My May/June Train Rides in Chicago and on the CONO
I was up in time for breakfast at The Hampton Inn, set in a very nice remodeled old building a block from the quarter and St Charles Street. It was going to be another very warm day. I checked out and they held my luggage for me at the front desk. So, I was off to ride street cars. It is $1.25 from end to end, $2.50 round trip. A bargain for a 2 hour ride.
St Charles Street is filled with beautiful old homes, most restored for a second time after Katrina. And, there was construction work going on with many of them, still. We passed a number of churches, a synagogue and Tulane University. The street cars run about every 5 - 10 minutes so it is east to get one when you need it. While there were a few of us tourist types, most were simply using it to get from point A to point B. They all seemed to have some type of transit car they showed the driver. Must have bee a monthly pass.
Anyway, I conversed with a couple of ladies from New Zealand. They were traveling across America and today was their day in New Orleans. I took their picture at the terminus and they took mine for me.
After arriving back downtown I walked over to the French Quarter, just to say I had been there. Not much going on at 11:30 in the AM, but a few folks walking around. It was becoming very warm, for me especially as I don't do heat and humidity well, so I found a little coffee shop and had some lunch. I then picked up my luggage and took a cab to the station.
They gave me the Magnolia Room code and I entered and found it was very nicely air conditioned. I had about an hour until we would board the train and there were only 4 other people in there with me. I set my laptop up on one of the tables and worked on editing pictures and video until it was time to board the northbound train.
They never did come and get us from the lounge. Another fellow happened to be looking out and saw the coach passengers lining up. He opened the door and yelled over to the attendant at the gate and he waved and said we could come board, now. Wonder how long we would have been there if that hadn't have happened?
I was again the first one up to the front of the train and JoEllen, our car attendant for the trip met me at the door. She asked if I needed help and I said I was fine, boarded, stowed my luggage on the lower level and easily found room 10. It looked just like room 5 but was on the other side of the car.
Just as the train was leaving the assistant conductor came by to collect tickets. A very nice young man who was friendly, wished me a good trip and said to call him if I needed any assistance. So, I asked, "are there any bedrooms available for an upgrade?" He said there was one and did I want it?
I said it depended on the price. He said, I'll go find out and be right back. 4 minutes later he was back and said $51.00. I said, I'll take it. The $51.00 was the exact difference between my low bucket roomette price and the low bucket bedroom price. So, that answered that question about what they charge on board - low bucket.
Since I really hadn't unpacked, I easily moved to Room E, my home for the rest of the trip. I would really enjoy the bigger bed this night. Everything was going fine, the room was nice and quiet and I soon learned that JoEllen would be one of the finest sleeping car attendants I had ever had on a train. Amtrak will hear about her from me.
She was always visible if you needed her, always asking if she could help with anything, she assisted in the dinning car and was so polite and simply a joy to converse with. We discussed several thinks Amtrak and I learned her choice about restarting service from NOL - Florida is the continuation of the CONO from Chicago to Jacksonville or Orlando with a stop, of course, in New Orleans. She had never worked the SSL so she didn't really have any comments about that service other than it should be daily. Again, as fine a sleeping car attendant as you will find with Amtrak.
By the time we reached Hammond we were 30 minutes down, McComb, 35 minutes down, Brookhaven, 40 minutes down. See a trend here? But, amazingly enough we reached Jackson on time.
Mid-afternoon the Café Car attendant came through and took reservations. We could choose from 5:00 - 6:30 - 7:45. I took 6:30 as I had had a late lunch. The sleeping car wasn't full so I figured they wouldn't run out of things. She said she would make an announcement at the time we were to come to the car for service.
5:00 came and no announcement. 5:15 came - still no announcement. Then I heard JoEllen moving up and down the car telling those with 5:00 to get to the Café Car. She seemed frustrated Debra, the Café Car attendant, hadn't made the announcement.
Near 6:30 JoEllen came by my room and said I should go eat as I had a 6:30 time. Never heard any other announcement for 6:30, either.
Then I found out why.
If JoEllen is the best sleeping car attendant, Debra must have been the worst Café Car attendant. When I came in there was one other couple in the seating area and Debra was sitting in "her" booth near the kitchen prep area. She waved to me indicating I could sit where I wanted. I ended up eating alone with the other couple across the aisle from me. I had met them before and we had some nice conversations. They like to take cruise ships and my wife and I do, too, so we had some things in common to discuss.
Debra finally got up and took our orders. The she sat down. Jo Ellen came in and served us our drinks and eventually our food when it was ready. Debra never got up again. I never did see the other car attendant and don't even know if there was one.
This would be the first time in my travels by LD train that I didn't leave a tip in the dining car. And, that would happen again at breakfast.
Now - this is interesting. Remember I said there were two tables being used for the 6:30 service, mine and the other couple across from me. A man and his little daughter had boarded the train after reservations were taken and they had a roomette. About 7:00 they wander into the Café Car and Debra, from her booth yells, "the next service is at 7:45, come back then." 6 - 8 tables empty, nothing else going on, a customer who didn't get to make a reservation, and he's "kicked" out of the car. Amtrak will hear about this.
After JoEllen cleared our dishes she asked if I wanted dessert. I had so enjoyed the pecan pie coming down so I asked for that again. I was told they were out of everything, including ice cream, except for cheese cake. So I had cheese cake. JoEllen said they always run out of the good stuff coming south and don't have enough for going north. The answer to that seems simple, load more of the good stuff on the train to begin with if you consistently run out of it.
I would mention I had the Flat Iron Steak and it was very tender, tasty and I could cut it with a fork.
Now - we had other problems with Debra, too. She was continually letting coach passengers come into the sleeping car. It was, at first, under the pretext of, we need to visit someone. There were coach passengers in and out all the time in the afternoon. Finally JoEllen put a stop to it and I also ran some out, threating to get the conductor involved. Amtrak will hear about this.
JoEllen made my room up about 9:00 and I enjoyed the bigger bed and slept well all night with no rattle next to me. But, I walked back by room 5 in the afternoon once and could hear it. They had said they would fix it in NOL, but they didn't.
I had my usual scrambled eggs for breakfast the service from Debra was even worse than the night before. Guess who served my breakfast to me - the cook!
He was bringing things up and serving the passengers, in his T shirt. I won't go on anymore about food service.
We stopped in Kankakee for 5 seconds and left, 5 minutes early.
Homewood was early and we arrived in CUS almost 30 minutes early. The view from the High Line was very nice.
I had a reservation for the 10:20 Hiawatha to see forum member RTabern, who I had met a number of years ago at the Beech Grove facility tour. We would have lunch together and I would then get back to Chicago and out to the airport as I was flying home the next day.
Robert boarded my train at the Airport stop and we traveled together the short distance to downtown Milwaukee. We then walked to the city market for a nice lunch, had a chance to catch up and then back to the station for the 3:00 departure. Robert would ride to the airport and get off there as he lives close to that station.
While in the station we learned the EB was running late and would arrive just minutes before we were to leave. And, it did. They unloaded that train faster than I have ever seen and they were gone at 2:59. We left at 3:00 and it was a race to Chicago. We actually overtook that train before we reached the airport, but as we stopped there, it overtook us and was in Chicago about 5-10 minutes before we arrived.
What a mass of confusion on the north side of the terminal. The EB and our train unloading. Baggage trams all over the place, and three Metra trains trying to board at rush hour to leave on time.
I went to the lounge and reclaimed my luggage and headed down Clinton to the Blue Line station. No bus bridge today so I was safe. I boarded and found a seat at the rear of the car that even had a place to park my bag so it wasn't in anyone's way. Amazingly enough the train was never very full all the way out to O'Hare.
A good night's sleep and a good flight back to IND completed a week of riding trains so I have had my fill until Boston in October, Hope to see all of you there.
I will have one addition post with picture and video links as soon as I get them all processed.
Thanks for reading.
