# Memphis to Chicago and back



## lepearso

On Sunday, April 17th, I drove to Memphis, Tennessee to take a round trip on Amtrak's City of New Orleans. This was a dual purpose business/pleasure trip.

As I approached downtown Memphis I was overwhelmed by the downtown traffic. There must have been a major event in town because I could not imagine why so many cars would be there on a Sunday night. It took over almost an hour to get from Union Avenue to the station on South Main Street, but fortunately I allowed myself plenty of driving time.

I arrived at the station and saw that the QuickTrak machine was out of service. The ticket office opened about 15 minutes later. By the time my ticket was printed a technician arrived to get the QuickTrak machine back on line.

The station wasn't very crowded, which made me think tonight would be a light train load. I was wrong. As the train rolled into town - on time - I saw people by the dozens get out of their cars and walk to the platform with their luggage. Memphis is an awesome station partly because there's plenty of parking right next to the platform. Indeed most people wait for the train in their cars rather than in the station.

As #58 rolled to a stop, the conductor yelled for all departing passengers to please wait because 100 passengers were getting off the train. I thought he was exaggerating, and then I saw the crowd. In all the years I have traveled by train I have never seen so many people disembark at Memphis. It took at least 25 minutes to get everybody and their luggage off the train. The 70 to 80 of us heading north waited patiently knowing there would be plenty of empty seats to choose from.

I did not eat anything on the drive over, but I should have. My original plan was to get to the station in good time, get my tickets, and then venture into downtown. Considering the traffic, I decided to stay in the station and get something to eat on the train. I went straight for the lounge car after I got my seat check. This train had a Sightseer Lounge, which I did not expect. I thought that the Cross Country Café replaced both the Dining Car and the Lounge Car. Evidently the Sightseer is back with a downstairs café and the Cross Country Café is serving simply as the dining car. I went downstairs to the café only to the find that the refrigeration had quit and the attendant could only sell non-refrigerated food items. I settled for soup, which wasn't very good, but certainly better than nothing. I enjoyed riding in the Sightseer Lounge as the train moves from the slow downtown Memphis track to the fast IC mainline track.

I walked back to my seat to settle in. All Chicago-bound passengers were riding in the last car on the train, and I chose the last seat in that car, which I really enjoyed. I read a few chapters in a book I brought along before turning in for the night.

Overnight travel in coach isn't especially comfortable, but I did get some rest. I insist on bringing a U-shaped neck pillow. It makes sleeping in coach much, much easier. Don't leave home without one!

I woke up at Carbondale and then at Champaign and noted that we were still running on-time. At 7:00 I went into the dining car for breakfast. The half of the Cross County Café that would normally serve as the lounge area was left closed since this train had a Sightseer Lounge. I had a perfectly good breakfast and the price was reasonable. The menu was an abbreviated menu (or what Amtrak calls an "Express Menu") that did not feature all the usual selections.

At the rate we were going, I thought we would arrive in Chicago Union Station maybe 15 minutes early. But then we had to stop and wait for the Southbound Saluki to clear out of the way. We came to a stop at the station platform about four minutes ahead of schedule. Even that was impressive!

I had no problem finding a storage locker so I could go out on the town. I ventured up the famous Canal Street stairway and made my way toward Michigan Avenue. It was much, much colder than I anticipated, but fortunately there was a Walgreens just two blocks from the station where I bought a souvenir sweatshirt for only $14.

I enjoyed the walk in spite of the cold, wet weather, and made my way to Michigan Avenue so I could turn toward Randolph Street and make my way to Millennium Station. I never saw Millennium Station before it was remodeled and upgraded, so I can't make a fair comparison. I can say that I really like it. I walked right up and got a ticket to 55th Street. The waiting area was fairly comfortable and had plenty of available seats. I saw several shops and eateries. If I lived and worked in the area they would serve me well. I noted how easy it must be to grab a bouquet of flowers and a card before taking the train home from work! We hope that Nashville's Music City Star will spawn retail development like this.

As bright and cheerful as the waiting area is the platform at Millennium is dark and dreary. I don't know why the renovations did not include some fresh paint and better lighting near the tracks. Nevertheless, Metra is a good operation. The conductors are very professional and wear proper uniforms. The trains are in good repair, and the passengers seem very content with the service they get.

After my museum visit I strolled around town seeing other sights and made my way back to Union Station around 5 p.m., about three hours ahead of train time. I went into the food court for some coffee and a snack and noticed there are more food services at CUS than what I saw two years ago, the last time I was there. I walked by the boarding lounges to see the rush hour crowd. It was enormous, but still very orderly. I walked by the Amtrak ticket counters and saw a full line of passengers. Going back toward the Great Hall I saw an even bigger crowd at the Metra ticket windows.

Amtrak is drawing up plans to improve Chicago Union Station and make better use of the available space. These improvements cannot get here soon enough. I love Chicago Union Station, but the 1991 renovation has outlived its usefulness. The station is operating beyond capacity. Expanded lounges, additional restrooms, and more effective use of the Great Hall will prepare Union Station for the next 20 years when higher speed service comes to the Midwest.

About an hour and a half ahead of train time I went to the Metropolitan Lounge. The crowd was relatively small because there were only two more long-distance departures remaining for the day. They called the City of New Orleans passengers at 7:20 p.m. I walked the short distance to the sleeper and took my place in Roomette 14, downstairs. We had a very good attendant. She visited each room and greeted everyone and then made an announcement that coffee was ready upstairs.

The last time I rode the City the dining car was open for business before the train left Chicago. It appears that Amtrak returned to the older practice of opening the diner and lounge after all tickets are collected. The first call for dinner came at about 8:25 p.m. Once again, we had an abbreviated "Express Menu". Our only three options were a roasted half chicken with rice, a cheeseburger, or spinach lasagna. I chose the cheeseburger since I wasn't very hungry. The salad appetizer was perfectly cold and fresh and the cheeseburger was surprisingly good. For dessert I had the tiramisu which was near perfect in taste and just the right portion too. One of my tablemates at this seating was a fellow Tennessean on her way home from visiting her son in Detroit. The other was a gentleman from Australia doing a circular tour of the US by train.

My challenge for the evening was to take a shower, which is altogether an experience in and of itself. When I walked into the shower compartment, there was almost no floor space available. Half of the floor was taken by a duffle bag full of fresh towels and the other half was taken by a large waste receptacle. I had to push the door open just to get in the compartment, and then somehow, some way, get undressed and get the shower door to open. It took about a minute to get the hot water flowing. Having ridden up to Chicago the night before in coach and then spent an entire day in the city during cold, wet weather, the hot shower felt great. It was well worth the challenge! I plan to e-mail Amtrak with a little suggestion. The shower compartment needs a smaller waste receptacle, and maybe a shelf or cabinet for the fresh towels.

I got back to my room and went straight to bed. I slept so soundly that I don't remember waking up at any point during the night. The attendant knocked on my door at 6:00 to tell me "Memphis in 30 minutes". I got up, got my contacts in, got dressed, folded the bed, and repacked my suitcase. I then grabbed a coffee from upstairs. We pulled into Memphis right on time.

My car was only a few steps away from the train, so I loaded my suitcase and watched as the train unloaded, reloaded, got water and fuel, and then pulled away. This really was a nice trip.

I noted that each and every Amtrak employee I encountered during this trip was friendly and professional. I was also impressed by the volume of people traveling on this train and on the other trains I saw pulling out of Chicago. The coaches and the restrooms were cleaner and neater than what I remember from years past. Hopefully in the very near future we will get a much-improved Chicago Union Station.


----------



## jb64

Nice report!


----------



## Shanghai

Thanks for a good report. I hope to get on the CONO in the future.

Did the diner offer Red Beans and Rice?


----------



## lepearso

To my knowledge it offers beans and rice on the southern half of the route when the dining car serves a full menu. Breakfast into Chicago and dinner out of Chicago use the abbreviated or "Express" menu with fewer selections.


----------



## Misc

you should have visited the ogilvie train station which is just opposite to the union station for your dinner., You would have had many diners on one place in Ogilvie than in Union Station.Further there is a place called "Roti" which is a block away from Union Station which is also good


----------

