Embarking on 2,700+ Mile Cross-Country Trip

[bryher]

Starting right now my son and I are beginning our long-awaited cross country trip: PHL to RENO:

- Leg 1: PHL > WAS. As I write this we are aboard 2155 Acela.

- Leg 2: WAS > CHI (Capitol) boards at 4pm today.

- Leg 3: CHI > RENO (California Zephyr).

Actually we originally planned to go all the way to EMY but now de-boarding earlier in Renov, NV as part of a larger trip!

From Reno we will take a flight to Seattle from which we will then board a cruise ship with my wife and other son to Alaska and back. We will fly home from Seattle to PHL.

To say this is a dream trip is understated. We booked the train portion of this trip 100% using points.

Of course I couldn't have figured all of this out without the help of all the fine folks here on this forum. I've spaced things out enough that (fingers crossed) we should account for delays.

If anyone has anything they'd like me to post about please do let me know. Also my son is vlogging the whole experience on his Instagram account @herontpz (private account so if you wish to follow message him you're from this board).

 

[bryher]

Two things to report so far. Both about the lounges.

PHL amtrak lounge was great. We learned right away that our business class tickets on the acela were not enough to get us Into the lounge. But the attendant was sweet and let us in bc of my son, she said and the lounge experience was great. Nice selection Of snacks and drinks. And she came to get us and take us to the elevator to the platform.


WAS Acela lounge different story so far. After getting buzzed in at the super secret looking door we were greeted by nice attendants at the front desk. Told us where everything was and when our train would board. He gestured to "light refreshments" which, no joke, was a small pile of bagged snacks. The beverage area is nice but....no Ice. Not just out of ice but the machine isn't even powered. The lounge itself is decent at best. Doesn't seem as nice as PHL. Crowded too.

 

[bryher]

The light refreshments in the Was Union Station Acela lounge. Eat up!

 

[bryher]

These airport style boards around here but consistently blank. Hmm.

 

[joelkfla]

WAS Acela lounge different story so far. After getting buzzed in at the super secret looking door we were greeted by nice attendants at the front desk. Told us where everything was and when our train would board. He gestured to "light refreshments" which, no joke, was a small pile of bagged snacks. The beverage area is nice but....no Ice. Not just out of ice but the machine isn't even powered. The lounge itself is decent at best. Doesn't seem as nice as PHL. Crowded too.

Yes, the drink area at WUS definitely needs some TLC. IIRC, the coffee machine was also dead, and replaced by an urn of lukewarm bitter liquid.

As for the snacks, the tray looked like your picture when I was there last month, but when I asked the lady at the desk about it, she thanked me for letting her know it was depleted and quickly restocked it, including some bags of trail mix. Nothing to write home about, but at least it was more than pretzels and chips.

I don't know whether those "Gate" displays are used, but there are several departure boards around the lounge which are active.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Two things to report so far. Both about the lounges.

PHL amtrak lounge was great. We learned right away that our business class tickets on the acela were not enough to get us Into the lounge. But the attendant was sweet and let us in bc of my son, she said and the lounge experience was great. Nice selection Of snacks and drinks. And she came to get us and take us to the elevator to the platform.


WAS Acela lounge different story so far. After getting buzzed in at the super secret looking door we were greeted by nice attendants at the front desk. Told us where everything was and when our train would board. He gestured to "light refreshments" which, no joke, was a small pile of bagged snacks. The beverage area is nice but....no Ice. Not just out of ice but the machine isn't even powered. The lounge itself is decent at best. Doesn't seem as nice as PHL. Crowded too.

I've always enjoyed the Lounges in Philly Boston,LA and Portland much more than the ones in New York,( the Old one in NYP/ the Moynihan one is a different story) Chicago ( nice facility/ not so nice Dragons)and Washington, which one would think could be so much better!

What a great trip, look forward to your reports!

 

[John Santos]

Are you in a sleeper on the Cardinal? If so, I think you are entitled to use the Metro Lounge in Philly because you are connecting to a sleeper on the same day. When I took the Crescent to Atlanta in Oct 2019, I took the NEC from Boston to NYP and they let me into the Boston Metro/Acela lounge even though I was just in regular NEC coach because of the connection to a sleeper in New York.

The Washington Metro Lounge has direct access to several of the platforms used by LD trains. I think they only put up the train info on the boards when they have announced the tracks and departure times often only 5 or 10 minutes before departure. unlike an airport where the sign at the gate goes up an hour or two before boarding. There are lots of reasons for this. They don't want people going out onto the platforms until the trains are ready to board, and want you to stay in the station until then. Access to airplanes is much more strictly controlled than access to train platforms, and there is room at each gate to hold all the passengers for a given flight. Train stations generally have shared waiting areas for all tracks and platforms. If the put up the train info on the sign too early, there could be mobs of people crowding the area and going out on the platforms long before the train was ready for boarding, or even before it had arrived. There might be another train on the same track and people might get on the wrong train if they posted the Cardinal was leaving in 30 minutes from Gate F, if there was another train, also boarding on Gate F that hadn't left yet. The typical interval between flights from a single gate is much much longer than the interval between trains from a single platform, at least at busy stations.

Oh, and enjoy your trip!

 

[Joe from PA]

Yes, in Phila sleeper passengers are welcome in the very well stocked lounge. The bathrooms are nice to have, as well. We leave our baggage with a red cap, and he/she takes us up on a elevator to the lounge. Ten minutes prior to train arrival, the red cap shows up with our baggage, and takes us down to the platform on the elevator. They get our baggage to our roomettes. I tip, up front, $5. per bag...then a extra $5. for the "thank you" for the great service. We have done this 8 times.

 

[Bonser]

Starting right now my son and I are beginning our long-awaited cross country trip: PHL to RENO:

- Leg 1: PHL > WAS. As I write this we are aboard 2155 Acela.

- Leg 2: WAS > CHI (Cardinal) boards at 4pm today.

- Leg 3: CHI > RENO (California Zephyr).

Actually we originally planned to go all the way to EMY but now de-boarding earlier in Renov, NV as part of a larger trip!

From Reno we will take a flight to Seattle from which we will then board a cruise ship with my wife and other son to Alaska and back. We will fly home from Seattle to PHL.

To say this is a dream trip is understated. We booked the train portion of this trip 100% using points.

Of course I couldn't have figured all of this out without the help of all the fine folks here on this forum. I've spaced things out enough that (fingers crossed) we should account for delays.

If anyone has anything they'd like me to post about please do let me know. Also my son is vlogging the whole experience on his Instagram account @herontpz (private account so if you wish to follow message him you're from this board).

Aren't you taking the Capitol Limited? That boards around 4 and the Cardinal in the morning from DC.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

PHL amtrak lounge was great. We learned right away that our business class tickets on the acela were not enough to get us Into the lounge. But the attendant was sweet and let us in bc of my son, she said and the lounge experience was great. Nice selection Of snacks and drinks. And she came to get us and take us to the elevator to the platform.

I have always loved the PHL lounge, primarily because of the wonderful attendants.

I think they also take pride in having as many snacks and drinks available as possible. If you’re starting from Philly, I assume you know the city and know that you can’t go half a block without seeing another place to grab a snack. So I think the lounge wants to keep up with the rest of the city!

So glad you and your son were able to use it.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[bryher]

Hi all,

First sorry for the typo. We're on the Capitol Ltd from WAS to CHI. Also you're right, those boards were used a few times. Not when ours left for some reason. The attendants were really nice and helpful in the WAS lounge. Just the lame food.

So update as we're now 30 mins outside of Chicago. Big news is we just hit a semi at a crossing. I posted something about it in the rail discussion forum. Short story is didn't seem to be serious enough for anyone to be hurt. Hopefully we can make our connection on the CZ.

Anyway updates on the trip so far...

meals: I forgot that meals are still boxed on this train. So a little letdown. Meals were still ok but just not the same experience. I ordered the baked ziti which was ok. My son ordered the pasta with chicken and Alfredo rose sauce. Ok too. Small salads. Butter cake for dessert was delicious. Breakfast this AM was the same. Good omelet and potatoes (cold) but still good. My son had the continental breakfast which came with a delicious sausage egg cheese biscuit. Met some interesting and friendly Amish folks at breakfast.

Attendant: ok. Not bad. Not great. Does his Job just enough. It did take 30 minutes last night to get him to turn down our room. Qe started calling him around 9pm. He was annoyed that we kept hitting the call button
Like 5 times in 30 mins. Bed turn down was quick. But my blanket was just tossed on the bed, not in a plastic bag either. Just thrown there.

Bedding: speaking on the same topic we have the upgraded bedding. I was curious about it after seeing a large beautiful add in the station at PHI. Seemed way overstated and too luxurious in the ad. In the end the pillows are very nice! Blankets aren't much but upgraded.

Oh the other nice surprise is I didn't realize how many crossings we'd be passing and....how often the driver needs to sound the horn!! LOL we've had lots of laughs over it. Crazy. Guess it didn't work too well with that truck.

Overall having a great time on our adventure!

 

[joelkfla]

Attendant: ok. Not bad. Not great. Does his Job just enough. It did take 30 minutes last night to get him to turn down our room. Qe started calling him around 9pm. He was annoyed that we kept hitting the call button
Like 5 times in 30 mins. Bed turn down was quick. But my blanket was just tossed on the bed, not in a plastic bag either. Just thrown there.

I assume the idea with the blanket is that some people prefer to sleep without it, so it's left up to the passenger. The SCA may have removed it from the wrapper before tossing it on the bed, but on one trip I saw that it was unwrapped when he took it down. I asked about it and he said, "Oh, it's clean; it's just not wrapped." After he left, I grabbed the 2nd one from the top bunk (which was wrapped).

 

[Trollopian]

(Previous post deleted as "advertising, so I have deleted brand name.)

When I have an overnight or just a long trip by air or train, I take a thin cotton throw, machine-washable and -dryable. It takes up hardly any luggage space and is lightweight yet warm. Unless temps are bitter cold, what you need isn't a heavy weight, but just a layer to keep in your body heat.