jamesontheroad
OBS Chief
How I pity the poor people of Chicago. They may live in a fine city of towering skyscrapers, hot shot baseball teams and superb restaurants, but they aren't able to make a direct train connection out of the Windy City for Montréal, the proud metropolis of Québec.
Seriously: try it. Search the Amtrak website for Montréal (MTR) to Chicago (CHI), and you'll find a convenient day-and-night connection from the Adirondack to the Lake Shore Limited at Schenectady (SDY). But do it the other way and it all falls flat. The eastbound Lake Shore Limited misses the northbound Adirondack by a couple of hours. If you're a Chicagoite with a hankering for some time on the other side of the border, you'll only option is to make do with a connection at Buffalo onto the Maple Leaf for Toronto. Don't get me wrong; I love Toronto - but it's not Montréal, the femme fatale who seduced me with her beautiful architecture, lively nightlife and friendly francophone folk (trust me, try speaking some French, and they will be much friendlier towards you than you might have heard).
A complicated legal matter brought me back to Montréal just after Christmas 2006, with time to spare afterwards for a week in Chicago. I spent a few days in Chicago last year when I left Montréal for a month ontherails, and of all the places I visited during that trip, Chicago was the one I most wanted to return to and explore more. So I booked the flights from the UK (into Montréal and out of Chicago) and then the Amtrak coach tickets for the trip between the two cities, departing on 3 January 2007 and arriving just over a day later. The trip worked out like this:
dep. Montréal, QC (MTR) 09h50 (on time) 3 January
arr. Schenectady, NY (SDY) scheduled 16h23 (actual: 17h30) 3 January
dep. Schenectady, NY (SDY) scheduled 19h31 (on time) 3 January
arr. Chicago, IL (CHI) scheduled 09h45 (on time) 4 January
The fare for a one way student ticket came to US$136.00 (very approximately CA$160.00). The temptation to book a sleeper was resisted once more: although I'm now firmly relocated on the other side of the Atlantic, I am planning many more trips on Amtrak and now that it'll be impossible to go back to coach if I ever give way to urge for some comfort.
Unlike my previous trips, this time I was travelling with a companion, a fellow student from my university who was following an unofficial field trip to the two cities. This was her first trip to both Canada and the United States of America.
We were at Montréal's Gare Centrale (central rail station) with plenty of time just after 09h00. The Gare Centrale is between Bonaventure (orange line) and Peel and McGill (green line) stations. Although Bonaventure is closer, you can reach the station from both lines through the famous cité soutterain ('underground city') of Montréal's downtown core. Just don't expect it to be easy to find your way through the maze of underground shopping malls and passages...
Train 68, the Adirondack, was departing from track seventeen, which appears to be its usual platform. By the time we arrived, a long queue of passengers was stretching through the station concourse almost as far back as the large branch of Bureau en gros (Staples) at the other end of the station. VIA Rail Canada station staff were already working the line, handing out US Immigration documents. I had time to pick up some newspapers and a sandwich for the trip, and to also say hello to a previously very helpful member of VIA Rail staff at the Information Desk. She didn't remember me, but I remembered her from when I was planning my trip around North America. I passed on my best wishes, asked how she was doing and thanked her again for her helpfulness the previous time we had met.
I returned to the line and as scheduled on the departure boards, boarding began half an hour before departure at 09h50. But a few moments after the line began to move, I was surprised to see this agent returning to my side. She asked if it was just the two of us travelling, and told us to follow her. I was geuinely touched to discover that she was lifting us past the long line-up and bringing us to the escalator down to track 17...! We parted company once more, and I said I hoped to see her again when I was next in Montréal. I just hope she doesn't think I will always be expecting priority boarding in exchange for just saying hello :lol:
Train 68 was ready to depart with (as usual) one locomotive, two Amfleet I coaches, a café car and two more Amfleet I coaches. Unlike the Maple Leaf, the Adirondack has neither business class nor Amfleet IIs... your thoughts most welcome on this; since the café car is often very busy on this route I doubt a combined café/business car would be worth it, but Amfleet IIs might be more suited to this long and usually slow route. Our advanced bording was handy, since the train filled up, with through passengers to New York Penn eventually filling their two coaches at the back of the train and being directed to join us up front, in the coaches normally reserved for passengers heading to intermediate stations. Furthermore, unlike the Maple Leaf, the Adirondack is an entirely Amtrak operated service, so the entire northbound portion of the route is operated by an Albany-based Amtrak crew, and the café opens to sell Amtrak stock in US dollars as soon as the train has left Montréal. How Amtrak gets round the provincial legislation of Québec to provide service and printed information in both French and English I do not know for sure. I recognise both all of the on-board crew from previous trips, and I know for certain that they don't speak French.
We left on time, emerging into the dazzling sunshine of an early January morning. The track swung us round offering both sides of the train a panoramic view of Montréal's downtown skyline and Mont-Royal 'mountain' behind. As we crossed the St. Lawrence river, we passed what appeared to be the 'Ocean', paused beside us en route for the yards. There were three VIA Rail locomotives (including the distinctive and now somewhat long in the tooth 'Spiderman' engine) and then a long consist entirely made up of Renaissance cars, but without a dome car at the rear.
The run from Montréal to the border is very slow - it takes more than ninety minutes to reach the US Immigration customs check at Rouses Point, NY. A similar journey by car from downtown Montréal to the closest border crossing takes no more than thirty minutes. The train bounces along some pretty poor track and through the quiet town Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where the old railway station is now a tourist office. From there it's a straight (but slow) shot to the border. Since the quality of the track improves so much south of Rouses Point, it's strange that this line has yet to be improved: it could easily make a substantial cut in the journey time.
We pass the Canadian inspection point at Cantic. It's hard to spot if you're going south, but look carefully and you'll see it... the train normally halts for a few moments right across a road crossing while a switch is manually thrown; a moment of two later you'll pass a small cabin on the left of the track, where a spur heads off to the east. You can see the junction here at Notre-Dame-Du-Mont-Carmel. The train crosses the actual US-Canada border at the same point as Québec route 223 and NY route 11. After that follows a very slow (<10mph) crawl through disused freight sidings to the station at Rouses Point, where US Customs and Immigration staff board the train. I'm always reluctant to go into too much detail about this part of the trip, but it's usually slow and ineffecient. As always, I (a UK passport holder) am sent back to the café car to purchase a visa waiver for US$6 (no Canadian dollars, so be prepared). Unusually, the agent who's inspecting my car holds onto my passport while he finishes the front coaches, so we're left sitting like lemons in the café car until he comes through. His superior officer appears to point out that this is not the most effecient way of doing things, as we still have to be processed once the cars have been checked. We pay our admission charge, declare that we are not terrorists, and we can get on our way again. We eventually depart 55 minutes late at 13h05, after taking on board one (wheelchair bound) passenger at Rouses Point, space for whhttp://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?act=post&do=new_post&f=5om is made by shifting suitcases around at the head of our (the second) carraige.
Plattsburgh is the next stop, and it's also a smoking break for everyone who has now been on board for four hours since leaving Montréal. My travelling companion and I step out onto the platform, where two dozen or so passengers are bording. My friend gets a real kick out of hearing the conductor yell 'all aboard!' ... up to now she thought that was just in the movies.
South of Plattsburgh, the scenery gets interesting as the line hugs the western shore of Lake Champlain, with the snowy mountaintops of Vermont visible across the lake. I pass some time reading in the café car, and enjoying a coffee with the view. I chat briefly to the lead conductor who explains to me how the train is doing. This is, apparently, going to be the last busy day after the holiday period, and things will now begin to 'quiten down'. He also explains the train's state subsidy... the Adirondack is supported by the New York State Department of Transportation for providing service to these northern communities. This subsidy is particularly interesting, since it is apparently an unfixed floating subsidy: the NYDOT will make up any shortfall between revenues and the cost of running the train, so the Adirondack is effectively guaranteed to never lose Amtrak any money.
We continue south, only marginally maintaining our hour delay. Even with the delay and short winter day, we still manage to see all of Lake Champlain in daylight, and it isn't getting dark until south of Saratoga Springs. We eventually reach Schenectady, our connection point, over an hour late at 17h30. Our connection to the westbound Lake Shore Limited is safe, and we still have two hours in hand to go for a walk and find to a bite to eat. We check in our luggage (there's no luggage service on the Adirondack, but there is on the Lake Shore Limited) and then head out into the small town. I've been here before, and I know exactly where I want to go to eat: Slick's Restaurant and Bar. It's just a short walk from the station at 127 South Ferry Street (here). I last killed some time between trains here in April 2006, and the bar is a particularly pleasant and welcoming place to spend some time. There are about forty bottled beers on offer from around the country, Canada and further afield. I go for a Vermont Porter (hefty and very suitable for a chilly winter's night) and we order sandwiches. The menu says that they're world famous - and they should be, because they're huge. My friend's smoked beef sandwich and my ham sandwich each consist of about three inches of meat tightly packed between two slim slices of white bread and some cursory cheese, greens and tomatoes. Being mild mannered and light eating British tourists, we have trouble getting through the dishes, and eventually concede defeat when our waitress offers the wrap up the remaining halves of our sandwiches. Nonetheless, I can't recommend Slick's highly enough as a place to spend some time next time you are changing trains in Schenectady.
We're back at the station with plenty of time to spare, and are on the platform in time to see train 49 eastbound to Chicago roar into the station. Two locomotives lead a consist of a baggage car, dorm car, three Viewliners, dining car, lounge car and four Amfleet II coaches. Along with a small crowd of about twenty other passengers, we board at the rear of the first coach and pick seats near the middle of the car. My travelling companion is very impressed by the room and comfort of the coach. Having travelled south in tighter Amfleet I seating, she appreciates the legroom and leg rests. In fact, it's so comfortable that we both almost immediately doze off, as our diminuitive bodies attempt to deal with our first encounter of American-proportioned cusine.
Our coach is quiet to begin with, but as we pass Utica, Syracuse and Rochester the train begins to fill up with coach passengers. We spend a little while in the busy lounge car enjoying a nightcap and listening on the various conversations that are going on around us. I'm pleased to see my travelling companion enjoying herself: nothing beats immersing yourself in a new place straightaway, and overnight on Amtrak is the perfect introduction to America.
We each sleep pretty well in coach. The lights are dimmed after we leave Syracuse, and the coach is at a good temperature - not too cold and not too hot. I'm now a big fan of sleeping not with eyemask and earplugs, but with my very worn woolen hat. I just yank it down and drift away.
I miss Pennsylvania but am awake to see Cleveland, OH, which we pass through dead on time. The last time I was on this train, we were late enough for me to be eating breakfast in the dining car at this point. Elyria and Sandusky slip past unnoticed, but we're early into Toledo. I step off the train and walk the length of the train on the platforms. Apart from some idling motorcoaches in the station parking lot and the gushing water from some of the train's tanks, it's blissfully quiet and not too cold as I take a breather. Nothing beats these peaceful moments of travel with Amtrak for me. Some might complain about these extended stops, but I enjoy seeing these places in the early hours. I'm back on the train and we leave on time at 06h15. The breakfast car is soon open, and we head down to eat in the pre-dawn darkness. The dining car appears much less decorated than I remember - not curtains nor wall lights, and with the air conditioning stuck on 'sub-zero' it's not particularly welcoming. However, the staff are very friendly and the service is (as always) excellent. It's a shame the food isn't as good as I remember it: my French toast was nowhere near as fresh as I remember it being on my pre-Diner-Lite trip. Unfair recollection or plain fact...? My friend's Bob Evans isn't bad either: her lighter appetite allows me to check this for myself. I order another coffee and enjoy the view as the sun begins to rise, with a beautiful pink sky suddenly emerging through the windows on the left. The car begins to fill up after 07h00, and we head back. I spend another half hour or so in the lounge car, chatting to a young park employee who is returning to Yosemite National Park, where she works. She's got a few hours in Chicago before she continues westwards on board the Empire Builder this afternoon.
Around Waterloo, IN, we slow right down, and the conductor apologises for problems with Norfolk Southern's signalling equipment in the area. No delay to our eventual arrival in Chicago is expected, though, and we're soon back up to sppeed, rushing through Indiana towards Chicago. Before I realise it, we've turned north and are on the final stretch through the industialised and rustier corners of Illinois towards Chicago. As the city comes into sight, we are indeed still running on time. We pull into Union Station exactly on time, with a week ahead of us in the Windy City...
Next trip...? Who knows... there's nothing on the horizon, but with as good an experience as that behind me, I promise to be back soon
*j*
Seriously: try it. Search the Amtrak website for Montréal (MTR) to Chicago (CHI), and you'll find a convenient day-and-night connection from the Adirondack to the Lake Shore Limited at Schenectady (SDY). But do it the other way and it all falls flat. The eastbound Lake Shore Limited misses the northbound Adirondack by a couple of hours. If you're a Chicagoite with a hankering for some time on the other side of the border, you'll only option is to make do with a connection at Buffalo onto the Maple Leaf for Toronto. Don't get me wrong; I love Toronto - but it's not Montréal, the femme fatale who seduced me with her beautiful architecture, lively nightlife and friendly francophone folk (trust me, try speaking some French, and they will be much friendlier towards you than you might have heard).
A complicated legal matter brought me back to Montréal just after Christmas 2006, with time to spare afterwards for a week in Chicago. I spent a few days in Chicago last year when I left Montréal for a month ontherails, and of all the places I visited during that trip, Chicago was the one I most wanted to return to and explore more. So I booked the flights from the UK (into Montréal and out of Chicago) and then the Amtrak coach tickets for the trip between the two cities, departing on 3 January 2007 and arriving just over a day later. The trip worked out like this:
dep. Montréal, QC (MTR) 09h50 (on time) 3 January
arr. Schenectady, NY (SDY) scheduled 16h23 (actual: 17h30) 3 January
dep. Schenectady, NY (SDY) scheduled 19h31 (on time) 3 January
arr. Chicago, IL (CHI) scheduled 09h45 (on time) 4 January
The fare for a one way student ticket came to US$136.00 (very approximately CA$160.00). The temptation to book a sleeper was resisted once more: although I'm now firmly relocated on the other side of the Atlantic, I am planning many more trips on Amtrak and now that it'll be impossible to go back to coach if I ever give way to urge for some comfort.
Unlike my previous trips, this time I was travelling with a companion, a fellow student from my university who was following an unofficial field trip to the two cities. This was her first trip to both Canada and the United States of America.
We were at Montréal's Gare Centrale (central rail station) with plenty of time just after 09h00. The Gare Centrale is between Bonaventure (orange line) and Peel and McGill (green line) stations. Although Bonaventure is closer, you can reach the station from both lines through the famous cité soutterain ('underground city') of Montréal's downtown core. Just don't expect it to be easy to find your way through the maze of underground shopping malls and passages...
Train 68, the Adirondack, was departing from track seventeen, which appears to be its usual platform. By the time we arrived, a long queue of passengers was stretching through the station concourse almost as far back as the large branch of Bureau en gros (Staples) at the other end of the station. VIA Rail Canada station staff were already working the line, handing out US Immigration documents. I had time to pick up some newspapers and a sandwich for the trip, and to also say hello to a previously very helpful member of VIA Rail staff at the Information Desk. She didn't remember me, but I remembered her from when I was planning my trip around North America. I passed on my best wishes, asked how she was doing and thanked her again for her helpfulness the previous time we had met.
I returned to the line and as scheduled on the departure boards, boarding began half an hour before departure at 09h50. But a few moments after the line began to move, I was surprised to see this agent returning to my side. She asked if it was just the two of us travelling, and told us to follow her. I was geuinely touched to discover that she was lifting us past the long line-up and bringing us to the escalator down to track 17...! We parted company once more, and I said I hoped to see her again when I was next in Montréal. I just hope she doesn't think I will always be expecting priority boarding in exchange for just saying hello :lol:
Train 68 was ready to depart with (as usual) one locomotive, two Amfleet I coaches, a café car and two more Amfleet I coaches. Unlike the Maple Leaf, the Adirondack has neither business class nor Amfleet IIs... your thoughts most welcome on this; since the café car is often very busy on this route I doubt a combined café/business car would be worth it, but Amfleet IIs might be more suited to this long and usually slow route. Our advanced bording was handy, since the train filled up, with through passengers to New York Penn eventually filling their two coaches at the back of the train and being directed to join us up front, in the coaches normally reserved for passengers heading to intermediate stations. Furthermore, unlike the Maple Leaf, the Adirondack is an entirely Amtrak operated service, so the entire northbound portion of the route is operated by an Albany-based Amtrak crew, and the café opens to sell Amtrak stock in US dollars as soon as the train has left Montréal. How Amtrak gets round the provincial legislation of Québec to provide service and printed information in both French and English I do not know for sure. I recognise both all of the on-board crew from previous trips, and I know for certain that they don't speak French.
We left on time, emerging into the dazzling sunshine of an early January morning. The track swung us round offering both sides of the train a panoramic view of Montréal's downtown skyline and Mont-Royal 'mountain' behind. As we crossed the St. Lawrence river, we passed what appeared to be the 'Ocean', paused beside us en route for the yards. There were three VIA Rail locomotives (including the distinctive and now somewhat long in the tooth 'Spiderman' engine) and then a long consist entirely made up of Renaissance cars, but without a dome car at the rear.
The run from Montréal to the border is very slow - it takes more than ninety minutes to reach the US Immigration customs check at Rouses Point, NY. A similar journey by car from downtown Montréal to the closest border crossing takes no more than thirty minutes. The train bounces along some pretty poor track and through the quiet town Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where the old railway station is now a tourist office. From there it's a straight (but slow) shot to the border. Since the quality of the track improves so much south of Rouses Point, it's strange that this line has yet to be improved: it could easily make a substantial cut in the journey time.
We pass the Canadian inspection point at Cantic. It's hard to spot if you're going south, but look carefully and you'll see it... the train normally halts for a few moments right across a road crossing while a switch is manually thrown; a moment of two later you'll pass a small cabin on the left of the track, where a spur heads off to the east. You can see the junction here at Notre-Dame-Du-Mont-Carmel. The train crosses the actual US-Canada border at the same point as Québec route 223 and NY route 11. After that follows a very slow (<10mph) crawl through disused freight sidings to the station at Rouses Point, where US Customs and Immigration staff board the train. I'm always reluctant to go into too much detail about this part of the trip, but it's usually slow and ineffecient. As always, I (a UK passport holder) am sent back to the café car to purchase a visa waiver for US$6 (no Canadian dollars, so be prepared). Unusually, the agent who's inspecting my car holds onto my passport while he finishes the front coaches, so we're left sitting like lemons in the café car until he comes through. His superior officer appears to point out that this is not the most effecient way of doing things, as we still have to be processed once the cars have been checked. We pay our admission charge, declare that we are not terrorists, and we can get on our way again. We eventually depart 55 minutes late at 13h05, after taking on board one (wheelchair bound) passenger at Rouses Point, space for whhttp://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?act=post&do=new_post&f=5om is made by shifting suitcases around at the head of our (the second) carraige.
Plattsburgh is the next stop, and it's also a smoking break for everyone who has now been on board for four hours since leaving Montréal. My travelling companion and I step out onto the platform, where two dozen or so passengers are bording. My friend gets a real kick out of hearing the conductor yell 'all aboard!' ... up to now she thought that was just in the movies.
South of Plattsburgh, the scenery gets interesting as the line hugs the western shore of Lake Champlain, with the snowy mountaintops of Vermont visible across the lake. I pass some time reading in the café car, and enjoying a coffee with the view. I chat briefly to the lead conductor who explains to me how the train is doing. This is, apparently, going to be the last busy day after the holiday period, and things will now begin to 'quiten down'. He also explains the train's state subsidy... the Adirondack is supported by the New York State Department of Transportation for providing service to these northern communities. This subsidy is particularly interesting, since it is apparently an unfixed floating subsidy: the NYDOT will make up any shortfall between revenues and the cost of running the train, so the Adirondack is effectively guaranteed to never lose Amtrak any money.
We continue south, only marginally maintaining our hour delay. Even with the delay and short winter day, we still manage to see all of Lake Champlain in daylight, and it isn't getting dark until south of Saratoga Springs. We eventually reach Schenectady, our connection point, over an hour late at 17h30. Our connection to the westbound Lake Shore Limited is safe, and we still have two hours in hand to go for a walk and find to a bite to eat. We check in our luggage (there's no luggage service on the Adirondack, but there is on the Lake Shore Limited) and then head out into the small town. I've been here before, and I know exactly where I want to go to eat: Slick's Restaurant and Bar. It's just a short walk from the station at 127 South Ferry Street (here). I last killed some time between trains here in April 2006, and the bar is a particularly pleasant and welcoming place to spend some time. There are about forty bottled beers on offer from around the country, Canada and further afield. I go for a Vermont Porter (hefty and very suitable for a chilly winter's night) and we order sandwiches. The menu says that they're world famous - and they should be, because they're huge. My friend's smoked beef sandwich and my ham sandwich each consist of about three inches of meat tightly packed between two slim slices of white bread and some cursory cheese, greens and tomatoes. Being mild mannered and light eating British tourists, we have trouble getting through the dishes, and eventually concede defeat when our waitress offers the wrap up the remaining halves of our sandwiches. Nonetheless, I can't recommend Slick's highly enough as a place to spend some time next time you are changing trains in Schenectady.
We're back at the station with plenty of time to spare, and are on the platform in time to see train 49 eastbound to Chicago roar into the station. Two locomotives lead a consist of a baggage car, dorm car, three Viewliners, dining car, lounge car and four Amfleet II coaches. Along with a small crowd of about twenty other passengers, we board at the rear of the first coach and pick seats near the middle of the car. My travelling companion is very impressed by the room and comfort of the coach. Having travelled south in tighter Amfleet I seating, she appreciates the legroom and leg rests. In fact, it's so comfortable that we both almost immediately doze off, as our diminuitive bodies attempt to deal with our first encounter of American-proportioned cusine.
Our coach is quiet to begin with, but as we pass Utica, Syracuse and Rochester the train begins to fill up with coach passengers. We spend a little while in the busy lounge car enjoying a nightcap and listening on the various conversations that are going on around us. I'm pleased to see my travelling companion enjoying herself: nothing beats immersing yourself in a new place straightaway, and overnight on Amtrak is the perfect introduction to America.
We each sleep pretty well in coach. The lights are dimmed after we leave Syracuse, and the coach is at a good temperature - not too cold and not too hot. I'm now a big fan of sleeping not with eyemask and earplugs, but with my very worn woolen hat. I just yank it down and drift away.
I miss Pennsylvania but am awake to see Cleveland, OH, which we pass through dead on time. The last time I was on this train, we were late enough for me to be eating breakfast in the dining car at this point. Elyria and Sandusky slip past unnoticed, but we're early into Toledo. I step off the train and walk the length of the train on the platforms. Apart from some idling motorcoaches in the station parking lot and the gushing water from some of the train's tanks, it's blissfully quiet and not too cold as I take a breather. Nothing beats these peaceful moments of travel with Amtrak for me. Some might complain about these extended stops, but I enjoy seeing these places in the early hours. I'm back on the train and we leave on time at 06h15. The breakfast car is soon open, and we head down to eat in the pre-dawn darkness. The dining car appears much less decorated than I remember - not curtains nor wall lights, and with the air conditioning stuck on 'sub-zero' it's not particularly welcoming. However, the staff are very friendly and the service is (as always) excellent. It's a shame the food isn't as good as I remember it: my French toast was nowhere near as fresh as I remember it being on my pre-Diner-Lite trip. Unfair recollection or plain fact...? My friend's Bob Evans isn't bad either: her lighter appetite allows me to check this for myself. I order another coffee and enjoy the view as the sun begins to rise, with a beautiful pink sky suddenly emerging through the windows on the left. The car begins to fill up after 07h00, and we head back. I spend another half hour or so in the lounge car, chatting to a young park employee who is returning to Yosemite National Park, where she works. She's got a few hours in Chicago before she continues westwards on board the Empire Builder this afternoon.
Around Waterloo, IN, we slow right down, and the conductor apologises for problems with Norfolk Southern's signalling equipment in the area. No delay to our eventual arrival in Chicago is expected, though, and we're soon back up to sppeed, rushing through Indiana towards Chicago. Before I realise it, we've turned north and are on the final stretch through the industialised and rustier corners of Illinois towards Chicago. As the city comes into sight, we are indeed still running on time. We pull into Union Station exactly on time, with a week ahead of us in the Windy City...
Next trip...? Who knows... there's nothing on the horizon, but with as good an experience as that behind me, I promise to be back soon
*j*
