stlouielady
Lead Service Attendant
Okay, here's my first attempt at this; hope it makes sense. Its not very detailed; just the facts I guess. I am breaking this up into two parts as well, since I tend to ramble a bit. I had some business to do in the Minneapolis area, and could have flown, or driven up, but, I wanted to take a 'trial run' in a sleeper in preparation for a cross country trip sometime later this year (hopefully).
I left St Louis, to Chicago, on the State House (train 300), departing at 4:35 AM. The train consist was 1 locomotive, a business/cafe car, and three coaches. I have no idea of the locomotive number, nor the type; I really wouldn't know what type it was anyway, even if I had bothered to take much time to look! I 'splurged' for the Business Class (an additional $14), for the extra room and the quiet. The car had 6 (maybe 8?) rows of seats, in a 2-1 configuration in the front, the cafe area in the middle, and seating (tables) in the rear of the car. The business car was pretty empty, until we got to Springfield, IL, where several business people on their way to a seminar in Chicago boarded. The strange thing on this train was that there was no cafe attendant on board, so, nothing could be prepared or purchased. However, they had chips and drinks available that they were giving away to people that wanted them. The trip was on-time the entire way, until we got to Chicago. There, we had to wait for a stopped freight that was crossing in front of us. We ended up arriving 19 minutes late, at 10:14 AM.
I had purchased a roomette for the trip from Chicago to St Paul, so, on the advice of everyone on here, I headed to the Metropolitan Lounge to wait. I checked in, checked my luggage, and decided to explore a little. There were soft drinks, coffee, tea, water, muffins, etc available in the lounge. I went outside for a little walk and some fresh air, and then headed back to the station. I got back about 1:00 PM. The conductor called for the sleeper passengers about 1:15, so that she could check and gather our tickets prior to boarding. We started the boarding for the train at 1:35. I found the train, and my roomette, and starting settling in. I was in car 2730 (Portland sleeper), roomette 8. We departed on time at 2:15 PM. The consist was as follows: 2 locomotives, baggage car, crew/transition sleeper (I'm guessing here, as I never made it out to look, since I got off in MSP), Seattle sleeper, diner car, 2 Seattle coaches, the observation/lounge car, 2 Portland coaches, and, finally, the Portland sleeper. We were hooked at the end by roomette 10, so, I was looking out the right side of the train. Our car attendant, Tony, stopped by and gave me the grand tour of the roomette, explained to me where the diner was, and made sure that I knew where everything was. He brought bottled water and a small bottle of champagne, and told me the the dining attendant would be by shortly for dinner reservations. We departed on-time. Shortly, the dining attendant, Jeanette, came by to take my reservation for dinner. The choices were 5:30, or 7:00; I chose the 7:00 seating. I sat for awhile, doing a little work, watching the scenery, etc. I also explored the train awhile, spending quite a bit of time in the observation car. I heard the call for dinner, so I headed through ALL those cars (5) to the diner, and was seated with three others traveling all the way through to Portland; one even headed up to Canada. Two of us ordered the broasted chicken, one of us ordered the lamb shank, and the fourth one ordered the cheese ravioli. My chicken came with choice of potato, carrots and broccoli, a salad, and rolls. I had no complaint about the food, and the portions were HUGE! Everyone at the table seemed to have the same opinion, and there wasn't a whole lot of food left when we were all done. I understand that they don't have the 'diner lite' concept on this train yet, and, honestly, I hope they don't change it. No one ordered dessert, as it seemed that we were all full. I headed back to the room, and tried to finish up a little work before my station stop. Approximately 10 minutes before the St Paul stop, Tony came by and reminded me that my stop was coming up. Three of the other roomette passengers left here as well. We got to St Paul at 10:36 PM, 5 minutes late.
I left the station, and found a taxi to go to the airport to pick up a Hertz rental car. I grabbed a 'Green and White' taxi (I think that was the name; it was green and white, in case I got the name wrong), and told him I needed to go to the airport. He took me the craziest way that I have ever gotten to the airport in my whole life! He took mainly back streets, avoiding the majority of stop lights, and got there very quickly. Very talkative gentleman, and, bragging a little bit of course, he informed me that I had gotten the "cheapest cab in town", because he takes local, direct routes, and doesn't mess with the major highways. I have to agree with him, because the fare was only $14; I had heard others talking about fares of at least $25 for the same trip. I picked up the car from the Hertz counter; get a receipt for the cab, because they will re-imburse you up to $15. Also, make sure to mention you are arriving on Amtrak when you make the reservation, as its good for a 20% discount on the rental. I picked up the car, and proceeded on my way to my meeting the next day.
I will post another trip report for my return trip. Like I said, I get a little wordy, so, its best to break this up.
I left St Louis, to Chicago, on the State House (train 300), departing at 4:35 AM. The train consist was 1 locomotive, a business/cafe car, and three coaches. I have no idea of the locomotive number, nor the type; I really wouldn't know what type it was anyway, even if I had bothered to take much time to look! I 'splurged' for the Business Class (an additional $14), for the extra room and the quiet. The car had 6 (maybe 8?) rows of seats, in a 2-1 configuration in the front, the cafe area in the middle, and seating (tables) in the rear of the car. The business car was pretty empty, until we got to Springfield, IL, where several business people on their way to a seminar in Chicago boarded. The strange thing on this train was that there was no cafe attendant on board, so, nothing could be prepared or purchased. However, they had chips and drinks available that they were giving away to people that wanted them. The trip was on-time the entire way, until we got to Chicago. There, we had to wait for a stopped freight that was crossing in front of us. We ended up arriving 19 minutes late, at 10:14 AM.
I had purchased a roomette for the trip from Chicago to St Paul, so, on the advice of everyone on here, I headed to the Metropolitan Lounge to wait. I checked in, checked my luggage, and decided to explore a little. There were soft drinks, coffee, tea, water, muffins, etc available in the lounge. I went outside for a little walk and some fresh air, and then headed back to the station. I got back about 1:00 PM. The conductor called for the sleeper passengers about 1:15, so that she could check and gather our tickets prior to boarding. We started the boarding for the train at 1:35. I found the train, and my roomette, and starting settling in. I was in car 2730 (Portland sleeper), roomette 8. We departed on time at 2:15 PM. The consist was as follows: 2 locomotives, baggage car, crew/transition sleeper (I'm guessing here, as I never made it out to look, since I got off in MSP), Seattle sleeper, diner car, 2 Seattle coaches, the observation/lounge car, 2 Portland coaches, and, finally, the Portland sleeper. We were hooked at the end by roomette 10, so, I was looking out the right side of the train. Our car attendant, Tony, stopped by and gave me the grand tour of the roomette, explained to me where the diner was, and made sure that I knew where everything was. He brought bottled water and a small bottle of champagne, and told me the the dining attendant would be by shortly for dinner reservations. We departed on-time. Shortly, the dining attendant, Jeanette, came by to take my reservation for dinner. The choices were 5:30, or 7:00; I chose the 7:00 seating. I sat for awhile, doing a little work, watching the scenery, etc. I also explored the train awhile, spending quite a bit of time in the observation car. I heard the call for dinner, so I headed through ALL those cars (5) to the diner, and was seated with three others traveling all the way through to Portland; one even headed up to Canada. Two of us ordered the broasted chicken, one of us ordered the lamb shank, and the fourth one ordered the cheese ravioli. My chicken came with choice of potato, carrots and broccoli, a salad, and rolls. I had no complaint about the food, and the portions were HUGE! Everyone at the table seemed to have the same opinion, and there wasn't a whole lot of food left when we were all done. I understand that they don't have the 'diner lite' concept on this train yet, and, honestly, I hope they don't change it. No one ordered dessert, as it seemed that we were all full. I headed back to the room, and tried to finish up a little work before my station stop. Approximately 10 minutes before the St Paul stop, Tony came by and reminded me that my stop was coming up. Three of the other roomette passengers left here as well. We got to St Paul at 10:36 PM, 5 minutes late.
I left the station, and found a taxi to go to the airport to pick up a Hertz rental car. I grabbed a 'Green and White' taxi (I think that was the name; it was green and white, in case I got the name wrong), and told him I needed to go to the airport. He took me the craziest way that I have ever gotten to the airport in my whole life! He took mainly back streets, avoiding the majority of stop lights, and got there very quickly. Very talkative gentleman, and, bragging a little bit of course, he informed me that I had gotten the "cheapest cab in town", because he takes local, direct routes, and doesn't mess with the major highways. I have to agree with him, because the fare was only $14; I had heard others talking about fares of at least $25 for the same trip. I picked up the car from the Hertz counter; get a receipt for the cab, because they will re-imburse you up to $15. Also, make sure to mention you are arriving on Amtrak when you make the reservation, as its good for a 20% discount on the rental. I picked up the car, and proceeded on my way to my meeting the next day.
I will post another trip report for my return trip. Like I said, I get a little wordy, so, its best to break this up.
