First LD train trip

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seandeva

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Dec 13, 2003
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Hello Everyone

My name is Sean and i am a new member of this forum. I have been a fan of trains all my life. My only trips on amtrak were from NY to Rhode island, and one trip to Virgina when i was very young.

I have decided to take my first Long Distance train trip in January. I want to go from NY to Chicago spend 1-3 days in Chicago and then take the train from Chicago to Seattle.

From NY to Chicago which should train should I choose the Cardinal or the Lake Shore Limited?

I know that the Empire Builder will be my train on the second leg of the trip.

Thank you for your help

Sean
 
Hi Sean and welcome to the boards. :) Both the Cardinal and the Lake Shore Limited use single-level equipment (Viewliner Sleeping Cars, Amfleet II Coaches and Lounge, and Heritage Diner) so no matter what train you take the accomadations will be quite similar. The major difference between the two trains is their routing. The Lake Shore Limited will get you to Chicago a lot quicker by going north to Albany, west across New York State, and then through the northern parts of Ohio and Indiana into Illinois and Chicago. The Cardinal on the other hand will travel southward to Washington DC then into the Virginias turning westward through southern Ohio and central Indiana and north into Chicago. Thought the Cardinal will take about 8 hours longer than the Lake Shore Limited, many would agree nothing beets the scenery through the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. One last thing, the Lake Shore Limited operates daily where as the Cardinal operates only three days a week. Hope this helps and enjoy your trip. :) I'm sure others will have many more tips and suggestions.
 
Sean,

Let me also welcome you to the forums. :)

With regard to your question of which train to use, I would look to see which one offers you the best price. If you can save money with the Cardinal, then that may make your choice for you. Otherwise at the time of the year that you are planning on traveling, I would choose the Lake Shore Limited.

The Lake Shore offers you IMHO, two advantages over the Cardinal. One at this time of the year, the LSL will have the better scenery. The LSL has some very nice scenery as it run right on the shore of the Hudson River, almost all the way to Albany.

While the Cardinal does run through far more scenic areas, going westbound at this time of the year it will be dark by the time you get to the scenic area. If you were headed eastbound on the Card, then I would vote for the Card hands down.

Secondly the Lake Shore will offer you the chance to see them combine two trains into one, since they merge the Boston section with the NY section at Albany. Just be sure to pay attention to the announcements if you do go out to watch them combine the trains. Don't want to get left behind. :eek:

The Cardinal on the other hand does offer the advantage of being the longer journey, meaning more time on the train. :) It might also have less passengers on it too.
 
Thank you for your help so far.

I am leaning toward the Lake Shore right now. I will know more when i finalize my plans hopefully later this week.

I was orginally going to leave on a tuesday getting to chicago on wedensday. then leaving chicago on a friday and getting to seattle on a sunday, but it looks like everything will be pushed back a day.

If I did tuesday, my only option is the LSL. Wedensday gives me the option of both trains.

As far as seing amtrak connect two trains. I have seen engine chages at New Haven before everything was electrified north to Boston. My guess is that it would be similiar.

I like the Cardinal because of of the length of time on the train and the fact it would be less crowded. Its too bad i would be missing the scenery.

Too many choices so little time.

I read on the empire builder thread that there are two Chicago-Seattle coaches one smoking one non. Can i request to be put in the non smoking one. The last thing i want is to smell smoke for two days.

Thank you once again and sorry about all these questions.

Sean
 
Hi Sean,

I wouldn't worry bout the smoke. I've been on the EB twice in the last two years and never smelled any at all. It's a nice ride with a friendly crew. Remember to take books to read (even if you spend most of the time chatting with passengers and looking at scenery).

Have fun!
 
Sean, the entire train is entirely non-smoking, except for an enclosed smoking lounge on the lower-level of one of the coaches. Sometimes the cigarette smell will drift into the upper-level of the coach, but if this is a problem I am sure you can ask to be seated in a different coach.
 
seandeva said:
I read on the empire builder thread that there are two Chicago-Seattle coaches one smoking one non. Can i request to be put in the non smoking one. The last thing i want is to smell smoke for two days.
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On the Empire Builder, there is one coach with a smoking lounge on the bottom level. It's supposed to be sealed so that the smell of cigarette smoke doesn't get to the top level, but I notice it pretty quickly when passing through that coach. I'm pretty sure if you ask the conductor or car attendant, they'll let you move to the other coach that doesn't have the smoking lounge.
 
Sean,

Here's my two cents on the trains from NYC to CHI:

-The scenery on the Cardinal IS great and worth the extra time if you aren't in a hurry.

-The Lake Shore Limited is definitely the quickest, and the longest train with lots of room to walk around and explore.

-Don't forget about the Three Rivers, which goes from NYC to Philadelphia, then across to Pittsburgh, across Ohio and to Chicago.

-The 3R leaves NYC a little earlier, but gets into Chicago early in the morning so you still have the whole day left to do whatever.

-I might be biased since the Three Rivers is my "hometown" train and the one I ride the most, but the service crews on this train are the best, very friendly and helpful and pleasant.

-The only downside to the 3R is no full dining car, just a cafe.

-Have a great trip!
 
Sean, again welcome to the board. Many of us on here have loved trains all of our lifetimes. Glad you are going to have some new experiences.

I am not sure from your original post if you are going both ways by train, if so, why not do the NY-CHI segment one way on one and return on the other?
 
coachseats said:
-The scenery on the Cardinal IS great and worth the extra time if you aren't in a hurry.
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I don't disagree with Coachseats, that the scenery on the Cardinal is the best of all the east coast to Chicago trains.

However, let me once again remind you that in January, thanks to the short days, you will miss most of the best scenery heading west due to darkness. :(
 
I wish i had the time to go both ways by train. In that case i would take the Cardinal from Chicago to NY. That would settle my problem of choseing what train to take. In order for me to spend 2 days in Chicago and a week in seattle i need to fly back.

I didnt choose the Three Rivers for two reasons. The very early arival in Chicago, and the fact there is no meal service. If i was only going to be in chicago that day i would probaly lean toward this train or the LSL.

Thank You

Sean
 
Sean,

Another option would be to take a train on the Northeast Coridor from New York to Washington DC, then take the Capitol Limited to Chicago.

Fares can range somewhat for a coach seat between the Cardinal, Lake Shore Limited, Three rivers, and Capitol Limited. However if you going to ride in a sleeper, the fares can greatly vary. I would recomend checking the Capitol limited fares if your intrested in a sleeper. This train uses the double level Superliner cars compared to the single level cars used on the other trains. The reason I recomend this is because the Superliner sleepers tend to be a little cheeper then the sleepers on the Viewliner single level cars, not always..but usually.
 
i am going to buy my ticket for the Cardinal on monday morning.

I Chose the Cardinal because it arrives in chicago at 11 as opposed to 9 for the LSL. It will be easier to get right to my hotel.

As long as the train is not 6 hours late i am fine.

Sean
 
seandeva said:
i am going to buy my ticket for the Cardinal on monday morning.
I Chose the Cardinal because it arrives in chicago at 11 as opposed to 9 for the LSL. It will be easier to get right to my hotel.

As long as the train is not 6 hours late i am fine.

Sean
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I think thats a good choice. If the train stays on time you'll still get to see some of the mountain scenery around the Charlottesville, VA area during sunset. Then in the morning you'll have 4 hours of daylight through Indiana. Have fun and let us know how it went. :)
 
But is there really enough to see in Indiana to warrant being excited about having four hours of it :lol: :D :lol:
 
Well it is more time on the train, which is almost always good. Besides which new territory is always good stuff.
 
My first rail trip was on the Cardinal. Eerie feeling as we were stopped somewhere past Indianapolis eating breakfast in the middle of a cornfield. Last November we were one hour and fifteen minutes late.
 
I booked my self on the Jan 7th Cardinal trip to Chicago. I was looking at the Prices for the chicago- Seattle part of my trip on the 9th or the 10th. Which part is the better trip Chicago-Seattle, or Chicago-Portland-Seattle. I wanted to get to orgean for a bit get to see as many states as possible.

Thank you for all your help. i need to bring a notepad to record all the interesting things that i encounter on my trip.

Sean
 
Sean, from one Sean to another it all depends on what you want. Obviously you will spend more if you go through Portland (more trackage covered). But if you do go through Portland you will get to go through a magnificent station with a lot of action, plus you could (should) ride a Cascades (Spanish Talgo built) train up to Seattle. If it were me I'd spend the extra money and go through Portland, but that's just me.
 
Sean,

I would agree with battalion51. If time isn't as big an issue, I would recommend the Chicago-Portland-Seattle trip. You'll get to see the Columbia River Gorge, which is quite impressive. You'll also get to ride on the Cascades Talgos, which are quite nice trainsets. Scenery wise, the trip from Portland the Seattle isn't too bad, especially near Tacoma where the tracks run right along the waterfront. It's definately worth the extra time, and may not be that much more expensive.
 
Only one more week until my trip. I can't wait i wish i was leaving tomorrow.

I will be leaving NYC at 935 am 1/7/2003 on the Cardinal getting into Chicago at about 11 on the 8th. I will be in chicago until the 10th.

I will leave Chicago at 2 pm on the 10th getting into Portland at about 10 am on the 12th.

I have 2 1/2 hours between the empire builder and the Cascades Train to Seattle. I highly doubt amtrak would guarntee this connection. Would this give me the time to get around portland for a few minutes without being rushed? It seems most times the builder gets there on time or at least close to it. Lets say that the builder gets there 3 hrs late what would happen.

Sean
 
seandeva said:
I have 2 1/2 hours between the empire builder and the Cascades Train to Seattle. I highly doubt amtrak would guarntee this connection. Would this give me the time to get around portland for a few minutes without being rushed? It seems most times the builder gets there on time or at least close to it. Lets say that the builder gets there 3 hrs late what would happen.
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Amtrak guarentees any connection that are more than one hour. It's an hour and a half between long distance trains and any Northeast corridor train.

So your connection between the Builder and the Cascades is guarenteed. They'll simply put you on a later train, either the Coast Starlight or the next Cascade.

Yes if you are on time, then you might have a little bit of time to do Portland. You could even take a spin on their light rail system.

Have a great trip! :)
 
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