Yesterday we completed our much anticipated trip with our three children aboard Amtrak. We took Illinois' Metra from Naperville to Chicago Union Station. We arrived right around 5 pm. We checked in our luggage, and then headed to the Metropolitan lounge to await our departure. The lounge was quite full, but not overly crowded. We checked in at the desk and made our dinner reservations. Unfortunately, we had to go with the 8:30 seating, as all the early reservations were booked by early afternoon according to the woman at the desk.
I was not expecting much at the station as far as friendliness goes, but we were very pleasantly surprised. The woman who helped us check our bags was warm and friendly. She gave us little paper conductor hats for our children. The people managing the desk in the Metropolitan lounge were also very friendly and helpful.
The Capitol Limited was delayed in the service yard, so we didn't board the train until about 7:15. We left Union Station at approximately 7:35, 30 minutes late. The attendant for our sleeper was cordial and helpful, even though he was managing two sleepers for this trip. The train was completely sold out in both coach and in the sleepers, but the crew seemed to have it all well in hand.
Our sleeper car was not refurbished, but everything was in decent repair and very clean and comfortable. We were very pleasantly surprised by the Family Bedroom. We were expecting to feel cramped with the 5 of us in there, but we had plenty of room. Our children are 3, 5, and 7, so they don't take up all that much room yet.
Since we departed late, the dining car was behind the dinner reservation schedule. The children played in the room and my husband and I watched about an hour of a movie before they called us for our seating. I think we got to the dining car at 10 pm EDT. (It only felt like 9 to us, though!). The grownups ate Flat Iron steaks, and the children had macaroni and cheese. The dining car staff was very friendly, but not terribly efficient. I believe one of the guys was fairly new on the job, as the other one kept berating him for mistakes. Considering how late the train was, and how far behind the dinner schedule was, I thought they did a very nice job keeping everything moving. We all enjoyed our dinners and then headed back to our sleeper for the night.
Our beds weren't ready when we got back from dinner, but we took advantage of the extra room to get everybody into pjs and ready for bed. The sleeper attendant came very quickly when we hit the call button, and he got the room all set up for us for sleeping. My husband and 7 year old took the upper bunks, and my younger son took the child sized berth. My daughter and I shared the lower. We had plenty of room for everybody, but I found out that my tiny three year old is a blanket thief! How a 30 lb child can keep a full grown woman from having any blanket is beyond me! We all fell asleep as soon as we hit the beds, and the night passed peacefully.
We slept through all the stops and didn't wake up until we passed the Pennsylvania state line. We managed to make up most of the time we lost from our late departure by the time we got to Connellsville. Unfortunately, due to a CSX switching issue we got delayed again in the morning. We departed about 30 minutes late from that station.
We had an early breakfast -- Railroad French Toast all around. YUM! We then went to the Sightseer Lounge to look at the gorgeous scenery in West Virginia and Maryland. Surprisingly, even though the train was sold out leaving Chicago, the lounge was never crowded. There were seats available most of the time. After a while the kids got restless, so we took them back to our sleeper so that they could play games and watch some DVDs. I sat and looked out the window the rest of the trip. I was awed by the gorgeous views of the rivers and mountains. The small towns we went through were intriguing. I found myself wondering about the people who lived there. I think I want to go explore Harper's Ferry one day, it looks like there would be loads of things to explore there with the children.
Despite all the delays, we managed to get into Washington Union Station only 10 minutes late. None of us wanted to get off the train! We thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey. We disembarked and headed to the Acela lounge to wait for our 3:25 departure on the Northeast Regional. My husband went to pick up our bags while the children and I enjoyed some drinks and snacks.
The line waiting to board the Regional was LONG. We weren't sure how we were going to manage to get on the train with the kids and all the bags in that huge throng of people. A redcap must have noticed how perplexed we were, and he came over and grabbed two bags and told us to follow him. He got us on board the train first, so we were able to stow our bags and get seats together. We gave him $10 for saving us a major hardship. We were able to get a four seat set (two sets of chairs facing each other), my husband and I sat in one set, and the three children shared the other two. It seemed that every seat on the train was taken!
The ride on the Regional was uneventful, though the children got a kick out of all the industrial areas. We arrived in Trenton about 3 minutes late.
Overall, the entire trip was wonderful. We wanted to see how the kids did on 24 hour journey before we book a major rail vacation. I am thrilled that my husband and children had such a terrific time on the train. Everybody wants to do it again. Now I need to start saving some money so that we can head out west on the next trip!
Now it's time to figure out which trip we want to do: it's down to the California Zephyr or the Empire Builder . . . . We can't wait!
I was not expecting much at the station as far as friendliness goes, but we were very pleasantly surprised. The woman who helped us check our bags was warm and friendly. She gave us little paper conductor hats for our children. The people managing the desk in the Metropolitan lounge were also very friendly and helpful.
The Capitol Limited was delayed in the service yard, so we didn't board the train until about 7:15. We left Union Station at approximately 7:35, 30 minutes late. The attendant for our sleeper was cordial and helpful, even though he was managing two sleepers for this trip. The train was completely sold out in both coach and in the sleepers, but the crew seemed to have it all well in hand.
Our sleeper car was not refurbished, but everything was in decent repair and very clean and comfortable. We were very pleasantly surprised by the Family Bedroom. We were expecting to feel cramped with the 5 of us in there, but we had plenty of room. Our children are 3, 5, and 7, so they don't take up all that much room yet.
Since we departed late, the dining car was behind the dinner reservation schedule. The children played in the room and my husband and I watched about an hour of a movie before they called us for our seating. I think we got to the dining car at 10 pm EDT. (It only felt like 9 to us, though!). The grownups ate Flat Iron steaks, and the children had macaroni and cheese. The dining car staff was very friendly, but not terribly efficient. I believe one of the guys was fairly new on the job, as the other one kept berating him for mistakes. Considering how late the train was, and how far behind the dinner schedule was, I thought they did a very nice job keeping everything moving. We all enjoyed our dinners and then headed back to our sleeper for the night.
Our beds weren't ready when we got back from dinner, but we took advantage of the extra room to get everybody into pjs and ready for bed. The sleeper attendant came very quickly when we hit the call button, and he got the room all set up for us for sleeping. My husband and 7 year old took the upper bunks, and my younger son took the child sized berth. My daughter and I shared the lower. We had plenty of room for everybody, but I found out that my tiny three year old is a blanket thief! How a 30 lb child can keep a full grown woman from having any blanket is beyond me! We all fell asleep as soon as we hit the beds, and the night passed peacefully.
We slept through all the stops and didn't wake up until we passed the Pennsylvania state line. We managed to make up most of the time we lost from our late departure by the time we got to Connellsville. Unfortunately, due to a CSX switching issue we got delayed again in the morning. We departed about 30 minutes late from that station.
We had an early breakfast -- Railroad French Toast all around. YUM! We then went to the Sightseer Lounge to look at the gorgeous scenery in West Virginia and Maryland. Surprisingly, even though the train was sold out leaving Chicago, the lounge was never crowded. There were seats available most of the time. After a while the kids got restless, so we took them back to our sleeper so that they could play games and watch some DVDs. I sat and looked out the window the rest of the trip. I was awed by the gorgeous views of the rivers and mountains. The small towns we went through were intriguing. I found myself wondering about the people who lived there. I think I want to go explore Harper's Ferry one day, it looks like there would be loads of things to explore there with the children.
Despite all the delays, we managed to get into Washington Union Station only 10 minutes late. None of us wanted to get off the train! We thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey. We disembarked and headed to the Acela lounge to wait for our 3:25 departure on the Northeast Regional. My husband went to pick up our bags while the children and I enjoyed some drinks and snacks.
The line waiting to board the Regional was LONG. We weren't sure how we were going to manage to get on the train with the kids and all the bags in that huge throng of people. A redcap must have noticed how perplexed we were, and he came over and grabbed two bags and told us to follow him. He got us on board the train first, so we were able to stow our bags and get seats together. We gave him $10 for saving us a major hardship. We were able to get a four seat set (two sets of chairs facing each other), my husband and I sat in one set, and the three children shared the other two. It seemed that every seat on the train was taken!
The ride on the Regional was uneventful, though the children got a kick out of all the industrial areas. We arrived in Trenton about 3 minutes late.
Overall, the entire trip was wonderful. We wanted to see how the kids did on 24 hour journey before we book a major rail vacation. I am thrilled that my husband and children had such a terrific time on the train. Everybody wants to do it again. Now I need to start saving some money so that we can head out west on the next trip!
Now it's time to figure out which trip we want to do: it's down to the California Zephyr or the Empire Builder . . . . We can't wait!
