On Friday, I was able to leave school about 2 hours early, (doctors appointment 
) which facilitated getting to Midway airport in a timely manner. I drove to Union Station, parked in the garage, and then walked over to catch the orange line at Quincy. As I climbed to the top fo the stairs at the station, I saw a train pull in. For some reason, he waited why I used my chicago card to get through the turn style, and onto the platform. Thus I left Quincy at 2:09 which got me to Midway by about 2:45 pm, which left plenty of time to clear security. My flight was at 6:15, but I thought their might be something earlier, but no luck. I had a nice dinner, Fried shirmp at the Illinois cafe, and a hot fudge brownie for desert at Hary Cary's. (Note to self: Hary Cary's is THEplace if you want a sit down meal at Midway. The plane did not leave until about 8 pm. The FAA had some sort control on, and my plane sat in Buffalo waiting for clearnace. Southwest airlines did a good job keeping me uptdate, though I found out the definition of a Southwest minue. 1 minute = 3 minutes. So if they say 15 minutes, plan on 45 LOL.
After a stop in Houston, arrived in San Antonio at 12:05. Was checked into the fairfiled Inn which is about 2 miles from Amtrak, and in bed by 12:45. Wake up at 6:20, shower, breakfast, and cabbed over to the station by 7:30. Momemnts later, we were allowed to board.
Consist was 1 engine, transition sleeper, diner, lounge(refurbished with tables on second level) 3 coaches and my sleeper. The sleeper was a superliner II, Tennesee. The state name was on the door that into the car on the second level, but it was not on the outside by the door where you enter from the platform. That seemd odd to me.
We backed out of the station on the ex sp main line, and then switched onto the line going north. The tracks were somewhat rough, and the scenery not that great. But I was on a train.
The cold breakfast was adequate, as mentioned in earlier posts. If I had not iknown about it, I do not think I would have gotten it. The attendant never said anything. However, I think I was partly to blame. He made a brief appearance after I got on, noted that I had situated myself in the room, and said "well, you know your way around here I see." I said yes, and off he went. I was not thinking about breakfast at the time, so I forgot to ask. If you dont know the proceudre, you get it from the lounge car attendant.
The weather was cloudy and gray, thus the land scape was not coloful. This helped make the scenery seem boring. I did see an Antlope or dear. After Austin, the tracks run down the median of an expressway. That was kind of neat. We were on the last car, and I noticed concrete ties on this segment. Must be hard to maintain the tracks there.
Eventually, lunch was anounced. I was seated in with two people who were in room 10 accross the hall from me. I saw that one was reading Friday Night Lights which is about Texas high school footbal. We talked football throughtout lunch. I'm a Bears fan, they were 49's fans. You know i I talked some trash too since the Bears beat the 49's THIS YEAR.
The bad news . . . pre packaged meals are served on the Eagle too. The good news, the food was edible, and kind of good at times. Though not as good as freshly cooked meals, it was better than airline food. At breakfast, you do not get a choice of breakfast meats, you get what is prepackaged with the meal that you orders. I did not like this, because I like sausage, but I got ham instead.
The dining car crew was a mixed bag. The waiter was fun, the LSA was a jerk. He and I had the dining car AM dance at brekfast. I know full well that when a call isnot made, dont go in and ask. I always let some sucker go through first. I watch through the window, and if the person is seated, I shoot through the door and get a window seat. So I appled this approach this morning. The Am-idiot looked at me funny as I walked into the car. "What do you want?" I said, "Breakfast, I saw you that you seated those people, so I assumed th diner was open for service." He said sarcastically, "You assumed that". I said, "well it is a logical assumption. You sat them, the dining car is open" He responded, "I'm not logical." I responded, "Well that's obvious. Dont talk like that to me again. I didnt do anything to you." I went in and sat down. Needless to say, I was irritated.
The LSA and the waiter started talking trash about who was better at football. The waiter was getting the better of this conversation. When he brought my french toast, I added, "His butt never got off the bench, so he knows he coundnt tackle you. You can tell him that too." The wiater, however, had a good sense of humor and provided promp service. The LSA was slow cashing coach passengers checks out, and I doubt that there was a coach passenger who did not walk out of the diner irritated with this guy.
The porter in the sleeping car was pleasant. When I noticed that the toiliets in the car were not flusing, I told him. He made an effort to fix them, and then made arrangements for them to be fixed in Fort Worth. He thanked me for telling him.
The train had the usual freight issues, and we were 3 hours or more late for most of the trip. The scenery south of St. Louis is pleasant, especially where the train runs along the Mississippi.
The train status on a station by station basis lis listed below:
Dp san antonio 800 ot
dp san marcos 940 8min late
ar austin 1020
dp austin1031
ar taylor 1117
dp taylor 1126
ar temple 117 52 min late
dp temple 125 1hr late
dp mcgregor 200 1 hr 9 late
dp cleburne 319 1hr 19 late
dp. Ft worth 458 1 hr 38 late
dp dallas 621 1 hr 51 late
dp mineola 915 3hr 10 late
dp texarkana 1225 3 hr 12 late
dp poplar bluff 640 3 hrs 30
dp st louis 1151 3 hrs 21
dp springfield 217 3 hrs 47 late
dp lincoln 245 3 hrd 45 late
dp bloomington 315 3hrs 37 late
dp pontiac 355 3hrs 42 late
ar chicago 555 3hrs 41 late
Hope you ennjoyed the report.
) which facilitated getting to Midway airport in a timely manner. I drove to Union Station, parked in the garage, and then walked over to catch the orange line at Quincy. As I climbed to the top fo the stairs at the station, I saw a train pull in. For some reason, he waited why I used my chicago card to get through the turn style, and onto the platform. Thus I left Quincy at 2:09 which got me to Midway by about 2:45 pm, which left plenty of time to clear security. My flight was at 6:15, but I thought their might be something earlier, but no luck. I had a nice dinner, Fried shirmp at the Illinois cafe, and a hot fudge brownie for desert at Hary Cary's. (Note to self: Hary Cary's is THEplace if you want a sit down meal at Midway. The plane did not leave until about 8 pm. The FAA had some sort control on, and my plane sat in Buffalo waiting for clearnace. Southwest airlines did a good job keeping me uptdate, though I found out the definition of a Southwest minue. 1 minute = 3 minutes. So if they say 15 minutes, plan on 45 LOL.After a stop in Houston, arrived in San Antonio at 12:05. Was checked into the fairfiled Inn which is about 2 miles from Amtrak, and in bed by 12:45. Wake up at 6:20, shower, breakfast, and cabbed over to the station by 7:30. Momemnts later, we were allowed to board.
Consist was 1 engine, transition sleeper, diner, lounge(refurbished with tables on second level) 3 coaches and my sleeper. The sleeper was a superliner II, Tennesee. The state name was on the door that into the car on the second level, but it was not on the outside by the door where you enter from the platform. That seemd odd to me.
We backed out of the station on the ex sp main line, and then switched onto the line going north. The tracks were somewhat rough, and the scenery not that great. But I was on a train.
The cold breakfast was adequate, as mentioned in earlier posts. If I had not iknown about it, I do not think I would have gotten it. The attendant never said anything. However, I think I was partly to blame. He made a brief appearance after I got on, noted that I had situated myself in the room, and said "well, you know your way around here I see." I said yes, and off he went. I was not thinking about breakfast at the time, so I forgot to ask. If you dont know the proceudre, you get it from the lounge car attendant.
The weather was cloudy and gray, thus the land scape was not coloful. This helped make the scenery seem boring. I did see an Antlope or dear. After Austin, the tracks run down the median of an expressway. That was kind of neat. We were on the last car, and I noticed concrete ties on this segment. Must be hard to maintain the tracks there.
Eventually, lunch was anounced. I was seated in with two people who were in room 10 accross the hall from me. I saw that one was reading Friday Night Lights which is about Texas high school footbal. We talked football throughtout lunch. I'm a Bears fan, they were 49's fans. You know i I talked some trash too since the Bears beat the 49's THIS YEAR.
The bad news . . . pre packaged meals are served on the Eagle too. The good news, the food was edible, and kind of good at times. Though not as good as freshly cooked meals, it was better than airline food. At breakfast, you do not get a choice of breakfast meats, you get what is prepackaged with the meal that you orders. I did not like this, because I like sausage, but I got ham instead.
The dining car crew was a mixed bag. The waiter was fun, the LSA was a jerk. He and I had the dining car AM dance at brekfast. I know full well that when a call isnot made, dont go in and ask. I always let some sucker go through first. I watch through the window, and if the person is seated, I shoot through the door and get a window seat. So I appled this approach this morning. The Am-idiot looked at me funny as I walked into the car. "What do you want?" I said, "Breakfast, I saw you that you seated those people, so I assumed th diner was open for service." He said sarcastically, "You assumed that". I said, "well it is a logical assumption. You sat them, the dining car is open" He responded, "I'm not logical." I responded, "Well that's obvious. Dont talk like that to me again. I didnt do anything to you." I went in and sat down. Needless to say, I was irritated.
The LSA and the waiter started talking trash about who was better at football. The waiter was getting the better of this conversation. When he brought my french toast, I added, "His butt never got off the bench, so he knows he coundnt tackle you. You can tell him that too." The wiater, however, had a good sense of humor and provided promp service. The LSA was slow cashing coach passengers checks out, and I doubt that there was a coach passenger who did not walk out of the diner irritated with this guy.
The porter in the sleeping car was pleasant. When I noticed that the toiliets in the car were not flusing, I told him. He made an effort to fix them, and then made arrangements for them to be fixed in Fort Worth. He thanked me for telling him.
The train had the usual freight issues, and we were 3 hours or more late for most of the trip. The scenery south of St. Louis is pleasant, especially where the train runs along the Mississippi.
The train status on a station by station basis lis listed below:
Dp san antonio 800 ot
dp san marcos 940 8min late
ar austin 1020
dp austin1031
ar taylor 1117
dp taylor 1126
ar temple 117 52 min late
dp temple 125 1hr late
dp mcgregor 200 1 hr 9 late
dp cleburne 319 1hr 19 late
dp. Ft worth 458 1 hr 38 late
dp dallas 621 1 hr 51 late
dp mineola 915 3hr 10 late
dp texarkana 1225 3 hr 12 late
dp poplar bluff 640 3 hrs 30
dp st louis 1151 3 hrs 21
dp springfield 217 3 hrs 47 late
dp lincoln 245 3 hrd 45 late
dp bloomington 315 3hrs 37 late
dp pontiac 355 3hrs 42 late
ar chicago 555 3hrs 41 late
Hope you ennjoyed the report.
