# PHL->NOL, STL->CHI, CHI->WAS, WAS->PHL



## SLY (Sep 4, 2007)

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post this sooner, but I did want to post a review of my recent long distance trip across about 1/2 of the U.S. I have to thank everyone here for your advice and help preparing me for this, my first, long distance trip.

My girlfriend and I left PHL after a long, nerve wracking few days of preparation for this trip. We would leave PHL on the 19 Crescent. We arrived at 30th Street Station about 1 hour before departure and checked baggage. From there, went upstairs to the Club Acela lounge. I was pacing around like crazy waiting to get on the train!

The lounge attendant greeted us and told us he'd announce when it was time to go down and we could go down the private elevators from the lounge directly to the track.







Although it seemed to take forever, the time finally came and we went to board. I was so nervous to just get on the train so I could relax knowing I was finally on board! Once we got on, we were taken to our room by the conductor and greeted shortly therafter by our sleeping car attendant. Everyone was very nice.











I had a few rail books with me and when the conductor saw that I had Rail Ventures opened up he asked if I was a buff. 

It was very pleasant to be finally on board where I could relax and just take in the sights. We went across the many waterways of Maryland on our way to D.C.






I got off in D.C. just to take a few pics of the train.






I know I was anxious to wander around but waited a bit longer till it was about dinnertime. I asked to eat somewhat late so we could enjoy our first meal on the train at sunset. The dining car staff was all terrific on the 19 train. Very funny, and made us feel welcome. We were even able to request to sit alone for our first meal and they complied since there wasn't a full car at our meal. For this, I left a nice tip which subsequently proved to be beneficial because for each meal therafter, we were always offered a table to ourselves. I had the Bas & Thyme Cod which was good, and she had the Cheese Tortelinni. We each had some wine with dinner which was our only expense and it was quite a nice meal setting.






I know I went to bed fairly early that night just from exhaustion from lack of sleep preparing for the trip! I woke up sometimes in the middle of the night and go off in Greenville, SC around 5AM to look around while they loaded up with newspapers, mail, and luggage.






Went back to bed, and woke up for breakfast. We both had the Railroad French Toast which was quite good.

Most of the day I spent gazing out the window at rural portions of Alabama and Mississippi. The only bad part of this trip occurred in Birmingham. We pikced up a crew of about 15 guys all out to have a good time. The bad part was they were already drunk at noon when they got on the train and it only got worse. They had roomette accomodations which meant they were in our car. Because they were all traveling together and they wanted to hang out together, they were allowed to sit in an empty bedroom to give them more room. The only problem was it was next to my room. They were extremely loud, screaming, cursing, and just plain drunk. I'm not one to complain about people being drunk (I know I had a good night on Burboun Street later that evening! :lol: ) but in that setting it was a bit upsetting. When we went to the dining car for lunch (I had the Angus Burger which was exceptionally good and she had the Chicken Sandwich), they were playing cards in the dining car because they couldn't get in the lounge car. That was not a pleasant dining experience. I couldn't really say anything to the attendant since I know he allowed them to sit there. I was able to take a nap and ignore as much as possible, but it was frustrating. It was almost upsetting since we had had such a pleasant experience on our first 22 hours of our first trip.

I woke up and got off to look at Meridan's renovated station.






From there, more gazing and anxious to arrive in New Orleans. We crossed Lake Ponchetrain at dusk which was a nice site.






From here, we spent the night in New Orleans and rented a car to go visit friends and relatives in Louisiana. We would pick the train back up in 6 days in St. Louis, Missouri. More to follow!


----------



## SLY (Sep 4, 2007)

We drove across Louisiana, into Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri to visit my family and a friend. We would finally end up in St. Louis to catch the 22 Train to Chicago.

I had been checking AmtrakDelays.com to keep up on 22's recent performance. I still set my alarm to wake up and call Julie to see if there was a delay. Sure enough, it was running approximately 1 hour 56 minutes late that day. We decided to take our time getting ready. I continued to call Julie to see if there were any changes and it continue to say the train was not due to arrive until 9:35AM. My last call was around 8:30.

For whatever reason, I called from the cab on the way to the St. Louis station one last time. This was at 8:50. I almost freaked out when the recording had changed in 15 minutes to say "The train ARRIVED at 8:42AM." I thought for sure we were screwed, considering that since they were already behind, there would be no need for the train to wait. 

We could see the Eagle sitting at the station when I told the driver to floor it. I jumped out at the station and ran to the train, while my girlfriend gathered the bags as best she could. I just wanted to let them know we were here!

For whatever reason, even though the phone system was not reliable that morning, it was somewhat correct. They had a crew issue and they were going to be delayed at least 45 minutes before leaving. :unsure:











We had booked a roomette on this leg because I had seen the delays the Eagle normally experienced. I figured this would help if we were stuck on the train longer than expected. One of the coolest experiences of the whole trip happened as we boarded here in STL.

The dining car attendant met us at the door to the sleeper when we boarded. He said "We were expecting you...do you want breakfast?" I said, sure we'd love some, to which he replied "come on, you've got to go right now -- we've stopped serving but were waiting for you." We were the only passengers boarding for a sleeper and the last ones to board until arrival in Chicago, so they were kind enough to wait for us. Really a nice touch and they were well compensated for their kindness.

I tried the Bob Evans breakfast which was quite good!






We went through some nice farmland in Illinois and passed a really cool "parade" of tractors somewhere near Carlinville, I'd guess. 






I just relaxed throughout the morning and then we had lunch on the train before our arrival in Chicago that afternoon.






We transferred here and didn't stay overnight. I was nervous about making this connection after checking the Eagle's recent performance. We did arrive in Chicago long enough to walk around so my girlfriend could get some Starbucks and we could check out a bit of the city before catching the 30 Train that afternoon. We spent some time relaxing in the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station before preparing to leave for WAS.











More to come...


----------



## SLY (Sep 4, 2007)

The last two portions of our trip were on the 30 Capital Limited from CHI to WAS, and then an Acela to PHL.

We had another bedroom on the 30 Train. It seemed to be a bit more updated that the Viewliner Bedroom, although it could have simply been that the Superliners were newer.

We had a nice ride out of Chicago and went for dinner. This train was probably the most crowded of any we took. It was difficult to get a seat at your preferred meal, and unfortunately the staff on most of this train was by far the least personable. It was not a horrible experience, but it was not our favorite portion.

The positive for this trip was that I slept the best on this train of all of them. I probably slept a straight 10 hours and woke up mid morning for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast and then did some sightseeing throughout most of Maryland.






I got off in Cumberland at the sleeper car and took a little walk as the train pulled forward to discharge passengers from coach. We probably spent about 10 minutes in Cumberland so it was nice to wander around a bit.

As we were leaving, a bunch of rafters were floating down the river. Most of them were excited to set the train as much as we were excited to see them!











The day seemed to fly by as we cruised through rural portions of West Virginia and Maryland. Once we got to Rockville, I noticed we were most likely going to be on time. I had another connection booked in WAS which I didn't expect to make, but at least there is plenty of regional service that it wouldn't have been a problem. The nice thing was that we got to WAS about 30 minutes early. I had booked First Class on the Acela from WAS to PHL. I asked in the Acela Lounge if we could switch to an earlier Acela to PHL.

I was told I needed to pay $25 per ticket more because we had booked at a much lower fare. I didn't much care either way since I only had to wait an hour more, but it was feeling nice to get closer to home so we did it.






Once on the Acela, we relaxed in the plush First Class area.











The First Class attendant soon came by and took our drink orders. I knew I was going to have an alcoholic beverage of some kind since it was basically my only benefit of First Class. We also got dinner which was a good meal for both of us. She had vegetable lasagna and I had the sliced beef plate.






From there, it was smooth sailing into PHL which was a quick trip, once again over some familiar Maryland waterways.






My friend picked us up early at PHL and we got home earlier than expected.

This trip was an awesome experience. While it was quite extensive for a first timer, we thoroughly enjoyed it. I was the one excited about going even though my girlfriend wasn't too keen on it. She did open up and we'll be planning another trip in the near future.

I again want to thank everyone here for all your help answering questions and planning!


----------



## MrFSS (Sep 4, 2007)

Great report - Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Sam Damon (Sep 4, 2007)

SLY,

For your next trip, you might want to consider making a little loop -- #43 to Pittsburgh, stay a night (or not), take #30 to WAS, and regional or Acela back to Philadelphia.

Thanks for the trip report!


----------

