This was my first long distance trip on a Superliner train. I have previously taken the Texas Eagle from St. Louis to Chicago, but that doesn't seem to quite count.
The train arrived six minutes late, with the arrival time accurately predicted by the Amtrak app. One note about the Harper's Ferry station - there is no signage as to which platform to board from. Logically, I would expect to board from the right-hand platform in the direction of travel, but to be safe I checked with a U.S. National Park Service ranger who was managing the parking lot, which is used for tourists more than train travelers, at least on the weekends. The ranger shared that the CL usually boarded from the right-hand track, but not always. So I positioned myself at the stairwell that goes under the tracks in case I needed to make a quick switch. The situation sorted itself out when a freight train came through on the left-hand track about 60 seconds before the arrival of the CL. All that said, with electronic message boards that were working (displaying date and time), audio speaker megaphones visually present, and a functioning app, it seems Amtrak has the capability to offer boarding platform information somehow, some way.
It's also worth noting that the right-hand platform (in the direction of travel to Chicago) is not ADA accessible. The stairwell itself was very dirty. The Harper's Ferry station house itself was clean, with clean bathrooms, but empty of anyone except for me.
From the coach car, 3 people got off at Harper's Ferry. I was the only coach or sleeper passenger to board. The conductor seated me in an aisle seat next to another Chicago-bound passenger. This was a bit frustrating as there were empty rows, as there would be during other portions of the trip. On the other hand, I was seated in the last row of the last car, so there was no foot traffic and complete quiet in the back of the car. There were no cleanliness issue with the car or windows - had some great golden hour views of the West Virginia/Maryland countryside.
There was only one coach car as expected. The diner-lounge had two tables with "reserved" signs, presumably for Amtrak staff, but there were plenty of tables available. In one rather nonsensical moment, both the "reserved" tables were empty, but two Amtrak staff members were eating their dinner on the other side of the car, thus occupying a third table. However, it's worth noting that there were plenty of open tables remaining. The diner-lounge car had an aroma of industrial food, which may not speak well for the flex dining meals that were presumably being microwaved in the car. However, as I didn't eat one of those meals, I will reserve judgement.
Bathrooms were reasonably clean, though it seemed the nearest bathroom to the stairwell was being heavily used. I simply used the furthest one from the stairwell and had no issues with it, except with the faucet, which had the water pressure of approximately Niagara Falls.
After Pittsburgh, every row was occupied, but not every seat was full.
I found the renovated Superliner seats (gray faux leather vs. the old blue cloth seats) to be less comfortable. They don't conform to my body well. In my opinion, Amtrak's new order should have seat bases that rise at an angle to essentially tip you back into the recline. I felt like I was holding myself up with my ankles, which wasn't very comfortable.
The diner-lounge announced it was closing at South Bend, but I went in to get water and the attendant continued to serve the last passengers looking for service.
We arrived in Chicago 20 minutes early. Interesting note - Amtrak staff were appearing to work on the car washer. Can't say what exactly they were doing.
The train arrived six minutes late, with the arrival time accurately predicted by the Amtrak app. One note about the Harper's Ferry station - there is no signage as to which platform to board from. Logically, I would expect to board from the right-hand platform in the direction of travel, but to be safe I checked with a U.S. National Park Service ranger who was managing the parking lot, which is used for tourists more than train travelers, at least on the weekends. The ranger shared that the CL usually boarded from the right-hand track, but not always. So I positioned myself at the stairwell that goes under the tracks in case I needed to make a quick switch. The situation sorted itself out when a freight train came through on the left-hand track about 60 seconds before the arrival of the CL. All that said, with electronic message boards that were working (displaying date and time), audio speaker megaphones visually present, and a functioning app, it seems Amtrak has the capability to offer boarding platform information somehow, some way.
It's also worth noting that the right-hand platform (in the direction of travel to Chicago) is not ADA accessible. The stairwell itself was very dirty. The Harper's Ferry station house itself was clean, with clean bathrooms, but empty of anyone except for me.
From the coach car, 3 people got off at Harper's Ferry. I was the only coach or sleeper passenger to board. The conductor seated me in an aisle seat next to another Chicago-bound passenger. This was a bit frustrating as there were empty rows, as there would be during other portions of the trip. On the other hand, I was seated in the last row of the last car, so there was no foot traffic and complete quiet in the back of the car. There were no cleanliness issue with the car or windows - had some great golden hour views of the West Virginia/Maryland countryside.
There was only one coach car as expected. The diner-lounge had two tables with "reserved" signs, presumably for Amtrak staff, but there were plenty of tables available. In one rather nonsensical moment, both the "reserved" tables were empty, but two Amtrak staff members were eating their dinner on the other side of the car, thus occupying a third table. However, it's worth noting that there were plenty of open tables remaining. The diner-lounge car had an aroma of industrial food, which may not speak well for the flex dining meals that were presumably being microwaved in the car. However, as I didn't eat one of those meals, I will reserve judgement.
Bathrooms were reasonably clean, though it seemed the nearest bathroom to the stairwell was being heavily used. I simply used the furthest one from the stairwell and had no issues with it, except with the faucet, which had the water pressure of approximately Niagara Falls.
After Pittsburgh, every row was occupied, but not every seat was full.
I found the renovated Superliner seats (gray faux leather vs. the old blue cloth seats) to be less comfortable. They don't conform to my body well. In my opinion, Amtrak's new order should have seat bases that rise at an angle to essentially tip you back into the recline. I felt like I was holding myself up with my ankles, which wasn't very comfortable.
The diner-lounge announced it was closing at South Bend, but I went in to get water and the attendant continued to serve the last passengers looking for service.
We arrived in Chicago 20 minutes early. Interesting note - Amtrak staff were appearing to work on the car washer. Can't say what exactly they were doing.
