Business class on a Superliner 393 Chicago to Carbondale on May 30/31

The idea of this trip originate while my father and I were driving around downstate, Illinois. We stopped at the McDonalds in Gillman 3 weeks ago and had dinner. Then I pulled out and headed east on US 24. The gates went down. I knew I would be seeing the Illini. I was surprised to see Superliners on it. I decided Memorial Day weekend would be a good opportunity for this trip. I would go South to Carbondale on Sunday, state in the new how2suites across the street from the station in Carbondale and then head back to Chicago on Memorial Day.

Several days after booking the trip I read a report on trainorders showing the Illini with the normal horizon and Amfleet cars. I moaned inwardly and probably cursed under my breath. Still, a train ride is a train ride. at least the photo attached to the report showed a few cars so maybe BC would be on the back with a rail fan window.

On Sunday I had a delightful lunch with my GF at Pizzeria Uno, took her home, and headed to the station. The checkin at the metropolitan lounge was courteous and professional. I had had issues with my IPhone and had done a factory reset. Though I had backed up properly, my Amtrak App did not have me signed in when I expected to. The lady offered to look up my name and was very patient. Though I could have pulled up the reservation number, etc, this helpfulness was much appreciated.

When 393 was called at 3:30 ambled down to the south gates by track 26 and followed directions to be seated and wait. A few minutes later I was directed to board. As I headed around the corner to go down the platform to track 26, I was delighted to see Superliner cars. As I walked down the platform it was apparent that some of the cars had come off of a recent trip of #6. I observed the diner and sleepers at the head end. And walked past several coaches to BC which is located in the last car. The lower level has a snack car. This, folks, is not a rip off IMHO. The superliners are a better ride than Amfleet or Horizon. The windows bigger. And a fantastic rail fan window. If you have the opportunity to do this, go for it.

Steve4031 said:

The idea of this trip originate while my father and I were driving around downstate, Illinois. We stopped at the McDonalds in Gillman 3 weeks ago and had dinner. Then I pulled out and headed east on US 24. The gates went down. I knew I would be seeing the Illini. I was surprised to see Superliners on it. I decided Memorial Day weekend would be a good opportunity for this trip. I would go South to Carbondale on Sunday, state in the new how2suites across the street from the station in Carbondale and then head back to Chicago on Memorial Day.

Several days after booking the trip I read a report on trainorders showing the Illini with the normal horizon and Amfleet cars. I moaned inwardly and probably cursed under my breath. Still, a train ride is a train ride. at least the photo attached to the report showed a few cars so maybe BC would be on the back with a rail fan window.

On Sunday I had a delightful lunch with my GF at Pizzeria Uno, took her home, and headed to the station. The checkin at the metropolitan lounge was courteous and professional. I had had issues with my IPhone and had done a factory reset. Though I had backed up properly, my Amtrak App did not have me signed in when I expected to. The lady offered to look up my name and was very patient. Though I could have pulled up the reservation number, etc, this helpfulness was much appreciated.

When 393 was called at 3:30 ambled down to the south gates by track 26 and followed directions to be seated and wait. A few minutes later I was directed to board. As I headed around the corner to go down the platform to track 26, I was delighted to see Superliner cars. As I walked down the platform it was apparent that some of the cars had come off of a recent trip of #6. I observed the diner and sleepers at the head end. And walked past several coaches to BC which is located in the last car. The lower level has a snack car. This, folks, is not a rip off IMHO. The superliners are a better ride than Amfleet or Horizon. The windows bigger. And a fantastic rail fan window. If you have the opportunity to do this, go for it.

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So that's where the Missing Cars from the Texas Eagles are, Chicago!!!

And being used on Short Haul Trains instead of LD, Why???

Photos explain the view

Is there a closed SSL on the train for axle count? There's been a couple of reports showing that.

The start of the main line of mid America. No stop in homewood

jiml said:

Is there a closed SSL on the train for axle count? There's been a couple of reports showing that.

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No lounge car.

As I just noted there was no stop in Homewood. Wondering if this is now a flag stop?

A brief stop in Kankakee. 393 has been traveling 79 mph for entire trip.

Gilman, where the whole idea of this trip started.

The route between Champaign and Chicago are the roots of my railfan pursuits. My first train rides with my mom from Champaign to Chicago must have occurred during the rainbow years. I remember the orange and brown of the Illinois Central. We rode on those cars One time we picked up my father who was on a train with strange, yellow cars. I now know this was probably Union Pacific equipment. My first solo train ride at 8 was on an Amfleet train from Champaign to Chicago. My mom put me on the train in Champaign and my Dad picked me up in Chicago. This was my first time seeing Amfleet. It was exotic and new.

We arrived in to Carbondale 30 minutes early. The crew was friendly and they mentioned they were staying in the Home2Suites too. I had told them a few minutes previously about my quick turn around. The hotel is perfectly located right across the street from the station. It is modern and nice.

A decent breakfast. This was a surprise. The sandwiches are clearly labeled and are cooked, not frozen before heating. Everything is self serve. They have the correct heating level for each sandwich. The sandwich was delicious. They don’t tell you the actual brand and type of Cereal. Just vague terms like healthy or sweet. I determined that the sweet cereal was cinnamon French toast crunch. That was good too. IMHO it’s a bit better than Hampton inn.

These photos show how close the hotel is to the station in Carbondale.

Excelllent report Steve. Since the Carbondale (CONO) route is one of the few I have not experienced, I had flagged it for a potential "restart" trip whenever the border might re-open - right down to the same hotel, so thanks for including a review of it.

Steve4031 said:

As I just noted there was no stop in Homewood. Wondering if this is now a flag stop?

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The platform at Homewood is being rebuilt. Actually it's been under construction for some time. There will also be new elevator access and I believe the station building is being renovated. There's a connecting bus to Kankakee for wanting to use the Homewood station.

Thank you for the information about Homewood. The trip to Carbondale is a nice ride. It will be even better when the Siemens cars enter service.

Been spending quality time at the rail fan window. The CN tracks, as we all know, are in poor condition. We have maintained a speed of 79 mph for most of the trip to Carbondale and back because of the extra cars in the consist. I have observed many, many mud spots which lead to the rough ride. There are new ties sitting along the west side of the tracks. It appears that CN is planning track work on this line. The ties are wooden. Since this is my childhood line I kind of hoped CN would give it the same attention as it does the CN line across Canada where the Canadian operates. There are concrete ties on this route.

Here are two examples of those mud spots.

Did you notice any work on the new station planned in Carbondale?

Eric S said:

Did you notice any work on the new station planned in Carbondale?

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No. But I didn’t look since I wasn’t aware of it.

Steve4031 said:

No. But I didn’t look since I wasn’t aware of it.

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I think it's planned to be built directly north of the existing station. The project received federal funds about 1.5 years ago but I'm not sure if it's actually underway yet.

Steve4031 said:

Here are two examples of those mud spots.

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Looking at those photo's, makes me sad to see what once was the 100 mph, double track, "Mainline of Mid-America".

I drove by the Carbondale station on Thursday night around 10:30 and was surprised to see a train with Superliner cars sitting at the station (no SSL, though). Couldn't tell if anyone was on it, but saw a few crew members walking out of the station.

I couldn't quite figure out what it was because it seemed too early for the northbound or southbound CONO. Also, nothing showed up on the Track Your Train map.

My son used to take the train from Carbondale to Kankakee going home on breaks from law school at SIU. His apartment was just a short walk away from the Carbondale station. His train was once delayed for several hours, though, when a tree fell on the tracks.

MccfamschoolMom said:

My son used to take the train from Carbondale to Kankakee going home on breaks from law school at SIU. His apartment was just a short walk away from the Carbondale station. His train was once delayed for several hours, though, when a tree fell on the tracks.

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Every time I see "Kankakee", Arlo's CONO pops into my head -- love it!