# Fort Worth to Chicago Round Trip on the Texas Eagle



## printman2000 (Jul 9, 2013)

Living in Amarillo, we (my wife, two sons, 15 & 12, and myself) usually travel to Lamy, NM to catch the Southwest Chief. However, when I bought our tickets this year (the day they were released), the Southwest Chief was twice the price, so we decided on driving to Fort Worth and catching the Texas Eagle (#22) to Chicago.

We decided to drive down the day before the train departed to make sure there would be no problems. We spent the Friday night (June 28) at a friend's house in Fort Worth. It was really waking up in the same town as the Amtrak station. I am usually fairly stressed at the four hour trip to Lamy on the day we depart. Worried something might happen to cause us to miss our train. We had a nice leisurely day.

The train was running a bit late, but we still arrived at the Fort Worth station around 12:30. #21 was also running late and backed into the station at 2:07 (scheduled 1:25). Soon after, our train 22 pulled in engine first right next to 22 at 2:23 (scheduled 1:58pm). We boarded soon after.








The consist of our Texas Eagle #22 was...

P42 #77
Superliner II Transdorm
Superliner II Coach
Superliner I Coach/Baggage
Superliner I Lounge
Superliner I Diner/Lounge
Superliner I Coach
Superliner I Coach
Superliner II Sleeper

If you notice, there was an extra coach between the dining car and our sleeper. Found out later from our sleeper car attendant that the day before they hauled the 322 coach (normally only runs Chicago to St. Louis) all the way to help out with extra passengers who missed connections.

We were in the 2230 sleeper on the rear in two roomettes, 5 & 6. Kinda funny, but we have had quite a run of Superliner II sleepers. Since 2009, we have taken 15 sleeper trips and 11 of those have been in Superliner II sleepers. Since 2006 when we started our yearly family trips, we have been in a refurbished Superliner I sleeper only once. I like the roomette of the Superliner II. Without the closet, it gives a nice place to set our bag. However, I really like the refurbed I's with their nicer restrooms.

At 2:45, I heard the engineer on the radio say the fuel guy had not even started.

Finally, at 3:07, we started backing out of Fort Worth. We passed heritage unit #156 which is the Phase I paint scheme. It was serving as the protect unit at Fort Worth. Kinda a waste in my opinion. Get that thing out on the road!

We got 5:00 dinner reservations. The dining car (CCC) was not run very well. One server and an LSA. The LSA did not do much. The server was brand new in the dining car (after 20 years of being a coach attendant). She was pretty slow and no help from the LSA.

I got the steak. It was good and cooked to order. Also, for the first time, I successfully got rice instead of the vegetable medially. I have ordered it many times, but this was the first time I actually received it. My oldest son and I noticed other people getting the ribs. They looked good so we noted that for our return trip.

After dinner, we went to sit in the lounge for a bit and play cards. There was a guy at the next table with a TV and Xbox!

By the time we got to Longview, we were two hours behind schedule. Not too bad. Since I did not have a connection to make, I was not concerned. I enjoyed walking to the back of our sleeper and looking out the rear window. Nice sunset.






After dark, we made out beds and turned in. I did not sleep well. Never do the first night. Don't want to miss anything. Near Walnut Ridge, Ar, I was woken to the train stopping suddenly and hearing the brakes dump. I scrambled for my scanner but could not find the right channel in time to hear what happened.

We were told breakfast would start at 6:30, so we showed up at 6:30. We were then told to wait in the lounge. After a line formed in the lounge, they let us in at 6:45. We all had the French toast. It was good. Service was slow again.

In St. Louis, the train stopped and backed onto a siding to hook on the extra coach that would run to Chicago. It was coach #35007 which was a snack coach. After pulling into the station, we counted only 25 people getting on. Of course, it was a Sunday.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We arrived at Chicago Union Station at 2:22pm, one hour late. We went straight in and waited for our checked bags. Took about 20 minutes before they started coming in. We then went out and caught a cab to our hotel.

We spent 5 nights checking out Chicago. You can see more pics of our trip at http://www.craigmashburn.com/travelblog

On Friday, July 5th, we took another cab from our hotel to Union Station. We arrived around 10:30 for a 1:45 departure. We checked out bags and also checked into the Metropolitan Lounge and checked our carry-on bags there.

Then, we were off to Giordano's for a deep dish. It was very good.

We arrived back at the station around 1:00. Soon after, the conductor was there to scan everyone's tickets. Then, around 1:30, they took us to our train 22. The consist was...

P40 Heritage - Phase III - #822
Superliner II Transdorm
Superliner I Coach
Superliner I Coach/Baggage
Superliner I Lounge
Superliner I Diner/Lounge
Superliner I Coach
Superliner II Sleeper
Superliner I Snack Coach

I was excited to the see the Heritage motor on front. I believe this was the one that was pulling the anniversary train which we had seen before in Oklahoma City. The 421 & 321 coaches were the same ones we had had on our trip to Chicago. And, as you can see, we once again had a Superliner II sleeper.

We pulled out just about on time. an hour or so into the trip, I heard the engineer tell the conductor that as soon as they hot 80mph, the engine goes into safety. That we would have to go a little slower than normal to keep that from happening. I also heard this reported later at a crew change. Not sure exactly what that means. I thought a penalty was going too fast too long and it would make you stop the train to reset. We never had to stop so I must be wrong. The next day on the train, I clocked us going over 80 a couple of times so they may have fixed it en route.

At dinner, once again there was one server and an LSA that did not do much. Service was still slow, though the server was quite better on this train. My son and I decided to split out meals. I got the steak and he got the ribs and we each had half. The steak did not come with the sauce that was listed on the menu (and that we got on 21). Also, they had no steak knives. They said they were shorted them. Bothe the steak and the ribs were good. A lot of fat on the ribs, though.

When we got to St. Louis, I was interested in how they would drop the 321 coach. They did the full station stop. After everyone was boarded, they went to drop the coach right there in the platform where the train had stopped. I heard a conductor say a local will move it later.

I went back to the rear window of our sleeper to watch the coach pull away. They had some problems getting it uncoupled. They were banging away on the pins but it would not open. We pulled forward several times with no luck. When they finally got them disconnected, the train started to roll back into the coach and the guys started yelling to stop. They did not want to to recouple. It did not and we soon were pulling away.







As we were leaving, I saw that the spare P42 #50 that was sitting nearby was already moving to go get the coach we dropped off.







In the middle of the night, right after our stop in Little Rock. I was again woken by the sudden stop of the train and the sound of the brakes dumping their air. I turned on my scanner and was able to find the correct channel this time. Apparently, a passenger who was disgruntled that there was no Red Cap service at Little Rock pulled the emergency brake. Obviously, the crew was not happy. They sat awhile letting the brakes recharge, but they were not. The conductors had to walk the train looking for a leak. They found one on the dining car and once they fixed it, the brakes charged right back up and we were on our way.

I woke up around 6:00am to prepare to go to breakfast at 6:30. At 6:18 we were stopped and on the scanner I heard the engineer saying the signal was flashing back and forth between red and green. He was then given permission to pass the signal.

Breakfast was okay. French toast again.

We arrived in Dallas early at 10:55 (scheduled 11:30) so we sat quite a while. Got some pics of the engine.







We really wanted to get lunch before getting off on Fort Worth, so we went down to the dining car at 11:50 (they said they would start at noon). Right at noon, we went in and were seated. I had the Mac & Cheese (the entree, not the kids meal). I really liked it.

Scheduled arrival into Fort Worth is 1:25, but we were going to arrive early. However, we had no problems getting lunch finished even with the slow service. We were finishing our dessert when the train was backing into Fort Worth. Official arrival time was 1:08 but we actually arrived before 1:00. Something like 12:45. We collected our bags from inside the station and our friend picked us up. We went back to her house where my truck was and loaded up for the 6 hour trip back to Amarillo. We got home a little before 8:00.

This was the first year in many years that nothing on our Amtrak trip went wrong. For many years, we have had one issue or another (missed connections, reroutes, buses). Of course, this was a simple, relatively short trip so no connections to miss.

As far as my impression of the Texas Eagle, I will have to say I did not like it as much as other Superliner trains I have been on. While I like sleepers on the rear, I prefer trains where the sleepers are together and the dining car is right next to them. Did not like having to walk through coaches to get to the dining car. Nothing to keep me from riding it again, but if I have a choice, I would choose another train.

That is all I have. I always have grand plans of taking very detailed notes for a great report, but then I get on the train and the last thing I want to do is takes notes. So this is what I remembered.

Hopefully, we will get to go on another trip next summer. Probably to the East coast.


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## printman2000 (Jul 9, 2013)

Forgot to include this picture of the Xbox...


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## MrFSS (Jul 9, 2013)

Nice report, Craig - looks like your boys are really growing up from when you first started taking trips!


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## printman2000 (Jul 9, 2013)

MrFSS said:


> Nice report, Craig - looks like your boys are really growing up from when you first started taking trips!


Yeah, so much in fact, we may go back to Washington DC next year. They were 5 and 8 the last time we went!


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## Rail Freak (Jul 9, 2013)

_Nice Trip!!! I hate to wish any of my life away BUT Come On August!!!  It's been a whole year since my last trip!_

_RF_


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## AmtrakBlue (Jul 9, 2013)

Rail Freak said:


> _Nice Trip!!! I hate to wish any of my life away BUT Come On August!!!  It's been a whole year since my last trip!__RF_


I agree. I don't want summer to end too soon, but I can't wait till my trip in October.


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## Misty. (Jul 9, 2013)

Funny you saw the Xbox! I forget exactly which trip it was (though I want to say my SAC-CHI trip on the Zephyr about a year ago), but someone on my train did the same thing with a Playstation 3 and a TV (though they weren't lucky enough to get a table to keep their stuff on, lol). I was tempted to join in, but I didn't think they would have any games that I liked with them 



printman2000 said:


> Forgot to include this picture of the Xbox...


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## printman2000 (Jul 9, 2013)

Couple of details I just remembered that I found interesting. On train 21, the engineers and conductors would acknowledge detectors results by double clicking their radios.

Also, in one town, maybe Longview, the crossing gates at an intersection or two had automated messages on the radio. They would tell them that the gates were activated.


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## Bob Dylan (Jul 10, 2013)

:hi: Nice report and Pics Craig! I used to complain about having only 2 Trains a Day through Austin but at least I dont have to drive 4-6 Hours to catch a LD Train! I noticed ya'll like the French Toast, I'll have to try it next time I ride the Eagle, it had been replaced by Pancakes on several of the LD Trains and its been a couple of years since I tried it! Since I live in the Bar-B-Q Capitol of the World ^_^ I've never cared for the so called Bar-B-Q and Ribs they served on the Eagle but several of our Members have liked the New Version so I'll also give them a try next Trip on the Eagle! (Hurry October as was said!  )

It sounds like they are getting lots of New OBS on the Eagle,and the Equipment has Definitely improved! (I too like the rehab Superliner I Sleepers! I dont care for the "Summer" Consist either, I'm from the Sleepers belong on the Front next to the Diner School also!) (I used to know all of the Crews) SCAs and Diner Staff especially and while the Equipment has Improved it sounds like the Service has regressed! Still needs 2 Engines though, it's a Long haul thru Arkansas and Missouri in the Wee Hours!

Lastly, you didn't indicate if the Idiot that pulled the Emergency Brake was Identified but if so were they Dumped off like they should have been?


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## printman2000 (Jul 10, 2013)

jimhudson said:


> Lastly, you didn't indicate if the Idiot that pulled the Emergency Brake was Identified but if so were they Dumped off like they should have been?


Someone on the radio asked "That person is not still on the train are they?"

However, I never heard a response to that. They were identified because they told a conductor why they did it.

I agree, it needs two engines. If I were making a connection in Chicago, having only one would make me very nervous. Especially since I have been on several trains that had a failed unit.


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## lthanlon (Jul 18, 2013)

printman2000 said:


> Forgot to include this picture of the Xbox...


"Under Siege 2: Dark Territory"?


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