To be fair, the travel portion of this trip actually began the night before in Darien, Connecticut. I’d been visiting an old friend who lived in the nearby suburb of Tokeneke and I’d found that the best way for me to catch my Amtrak departure from Boston would be to catch the morning Megabus departure out of New Haven. Darien sits 40 miles south of New Haven, however, and my friend had to be off to work at 7:30 in the morning and so would be unable to give me a ride up to New Haven. As such, I determined that the best course of action would be for me to catch the Metro North commuter train up to New Haven and get a hotel for the night. Then I’d be well positioned to catch the 9:30 Megabus departure from New Haven’s Union Station the next morning.

My friend was more than willing to drive me up to New Haven the night before but I declined his kind offer as I wanted to check out the Metro North’s New Haven line train. It had been almost forty years since I’d last ridden this line and the current rolling stock was completely different from the old heavyweight cars operated by the New Haven Railroad back in the late 1970s.

And so it was that I caught the 9:30pm local up to New Haven. The new cars were brightly lit and spotlessly clean inside but their molded plastic seats were nowhere near as comfortable as the overstuffed foam rubber and fabric bench seats that were standard issue on the cars from 40 years ago.



Metro North’s commuter car on the New Haven Line


I found my overstuffed foam rubber and leather upholstered seat in the front of an aging Mercury Grand Marquis taxi that delivered me to my accommodation for the night – the Super 8 in South New Haven.


Day One
MegaBus New Haven, CT to Boston, MA 930a – 1125a
Amtrak First Class ~ Lake Shore Limited ~ Boston, MA to Chicago, IL ~ Dep. 1250p

Hot coffee and a complimentary copy of USA Today greeted me in the hotel lobby as I awaited my taxi. Once again, an aging Mercury Grand Marquis provided the motive power as my laconic driver drove me back to New Haven’s Union Station with nary a word.

I must say I was quite taken with New Haven’s Union Station. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert (who also designed the Woolworth Building in New York as well as the U.S. Supreme Court Building), the beaux-arts style Union Station was completed and opened in 1920 after the previous Union Station was destroyed by fire. Like many stations of its era, New Haven’s Union Station fell into decline after World War II along with the rest of the railroad industry in North America. It was shuttered in 1972, leaving only the under-track 'subway' open for passengers. Despite having been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was almost demolished before being saved by the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project in the late 1970s. Following extensive renovations, the station reopened in 1985 and is now an impressive gateway to the city.

The “new” station features interior limestone walls, ornate ceilings, chandeliers and striking stainless steel ceilings in the tunnels to the trains. The large waiting room has thirty-five feet high ceilings and features models of trains on the tops of thebenches.



New Haven’s Union Station Waiting Room


Although Amtrak trains operate between New Haven and Boston, Amtrak’s website warned of track work between the two cities with delays of 45 minutes possible. It’s been my experience that the mere advance mention of delays bears the potential for delays considerably longer than advertised, so I decided to explore other options.

Megabus has been providing discounted bus travel since 2006. It operates throughout much of the United States and eastern Canada, offering fares as low as $1.00 for those who are able to purchase their tickets well in advance. I booked a bit too late to qualify for the $1.00 fare, but ultimately purchased a very affordable $11.00 ticket on a bus that would drop me off within two blocks of Boston’s South Station from whence my Amtrak train to Chicago would be departing.

After purchasing a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich inside the train station, I headed outside to await my bus. In order to keep costs down, Megabus does not operate out of bus terminals but instead picks up at curbside on public streets. In New Haven the Megabus stop was conveniently located at the end of the block on which the train station was located.

My bus pulled up about ten minutes early. There was no mistaking it with other city busses. Megabus uses the Van Hool TD925, a double deck coach that features a dramatic upper deck sky view rooftop. The bold blue Megabus livery made it instantly identifiable.



Megabus’ Van Hool TD925
Photo courtesy of Megabus


Megabus offers assigned seats, some of which are available at an additional fee depending upon location. I had paid an additional $3.00 for one of four seats at the downstairs table. Unfortunately, when I boarded the bus I found two of the seats were taken by a couple of girls who had spread out their laptops and papers all over the table. It looked like more trouble than not to add my laptop and papers to theirs and, since there were plenty of other seats available, I settled into an empty row nearby.

As for the bus ride north to Boston, what can I say? Megabus made the experience more pleasant by providing convenient electrical outlets at each seat, free Wi-Fi and fairly comfortable reclining seats with ample leg room. I was also impressed with the size of the lower deck restroom which was wheelchair accessible. I read on the Megabus website that one could even watch dozens of free TV shows and movies with Megabus’ RIDE app though I never utilized this service given the short hour and a half ride.

Alighting from the bus on a sunny morning in Boston, I made my way over to the South Station and followed the signs to the First Class lounge. Properly named the Acela First Class Lounge, it is located on the mezzanine level just above the ticketing area. The receptionist inspected my tickets and, seeing that I was a First Class passenger aboard Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, welcomed me into the lounge. I placed my roll-a-bord in a nearby storage area and then took a few minutes to check out the facility.



Boston’s Acela First Class Lounge
Photo courtesy of Lake Contracting


Boston’s Acela First Class Lounge
Photo courtesy of Lake Contracting


Boston’s Acela First Class Lounge
Photo courtesy of Lake Contracting


I was immediately impressed with this stylish lounge – its high, ornate ceilings contrasted nicely with modern, minimalist furniture accenting a spacious layout. Large windows provided a great view of the station hall below. A small selection of snacks (goldfish crackers and mini pretzels along with individually packaged portions of Sarah Lee pastries) was available along with coffee, sodas and a selection of local newspapers. The center of the club features three TV's while the perimeter has desks, small tables and chairs for those who prefer a quieter setting. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the lounge.

While all of this was very nice, this lounge still falls well short of most good airline lounges. It could really benefit from a proper bar – perhaps one that’s open from say 12:00pm through 8:00pm – along with a proper business area outfitted with individual desks and electrical outlets.

I don’t recall if a boarding announcement was ever made in the lounge. I did find out that despite our 12:50pm departure, no luncheon would be served upon out departure from Boston. This is because the dining car comes up on the main train from New York which we’ll meet and connect to at Albany early this evening. As such, I stopped by a Mexican food kiosk down on the station floor and purchased a made to order chicken and black bean burrito with all the extras. A bottle of ice water completed my purchase and, now properly prepared, I made my way out the doors leading down the platform to Track 8. Along the way I paused to admire the Acela train parked next door on Track 7.



Amtrak’s Acela awaits passengers at Boston


My View-Liner sleeping car was located at the end of the train, next to the café/lounge car. Though it required a longer walk to get to it, I appreciated the distance between it and the locomotive which was required to whistle at all road crossings. The farther back the car, the quieter your ride will be.



Walking down the platform alongside Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited


Amtrak’s View-Liner equipment is used only on eastern routes. Bi-Level Superliner equipment is used aboard all long distance trains operating west and south of Chicago. Superliner equipment is not used back east because the older overpasses and tunnels are not high enough to accommodate the higher cars. The one exception to this is the Superliner equipped Capitol Limited which runs on the old B&O line between Chicago and Washington DC.

As I approached the entrance to my car, I was greeted and welcomed aboard by the car attendant, Terrell, who relieved me of my bag and showed me to my accommodations in roomette #4. The hallway was quite narrow and, with its white metal walls and bright overhead lighting, downright utilitarian.



Narrow hallway aboard Amtrak’s View-Liner


I last rode Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited twenty-six years ago back in 1992. Back then, coach was the only accommodation for me but then my excitement at the pure joy of travel combined with a less arthritic back made sleeping in the coach seats a simple affair.

Over the years, I’ve come to really appreciate the benefits of a horizontal sleeping surface aboard trains – not to mention the privacy afforded by my own personal accommodations. Additionally, I’ve become fairly adept at maximizing my benefits in Amtrak’s Guest Rewards program. As such it was fairly simple to accrue the 37000 points required to book First Class accommodations for this trip from Boston to Seattle via Chicago and San Francisco.

Amtrak’s View-Liner cars offer a variety of accommodations ranging from Roomettes to Deluxe Bedrooms. Handicap accessible rooms are also available. Roomettes, though compact and snug, work well for one person and, because they have a drop down upper bunk, are suitable for two. The View-Liner roomettes differ from those on the Superliner in that they have an additional set of windows for those in the upper bunks. During the day when the beds aren’t set up, those windows allow in lots of wonderful natural light, not to mention extra view. Additionally, View-Liner roomettes include an ensuite sink and toilet, features not found on the Superliners except in the deluxe bedrooms and handicapped rooms. My car was named Chicopee River. Amtrak provides a virtual tour of its roomettes right HERE. Check it out!



Amtrak’s View-Liner Roomette


Amtrak’s View-Liner Roomette


Accommodations are snug


Once everyone had boarded, Terrell stopped by each room to provide any further assistance with or answer any questions about our accommodations. As an added surprise, he also distributed pre-wrapped sandwiches and chips. We were offered a choice of roast beef, turkey or ham – all of which included cheese and the usual sandwich veggies. I was tempted to take one but with my big burrito ready to eat and plenty of food available once we were underway, I couldn’t imagine when I’d ever get around to eating it so I passed.

Although we wouldn’t be adding the diner until after Albany, Terrell also took dinner reservations for our sleeper. Although he’d been informed that the complete consist was not heavily booked out of Albany, Terrell still recommended eating sooner rather than later as some of the more popular entrée items such as the New York Steak tended to sell out later in the evening. I chose to heed Terrell’s advice and made a reservation for the 6:45pm seating. I was handed a small card indicating the reservation time, and then settled back into the large padded seat in my roomette and watched as we accelerated out of the station and glided through the Boston suburbs.

It’s a twenty-one hour, 960 mile journey from Boston across to Chicago. If you’re in a hurry, take a plane. Travel by train, especially if you’ve purchased sleeper accommodations, is a great way to enjoy seeing the country you’re traveling through rather than over while ensconced in a comfortable seat amidst spacious accommodations. The pace is relaxed and there’ll be plenty of opportunity to share the excitement with your fellow travelers while sitting down to a meal in the diner or enjoying drinks and conversation in the lounge car.

The scenery between Boston and Worcester is pleasant though hardly dramatic. Much of the rail corridor immediately west of Boston is surrounded by trees, so I spent the first hour of this trip savoring my burrito while perusing the latest edition of Trains Magazine which I’d purchased at a news agency in Boston. I also had a copy of the latest Passenger Train Journal which I’d purchased earlier in the week in Connecticut.

Reading is a great way to pass time on a long journey, regardless of transport type. After I’d finished lunch, I converted my seats into a flatbed for a more comfortable reading surface. This was accomplished by pushing a small pedal at the base of each seat and pushing the backrest down. Most passengers ring the car attendant for this service but, after one hundred plus trips on Amtrak, I’ve become pretty familiar with the workings of these cars.



Comfortably stretched out in Amtrak’s View-Liner Roomette


By the way, it’s worth mentioning here that the Lake Shore Limited is the descendant of the New York Central Railroad’s train of the same name, along with the 20th Century Limited that plied this very same route. In its day the 20th Century Limited was considered one of the finest trains in America – much less the world. When Amtrak took over most passenger services from American railroads in 1971, the system wide standardization of services resulted in an overall product that was good but considerably less extravagant than that experienced aboard the great trains such the 20th Century or Santa Fe’s Super Chief. As a result, some railroads did not allow Amtrak to use the names of their legacy trains and I suspect that may have been the case here. No matter – the Lake Shore Limited still traverses the same route as the 20th Century Limited, following some of the nation’s most beautiful shorelines. After rolling through the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, the train continues through the Finger Lakes district, along the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal and then past portions of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan.

Arriving into Albany about ten minutes early, we spent about 40 minutes at the station while the New York section was added to our train. I took advantage of the break to take a stroll down the platform along the length of the train.



Trackside at Albany


We had just departed Albany when the announcement was made for passengers holding 6:45pm dinner reservations to head up to the diner. I tucked in my shirt, ran a brush through my hair and made my way forward. Since the diner was part of the New York section that had been added to the front of the train, I had to make my way through six cars to get to it.

Seating in Amtrak’s diners is communal and, as a dining car steward once put it – you’ll start out as strangers but you may end up as friends. As a single passenger, the steward had no problem finding me a seat at a table with Jim and Holly, a couple from Mt. Kisco, New York who were traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin for a friend’s wedding. They hadn’t planned on taking the train but the airfare between all of the New York City area airports and either Milwaukee or Chicago was so expensive on their preferred days of travel that they’d decided to look into other options. A friend had recommended they check out Amtrak and had sweetened the deal by offering them an Amtrak Companion Coupon, good for a free companion fare with the purchase of one regular fare ticket. The total fare for both of them was less than a third of what they would have paid had they flown. With lower airfares available on the return, they’d be flying home.

I am sorry to report that the Lake Shore Limited’s once fine full-service dining car had been removed in favor of a combination café/diner/lounge car. An unfortunate reality for Amtrak is that it has never once generated a system wide profit in its 47 year history. It relies heavily on government subsidies from an increasingly reluctant congress. Management is experimenting with a modified meal service on some of its shorter eastern trains and evidently the Lake Shore Limited is one of them. The menu we were presented was a mere shell of the full menu that used to be offered aboard this train. Where once the Lake Shore’s passengers enjoyed meals freshly prepared and served from an onboard kitchen, they must now choose from meals that are pre-cooked and reheated via microwave in the café. Here’s a link to the current MENU.

We all ordered the beef short ribs. Unlike Amtrak’s long distance full service dining car meals, these meals did not include a side salad or even a basket of rolls. While the short ribs were tasty enough, in terms of portion size they were similar to one of those Healthy Choice dinner entrees found in the frozen food section at your local supermarket. For all I know, Amtrak may very well have contracted with an outfit like Healthy Choice to purchase these cheap mass-produced meals. What a shame, as a good meal aboard a train rolling through the countryside has always been one of life’s great travel experiences.

After dinner, I headed back to my roomette. Although it was still early, the “lounge car” was full. Rather than a separate lounge such as you’d find aboard Amtrak’s Superliner trains, the “lounge” on this train was essentially the opposite end of the café/diner/lounge car. Seating was four rows of buffet style tables and seats and all of those were occupied. Less expensive meals such as hot and cold sandwiches were available for purchase from the café and the lounge also served as the dining area for those purchases.

Terrell stopped by to ask when I’d like to have my bed prepared and – since I was already stretched out atop the bare seat mattresses – I said why not now? Amtrak’s bedding is essentially a 2 1/2” deep mattress made up with sheets and blankets. It’s actually pretty comfortable to sleep atop, although I prefer to bring my own blanket.

I love a good book and so the time passed quickly as we sped through the ever darkening evening. After reading a few chapters and stifling more than a few yawns I noticed the time was approaching 11:00pm. It had been a long day and so I turned off my reading light and slept comfortably through the night.