# New York to Dallas and Return



## Shanghai

Trip Report: New York to Dallas; Sept 18 – 24, 2009

I started my day quite early on this first day of my travels to Dallas, Texas.

It was up at 3:30am, then off to my local NJ Transit station in Chatham.

I boarded the 4:52am train for New York Penn Station. The train arrived

both Chatham and New York on schedule.

Upon arrival at Penn Station, I printed my tickets and then proceeded to the

Acela lounge. It was 6:00am. At 6:35am, the lounge attendant announced

that the Cardinal would board on track 6. I walked to the entrance of track six

and down the escalator to the train. I was in Roomette 4 in sleeper car 5100.

We were soon on our way with an on-time departure. Will, the Sleeper Attendant

stopped to say hello and to advise me that breakfast would be served in about

thirty minutes. We stopped to receive passengers in Newark and Trenton and then the call for breakfast was made.

I think I was the only person in the sleeper car and the only person at breakfast.

I ordered Apple – Cinnamon Pancakes with Turkey Sausage, Coffee and

Cranberry Juice. The pancakes were good but I cannot say the same for the sausage!!

After breakfast I returned to my room. I had seen the scenery many times before so I did some work on my computer. We arrived Washington D.C. ahead of schedule. Our stop there was about an hour. As the new passengers boarded, the sleeper car filled.

At noon, I went for lunch. A dining car attendant came through the sleeper to book lunch reservations. I took 12:00 noon and had a cheeseburger. It was good. There were two couples in the dining car when I arrived. A young fellow from Russia who was traveling in coach entered the dining car and sat at the table next to me. He was visiting the US for the first time.

After lunch, I returned to my room. The sun was shining brightly causing a strong glare on my computer screen. Shortly before Charlottesville, VA the train slowed to nearly a stop and ran this speed for about 20 minutes. About 20 minutes after departing Charlottesville, the train came to a complete stop.

We proceeded on the journey in an uneventful manner. The scenery through the New River Valley and the mountains of West Virginia were most enjoyable to see. As darkness approached I went to the dining car for dinner. I sat with a retired New York City police officer who was traveling to Cincinnati. I had roast turkey with wild rice and corn, then a delicious apple strudel pie for dessert.

Shortly after returning to my room, Will came by to fix my bed. I decided to sleep in the upper berth. I slept well until we arrived in Indianapolis. It was 5:11am, so I took a shower before anyone else was awake. At 6:30am, I had breakfast. I had a cheese omelet with potatoes and corn accompanied by a croissant. The eggs were good but forget the potatoes and corn!!

After breakfast I enjoyed seeing the farmland through Indiana. From the looks of the fields, the farmer’s should have a good harvest.

At this time we were running about one hour behind schedule. I remembered to change my clock to Central time. We arrived in Chicago a bit behind schedule but in plenty of time to connect with the Texas Eagle.

I stayed in the Metropolitan Lounge to check my e-mail. The wireless access speed was very good. Within minutes after my arrival, the lounge was overflowing with people. I think there was a large group traveling. We walked to the train, boarded and departed exactly on time. Lawrence was our Sleeper Attendant. I had a lower level roomette, number 14 which I had in a previous trip. I think the sleeper was full except for the family room.

About 15 minutes after our departure the train came to a halt. Next I saw a man walking on the track next to our train, then about 5 minutes later the conductor announced that the engine had struck some debris on the track which required an inspection. No harm was found to the train so we continued our journey.

Our journey continued without incident. For dinner I had the famous Flat Iron brisket dinner. It was very good and so was the pecan pie for dessert. After dinner the four occupants of the lower level roomettes chatted for a while then I retired for the evening. Slept well through the night and awoke at 5:03am. I went for breakfast at 6:30am and upon arrival into Marshall, TX stepped off the train for some fresh air. We were early so I walked the length of the train.

Soon we were off and arrived in Dallas about twenty minutes early.

On Tuesday, I boarded the TRE (Trinity Rail Express) train at Centerpoint DFW to Dallas Union Station. The Texas Eagle #22 bound for Chicago arrived on time and I boarded. I was in roomette 19 in the Transition Sleeper. I found it to be fine and just like the other roomettes. There are more bathrooms and those on the upper level have showers.

By now, I am pretty experienced at preparing my bed, so I did so and retired early. I woke at 4:08am somewhere between Little Rock and St Louis. I did some work on my computer and was surprised when we arrived St Louis more than one hour ahead of schedule. I ate breakfast on the train while we were sitting in the St Louis station and returned to my room. I decided to go outside while were In the station. Upon return to my roomette, I found that I could get wireless access via AT&TFree network, so I checked my e-mail and logged into Amtrak Unlimited, of course!! We departed St Louis on time and on to Chicago.

The leg from St Louis to Chicago was uneventful and we arrived Chicago a few minutes ahead of schedule. I went directly to the Metropolitan Lounge. The lounge was a bit crowded as there were two group tours awaiting departure. After the Capitol Limited passengers left the lounge, there was room to spare in the lounge. There was one tour group (America by Rail) waiting for the Lake Shore Limited. They were going to Albany, then tour Upstate New York and Vermont to see the foliage. Next, I walked to the Clark’s Nut Store in the train station to get some delicious, warm cashew nuts. They are expensive but some of the finest I have eaten. Then on to the bakery on Jackson Street for a couple of miniature cakes. I’ll eat the cakes between Albany and New York.

On the walk to board the train, I noticed two private cars at the rear of the LSL.

The last car was a rounded rear lounge car that said The Crescent. The next car was a Pullman car with California Zephyr on the side. Both were shiny stainless steel cars that were attached to the train. I could not see if there were people on board or if we were only transporting the cars to New York.

We boarded the Lake Shore Limited at a few minutes before 8:00pm, dropped our carry-on luggage in our rooms and proceeded to the dining car for a wine and cheese reception. It is a nice way to meet fellow passengers and to have a small snack before retiring for the evening. I went to bed when I returned to my room.

I awoke a few minutes after 5:00am when the train stopped in Cleveland. I quickly took a shower while the train was stopped and was able to dress before departure. Breakfast was at 6:30am and I was the first person in the diner. I returned to my room until our on-time arrival into Buffalo, NY. We were there for about 15 minutes and then continued our journey towards Albany.

We arrived Albany exactly on time. Here the train divides and the rear cars go on to Boston and my portion of the train goes to New York. The engine is switched from diesel to diesel/electric. The stop here is 50 minutes. The weather is bright and sunny so I detrained for a quick walk.

We departed Albany about 15 minutes behind schedule. The scenery along the Hudson River was very beautiful. As we approached New York City, the sun was going down and the lights on the bridges were alit. We arrived Penn Station about thirty minutes late.

I was able to get the 7:22pm New Jersey Transit express train within a few minutes of my arrival. It was good to get home and off the trains after two days on Amtrak from Dallas.


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## the_traveler

Great report! That's news to me regarding STL - I wish I knew!



Shanghai said:


> It was good to get ... off the trains after two days on Amtrak




That would be a nightmare for me! :lol:


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## acelafan

Thanks for the report, sounds like the food was pretty good on this trip. Glad you didn't encounter any major delays, either, and the train didn't get damaged by the debris on the tracks.


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## Long Train Runnin'

Thanks for your report sounds like everything went pretty smoothly which is how it should be.


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## Guest

Excellent report, glad you had no problems on the trip, I found the fact that the sleeper from NYP-WAS was almost empty but filled in WAS! Is this why the Cardinal is so hard to get a sleeper, perhaps the trick is to ride from/to NYP?

The experience in the Transition sleeper was interesting, I havent had that experience yet! Glad you liked the food too, its not the best on Amtrak on those trains, especially the infamous flat-iron track-kill!


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## pennyk

Great report. Thanks!

I especially enjoyed reading about your travel on the Cardinal. I just made reservations to ride it in August 2010 from WAS to CHI and am looking forward to the great scenery.


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## icbrkr

Shanghai said:


> Will, the Sleeper Attendantstopped to say hello and to advise me that breakfast would be served in about
> 
> thirty minutes. We stopped to receive passengers in Newark and Trenton and then the call for breakfast was made.


Good report!

Will was our attendant as well when we made the trip back to DC back in May. He helped us immensely (we had our then-9 month old) and made sure we were well taken care of. It's funny how that under those rare circumstances, you actually remember the person's name that helped you months later. Most people I tend to forget


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