service on Amtrak ever- so it was surprising-and we've been to many stations in many cities and towns across the country.


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## jim hudson (Nov 26, 2010)

New York might have the name but the women in Chicago, both the desk guards and the gate brown shirts in training play the game! In roughly 50 trips through CHI I have not had one single instance of the desk woman in the Metro Lounge being friendly or helpful, :angry: same with the gate keepers out in the bullpens! Maybe they are Cub fans and are bitter cause its been over 100 years, perhaps it's the weather? :giggle:


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