Amtrak Travelogue - Amtrak Travelogue by Steve Grande
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Amtrak Travelogue by Steve Grande
TrainWeb.com/stevelog/sg970621.htm
Note: This rail travelogue was accidentally deleted and lost for many years. We managed to
recover it in late 2010 from archives and re-post it to TrainWeb.com. These are some of my
earliest rail travels and travel writings. My experience and understanding of Amtrak and
other rail operations was quite a bit less than today and my writing style may have been a
bit less experienced back then. So please pardon any problems that you might find in these
earlier rail travel reports. A number of these earlier reports also have few or no photos
or very small photos which was intentional to reduce download time during the early days of
the web when almost everyone had slow dial-up connections to the internet!
Steve's Summer 1997 Rail Journey
Third Segment
Amtrak Cardinal
Saturday through Sunday, June. 21 - 22, 1997
Steve's Summer 1997 Rail Journey - Third Segment: Travel on the
Amtrak Cardinal from Chicago to Washington,D.C.
Click here if this is the first time you
have ever read one of my travelogues.
After returning to Chicago from my two trips on the Chicago METRA system,
I decided to get something to eat. The last meal that I had was at the
first seating for breakfast on the Lake Shore Limited at 6:30 in the
morning! Thus, it had been almost 12 hours since my last meal. I was
guessing that dinner would not be served on the train since travel doesn't
start until 8:10 P.M. Even if dinner would be served, I didn't want to
hold out for a few more hours.
I went up to the mezzanine level where there is a food court with many
places to eat, including a McDonalds. The first trip that I made to
Union Station in Chicago, I didn't know of the existence of the Food
Court! I waited until I got to my hotel and paid a lot more for dinner
than necessary. If this is your first time in Chicago, just look around
and follow the signs. Not every stairway and escalator that goes up goes
to the mezzanine, some just go to exits.
I looked around at all the options and decided on the Pizza place since
Chicago is famous for their Deep Dish Pizzas. They sold 7 inch personal
deep dish pizzas. That plus a bottle of water cost me less than $5.
However, I wouldn't recommend judging the fine pizzas available in Chicago
on the pizzas sold here. The Pizza was delivered very quickly and was
good, but I've had much better Chicago Pizzas.
After I finished eating, I went to a store just outside of the grand hall
downstairs and purchased a tote bag. I had accumulated more stuff
than I could conveniently carry in the two bags that I had brought
with me. That cost me less than $8. Then, I retrieved my large roller
suitcase from the locker area. That ended up costing my $4.50 to have
stored my suitcase there all day. I reshuffled everything so that the
items that I needed immediately were in the two light carry-on bags
and the items that I wouldn't need until much later on the train were
in my big roller suitcase.
I then rolled my way into the Metropolitan Lounge. The lounge was more
crowded than it has ever been! There were only a few empty seats and it
was full of people everywhere! Several trains were running very late.
The biggest problem was the City of New Orleans that was suppose to
leave Chicago at 7:50 P.M. Under Amtrak's new plan, that is now the
same train as the Empire Builder. The Empire Builder was suppose to have
arrived into Chicago at 3:50 P.M. Since it hadn't arrived yet, and it
was already after 6:00 P.M, there was no train in Chicago to be the
City of New Orleans! Once it did arrive, I'm sure it would need to be
fueled and have other housekeeping done. They would hurry to make up
some of the time, but they didn't expect the train to leave Chicago much
before midnight, at least 4 hours late.
Many people in the lounge were waiting for that train. Amtrak was giving
everyone credits so they could go eat dinner somewhere since dinner was
suppose to be served on that train. They also set up a room with free
phones so people could notify anyone waiting for them of the late status.
A man in front of me was given a credit for $20 for dinner. I don't know
if that was just for him, for he and his wife, for a whole family. I
suspect it was just for him since I heard him complain the the Lounge
Attendant that you can't even get a hamburger for $20 around here. The
Lounge Attendant sort of agreed with him and told him where to write if
he felt the compensatin wasn't fair. If $20 was just for himself, that
seems quite fair as the dinner in the Dining Car usually doesn't add up
to more than that. If the $20 was for more then one person, then he may
have a case. Technically, Amtrak should be re-imbursing people for the
most they could have spent in the Dining Car since that is what was missed
due to Amtrak's fault and of no fault to the traveler. If the $20 was just
for him, I could have assured him that he could get a hamburger for much
less than $20 at the McDonalds upstairs or any of the better restaurants
in the building.
In Chicago, you check into the Metropolitan Lounge and they give you a
"Boarding Pass" with your train number, car number and bedroom number
written on it. They then give you these round stickers with your train
number, ask you to put the stickers on your luggage, and place your luggage
in a holding pen in view of the front desk. Each train has its own color
sticker with the number of the train. Nobody will take your luggage from
this area. You are expected to retrieve your luggage and bring it on board
as carry-on luggage yourself, or you can get "Red Cap" assistance when your
train is boarding. If you want your bags to go into the checked baggage
area, you have to tell them that. I almost never check my bags and instead,
just carry them onboard with me.
I was having some difficulty finding a place to sit in the lounge near
an electrical outlet where I could plug in my notebook computer. This
is the one Metropolitan Lounge that does not have a computer work desk
area. When I'm in Chicago, I just sit by a lamp or a fan. There is
usually an extra outlet there. If not, I come prepared with my extension
cords to branch off the outlet the lamp or fan is plugged into. By the
time I was able to get a seat near an outlet, it was too late to set up
my computer. Sure enough, as soon as I sat down, I was called to board
our train!
I was in Car Number 5000, that is, Car 00 of Train 50. I always find it
weird to be in a car that is numbered "00". I've heard them refer to
the 0331 Car on the Southwest Cheif as the "thirty-one" car and the
0311 Car as the "eleven" car. What do they call this, the "zero" car?
The fist sleeper was 5010, so I kept on going. The second one was my
5000 car. I was the second one to board. The people in front of me put
a couple of suitcases in the rack and went direct to the Family Room.
They must be experienced riders! I put my suitcase on the rack and
headed up the stairs. I paused before reaching the top. Our Sleeping
Car Attendant was busy putting ice into the refrigerator drawer.
Refrigerator drawer? Yes! It is a Superliner 2 Car ... the only
Superliners that currently have a refrigerator in the Sleeping Car.
That draw is located directly under the Coffeemaker. If you can't
find it, then you are probably in a Superliner 1 and not a Superliner 2
Sleeping Car.
Following me was a whole family with several small children. They had 3
Standard Bedrooms.
The Car Attendant came through, introduced himself and explained a few
things. The Dining Car Steward then came by taking reservation. I made
mine for 8:10 P.M., not even realizing that was the departure time of
the train! So I guessed wrong. They are serving dinner on the train. I
guess not everyone opts to have it this late though. Usually they just
ask what time you want to have dinner. This time they asked: "Will you
be joining us for dinner this evening?"
I was going to pass on dinner as I wasn't too excited about a tray meal.
The schedule and all the literature said that the Cardinal DOES NOT have
a Dining Car and that First Class Service includes complimentary tray
meal service. However, the Dining Car Steward assured me that we have a
real Dining Car on this train and it is the next car forward! I asked if
that was new and how long they had the Diner on the train. He said this
was only the fourth trip of this train with a Dining Car! Thus, I guess
I was just in time for another new experience. I couldn't turn down the
opportunity and made my reservation for 8:10 P.M.
In the Dining Car, I asked our waiter if he had been doing tray service
before or if he came with the Dining Car. He said that he along with the
other Dining Car staff including the cooks came to this train with the
Dining Car. He reconfirmed that this was only the fourth trip of the
Dining Car with this train. They didn't quite have everything set up yet.
There were no menus and they didn't have the food order forms. Instead,
they used the forms that had been used to order meal trays. The menu
on the form didn't apply, but they had us sign the bottom of the form
since they had no other forms for us to sign. Our server told us what
selections were available. They had Beef Burgundy, some type of Lemon
Pepper Chicken and a Vegetable Lasagne. I really wanted to try the
Beef Burgundy, but didn't think I could eat that heavy since I just ate
a pizza a few hours ago. Thus, I opted for the Vegetable Lasagne.
Although the food was cooked from scratch just like in any other Amtrak
Dining Car, it was served on plastic plates on a tray. The silverware
was made of plastic and came wrapped in plastic along with a napkin. I'm
sure the plates and silverware came from a stockpile they have from their
days of mealtrays. I asked our server and he said they'd be phasing in real
silverware and glasses soon, but didn't think the plates would be coming
anytime soon. That isn't good. When food is served to people looking
like a TV dinner, then it puts the idea in their heads that it is a TV dinner
like the airlines. I saw the Steward go around and explain to several
people how the food is all freshly prepared downstairs in the galley.
That wouldn't be necessary if it was served on china like it is served
in all the other Dining Cars. Other than that, I thought the food was
quite good.
I had ordered wine. He served it to me in a small clear plastic wine cup.
I was wondering if they were going to charge me the usual $3 for this as
I could tell it was about half the amount that comes in the small bottles.
But, my fears were soon put to rest as he brought me another glass of wine
to replace the first glass I had finished. When I was about to leave, he
brought be what looked like a cup of coffee "to go". I couldn't understand
why he did this since I didn't mention I wanted coffee, but then I realized
this was probably more of the wine! He said it was included with my room
so he brought me more to take back with me. I don't know how much wine I
drank in total, but his travelogue seems to be a bit easy to write than
the one of the Lake Shore Limited!
While we were eating, some kids threw rocks at the train and one hit our
window with a really loud "Thud!" Fortunately, the glass did not break,
but it really startled everyone around us. I can almost understand kids
throwing rocks to see if they can hit a freight train, but only idiots
would throw rocks at a passenger train. I guess they are the same type
of kids that drop rocks from bridges onto highways. It was only a year
or two ago that an infant was killed by such a rock that came through
the windshield. Only once before in all my thousands of miles of train
travel have I ever seen kids throwing rocks at a passenger train and this
is the first time I have ever had one hit my window.
The gal across from me had traveled this route before and said that she
saw some people buy souveniers. After diner, I went down to the Cafe to
see what they might have for souvniers. They had a "Cardinal" cap which
I purchased. They also had a plastic mug from the "Capitol". Although not
a souvenier of this train, I decided to buy it anyway in case they don't
have them on the Capitol. I also purchased an interesting set of Amtrak
collector postcards.
The train has stopped across a couple of grade crossings, but I'm not sure
why. This could have been the "Rensselaer, Indiana" station, but no
announcement was made and I didn't see anything. In any case, we are on
our way again at 10:07 P.M. "Rensselaer, Indiana" was suppose to have
been at 9:52 P.M. and no announcement about that station has been made
yet.
If you like your room cool, but are annoyed by the air blowing at you,
then try to adjust the vents. I don't recommend trying to adjust the
room temperature with the thermostat. If you like it cool, the best thing
to do is to leaving it on maximum cool. Depending on the preferences of
the Car Attendant and other passengers, setting the dial to maximum cool
will have varrying success. I figure leaving it all the way to maximum
cool will give you all the cool you will ever get in your room without
trying to convince the Car Attendant to set the overall car temperature
lower. Adjusting the vents will point the cool air in a different direction
without reducing the amount of cool air pouring into your room.
That was "Rensselaer"! I heard them talking on the scanner. No sooner did
the train stop that the "highball!" was immediately given. I guess there
was nobody to drop off or pick up at that stop, so we were immediately
back on our way. Looks like we are already running about 30 minutes late.
That isn't off to a good start. We never paused anywhere, but we had to
move very slow for a long time while we were on our way out of Chicago.
In worst case, I think that will just mean there will be more daylight
for sights in the morning.
The Sleeping Car Attendant just came through at 11 P.M. and asked what time
I'd like my bed made. Obviously, he'd like to turn in sometime too. I told
him that I wasn't sure, but having done over 34,000 miles on Amtrak last
year, I've at least learned how to make the bed myself. I told him not to
worry about it and I'll take care of it myself when I'm ready to turn in.
I wish there was a polite way to say: "Don't worry, it won't affect your
tip. This is my choice." If I haven't gotten friendly with the Car
Attendant by evening, I sometimes sense something from the Car Attendant.
Sort of like what you get from a bellman when you tell him you don't need
any help with your bags.
We just went to a crawl. The Detector reported "No Defects" so I'm not sure
why we are going so slow. There is nothing being reported on the scanner.
Saturday, 11:16 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time), 06/21/97, Lafayette, IN
We dropped off at least one person here. There was very lound country music
outside my window. Over the radio, I heard the Dispatcher warning a freight
train to be extra cautious as he takes the train through the plaza. I guess
they must have some people and some event going on in Lafayette this
evening.
Uh, oh! The Detector says: "Mile Post 143.7, First Dragging Equipment at
axle 001. Total axles 040." They stopped the train. The Conductor said it
must be at the engine. The Engineer got out to look at the problem. He
must have found it pretty quick because we were back on our way in less
than 2 minutes!
Saturday, 11:50 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time), 06/21/97, Crawfordsville, IN
The Conductor told the Engineer that 3 people are suppose to be getting on
here. I guess the Engineer say a whole crowd at the station and told the
Conductor that there were a lot more than 3 at the station. After we took
off, the Conductor told the Engineer that the rest of the crowd were all
"well wishers."
It looks like the next stop isn't going to be until Indianapolis and that
is over 90 minutes from now ... about 1:30 in the morning. I've got to
get some sleep if I want to get up a sunrise. Plus, we are in an area
of Indiana that observes Eastern Standard Time instead of Eastern Daylight
Savings Time. Thus, it is the same as Central Time at this time of the year.
By morning, we will be into Eastern Time and it will be an hour later. Thus,
going to bed now will actually be like going to bed at about 1 A.M.! Not a
good time to go to bed when I want to get up early!
Channel 8 - 160.230 - Detector: about 5:00 A.M. (EDT)
Sunday, 7:43 A.M. (Eastern Time), 06/22/97, near Marysville, KY
We are going right down the middle of the street in some small town. We
are just a few feet from the front of some homes. Some are so close that
I am willing to be they are less than 20 feet from the tracks! The
town might be Buena Vista. That is what the engineer called the signal
location.
I awoke about 5:00 A.M. this morning, an hour before I really wanted to
get up. There was very loud rapping on a door. It was so loud, I thought
it was my door. I didn't know why the Car Attendant would be trying to
wake me up since I didn't ask for a wake-up call. Actually, it was the
family in the rooms next to mine. The parents were trying to wake up the
kids that were in the other two bedrooms. The rapping was so loud, they
probably woke up the entire car. I assume they must be getting off at the
next stop.
I think I fell back to sleep for a short while before waking again at
just before 6:30 A.M. This time I got up and got dressed. I unplugged
my notebook computer and clock and put them away. I then pushed the
"PUSH TO CALL" Attendant button to make my bed and headed for the
restroom. Before I could even return to my room, they announced that
the Diner was full for breakfast! They are only using half of the Diner
so it doesn't take many people to fill it up. I think they only have one
one server so it makes sense that they can only open half of the diner.
(07:53 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - Garrison
(07:55 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - East End Garrison
(07:57 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - MP 561
The second call for breakfast was made at about 8:00 AM and I headed
right down. Because the Diner is new on this car and hasn't been fully
supplied, the breakfast options were limited to scrambled eggs with
bacon or sausage or a bowl of Honey-Nut Cherio cereal. Orange juice and
coffee was also served with that. Like last night, the meal was served
in plastic dishes with plastic silverware on trays. The coffee was brought
to the table in paper coffee cups and we were given plastic cups into
which we could pour the coffee.
All four people had access to the internet. One had made their
reservation for this trip on the Internet. Thus, I handed out my
"http://trainweb.com" card to everyone! One person at the table
was on his way to Huntington, West Virginia. He had just been hired
by CSX to do signal work and was going to Huntington for his first week
of training. He'd be starting work in Chicago in about a week or so. He
wasn't a railfan so he didn't have too much knowledge of the work that
he would be doing but he knew the benefits would be good and it sounded
like work he would like. This was his first trip on Amtrak and he
really liked the experience of travel by train. CSX paid for everything,
including a room in the Sleeping Car!
Sunday, 8:49 A.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, near So.Portsmouth-So.Shore, KY
We are in a large CSX freight yard with many tracks. They are fueling our
locomotives. We've been here for quite some time. We finished fueling and
left the yard at 8:55 A.M.
For much of our journey this morning we have been traveling through lush
green countryside occassionally passing small towns. It doesn't seem to
be raining now, but it has obviously been raining earlier as everything
outside is quite wet. The Ohio River has also been on the left side of
the train for quite a while.
Sunday, 9:11 A.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, Catlettsburg, KY
Leaving Catletssburg right on time! Shortly after Catlettsburg, we
went through a town on elevated tracks and then crossed a bridge which
I believe went over the Ohio River.
(09:15 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - Sandy Junction
(09:20 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - MP 510
(09:22 AM EDT) Amtrak 50 Clear Signal - Frank Valley
Tour Guides Ramona Web and David Web have just joined the train and
put out some literature regarding this segment of our travel. They
will be narrating our travel through the New River Gorge.
The train goes right down the middle of town here also, but the tracks
are much further from the buildings than in the previous town where the
tracks went down the middle of the street. In the previous town, I think
the tracks were literally in the street. In Montgomery, the tracks go
down a center strip separate from the road.
There are many wonderful sights through the New River Gorge. One of the
highest bridges in the world, waterfalls, hydroelect dam and power plant,
plus hundreds of rubber rafts on the river with white water rafters.
Unfortunately, it is very frustrating trying to get photographs of any
of it. There are trees between the tracks and the river continuously.
Althought it is east to see through the trees, there isn't adequate
time between the spaces in the trees to take many photos. The only way
to do this would be to use a video camera and then to seek clear shots
to turn into still pictures during the playback.
Sunday, 02:01 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, White Sulphur Springs, WV
They called for the first lunch seating at about 10 minutes after noon.
The selections are either a cheeseburger or a personal pizza. They may
be preparing all the food fresh in the galley, but from what they have
been offering for each meal, it sounds like the only supplies they have
are what was given to them for the tray service. They have as yet to
call for the second seating and it is already 2:05 P.M. I have a feeling
that people are just wandering in and filling up seats for lunch as fast
as they are being vacated. I'm really trying to stick to just 2 meals
each day. I might be able to stick to this rule if they run out of food
before they ever make the second or last call for lunch!
Sunday, 02:55 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, Clifford Forge (Homestead), VA
Talk about blocking the view! We are traveling parallel to a very very
long coal train. We passed most of it getting to the station. We stopped
at the station. Then, we started going again. All that while, the coal
train continued to move parallel with us. We are overtaking it again,
but I suspect we are going to be passing one coar carrying car after
another for quite some time!
Sunday, 04:07 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, before Staunton, VA
Now this is weird! I feel like I'm on stage! The westbound Capitol Limited
has just pulled in right next to us. The Sightseer Lounge Car has stopped
directly across from my room. A number of people are sitting in the seats
in the Sightseer Lounge Car facing the window directly across from me.
Instead of having a nice view out the window, all they can see from where
they are sitting is me!
Both trains are pulling out again. I've never been one that likes to be
the focus of attention and I feel much better without having a dozen
people from the other Sightseer Lounge Car staring into my room. The
westbound Capitol Limited was pulling two private cars, one labeled
"PULLMAN".
I think the reason we had to stop and wait was that the westbound
Capitol Limited was in the Staunton, Virginia station and we had to
wait for it to pull out before we could pull in. We may be in a
single track area where we were waiting on a siding for them to
pass us before we could proceed east.
Sunday, 04:32 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, MP 221, Staunton, VA
We were about 15 minutes behind on our way to Staunton, but having
to wait for the westbound Capitol Limited which was running about an
hour late has now made us about 40 minutes late. We lost almost half
an hour waiting for the westbound Capitol Limited to pull out of
Staunton and pass our train.
They called only the Sleeping Car Passengers to Dinner at about 5:00 P.M.
Since I didn't have any lunch, I was ready for dinner! I headed straight
to the Diner immediately to make sure I would get in on the first seating.
Two others joined me immediately. One was an older guy and the other a
younger one studying marketing. Two of us ordered the beef burgundy. I
thought it was good, but I am really convinced this is the food they
normally supply to the train for the tray meals. It is better than TV
dinners or airline food, but falls far short of the quality of most
Dining Car meals. My guess is that they are still supplying this train
with the same food supplies as they always have. The only difference is
that the chef now has a nice big kitchen to use to cook the food.
However, without supplying the chef with the proper ingredients that are
used to prepare a meal from scratch, the quality can only be just so good
and no better. I hope they manage to start supplying this Dining Car with
all the proper supplies including not just silverware, china and glasses,
but also real food that is meant to be prepared from scratch!
Sunday, 08:00 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, Alexandria, VA
Sunday, 08:20 P.M. (EDT), 06/22/97, Washington, DC
The Sleeping Car Attendant during this trip kept everything well stocked.
Coffee seemed to be available around the clock with plenty of cups,
sweetner, cream, etc. The top of the serving area always had lots of
bottled drinks and water, including diet drinks. He kept the refrigerator
full of ice at all times. Also, the restrooms were always in perfect shape
and fully stocked every time I went to use them. Using the philosophy
of myself and others, $5 per day per person to a maximum of $20 (varying
upon extenuating circumstances and peformance), I plan to tip him $10
for this 2 day/1 night journey.
Click here for the next segment of this
Summer 1997 journey.
Train Route: Cardinal
Train Number: 50
Direction: Southeast
My Route: Chicago to Washington,D.C.
Accommodation: Superliner II Standard Bedroom
Tour Guides: Romona & David Web
Souveniers unique to Cardinal available:
Baseball Cap
Photos not yet posted to the web:
01: 04-05 Houses down middle of street, 10 ft from some
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