I haven't done a trip report on here in a while, despite having taken a few trips here and there.
Since this week is Thanksgiving week (US), I was able to get the week off. I'll be spending the next couple of days with relatives in Detroit.
Past trips to Detroit involved boarding the Wolverine in Chicago and heading directly into Detroit. However, this time, I decided to try something different.
A friend of mine from Toronto happened to be spending some time in California and Texas (traveled out on the Zephyr, back on the Eagle), and his return to Toronto involved taking 48 to Rochester and connecting to 63. I figured that was a good enough excuse to try the same thing.
Train 48 boarded about 15-30 minutes late due to some undescribed equipment problems. However, since sleeper boarding normally occurs at 8:00 pm and departure is at 10:00, the late boarding did not affect our departure.
Upon boarding, I went to the lounge for the wine and cheese reception. Nothing special. It's not like the wine tasting they do on the Coast Starlight or Empire Builder.
Breakfast in the morning was okay, but nothing special. The French Toast was a little tough, but, as Homer Simpson would say, "whattayagonnado?"
Arrival into Rochester was an hour late. Lunch at a coffee shop in Rochester, followed by boarding the Maple Leaf (also an hour late) into Toronto. The train maintained that one hour deficit through the border crossing and into Toronto Union Station.
I checked into my hotel (Delta Chelsea, not a bad deal at $70/night on Priceline.com). Tuesday I spent some time with some friends of mine that work for the TTC. Wednesday (i.e. today), I checked out of my hotel, went to Union Station, and boarded train 73 in VIA 1 class. And that's where we are now (I believe we're in Aldershot), thanks to on-board wireless internet access.
I don't have the VIA train consist, but for those keeping score at home, the Lake Shore Limited had:
203
20
22
1159
62014
62008
62015
28004
53509
25009
25070
25031
25091
The Maple Leaf had:
43
48157
25076
25010
25007
25082
Since this week is Thanksgiving week (US), I was able to get the week off. I'll be spending the next couple of days with relatives in Detroit.
Past trips to Detroit involved boarding the Wolverine in Chicago and heading directly into Detroit. However, this time, I decided to try something different.
A friend of mine from Toronto happened to be spending some time in California and Texas (traveled out on the Zephyr, back on the Eagle), and his return to Toronto involved taking 48 to Rochester and connecting to 63. I figured that was a good enough excuse to try the same thing.
Train 48 boarded about 15-30 minutes late due to some undescribed equipment problems. However, since sleeper boarding normally occurs at 8:00 pm and departure is at 10:00, the late boarding did not affect our departure.
Upon boarding, I went to the lounge for the wine and cheese reception. Nothing special. It's not like the wine tasting they do on the Coast Starlight or Empire Builder.
Breakfast in the morning was okay, but nothing special. The French Toast was a little tough, but, as Homer Simpson would say, "whattayagonnado?"
Arrival into Rochester was an hour late. Lunch at a coffee shop in Rochester, followed by boarding the Maple Leaf (also an hour late) into Toronto. The train maintained that one hour deficit through the border crossing and into Toronto Union Station.
I checked into my hotel (Delta Chelsea, not a bad deal at $70/night on Priceline.com). Tuesday I spent some time with some friends of mine that work for the TTC. Wednesday (i.e. today), I checked out of my hotel, went to Union Station, and boarded train 73 in VIA 1 class. And that's where we are now (I believe we're in Aldershot), thanks to on-board wireless internet access.
I don't have the VIA train consist, but for those keeping score at home, the Lake Shore Limited had:
203
20
22
1159
62014
62008
62015
28004
53509
25009
25070
25031
25091
The Maple Leaf had:
43
48157
25076
25010
25007
25082
