# Chicago Round Trip 9/17 tp 9/23



## The Metropolitan (Sep 16, 2006)

Tomorrow, I'll be leaving for a weeklong journey to Chicago. We depart aboard the Cardinal from Baltimore to Chicago, arriving Monday (hopefully) morning. After spending a few days there, including a daytrip to Milwaukee, and a possible connecting "hop" aboard the CZ to Naperville, we'll depart Chicago on 9/21 bound for Pittsburgh on the Capitol Limited. We'll stop over for one day before resuming our homeward sojourn using #42 to Philadelphia and #159 to Baltimore.

I may or may not have PC access, *BUT* I will be taking mobile phone shots the entire week and uploading them instantly to a photobucket page, so that you can watch my trip as it happens...

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/mtabusrunner/

On this trip, rides will be taken on Baltimore MTA, Amtrak (of course), CTA, Pace, Megabus, Milwaukee Transit, Wisconsin Coach Lines, Kenosha Transit, Metra, Port Authority of Pittsburgh, and SEPTA of Philadelphia.

Come along for the ride, and enjoy the adventure!

I'll be sure to annotate the photos with comments of the trips when I return.


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## MrFSS (Sep 16, 2006)

The Metropolitan said:


> Tomorrow, I'll be leaving for a weeklong journey to Chicago. We depart aboard the Cardinal from Baltimore to Chicago, arriving Monday (hopefully) morning. After spending a few days there, including a daytrip to Milwaukee, and a possible connecting "hop" aboard the CZ to Naperville, we'll depart Chicago on 9/21 bound for Pittsburgh on the Capitol Limited. We'll stop over for one day before resuming our homeward sojourn using #42 to Philadelphia and #159 to Baltimore.
> I may or may not have PC access, *BUT* I will be taking mobile phone shots the entire week and uploading them instantly to a photobucket page, so that you can watch my trip as it happens...
> 
> http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/mtabusrunner/
> ...


I will be interested in your comments on Megabus. From what points will you be riding it?
How can you ride the CZ to Naperville? Will you be riding from Chicago or somewhere else? I thought they didn't allow that???? If you can, I'd be interested in knowing about it for a future trip to Chicago I might make.

Have a great trip. I have the photo place bookmarked.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 16, 2006)

Megabus will be Chicago to Milwaukee on Wednesday morning for all of us. One of us will leave Chicago early Thursday on Megabus from Chicago to Cleveland, while the two of us will remain to catch the Capitol Limited to Pittsburgh, where our friend will intercept us after his afternoon in Cleveland. All of our Megabus tix were bought on the first day of availability, so my buddy is psyched he's going to Cleveland for less than local bus fare! $1! (even if his Amtrak ticket is priced from Chicago, so he's not saving anything) 

Initially, we were going to take the Hiawatha back, but with RMadison's help, discovered that we could combine this with a desired Kenosha trip in the same day by using Wisconsin Coach Lines from MKE.

Naperville is not a typical alighting stop for the W/B CZ or SWC (and quite likely the IZ too!), BUT!, you can book it as your destination from a point on another Amtrak spoke from Chicago, and they'll allow you to alight there. I booked this as a trip from BAL to NPV to get the ticket. Why? Well, if I never get a chance to ride it again, I could always say I have ridden the CZ.  Besides, it was only $7.50 more to book it, and results in a "ride" to qualify for some more points.

Thanks for bookmarking the page. Aside from the NEC (and the NS as far as Manassas) and the PGH-PHI segment, this is all entirely new territory for me, so I'm pumped!


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## MrFSS (Sep 16, 2006)

The Metropolitan said:


> Naperville is not a typical alighting stop for the W/B CZ or SWC (and quite likely the IZ too!), BUT!, you can book it as your destination from a point on another Amtrak spoke from Chicago, and they'll allow you to alight there. I booked this as a trip from BAL to NPV to get the ticket. Why? Well, if I never get a chance to ride it again, I could always say I have ridden the CZ.  Besides, it was only $7.50 more to book it, and results in a "ride" to qualify for some more points.
> Thanks for bookmarking the page. Aside from the NEC (and the NS as far as Manassas) and the PGH-PHI segment, this is all entirely new territory for me, so I'm pumped!


WOW - I hadn't thought about doing it that way. Wonder if you could book from MKE to Naperville? Might be worth remembering next time I do the Chicago thing.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 16, 2006)

MrFSS said:


> WOW - I hadn't thought about doing it that way. Wonder if you could book from MKE to Naperville? Might be worth remembering next time I do the Chicago thing.


You certainly can! It tacks on about $11 to the fare, but gives you a little bit of a Superliner ride without getting too far away from Chitown.

That much said, I'd probably be personally aversive to booking a trip like this on a really high traffic day, as it may well shut AMTK out of a more viable fare for these trains.


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## Trogdor (Sep 17, 2006)

If you really wanted to, you could book Amtrak GLN-NPV (via CHI) for $18. Glenview used to be a "no local traffic to CHI" station, but no longer is. Of course, an Amtrak ticket CHI-GLN is $7, and Metra is about $3 (approximately; I don't know their exact fares and am too lazy to look them up). So, if I get really desperate for AGR points towards the end of the year, I could get really familiar with the CHI-GLN route.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

Ok, spent most of the day doing this, but hopefully, you'll find it entertaining - the full write up of my weeklong adventure into and out of Chicago...

At 9:25am, Sunday, September 17th, I head out, to begin my most adventuresome journey to date - a weeklong ground excursion that is intended to include stops at the following cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, before returning to home. On this trip, I'll be hoping for adventure and some interesting outcomes. I'll come to get all of this, in ways I would have never expected...

DAY ONE - LEAVING BALTIMORE







A little before 9:50am, I make it to the #11 bus stop, after making a stop off for some bagels enroute. Coach #4020 pulls up about 10:02, operated by my regular driver to work from two picks ago. We chat for the trip down with regards to the trip, and I alight at Oliver Street. I call my female friend who is accompanying us, and find that she's aboard the first NB light rail train from Camden, so I meet her at Mt. Royal, and we make the two block walk to Penn Station since the shuttle is not yet running.

We arrive at the station around 10:25am, and about 15 minutes later, our male friend arrives, rounding out our trio. After waiting for this adventure for months, we're now down to less than an hour before we actually embark on it. I keep glancing at the Solari Board, gawking at the RAREST destination you'll ever actually see displayed upon it - CHICAGO, which is only shown three times a week in the passing of the Cardinal, which for the next 24 hours, will be our home.

The train is shown on the board as having an 11:20am arrival time, which seems odd since there's a Southbound Acela Express shown at 11:19am. However, the display board changes the status to 5 minutes late, which is closer to the 11:24am arrival time indicated in the timetable.






Finally, the time has come, and our grand voyage is all set to begin, as the announcement is made for the arrival of train #51 - the Cardinal. We hurredly make our way to the platform to await its arrival. After a few minutes, the little train makes its way in to Penn Station. At present, it's being pulled by motor #929, and consists of three Amfleet II coaches, an Amfleet lounge car, and a Viewliner Sleeper. About 20 people are waiting to board it here, and my curiosity wonders to know where everyone is heading on this Sunday.

We enter, and have to walk almost to the front of the second car in order to find a pair of open seats - there are a decent number of people aboard this train already - does make one wonder what it could be as a DAILY train! We're hardly settled in before we're already moving. Our journey has begun, and we're all smiles - Amfleet II Coach 25068 will be our home for the next day, and it will treat us pretty well, even if we're just about sitting over the trucks.

Shortly after enjoying a snack, I make my way to the restrooms, largely for the excuse of being able to signify off everyone's seat checks to get a feel for where the ridership on this particular car is headed. It appears we're about the only ones on here yet going to "CHI," inspection finds a couple of "ALX" Alexandrias, a lot of "CVS" Charlottesvilles, and a equally good number of "CHW" Charleston WVs. Rounding out the offerings are a scattering of "CIN" Cincinattis, some "PRC" Princes, and a pair of "IND" Indianapolis checks.

We make it into DC in no time, and sit for the hour given to make the loco switch. We're told to make all seats available, even though the load really probably never grows to more than 75% at any one time. At Washington, we pick a number of other passengers, including a very presentable lady across from us going to "WSS" White Sulphur Springs, and a young Mets fan in front of her going to Cincinatti, both of whom we'll spend a good bit of time chatting with in the coming hours. Initially, we make the lady out to be riding to Greenbrier - "Nope" she explains, too rich for her blood, instead she's visiting a friend's house. Our Mets fan will be chatting with us a lot, in between attempts to snooze.

We roll out of DC right on time, and pick up a couple dozen folks at Alexandria, and some more in Manassas. By this point, our train is about as crowded as it will get. Later it will be similarly crowded on our approach into Chicago, though most of the faces will have changed, as a walk to the Cafe car at this point, and sampling of the seat checks shows. A good sample of the stops exist, including Staunton and Clifton Forge in Virginia. There are now a few "WSS" checks, a couple of "ALD" Alderson checks, but by now, the "CHW" checks have gotten quite common, along with more "CIN" and "IND" as well as about 6-8 other "CHI" checks for others who are going the distance with us.

Passing Manassas, we're in new territory for me. Since I don't have a Railroad Atlas for this area, all I can do is do my best to determine my location looking at a 40 year old ESSO Road map. Culpeper comes and goes, and with it a few exchanges. By this point, however, it seems as if internet access on the phones are a no-go, so my idea to offer real time updates of the trip tends to wither.

Charlottesville comes within good time - only about 10 minutes late due to a brief hold from a NB NS train, and with it comes a whole lot of activity - lots of boardings and alightings, as well as the second crew change for us.






After Charlottesville, we're entirely in Cardinal territory, having split from the Crescent's route. Now its time to head West towards West Virginia. Our first unique station is Staunton, which offers quite a glimpse of a small Western Virginia town - closely packed, and very quaint, with the railroad seeming to run right through its heart.






Soon after, we're amid the Shenandoahs, which offer a few nice vistas when not blocked by the trees.






Sometime around now, with an instant of suprise, pass the only other Amtrak train we will see for the rest of our journey - this being the Eastbound Cardinal, which sits in a siding awaiting our passing - it's sleeper attendant hanging out to "touch" our train as it slowly passes, and possibly trying to exchange a supply or two. The Eastbound appears to be no more than 40 minutes behind.

Clifton Forge, our last Virginia stop comes in just a hair past 6:00pm, and has the usual assortment of friendly folks coming out to meet or see off relatives and friends, and in many cases, these folks bring out the youngns or the family pooch to visit and get a look at the rare passenger trains in these parts. As we prepare to roll out, I manage to exchange a wave with a toddler.






By this point, the sun is beginning to do battle with ones views, while our tummies are beginning to do battle with our appetites, so better half, the Mets fan, and myself head to the lounge car to figure out how to assemble a dinner of sorts. Our Mets fan goes for a Turkey & Cheese Sub, Hot Wings, and soda. Better Half opts for a Cheeseburger, Pizza, and soda, while I simply opt for just the burger and soda. Though all of it is convection/micronuked, all of it is rather palatable - my burger does indeed have a nice taste to it, and the bread is not too soggy.

We chat for a bit before returning. As it turns out, the Mets fan, who works with Carnivals, actually grew up in Baltimore too - Baltimore, OHIO that is!  It is his first time taking the train, and though he dreads that he'll be arriving in Cincinatti at about 3am, he is enjoying the journey, and would likely ride again, but wishes that the trains were more convenient to his location in central Ohio.

We return to our seats finally. Having been in the lounge since 7:00pm, we've only glimpsed our stops at White Sulphur Springs and bright orange Alderson stations, and lament that we didn't get a chance to say good bye to the nice lady who was sitting across the aisle from us.

As the light in the sky begins to fade, so too does our patronage, as we drop off folks at Hinton and Prince, both of which have some very rustic looking stations. I do find interest in being able to discern "Chessie," the sleeping cat, on the floor of the Prince station. Humorous item is the Conductor's announcement regarding the smoke break allotted for Prince, "When we make our stop at Prince, STAY with the train, do not wander into the station, do not wander into the parking lot, or you will be left! The next train will not come through here until WEDNESDAY, and that's a LONG time to be staying in Prince, West Virginia!"

Upon leaving Prince, its just about time to call it a night, as any of the majesty of the New River Gorge will be lost on me this time. We slow but skip our stop at Thurmond, WV, and settling in, I'm a little confused regarding our stops ahead, as I've put the timetable away. We stop at Montgomery, WV, and pick up a lone lady, dropping off a couple of others. We find amusement in the combination liquor/video store that sits across from the small station.

Charleston comes about an hour later, where a nice lady who was sitting behind us, and giving us an impromptu tour of the things to be seen along the route, such as the prison where Martha Stewart stayed, and the West Virginia Capitol, rises to alight, and wishes us a pleasant trip. Here, as with Charlottesville, there is a LOT of activity at the station, with significant boardings and alightings.

If you'll notice, I've said very little with regard to OTP, mainly because it has not been a problem at all - we've been rolling the way the Cardinal was meant to fly, and have not been more than 10 minutes behind at any station. This is the way it should be.

The track has at times left a bit to be desired, most notably before Clifton Forge, but at the moment, it is pretty smooth.

As the evening grows long, we find ourselves drifting off just a bit. I still have a little bit of excitement within me, and am subconsciously trying to stay awake to be able to say I was conscious in Kentucky. While I think we've accomplished this, as I inform my friends that we've arrived in Ashland, KY, I'm met with some embarrasment when told by a lady who just boarded that we're in Huntington, WV! 

I do however, stay alert long enough to witness our station stop in Ashland, before zoning out, and being lulled to sleep by the drone of the diesel and its horn. Despite my sleepy state, I do recall awakening at least once for a stop, one of which, I'm conscious enough to assume was our station stop at South Portsmouth.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

DAY TWO - INTO CHICAGO

I awaken in the middle of the night, and peer out the window to ponder where I am, only to zero in on a tower in the distance. I can't be so lucky. I was hoping to be awake for this approach, and something shook me up in perfect time for it. As we pull closer, I realize we're coming into Cincinatti, and we're actually a couple of minutes AHEAD of schedule!






I awaken my friends, both of whom were also interested in seeing Cincy for the first time. Better half text messages a Cincy-native friend at home in Bmore a little humorous "WKRP" style message, while I try to take in what I can of the station in the dim light, which ain't much. We do get a chance to say farewell to our Mets fan, and wish him a safe trip. After leaving, we soon settle back down to get some more rest.

Connersville slips past me, but I awaken in a dark rainy neighborhood, and assume that we're approaching Indianapolis. Follow up with a reasonably sized city with a FIRST INDIANA tower only confirms this. We pull into the station a few minutes past our departure time, and eventually continue on, now quite well loaded again from the Cincinatti and Indy crowds.






We spend the next couple of hours going back and forth between spells of alertness and fogginess, but we're able to recall making the flag stop at Crawfordsville for an apparent Amtrak employee, as well as the stop in Lafayette, IN, which is made a little over 20 minutes behind schedule.






The rest of the ride is fairly unspectacular, and admittedly rather dull, largely playing pokey with a number of soybean fields, which on a sunny day would probably look spectacular with their yellowish leaves, but in the dreariness of this Indiana morning, look only mildly interesting at best.

Following Crawfordsville, we stop several times, but I'm never able to determine just where Rennselaer is because of this. I do make out Dyer though, and assume it will still be some time until we make it to Chicago. However, this assumption proves quite the contrary, as we come across a Railroad Crossing to discover a CTA bus patiently awaiting our passing. My stomach gulps a bit when I fathom that we're here ALREADY, which seems a strange concept after having spent nearly 24 hours in coach.

As our train approaches through a route I am never quite able to determine, due to our lack of passing Commuter stations enroute, I work to try to pinpoint our location, and finally nail it down when we approach US Cellular Field. By this point, our arrival is mere minutes away, and in a pace that seems to pass in mere seconds, we're already rolling into the staging yard South of CUS, as people pick up, pack up, and prepare to disperse. In a few more mere seconds, we stop - we're here in Chicago, and less than 15 minutes late!











After having been on the train for over 24 hours, it's a little hard to get one's bearings straight for walking on solid ground. We walk into the terminal, and make our way over to get Farecards, and to drop our luggage into a storage locker while we look to get better half a better bookbag for her stuff, while male friend opts to simply go off on his own for transit photography. We leave the station, and get our pointers set before heading towards the loop, and making a couple of stops for food and toiletries.











We then make our way up to an El stop, and pick up a Brown line train to Merchandise Mart, which turns out to be much less the retail emporium its name suggests. Luckily, we discover an Office Depot a few blocks North, which has a bag at a reasonable price. We then leisurely make our way back to the El to return to Quincy to retrieve our stuff from the Locker. By now it is about 215pm, so our promise to male friend to make it to Dempster on the Purple Line looks a bit shaky.

We then make an exhausting trudge from the station back to Quincy, where we have to do a three train dance to arrive at our Hotel - First the Brown to Fullerton, then the Red to Howard, and finally the Purple to Dempster. By now, grimy and irritable, we find the ride to be a bit too adventurous for us - in fact, it seems LONGER and HARDER to get to the Hotel from CUS than it does to have gotten from home in Baltimore to CUS.

We finally arrive at Dempster at 3:45pm, and our friend is sitting there awaiting us, just about to give up on us, and head back to Howard for more photo taking. We fixate on the Best Western emblem in view, and stagger our way up Sherman Avenue to its doors, finding solace in finally arriving at our lodging. After getting keycards and checking into the room, our friend bolts out soon after to do some more photography, while better half and I relax for a spell before strolling around the corner to the Addis Abeba Ethiopian Restaurant for some East African comfort food at about 5:00pm.






Following Dinner, we stroll over to Lake Michigan's shore in Evanston, and take in the beauty of the scene, though thinking all the while just what this place will look like in February!






Our bellies stuffed, and our energy waning, we simply opt to head back to the room for some TV and rest, to try to start the next day with a fresh start to explore the new town.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

DAY THREE - SHEDD AQUARIUM

Our eager busfan is in the latest, and out the earliest in his excitement, and better half and I don't awaken til after he's left. We rise and slowly shine, and head out to LePeep on Church Street in Evanston for some breakfast. It turns out to be more than any nervous tummy tourist can handle. We stop back past the room before hustling to Dempster to get the LAST morning Purple Express into town. This turns out to be a good thing, as it gives us a much nicer el ride into town, and we alight at State Street to witness the famous Chicago Theatre.






From here, it's a trip on the #146 to reach the Museum Campus, where we intend to take in the Shedd Aquarium and then the Field Museum. Unexpectedly, Shedd turns into a nearly daylong adventure, which is a plus, as we get to explore it in its entirety.






As a result, we decide that we're going to skip the intended daytrip to Milwaukee tomorrow, and try to return for the Field Museum. We return on the #146 to Adams Street with a group of suprisingly fun transit taking tourist couples from Michigan who came in on the Pere Marquette, then make our way up to the Purple Express to hope for a smooth, quiet ride back to Evanston. This is not to be however, as we pick up a pack of folks at Chicago Avenue who like to weave profanities into their sentences with regularity - feels like I'm home in Baltimore already!

We travel into Davis Station instead of Dempster today, and do some shopping before returning to the Hotel, before returning again to our same dinner spot as the night before. Following this, we simply opt to call it a night, a spell after our busfan returns from his rounds of the chilly, overcast day.

DAY FOUR - FIELD MUSEUM

Our awakening is even later today, and we're still at Breakfast when the last Purple Express has gone through, so today, following a bit of shopping, it will be the conventional Purple to Red ride for us, taking us under Chicago for the first time. Though the day is prettier than yesterday, I can feel some crankiness coming into both of us, from the fatigue of the travelling. In the interest of comfort, I browse the Amtrak site to see that a Roomette rate for the initial leg of our trip back has dropped to $135, just a little over the base price. I toy with the idea of splurging for it, and finally decide it's the best thing if we're to get any rest on our trip to Pittsburgh, so I call Amtrak and make the reservation, and am given the instruction on making the upgrade. We arrive at the Field Museum, and plop down $50 for the Tuntankhamen exhibit. Having been to the Smithsonian in DC, the Field Museum doesn't seem to compare for interest, and we both agreed that the King Tut exhibit was a bit exploitative, in disturbing a burial site for a public display. In hindsight, it probably would have been MUCH better to have made the effort to go to the Museum of Science and Industry instead.

As the Evening rush begins, we get our #146 back to the Library Station, and then the Purple Express, which better half alights in order to meet a local friend with whom she'll spend the evening. I continue back to the room for a few, then do a little travelling via Pace Route #250 to Dempster Skokie, riding the Skokie Swift back to Howard, and then the Purple to Linden so as to get footage of the el's unique street crossings that exist both here and at Ravenswood. Following this, I return to the room, and simply await the arrival of my buddy back from his daytrip to Milwaukee, which he enjoyed immensely.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

DAY FIVE - DEPARTURE FROM CHITOWN - PERFECT TIMING PART 1

I awaken at 5:30am to see my buddy off on his Megabus trip to Cleveland, which was secured for the low price of $1. We make our way in on the Purple Express as far as Belmont, when the crowds cause us to bail off the el and onto the Red Line. After a 10 minute delay to allow the Operator to check the train in the subway, we arrive at Jackson Station, and get some farewell CTA shots (actually most of my FIRST CTA shots) before making our way west to Union Station, where I exchange my old Coach tickets on tonight's train for the Roomette Tickets. After watching #124s and #125s roll through the area like butter, and watching some ignorant chick block off the Indy bound Megabus and refuse to move in the no-stopping zone since she was waiting for her husband, my buddy's Cleveland bound bus pulls in, and I see him off, then make my way back across Adams to the El Station, where I get a nicely light trafficked counter-flow Express back to Dempster and the Hotel to meet the better half to finish packing for our departure. This is my last CTA ride of this trip.






Following Check out, we are fortunately able to stow our bags at the Hotel for a bit, allowing us to stroll Evanston one last time, and get some breakfast and Lunch. Our waiter for the past three days does get a few minutes to chat with us to get our touring status, before we head off to pick up a few novelties from some of the area merchants. Then, we're back to the Hotel to grab our bags and make our way into town. With the frustrating memory of lugging bags up to the Quincy platform still fresh in our minds, as well as my better half's phobia of crossing bridges (particularly draws that jiggle and don't quite meet), we pull out an ace, and catch the 2:00pm METRA train South from Davis. Smooth move - though cramped, the ride is swift, quiet, and trouble free, and we're into Downtown in good time.






A two plus block walk and we're into Union Station. Following the instructions given this morning by the nice ticket agent, we stroll into the Metropolitan Lounge, and due to my friend's tired knee, we simply opt to chill out here for the rest of the afternoon. As we are relaxing, I do get one little bit of a abrupt moment when a pair of DEA agents enter, and ask for my tickets and ID. After presenting my goods, I'm left to relax - good to live clean!






Settling into a couch in the back, my better half rests her knee by taking a nap, while I watch Judge Judy that is playing on the TV. I'm beginning to feel tranquil, but this is soon disturbed by the following announcement.

_"Attention Passengers on Train #30, Due to a mudslide 9 miles West of Pittsburgh, train #30 will be following a detour route. Therefore, if you are going to the following stations, Please come to the front desk..."_

She proceeds to rail off every station between either South Bend or Elkhart all the way to Alliance, Ohio, including CLEVELAND! We're not bound for Cleveland, but our buddy the bus fan is supposed to be intercepting our train there! After allowing anyone bound there to sort out their itinerary, I make my way to the counter and explain our situation. The attendant doesn't know just how our friend will be accomodated, but suggests he may be bussed to Pittsburgh or he may be placed onto train #48 (LSL) to return into Baltimore. As for ourselves, we'll be riding PAST Pittsburgh to Connellsville, where we'll be put onto buses for the return into PGH. To us, this is a plus, as it gives us more time on the train, and makes it near certain that we'll be getting into Pittsburgh later than the scheduled 4:00am time.

A little past 4:30, it is announced in the Met Lounge that our train is ready for boarding, and we begin our escorted walk down the platform, where, after standing at the door of the wrong car at first, we get our bearings and head for our quarters - Car 3001, room #13. Our Car Attendant, Cliff, is there to warmly greet us, and point us in the direction of our roomette. We settle in, and feel both comfort and interest at this spiffy new novelty for us coach riders - the roomette!






After experimenting with every switch and handle in the place, we begin to realize that this surcharge may well have been well worth it. In the coming hours, we actually find it to be all that and then some.

Departure from Chitown is delayed to allow connecting passengers from train #8 to make our connection, and we don't leave until after 5:50pm, at which point Cliff gives us a more thorough greeting, and we exchange pleasantries. He asks if we have made Dinner reservations already, and when told we haven't, tells us he'll return with a list of times for us to select from. We opt for 7:30pm. Our conductor announces that we've left Chicago 20 minutes late, and that even with the detour, we should arrive in Connellsville close to time, barring any other delays.

We jostle out of the station and across numerous neighborhoods, industrial zones, and yards in the Chicago area. Though a newbie to Chitown, my best guess after nearly an hour of riding, is that we're somewhere about Gary, IN. After passing through a large yard, our train comes to a dead stop, sits for about 10 minutes, before beginning to BACK UP! I dread in my mind that the detour is called off, and we're being returned to Chitown to get refunds and to be left to our defenses to make alternate transportation. Instead, we simply coast back into the yard, and come to another dead stop, as what appears to be Wolverine #354 glides past 2/3 to 3/4 full with a string of Horizon cars. Now we get an announcement that we'll be standing by here for some time as we await a CSX Pilot to take us over the detour route. Even better for us for a reasonable arrival into Pittsburgh.

My better half calls friends and family, largely to boast that she's riding sleeper on this trip, and we largely humor ourselves until it's just about Dinner. We then head to the Diner to get our Simplified Dining Food. My better half goes for the Ravioli, while I opt for the Beef Ragout with Rice and Carrots. We're seated across from a couple from Oklahoma City bound for Wilmington, who are nice, though at times somewhat measured with the conversation. They've travelled quite a bit by train, and seem to enjoy it quite a bit, making me venture to wonder if they classify as rail fans.

As to Dinner, the Beef Ragout is just fine, the Rice excellent, though the Brocolli looks a bit tired. Better half simply LOVES her Ravioli, which the wife opposite us confirms as being quite good. For dessert, we simply opt to split a bowl of fruit, which suits us just fine, as our company journeys off to ride in the Lounge Car for a while.

Our Service Attendant is Beverly, who, just like our Attendant Cliff, is warm and hospitable - very down to Earth, and seems very glad to meet us and discover our own earthiness. As the patronage in the diner thins, we talk with her a good bit regarding her job at Amtrak, and how she handles it - to us, it seems, very well. She speaks very well of our Car Attendant, and it all puts us in a very good, positive mood. Our face to face treatment by Amtrak personnel this evening, from the Met Lounge Attendant, to Cliff and Beverly, has really give us some second wind to endure these last few days of our trip. For the moment, we're feeling carefree and relaxed - just the way one should when travelling.

By the way, all this time, we're STILL sitting in this yard - we moved forward once only to back up into the yard once again, standing in this yard opposite the Majestic Star Casino in Buffington Harbor. As we bid Beverly farewell, it becomes apparent to all of us that we'll likely be seeing her for Breakfast in the morning, which is fine with all of us!

We return to our rooms, and Cliff follows us down soon after to set up the bunks, which we soon crawl into to get cozy. It's at this point where we're probably at the high point of our trip, and we say our goodnights before settling off to slumber. About 20 minutes later, we're moving again, though this time, it's not curtailed and rescinded. I remember very little else, aside from a few awakenings in the night, the longest of which was about 1:30am.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

DAY 6 - PERFECT TIMING PART 2, PITTSBURGH

As is only natural, the bladder wakes me up too early, but not early enough to go back to sleep. I resign to open the curtains a bit and try to discern where we are. Better half awakens about 20 minutes later and makes her way down from the top bunk, as we try to figure our location. Having only made siding stops and no station stops during the night, and unsure of just which route we're taking, we are clueless, until finally we see a Pennsylvania tag on a nearby truck, followed by a sign reading Newport and Wampum, which finally clarifies that we're near New Castle, West of Pittsburgh. At first I wrongly assume we'll be taking an inland route through Zelionople, but discount this theory when I find evidence that we're near Beaver. Better half opts to get a bit more sleep, but I find myself excited of our approach into Pittsburgh, apparently on the old P&LE alignment. This is confirmed by my railroad Atlas, which helps me try to prepare to get whatever shots I can from the train as we pass the Golden Triangle at just before 8:00am.











Following this passing, I make my way down the hall to attempt an Amshower, but am disappointed to find it to be quite COLD, even though I have the heat turned up to 3/4. I return to find that Better half was about to abandon me for some Breakfast, but has held off for just a moment, so we make our way to the Diner again, and are glad to see Beverly again.

I opt for the Three Cheese Quiche and she gets Continental Assortment, with both of us wanting Coffee. Both of us are amazed at how well we slept last night, even though better half actually did a tad better than I did. Both agreed that the rocking motion was very soothing.

We get an announcement that Connellsville will be coming in about half an hour, and Cliff has made his way into the Diner to come get us ready. We bid farewell to Beverly, and make our way back to our room to assemble our stuff, while we catch what we can of the Yioughienny (sp) River scenery. We finally pull into Connellsville just before 10am. After unloading, we see two buses and a van, and are directed to the Pittsburgh bus. The other bus is a Harrisburg express to connect with #42, while the Van is to accomodate those going to Johnstown and Altoona only.






We carefully coast out of Connellsville at about 10:20 with most of a bus load, and make a stop at a Days Inn at New Staunton to transfer most of our passengers to another bus going direct to DC to ensure connections for riders to #91 Southbound. Sometimes I wonder if the Capitol itself should be extended South - might actually be cheaper than ensuring all these tight connections.

By this point, I'm feeling a little queasy from the riding, so I'm not my best. Still, I'm glad to see we're arriving in Pittsburgh at just before Noon - definitely a far more convenient hour than the original 4:00am planned. The Station personnel is very sympathetic to us and our delay, and allows us to store our luggage there for free til we can come back and head to our hotel.

We then head off to catch a #500 bus to the Pittsburgh Zoo. After waiting for about 20 minutes, while every shade of the rainbow comes past us for every line and number combination of the #61, #71, and #77 lines, our lowly #500 pulls up with a Low Floor Neoplan.






The ride to the zoo seems rather long winded, but we arrive in good order, and make our way in. Admission is reasonably at $9 a head, and the zoo is really pretty nice, giving a good view of most of the animals. Included in the Zoo admission is passage to the PNC Aquarium, a small but thorough and entertaining exhibit. One added surprise came in the concession stand - the food was really reasonably priced (Cheeseburger was just over $3 after tax), and it was also very GOOD - quite a nice change from most areas!






With PAT's bus service to the zoo being somewhat spotty, and us still a bit leery regarding just where our companion might be at this moment, we cut our visit a bit short so as to get the 3:46 bus back into town. While waiting, we're a tad annoyed to hear this one young girl depicting what she might have to do to get her phone bill paid. Ahh, feel like I'm at home in Baltimore again.

Our #500 ride in on Classic #2625 seems shorter than our outbound ride, and we make our way back to the station to get our bags, and then get a #100 to Oakland to check into our hotel. The #100 seems to take forever to come, but finally a Neoplan Metroliner comes in. Thankfully, the bus is not crowded despite this being the height of rush hour.

We check in, and make our way into Oakland to get some Chinese for dinner. Then it's back to the room to hope that our buddy shows up once the sun has set. By 9pm though, we've gotten nervous, and I resign to calling Amtrak to see if they can tell me just how his ticket was handled. After talking to a very helpful phone agent, and then following up with an equally helpful agent at the Cleveland Station, I'm able to finally determine that he was put onto #48 and shipped back to Baltimore. At least we know he's safe.

Soon after, about 10:30, we turn in for the night.


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 24, 2006)

DAY 7 - HOMEWARD BOUND

At 5:30, I rise and shine, and wash up for the ride home. I wake up better half a little after 6am, who certainly seems to have gotten a better night of sleep on the train the night before than she did here at the Hotel. We call a cab about 6:30, which is there and waiting for us by the time we make it to the lobby. and we're into Downtown in a jiffy.

The Amtrak Station is pretty busy this morning. Today, it seems a bus was brought from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, and is now heading to Connellsville to take riders to the Capitol Limited. By the looks of this, I'd guess the Capitol to be running about 2 hours late. Finally, our train #42 is called for boarding, and we make our way aboard an Amfleet II and settle in.






Though I've only been on the Pennsylvanian twice before, it's starting to get too familiar with me. On my last trip, I was able to recall things when I saw them a second time. On this trip, I can anticipate them. The ride seems to take HALF the time that it did on the prior trips, which is a blessing and a curse. The blessing to the seeming fast ride is that it's COLD on here, and we'd like to get off quick. The curse is that we've got nearly a 4 hour layover in Philly, and we're both exhausted, and only want to get home.

Despite our grogginess, I am able to make a few observations.

Greensburg, WOW there were a lot of people boarding here! - looked about 40 or more.

Both "FLAG" stops were made - Latrobe gave us a half dozen - couldn't see what was up at Tyrone.

A couple of Electric units to be seen on the Keystone today, one at Harrisburg, and one obvious in passing near Coatesville (no rumble)

Very quick ride with no hangups or stops, aside from some slow movement before running into Harrisburg. Otherwise, smooth sailing.











On our arrival into 30th Street Station, better half and I are both of the same frame of mind - we're ready to return to our comfort zone ASAP. I stop past the Customer Services office and then the ticket counter and manage to bump up from #159 at 6:30 to #161 at 3:31 for just $8.50 per ticket. This is music to our ears, and we're happy to shell out the difference.






There is a crowd for the 10 minute late #161 though, and it means we sit separately. No biggie since it's only a 75 minute ride, and we've been plucking each others nerves for a week now. The zippy ride down the corridor is a welcome attribute, and I spend much of it fixating on the LED exit sign that seems to have a lava lamp effect on my tired brain addled by Amcaffiene.






We stop at Wilmington and Aberdeen before finally coasting home into Baltimore. It was a grand trip, but admittedly, we're both glad to see the same concrete platform that sent us off 6 days earlier. After my better half gets on her way, I pick up a Northbound #11, #0074 with its unique interior seats - a nice creature comfort after a long trip.






*Best Ride: Train #30* - Though our fellow sleeper passengers were only minimally social, the great service we got from our Car Attendant and Service Attendant were well needed boosts as our energy started to drain. The ride through the rare mileage original B&O alignment and daylight run through Pittsburgh's Station Square area were a huge plus as well for this railfan.

*Close Second: Train #51* - The comeraderie of our fellow Coach riders was the other vital joy of the trip. Our multi-ethnic urban makeup found ourselves engaged in sincere, pleasant conversation with people from the rural areas of West Virginia. All of us were suprised and pleased to find that our preconceptions of people from these areas, as well as their conceptions of ourselves, was an invalid stereotype. Service was fine and professional, though the Service Attendant for the Sleeper side in the lounge was particularly gruff towards our Mets fan friend.

*Worst Ride: Train #42* - Hard to call it a "Bad" ride, as the personnel were quite professional, especially our two female conductors for the journey. But the train was so chilly, we just could not get any rest, furthering our desire to just get home ASAP once we arrived in Philly.

NOTE: All of the enclosed photos were taken with my cellphone. I'll be adding some other, sharper photos to my online album at:

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/mtabusrunner/

beginning on page 3


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## RailFanLNK (Sep 24, 2006)

Geesh...I feel like a "rookie" at trip reports after reading this one! :lol: Great trip report Metro!!! Ima leavin' on the #5 in 8 days!!!! Travelling alone this time and it will be the first time I have travelled alone on Amtrak and without my girlfriend in tow. Thanks for sharing!


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## Sam Damon (Sep 25, 2006)

Nice trip report! Glad you had a great trip!

I'm also amazed at how well the cellphone pix display online.


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## XNWA (Sep 25, 2006)

I love to see an read posts like yours, it makes more anxious for my trip on the #5 in Feb.


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## deimos (Sep 25, 2006)

Metro-

I really enjoyed your trip report , especially all of the details.

Regarding the cell phone pics, what type of cell phone do you have? I have a Motorola type with a VGA quality camera (I think). I haven't bothered to use the camera, but your posts have inspired me to give the cell phone camera a thorough test run.

Cheers, and once thanks for sharing your adventure!

Deimos


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## RailFanLNK (Sep 25, 2006)

My cellphone is so old, it doesn't have buttons, you have to "dial" it!!!!  Great pics!!!!


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## The Metropolitan (Sep 25, 2006)

deimos said:


> Metro-
> I really enjoyed your trip report , especially all of the details.
> 
> Regarding the cell phone pics, what type of cell phone do you have? I have a Motorola type with a VGA quality camera (I think). I haven't bothered to use the camera, but your posts have inspired me to give the cell phone camera a thorough test run.
> ...


Thanks all for the kind remarks. I'm glad to know my "day of recalling" all the little ridership details, personalities, and other tidbits is enjoyed.

Deimos, I'm working with a Motorola E815 that I recently got from Verizon. While my Canon takes much better photos, I've come to realize that it's much easier to get some candid shots with the cellphone than I would with a bulkier camera, as I've gotten good at simply looking like I'm making a phone call or looking at my phone settings - very good for those situations with lots of people where you don't want a "Why are you taking my picture?" or "Excuse me Sir, Photography is prohibited here!"

My Better Half has a nicer camera in her LG (8100?), but with that, you pretty much HAVE to go through the motions of appearing to take a photo, so it's candidness aspect is lost.


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