Eric and Pat's 2023 San Diego-Toledo-San Diego Trip Report

[Eric in East County]

Here’s our report for this year’s trip. Enjoy.
Eric & Pat

Prologue

Every year we try to make it back to Ohio to visit family members living in the Findlay area.

The Amtrak station closest to Findlay is Toledo, and to get there we must first take a Pacific Surfliner (Business Class) from San Diego to Los Angeles. There, we catch the Southwest Chief (bedroom) to Chicago where we have a same day connection with the Capitol Limited (coach) to Toledo. The return trip uses these same trains and accommodations, but in reverse order.

To be sure of obtaining Southwest Chief bedrooms for the dates when we want to travel, we always make our Amtrak reservations at least six months ahead of time. (As seniors, we’re no longer up to undertaking a long-distance train trip in coach or a roomette.)

We were all set to travel to Ohio in late June 2022 but then, less than a month before we were to depart, we were informed that our sleeping car had been removed from the train due to an “equipment shortage.” We rescheduled our trip to September but once again, less than a month before we were to depart, we were informed that our sleeping car had been removed from the train. There went our trip for 2022.

Rather than requesting a refund, however, we called Amtrak Customer Relations and had them reschedule our trip to June-July 2023. By doing so, our bedrooms for this year’s trip ended up costing us what they’d sold for in January 2022 rather than what they’d be selling for in June 2023. On top of that, and because Amtrak had been the cause of our having to reschedule our trip, Customer Relations issued us a $300 credit voucher good for future travel. As Nero Wolfe would say, “Satisfactory. Highly Satisfactory.”

On June 5th, a little over three weeks before we were to depart, a landslide in the San Clemente area put a temporary halt to direct Pacific Surfliner service between San Diego and Los Angeles. Train 777 became 1777 and left San Diego at 11:03 a.m. rather than at its usual time of 12:01 p.m. In Oceanside, passengers had to transfer to a bus that took them to Irvine, where they caught 777 for the rest of the trip to Los Angeles.

About two weeks before we were to depart, we got out the packing lists from our previous trips and started gathering everything together that we planned to take with us.

When we first started making long-distance train trips, we took full advantage of Amtrak’s liberal luggage allowance and traveled with two suitcases that needed to be checked as baggage. We eventually got this down to one suitcase, but even this proved an inconvenience, particularly on those occasions when it would arrive on a later train than ours. For this year’s trip, we decided that everything we’d bring with us would be distributed among our carry-on items. This worked out better for us than we could possibly have imagined, as we’ll relate shortly.

As of June 12th, a little over two weeks before we were to depart, direct Pacific Surfliner service to LA still had not been restored nor was there any official word as to when it would be. Since our tickets issued almost a year earlier were “train only” and didn’t include the bus portion, we called Amtrak to see about having new tickets e-mailed to us. Ironically, this couldn’t be done because Amtrak’s computer showed direct service to LA as being available on the date we were to leave. We were also told that Amtrak would contact us if this situation changed. Rather than depending on Amtrak to look out for our best interests, we made frequent visits to the Amtrak website and the Pacific Surfliner Travel Advisories page for updates. We also paid close attention to an Amtrak Unlimited discussion thread on the Pacific Surfliner situation. As things turned out, on June 22nd, five days before our departure, the Amtrak computer finally updated to show that the bus bridge would be in effect on the day that we were to leave. Not waiting until Amtrak contacted us, we called Guest Rewards and had our boarding ticket updated to 1777-3977-777. Since 1777 left San Diego an hour earlier than 777, we also moved up the time we planned on leaving home by an hour.

 

[Eric in East County]

Part 1: San Diego, California to Toledo, Ohio

Stage 1: San Diego to Los Angeles (June 27th)

A shuttle from long term parking lot where we’d left our car dropped us off at the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego well over an hour before our Pacific Surfliner No. 1777 was scheduled to depart. (To be on the safe side, we’d allowed ourselves plenty of time to reach the Depot since missing the 1777 train was not an option if we expected to be in Los Angeles in time to connect with Southwest Chief No. 4.)

For those of you who have never visited this station, it looks much the same today inside and outside as it did when it first opened in 1915 and still retains the feeling and atmosphere of railroad travel.

Although the day was sunny, it was cool enough inside the Depot’s waiting room for us to put on the jackets we’d packed along.

At 10:30 a.m., 1777 backed in and passengers began to queue up outside.

When we’d last traveled in 2021, COVID regulations had required unreserved coach passengers to line up inside the station before boarding. Now, both the Business Class and unreserved coach lines formed up next to each other out on the platform.

Seating for Business Class passengers was on the upper level of the Café Car. Since we’d requested lower-level seating (so that we could keep an eye on our carry-on bags in the luggage storage rack), we opted to sit in the lower level of an unreserved coach.

At 11:03 a.m. someone radioed, “Here we go. Let’s highball it” and we got underway.

The engineer made a high-speed dash out of the downtown area, and we arrived at the Old Town Transit Center in 5 minutes flat.

Noticing my “Sante Fe Chief” ballcap, the conductor who scanned our ticket asked if we’d ever ridden the Chief. Unfortunately, we never did. However, our Southwest Chief would be following essentially the same route used by the Chief, and we’d be seeing many of the same sights as the people who did ride it.

Our coach was warm enough so that we didn’t need our jackets. (To us, it also seemed quite noisy.)

For this year’s trip, we’d packed along an original copy of the 1943 edition of “Along Your Way,” the route guide that the Santa Fe Railroad once gave out to its passengers, and which has the names of just about every small town that we’d be going passed between San Diego and Chicago. Although most of its information about local populations, crops, industries, etc. is now hopelessly out of date, it has a lot of what can now be considered as route trivia from 80 years ago, some of which we’ll be sharing in this trip report.

We got our first good view of the ocean 31 minutes after departing from downtown San Diego. Shortly afterwards, we passed through the upscale resort community of Del Mar.

The description of Del Mar that appears in our 1943 route guide is still fairly accurate today: “Three miles of fine bathing beach and fishing pier; famous Torrey Pines; Monterey cypress and giant eucalypti . . . Rancho Santa Fe, exclusive community of country estates . . . Del Mar Race Track and Rancho Santa Fe Golf Course.”


Without slowing down, we went by the Del Mar fairgrounds and racetrack. At this time of year, the San Diego County Fair is always in progress, and we had a good view of the midway rides and attractions.

After the briefest of stops at Solana Beach we continued on towards Oceanside, arriving 51 minutes after leaving San Diego.

After detraining in Oceanside, we had about a 50-yard walk to where the buses were parked. Bus company personnel stowed our larger carry-on items underneath the bus, and all we had to do was have our ticket verified and then board. We found two seats together at the rear of the bus.

Our bus was clean and modern and even had a restroom.

We departed the station at 12:08 p.m., and by 12:14 p.m. were speeding north on I-5.

Our bus seemed more than a little chilly. Since we always pack along a little digital thermometer when we travel, we got it out to see what the temperature inside our bus actually was. By the time we reached San Juan Capistrano, it had bottomed out at 66 degrees Fahrenheit! Pat had brought her jacket along, but I’d left mine in a bag that was now stowed away below. Drat!

Our driver made good time traveling north, and we arrived in Irvine almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule. From where the buses unloaded, it was a short walk to the platform where 777 would be arriving.

Next to the platform was a large patio area with picnic tables. Since we had about 50 minutes before our train departed, we sat at one of the tables and ate the brown bag lunches that we’d packed along. (A few other people were doing the same thing.) The temperature was a sunny 84 degrees with a slight breeze blowing. Ideal picnic weather.

While we were eating, Pacific Surfliner 777 pulled in and parked. The first boarding call came about 25 minutes later.

Although our Business Class car had lower-level seating, by the time we boarded, it had all been taken, so we ended up sitting in the upper level, trusting to luck that our bags in the luggage rack below would be OK.

We departed Irvine at 1:50 p.m.

Shortly afterwards an attendant came by passing out Business Class complementary snack packs containing hummus, cheese spread, almonds, brownie crisps, crackers, a beef stick, and dried apples. When she later took beverage orders, we opted for spring water.

We arrived at Anaheim at 2:10 p.m. According to our 1943 route guide, 80 years ago Anaheim was the “Center of Valencia orange culture in frostless belt. 10 citrus packing houses. 54 citrus products plants, walnut packing house, chemical plant, paint factory, tomato cannery.” Although things inevitably change over the course of time, it is interesting to speculate on how Anaheim might look today if Disneyland had not been built there.

Just outside of Fullerton, we were stopped by a red signal and had to wait about 10 minutes before we could continue. We arrived at Fullerton at 2:29 p.m.


At 2:55 p.m. the scanner monitored the automated Radio Alarm Detector (RAD) at milepost 144.45, which is about 10 minutes out from Los Angeles Union Station. This is always our cue to start packing everything away in preparation for arriving in Los Angeles.

We arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 3:00 p.m., a mere two minutes late.

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 2: Los Angeles to Chicago (Day 1: June 27th)

Making our way into Los Angeles Union Station via the wide subterranean pedestrian tunnel that runs underneath and at a right angle to the platforms, we headed directly for the elevator that goes up to the Metropolitan Lounge.

We had to buzz the attendant to come and unlock the door. And it was only after she’d scanned our Southwest Chief ticket that she allowed us to enter. After stowing our larger carry-on bags near the back door, we found two good seats together and settled in to wait for our train.

The Lounge offered an exceptionally large and varied selection of pre-packaged snacks and we helped ourselves generously. (A wise decision as it turned out.) There was also a large cooler stocked with various soft drinks and fruit juices, and a state-of-the-art coffee machine that allowed you to custom order the way you wanted your coffee automatically prepared. (To us simple country folk who don’t travel that often, this machine was an innovation.) For tea drinkers, there were several popular varieties including green tea.

Early boarding for Southwest Chief No. 4 was announced at about 5:15 p.m. By then, Red Caps and their carts were already at the Lounge’s backdoor, ready to take passengers and their carry-on items to the platform. (We always tip our Red Cap drivers $5 for this service, which we greatly appreciate.)

To get to the platforms, Red Cap drivers use the elevated driveway that runs in back of the station and which eventually makes its way behind where the fan of trackage within the LAUS grounds terminates. From there, the carts are driven down whichever platform SWC No. 4 will be using.

Informed of our car number, our driver dropped us off at the approximate location on the platform where that car would be standing once SWC No. 4 had backed in and come to a stop.

Incidentally, the train numbers assigned to the Southwest Chief (No. 3 westbound and No. 4 eastbound) are the original numbers of the California Limited, the first of the Santa Fe Railroad’s “name” trains to offer deluxe passenger service between Chicago and Los Angeles. Placed in service in 1892 and withdrawn from the timecard in 1954, the California Limited had the longest tenure of any of the Santa Fe name trains on the Chicago-Los Angeles run.

SWC No. 4 backed in slow enough for us to write down the car numbers as they went by us: 817 (lead engine), 824 (engine), 61024 (baggage) 32009 (sleeper), 32110 (sleeper), 38063 (dining car), 33044 (lounge car), 34137 (coach), 31027 (coach) and 31000 (coach). The sleepers were configured so that the bedroom windows looked out from the left or fireman’s side of the train.

By 5:30 p.m. we’d been checked in by our Sleeping Car Attendant Ashanae. Upon entering our bedroom, we were momentarily taken aback at discovering there was no chair facing the seat that folds out into a bed. (We’d planned on taking turns sitting in that chair during the day.) After being informed by Ashanae that there was nothing available that could be used as a substitute, we improvised by stacking our two carryon suitcases one on top of the other and covering the top one with several blankets and a pillow. (We made a note to write Amtrak Customer Service since, by not having that chair, we hadn’t received full value for the cost of the bedroom.)

Next, we set about unpacking the “essentials” that we always keep handy while traveling. These include disinfecting wet wipes, a small roll of gaffer’s tape, a small but powerful LED flashlight, a 9-foot extension cord (used for bringing power to our scanner and GPS device), and a small, battery-operated digital clock with large red numerals that are easy to read in the dark. We also had handy a few Band-Aids of various sizes and an assortment of over-the-counter cold remedies, digestive aids, pain relievers, etc. (Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.)

With the preliminaries out of the way we powered up our scanner and Garmin Nuvi 2797 GPS device in preparation for getting underway.

Our 2021 Ohio trip was the first time that we’d used a GPS device while on a train and it more than met our expectations. In addition to showing our speed & direction of travel and identifying the towns along our route, it displayed nearby freeways and highways, and even the names of the narrow dirt roads running alongside the right-of-way.

By 5:50 p.m. our scanner was monitoring Channel 47, the primary LAUS channel (referred to by the on-board crew as “The Disney Channel”), and our GPS device had locked onto a satellite signal and was ready to start tracking our progress.

We left on time at 5:55 p.m.

Soon afterwards, Ashanae stopped by to see how we were settling in and to inform us that she would provide shampoo and lotion upon request.

At 6:24 p.m. the dining car steward stopped by to take our dinner reservations. For this trip, however, we opted to have all our meals delivered to us in our bedroom. This is not so much over lingering concerns about “social distancing,” but rather because, as we’ve gotten older, we’ve come to value our privacy and the luxury of being able to dine at our own pace. Many others must do the same since our bedroom already had a copy of the printed menu and our SCA had the forms that the dining car waiters use for taking orders.

For our first underway dinner we both ordered the Atlantic Salmon along with Chateau Ste. Michelle-Rose wine. For dessert, we both ordered the Chocolate Toffee Mousse. Pat had coffee with her dessert while I had Green Tea brewed using a teabag picked up in LA Metro Lounge.

Our takeout meals arrived in a large plastic bag at the time requested. Even though the items we’d ordered came on plastic Amtrak plates, accompanied by plastic utensils, paper napkins, and with the coffee and hot tea water in paper cups, our meals couldn’t have tasted more delicious to us than if they’d been served on fine Mimbreno chinaware in a Fred Harvey-staffed Super Chief dining car during the so-called “golden age” of rail passenger service. (Back then, most everyone smoked, so eating in the dining car would have been a most unpleasant experience for non-smokers like ourselves.)

Since it had been a long day for us, we had Ashanae make up our beds early. (On our long-distance train trips, once the bed is unfolded, we leave it unfolded until just before arriving at our destination. Although this does make the bedroom a tad more difficult to move about in, the lowered upper berth makes a handy storage shelf for our carryon items. Also, having the bed open makes it more convenient if one of us wants to stretch out during the day to take a nap.)

After she made up our beds, Ashanae took our breakfast orders.

When I went to take a shower before retiring, I discovered that there was no soap. (We can understand having to request the shampoo and lotions, but soap should already have been in our bedroom.) There was hot water, though, which is always very much appreciated.

Aware that Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time, we didn’t bother to set our watches and digital clock ahead an hour before turning off the lights.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 2: June 28th)

The smell of fresh brewed coffee woke us up a little after 5:00 a.m.

Once the scanner was on and monitoring SWC No. 4’s radio traffic, we could tell from the channel number being used that our train was still west of Winslow.

Bill Yenne’s book “All Aboard! The Golden Age of Rail Travel” has a horizontal profile of the Santa Fe’s Railroad’s mainline between Los Angeles and Chicago (which is essentially the same route that the Southwest Chief follows today.) From studying this profile, we knew that about half of the SWC’s route is through mountain divisions and that, even though the roadbed usually felt like it was running relatively level, we would be spending most of the day climbing or descending through elevations ranging from 5,000 to over 7,800 feet.

We arrived at Winslow at 6:00 a.m., only 42 minutes behind schedule. (Our train had apparently avoided the “freight interference” that SWC No. 4 trains typically encounter on their first night out.)

Since our SCA had already taken our breakfast orders the previous evening, we didn’t have to summon her.

(We try to limit the summoning of our sleeping car attendants to a minimum since their workday is a long one, and they are only guaranteed a minimum of 4 hours of sleep each night! If our SCAs deliver our meals to us in our bedroom, most of the tips that we would normally have left our dining car servers find their way onto to tip that we give them at the end the trip.)

For our first breakfast underway, Pat ordered the Railroad French Toast, and I ordered the three-egg omelet. (I would have liked to have ordered the Railroad French Toast, too, but am now on a wheat free diet. I compromised by sharing some of my omelet with Pat in exchange for half a slice of her Railroad French Toast.)

Following breakfast, we went back to making the most of our time aboard the train.

On our earlier trips, we’d tracked our progress across country on a route map assembled from pages copied from Steam Powered Video’s “Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America.” Being a railroad map, however, it doesn’t show any of the freeways or highways which our GPS device was displaying. This time we came prepared with trimmed down Auto Club roadmaps for the states that our trains would be traveling through. Now, between our railroad atlas map and our roadmaps, we have little trouble locating where our train is at any given time.

From an earlier AU post, we were aware that BNSF had upgraded a sizable portion of its tracks to Class 5 standards, allowing Amtrak passenger trains to run at speeds of up to 90 mph. Since our GPS device was displaying our train’s actual speed, we were curious to see if it would, in fact, ever reach 90 mph. (We spent most of the morning running at an average “track speed” of about 80 mph.)

At 7:22 a.m., we went past the famous Teepee Trading Post, located near the Arizona-New Mexico border. Here we set our watches and digital clock ahead an hour to Mountain Time.

We arrived at Gallup at 8:41 a.m.

It is probably safe to assume that the red sandstone cliffs east of Gallup look the same today as they did to passengers on the California Limited back in the 1890s, and to the Hollywood-Broadway habitué who rode the Super Chief in the 1930s and 1940s.

At 9:35 a.m. when we went passed Thoreau, we were traveling at 86 mph. Six minutes later we crossed the Continental Divide.

Although we kept monitoring the scanner, there was no interesting badinage between the conductor and the engineer regarding the weather, cattle on or near the tracks, the amount of freight traffic ahead of us, etc. Also, we weren’t hearing the automated radio alarm detectors reporting how many axles our train had, and whether or not there were any defects.

We arrived at Albuquerque at 11:30 a.m., 10 minutes behind schedule. We got off briefly to stretch our legs but didn’t stay outside very long because of the heat. When we saw our SCA, we gave her our lunch orders.

In a gesture calculated to remind passengers that Amtrak has their best interests at heart, the car windows were cleaned during the Albuquerque service stop.

At 12:23 p.m., an announcement was made for all staff to prepare for departure. (The scanner, however, picked up someone saying, “We’re waiting for the traffic to die down a bit.”)

At 12:35 p.m. the conductor radioed “No 4, let’s highball with restricted speed,” and we got underway at 16 mph. Our stay in Albuquerque had lasted longer than usual, but we wouldn’t know how far behind schedule we’d fallen until we reached Lamy.

For lunch, Pat ordered the Mixed Field Greens and Goat Cheese Salad while I ordered the Natural Angus Burger with tomato, onion, and lettuce but without the bun and chips. (I used the generous sized lettuce leaf to make a wrap.)

We were an hour and four minutes late when we reached Lamy.

According to our 1943 route guide, a “pusher engine” was required to assist Santa Fe passenger trains as they threaded their way up through the narrow clearances of Apache Canyon towards Glorieta, a climb of 158 feet to the mile!

At 2:10 p.m., in the vicinity of Sleeping Dog Road, we were met and passed by westbound Southwest Chief No. 3.

We reached Glorieta 13 minutes later.

At 2:47 p.m. the scanner finally monitored an automatic detector that informed us that our train had 40 axles and that there were no defects.

At 3:00 p.m., we went passed Ribera and entered the double S-curve.

Six minutes later we crossed the unpaved Imus Ranch Road. (The Imus Ranch was a working cattle ranch of nearly 4,000 acres. Between 1998–2014, it was the site of a non-profit charitable program for seriously ill children, founded by long-time radio personality Don Imus.)

At Bernal, we had a nice view of the ruins of the first stagecoach relay station on the old Las Vegas-Santa Fe stage line.

We arrived at Las Vegas at 3:48 p.m., 57 minutes behind schedule.

At 4:14 p.m., just as we were going by Valmora, the dispatcher informed the conductor that an Amtrak train had derailed in California. There were no injuries, but a train was “on the ground.” (We later learned that this was the Coast Starlight derailment that had taken place in Ventura County.) He also informed the conductor that 70 Scouts would be getting on in Raton.

At 4:37 p.m., as we went by Wagon Mound, a radio alarm detector reported that the outside temperature was 101 degrees. The engineer immediately contacted the dispatcher to confirm this reading, as his onboard instruments showed an outside temperature of 92-93 degrees. If the Wagon Mound report was correct, then he’d have to observe hot weather restrictions and slow down. The dispatcher didn’t have any information on the current outside temperatures, so it was mutually decided to reduce speed to 50 mph until the temperature reading from the detector at Springer was received.

At 5:02 p.m., the Springer detector reported the outside temperature as 93 degrees, and the engineer and dispatcher agreed that it would be OK to go back to the 78-mph track speed.

An announcement was made to coach passengers, asking for their cooperation in accommodating the 70 Scouts who would be boarding in Raton.

We arrived in Raton at 5:39 p.m., a little over an hour late.


By 5:50 p.m., the Scouts and all their gear had been loaded and the engineer was given the “highball” signal. By 6:09 p.m., we’d made the ascent up Raton pass, had passed through the tunnel, and were in Colorado. Shortly afterwards, an announcement summoned three or four Scouts to the Lounge Car, which was probably being used for overflow seating. (We later saw one of the Scout leaders coming out of a roomette. We never did learn if he had been placed there, or if he'd had the foresight to book a roomette so that he wouldn’t have to travel in coach.)

For dinner that night, Pat ordered the Pan Roasted Chicken Breast while I stayed with the Salmon. We shared a glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, just to see what it was like.

We were only 49 minutes behind schedule when we departed La Junta. We were now in the so-called “racetrack” where, with the Kansas plains laying level as a floor before us and a ledger-ruled right-of-way, our SWC No. 4 should be back on schedule by the time we reached Kansas City the next morning.

We set our watches and digital clock ahead an hour before retiring.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 3: June 29th)

We got up just as SWC No. 4 was departing from Lawrence, Kansas.

At 6:39 a.m., the GPS device showed us moving through the massive BNSF Argentine Classification Yard. Three minutes later, we passed under I-635 and stopped at what looked like a refueling station. We were only there for seven minutes, which didn’t seem like enough time for our engine to have been refueled.

We arrived at the Kansas City, Missouri Amtrak station at 7:05 a.m., 12 minutes late. (In 1943, when our vintage route guide was published, 160 passenger trains arrived and departed from Kansas City daily.)

The highball signal came at 7:29 a.m., and we departed Kansas City one minute behind schedule under overcast skies.

After first having to wait for a freight train at Cement City, we crossed the Missouri River at 8:12 a.m. Five minutes later, we were moving out at 88 mph.

As we approached Mendon, Missouri, we used our GPS device to identify the Porsche Prairie Avenue crossing where, on June 27, 2022, SWC No. 4 had derailed after hitting a truck. (With the exception of the two engines, the entire consist had ended up on its side.) At the time of the accident, there had been no automated crossing gates or warning flashers in place, nor are there any there now.

At 9:11 a.m., a high wind warning was received, and we slowed to 20 mph.

By the time we reached Marceline, it was raining, with dark threatening storm clouds overhead.

By 10:06 a.m. we could see the trees next to the right-of-way being buffeted by the wind.

At 11:53 a.m. we came to a stop. An announcement was made that a tornado warning had been received and that there had been bad wind damage to the north.

At 12:02 p.m., an announcement was made that the tornado warning had expired. Seven minutes later the conductor radioed the engineer, “Here we go on a clear.” Storm damaged trees could be seen next to the right of way as we proceeded.

At Medill, a “full stop all red” brought us to a halt. An announcement was made that BNSF crews were working to clear branches and other storm debris from the tracks ahead of us. We remained stopped until 2:05 p.m. and then could only proceed at a reduced speed.

When we reached Fort Madison at 2:50 p.m., we were running 4 hours behind schedule.

Our departure from Fort Madison didn’t occur until 3:40 p.m. and then we only moved forward a car length or two before we had to stop again because the swing bridge over the Mississippi was open for river traffic. By the time we got rolling again, we were 5 hours and 18 minutes behind schedule.

Once we were across the river and in Illinois, we had to stop and wait for the engineer to receive his instructions from the Fort Madison dispatcher. SWC No. 4 could proceed at track speed but would have to slow to 20 mph between Lomax and Stronghurst because the tracks there hadn’t been inspected yet. The engineer was also cautioned to keep an eye out for downed trees.

After passing Stronghurst at 5:45 p.m., we were soon back up to a track speed of 80 mph. Seven minutes later, however, we had to stop to wait for westbound SWC No. 3 to go by. After sitting in place for a while, the engineer asked the conductor to use his cell phone to call the “Fort Mad” dispatcher to let him know that both No. 3 and No. 4 were “sitting here red.” (When asked why he couldn’t contact the dispatcher himself, the engineer replied that engineers aren’t allowed to use cell phones.)

As SWC No. 3 went by us at 6:01 p.m., our conductor radioed No. 3’s conductor, “Good luck, Jimmy. You’re going to need it.” (When No. 3 finally reached LA on July 1st, it was almost five hours late.)

Five minutes, after No. 3 had passed us, our conductor had to call the dispatcher again to see why we were still sitting there.

We reached Galesburg at 6:19 p.m., 6 hours and 31 minutes behind schedule.

By now, it was obvious to us that we’d miss our connection with Capitol Limited No. 30 in Chicago. Since we had a “guaranteed connection,” we knew that Amtrak would either send us out on a later train, send us to Toledo on a shuttle bus, or put us up in a hotel for the night and then send us out on the next day’s No. 30. We used our cell phone to call the family to update them on our situation.

After departing from Galesburg, we ran at track speed for the rest of the way to Chicago, arriving at 9:21 p.m.

An announcement was made that Amtrak personnel were standing by to assist those passengers with missed connections.

A Red Cap was waiting on the platform with his cart when we detrained. Told that we’d missed our connection, he drove us and our carry-on items to the old South Waiting Room, where the other missed connection passengers were being assembled. (We were grateful that we didn’t have any checked luggage to worry about.)

There were about 80-100 people in the old South Waiting Room when we got there. Among those gathered there was a large contingent of Amish folk included several elders with full white beards that gave them the appearance of biblical prophets. The Amtrak employees that were on hand were being swamped with questions about next day train departures, the availability of bedrooms, the status of checked luggage, etc. Like us, most everyone there was tired, hungry, frustrated at having had their travel plans disrupted, and a little apprehensive over how and when they’d be able to leave Chicago and continue on their way. (Pat talked with a woman who was traveling on her own and who was literally trembling.)

An announcement was eventually made that we would all be put up in a hotel for the night and that everyone would receive $40 worth of food vouchers. We were also told that shuttle buses would be provided to transport us to our hotel and then bring us back to the station in the morning.

After what seemed like a longer than necessary delay, an Amtrak employee started passing out the hotel and food vouchers. Once we had ours, we followed other passengers up the stairs and outside to the waiting buses. Our bus driver stowed our larger carry-on items under the bus, and we got onboard. Once our bus had been filled, we set off for the hotel.

Neither of us had ever been in a city as large as Chicago before, and the nighttime drive through the downtown section left us “wide eyed in Babylon.”

After a short drive, we arrived at Swissotel, where we’d be spending the night. Once inside the lobby, our hotel voucher was collected, and we were issued a card key to Room 1815. (Instead of a plastic card key, we received a wooden card key.) By 11:30 p.m. we were finally in our room.

The first thing we did was to call our hotels in Maumee and Findlay and change our arrival dates.

We’d been told that the food vouchers we’d been given could only be used for hotel room service. Since it was already too late for room service, our supper consisted of items from our Business Class snack packs and the snacks that we’d had the foresight to pick up in the LA Metropolitan Lounge.

After eating, we called it a night with the expectation that things would go better the next day.

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 3: Chicago to Toledo (June 30th)

We were up at 8:00 a.m.

When Pat called down to the front desk to find out about ordering breakfast, she was told that we’d have to come down to the lobby and place our orders there. Using a 20-dollar voucher, we ordered two 10-dollar breakfast sandwiches. Our orders were delivered to our room about 20 minutes later.

At 10:15 p.m. we reported back down to the lobby with our carry-on items and joined the others waiting to catch the shuttle buses back to the station.

Upon arriving there, the first thing we did was to go to the Amtrak ticket counter to see about being issued new tickets. By the time we got there, a long line had already formed, and we recognized many of the people we’d ridden with on the shuttle bus. When we finally got to an agent and he learned that we needed tickets for Capitol Limited No. 30, he told us to report back down to the old South Waiting Room where someone would assist us.

After first stashing our carry-on items in the Metropolitan Lounge storage room, we made our way back down to the South Waiting Room where passengers for No. 30 were being assembled.

An Amtrak supervisor was already there when we arrived, collecting everyone’s Capitol Limited tickets for yesterday’s train. (We surrendered ours without a qualm since we had several extra copies tucked away in our carry-on bags.) As she departed with the tickets, she told us to continue to wait there as she was going to try to find us seats. (There was a rumor going around that No. 30 was already sold out.)

Seated near us was the large contingent of Amish folk that we’d seen last night. Pat talked with some of them and learned that they were from the Loudonville, Ohio area. Like us, they had no idea if tickets would be available for them.

By noontime, there had been no further word on our tickets, so we went up to the Food Court to get lunch using our food vouchers. (We opted for two grilled chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A and two bottles of spring water. There was no problem using the vouchers to pay for everything.)

Uncertain as to what would be happening next, we decided to eat our sandwiches in the Metropolitan Lounge, collect our carry-on items, and take them back with us to the South Waiting Room. To get down to the Lounge from the Food Court, we headed towards the escalator located by the McDonald’s restaurant. Immediately in front of us was an obese woman who, upon stepping onto the escalator, lost her balance and started rolling down the steps to the bottom. Fortunately, the escalator wasn’t crowded and the people in front of her, hearing her screams, were able to dodge out of her way. Almost as soon as she had come to rest at the bottom of the escalator, security people were on hand, and the escalator had been shut down. We descended using the staircase.

After eating lunch in the Metropolitan Lounge, we gathered up our carry-on items and returned to the South Waiting Room, which was only open to those people with missed connections on Capitol Limited No. 30.

At 1:32 p.m., an Amtrak employee appeared and announced that they were still working on coming up with tickets for us.

Finally, at 2:02 p.m., the supervisor reappeared and passed out new tickets for that day’s Capitol Limited No. 30. (We later heard someone say that an extra coach had been added to No. 30 to accommodate all the people with missed connections.) After receiving our ticket, we were told that we could return to the Metropolitan Lounge. We were only too glad to take our carry-on items back up to the Lounge and settle in there to wait for our train to board.

As the first order of business, we called the family to let them know that we now had a ticket and that we’d be arriving that night. I then set up the laptop to read our e-mails and get more details on the Coast Starlight derailment. The rest of the afternoon was spent working on this trip report while Pat watched the Weather Channel to follow the latest storm news.

The Lounge was its usually chilly self. Aware that this would be the case, we had our jackets handy to put on. As we’d done on the Oceanside to Irvine bus, we got out our little digital thermometer to find out what the temperature inside the Lounge actually was. It turned out to be 65.8 degrees. Brrrrr.

At 5:00 p.m., while I watched our carry-on items, Pat went up to the food court and used a voucher to order two salads for our supper.

Early boarding for Capitol Limited No. 30 was called away at about 6:00 p.m. Unlike our last visit to Chicago Union Station in 2021, there were now plenty of Red Caps with carts to take passengers to their trains. By 6:27 p.m. we were settled in our coach seats and setting up our scanner and GPS device. (During our earlier trips on Capitol Limited No. 30, once it got too dark for us to see outside, we had no way of knowing where we were or of identifying the small towns that we were passing through.)

We departed on time at 6:40 p.m. Seated around us were the Amish folk whom we’d sat with in the South Waiting Room while waiting for the new tickets to arrive.

Our trip to Toledo was one of the fastest we’d ever experienced on a Capitol Limited No. 30 train. (Usually, they encounter “freight interference” that ends up delaying our arrival in Toledo by 60 to 90 minutes or more.) We arrived at 11:42 p.m., only 3 minutes late.

When we’d called them from the Metropolitan Lounge, the family had offered to pick us up at the station. But since we weren’t sure when we’d be arriving, we’d told them that we’d probably end up having to take a cab. Using the Amtrak app, they tracked the progress of our train, knew when it would reach Toledo and, to our surprise and delight, were there to meet us when we arrived. It was the perfect end to what had turned out to be a mostly perfect day.


The Toledo-San Diego return trip portion of our Amtrak adventure begins next week. Once we’re home, we’ll get the second half of this trip report written up and will post it as soon as it’s ready. Stay tuned!

E & P

 

[caravanman]

I love the San Diego Santa Fe station too, with all the old style tiles, etc!

 

[jiml]

Thoroughly enjoyable, well-written report. Thanks for posting.

 

[Trollopian]

Stage 2: Los Angeles to Chicago (Day 1: June 27th)


The Lounge offered an exceptionally large and varied selection of pre-packaged snacks and we helped ourselves generously. (A wise decision as it turned out.) There was also a large cooler stocked with various soft drinks and fruit juices, and a state-of-the-art coffee machine...

This is how Hitchcock built suspense. Was there ominous music in the background too?

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I’m sitting here at home getting absolutely nothing done because I couldn’t stop reading this report! Excellent and enjoyable, as it is every year—thank you!

You certainly went through a lot and handled it well. I would have been totally confused trying to figure out which lounge/waiting room they wanted me in! And I’m impressed at how much you got out of the food vouchers!

Chicago at night must have been beautiful all lit up, although I’m sure you were both too tired to truly appreciate it.

Have a lovely visit with your family. I’ll look forward to reading about your return trip and hope it is faster and smoother than this one.

 

[flitcraft]

We just returned last night from a similar trip--PA to NYC to Chicago to LA on the SWC and then the Surfliner plus bus bridge to San Diego and then, fortunately as it turned out, flew San Diego to Seattle rather than take the Starlight. We ended up narrowly dodging a couple of bullets--missed the torrential rains and flooding in Chicago by two days, and the hotel strike in LA by the same margin. Once we get our garden sorted out and the mountain of dirty clothes dealt with, I will add a trip report to complement the excellent one by Eric and Pat!

PS Our ten year old granddaughter asked if she and her parents were going to take the train home or fly. When we said they'd be flying, she said, "Poop! I'd rather take the train!" Genes will out, apparently.

 

[jiml]

Let's face it - there is nothing like a riveting trip report that allows the rest of us to travel vicariously with the writer.

 

[Eric in East County]

You certainly went through a lot and handled it well. I would have been totally confused trying to figure out which lounge/waiting room they wanted me in! And I’m impressed at how much you got out of the food vouchers!

Looking back after the fact, we can see how, on short notice, Amtrak was making a best effort to accommodate everyone who had missed their connection. At the time we were going through this experience, however, things were somewhat less assuring. We didn’t really start to feel confident about our situation until we were finally issued the new Capitol Limited No. 30 ticket and allowed to go back to the Metropolitan Lounge. After that, we knew that everything was going to work out fine and that we could relax and enjoy the rest of our trip.

Having now gone through both a bus bridge and a missed connection, we know what to expect if and when these occurrences ever happen to us again.

 

[Cal]

Seating for Business Class passengers was on the upper level of the Café Car.

Do they not have business class cars on the stub-trains that serve San Diego? Usually Surfliner's have two business class cars.

 

[JRR]

Thanks for the great, very detailed report. Really enjoyed it since we came back to Greenville SC, starting in Flagstaff via the Chief, Capital Limited and the Crescent. Fortunately for us we made all the connections!

 

[Eric in East County]

Do they not have business class cars on the stub-trains that serve San Diego? Usually Surfliner's have two business class cars.

On the day we traveled on 1777 there was only one coach for Business Class passengers and that was the Café Car. The conductor even apologized that he couldn’t provide us with lower level seating.

 

[MarkInAustin]

Thanks for a great read.

My wife and I are also seniors who don't like the roomette, and we booked the family bedrooms for an imminent round trip from Austin to LAX on the Eagle/Sunset. The FBRs were cheaper than the full bedrooms when we booked. We can make do with all lower bunks on FBR, so that is a comfort advantage over the tiny, cramped, no sitting up space upper bunk in the roomette, accompanied by a vent annoyingly close to one's head in the upper. The roomette steps are a bit tricky for an early morning bathroom run. The FBR for only two also provides ample luggage space, of course.

What do you find to be the comfort advantages of the full bedroom over the roomette? Wider berths? More headroom permitting sitting up in the upper berth? An easier climb down for the 5 AM pee? Or is it simply the en suite bathroom that you prefer?

 

[Eric in East County]

What do you find to be the comfort advantages of the full bedroom over the roomette? Wider berths? More headroom permitting sitting up in the upper berth? An easier climb down for the 5 AM pee? Or is it simply the en suite bathroom that you prefer?

We prefer the bedroom because there is more room, and because we have our own sink and toilet/shower. Also, a bedroom offers a little more privacy than a roomette provides. And yes, having our own toilet does make things easier for answering a call of nature in the middle of the night.

 

[Eric in East County]

I’m impressed at how much you got out of the food vouchers!

We ended up with $10 in unused vouchers. Unfortunately, these have now expired and we can’t them on our return trip.

 

[Tod]

What a trip and what a report ... very interesting read ... especially for a newbie ... very informative.

You mentioned the GPS and gave the make/model.

What's the make/model of the scanner?

 

[Eric in East County]

You mentioned the GPS and gave the make/model.

What's the make/model of the scanner?

We use a little Uniden SC230 racing scanner which we have programmed with all the radio frequencies used by the Pacific Surfliner, the Southwest Chief, and the Capitol Limited. We bought both the scanner and the GPS device used on eBay. They've both become so indispensable (particularly the scanner) that now we won't leave home without them.

 

[Tod]

Very good ... Thx!

I also found your posts about scanners in another thread ... Scanners, Radio and other such tech inquiries

 

[Old MM]

Gosh I love your trip report writings, had me on the edge of seat! What adventures!
Also love the scanner dialogue. What does it mean when they say “highball it”?

 

[Eric in East County]

Gosh I love your trip report writings, had me on the edge of seat! What adventures!
Also love the scanner dialogue. What does it mean when they say “highball it”?

Thank you so much for your kind comment. (We, of course, are big fans of your trip reports.) It is our understanding that "highball" means" let's get going." It has something to do with an old time railroad signal which used a red ball that was hoisted aloft to signal the train to proceed.

 

[Eric in East County]

Here’s the second half of our 2023 Trip Report. Enjoy.
E & P

Part 2: Toledo, Ohio to San Diego, California
Stage 1: Toledo to Chicago (July 10th)

Following our usual procedure when taking the Capitol Limited to Chicago, we checked out of our hotel in Findlay on June 9th and checked into a hotel in Maumee which is only 8-1/2 miles away from the Toledo Amtrak Station. (This hotel is also used by Norfolk-Southern train crews.) Earlier, we’d arranged for a cab to pick us up at our hotel at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, which would give us more than enough time to reach the station before No. 29’s scheduled 5:22 a.m. departure.

The last thing we did before calling it an early evening on June 9th was to check on Capitol Limited No. 29. As of 8:30 p.m. it showed up on the Amtrak Train Status page as running about 30 minutes late.

We were up by a little after 3:00 a.m. Upon checking our e-mails, we found a “Changes to Your Upcoming Trip” message from Amtrak, informing us that our Capitol Limited No. 29 had been cancelled. (We later learned that it had had to return to Harper’s Ferry due to a mechanical issue.)

The cancellation message provided a phone number to call for assistance, and we got through to an agent right away. When asked to book us whatever was available on today’s Lake Shore Limited No. 49, she did some checking and said that the only thing available was Roomette 2 in Car 4910 from Toledo to Chicago for $197.80. With seemingly no other choice available to us, we took it, saying that we would pay for our ticket at the station. An e-mail confirming this reservation arrived almost immediately.

Our cab arrived a little before 4:30 a.m. and we were soon on our way to the station. Learning that we were going to Chicago, our driver said that the cab fare from Toledo to Chicago was $650.00 plus tip. (We filed this away with our other “nice to know” information that we’ll probably never need to draw upon.)

Arriving at the station, we immediately went to the ticket counter to pay for our roomette. Peter, the agent in charge, said that Roomette 2 wasn’t available because the tracks had been washed out. Being unfamiliar with the Lake Shore Limited, we assumed he meant that Train 49 had been cancelled, leaving us stranded in Toledo. (Our cab had already departed or else we might have engaged it on the spot to drive us to Chicago!)

After Pat explained that we needed to get to Chicago to catch today’s Southwest Chief, Peter, with the unfailing courtesy of a cotillion leader, talked on his phone, typed on his keyboard and, to our amazement, came up with two coach tickets for us on today's Lake Shore Limited No. 49, which was due in at 7:00 a.m. These tickets didn’t even cost us anything since they were replacements for our Capitol Limited No. 29 coach tickets.

At 5:00 a.m., we were sitting on a bench in the Toledo Amtrak Station waiting room, recovering from the recent scare we’d just had.

Traveling on Amtrak is not for the faint-hearted!

We were (and still are) a little hazy as to how that portion of Lake Shore Limited No. 49 with Car 4910 and Roomette 2 could be cancelled, while Lake Shore Limited No. 49 with coaches continues on to Chicago. (While we were waiting, a bus arrived with additional passengers, and we assumed that this was some sort of bus bridge.)

We had almost two hours to wait until our train arrived and, once we’d recovered from the emotional roller coaster ride we’d just been on, took the time to look over some of the model trains which All Aboard Ohio has on display in the Toledo Amtrak Station waiting room. One of these was a large model of B&O locomotive No. 5234.

Surprisingly, there was no model of a New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson-type locomotive on display. Back in the days when the Twentieth Century Limited was still being powered by Hudson locomotives, Toledo was the final locomotive change during the Century’s last lap to Chicago. (In addition to changing engineers several times between Harmon and Chicago, it changed locomotives three times. After being serviced, these locomotives provided the motive power for the east-bound Century.)

Toledo was also where a dining car was added to the westbound Century to serve breakfast. (The dining car that had departed New York City with the Century the previous day had been removed from the consist in Syracuse. There, it would be added to the consist of the eastbound Century to serve breakfast.)

These changes of locomotives and the adding and subtracting of dining cars was further complicated by the fact that, back then, the Century ran in as many sections as passenger traffic dictated: typically, three and sometimes as many as five or more, each section being a complete train which departed and arrived within minutes of the other sections. (Thanks to a team of experienced NYC managers, assembling the required number of locomotives, sleeping cars, dining cars, and the personnel to go with them, often on short notice, was done as dexterously as a clever hostess might accommodate an extra guest or two for dinner!)

Lake Shore Limited No. 49 arrived at 6:54 a.m., 41 minutes late. We had no problem being assigned seats next to each other and, once onboard, stowed our carry-on items above and under our seats. We then set up the scanner and GPS device.

We departed Toledo at 7:11 a.m., and by 7:21 were moving out at a track speed of 78 mph. The train crew was using Channel 46 to communicate.

We arrived at Bryan, Ohio, our first stop, at 8:00 a.m. Shortly after we departed Bryan, an announcement was made that we were running 35 minutes behind schedule.

Even before we reached Waterloo, members of the Amish sect – men, women, beardless teenage boys, and young children – were passing through our coach in a steady stream on their way to and from the café/lounge car. (Some of them might have been Mennonites, since many of the young boys were wearing plaid shirts.)

We went passed Kendallville at 8:41 a.m. According to one of our vintage New York Central route guides, Kendallville was the summit of the NYC’s New York-Chicago mainline . . . 995 feet above sea level and 400 feet above the level of the Great Lakes.

From time to time, the scanner would monitor the engineer announcing that such and such a mile post had been passed: “‘trak 49 clear 322.11,” etc.) When asked, the conductor informed us that these milepost numbers start at Buffalo, New York.

We found the coach restrooms to still be in decent condition.

Arriving at Elkhart at 9:18 a.m., we had a good view of steam locomotive No. 3001 which is on display at the National New York Central Railroad Museum, located across from the Elkhart train station. For the record, No. 3001 is a 4-8-2 "Mohawk" (i.e. Mountain type) locomotive built in 1940 by the American Locomotive Company for the New York Central. This museum would have been the ideal place to display one of the famous “Hudson” locomotives which were once a common sight in Elkhart. Sadly, none of the Hudson locomotives survive today.

Our progress from Toledo to Chicago was unhindered by the track maintenance and/or “freight interference” that usually delays our arrival in the Windy City.

At 10:25 a.m., we went by the Ogden Dunes. Seven minutes later we were going by Gary and the massive U.S. Steel complex which seemed to continue on for miles and miles and miles.

At 9:52 a.m. we noticed that the GPS device had automatically readjusted itself to a new time zone. Ten minutes later, as we crossed over a major freeway, we got a good view of the distant Chicago skyline.

When No. 49 passed the big Chicago White Sox baseball stadium, the onboard crew switched radio channels to the one used by Chicago Union Station, and we did, too.

Our official arrival time in Chicago was 10:17 a.m.