keelhauled
OBS Chief
I left Albany-Rensellear on the evening of Monday the 4th on an unusually cold and snowy evening for April. The Lake Shore Limited arrived from New York on time (the Boston section is still a seperate train), but we were delayed about half an hour departing, as after boarding coaches they apparently had to spot the train again to board sleepers. The importance of lengthening the station platforms is obvious, but doesn't appear to be likely completed in the near future. The pilings have been poured for both platforms, but activity seems to have stopped there. Hopefully it will resume come summer. The new fourth track is in service, although the outer track is now out of service; there appears to be some work happening to the tracks immediately to the north.
In any event, we made fairly good time after departure. The tracks are very smooth across New York, I don't know if CSX has been working on them or if I was fortunate enough to be in cars with good suspension but either way it was very pleasant, dare I even say better than my average trip on the NEC. Amtrak also seems to have improved their station practices, the stops were quite a bit shorter than the last time I tracele on the LSL and there didn't seem to be many fewer people if any. There were also fewer stretches of stops or slow running on CSX's part, so we only lost about ten or fifteen more minutes by Rochester, which was the last time I was awake enough to look at my watch. I was in coach for the westbound leg and slept fairly well, if not continuously. As long as I have a window seat and I can lean against the wall, I find sleeping in coach to be adequate for one night.
We made up time overnight, and were only about ten minutes late when I got off the train in Toledo, where it transpired that Amtrak had once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as the Capitol Limited was three hours late and therefore the connecting bus wouldn't leave for two hours. All was not lost, however, as I walked to and from a nearby diner to get a good breakfast while waiting. I didn't even get mugged in the process.
I took the bus to Dearborn, where after touristing for a day I departed the next morning on Wolverine 353. Dearborn has a very nice new station; hopefully in the coming years it will see more trains. We were occasionally delayed on the trip into Chicago, proving that Amtrak and the freight railroads can both find ways to slow down passenger trains. On the bright side, even with a very full train, the Wi-Fi worked much better than on the LSL. On the other hand, Amtrak has still not entirely mastered the art of stocking their cafe cars so they don't run out of certain items.
On Thursday the 7th I left Chicago on the eastbound LSL, this time in a sleeper. The attendant in the Metropolitan Lounge described at length the new lounge opening on June 14. She was very happy about it, and it sounds impressive, although the cynic in me thinks that it sounds like a lot of amenities to get axed in the next budget. I'm not sure why the attendants in Chicago have a bad reputation, I have always found them pleasant enough and the lady there that evening was no exception.
We left Chicago right on time, and I went to sleep fairly soon after. I'm still unclear as to the logic behind bagging the blanket and leaving it for me to put on, but I suppose I can live with it. I woke up at Erie and had breakfast. As it happens the 8400 diner was on the train, which was a pleasant surprise; it was my first time in it, and it just reinforces my opinion that the sooner the Heritage diners leave the better. It is a much nicer environment with the added windows and IMO softer lighting. The food seemed to show up faster too, so perhaps the kitchen is more efficient as well. Both meals were good; I had the pancakes, eggs and potatoes for breakfast and pork shanks with mashed potatoes for lunch. I'm not sure how much is cooked on board (I think the pancakes and eggs) and how much is reheated, but either way I had no cause for complaint. The barbecue sauce on the pork was rather bland, but the meat was tender and tasty.
We had about half an hour of delays across New York, mostly sitting just east of Syracuse, but also waiting for a westbound Empire Service train to clear the single track stretch west of Schenectady. Although there was evidence of double tracking work (though no where near complete, just ballast laid and sections of track in piles) between Schenectady and Albany, apparently there is no money to fill in the western stretch. Even with the lost time, we ended up about 20 minutes early into Albany, which reinforces my opinion that high speed rail is a waste of time and money at this point, and simply finding ways via improved capacity or track upgrades to 79 mph (class IV is that?) to improve getting Amtrak across the rails without stuffing hours of padding into the schedule on the assumption that freight trains will cause horrible delays would yield much more immediate benefits for far less money.
In any event, we made fairly good time after departure. The tracks are very smooth across New York, I don't know if CSX has been working on them or if I was fortunate enough to be in cars with good suspension but either way it was very pleasant, dare I even say better than my average trip on the NEC. Amtrak also seems to have improved their station practices, the stops were quite a bit shorter than the last time I tracele on the LSL and there didn't seem to be many fewer people if any. There were also fewer stretches of stops or slow running on CSX's part, so we only lost about ten or fifteen more minutes by Rochester, which was the last time I was awake enough to look at my watch. I was in coach for the westbound leg and slept fairly well, if not continuously. As long as I have a window seat and I can lean against the wall, I find sleeping in coach to be adequate for one night.
We made up time overnight, and were only about ten minutes late when I got off the train in Toledo, where it transpired that Amtrak had once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as the Capitol Limited was three hours late and therefore the connecting bus wouldn't leave for two hours. All was not lost, however, as I walked to and from a nearby diner to get a good breakfast while waiting. I didn't even get mugged in the process.
I took the bus to Dearborn, where after touristing for a day I departed the next morning on Wolverine 353. Dearborn has a very nice new station; hopefully in the coming years it will see more trains. We were occasionally delayed on the trip into Chicago, proving that Amtrak and the freight railroads can both find ways to slow down passenger trains. On the bright side, even with a very full train, the Wi-Fi worked much better than on the LSL. On the other hand, Amtrak has still not entirely mastered the art of stocking their cafe cars so they don't run out of certain items.
On Thursday the 7th I left Chicago on the eastbound LSL, this time in a sleeper. The attendant in the Metropolitan Lounge described at length the new lounge opening on June 14. She was very happy about it, and it sounds impressive, although the cynic in me thinks that it sounds like a lot of amenities to get axed in the next budget. I'm not sure why the attendants in Chicago have a bad reputation, I have always found them pleasant enough and the lady there that evening was no exception.
We left Chicago right on time, and I went to sleep fairly soon after. I'm still unclear as to the logic behind bagging the blanket and leaving it for me to put on, but I suppose I can live with it. I woke up at Erie and had breakfast. As it happens the 8400 diner was on the train, which was a pleasant surprise; it was my first time in it, and it just reinforces my opinion that the sooner the Heritage diners leave the better. It is a much nicer environment with the added windows and IMO softer lighting. The food seemed to show up faster too, so perhaps the kitchen is more efficient as well. Both meals were good; I had the pancakes, eggs and potatoes for breakfast and pork shanks with mashed potatoes for lunch. I'm not sure how much is cooked on board (I think the pancakes and eggs) and how much is reheated, but either way I had no cause for complaint. The barbecue sauce on the pork was rather bland, but the meat was tender and tasty.
We had about half an hour of delays across New York, mostly sitting just east of Syracuse, but also waiting for a westbound Empire Service train to clear the single track stretch west of Schenectady. Although there was evidence of double tracking work (though no where near complete, just ballast laid and sections of track in piles) between Schenectady and Albany, apparently there is no money to fill in the western stretch. Even with the lost time, we ended up about 20 minutes early into Albany, which reinforces my opinion that high speed rail is a waste of time and money at this point, and simply finding ways via improved capacity or track upgrades to 79 mph (class IV is that?) to improve getting Amtrak across the rails without stuffing hours of padding into the schedule on the assumption that freight trains will cause horrible delays would yield much more immediate benefits for far less money.
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