printman2000
Engineer
My family (my wife and two young sons) and I have been planning and saving for a trip to Washington DC for many years. We finally took it last week. Since Amtrak does not come to my home town, we flew to Chicago on July 8th to catch the Capitol Limited. We arrived into Midway and immediately boarded the orange line. We got off at the Quincy stop and dragged all of our luggage down the stairs then walked the few blocks to Union Station. We immediately check our luggage and went to the 1st class lounge. It was very full when we got there so we checked our carry-on bags and went to lunch upstairs at the food court. After, the lounge was less crowded and we settled down for a few hours of waiting. They have a soda fountain and a few muffins for snacks.
As a side note, on both trips there were people dressed in old fashioned clothing. My first reaction was to think Amish, but they had cell phones and watched TV. They also had sleeper rooms. Anyone know anything about these people? Is it a religious thing or just a traditional thing? Not sure where they were going or coming from.
They called us about 5:00 for our 5:35 departure. We met our sleeper attendant Jon and headed to our rooms. We went all out and booked two bedrooms. Unfortunately, we were in a very unrefurbished Superliner 1 sleeper car. It was not dirty or stinky, just worn out. Overall, not bad. The car in front of us was a refurbished car so I was jealous. Our rooms were back to back so we could not join them by opening a partition.
They announced we would be leaving late so that we could wait for connecting passengers from the Texas Eagle. Fine with me, maybe we will get an extra meal the next day. We pulled out about an hour late. We got a later dinner reservation because the last thing I wanted was to have our first train meal sitting in the station. Sitting in Chicago's Union Station is like sitting in the dark. The trains are underground. We sat in our sleeper so long we felt like it was the middle of the night. It was nice to finally get back in the daylight. Soon after departure, we went for dinner. Our server was excellent. I had the beef meal with rice which was not bad. Not very much beef and I would have preferred a steak. My wife had the roast chicken and mashed potatoes. She really liked it. My older son had the kids mac & cheese. Nothing special, looked like Kraft. My other son had the hot dog which he decided not to eat. I ate some of it and it was really good.
After dinner we went back to our rooms and hung out. After a while, we buzzed for Jon and he came and made up our beds. We all turned in shortly after. I had planned to close my window curtains and snooze all night but I could not make myself. America was passing by out that window and I didn’t want to miss it. Every time we stopped, I would get up and look out at the town. Places like Elkhart, Indiana where I saw a bunch of women dressed in some sort of traditional head dress (kinda Amish looking, but they were not). Toledo, Ohio, home of Max Klinger. There was also a large bridge there all lit up spanning some river. We also went through Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I was tired the next morning, but it was worth it. My family, on the other hand, slept well.
We got up the next morning and went to breakfast. We all had French toast and sausage. It was real good. No complaints about breakfast. The serving staff was again excellent. By the way, we left generous tips.
We spent most of the morning in our rooms. Jon had made them up while we were at breakfast. I wanted to get some shots of the train but there was only one stop in the morning that was a "smoking" stop. Also, they would only let you exit from the second to the last coach car. I thought that was stupid. I had to walk all the way to the back of the train to walk all the way up to take pics of our sleeper car.
We were running late so we did get lunch. They only had a couple of choices left to we all had burgers. They were good, not great, but good.
We arrived in DC at about 2:15, two hours late. The whole trip I do not recall ever being stopped on a siding to let another train pass. Many other trains passed but not while we were stopped. We did slow down, maybe the sidings were long enough that we did not have to stop on them. Anyway, we pulled in head first which allowed me to get some shots of the locos. DC's Union Station is beautiful.
We spent a week in DC. We did not rent a car, instead relied on public transportation. Their metro system is excellent. I really like it.
We arrive back at Washington Union Station on Saturday, July 15th. We again checked in and went to the lounge. While smaller than Chicago's, I liked it better. It just seemed more cozy and nicer. We got called to our train about 3:20 for a 3:55 departure. We again were not in a refurbished sleeper and the one in front of us was. Again, I was jealous. This one was worse than the first. Very noisy at night. Anyway, our car attendant was Brenda. She was excellent just like Jon. We had rooms facing each other so Breda convinced the partition to open and we had a bedroom suite. It was nice. Made it seem we had a lot of extra room. We pulled out about 20 minutes late. Soon after leaving, the conductor announced because of the heat, CSX was making us go 20 MPH slower than normal until 7:00. We hung out in our room until dinner. At dinner, we had the same crew as before so they were excellent. My wife and I had the special which was chicken fried steak with gravy. It was not that good. If you get that choice, skip it.
We went to the lunge car for a while. It was crowded so we went and sat downstairs. After, we went to our rooms, had Brenda make the beds and we all went down soon after. I slept a lot more this time. One stop I did get up for was Pittsburg. I was on the opposite side of the train this time and saw downtown. It was quite impressive with tall building to the left, a river shimmering in the middle and PNC Park on the right. It was quite beautiful. Glad I got up to see it!
We got up early, around 7:00 and went to breakfast. French Toast all around again. After, we went back to our rooms. Brenda had already made up the beds. We spent the rest of the trip in our rooms watching America pass us by and playing cards.
Amazingly, we arrived in Chicago only 20 minutes late. The conductor announced that and apologized for the lateness. Kinda made it sound like it was out of the ordinary to be late.
We arrived about 9:00 AM. Our flight did not leave Midway until 4:55 so we hung out in the lounge for a couple of hours. We then made the trek to the El and hauled our stuff up the stairs. We caught the orange line back to Midway. We had to wait a couple of hours and we were off. Back to the Metropolis of Amarillo, Texas.
My 8 year old son warmed my heart when he said, "I don't like flying. I would rather take the train."
By the way, I blogged during my whole trip so friends and family could share our experience. If you would like to read it and see lots of pics, you can go to
http://www.craigmashburn.com
FYI, it is a blog so if you want to read in order, you will have to go to the bottom and read up.
As a side note, on both trips there were people dressed in old fashioned clothing. My first reaction was to think Amish, but they had cell phones and watched TV. They also had sleeper rooms. Anyone know anything about these people? Is it a religious thing or just a traditional thing? Not sure where they were going or coming from.
They called us about 5:00 for our 5:35 departure. We met our sleeper attendant Jon and headed to our rooms. We went all out and booked two bedrooms. Unfortunately, we were in a very unrefurbished Superliner 1 sleeper car. It was not dirty or stinky, just worn out. Overall, not bad. The car in front of us was a refurbished car so I was jealous. Our rooms were back to back so we could not join them by opening a partition.
They announced we would be leaving late so that we could wait for connecting passengers from the Texas Eagle. Fine with me, maybe we will get an extra meal the next day. We pulled out about an hour late. We got a later dinner reservation because the last thing I wanted was to have our first train meal sitting in the station. Sitting in Chicago's Union Station is like sitting in the dark. The trains are underground. We sat in our sleeper so long we felt like it was the middle of the night. It was nice to finally get back in the daylight. Soon after departure, we went for dinner. Our server was excellent. I had the beef meal with rice which was not bad. Not very much beef and I would have preferred a steak. My wife had the roast chicken and mashed potatoes. She really liked it. My older son had the kids mac & cheese. Nothing special, looked like Kraft. My other son had the hot dog which he decided not to eat. I ate some of it and it was really good.
After dinner we went back to our rooms and hung out. After a while, we buzzed for Jon and he came and made up our beds. We all turned in shortly after. I had planned to close my window curtains and snooze all night but I could not make myself. America was passing by out that window and I didn’t want to miss it. Every time we stopped, I would get up and look out at the town. Places like Elkhart, Indiana where I saw a bunch of women dressed in some sort of traditional head dress (kinda Amish looking, but they were not). Toledo, Ohio, home of Max Klinger. There was also a large bridge there all lit up spanning some river. We also went through Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I was tired the next morning, but it was worth it. My family, on the other hand, slept well.
We got up the next morning and went to breakfast. We all had French toast and sausage. It was real good. No complaints about breakfast. The serving staff was again excellent. By the way, we left generous tips.
We spent most of the morning in our rooms. Jon had made them up while we were at breakfast. I wanted to get some shots of the train but there was only one stop in the morning that was a "smoking" stop. Also, they would only let you exit from the second to the last coach car. I thought that was stupid. I had to walk all the way to the back of the train to walk all the way up to take pics of our sleeper car.
We were running late so we did get lunch. They only had a couple of choices left to we all had burgers. They were good, not great, but good.
We arrived in DC at about 2:15, two hours late. The whole trip I do not recall ever being stopped on a siding to let another train pass. Many other trains passed but not while we were stopped. We did slow down, maybe the sidings were long enough that we did not have to stop on them. Anyway, we pulled in head first which allowed me to get some shots of the locos. DC's Union Station is beautiful.
We spent a week in DC. We did not rent a car, instead relied on public transportation. Their metro system is excellent. I really like it.
We arrive back at Washington Union Station on Saturday, July 15th. We again checked in and went to the lounge. While smaller than Chicago's, I liked it better. It just seemed more cozy and nicer. We got called to our train about 3:20 for a 3:55 departure. We again were not in a refurbished sleeper and the one in front of us was. Again, I was jealous. This one was worse than the first. Very noisy at night. Anyway, our car attendant was Brenda. She was excellent just like Jon. We had rooms facing each other so Breda convinced the partition to open and we had a bedroom suite. It was nice. Made it seem we had a lot of extra room. We pulled out about 20 minutes late. Soon after leaving, the conductor announced because of the heat, CSX was making us go 20 MPH slower than normal until 7:00. We hung out in our room until dinner. At dinner, we had the same crew as before so they were excellent. My wife and I had the special which was chicken fried steak with gravy. It was not that good. If you get that choice, skip it.
We went to the lunge car for a while. It was crowded so we went and sat downstairs. After, we went to our rooms, had Brenda make the beds and we all went down soon after. I slept a lot more this time. One stop I did get up for was Pittsburg. I was on the opposite side of the train this time and saw downtown. It was quite impressive with tall building to the left, a river shimmering in the middle and PNC Park on the right. It was quite beautiful. Glad I got up to see it!
We got up early, around 7:00 and went to breakfast. French Toast all around again. After, we went back to our rooms. Brenda had already made up the beds. We spent the rest of the trip in our rooms watching America pass us by and playing cards.
Amazingly, we arrived in Chicago only 20 minutes late. The conductor announced that and apologized for the lateness. Kinda made it sound like it was out of the ordinary to be late.
We arrived about 9:00 AM. Our flight did not leave Midway until 4:55 so we hung out in the lounge for a couple of hours. We then made the trek to the El and hauled our stuff up the stairs. We caught the orange line back to Midway. We had to wait a couple of hours and we were off. Back to the Metropolis of Amarillo, Texas.
My 8 year old son warmed my heart when he said, "I don't like flying. I would rather take the train."
By the way, I blogged during my whole trip so friends and family could share our experience. If you would like to read it and see lots of pics, you can go to
http://www.craigmashburn.com
FYI, it is a blog so if you want to read in order, you will have to go to the bottom and read up.
