# Cross-Country (AE, CL, CZ)



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I recently took my first cross-country Amtrak trip. I'm going to post this in parts since it's so long. My trip consisted of the Acela Express from NYP to WAS, train 29 (Capitol Limited) from WAS to CHI, and train 5 (California Zephyr) from CHI to EMY. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, my return trip was a flight back from San Francisco to New York.

*Leg #1 - Acela Express - NYP to WAS*

I arrived at Penn Station about 40 minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. I figured I might as well wait in the Club Acela Lounge in the station since I'd never seen it before and since I had access due to both my sleeper ticket and the fact that I was traveling first class on the Acela. The lounge was nice and much bigger than I expected. I found a comfortable seat and waited in there for about 20 minutes before they made an announcement regarding which track the train would be arriving on. This was nice since they usually don't announce the train until 10 minutes or so before it's going to depart - which results in a mad cattle rush to the stairs.

Anyway, after they let us down the escalator, I boarded the first class car and was disappointed to see that most of the seats had "reserved for group" signs on them. The conductor was telling everyone that some group had reserved the seats, but he didn't know who. Luckily I got the last single seat. Others who boarded after me (and at Newark, Metropark, and Trenton) were very unhappy to find out that they would be forced to sit with other groups. I can't say that I blame them - the first class fare is pretty steep. For these people, business class would probably had been more comfortable.

The attendant came around right away to see if I wanted anything to drink. There were two attendants, but only one came over to me. Then, I got a lunch menu and ordered the lasagna. It came out about 20 minutes later and was quite good. When we pulled into Philadelphia, we learned what group had reserved the seats - Joe Biden and about 30 others - that was interesting. We made it to Washington only a few minutes late. The trip was nice and first class was very comfortable. The new leather seats are really nice and there was ample legroom. It was nice to get served a hot meal, but I'm not sure that first class is really worth it - especially if it is crowded like it was since there's only one first class car.

Here are some pictures from this leg of the trip:







Interior of first class on the Acela Express






Menu onboard Acela Express first class






Lunch onboard Acela Express first class

The next post will be for the Capitol Limited.


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*Leg #2 - Capitol Limited - WAS to CHI*

I booked the Acela leg of the trip separate from this leg so that I could have some more time to go out and get some pictures in Washington. This worked out well since it allowed me about 2 hours of free time in DC. When the train arrived, I headed over the Club Acela lounge to leave my luggage so that I could go out and walk around. The luggage room was extremely crowded but I did manage to fit my bag in. Just FYI, the bathrooms within the lounge are currently closed so you need to use the regular ones by the tracks instead.

After returning to the lounge, I found a seat and relaxed for about 15 minutes before they announced the boarding of the train! The lounge filled up quickly after I arrived but there were still scattered seats available here and there. I think having access to the lounge is one of the most overlooked benefits of riding in a sleeper - it really is much more relaxed and enjoyable to wait inside the lounge. Everyone walked outside to the train after it was announced. The train had the sleepers in the front like it usually does so I had to walk the length of the platform to reach my sleeper.

Our attendant (Larry) greeted everyone at the door and checked us in. I went upstairs to my roomette and arranged my luggage. I had one rolling suitcase and a duffel bag which fit perfectly on the step next to the seat. If there had been two people in the room, I guess I would have had to put my suitcase on the luggage rack downstairs since I would have needed the step. The car was a refurbished Superliner I and was very clean. I really like these refurbished cars. Soon we were ready to depart and Larry came around to introduce himself, explain where things were, and ask if we needed anything. I had traveled in a sleeper with Larry before. On this trip, he was very efficiend and pleasant. He kept the bathrooms cleaned and there was always enough bottled water for us.

One thing I really liked about this train was the dining car crew. There were the best I've experienced so far. The LSA (I think his name was Mike) was extremely friendly. His announcements were always pleasant and funny. He came around to take dinner reservations and I chose the earliest time. Soon, it was time to go to dinner. There were only 2 tables (mine included). I ate alone until dessert when they sat someone with me. I thought this was strange since I was already almost finished eating. I felt obligated to stay while the other person ate. We had a nice conversation anyway. The dining car was a refurbished full dining car. The food was good, service was good, and the car was clean. I ordered the lasagna (just like lunch!) which was very good. I was disappointed that they didn't have the peanut butter pie but the dessert was still good.

I slept really well on this train for some reason. The tracks seem to be very smooth on this route. This was certainly the best I've slept on a train. I woke up the next morning in Indiana. We were running about 30 minutes late, which is no big deal. Larry told me when breakfast was ending and then made up my room. Soon, we were in Chicago. The train backed in (not sure why) about 1 hour late.

Here are some pictures from this leg of the trip:






Dining car on the Capitol Limited






Lasagna dinner onboard the Capitol Limited






My roomette on the Capitol Limited made up for sleeping

The next post will be for the California Zephyr - the "real" part of the trip!


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*Leg #3 - California Zephyr - CHI to EMY*

After arriving in Chicago on the Capitol Limited, I stayed overnight before continuing west on the California Zephyr. This was my first two-night Amtrak trip so I was very excited for that.

I arrived at Union Station about 1-1/2 hours before the train was scheduled to depart. Again, I waited in the Metropolitan Lounge for the train to depart. The woman at the front desk was very friendly (much more so than the people at the Club Acela lounges had been). The lounge had a lot of people in it, but there were many seats, couches, and tables around. I found a seat and relaxed while I waited for the train to be announced. In the meantime, the Texas Eagle and Empire Builder passengers were asked to go up to the front desk to "pre-checkin" with the conductor. I found this strange. Luckily, my train was not required to do this. Anyway, they announced the boarding of the CZ about 30 minutes prior to departure. The door in the back of the lounge to the platforms was not working so everyone walked through the main station to get to the train.

The sleepers on this train were in the rear. I arrived at my sleeper (531 - one car from the back). Our SCA, Dave, was helping everyone in with their luggage. He insisted on carrying everyone's bags up the stairs and to their rooms. I thought that was a nice touch but someone behind me complained that it was taking too long and he was cold and wanted to go in. I was really hoping not to get a Superliner II or a non-refurb Superliner I and was happy to find out that both sleeping cars were refurbished Superliner I cars! I was surprised at this since I thought those cars usually went to the EB and CL. Anyway, I settled in to my bedroom and starting storing my luggage. This was my first time traveling in a bedroom (as opposed to a roomette) and I really liked it. For the 2-night trip, I really wanted my own bathroom and shower. Plus, it was nice to have space to stand up at night or in the morning when the bed is made up - you can't do that in a roomette. The train, like the other one, was very clean. Dave made his welcome aboard announcement and I could tell right away that he was going to be a great SCA. Throughout the whole trip, he was always eager to help and was very personable. I think I had good luck to get a nice car and to have him as the SCA for the car.

The dining car crew was nice, but not as nice as on the CL. Frankly, the dining car crews scare me on a lot of trains, but (except for one waiter), this was not the case here. They were eager to get you what you wanted, and seemed genuinley interested in making sure you enjoyed your meal. I was disappointed that the specials tonight were the same specials that were offered on the CL. I was even more disappointed to find out that this would be true for the second night as well. I figured they'd rotate their menus a little so that people on the train for two nights could have some variety. The same was true for lunch.

I had two dinners and one lunch on the train. All the meals were very good. Dinners both nights were the lasagna (again) and lunch was the steak, ale, and potato soup which was also very good. The service the first night was just ok but for lunch and the second night, the service was great (I had the other waiter these times).

I was worried about toilet problems since I heard this is common on this train - however, there were no problems for the entire trip.

The scenery on this route is just spectacular. The entire second day you travel through the Rockies. The third day is through the Sierra Nevada mountains. When I woke up the third day, we were in the dessert in Nevada outside Reno, this was also nice scenery. Except for the first day, the scenery is just great. You won't be bored just staring out the window. I didn't sleep quite as well on this train. Maybe it's something to do with the bed being perpendicular to the window or maybe it was because the tracks in Nebraska were so rough (unbelievably rough), but both nights I only slept on and off.

I enjoyed the commentary by the conductor through the Rockies and by the two people from the CA State Railroad Museum who spoke between Reno and Sacramento. I really found this interesting since I wouldn't have known most of that just by looking out the window.

We arrived about 40 minutes early in Emeryville. The Amtrak bus was outside the station waiting, but there were no signs or anything to let you know where to go. The bus was pretty empty. It was certainly convenient to be able to hop on the bus and go directly to San Francisco.

Here are some pictures from this leg of the trip:






Superliner bedroom






Bed made up in the bedroom at night






Sightseer Lounge car in Denver

In summary, I would absolutely do this again. It was a really nice experience that I would recommend to anyone that likes a relaxing trip.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I took about 1500 pictures on this trip - mostly from the train but they are too big to post here.

Thanks for reading!


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## Train2104

Did you see Amtrak Biden?

The CZ 40 minutes early is a surprise!


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## jb64

Very nice report. I will be on the CZ this summer and really looking forward to it.


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## GG-1

arrow3 said:


> *Leg #3 - California Zephyr - CHI to EMY*
> 
> If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I took about 1500 pictures on this trip - mostly from the train but they are too big to post here.


Aloha

Where do you post your pictures? I post mine to My Gallery in the original size and share from there in whatever size that is appropriate..


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## hello

_Enjoyed your review and photo's ... thank you! _

_ _

_We'll be on the same trains in May, I hope we are as lucky with our SCA's. _


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## Bob Dylan

:hi: Nice trip, great report and pics! Did you get to see Amtrak Joe on the Acela, I rode with him once when he was a senator from Wilmington to DC! Nice guy!(for a politician! :lol: )

You must really love lasanga, I like the Veggie verson for lunch but usually get the Steak or Sea Food for dinner, my favorite meal is still breakfast on the LD trains! Good sleepers and SCAs also ,and the OTP of the Zeph is surprising!


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## arrow3

Train2104 said:


> Did you see Amtrak Biden?
> 
> The CZ 40 minutes early is a surprise!


I saw him, but I didn't go up to him. My seat was facing "his" side of the car. He was only on the train for about 20 minutes.


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## arrow3

jb64 said:


> Very nice report. I will be on the CZ this summer and really looking forward to it.


Thanks! You won't be disappointed with the scenery between Denver and Emeryville.


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## arrow3

GG-1 said:


> arrow3 said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Leg #3 - California Zephyr - CHI to EMY*
> 
> If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I took about 1500 pictures on this trip - mostly from the train but they are too big to post here.
> 
> 
> 
> Aloha
> 
> Where do you post your pictures? I post mine to My Gallery in the original size and share from there in whatever size that is appropriate..
Click to expand...

I'm trying to see where to put them. I made my "A List" of pictures from the trip already. The scenery was so much that it took me almost a week to sort them all out. Once I get them uploaded, I'll post the link if anyone is interested.


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## arrow3

hello said:


> _Enjoyed your review and photo's ... thank you! _
> 
> _ _
> 
> _We'll be on the same trains in May, I hope we are as lucky with our SCA's. _


Enjoy the trip! I think I've been pretty lucky in that all the SCAs I've had on Amtrak have been nice.


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## arrow3

jimhudson said:


> :hi: Nice trip, great report and pics! Did you get to see Amtrak Joe on the Acela, I rode with him once when he was a senator from Wilmington to DC! Nice guy!(for a politician! :lol: )
> 
> You must really love lasanga, I like the Veggie verson for lunch but usually get the Steak or Sea Food for dinner, my favorite meal is still breakfast on the LD trains! Good sleepers and SCAs also ,and the OTP of the Zeph is surprising!


Thanks! I do like pasta so I was happy with the lasagna. The lunch menu was better than the dinner menu IMO.

I was looking at the performance of that train before I left and it doesn't seem that bad. It's seems to have been consistently arriving ontime or early in the recent past. I guess the schedule padding doesn't hurt things. I was so relaxed at the end that I wouldn't have minded a 3-4 hour delay so that I didn't have to get off the train! :giggle:


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## Dovecote

I will be doing a cross country trip report in a few days and will try to replicate your informative report.


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## Devil's Advocate

Sounds like a nice trip and your excellent FT-style report had me wishing I was about to embark on a nice long trip myself. Sadly I don't have anything planned at the moment. No wonder I'm so grouchy. :angry:

***Add me to the list of folks who are curious about your other photos as well.***


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## Pastor Dave

Great trip report! Sounds like you had a great time.


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## arrow3

Thanks again for the comments everyone!

Here is a link to some of the pictures I took:

http://picasaweb.google.com/pantographj

Enjoy!


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## jb64

Great pictures!


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## Devil's Advocate

jb64 said:


> Great pictures!


Agreed -- Jealousy levels increasing! :lol:


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## arrow3

Thanks everyone. Some of the photos accidentally got cropped to 4x6 size, but they still look ok on that site.


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## GG-1

arrow3 said:


> Thanks again for the comments everyone!
> 
> Here is a link to some of the pictures I took:
> 
> http://picasaweb.goo...com/pantographj
> 
> Enjoy!


You are an excellent Photographer Mahalo fo sharing

Aloha


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## pennyk

Great trip report. Thanks. I traveled cross country last summer on the CZ and I agree with you regarding the scenery. I will be taking my first Acela trip in May - I hope I am disappointed in first class. BTW - the last time I was on the CL (eastbound), I thought the dining car crew was not up to par. Hopefully, I will get the crew you had next time I am on the CL.

Edit - I just looked at your photos. Great pics. The scenery looks a lot different (and prettier) in Feb. than in August.


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## arrow3

pennyk said:


> Great trip report. Thanks. I traveled cross country last summer on the CZ and I agree with you regarding the scenery. I will be taking my first Acela trip in May - I hope I am disappointed in first class. BTW - the last time I was on the CL (eastbound), I thought the dining car crew was not up to par. Hopefully, I will get the crew you had next time I am on the CL.
> 
> Edit - I just looked at your photos. Great pics. The scenery looks a lot different (and prettier) in Feb. than in August.


Thanks!

On my last several trips on the CL, the dining car crew has not been that great or has been downright aweful. I still like the CL though.

You will like the Acela, it's much different than anything else Amtrak offers. I liked first class since they had the 2-1 seating. If I couldn't have gotten a seat by myself then I business class would have been ok as well. I'm not sure if they finished installing the leather seats on all their trains yet, but they are so much better than the old seats (the old ones were quite worn).

Enjoy your trip!


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## AlanB

pennyk said:


> I will be taking my first Acela trip in May - I hope I am disappointed in first class.


Penny, why do you want to be disappointed? :unsure:


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## pennyk

AlanB said:


> pennyk said:
> 
> 
> 
> I will be taking my first Acela trip in May - I hope I am disappointed in first class.
> 
> 
> 
> Penny, why do you want to be disappointed? :unsure:
Click to expand...

oops - typo. I hope I am *not* disappointed. One word makes a big difference.


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