Eric & Pat’s September 2024 Trip Report: San Diego - Toledo - San Diego

[Eric in East County]

Prologue

Last year and right after we’d booked our May 2024 trip to Ohio, we made the decision to schedule two long distance Amtrak trips a year for as long as we’re still able to travel. (We’d tried for a second trip in 2023 but then weren’t able to obtain Southwest Chief bedrooms for the dates we’d wanted. To make sure that we’d be able to obtain bedrooms for our September 2024 trip, we’d made our reservations the previous October.)

Our May trip worked out so well that, even before we’d returned home, we were looking forward to this second trip. (For those who missed our May trip report, it can be found at https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...trip-report-san-diego-toledo-san-diego.87370/.) But first, we had to see about making the reservations for the first of our two long-distance train trips for 2025.

We decided to once again travel in May when the trains and the stations wouldn’t be as crowded and there would be less likelihood of our trains being delayed due to heat-related speed restrictions and equipment failures.

Last year, we applied for an Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card which we’d used to pay for our September 2024 trip. By doing so, we’d received a generous number of Amtrak Guest Reward points as part of some special promotion. Once the AGR points from our May 2024 trip were added to these, we had, what was for us, a substantial number of points available to use.

We like to make our reservations as early as possible to be sure of obtaining bedrooms in the first or (to use zephyr17’s designation) the “base” sleeping cars; the ones that aren’t removed from the consist if there is shortage of sleepers with bedrooms. (On the Southwest Chief, the “line numbers” of these first or base sleepers are cars 330 westbound and 430 eastbound.) Since the earliest that one can make Amtrak reservations is eleven months in advance, in June, we called the Amtrak Guest Rewards number and arranged the following:

-Two Pacific Surfliner Business Class seats from San Diego to Los Angeles, paid for using 4125 of our AGR points.

-A Southwest Chief bedroom from Los Angeles to Chicago and two Capitol Limited coach seats from Chicago to Toledo, paid for using our Guest Rewards Card.

-Two Capitol Limited coach seats from Toledo to Chicago, paid for using 4725 of our AGR points.

-A Southwest Chief bedroom from Chicago to Los Angeles, paid for using our Guest Rewards Card.

-Two Pacific Surfliner Business Class seats from Los Angeles to San Diego, paid for using 4125 of our AGR points.

By making our Southwest Chief reservations eleven months ahead of time, we were not only able to request and obtain bedrooms in the 330 and 430 cars but were also able to request and obtain Bedroom E’s on both our east and westbound trains. (Located near the center of the car, Bedroom E is considered the most desirable since it is supposed to give the smoothest ride.) And by using our Amtrak Guest Rewards card, we received some additional “Spend-Earn” AGR points. As Nero Wolfe would say, “Satisfactory. Highly satisfactory.”

Having received and printed out the e-tickets for our May 2025 trip, we could now devote our full attention to our upcoming September trip.

On June 13th, we received an automated phone message and an e-mail from Amtrak regarding changes to the departure and arrival times of our Southwest Chief trains Nos. 4 and 3: No. 4 would now be departing from LAX at 5:22 p.m. (33 minutes earlier) and arriving in CHI at 2:42 p.m. (8 minutes earlier.) No. 3 would now be departing from CHI at 2:25 p.m. (25 minutes earlier) and arriving in LAX at 7:57 a.m. (3 minutes earlier). zephyr17 posted that the new schedule, which would go into effect on Monday July 8th was most likely part of an agreement between Amtrak and host railroad BNSF so that a better effort could be made to give SWC trains priority over freight traffic. On June 27th, joelkfla posted the new timetables for SWC Nos. 3 and 4, and we printed out copies to take along with us.

For our last few trips, everything we’ve taken with us was distributed among our carry-on items. (Since some of our trains weren’t accepting checked luggage, this made things a lot less complicated for us.) After returning home from our May trip, we’d revised our packing lists, organizing everything into four different categories: (1) things that we wanted to have with us in our bedroom while traveling; (2) things that we felt comfortable leaving in our carry-on bags downstairs in the luggage rack; (3) things that we wouldn’t need until we were actually back in Ohio; and (4) things that we’d left behind in Ohio with the family on our last trip and which they were storing for us. For this trip, we decided to mail back most of the items that were in the “things that we wouldn’t need until we were actually back in Ohio” category. This ended up reducing the total number of carry-on bags we’d have to deal with, a benefit that more than justified the cost of the postage.

One month out from our departure, we printed out and started working on our checklist of items that needed to be done before we left home: reserving a space for our car with San Diego Airport Parking, rescheduling our monthly appointments to dates after we’d returned home, paying closer attention to the on-time performances of our trains, etc.

We also prepared and printed out detailed Amtrak Vacation Goals which covered all aspects of our trip. All of these goals supported our primary Vacation Goal, mainly that our trip would be safe, enjoyable, and highly successful. Following the recommended procedure for writing up goals, these were written in the past tense as if our trip had already been completed. We then read these goals aloud together every night just before we went to sleep. To ensure that we weren’t unintentionally putting limitations on any aspect of our trip, we concluded the reading of our goals with “This or something better.”

Having taught classes in goal setting & goal achieving, I’m a firm believer in having specific, written goals and then reading them aloud. Over the years, all the important things that Pat and I wanted to accomplish were first written out as goals, which we then read aloud together. Our success rate with our written goals has convinced us beyond a doubt that there is some power at work here that goes far beyond that of just mere chance.

One week out from our departure, we started packing. (Since we already knew what we’d be taking with us and into which carry-on bag it would be going, this only takes us a day or two.) We then printed out and filed away a complete inventory of everything that we’d have with us in the unlikely event that we’d have to put in a claim for lost or stolen items.

Two items that we always have along with us (and which we consider to be indispensable) are our GPS device and our scanner.

Our GPS device is a Garmin nuvi 2797 intended for automotive use, but which can run off AC power by using an adapter. We use it primarily to determine our train’s speed and direction of travel, and to identify the small towns that we pass by. We also set our watches by its time display, which automatically readjusts itself whenever we enter a new time zone.

Our scanner is a little Uniden SC230 which can also be used with AC power. We have it programmed so that the American Association of Railroads (AAR) frequencies used by our Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, and Capitol Limited trains – a total of twenty-five frequencies in all, each identified by its AAR Channel number – are in their own separate Channel Group. Since this is the only Channel Group that will be scanned, missing a transmission is highly unlikely.

Five days before our departure, we received an e-mail from Amtrak with the subject line “Your Train Leaves the Station in 5 Days.” This was the first time that we’d ever received such an e-mail and weren’t sure what we’d discover when we opened it. Fortunately, it turned out to be a benign “Welcome Aboard” message with travel information about our trip on Southwest Chief No. 4: available amenities, carry-on luggage allowances, pertinent station information, etc.

The remainder of the week was spent completing the last few items on our pre departure check list: letting our bank know that we’d be using our credit card in Ohio, picking up any last-minute items that we still needed for the trip, obtaining a sufficient number of small bills to use for tips, arranging with a neighbor to keep an eye on our house and property while we were gone, etc.

We spent the last day before our departure vacuuming and straightening up since it’s always nice to return home from a trip to a house that is neat and tidy.

 

[Eric in East County]

Part 1: San Diego, California to Toledo, Ohio
Stage 1: San Diego to Los Angeles (September 3rd)

We left home a little before 9:00 a.m. to allow ourselves plenty of time to reach San Diego, drop off our car, and catch a shuttle ride to the Santa Fe Depot. (Once we turn in our car and until we pick up our rental car, we become totally dependent upon others to get us to where we need to go.)

We ended up sharing a shuttle with Tracy, a United Airlines stewardess who would be flying to San Francisco and from there on to Zurich, Switzerland.

After dropping Tracy off at the airport, the shuttle continued to downtown San Diego and dropped us off at the Santa Fe Depot.

Entering the station only minutes after north bound Pacific Surfliner No. 573 had left, we found the huge waiting room completely deserted.

Since we’d arrived well in advance of the departure of our Pacific Surfliner No. 777 train, we selected a good location where we could sit and enjoy the waiting room’s sights, sounds, and ambience.

A stack of printed Pacific Surfliner timetables were available on a desk, and I picked one up to use while working on this trip report.

At one time, the Santa Fe Depot was the third busiest Amtrak station in California (behind only Los Angeles Union Station and Sacramento Valley Station) and was the tenth busiest station in the Amtrak system.

We had to show our ticket to an agent to receive the number codes needed to unlock the restroom doors.

Just as I approached the men’s room door, it was opened from inside by a female security guard who told me to wait a minute. A man towing a carry-on suitcase emerged and the guard closed the door, remaining inside. A few minutes later she emerged carrying something in a plastic bag and said it was now OK for me to go in. (I have no idea what was in the bag or why security had to be called in to remove whatever it was.)

By 11:00 a.m. more people had begun to arrive for the 12:05 p.m. departure of SWC No. 777.

As we’d done on our previous trip, we used our senior citizen status to have a member of the station’s staff transport us and our carry-on bags to our Pacific Surfliner Business Class coach using an electric cart. By 11:30 a.m., we’d stowed everything away and were settled in our seats. Boarding so early gave me plenty of time to set up the GPS device and power up the scanner before we’d be departing.

In a discussion thread dedicated to scanners, TinCan782 once mentioned that he uses a 5/8 Slim Duck 160 MHZ antenna which is considered by many railfans to be the BEST general-purpose scanner antenna for monitoring railroad radio traffic. We’d recently ordered one and were looking forward to trying it out for the first time on this trip. (If you travel with a scanner and have been thinking about upgrading the little “rubber ducky” antenna that came with it, you might want to consider the 5/8 Slim Duck 160 MHZ, too.)

Even before we’d left the station, the Business Class coach attendant had taken our beverage orders and had delivered our complementary Pacific Surfliner Business Class snack packs containing a fig bar, a bag of trail mix (cranberries mixed with roasted/salted almonds & cashews), some Asiago cheese spread, vegan butter braids with sea salt, a chicken stick, and a towelette. We always save these and, instead, got out the brown bag lunches that we’d packed along.

At 12:01 p.m., someone on AAR Channel 76 radioed the engineer, “Highball,” and we started moving.

Ten minutes later we made our first stop at the Old Town Transit Center where it took almost five minutes to load all the people who’d been waiting there. (We heard the conductor tell someone that this was going to be a full train.) The Business Class coach’s luggage rack was soon filled to capacity, and both the conductor and the coach attendant began helping people put their bags up into the overhead racks.

We began paralleling the ocean at about 12:39 p.m. on a right-of-way that was built almost at the edge of a high cliff that overlooks the beach. Significantly, a work crew was there, and we assumed that they were working to stabilize the cliff.

The Solana Beach station’s platform was also crowded when we arrived there.

At 12:52 p.m., as we were going through Encinitas, off to our left we caught a quick glimpse of Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship Temple. It was Yogananda’s 1946 book “Autobiography of a Yogi” that introduced meditation and yoga to many Westerners. (Those who read and were influenced by this book include Steve Jobs, Elvis Presley, Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison, and actress Mariel Hemmingway.) Thousands of people from all over the world visit the Encinitas Self-Realization Fellowship Temple annually.

A few minutes later, we passed behind the La Paloma Theater, an Encinitas landmark which dates from 1928. (Tradition has it that Douglas Fairbanks’ wife Mary Pickford would ride her horse from nearby Fairbanks Ranch to attend movies at the La Paloma.)

Shortly afterwards, our engineer repeated back his rather complicated track orders to the dispatcher and received a “good on repeat.” We were now moving out at 88 mph.

When we arrived at Oceanside at 1:05 p.m., a southbound Pacific Surfliner was there, ready to depart.

At 1:21 p.m. a trackside radio alarm detector (RAD) reported that our train had 28 axles, and that there were no defects. Shortly afterwards, the onboard crew changed their radios to Channel 30.

We went by the San Clemente Pier at 1:28 p.m. Last May went we went by here, several bulldozers had been at work, moving the sand around. We assumed that this was being done to help stabilize the right-of-way over which the Pacific Surfliners run. We later found, however, that it was actually part of another project to keep the San Clemente beach sand from eroding away. There were no bulldozers working near the pier today, but there were some a little further to the north.

At 1:35 p.m. the right-of-way swung away to the right and we had our last view of the ocean.

We arrived in San Juan Capistrano at 1:40 p.m. Among the passengers who boarded the Business Class coach was a man in a wheelchair and his caregiver, whom we assumed has his wife. The conductor assisted the caregiver to move him to a single seat located on the right side of the coach. The caregiver had to sit a few seats away although the conductor did promise that two seats together would become available for them in Fullerton.

Quite a few people got off in Anaheim. According to one of our vintage Santa Fe route guides, Anaheim was once a leading Valencia orange growing center. Even as late as the mid-1960s it was still considered so, even though Disneyland had already been there for 10 years. (We doubt that many orange groves can be found in Anaheim today!)

Arriving in Fullerton, the conductor helped the man who’d come aboard in a wheelchair to change seats so that he could sit next to his caregiver. Fullerton is also where the radios were changed to Channel 36.

At 2:58 p.m. the scanner monitored the automated voice message from the radio alarm detector at milepost 144.45. Knowing that this milepost is about 10 minutes out from Los Angeles Union Station, hearing this message is always our cue to start packing up in preparation for our arrival.

Shortly afterwards, we crossed the Los Angeles River, made a sharp turn to the right, and began paralleling the concrete channel that keeps the river running on a straight course. This channel has long been a favorite location for filming movies and TV shows. (If you look closely at the channel’s huge storm drains, you can almost believe that giant mutant ants might be lurking inside them like they did in that 1954 science fiction classic “Them.”)

We arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 3:08 p.m., 11 minutes behind schedule.

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 2: Los Angeles to Chicago (Day 1: September 3rd)

With our carry-on items in tow, we used a conveniently located ramp to descend from the platform to the wide pedestrian tunnel that runs underneath the tracks and into the station.

Walking leisurely, we made our way to the elevator that goes up to the Metropolitan Lounge. (After sitting for almost three hours during the trip up from San Diego, it felt good to stretch our legs.)

Beginning from when it first opened in 1939, Los Angeles Union Station has been a popular location for filming movies and TV shows. One of our favorite LAUS movies is 1950’s “Union Station” starring William Holden. Much of its action was filmed inside the station itself including portions of it that are never seen by the general public.

After being let in by the Lounge attendant, we staked out two good seats together and then perused the selection of prepacked snacks. The assortment was not as large or as varied as it had been back in 2023, but we still managed to find a few items that our diets allowed. (These snacks, along with our Pacific Surfliner snack packs are kept in reserve just in case we don’t get a chance to eat supper in Chicago.)

Whenever we travel on Amtrak (and to identify myself as a railfan), when in public, I wear a ballcap with the Santa Fe Chief emblem. Although we never had the opportunity to ride on The Chief, we’ve traveled over its former route enough times so that we feel a kinship towards those who did ride on it and still remember the experience with fondness. An extra fare train whose legend, and excellences have exhausted the superlative, The Chief was inaugurated in mid-November of 1926. In combination with The Twentieth Century Limited, it was once the fastest possible way to travel from Los Angeles to New York City. More names that made the news in the American record rode The Chief than any of the other long-haul varnish runs excepting only The Twentieth Century Limited and The Broadway. During the late 1920’s and early to mid-1930s, the Chief was famous as a rolling boudoir for film celebrities and the Hollywood studios’ executive hierarchies. (Variety listed the daily arrivals and departures of passengers on The Chief as scrupulously as the New York Times reported the passenger lists of the Queen Mary.) Obtaining a drawing room on The Chief was a status symbol. Its dining cars were the pride of the Fred Harvey system and were the most opulent showcases for its wares. It was only after diesels made possible the introduction of The Super Chief in 1936 (which trimmed better than 14 hours off The Chief’s time) that the Hollywood elites switched loyalties. For us, however, The Chief will always be THE Chief.

Since our Southwest Chief train wasn’t due to depart until 5:22 p.m., we assumed that we still had plenty of time before early boarding would begin. I had just set up the laptop to start working on this trip report when a Red Cap appeared a little after 4:00 p.m. and said that carts were now available for those who wanted a ride to the train. There were only a few carts and since we were late getting into line, we had to wait for another one to arrive. (While we were waiting, the Lounge attendant told us that the reason boarding for sleeping car passengers began so early was to free up the carts for the coach passengers.)

We shared a cart with two women who would be in the SWC’s 432 sleeping car. One of them confided to us that by leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Tuesday, she’d saved $1000 on her Amtrak ticket. (I made a mental note to ask the AU membership if anyone knew how she managed to do this.)

Southwest Chief No. 4 was already parked at the platform when we arrived.

On our previous trips, we’d never paid much attention as to whether we were in a Superliner 1 or a Superliner 2 sleeping car. In our May trip report, we’d commented that our bedroom’s shower/toilet hadn’t been fitted with the plastic shower curtain that keeps the water from leaking out. Someone who read that report pointed out to us that we’d probably been in an older Superliner 1 bedroom. Someone else pointed out that an easy way to tell the difference between a Superliner 1 and a Superliner 2 is that Superliner 1 sleepers have manual roller-type car line number signs while Superliner 2 sleepers have electronic car line number signs. (This was how we determined that we’d be in a Superliner 1 sleeper.

We were delighted to discover that our Sleeping Car Attendant was Steven. He’d been our SCA on SWC trips we’d taken in 2016 and 2017 and, of all the SCA’s we’ve had over the years, he was the best of the best. Since we’d never encountered him on any of our later trips, we’d often wondered if he still worked for Amtrak. (Fortunately, he still does, and 2025 will mark his 25th year of service.) With Steven’s help, we soon had our few carry-on items moved up to our bedroom.

The train was made up so that our bedroom window looked out from the left or Fireman’s side of the train.

Once we were settled in, one of my first priorities was to power up the scanner and start listening to SWC No. 4’s pre-departure radio traffic on Channel 47, the one used by Los Angeles Union Station (and sometimes referred to by the onboard crew as the “Disney Channel.”)

We departed on time at 5:22 p.m. (Once out of the station, the crew switched back to Channel 36.)

For some reason, we were slow in making our way to our first stop in Fullerton, arriving there 22 minutes behind schedule.

Shortly afterwards, the chief dining car steward stopped by to introduce herself and take dinner reservations. Once again, however, we opted to have all our meals served to us in our bedroom.

By now we’d decided that our bedroom was a little too chilly for us, even with the door closed. We tried closing the louvers of the overhead vent, but cold air still kept coming in. Even though we consider the bedroom’s temperature control knob to be totally useless, we did turn it up all the way on the off chance that it might actually make a difference. It didn’t. We’d intended to bring some cardboard to tape over the vent, but somehow it got left behind although we did remember to pack along gaffer’s tape. Since we didn’t want to begin our trip with sore throats and earaches, we set about trying to tape the filmy plastic bag from one of the Amtrak blankets over the vent. Passing by the bedroom, Steven saw us struggling with the plastic and offered to come back and help. He soon returned with some duct tape and two pieces of heavy card stock which he taped in place. (We rather suspect that he’s had to do this on more than one occasion in the past.) Our bedroom soon warmed up to where we felt comfortable again. (We made a note to be sure to have duct tape and cardboard for our return trip.)

A recent discussion thread on Amtrak Unlimited provided an opportunity for people to describe what they wear when riding trains. (Many responded that they like to wear jeans, which is what we wear since they seem to hold up the best to all the known vicissitudes that one is likely to encounter while traveling by train.) Although we don’t feel that it is necessary to dress formally for dinner, we do feel that, when eating supper in the dining car, we should be attired in something a little more appropriate than jeans (unless they are “dressed up” with a Western-style blazer, a Western-stye shirt, and cowboy boots.) For this reason, we prefer that our meals be served to us in our bedroom where we can disregard sartorial niceties. A copy of the traditional dining menu was already in our bedroom and Steven had the forms that the dining car waiters use to take orders.

Although it is unlikely that the dinner entrees currently found on Amtrak’s traditional dining menu would have fluttered the pulses of those who once dined on The Chief, The Super Chief, or The Twentieth Century Limited, we find them entirely acceptable. (Those who wish to sample the haute cuisine that was once served on the great passenger trains of yesteryear should visit the AU Lounge Forum and then check out the thread with Authentic Dining Car Recipes.)

For our first meal underway Pat ordered the Mixed Green Salad and the Amtrak Signature Flat Iron Steak while I ordered the Mixed Green Salad and the Grilled Atlantic Salmon. We also ordered a single glass of Cabernet Sauvignon from which we each took a few sips.

After what was for us a Lucullus feast, we followed the advice of travel guru Jeb Brooks and finished off the main course with a few prunes which we’d packed along from home.

For dessert and in defiance of modern notions of caloric intake, Pat ordered the white chocolate blueberry cobbler cheesecake, and I ordered the chocolate spoon cake. Pat had hers with coffee while I had mine with green tea, brewed using a teabag packed along from home.

Shortly after we arrived in Riverside, we decided to call it an early evening. (We’d missed our afternoon nap, and the long and busy day had finally caught up to us.)

Like Jeb Brooks, Pat likes to travel with her own pillow. For me, the Amtrak pillows are adequate, although I find the material used for the pillowcases to feel a bit coarse against my skin. (For our next trip, I plan to bring my own cotton pillowcase.)

We had Steven make up our berth early and were settled in and asleep by the time we reached Victorville.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 2: September 4th)

I woke up to find it still dark outside and our train standing still. We travel with a little battery-operated digital clock with large red numerals that are easy to read in the dark. Seeing that it was 4:00 a.m., I opened a corner of the window curtain just in time to see our departure from the Flagstaff train station.

As is my usual practice, I got up at about 6:30 a.m. Being careful not to wake Pat, I showered and got dressed. When I turned on the GPS device, I was surprised to see that the time display was an hour ahead of my watch. We were already in New Mexico! (Being on a Southwest Chief No. 4 that was running on time was a new experience for us.)

We arrived in Gallup at 8:00 a.m., only 6 minutes behind schedule.

Shortly thereafter, Steven delivered our breakfast orders. Pat had the Railroad French Toast with coffee, and I had the Three Egg Omelet with green tea. (The omelet was more than I could comfortably eat, making me wish that Amtrak would offer senior meal portions.)

Back in 1999 when we rode Southwest Chief No. 4 from Los Angeles to Chicago, a Navajo volunteer guide came aboard in Gallup and later did a very interesting presentation in the sightseer lounge car about the “Code Talkers” from World War II. (The U.S. military used Navajos and members of other Native American tribes, speaking their own languages, to send unencrypted radio messages during combat. The enemy was never able to decipher these messages.)

It was sunny and 76 degrees when we arrived in Albuquerque. Stepping off the train, the first thing we saw was an Amish woman wearing flip flops instead of the black shoes that Amish women traditionally wear. (We’re sure that there was some good reason why she was doing so.)

Our train consisted of 11 cars: two engines, a baggage car, a trans-dorm sleeper, two regular sleepers, a dining car, a sightseer lounge car, and three coaches.

During the Albuquerque service stop, our locomotives were refueled. (We have no idea of how many gallons of diesel fuel are required to top off their tanks, or of how many miles to the gallon - or is it gallons to the mile? - these engines consume.)

According to one of our vintage route guides, back in the steam powered 1930’s, it required fourteen and nine-tenths pounds of coal to move the average passenger coach 1 mile. When you multiply that by the number of passenger coaches that were in transit on any given day and then by the number of miles they traveled, that works out to a lot of coal! And to make steam, you also need water. In the late 1930s, approximately 335 billion gallons of water were required annually by the steam locomotives on American railroads. That was enough water to supply the annual needs of all the people who were living in the states of Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas back then. And in the dry desert regions, water had to be transported in and then stored. Taking all this into consideration, it is easy to see why the railroads switched to using diesel locomotives once they became generally available after World War II. (In 1953, in one of the strangest advertisements ever run by the Santa Fe Railroad, the notion of the Super Chief someday having a locomotive powered by ATOMIC energy was hinted at!)

While we were standing there, a Herzog truck drove slowly down the platform. (We later went on-line and learned that Herzog has the contract to provide operations and maintenance services to the New Mexico Rail Runner Express.)

When we returned to our bedroom, we could feel a cold draft coming from somewhere. We soon discovered that Steven’s improvised vent cover was leaking in a few places. Using our gaffer’s tape, we soon set things right.

We departed from Albuquerque on time at 11:32 a.m. without the windows having been cleaned.

At 12:00 p.m., we heard a radio alarm detector report that our train had 44 axles. Shortly afterwards someone radioed that SWC No. 3, which we were to meet shortly, was running 23 minutes late.

Without being summoned by the call button, Steven stopped by to take our lunch orders. (How many SCAs would do this?) Pat ordered the Artisan Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and I ordered the Angus Burger. Although we hadn’t ordered desserts, our meals arrived with a pre-packaged brownie and a pre-packaged vanilla butter cake. (We split the brownie and saved the butter cake.)

On our trip last May, announcements were made that coach passengers who wanted to eat in the dining car could do so. Breakfast was $20 per person, lunch was $25 per person, and dinner was $45 per person. No such announcements were made on this trip.

After lunch, Steven, on his own initiative, stopped by to pick up the bag with the empty plates, cups, etc. (He did this for our other meals, too.)

We arrived at Lamy 10 minutes early. (For some reason, our GPS device did not identify the location we’d stopped at as being Lamy.)

After passing up through Apache Canyon, we saw a few houses to our left that are located along a narrow dirt tract which our GPS device did identify as Cougar Canyon Road.

Since our bedroom window looked out from the left side of train, we had a perfect view of the Santa Fe National Forest as we passed through it.

As we drew nearer to where we would be meeting SWC No. 3, someone radioed, “Just a reminder, we’ve got the engine in the back.” (We assumed that No. 3 was towing the engine that had given out on September 2nd in Gallup, ultimately causing the SWC No. 4 that had left LA on September 1st to arrive in Chicago over eight and a half hours late.)

At 1:38 p.m. in the vicinity of Glory Lane, SWC No. 3 flashed by while we waited on a siding.

We were 24 minutes behind schedule when we arrived in Las Vegas.

Shortly afterwards, Steven, without having been summoned, stopped by to drop off some extra bottles of water for us. (How many SCA’s would think to do this?)

We arrived at Raton 27 minutes behind schedule. Instead of a large group of Scouts waiting to board along with their gear, there was only one lone woman.

As we were ascending up to the tunnel, Stephen, again without being summoned, stopped by to take our supper orders. Once again Pat ordered the steak, and I ordered the salmon. While we were still inside the tunnel, Steven stopped back to inform Pat that the dining car was out of steaks. She then ordered the Pan Roasted Chicken Breast.

At 5:13 p.m., we emerged from the tunnel and entered Colorado.

Steven delivered our supper orders while we were making the descent to Trinidad. Instead of the chicken breast, Pat received the steak that she’d originally ordered. The dinner rolls that came with our meals were warm, by the way.

This time, we shared a single slice of the Chocolate Spoon Cake.

As we were approaching Trinidad, someone radioed that the train “would drop down to eight cars tomorrow.”

By 6:50 p.m. we’d departed Trinidad and were moving out at 79 mph.

Dark storm clouds could be seen to the east. Although no weather warnings had been received, some crew member who would be getting off in La Junta radioed “I’m glad I’m getting off. Don’t look too good ahead.” By the time we were nearing La Junta, however, it appeared to be clear to the east.

We arrived at La Junta 23 minutes behind schedule.

Once again, we decided to call it an early evening, remembering to first set our watches and our digital clock ahead an hour before retiring.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 3: September 5th)

Once again, I was up early. By the time I’d showered and dressed, we were already in Kansas City from where we departed on time at 7:01 a.m.

Thirty minutes later, we crossed the Missouri River. The weather was beautiful, and we had every reason to believe that we’d arrive in Chicago in plenty of time to connect with our Capitol Limited No. 30 train to Toledo.

Many experienced travelers suggest spending the night in Chicago and then departing on the next day’s No. 30. Since we want to reach our destination as quickly as possible, we always try for a same day connection. To be on the safe side, however, we make sure that our Capitol Limited No. 30 train is under the same reservation number as our Southwest Chief No. 4 train so that we’ll have a GUARANTEED connection. If for some reason we do miss connecting with No. 30, Amtrak will either send us out on a later train, send us to Toledo in a shuttle bus, or (as what happened to us on the one occasion when we did miss connecting with No. 30) put us up in a hotel for the night and then send us out on the next day’s No. 30.

By now we were traveling north by northeast, going passed little towns with names like Sibley, Camden, Hardin, Norborne, and Carrollton, all of which were once listed in the Santa Fe Railroad’s route guides along with a few lines which told about each one. (Back then, nothing gave an American community greater status than a railroad.)

By 8:40 a.m., we’d had breakfast, and our bedroom had been restored to its daytime configuration.

Approaching La Plata, someone radioed that there would be “about thirty getting on.”

We arrived at La Plata only 8 minutes behind schedule. Among those waiting on the platform was a large group of Amish folks. After our departure, an announcement was made that it would be “another hour to Fort Madison.”

We crossed the Des Moines River at 10:03 a.m. and arrived at Fort Madison 19 minutes later.

Shortly after we came to a stop someone radioed that one of the baggage car doors was slightly ajar.

At 10:29 a.m., someone radioed “Here we go” and we started moving. At 10:32 a.m. we went by the old Sheaffer Fountain Pen factory and a minute later were on the bridge, crossing the Mississippi River at 15 miles per hour.

On our May trip, we departed Fort Madison one day AFTER a barge had collided with the bridge, delaying SWC No. 4 by four and half hours while the bridge was being inspected. Fortunately, our train was not delayed, but it is interesting to speculate on how the Southwest Chief would have continued to operate if the Fort Madison Bridge had remained closed for an extended period.

By 10:36 a.m. we were in Illinois, still heading north by northeast and passing even more small towns: Pontoosuc, Dallas City, Lomax, Stronghurst, Nemo, etc.

As we drew closer to Galesburg, someone radioed, “We have a cutoff coming up.” Shortly afterwards, we left the main line and started heading east. An announcement was made that we were taking a slightly different route into Galesburg because of “signal issues.”

This alternate route took us by a huge BNSF storage yard where hundreds of thousands of railroad ties were stacked up.

Eventually we crossed over to another track and began heading northeast and passed what appeared to be a large BNSF classification yard where trains are made up. To our left, we saw individual tank cars slowly descending an incline at regular intervals.

At 11:43 a.m., we rejoined the main line just before arriving at the Galesburg station, about 18 minutes behind schedule.

After departing from Galesburg, a radio message was received to be on the lookout for a single man “on the ground and wearing orange.”

For lunch, we both ordered Hebrew National All-Beef hotdogs. Once again, we also received a brownie and a vanilla spoon cake and once again we split the brownie.

Between Princeton and Mendota, we went by a man “on the ground and wearing orange” who was working on a crossing gate

After our departure from Naperville, Steven, on his own initiative, stopped by to help us move our bags down to the luggage rack in preparation for arriving in Chicago. We used this opportunity to give him a generous tip for the outstanding service he’d provided to us. Years ago, regular travelers on the great name trains would often make their reservations so that they would be traveling with certain onboard service personnel whom they’d come to know over the years. If we had some way of knowing which runs Steven would be on, that’s how we would schedule our reservations.

We arrived in Chicago at 2:57 p.m., only 15 minutes behind schedule.

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 3: Chicago to Toledo (September 5th)

Because a majority of travelers are unfamiliar with the places and processes, the very nature of travel can result in feelings of tension, confusion, and sometimes even anxiety. This is especially true right now in Chicago Union Station because of the construction work that is going on both inside and outside of the station. (In one of her trip reports, Michigan Mom mentioned coming to the assistance of an elderly gentleman traveling on his own who, after arriving at CUS, had become confused and had no idea where to go to wait for his connecting long-distance train.)

Last May, a Red Cap with a cart had transported us from the platform to the Metropolitan Lounge using a circuitous route through the construction zone that, left to our own devices and with luggage in tow, we might have been hard pressed to navigate on our own. Assuming that conditions inside the station would still be the same, we were hoping to again find a Red Cap with a cart waiting on the platform by our sleeper.

Detraining with our carry-on bags, we joined a small group of people waiting for a Red Cap to arrive. It was stifling hot and, after waiting a while, Pat said that we should start walking. Making our way down the platform and then through the concourse, we saw nary a Red Cap heading back in the direction we’d had come from, so we were glad we’d decided to walk.

Chicago Union Station never fails to impress us, particularly the Great Hall with its stately vistas and lofty columns that incorporate much of the Roman splendor of Caracalla. Back in the apex days of railroad travel, Chicago Union Station’s twenty-four information clerks answered 3,600 questions every day, 100,000 sacks of mail were cleared, and the Station’s restaurants served 700 pies every twenty-four hours.

As things turned out, we had no problems finding our way to the Metropolitan Lounge. After checking us in, the Dragon Lady fitted us with wristbands that allowed us quick and easy access to the Lounge.

As the first order of business, we called the family to let them know that we were in Chicago. (They’d been tracking our SWC train and already knew that we’d arrived.)

Finding two comfortable seats together inside the Lounge, I set up the laptop and, after checking our e-mails, started working on this trip report while Pat read.

Those who’ve read our previous trip reports know that we travel with a small, digital thermometer and that we always use it to check the temperature inside the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge. This time, it was 69.3 degrees. While some might find this comfortable, we consider it chilly.

At 5:00 p.m., we stashed our carry-on bags in the Lounge’s check room and headed up to the food court to buy supper, which we brought back down to the Lounge to eat.

By 6:00 p.m., Red Caps and their carts had begun to congregate outside the Metropolitan Lounge’s entrance in anticipation of the start of early boarding for Capitol Limited No. 30. This time, we had no trouble securing a ride.

At one time, the dramatic climax of the working day at Chicago Union Station was the departure of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s premier train The Broadway Limited. Intended as a direct competitor to the New York Central’s Twentieth Century Limited (which arrived at and departed from a different station), The Broadway offered the same equipment, services, cuisine, and operational technique. Amtrak took over The Broadway Limited in 1971 and operated it until 1995. Incidentally, the train’s name was not a reference to Manhattan’s Broadway, but to the “broad way” of the PRR’s four-track right-of-way along most of its route.

Since we were the first ones to board our coach, we didn’t have a problem finding room for our carry-on items in the luggage rack or in being assigned two seats together.

As soon as we were settled in our seats, we set up our GPS device on a fold-down seat tray and powered up the scanner, pausing it on Channel 13 to hear the pre-departure radio traffic and the “highball” message.

Our train left on time at 6:40 p.m.

Once clear of Chicago Union Station, the crew switched to Channel 34.

Approaching South Bend, our GPS device informed us that we’d entered a new time zone, and we set our watches ahead an hour.

We arrived in South Bend at 9:09 p.m., more or less on time.

At 9:30 p.m. we had to stop while a freight train went by. When we reached Elkhart, we were running about 18 minutes behind schedule.

On our 2014 trip, we varied our routine by getting off in Elkhart. After spending the night there, we picked up our rental car the next morning and continued on to Findlay. This was when, in addition to our carry-on items, we traveled with two large suitcases that needed to be checked as baggage. It wasn’t until we went to check them in San Diego that we learned that Elkhart has no checked luggage service. We ended up having to reclaim those two large suitcases in Chicago, where upon they became additional carry-on items for us to deal with. That experience taught us the advantages of not traveling with anything that needs to be checked.

After departing from Elkhart, we switched our scanner to Channel 46 which we’d be monitoring for the rest of the way to Toledo.

We arrived at Waterloo at 10:36 p.m. Ten minutes later, we passed through Butler, Indiana and began traveling on a stretch of right-of-way that runs in a 67 ½ mile straight line from Butler to Toledo. Old time railroaders used to refer to this as an “air line,” since the route is “as straight as the crow flies.”

A few minutes before No. 30 was to arrive at Toledo Union Station, we made our way down to the lower level, retrieved our carry-on items from the luggage rack, and waited along with other passengers to detrain. By then, the coach attendant was on hand to unlock the door once we’d come to a stop.

On more than one occasion, the Capitol Limited No. 30 trains that we were on had had to stop when they were almost within sight of the station to allow a freight train to go by. We were wondering if this would happen again on this trip and if some dispatcher did this deliberately.

As things turned out, however, there was no delay, and we arrived in Toledo only 12 minutes behind schedule. There, we were met by family members who’d been tracking our train and knew when we’d be arriving.

From the train station, it’s only a short drive to the travel inn in Maumee where we always spend our first night. The next morning, we picked up our rental car and were soon on our way to our hotel in Findlay.

We’re now in the midst of a full and busy week of activities that will include participating in a tour of some of the local (and historically significant) barns, attending a county fair, visiting several large antique malls, eating out at our favorite restaurants, etc.

The Toledo-San Diego return trip portion of our September Amtrak adventure begins next week. Once we’re back 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!

 

[jiml]

Thank you for the thorough and timely report. Timely because, with little happening in the news and sports world, I logged onto AU this morning hoping for something interesting to read. You did not disappoint.

 

[railiner]

Prologue

Last year and right after we’d booked our May 2024 trip to Ohio, we made the decision to schedule two long distance Amtrak trips a year for as long as we’re still able to travel. (We’d tried for a second trip in 2023 but then weren’t able to obtain Southwest Chief bedrooms for the dates we’d wanted. To make sure that we’d be able to obtain bedrooms for our September 2024 trip, we’d made our reservations the previous October.)

Our May trip worked out so well that, even before we’d returned home, we were looking forward to this second trip. (For those who missed our May trip report, it can be found at https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/eric-pat’s-may-2024-trip-report-san-diego-toledo-san-diego.87370/.) But first, we had to see about making the reservations for the first of our two long-distance train trips for 2025.

We decided to once again travel in May when the trains and the stations wouldn’t be as crowded and there would be less likelihood of our trains being delayed due to heat-related speed restrictions and equipment failures.

Last year, we applied for an Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card which we’d used to pay for our September 2024 trip. By doing so, we’d received a generous number of Amtrak Guest Reward points as part of some special promotion. Once the AGR points from our May 2024 trip were added to these, we had, what was for us, a substantial number of points available to use.

We like to make our reservations as early as possible to be sure of obtaining bedrooms in the first or (to use zephyr17’s designation) the “base” sleeping cars; the ones that aren’t removed from the consist if there is shortage of sleepers with bedrooms. (On the Southwest Chief, the “line numbers” of these first or base sleepers are cars 330 westbound and 430 eastbound.) Since the earliest that one can make Amtrak reservations is eleven months in advance, in June, we called the Amtrak Guest Rewards number and arranged the following:

-Two Pacific Surfliner Business Class seats from San Diego to Los Angeles, paid for using 4125 of our AGR points.

-A Southwest Chief bedroom from Los Angeles to Chicago and two Capitol Limited coach seats from Chicago to Toledo, paid for using our Guest Rewards Card.

-Two Capitol Limited coach seats from Toledo to Chicago, paid for using 4725 of our AGR points.

-A Southwest Chief bedroom from Chicago to Los Angeles, paid for using our Guest Rewards Card.

-Two Pacific Surfliner Business Class seats from Los Angeles to San Diego, paid for using 4125 of our AGR points.

By making our Southwest Chief reservations eleven months ahead of time, we were not only able to request and obtain bedrooms in the 330 and 430 cars but were also able to request and obtain Bedroom E’s on both our east and westbound trains. (Located near the center of the car, Bedroom E is considered the most desirable since it is supposed to give the smoothest ride.) And by using our Amtrak Guest Rewards card, we received some additional “Spend-Earn” AGR points. As Nero Wolfe would say, “Satisfactory. Highly satisfactory.”

Having received and printed out the e-tickets for our May 2025 trip, we could now devote our full attention to our upcoming September trip.

On June 13th, we received an automated phone message and an e-mail from Amtrak regarding changes to the departure and arrival times of our Southwest Chief trains Nos. 4 and 3: No. 4 would now be departing from LAX at 5:22 p.m. (33 minutes earlier) and arriving in CHI at 2:42 p.m. (8 minutes earlier.) No. 3 would now be departing from CHI at 2:25 p.m. (25 minutes earlier) and arriving in LAX at 7:57 a.m. (3 minutes earlier). zephyr17 posted that the new schedule, which would go into effect on Monday July 8th was most likely part of an agreement between Amtrak and host railroad BNSF so that a better effort could be made to give SWC trains priority over freight traffic. On June 27th, joelkfla posted the new timetables for SWC Nos. 3 and 4, and we printed out copies to take along with us.

For our last few trips, everything we’ve taken with us was distributed among our carry-on items. (Since some of our trains weren’t accepting checked luggage, this made things a lot less complicated for us.) After returning home from our May trip, we’d revised our packing lists, organizing everything into four different categories: (1) things that we wanted to have with us in our bedroom while traveling; (2) things that we felt comfortable leaving in our carry-on bags downstairs in the luggage rack; (3) things that we wouldn’t need until we were actually back in Ohio; and (4) things that we’d left behind in Ohio with the family on our last trip and which they were storing for us. For this trip, we decided to mail back most of the items that were in the “things that we wouldn’t need until we were actually back in Ohio” category. This ended up reducing the total number of carry-on bags we’d have to deal with, a benefit that more than justified the cost of the postage.

One month out from our departure, we printed out and started working on our checklist of items that needed to be done before we left home: reserving a space for our car with San Diego Airport Parking, rescheduling our monthly appointments to dates after we’d returned home, paying closer attention to the on-time performances of our trains, etc.

We also prepared and printed out detailed Amtrak Vacation Goals which covered all aspects of our trip. All of these goals supported our primary Vacation Goal, mainly that our trip would be safe, enjoyable, and highly successful. Following the recommended procedure for writing up goals, these were written in the past tense as if our trip had already been completed. We then read these goals aloud together every night just before we went to sleep. To ensure that we weren’t unintentionally putting limitations on any aspect of our trip, we concluded the reading of our goals with “This or something better.”

Having taught classes in goal setting & goal achieving, I’m a firm believer in having specific, written goals and then reading them aloud. Over the years, all the important things that Pat and I wanted to accomplish were first written out as goals, which we then read aloud together. Our success rate with our written goals has convinced us beyond a doubt that there is some power at work here that goes far beyond that of just mere chance.

One week out from our departure, we started packing. (Since we already knew what we’d be taking with us and into which carry-on bag it would be going, this only takes us a day or two.) We then printed out and filed away a complete inventory of everything that we’d have with us in the unlikely event that we’d have to put in a claim for lost or stolen items.

Two items that we always have along with us (and which we consider to be indispensable) are our GPS device and our scanner.

Our GPS device is a Garmin nuvi 2797 intended for automotive use, but which can run off AC power by using an adapter. We use it primarily to determine our train’s speed and direction of travel, and to identify the small towns that we pass by. We also set our watches by its time display, which automatically readjusts itself whenever we enter a new time zone.

Our scanner is a little Uniden SC230 which can also be used with AC power. We have it programmed so that the American Association of Railroads (AAR) frequencies used by our Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, and Capitol Limited trains – a total of twenty-five frequencies in all, each identified by its AAR Channel number – are in their own separate Channel Group. Since this is the only Channel Group that will be scanned, missing a transmission is highly unlikely.

Five days before our departure, we received an e-mail from Amtrak with the subject line “Your Train Leaves the Station in 5 Days.” This was the first time that we’d ever received such an e-mail and weren’t sure what we’d discover when we opened it. Fortunately, it turned out to be a benign “Welcome Aboard” message with travel information about our trip on Southwest Chief No. 4: available amenities, carry-on luggage allowances, pertinent station information, etc.

The remainder of the week was spent completing the last few items on our pre departure check list: letting our bank know that we’d be using our credit card in Ohio, picking up any last-minute items that we still needed for the trip, obtaining a sufficient number of small bills to use for tips, arranging with a neighbor to keep an eye on our house and property while we were gone, etc.

We spent the last day before our departure vacuuming and straightening up since it’s always nice to return home from a trip to a house that is neat and tidy.

Wow…that’s way more planning than my wife and I did on our 7 month long, around the world cruise. We probably took less baggage as well.
We like a more serendipitous vacation experience, and “go with the flow” as opposed to obsessing over every detail, but to be fair, the cruise does most of the planning for you…

 

[Eric in East County]

We continued to be amazed by those who are able to take off on a long-distance Amtrak trip when some great deal on a roomette or bedroom turns up at the last minute. Some people even depart without having a clear idea of the trains and accommodations they’ll have on the return portion of their trip, taking advantage of whatever turns up. We like to have everything worked out as far in advance as possible to be sure of obtaining the accommodations we want. We’re aware, of course, that with Amtrak, trains can be cancelled at the last minute, sleeping cars can be bad ordered and not available, trains can be canceled in the middle of a trip, etc., etc., etc. To paraphrase a famous World War II general, when traveling via Amtrak, before the trip, planning is everything. Once the trip begins, plans mean nothing.

 

[railiner]

Thanks for taking us along and sharing the details of your trip. Your commentary is a very enjoyable read.

I suppose you like the privacy and comfort of your bedroom, but when my wife and I travel, we only use ours to sleep, shower, and change clothes in. We prefer to spend all our waking hours in the Sightseer Lounge, for its superior visibility, as well as socializing with fellow passengers. Likewise, we enjoy sharing a table with others in the dining car…

 

[zephyr17]

Great trip report. One question and a few comments

The question is in regard to the "slim ducky" tuned antenna. I am a total scanner junkie, but use the factory "rubber ducky" antenna. It is fine for picking up the train crew, which is what I am primarily interested in, but often I cannot hear the dispatcher. I usually get the dispatcher instructions on the crew's read back. Did your tuned antenna fairly consistently pick up the dispatcher? Is the antenna much bigger than the standard rubber ducky?

Comments. The one thing about "Union Station" that isn't accurate is the office behind the lattice above the main entrance. That is just a window lattice. But love the movie as it captures the look of the station in its heyday.

I grew up less than 5 miles from Disneyland and can attest to the fact there were still orange groves in the immediate area as late as 1965. There were big ones just to the east around the Santa Ana River on Katella (where Anaheim Stadium was shortly to be constructed). South County between San Juan Capistrano and Tustin was solid orange groves then. Now it's solid houses.

Finally, my advice to build in Chicago layovers is primarily to ensure sleeper space. My destination was often Indianapolis and I had coach seats. I didn't book a layover for that coach connection, like you did to Ohio. I do book a layover when connecting to a sleeper for the east coast. I no longer take the train to Indy, BTW. The times are bad and the station is an absolute pit. I stopped even before Amtrak cut the guarantee between the Builder and the Card.

 

[TinCan782]

The question is in regard to the "slim ducky" tuned antenna. I am a total scanner junkie, but use the factory "rubber ducky" antenna. It is fine for picking up the train crew, which is what I am primarily interested in, but often I cannot hear the dispatcher. I usually get the dispatcher instructions on the crew's read back. Did your tuned antenna fairly consistently pick up the dispatcher? Is the antenna much bigger than the standard rubber ducky?

Finally, my advice to build in Chicago layovers is primarily to ensure sleeper space. My destination was often Indianapolis and I had coach seats. I didn't book a layover for that coach connection, like you did to Ohio. I do book a layover when connecting to a sleeper for the east coast. I no longer take the train to Indy, BTW. The times are bad and the station is an absolute pit. I stopped even before Amtrak cut the guarantee between the Builder and the Card.

I believe this is the antenna referred to. 5/8 SLIM DUCK 160 MHZ from Smiley Antenna. I use it and it performs better than the stock "duck".
https://www.smileyantenna.com/shop/...g2a-jdjm8-9m3yy-7nka8-dsn7t-akzpj-n87br-tfcb2

Will it receive the dispatcher better? Hard to answer as there are a lot of variables involved but in general, it does perform better at 160 MHz than the stock antenna.
I also use a telescoping whip antenna adjusted to 160 MHz (1/4 wave about 17 inches) and mounted in the window of my sleeper bedroom.
The BCD235P2 (396XT before that) is the scanner I typically use.

As for a Chicago layover...ensuring sleeper space on my connecting train (typically the Cardinal to Alexandria) is my thought as well.

 

[zephyr17]

Will it receive the dispatcher better? Hard to answer as there are a lot of variables involved but in general, it does perform better at 160 MHz than the stock antenna.
I also use a telescoping whip antenna adjusted to 160 MHz (1/4 wave about 17 inches) and mounted in the window of my sleeper bedroom.
The BCD235P2 (396XT before that) is the scanner I typically use.

It sounds like it might be a good investment. I know getting the dispatcher is going to be variable, but it almost certainly be better at it than the stock rubber ducky. I'd still be interested in @Eric in East County's recent experience with it, though.

I wouldn't tend to get a larger antenna for use in the room. I move around the train a lot and like to just slap my scanner in its holster when I leave the room.

 

[Old MM]

My gosh that was so much fun to read. I am going to try and set a goal or goals for my next trip. Maybe we all have goals in the backs of our minds but I sure like the idea of articulating them out loud, and experiencing the trip with that framing.
Also sounds like the construction situation at CUS is much more calm now!
Look forward to the next installment!

 

[Eric in East County]

My gosh that was so much fun to read. I am going to try and set a goal or goals for my next trip. Maybe we all have goals in the backs of our minds but I sure like the idea of articulating them out loud, and experiencing the trip with that framing.
Also sounds like the construction situation at CUS is much more calm now!
Look forward to the next installment!

Michigan Mom,

As always, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging comments. (Coming from someone whose trip reports we always look forward to reading and re-reading, they are doubly appreciated!)

Yes, the various passageways though Chicago Union Station’s construction zones are now less intimidating, and easier to navigate while on foot.

The important thing about setting goals is to get them down in writing so that they won’t be forgotten. Once written down, they can be revised, prioritized, used to come up with supporting goals, organized into different categories, etc. Our Amtrak Vacation goals are now to the point where we can use them again and again just by changing the dates.

We’ll be looking forward to reading the next installment of our trip report, too, so we can find out how the rest of our trip turned out.

Eric & Pat

 

[Dan O]

That was quite a detailed and interesting trip report. I've been on the SWC a couple of times recently and your report made me feel as if I was on the train again...almost.

I've traveled from southern California to NYC via Chicago twice recently by myself and one of the things I liked best was eating with other passengers. I enjoyed their stories very much for the most part. I can understand eating in ones room but to me the dining experience was quite a treat.

 

[Mary Stackhouse]

Pat and Eric,
Reading your experiences traveling on Amtrak was exhilarating! I can’t wait to read about your return trip.
My husband and I are taking our “ maiden voyage” from San Luis Obispo, CA to Chicago via the Coast Starlight and Empire builder to see our two young granddaughters. We will be getting an accessible room and traveling with our service dog. Your experience getting on/off with checked luggage has me repacking a very planned trip. (My husband loved your idea of a scanner which may be an anniversary present if he decides to make the trip again on a different route.)
We will be detailing our trip as well. Gracie is a seasoned (aka 11 year) Amtrak traveler with me but never over night and for several days at a time. After a detailed stop by stop planning/feeding guide (homemade, precooked, refrigerated diet - lots of planning) my veterinarian suggested making her a broth diet for days that she won’t have a long “air breaks”.


This was taken at our favorite stop on our last trip in 2022.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Enjoyed your trip report very much. We have traveled on SWC several times and always enjoy the scenery and the food. Since we use CLE as our home station, felt at home watching you depart at TOL. We do usually plan to take LSL 48 from Chicago so we don't have as many concerns of a late SWC. Look forward to your return trip report.

 

[Eric in East County]

Part 2: Toledo, Ohio to San Diego, California
Stage 1: Toledo to Chicago (September 16th)

We were up by 3:00 a.m. to log onto the Amtrak website where we learned that CL No. 29
was running 16 minutes late. After showering and dressing, we had a quick breakfast in our room and finished repacking our carry-on bags.

A few days earlier, we’d scheduled a cab pickup for 4:20 a.m. which would allow us more than enough time to reach the station. (We’d spent the night in a travel inn that is only 8 ½ miles away.) At about 4:00 a.m., we began receiving a series of text messages asking if we still wanted the cab, confirming that our cab would be arriving as scheduled, letting us know that our cab was in route to our location, etc.

The cab picked us up on schedule. The vehicle was a rather small, compact model and it was a good thing that we only had a few carry-on bags because the trunk was small and part of it was already taken up by a vacuum cleaner(!) While driving to the station, the cab’s motor made a sort of grinding sound which was not particularly reassuring.

When we arrived at the station, there were only a few people in the waiting room including some who were stretched out asleep on the benches after having perhaps spent the night there.

Checking our phone for messages, we noted that we’d received another one from the cab company, thanking us for having used them.

In keeping with the Fall-Halloween season, someone had placed two small pumpkins at either end of the station’s ticket counter.

Capitol Limited No. 29 arrived at 5:32 a.m., 19 minutes late. We had no problems being assigned coach seats next to each other or in finding room to stow away our carry-on bags in the luggage rack.

Toledo being an extended stop to accommodate a crew change, we used the time to set up the GPS device and power up the scanner, monitoring both Channels 46 (the road frequency) and 64 (Toledo Terminal Services). We got underway at 5:41 a.m., still 19 minutes behind schedule.

By 5:50 a.m., we were moving out at 70 mph.

We both ended up dozing until just before we reached Waterloo at 6:49 a.m. By then, we’d gained back 6 minutes.

At 7:15 a.m., we were moving out at 78 miles an hour.

At 7:20 a.m. our coach’s interior lights were turned on. Looking around, we saw that we were seated near a group of Amish passengers.

At 7:24 a.m., the GPS device shifted from its nighttime display mode to its daytime display mode.

We continued to gain back time. By the time we departed from South Bend, we were only 5 minutes behind schedule.

At 8:10 a.m., just west of Carlisle, we entered the Central Time Zone and the GPS device’s time display automatically reset itself to 7:10 a.m. By now it was light outside and we could see that some of the trees were starting to change to their autumn colors.

We saw one of the Amish elders using a cell phone that had been passed to him by a beardless Amish youth who appeared to be in his late teens.

At 7:37 a.m., we passed through Porter, Indiana. This was where the New York Central’s crack Detroit to Chicago passenger train “Mercury,” coming from the northeast, would join the NYC mainline.

At 7:42 p.m., we went by the Ogden Dunes. Earl H. Reed’s 1916 book “The Dune Country” provides a fascinating account of what this area was like in the early 1900s when it was mostly uninhabited save for a few fishermen and eccentric beach comber types who lived in little shanties along the lake shore that they’d built from lumber and whatever else they’d salvaged from the flotsam and jetsam that washed ashore. (A noted artist, Reed illustrated this book with line drawings of the various characters he'd encountered while making sketches in the dunes.)

At 7:47 a.m. the coach attendant walked by carrying a large brown paper bag and collecting trash.

For some reason, after leaving Elkhart, CL No. 29’s crew continued to use Channel 46 to communicate. (Usually, the radios are changed to Channel 34 in Elkhart.)

We went by Gary at 7:48 a.m. (Every time we go by Gary, the song refrain “Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana” plays on a loop in my brain.)

At 8:27 a.m., when we were not far from Chicago Union Station, the crew changed their radios to Channel 13, the one used by the station.

Nine minutes later, we came to a final stop inside the station, 9 minutes early. This was the first time that we could recall traveling from Toledo to Chicago and not having to stop and wait for a freight train. (Since July 30th, the Justice Department has been putting increased pressure on Norfolk-Southern to give Amtrak trains priority over its freight traffic. This approach has apparently been working.)

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 2: Chicago to Los Angeles (Day 1: September 16th)

Since we were in no great hurry to reach the platform, we remained seated until most of the other passengers had detrained.

Red Caps and their carts being noticeable by their absence, we began walking to the Metropolitan Lounge, confident that we’d have no problems finding our way.

After being checked in and issued wristbands for entrance to the Lounge, we stashed our carry-on items in the checkroom and headed up to the Food Court for Brunch.

When making purchases in the Food Court, we always pay cash. On a trip made some years ago, we’d used our credit card for a food purchase in Chicago Union Station and, shortly thereafter, a mysterious charge showed up on our credit card statement for a purchase we hadn’t made. (When using the Metropolitan Lounge’s free WiFi, we’ve never been able to obtain a secure VPN connection either, leave our data unprotected. We don’t stay on-line very long and never use the WiFi to send or receive any data that we don’t want compromised or stolen.)

For brunch, I treated myself to an egg-spinach-cheese breakfast Stromboli from Sbarro, while Pat bought a sausage-egg biscuit from McDonalds. We brought our carry-out items back down to Lounge, where we augmented them with complementary orange juice, prepackaged muffins, coffee (for Pat), and hot water (for me) to brew green tea.

The Lounge’s coffee machines are those super-sophisticated ones that offer several different types of coffees, all freshly ground and brewed while you wait. When ordering coffee, there are a bewildering number of options to choose from. In addition to the different coffee types, one must choose the size of the cup to be filled, whether the coffee is to come with or without cream, with or without sugar, etc. It took Pat a little while to figure it all out. Then, when I went to get hot water for my green tea, I discovered that the hot water spigot had some sort of sophisticated safety lock which had to be disabled for the spigot to work. An attendant had to show me how to use it.

Once breakfast was over, we settled in and, as the first order of business, used the Lounge’s WiFi to send e-mails to family members to let them know that we’d made it to Chicago.

I then began working on this trip report while Pat read.

For the record, the temperature inside the Lounge this time was 66 degrees, and we were glad that we had our layering pieces with us.

At 1:21 p.m. an Amtrak K9 dog and its handler walked through the lounge. The handler threw some sort of toy down onto the floor and the dog picked it up and became as frisky as a puppy as the handler led it out.

As it got closer to the first call for early boarding, we moved to a table that was closer to the Lounge’s entrance. From where I was sitting, I could see a wall-mounted monitor located between the two coffee machines that was presenting a “slide show” of historic still photos of Chicago Union Station.

Those passengers who wanted a Red Cap to transport them to SWC No. 3 had to queue up inside a roped off area configured like those used to control the lines of people waiting to enter some theme park attraction. While we were waiting for a Red Cap to arrive, the “walkers” set off for SWC No. 3.

The numbers assigned to the Southwest Chief (No. 3 westbound and No. 4 eastbound) were originally the numbers of the Santa Fe Railroad’s first great luxury “name train” on the Chicago-to-Los Angeles mainline run: the all-Pullman “California Limited.” Making its debut in 1892, the California Limited was once the grandest and best-known train between the Midwest and the West Coast. (No free passes were allowed and even the Santa Fe’s president had to present his ticket to the conductor whenever he rode it!) In an age when traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles via automobile or airplane was still in the unimagined future, during the busy summer months, as many as seven (7) California Limited sections (each section being a complete train with 11 sleeping cars) departed each day from Chicago and from Los Angeles within a half hour of each other. During its three-day run, each train used a minimum of 15 locomotives with 15 train crews. On one occasion, 45 trains – 22 eastbound and 23 westbound - were in operation simultaneously between the two cities, a record that has never been broken. The California Limited remained on the time card until 1954 and had the longest tenure of any of the Santa Fe’s Chicago-to-Los Angeles name trains.

By the time we finally arrived at our No. 330 sleeping car, a large crowd of “walkers” was already waiting by the door.

This time, we were in a Superliner 2 sleeper with lighted car line numbers. (For some reason, our sleeper’s car line number read 331.)

Our Sleeping Car Attendant was Pinky, another long-time Amtrak employee whom we immediately recognized from a trip we’d taken many years ago on the Southwest Chief.

By 2:12 p.m. we were settled in our bedroom. Our bedroom once again looked out from the left or “Fireman’s Side” of the train, assuring us a different view from the one we’d had coming east.

We departed on time at 2:25 p.m. but only traveled a few hundred feet before coming to a stop. Someone radioed, “Metra coming.”

While we were sitting there, the chief dining car steward stopped by to take our dinner reservations. When told that we’d be eating in our bedroom, he laughed and said that that would mean less work for him. He must have said something to Pinky because, shortly afterwards and without being summoned, she stopped by to take our dinner orders. She also stopped by a second time to drop off a few extra bottles of water.

Expecting our bedroom to be as chilly as the one we’d had coming east, we’d come prepared with extra layering pieces, as well as a square of cardboard and some duct tape to cover up the bedroom’s air conditioning vent. As it turned out, our bedroom was warm enough for me to comfortably wear a short sleeve shirt.

While we waited for a second Metra to come in, the conductor stopped by to scan our ticket. Shortly afterwards, someone radioed, “Clear. Here we go” and we started moving, emerging into daylight at 2:32 p.m.

Not long after leaving Chicago, someone radioed, “Here’s where we start falling into it” and we slowed to 30 mph. Someone else radioed, “Are we following a Metra or freight train?”

We arrived at Naperville 12 minutes behind schedule. Seated on the platform in folding chairs were three people indulging in the time-honored American custom of watching trains roll past.

By 3:17 p.m. we began to accelerate, eventually reaching 77 mph.

Shortly after we departed Mendota, a track side radio alarm detector (RAD) reported that our train had 40 axles and we knew that our train had 10 cars, one less than the SWC No. 4 we’d come east on.

Princeton was only a token stop and we were moving again in less than a minute.

Each of us ended up ordering the same dinner entrees we’d ordered while traveling east. This time we split a single portion of the Blueberry Cheesecake.

Although Pat is a coffee drinker, I prefer green tea because of its antioxidant properties. When we order our meals, I request that hot water be delivered along with mine so that I can brew my own tea using a teabag packed along from home. Sometimes the dining car staff forgets to include my hot water. And sometimes I just like to have a cup of hot tea between meals. While coffee is available during the day in the “island” located in the sleeping car’s center section, hot water for brewing tea is not. I’d often considered packing along an immersion coil so that I could heat up my own water but was concerned about the possibility of it tripping a breaker. While we were still in Ohio, a series of postings under the “Amtrak Dining Car and Café Service” thread discussed using personal heating devices in the coaches and sleepers. According to zephyr17, a sleeping car’s room outlets are on a 15A circuit that is shared with at least some other rooms. The use of high draw devices could result in a block of rooms losing their power if a breaker trips and is not reset. Fortunately, someone specifically asked about the Norpro immersion coil which only draws 2.5A or 300W. zephry17 opined that 2.5A, while not a small draw, wouldn't be as much of a concern as, let’s say, an electric kettle with an 8A-12.5A draw. Thus reassured, I went ahead and acquired one for the return trip. (Ironically, the opportunity to use it never arose but at least I’ll have it for future trips.)

At 4:22 p.m., Pat reminded me that, 12 hours ago, we’d been in the cab riding to the Toledo station.

We started across the Mississippi River at 6:04 p.m. Shortly after leaving Fort Madison, we had to stop and wait for a freight train. We crossed the Des Moines River and entered Missouri at 6:43 p.m.

When she delivered our dinner orders, we told Pinky that we would like to go to bed early. She came back to make up our berth while we were La Plata. (Since we can both comfortably share a lower berth together, we use the open top berth as a storage shelf for our carry-on bags.)

When the top berth was first opened, it made little squeaking noises which ceased as soon as the weight of our carry-on bags had been added.

Our Superliner 2 shower-toilet had not been fitted with the snap-in-place shower curtain that keeps the water from leaking out. When we took our showers, and even though we tried to be careful about directing the shower nozzle away from the door, some water did leak out, soaking the carpet outside.

When we went to lock our bedroom door for the night, we discovered that the little metal “thingy” that swings down and holds the latch in place wasn’t making contact with the latch, making it impossible to lock to the door. Using a bit of gaffer’s tape, we were able to secure everything in place before calling it a night.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 2: September 17th)

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to find SWC No. 3 standing still. Waiting until we were moving again, I got up and, being careful not to wake Pat who is not an early morning person, got dressed and set up the GPS device and the scanner.

It was still dark outside, and the GPS device wasn’t displaying anything useful as to our location. It wasn’t until we arrived at Garden City at 5:47 a.m. that I knew how far we’d come and that we were running on time.

At 6:20 a.m., while passing through Kendall, the GPS device updated itself to Mountain Time.

When we crossed into Colorado at 5:42 a.m. M.T., it was still dark outside.

At 6:02 a.m., it was just starting to get light in the East.

We arrived at La Junta early. (In 2004, when we’d traveled west on SWC No. 3, copies of the “Pueblo Chronical” were brought on board in La Junta and slipped under the bedroom doors.)

Our train consisted of two engines, a baggage car, a trans-dorm sleeper, a regular sleeper, a diner, a sightseer lounge car and three coaches. There was only one traditional sleeping car with five upstairs bedrooms. We’d reserved our bedroom last October. At what point in time were those remaining four bedrooms all spoken for? Nine months in advance? Six months in advance?

While we were stopped in La Junta, I saw Pinky standing on the platform and used the opportunity to give her our breakfast orders. (So far, it had not been necessary for us to use the call button to summon her.)

Incidentally, the SWC No. 3 dining car remains on Chicago time for the duration of its breakfast hours of operation. At 8:00 a.m. M.T., it was announced that the dining car would be closing at 8:30 a.m.

We arrived at Trinadad early and departed on time.

In 1873, while building southwest from Trinidad, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe almost came to blows with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad over Raton Pass which was the key access to New Mexico Territory. The rival railroads both sent armed construction crews which arrived in the Raton Pass area on the same day. The Santa Fe crew got there first, however, and was able to take control of the pass without bloodshed. Although work began the next day, it wasn’t until 1878 that the first train traveled over Raton Pass. Initially, the crossing was made on switchbacks, but by the next year, a 2000-foot tunnel had been bored through the summit. A second tunnel built in 1908 is the one that Amtrak uses today.

As we were ascending to the tunnel, it became overcast, and a few sprinkles of rain fell. When we emerged from the tunnel, we were in fog (or perhaps low hanging cloud cover.)

At the outskirts of Raton, someone radioed, “We’re looking at a dark signal at the crossover.” The dispatcher responded that he would look into it. We proceeded at 4 mph. The city streets were wet, so it had apparently rained recently.

We arrived at the Raton station 11 minutes behind schedule.

According to our 1930 Santa Fe Railroad route guide, Raton once had the state’s largest hotel which included an art gallery among its amenities. (Although the route guide didn’t identify the hotel by name, it might have been the Hotel Seaberg which is today known as the El Portal Hotel.)

As we were getting ready to depart, the dispatcher advised the engineer that track inspectors were working further up the line.

Having been awake since 5:00 a.m. I laid down to take a nap right after we left Raton.

When I woke up a little over an hour later, we were traveling at 37 mph. The skies were overcast with an occasional patch of blue. The landscape was flat and featureless.

This all changed at 11:28 a.m. when we entered Shoemaker Canyon. Watered by the Mora River, the canyon is lush with trees, shrubs and other greenery. Once we left the canyon, the landscape again became flat and featureless.

At 11:38 a.m., we went by the ruins of Fort Union. Three minutes later, we began to accelerate, eventually reaching 75 mph. An announcement was made that we’d be arriving in Las Vegas about 20 minutes late.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, there were a few rain sprinkles. We’d been planning to move down to the sightseer-lounge car but decided again it because of the gloomy weather.

At 12:10 p.m. a high wind warning for the Glorieta Division was received.

Seven minutes later, another train radioed, “Round-up time” which we immediately associated with loose cattle on or near the tracks.

At 12:10 p.m. and without our having to summon her, Pinky stopped by to take our lunch orders. (How many other SCA would do this?) Pat ordered the Caesar Chicken Salad, and I ordered the Patti Melt.

At 12:21 p.m. another train radioed to advise our engineer that there were loose cattle near the tracks at milepost such and such.

At 12:32 p.m. a general broadcast of the high wind warning was received.

At 12:36 p.m., we entered the S-curve, crossing Imus Ranch Road five minutes later. (Between 1998 and 2014, this ranch was the site of a non-profit charitable program for seriously ill children, founded by long-time radio personality Don Imus.)

At 1:00 p.m., traveling at 40 mph, we became engulfed in a rain squall with an occasional flash of lightning. Thirteen minutes later, we had blue skies and sunshine although there were black clouds to the north.

At 1:22 p.m. and just east of Glorieta, we passed SWC No. 4. Eight minutes later we went by the old Glorieta train station, which is now a post office.

At 1:33 p.m. we heard the dispatcher advise SWC No. 4 about the wind warning and about the loose cattle near the tracks. (We were not able to pick up No. 4’s responses.)

We arrived in Lamy 34 minutes behind schedule.

Once clear of Lamy, we began moving out at 80 mph.

An announcement was made that reservations were being accepted from coach passengers who wanted to eat dinner in the dining car.

At 2:35 p.m. somebody radioed about meeting up with a Roadrunner train. This meeting took place 12 minutes later in Bernalillo.

We were only 12 minutes behind schedule when we arrived in Albuquerque.

Even before we came to a stop, somebody radioed “Amtrak Mechanical to Conductor No. 3. We will be plugging up your train when you get here.” This was acknowledged with a “Roger.”

While we were Albuquerque, and without being summoned, Pinky stopped by to take our dinner and breakfast orders.

We departed Albuquerque 28 minutes behind schedule and, almost immediately had to stop to let a Roadrunner train go by and then for what appeared to be a freight train switching operation.

At 4:14 p.m. somebody radioed “We got a clear” and we gradually began to accelerate. Before long, we were moving out at 86 mph.

We were only 16 minutes behind schedule when we arrived in Gallup. Twenty-seven minutes later we crossed into Arizona. Off to the east we could see a large, full orange moon.

Since Pinky would be delivering our breakfast orders a little after 5:00 a.m., we again called it an early evening.

 

[Eric in East County]

(Day 3: September 18th)

We were up a little after 4:00 a.m. to start packing up and to be dressed and ready when Pinky delivered our breakfast orders.

It was still dark outside when we arrived at San Bernardino at 5:46 a.m.,15 minutes early. We even departed a few minutes early.

When we arrived at Riverside, it was just starting to get light in the east.

Arriving at Fullerton, SWC No. 3 unloaded at the platform which is across the tracks from the station itself. Passengers had to use the elevated walkway to cross the tracks to get to the station.

While we were in Fullerton, Pinky stopped by to fold up the bed. We used this opportunity to give her a generous tip for the good service she’d provided to us.

We arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 7:31 a.m., 26 minutes early.

 

[Eric in East County]

Stage 3: Los Angeles to San Diego (September 18th)

Since our southbound Pacific Surfliner No. 770 train wasn’t due to depart until 10:10 a.m., we headed up to the Metropolitan Lounge rather than waiting on the platform for over two hours.

We found two good seats together close to the Lounge’s back door and right across from a large display cabinet containing a nice assortment of Amtrak and Coast Starlight memorabilia.

Settling in to wait, I got out my little SanDisk Clip Jam mp3 player and began listening to an audio book. (For the last few months, I’ve been seeking out and listening to the adventure novels of H. Rider Haggard. While sitting there in the Lounge, I began “People of the Mist.”)

When we’d first arrived, the Lounge had been empty. By 8:58 a.m. however, it was crowded with passengers waiting for the Coast Starlight to begin boarding.

After they’d departed, Keith the lounge attendant used his radio to summon Red Caps and carts for those of us who wanted a lift to PSL No. 770.

No. 770 was already parked at the platform when we arrived. Although the lower level of the Business Class car only has limited seating, we were able to find two seats together.

Seated at the rear of the car was a woman of Jabba the Hutt proportions who took up her own seat plus two-thirds of the seat next to her. When she got off, a man equally as large took over that seat.

In Anaheim, passengers began arriving with a multitude of large suitcases which would ordinarily have been checked as baggage. (The Santa Fe Depot does not have checked luggage service, so those large suitcases had to somehow be accommodated in the luggage rack which was already full.) Both the conductor and the coach attendant worked to find room for them, but most ended up staying on the floor.

As much as we like riding on trains, all we could think of now was getting to San Diego as quickly as possible. Fortunately, our Pacific Surfliner did not disappoint, giving us a ride akin to that offered by Death Valley Scotty’s “Coyote Special.”

When we arrived at the Old Town Transit Center and went to call for a shuttle pickup, we experience the only glitch of our entire trip. Calling the number provided to us by the parking lot where we’d left our car, we received a taped message that our call couldn’t be completed. Rummaging through our vacation paperwork, we found a list of vacation phone numbers which had an alternate number to call. This time we got through with no problems and a shuttle arrived a few minutes later. Reunited with our car, we were soon on our way home.

Epilogue

Our September 2024 Amtrak trip met or exceeded all the goals that we’d set for it. All our trains had departed and arrived at or nearly on time with several arriving early. We’d had two outstanding SCAs. All of the Amtrak employees that we came in contact with were helpful, courteous and friendly. All the meals served to us were well-prepared and tasty. We’d been able to walk from the platform to the Metropolitan Lounge without difficulty. We’d had good scanner reception with our new 5/8 Slim Duck 160 MHZ antenna. And at no time did we find ourselves in any stressful or unsafe situations.

We made it through the trip in such fine form that we have no doubts that we’ll be able to do the two long-distance train trips that we have planned for next year (when one of us will be 79 and the other 80.)

As mentioned earlier, we already have our May 2025 reservations and hope to make our September 2025 reservations shortly. Between now and when we leave on our May trip, we’ll be looking forward to reading and enjoying the trip reports submitted here by others.

Travel safe!

Eric & Pat