To celebrate my successful Back Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, I proposed to my wife a round trip train trip from our home station of Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to visit a friend. I booked the trip at the end of 2014 as my wife insists on Bedroom accommodations, and we were ready to begin our trip on May 17, 2015. Our neighbor took us from our Steubenville, Ohio home to the Pittsburgh Station, allowing extra time for highway construction on the Parkway West into Pittsburgh. We arrived at the Station about 8:30 pm for the 11:59 pm departure on the Capitol Limited, our doorway to travel westward on Amtrak. The poor Pittsburgh Station is having some sort of entrance doorway repairs as well as ceiling repairs on the platform level. Otherwise it looks okay, especially for a station servicing just one thru train per day, and the Pennsylvanian which terminates in Pittsburgh.
There were about 30 people waiting to transfer to the Capitol Limited to continue west. I love to watch the station activity, my wife is less excited at sitting and waiting for the likely-late train. About 10:00 pm, my cell phone jingled with a text from Amtrak saying that Train 29 was expected at 12:20 am due to freight traffic. Within a couple minutes, an announcement was made in the station with the same information. Within the hour, another message on both my phone and the station PA revised the time to 12:10 am. The reality was an arrival shortly after Midnight.
My wife and I went to the 2901 car and stood at the open door with another lady, wondering if anyone would arrive to guide us into the Sleeping Car, and shortly the Conductor met us and told us where our rooms were located. We went to Room B to find it occupied, when the car attendant appeared and looked at our eTicket. She pounded on the closed door and the occupant showed her their ticket to which the attendant exclaimed, "You are supposed to be in Room D!" Since we were both going to Chicago, the attendant took us to Room D and told us we could have it instead, an easy way to solve the problem.
We took off into the night shortly following the Ohio River. My wife was asleep, while I watched the towns pass by into Ohio until we stopped abruptly short of Cleveland and waited for 2 freight trains to pass. Dawn emerged past Toledo, and we went to the dining car since the Capitol Ltd. had a CCC (Cross Country Cafe) car for a dining car limiting the seating to half a diner, and I knew a backlog would appear. In addition the other end of the CCC was jammed as it was being used to sell snacks otherwise done on the lower level of the Lounge Car. By 7:00 am, a wait list had been started for the limited seats in the CCC car, although like all of this train trip, the staff were pleasant and cordial in the dining car, despite being overworked.
The food on our entire trip was excellent, but it was the SAME on all four trains that we traveled. The Capitol Limited stopped in the Gary, Indiana area for an hour due to Norfolk Southern track work, where a third track was being added. We arrived at Chicago Union Station about 11:00 am, 2 1/2 hours late but not impacting our trip as we were staying overnight at the Holiday Inn Suites near the station. A Red Cap took us to the Metropolitan Lounge where we rested until mid-afternoon. After a lunch at the Metro Cafe, unaware that our favorite restaurant was only a couple weeks away from closing, we boarded a taxi for the hotel and as my wife says, "a bed that doesn't flop around."
We returned to Chicago Union Station the next day, had lunch, and awaited for the departure of the California Zephyr. About 1:30 pm, those needing Red Cap service were instructed to come to the front of the lounge where the open doors awaited us. The lounge attendant barked, "If you are waiting for Red Cap service, wait inside the doors." I relocated myself inside the doors and the attendant walked right up to me and said, "Did you understand my instructions?" Thinking that to be a silly comment to a 61 year old man, I responded "Yes" and turned my head. It was the only nasty comment I heard during our entire trip.
My wife and I were in Car 0532, Room B on Train 5, which seemed to be a renovated Superliner 1 Sleeper, that had more squeaks than any car I have recently occupied. I always bring Book Tape, which seems better than Duct Tape, and I went about silencing whichever noises I could. Then we could concentrate on the scenery that unfolded in front of us. We arrived in Omaha late in the evening, and I looked at the former Burlington Station being converted to a TV station. I love to peek out the window at each stop, the landscape changed across the Plains as we arrived into Denver only a little late. Our train would detour through Wyoming due to track work by Union Pacific in Colorado, and though some on the train were upset at missing the canyons, we enjoyed the new scenery on the way to Salt Lake City. A snow storm, and herds of buffalo delighted our eyes along this portion of the trip! Darkness came by the time we got to Ogden and Salt Lake City was a destination where we backed into the station early! We were tired and went to sleep as the train passed over the salt flat and the barren lands into Nevada.
Part 2 will follow.
There were about 30 people waiting to transfer to the Capitol Limited to continue west. I love to watch the station activity, my wife is less excited at sitting and waiting for the likely-late train. About 10:00 pm, my cell phone jingled with a text from Amtrak saying that Train 29 was expected at 12:20 am due to freight traffic. Within a couple minutes, an announcement was made in the station with the same information. Within the hour, another message on both my phone and the station PA revised the time to 12:10 am. The reality was an arrival shortly after Midnight.
My wife and I went to the 2901 car and stood at the open door with another lady, wondering if anyone would arrive to guide us into the Sleeping Car, and shortly the Conductor met us and told us where our rooms were located. We went to Room B to find it occupied, when the car attendant appeared and looked at our eTicket. She pounded on the closed door and the occupant showed her their ticket to which the attendant exclaimed, "You are supposed to be in Room D!" Since we were both going to Chicago, the attendant took us to Room D and told us we could have it instead, an easy way to solve the problem.
We took off into the night shortly following the Ohio River. My wife was asleep, while I watched the towns pass by into Ohio until we stopped abruptly short of Cleveland and waited for 2 freight trains to pass. Dawn emerged past Toledo, and we went to the dining car since the Capitol Ltd. had a CCC (Cross Country Cafe) car for a dining car limiting the seating to half a diner, and I knew a backlog would appear. In addition the other end of the CCC was jammed as it was being used to sell snacks otherwise done on the lower level of the Lounge Car. By 7:00 am, a wait list had been started for the limited seats in the CCC car, although like all of this train trip, the staff were pleasant and cordial in the dining car, despite being overworked.
The food on our entire trip was excellent, but it was the SAME on all four trains that we traveled. The Capitol Limited stopped in the Gary, Indiana area for an hour due to Norfolk Southern track work, where a third track was being added. We arrived at Chicago Union Station about 11:00 am, 2 1/2 hours late but not impacting our trip as we were staying overnight at the Holiday Inn Suites near the station. A Red Cap took us to the Metropolitan Lounge where we rested until mid-afternoon. After a lunch at the Metro Cafe, unaware that our favorite restaurant was only a couple weeks away from closing, we boarded a taxi for the hotel and as my wife says, "a bed that doesn't flop around."
We returned to Chicago Union Station the next day, had lunch, and awaited for the departure of the California Zephyr. About 1:30 pm, those needing Red Cap service were instructed to come to the front of the lounge where the open doors awaited us. The lounge attendant barked, "If you are waiting for Red Cap service, wait inside the doors." I relocated myself inside the doors and the attendant walked right up to me and said, "Did you understand my instructions?" Thinking that to be a silly comment to a 61 year old man, I responded "Yes" and turned my head. It was the only nasty comment I heard during our entire trip.
My wife and I were in Car 0532, Room B on Train 5, which seemed to be a renovated Superliner 1 Sleeper, that had more squeaks than any car I have recently occupied. I always bring Book Tape, which seems better than Duct Tape, and I went about silencing whichever noises I could. Then we could concentrate on the scenery that unfolded in front of us. We arrived in Omaha late in the evening, and I looked at the former Burlington Station being converted to a TV station. I love to peek out the window at each stop, the landscape changed across the Plains as we arrived into Denver only a little late. Our train would detour through Wyoming due to track work by Union Pacific in Colorado, and though some on the train were upset at missing the canyons, we enjoyed the new scenery on the way to Salt Lake City. A snow storm, and herds of buffalo delighted our eyes along this portion of the trip! Darkness came by the time we got to Ogden and Salt Lake City was a destination where we backed into the station early! We were tired and went to sleep as the train passed over the salt flat and the barren lands into Nevada.
Part 2 will follow.
