Dovecote
OBS Chief
My wife and I just completed a trip from JAX to MSP. This trip consisted of taking trains on the Silver Meteor, Capitol Limited, and the Empire Builder. The travel was on an AGR redemption award with roomettes on each train.
The first leg of the trip on the SM was spent in car #9810 roomette #1. The train arrived a few minutes late but was able to leave on time. Will was our room attendant who was of the quiet type but efficient none the less. He acquired a dinner reservation for us and within an hour we were in the dining car. The dining car steward for our meal was Bustamante and our server was Renolia. The service was a little slow but when you are traveling on a long distance train trip, who cares? My meal selection was the crab cake seafood special while my wife chose baked chicken. The crab cakes as usual was a good choice. My wife found the chicken dry. Our seating companion was a writer who was traveling to Topeka. We had an interesting conversation during the meal. Unlike my routing on the CL to CHI, our seating mate was routed on the Lake Shore Limited to CHI.
Will provided turn down service around 9:00 PM. We both slept rather poorly. This is typical for us on the first night of the trip but it did not help that the ride was very rough. I did not recall it being a rough ride on prior SM trips or when on the Silver Star. The train ride was on time during the night. Will forewarned us the prior evening to show up at 6:30 AM for breakfast. He was concerned that if we arrived any later to the dining car that we may not have enough time to eat before the train arrived in WAS. We heeded Will's advice and arrived on time when the dining car opened at 6:30. Our seating companions were a retired couple from Seattle traveling home with a side trip to NYP to visit family. The breakfast service was a little faster than dinner. We had enough time to return to our room and pack our belongings for our exit in WAS. Upon our exit, we proceeded to the Club Acela lounge for our next leg of the trip.
Since we arrived about 15 minutes early into WAS we had more than an 8 hour layover for the CL departure. I decided to take a quick AGR points run on a Northeast Regional train from WAS to BWI. I made two one way trips at the ticket counter to assure adding two one-hundred point trips to my rail point total. My departure out of WAS on train #184 was at 9:25 AM. I asked the attendant in the CA lounge if I could board the train from the lounge. Surprisingly the agent said yes after she confirmed that the track was adjacent to the lounge. I walked out of the lounge fifteen mintes prior to departure with the pre-boarding passengers. The train arrived on time in BWI and I proceeded to the station to wait for my return trip in an hour. While waiting for the return trip, I noticed that the trains from the north to WAS were delayed by at least an hour. My particular train was estimated to be 90 minutes late. I opted to return to WAS via MARC train service since I had a lunch engagement with my wife and a former MARC commuter friend. The MARC train arrived in WAS on time and I proceeded across the station to the Capital City Brewery for lunch. After lunch my wife shopped in the station while I took a snooze in the lounge. We departed from the lounge to the train about 20 minutes prior to the deparature.
The second leg of our trip on the CL was spent in car #2901 roomette #8. Thom was our room attendant who was efficient as Will but had a much more outgoing personality. He normally runs the Cardinal route but on this occasion he was subbing for another attendant. I quizzed Thom on the Cardinal route and he was very informative. On a side note, Thom mentioned that "real soon" the Cardinal will become a daily service and add another sleeper car along with a diner (to replace the exisiting diner/lounge car) and an observation car. I asked Thom what "real soon" means and he vaguely responded that it is anyone's guess. Joanne, our dining car steward, stopped by our room after departing Rockville to offer us a dinner reservation. We chose the first seating at 5:00 PM and was seated with a mother/daughter duo from Delaware going to CHI. I had the Tilapia seafood special while my wife selected the baked chicken. Both meals were a little dry. The service was faster than our previous trip. Brad was our server who was of the quiet type. He appeared to be a new employee and Joanne was carefully watching him. He was efficient and we wish him the best.
Thom provided turn down service around 8:30 PM. We both slept better than the night before and the ride was much smoother. We lost time during the night and we were able to sleep a little later than usual. Our breakfast was uneventful and we dined by ourselves. The train arrived in CHI around 10:00 AM about 75 minutes late. Upon our exit, we proceeded to the Metropolitan Lounge. Once in the lounge we immediately staked our seats in the back to watch the Wisconsin-Michigan football game. We met a fellow Wisconsin fan from Cushing, WI who lived close to my wife's family. The game was exciting to watch and we were happy with the results.
On our final leg of our trip we were located in the Portland bound sleeper car#2730 roomette #14. Since being assigned in the Portland sleeper, I specifically asked for a lower level room since the MSP coach car would be behind car #2730. Choosing a lower level room would avoid seeing and hearing the hall traffic of coach passengers traveling through the sleeping car. Our room attendant was Joel and shortly after we departed CHI he offered us either champagne or apple cider. We chose the apple cider and enjoyed it with mixed nuts that we brought along with us. After leaving Glenview our dining car steward Kristina came by to assign us a time for dinner. Although already offering Seattle sleeper passengers reservations first, we were able to get our preferred 5:30 PM reservation. Sitting with us was the Badger fan from Cushing and a gentlemen from Lacrosse. My wife and I decided to try the steak selection and we were not disappointed. Rudy was our server who was a gruff individual but tolerable none the less. Serving the meal on china was a nice touch compared to our other evening meals served on plastic on the other trains.
Our train arrived a few minutes into MSP. We were greeted with a nasty sleet storm which made it difficult to walk to the station. The wait for our luggage was a short one. The drive to my wife's sister home in nearby Anoka was a nail biter. Numerous wrecks were on the road due to the sleet and frozen roadways. We did arrive safe and look forward to the days ahead spending time with the family.
Until next trip,
Dovecote
The first leg of the trip on the SM was spent in car #9810 roomette #1. The train arrived a few minutes late but was able to leave on time. Will was our room attendant who was of the quiet type but efficient none the less. He acquired a dinner reservation for us and within an hour we were in the dining car. The dining car steward for our meal was Bustamante and our server was Renolia. The service was a little slow but when you are traveling on a long distance train trip, who cares? My meal selection was the crab cake seafood special while my wife chose baked chicken. The crab cakes as usual was a good choice. My wife found the chicken dry. Our seating companion was a writer who was traveling to Topeka. We had an interesting conversation during the meal. Unlike my routing on the CL to CHI, our seating mate was routed on the Lake Shore Limited to CHI.
Will provided turn down service around 9:00 PM. We both slept rather poorly. This is typical for us on the first night of the trip but it did not help that the ride was very rough. I did not recall it being a rough ride on prior SM trips or when on the Silver Star. The train ride was on time during the night. Will forewarned us the prior evening to show up at 6:30 AM for breakfast. He was concerned that if we arrived any later to the dining car that we may not have enough time to eat before the train arrived in WAS. We heeded Will's advice and arrived on time when the dining car opened at 6:30. Our seating companions were a retired couple from Seattle traveling home with a side trip to NYP to visit family. The breakfast service was a little faster than dinner. We had enough time to return to our room and pack our belongings for our exit in WAS. Upon our exit, we proceeded to the Club Acela lounge for our next leg of the trip.
Since we arrived about 15 minutes early into WAS we had more than an 8 hour layover for the CL departure. I decided to take a quick AGR points run on a Northeast Regional train from WAS to BWI. I made two one way trips at the ticket counter to assure adding two one-hundred point trips to my rail point total. My departure out of WAS on train #184 was at 9:25 AM. I asked the attendant in the CA lounge if I could board the train from the lounge. Surprisingly the agent said yes after she confirmed that the track was adjacent to the lounge. I walked out of the lounge fifteen mintes prior to departure with the pre-boarding passengers. The train arrived on time in BWI and I proceeded to the station to wait for my return trip in an hour. While waiting for the return trip, I noticed that the trains from the north to WAS were delayed by at least an hour. My particular train was estimated to be 90 minutes late. I opted to return to WAS via MARC train service since I had a lunch engagement with my wife and a former MARC commuter friend. The MARC train arrived in WAS on time and I proceeded across the station to the Capital City Brewery for lunch. After lunch my wife shopped in the station while I took a snooze in the lounge. We departed from the lounge to the train about 20 minutes prior to the deparature.
The second leg of our trip on the CL was spent in car #2901 roomette #8. Thom was our room attendant who was efficient as Will but had a much more outgoing personality. He normally runs the Cardinal route but on this occasion he was subbing for another attendant. I quizzed Thom on the Cardinal route and he was very informative. On a side note, Thom mentioned that "real soon" the Cardinal will become a daily service and add another sleeper car along with a diner (to replace the exisiting diner/lounge car) and an observation car. I asked Thom what "real soon" means and he vaguely responded that it is anyone's guess. Joanne, our dining car steward, stopped by our room after departing Rockville to offer us a dinner reservation. We chose the first seating at 5:00 PM and was seated with a mother/daughter duo from Delaware going to CHI. I had the Tilapia seafood special while my wife selected the baked chicken. Both meals were a little dry. The service was faster than our previous trip. Brad was our server who was of the quiet type. He appeared to be a new employee and Joanne was carefully watching him. He was efficient and we wish him the best.
Thom provided turn down service around 8:30 PM. We both slept better than the night before and the ride was much smoother. We lost time during the night and we were able to sleep a little later than usual. Our breakfast was uneventful and we dined by ourselves. The train arrived in CHI around 10:00 AM about 75 minutes late. Upon our exit, we proceeded to the Metropolitan Lounge. Once in the lounge we immediately staked our seats in the back to watch the Wisconsin-Michigan football game. We met a fellow Wisconsin fan from Cushing, WI who lived close to my wife's family. The game was exciting to watch and we were happy with the results.
On our final leg of our trip we were located in the Portland bound sleeper car#2730 roomette #14. Since being assigned in the Portland sleeper, I specifically asked for a lower level room since the MSP coach car would be behind car #2730. Choosing a lower level room would avoid seeing and hearing the hall traffic of coach passengers traveling through the sleeping car. Our room attendant was Joel and shortly after we departed CHI he offered us either champagne or apple cider. We chose the apple cider and enjoyed it with mixed nuts that we brought along with us. After leaving Glenview our dining car steward Kristina came by to assign us a time for dinner. Although already offering Seattle sleeper passengers reservations first, we were able to get our preferred 5:30 PM reservation. Sitting with us was the Badger fan from Cushing and a gentlemen from Lacrosse. My wife and I decided to try the steak selection and we were not disappointed. Rudy was our server who was a gruff individual but tolerable none the less. Serving the meal on china was a nice touch compared to our other evening meals served on plastic on the other trains.
Our train arrived a few minutes into MSP. We were greeted with a nasty sleet storm which made it difficult to walk to the station. The wait for our luggage was a short one. The drive to my wife's sister home in nearby Anoka was a nail biter. Numerous wrecks were on the road due to the sleet and frozen roadways. We did arrive safe and look forward to the days ahead spending time with the family.
Until next trip,
Dovecote
