ronkstevens
Service Attendant
Looking for some downtime, and a chance to visit with some friends in the Chicago area, we planned a nice loop trip that included some firsts. Our itinerary was planned as follows:
Keystone 648 from PAO - NYP
Lake Shore Limited 49 NYP - CHI
Capitol Limited 30 CHI - WAS
Acela Express 2170 WAS - PHL
Keystone 649 PHL - PAO
Our first segment on Keystone 648 was a breeze. Pull into Philly, then Push to NYP. On time all around. Since we were booked in a Roomette for the LSL, I was sort of looking forward to Club Acela in NYP, since I figured it would be a better wait than the rest of the station. Also, I was quite used to the Club Acela in Philly. Well, I should have realized that NYP's version would be crowded, loud, and surprisingly outside food was permitted. I was worried when they announced that 97 was going to be departing late, but from this video:
it just looked like they needed to add a deadhead diner onto the rear. 49 left on time.We were in 4911 room 6, so we had an excellent view of the Hudson River on our way north. I was also able to see some pictures that I recognized from articles as we past through the "Freedom Tunnel". I spent a lot of time gazing out the window, as it was my first trip on 49, and had never been on another route that went up the Hudson River Valley.
We went to bed around Utica, and we were still on time. I woke up briefly around Erie, and we were around 1.5 hours behind. Things stayed that way for the remainer of the trip, and ended up in Chicago (officially) 102 minutes late.
When it was time to come home we checked our bags and went to the Metropolitan Lounge, which was so much more pleasing than the lounge in NYP. Then the unfortunate announcement came: Train 30 was delayed in coming into the station. I wasn't surprised, since "Amtrak has a Chicago Problem". We ended up pulling out 48 minutes behind schedule. My wife and I both had some excitement, as this was our first time riding in Superliner equipment. Thanks to a low bucket when I booked, I even upgraded and purchased a bedroom instead of just a roomette. The extra room was welcome, and glancing into a roomette it looked like the Superliner roomettes are a little bit smaller than the ones on a Viewliner. Our car was a Superliner II, while the other sleeper was the George M Pullman SLI car.
I enjoyed hanging out in the Sightseer Lounge as we traveled down to Cumberland MD. I wish there was an equivilant kind of car for single level equipment. I also finally experienced (to my displeasure) what a "lounge lizard" actually was.
Although I was asleep until after Pittsburgh, I saw that we had actually made up our lost time by Alliance, OH. However, we lost it again on the way to Cumberland. It was looking like we were going to arrive in Washington by 2:00--only 50 minutes late, and plenty of time to catch 2170, which was scheduled to depart at 3:00. (note: the preferred connection if you book it as one reservation number is train 148 at 3:02). However, a fault detection and a red signal just outside of the station didn't have us pulling in until 2:30, 80 minutes late. Given the recent history of the CL, this was still pretty good. But we had checked baggage to pick up. We got our bags as they were announcing boarding of 2170. First connection good. Now to worry about the second connection.
By booking 2170/649 instead of 148/651 we would be able to get home almost an hour earlier, and my wife would be able to ride on the Acela for the first time. The big problem: 2170 arrives in Philly at 4:33, and 649 departs at 4:45. A whole 12 minute connection. While risky, it's still no big deal if we miss it. 651 comes along and departs at 5:35 and all is well. No ticket change required because it is the unreserved portion of the Keystone. My wife was worried, but I was not bothered by the connection, the trip from Track 3 to Track 7, or even if we missed it and had to spend 50 minutes in the Lounge. As dramatic as it might sound, we made the connection with no problem, and our 2002 mile trip was complete.
I wasnt sure what all to include in a trip report for the site, so if I left anything out that could be interesting, let me know.
Keystone 648 from PAO - NYP
Lake Shore Limited 49 NYP - CHI
Capitol Limited 30 CHI - WAS
Acela Express 2170 WAS - PHL
Keystone 649 PHL - PAO
Our first segment on Keystone 648 was a breeze. Pull into Philly, then Push to NYP. On time all around. Since we were booked in a Roomette for the LSL, I was sort of looking forward to Club Acela in NYP, since I figured it would be a better wait than the rest of the station. Also, I was quite used to the Club Acela in Philly. Well, I should have realized that NYP's version would be crowded, loud, and surprisingly outside food was permitted. I was worried when they announced that 97 was going to be departing late, but from this video:
it just looked like they needed to add a deadhead diner onto the rear. 49 left on time.We were in 4911 room 6, so we had an excellent view of the Hudson River on our way north. I was also able to see some pictures that I recognized from articles as we past through the "Freedom Tunnel". I spent a lot of time gazing out the window, as it was my first trip on 49, and had never been on another route that went up the Hudson River Valley.
We went to bed around Utica, and we were still on time. I woke up briefly around Erie, and we were around 1.5 hours behind. Things stayed that way for the remainer of the trip, and ended up in Chicago (officially) 102 minutes late.
When it was time to come home we checked our bags and went to the Metropolitan Lounge, which was so much more pleasing than the lounge in NYP. Then the unfortunate announcement came: Train 30 was delayed in coming into the station. I wasn't surprised, since "Amtrak has a Chicago Problem". We ended up pulling out 48 minutes behind schedule. My wife and I both had some excitement, as this was our first time riding in Superliner equipment. Thanks to a low bucket when I booked, I even upgraded and purchased a bedroom instead of just a roomette. The extra room was welcome, and glancing into a roomette it looked like the Superliner roomettes are a little bit smaller than the ones on a Viewliner. Our car was a Superliner II, while the other sleeper was the George M Pullman SLI car.
I enjoyed hanging out in the Sightseer Lounge as we traveled down to Cumberland MD. I wish there was an equivilant kind of car for single level equipment. I also finally experienced (to my displeasure) what a "lounge lizard" actually was.
Although I was asleep until after Pittsburgh, I saw that we had actually made up our lost time by Alliance, OH. However, we lost it again on the way to Cumberland. It was looking like we were going to arrive in Washington by 2:00--only 50 minutes late, and plenty of time to catch 2170, which was scheduled to depart at 3:00. (note: the preferred connection if you book it as one reservation number is train 148 at 3:02). However, a fault detection and a red signal just outside of the station didn't have us pulling in until 2:30, 80 minutes late. Given the recent history of the CL, this was still pretty good. But we had checked baggage to pick up. We got our bags as they were announcing boarding of 2170. First connection good. Now to worry about the second connection.
By booking 2170/649 instead of 148/651 we would be able to get home almost an hour earlier, and my wife would be able to ride on the Acela for the first time. The big problem: 2170 arrives in Philly at 4:33, and 649 departs at 4:45. A whole 12 minute connection. While risky, it's still no big deal if we miss it. 651 comes along and departs at 5:35 and all is well. No ticket change required because it is the unreserved portion of the Keystone. My wife was worried, but I was not bothered by the connection, the trip from Track 3 to Track 7, or even if we missed it and had to spend 50 minutes in the Lounge. As dramatic as it might sound, we made the connection with no problem, and our 2002 mile trip was complete.
I wasnt sure what all to include in a trip report for the site, so if I left anything out that could be interesting, let me know.
That is usually enough food to suffice until we board our next train...
