LA to Indianapolis by Train
Feb 19, 2008, 10:40 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Central Ky
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 30
LA to Indianapolis by Train
On 2-6-08 my wife and I drove from Central Kentucky to IND. Strong winds had me concerned about our flight to LAX the next day as I had heard a lot of flights in the Midwest had been cancelled.
We had a hotel at the airport so we could turn in early as we needed to be up at 4:00 AM to be at the airport at 5:30 for our 7:00 AM flight. Everything worked out and the plane only left 10 minutes late for the nonstop flight to LAX.
The plane was completely full but we had very good service and exceptionally nice attendants. There were several small children on the plane but they were very well behaved. No problems with them at all. We had a smooth flight until the Rockies where we had some turbulence, but nothing bad.
We arrived at LAX on time and claimed our luggage with no problems. We took the Fly-A-Way bus to LAUS. There were only 8 people on board. How can they make money? They did raise the price to $4.00 one way.
Traffic was very light at 9:30AM which allowed us to arrive at LAUS about 10:15 where we claimed our tickets and checked our bags for SBA on the 12:30 train.
LAUS Main Waiting Room
The agent weighed our bags at check in. So the 50 pound limit was going to be enforced, I guess.
Since I had some time to explore the station I was able to walk around and take some pictures and rest some in the very nice seating in the main waiting room. Here is a sample of those really good Union Bagels.
Union Bagels
I was also able to go out to track level and see some of the action going on.
The first thing I found was the Sierra Hotel car. Someone said it had come in on the Coast Starlight. Wish I could have gotten inside. Lots of other trains coming and going, too.
There I am on the Sierra Hotel Car
Amtrak 503 was placing a sightseer car.
This will be our motive power as we head north in a little while.
The boarding process is interesting for the Surf liners. There are two gates – E & F for South and Northbound.
But, after you walk through those gates you are simply back out in the main tunnel. There is nothing to stop you from going early other than not knowing which track the train will be on. They never post it. They just announce it at the gate. Many more people lined up for a south bound than north while we were there.
They called us right on time, we walked out to 11B, boarded, and we departed on time.
Business class on the Surf liner was a BIG disappointment. The BC car is the exact same car type as regular coach. In fact, our car interior looked in worse shape than the interior of the coach next to us. And, the attendant was not good. A lady named Shirley who couldn’t remember anything she was doing. She took drink orders and then forgot to bring them to us. I had to go remind her she had forgotten us. Very slow, unorganized service. She wanted to stop and chat with people and then, again, she forgot what she had been doing and had to start all over again. She messed up several passengers’ orders and this caused delays. We were supposed to have a newspaper – never saw one.
The snack they provided wasn’t much, either. We had delayed not having lunch in the station as we wanted to eat on the train just to experience it. I knew it was a café car, but not anywhere as nice as on business class on a Midwest regional train café car. I had the Angus Burger and it didn’t compare to the ones I had last year traveling in and out of Chicago in those café cars.
Lots of snow on the mountains as we headed north. They had some bad storms recently.
Just south of Ventura we had to wait for two UP freights ahead of us. Sat for about 10 minutes and then were able to move. So, 10-15 minutes late into SBA.
And here is the beautiful SBA station.
After an enjoyable week in the Santa Barbara area (lots of winery tours) we were ready for our trip home on the SWC, train #4, from Lax to CHI. We would then connect with #50, The Cardinal back to IND.
On 2/12 we drove to the rental car office and turned in our car. They took us to the SBA station for our 9:20am train. I hadn’t checked train status that morning and I should have done so. They told us the train was running 40 minutes late. That turned out to be closer to an hour. They also said there would be no food service on the train. We were in BC and they provided full service to us in that car. In fact, they allowed coach to come to the BC snack area for free coffee and muffins. I thought there would be a stampede, but maybe 8-10 people wandered in throughout the trip. The café car had been bad ordered and had to be cut from the train. That caused the delay.
I was able to see the northbound using the east coast equipment and cabbage car come in while we waited for our southbound. What a let down that must be for those expecting Surfliner equipment.
When we arrived in LAUS they announced that the train we were on, because of lateness and no café car, was terminated and all passengers going south of LAX would have to take the next train scheduled to leave in about two hours. More ticked off passengers.
We now had about five hours until we would board number four for Chicago. I had planned this big layover as we wanted o ride a local train of some type. Afriend who lives in the area was able to board our train at Oxnard, ride with us to LAUS and be out tour guide for a mini-tour of Hollywood and Vine area. Yep – I’m a tourist at heart and had never been to this part of the megopolis of LA.
We rode the subway to Hollywood Blvd and walked up one side and back down the other seeing many of the stars on the Walk OF Fame. Also, they were getting ready for Oscar Night at the Kodak Theater and lots of people were seeing the sights. My wife was able to meet Johnny Depp, AKA Captain Jack.
MrsFSS with Captain Jack
Back at LAUS we bid farewell to our friend as he had a train to catch back north. We were getting excited about finally being able to get on our train for the three day ride.
If you are planning to take a LD train from LAUS and have a sleeper, you will want to check in at the Amtrak Information Booth about 2 hours before the train is scheduled to depart. They will set up your meal time appointment for you and confirm everything is correct on your tickets. We had a 6:45 departure and were able to make our evening meal reservations for 7:15 when we checked in about 5:00. The young lady in the booth was extremely pleasant and helpful. She also explained the boarding process and how to get a red cap and electric cart to the train if we wanted to do that. We did. There were four of us traveling together with quite a bit of luggage. It is a long walk from the waiting area to track 12 where we would board.
Amtrak Info Booth
As it turns out we didn’t have to find a redcap. One found us and told us she would come get us at boarding time, load us and our luggage and take us to train side. She gathered us up about 6:15. What a ride down the tunnel dodging commuters going to all the different tracks. But, she didn’t hit any and we were at the train in about 5 minutes.
Our sleeping car attendant, Gloria, was standing at the door, helped with our luggage and told us where our room was. She also said she would be around later to explain things and see what we needed. This first encounter with her turned out to be three days of superb service from her. She was always there when we needed her. She was continually checking to see if we needed anything. She kept the juice and coffee area fresh, cleaned the restrooms as needed and would even sit and chat with my wife about our grandchildren. I have never had such a great sleeping car attendant as Gloria.
We were in a Superliner II car, Indiana, and while it wasn’t one of the new refurbished cars, it was nicer than some I have been in. Everything worked well and in fact, the water pressure worked too well. When you pushed the faucet lever water came out so fast it sprayed all over everything. We had to learn to work with that problem. My wife tried to fill a paper cup and it blew the bottom right out of the cup it was so strong. There was also a long strip of red duct tape holding the compartment door that opens to the next bedroom. I guess they had problems with it coming open when it shouldn’t have, or it rattled.
Overall, a nice room, Number E. Noise in the evening wasn’t a problem, either, as I had feared from being right next to the stairs.
They called us to dinner in the diner at 7:15. The dining car lead service attendant, a very nice lady named Charlie, greeted us at the door and seated the four of us at a table in the end near the sleeping cars. I was amazed how few people were in the car eating. In fact, during the entire trip they never had to use the other end of the car and I never saw every table in our end completely full. Many times there would be completely empty tables available. They said it was the “off season”.
Charlie not only performed her duties as LSA but she waited on us with assistance from another waiter. She worked very hard to make sure everything was handled correctly and the two of them worked together as a great wait staff would in a fine restaurant. They each help with the other’s tables by filling coffee cups, clearing empty dishes, etc. During a couple of meals one would take the orders and the other delivered them to the table. What a great team they made.
I’ll talk more about the food we had later in the report.
After diner we went to the lounge car to watch the lights of LA fade in the distance. We also started the climb over Cajon Pass. I had my GPS with me and wished it had been daylight outside so we could have seen this great rail watching area.
We arrived in Victorville about 15 minutes early, as we would at many stations in the next few days, and we would also loose an hour before we would get up in the morning. So, we rang for Gloria and she made up our room for the evening.
I usually don’t sleep well the first night on the train and I had been told it might be a bit rough at 90mph in Arizona. I slept very well and it didn’t seem to be rough at all. Maybe I’m becoming a seasoned rail traveler.
I vaguely remember waking up at Williams Junction but couldn’t see much outside. I also wok up at Flagstaff but it wasn’t really light, yet, so I went back to sleep. By the time my wife and I got up we were near Winslow. We went to breakfast. Our traveling friends had been up much earlier and had already had breakfast and were in the sightseer car.
We arrived in Albuquerque almost 30 minutes early so we had over an hour to explore the station. My wife explored all the Native American booths selling many nice things. I was able to see some Roadrunner equipment and one came in just as we were leaving. Nice looking rolling stock. They also store a spare P42 here in case they need it to help over the mountains.
I walked the train at ABQ and noted the following consist.
2 P42’s (Couldn’t get the numbers as they were refueling and we couldn’t walk that close)
Baggage Car
39018 – Crew Dorm Car
32078 – Sleeper 431 Car
32082 – Sleeper 430 Car (ours)
38063 – Dining Car
33029 – Sightseer Lounge Car
34090 – Coach 413
34032 – Coach 412
34055 – Coach being deadheaded back to Chicago or Beech Grove.
I had a chance to talk with an assistant conductor while we were stopped at ABQ. He has only been with Amtrak for about a year. From Ohio, he retired from his work and just happened to take a trip on Amtrak to California. Two things happened. He decided to move to California and he fell in love with train travel and applied for a job with Amtrak. He said he couldn’t believe they were paying him to work he was having so much fun! Very nice fellow!
We left ABQ on time and remained on time or early all afternoon. Had lunch at 1:00 and I enjoyed the countryside views as we travelled across New Mexico into Colorado. Earlier in the day we had reached speeds of 90mph before getting into ABQ. Slowing down to 79mph feels like you are crawling along.
The track north of ABQ to Lamy was very rough. You could hardly walk down the aisle without being thrown back and forth.
It was just starting to get dark as we arrived in Raton and completely dark by the time we left. Not much to see. I had read The Christmas Train by David Baldacci some years ago. No snow like they had in the book!
We had the 7:15 dinner, again. More on the meals later, as I mentioned. Again, we would lose another hour tonight so we turned in after the stop in La Junta. I wanted to be up to see the Kansas City station in the morning as they said it had some remodeling work done. The ride from La Junta into Kansas was even worse than what we had north of ABQ. But I was finally able to get to sleep. I thought I would come out of the bunk a couple of times.
We were to arrive in Kansas City about 7:26 by the schedule. We were again very early and would have close to an hour and 30 minutes before departure. Several interesting things happened. It was just getting light out and not too cold so I put my light jacket on and proceeded to walk up the near three flights of stairs to the crossover from the platform to the station. As I walked into the station, I found a very small Amtrak area and that was it. Evidently the part they remodeled wasn’t open yet so I went back down to the platform.
This is the interesting part. They were taking our two engines off the train and I saw them pulling forward out of sight. On the next track over, closest to the station sat the St Louis train, #314, waiting to leave at 7:30. Folks were boarding and I thought I would get some pictures of all the activity. Them all of a sudden, what I later learned was one of our engines backed up in front of 314. They coupled it on the engine already there. Now I’m really confused. One of the conductors walked over and I asked what the heck was going on. Here’s the story.
Number 3 from the night before had limped into Kansas City with one of its engines on the fritz. It would need two engines to get over the passes further out west. So, they took the good engine from 314 and gave it to 3. They then put the bad engine from 3 onto 314. Then they took one of our good engines to get 314 to St Louis and eventually the bad engine back to Chicago. We then finished our trip with only one P42. We made it fine, and as the conductor said, it’s pretty flat between Kansas City and Chicago! You could tell the difference in acceleration, though. But that one engine kept us perking along at 79mph most of the way and we arrived in CHI 15 minutes early.
314 with a bad engine from #3
Coupling our engine to 314
Something else that happened in Kansas City I had never seen before. A DEA agent with a drug sniffing dog was going through every car. They were quick about it and evidently didn’t find anything.
The rest of our trip into CHI was uneventful and it was cloudy and rained off and on. The Mississippi was frozen over as were many of the other lakes, ponds and streams we saw in this part of the country.
After arriving CHI we went to the Metropolitan Lounge and checked in for our 5:45 departure on The Cardinal. We would go as far as IND, from whence we started this trip 9 days earlier.
I mentioned we were travelling with another couple we have known for many years. While they are experienced world travelers, they have been in 85 different countries, and ridden many trains in many of those countries, they had never been on an Amtrak trip. So, I have convinced them to do a report with their impressions as first time Amtrak travelers. When they send those to me I’ll post them here for you to read.
They had never been in Chicago Union Station, either, so I gave them the nickel tour before going back to the lounge. We both had our laptops with us but neither of us could get on the wi-fi connection in the lounge. Neither could another lady at the next couch down from us. But we could get on The Corner Bakery site and so we were able to check some email for the first time in three days. And then it was almost time for our 5:15 promised boarding time for #50.
5:15 came and went. 5:30 came and went. The 5:45 departure time came and went. I knew we were in trouble when the engineer and the conductor both came into the lounge about 5:50 and said they didn’t have a train in the station, yet, and they sat down and had a cup of coffee. The display on the monitor didn’t tell us anything other than the 5:45 departure time. Then all of a sudden #50 vanished and The Cardinal wasn’t even listed. We thought we were going to spend the night in the Windy City!
The two young ladies at the desk were great. They kept making calls and tried to find out what was going on. Finally about two hours late were told we could board the train. The lounge folks did get us out to the train before the masses started, but just barely. We were able to get seats together and our uncheckable luggage aboard before the crowds got there. I later found out from a very nice lady conductor that the IND car was bad ordered and they had to swap it out for another one. The other one was the worst Amtrak train car I’ve ever been in. There were foot rests broken or gone. There were some places where a set of seats had been completely removed. It smelled and was either very cold or very hot. The temperature varied back and forth every 10-15 minutes like the thermostat wasn’t working correctly. But, we endured it and made it to IND about 2:00AM on Friday morning. Our daughter who lives there had parked our car at the station so it was waiting for us which was nice, and she went on home and was in bed asleep when we finally got to her house about 3:00AM.
A long day since I had gotten up before Kansas City.
Also, I had heard The Cardinal was supposed to have the new type café car. It didn’t. It was one of the very old ones with tables on both ends of the food area in the center. The far end was for the sleeping car folks and our end for coach. By the way, we had three deadhead coaches on the train they would take off in IND for Beech Grove. The coaches were packed and all with college age kids (most got off in Lafayette for Purdue) and they all went to the café car. I had wanted to try a meal in the new car, but was very disappointed when I found they didn’t have one. We had some snacks and they weren’t very good. The two folks working the snack counter weren’t real interested in providing they type of service we had on #4, that’s for sure.
A few comments about some various aspects of the trip in the next thread.
Food on #4
The food was generally very good. Not Ruth’s Chris quality, but I ate everything and it filled me and I was satisfied with the taste and quantity. Some things could have been warmer and the salads could have been much colder. The dressing selection, all T. Marzetti (sp?) could have included some red type dressings, 1000 Island, French, etc. Everything was white or oil type dressings. The Greek dressing was very nice even though it came out of a packet.
The bread for lunch and dinner was fresh, warm and very tasty, with real butter. The biscuit for breakfast could have been warmer.
Both mornings I had the scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon. As good as Denny’s if not better. And, much to my surprise, brewed decaf coffee. In years past and in the café cars it was always Sanka out of a packet. It was very good coffee. So was the OJ for breakfast.
My flat iron steak one evening was over cooked and parts were so tough I couldn’t eat it even though I like my meat well done, this one was cremated. But, I ate enough to be satisfied and the baked potato was hot and fresh. The vegetables were usually fresh and tasted very good, too.
I had the cheese care with strawberry topping twice and ice cream twice. My wife tried the red velvet chocolate cake and said it was very dry, especially at lunch the third day.
My wife was well pleased with the baked talapia and also the turkey salad sandwich on wheat bread.
It is interesting to see some of the coach passengers come in and see the prices on the menu, especially for the evening meal. One fellow was seated across from us who had just come in from the coach. He sat down, took one look and got back up and left. Another man and his almost teenage son had come in from coach to eat. When they brought his bill, it was over $50.00 for the two of them for dinner. I think he had some drinks, too, though.
And it is interesting to see folks leave nice tips on their tables and others get up and leave without any tip being left at all.
One lady across from us at lunch told the LSA she didn’t know it was going to take so long to get from LA to Chicago. She could hardly wait to get off the train. So, all types and kinds of folks on board.
We were able to hear all of the announcements the coach attendant made after all major stops for the new passengers. He really emphasized that it was a family train, there was to be no swearing or loud behavior. Also, everyone needed to act as if they were one big family and clean up after themselves in the restrooms. I thought that was pretty neat.
My wife and I have now been on the EB, the CZ, The Canadian, and the SWC. I have also ridden The Cardinal from NYP to IND, plus many short run trains in the Midwest. All we need is the Sunset Limited and the CS and we’ll have many of the LD train routes completed. I rode my first train in 1946 and I’m still enjoying it today at near 67 years of age.
Here are a few pictures of the scenery to enjoy.
The famous Wig Wam Motel on Route 66.
In the Red Rocks Canyon Area
Red Rocks Area
Red Rocks as far as you could see
Snow capped mountains
Nice rock formations
All sorts of colors
If you are interested in almost 1200 other pictures from this thrip, they are HERE.
We had a hotel at the airport so we could turn in early as we needed to be up at 4:00 AM to be at the airport at 5:30 for our 7:00 AM flight. Everything worked out and the plane only left 10 minutes late for the nonstop flight to LAX.
The plane was completely full but we had very good service and exceptionally nice attendants. There were several small children on the plane but they were very well behaved. No problems with them at all. We had a smooth flight until the Rockies where we had some turbulence, but nothing bad.
We arrived at LAX on time and claimed our luggage with no problems. We took the Fly-A-Way bus to LAUS. There were only 8 people on board. How can they make money? They did raise the price to $4.00 one way.
Traffic was very light at 9:30AM which allowed us to arrive at LAUS about 10:15 where we claimed our tickets and checked our bags for SBA on the 12:30 train.
LAUS Main Waiting Room
The agent weighed our bags at check in. So the 50 pound limit was going to be enforced, I guess.
Since I had some time to explore the station I was able to walk around and take some pictures and rest some in the very nice seating in the main waiting room. Here is a sample of those really good Union Bagels.
Union Bagels
I was also able to go out to track level and see some of the action going on.
The first thing I found was the Sierra Hotel car. Someone said it had come in on the Coast Starlight. Wish I could have gotten inside. Lots of other trains coming and going, too.
There I am on the Sierra Hotel Car
Amtrak 503 was placing a sightseer car.
This will be our motive power as we head north in a little while.
The boarding process is interesting for the Surf liners. There are two gates – E & F for South and Northbound.
But, after you walk through those gates you are simply back out in the main tunnel. There is nothing to stop you from going early other than not knowing which track the train will be on. They never post it. They just announce it at the gate. Many more people lined up for a south bound than north while we were there.
They called us right on time, we walked out to 11B, boarded, and we departed on time.
Business class on the Surf liner was a BIG disappointment. The BC car is the exact same car type as regular coach. In fact, our car interior looked in worse shape than the interior of the coach next to us. And, the attendant was not good. A lady named Shirley who couldn’t remember anything she was doing. She took drink orders and then forgot to bring them to us. I had to go remind her she had forgotten us. Very slow, unorganized service. She wanted to stop and chat with people and then, again, she forgot what she had been doing and had to start all over again. She messed up several passengers’ orders and this caused delays. We were supposed to have a newspaper – never saw one.
The snack they provided wasn’t much, either. We had delayed not having lunch in the station as we wanted to eat on the train just to experience it. I knew it was a café car, but not anywhere as nice as on business class on a Midwest regional train café car. I had the Angus Burger and it didn’t compare to the ones I had last year traveling in and out of Chicago in those café cars.
Lots of snow on the mountains as we headed north. They had some bad storms recently.
Just south of Ventura we had to wait for two UP freights ahead of us. Sat for about 10 minutes and then were able to move. So, 10-15 minutes late into SBA.
And here is the beautiful SBA station.
After an enjoyable week in the Santa Barbara area (lots of winery tours) we were ready for our trip home on the SWC, train #4, from Lax to CHI. We would then connect with #50, The Cardinal back to IND.
On 2/12 we drove to the rental car office and turned in our car. They took us to the SBA station for our 9:20am train. I hadn’t checked train status that morning and I should have done so. They told us the train was running 40 minutes late. That turned out to be closer to an hour. They also said there would be no food service on the train. We were in BC and they provided full service to us in that car. In fact, they allowed coach to come to the BC snack area for free coffee and muffins. I thought there would be a stampede, but maybe 8-10 people wandered in throughout the trip. The café car had been bad ordered and had to be cut from the train. That caused the delay.
I was able to see the northbound using the east coast equipment and cabbage car come in while we waited for our southbound. What a let down that must be for those expecting Surfliner equipment.
When we arrived in LAUS they announced that the train we were on, because of lateness and no café car, was terminated and all passengers going south of LAX would have to take the next train scheduled to leave in about two hours. More ticked off passengers.
We now had about five hours until we would board number four for Chicago. I had planned this big layover as we wanted o ride a local train of some type. Afriend who lives in the area was able to board our train at Oxnard, ride with us to LAUS and be out tour guide for a mini-tour of Hollywood and Vine area. Yep – I’m a tourist at heart and had never been to this part of the megopolis of LA.
We rode the subway to Hollywood Blvd and walked up one side and back down the other seeing many of the stars on the Walk OF Fame. Also, they were getting ready for Oscar Night at the Kodak Theater and lots of people were seeing the sights. My wife was able to meet Johnny Depp, AKA Captain Jack.
MrsFSS with Captain Jack
Back at LAUS we bid farewell to our friend as he had a train to catch back north. We were getting excited about finally being able to get on our train for the three day ride.
If you are planning to take a LD train from LAUS and have a sleeper, you will want to check in at the Amtrak Information Booth about 2 hours before the train is scheduled to depart. They will set up your meal time appointment for you and confirm everything is correct on your tickets. We had a 6:45 departure and were able to make our evening meal reservations for 7:15 when we checked in about 5:00. The young lady in the booth was extremely pleasant and helpful. She also explained the boarding process and how to get a red cap and electric cart to the train if we wanted to do that. We did. There were four of us traveling together with quite a bit of luggage. It is a long walk from the waiting area to track 12 where we would board.
Amtrak Info Booth
As it turns out we didn’t have to find a redcap. One found us and told us she would come get us at boarding time, load us and our luggage and take us to train side. She gathered us up about 6:15. What a ride down the tunnel dodging commuters going to all the different tracks. But, she didn’t hit any and we were at the train in about 5 minutes.
Our sleeping car attendant, Gloria, was standing at the door, helped with our luggage and told us where our room was. She also said she would be around later to explain things and see what we needed. This first encounter with her turned out to be three days of superb service from her. She was always there when we needed her. She was continually checking to see if we needed anything. She kept the juice and coffee area fresh, cleaned the restrooms as needed and would even sit and chat with my wife about our grandchildren. I have never had such a great sleeping car attendant as Gloria.
We were in a Superliner II car, Indiana, and while it wasn’t one of the new refurbished cars, it was nicer than some I have been in. Everything worked well and in fact, the water pressure worked too well. When you pushed the faucet lever water came out so fast it sprayed all over everything. We had to learn to work with that problem. My wife tried to fill a paper cup and it blew the bottom right out of the cup it was so strong. There was also a long strip of red duct tape holding the compartment door that opens to the next bedroom. I guess they had problems with it coming open when it shouldn’t have, or it rattled.
Overall, a nice room, Number E. Noise in the evening wasn’t a problem, either, as I had feared from being right next to the stairs.
They called us to dinner in the diner at 7:15. The dining car lead service attendant, a very nice lady named Charlie, greeted us at the door and seated the four of us at a table in the end near the sleeping cars. I was amazed how few people were in the car eating. In fact, during the entire trip they never had to use the other end of the car and I never saw every table in our end completely full. Many times there would be completely empty tables available. They said it was the “off season”.
Charlie not only performed her duties as LSA but she waited on us with assistance from another waiter. She worked very hard to make sure everything was handled correctly and the two of them worked together as a great wait staff would in a fine restaurant. They each help with the other’s tables by filling coffee cups, clearing empty dishes, etc. During a couple of meals one would take the orders and the other delivered them to the table. What a great team they made.
I’ll talk more about the food we had later in the report.
After diner we went to the lounge car to watch the lights of LA fade in the distance. We also started the climb over Cajon Pass. I had my GPS with me and wished it had been daylight outside so we could have seen this great rail watching area.
We arrived in Victorville about 15 minutes early, as we would at many stations in the next few days, and we would also loose an hour before we would get up in the morning. So, we rang for Gloria and she made up our room for the evening.
I usually don’t sleep well the first night on the train and I had been told it might be a bit rough at 90mph in Arizona. I slept very well and it didn’t seem to be rough at all. Maybe I’m becoming a seasoned rail traveler.
I vaguely remember waking up at Williams Junction but couldn’t see much outside. I also wok up at Flagstaff but it wasn’t really light, yet, so I went back to sleep. By the time my wife and I got up we were near Winslow. We went to breakfast. Our traveling friends had been up much earlier and had already had breakfast and were in the sightseer car.
We arrived in Albuquerque almost 30 minutes early so we had over an hour to explore the station. My wife explored all the Native American booths selling many nice things. I was able to see some Roadrunner equipment and one came in just as we were leaving. Nice looking rolling stock. They also store a spare P42 here in case they need it to help over the mountains.
I walked the train at ABQ and noted the following consist.
2 P42’s (Couldn’t get the numbers as they were refueling and we couldn’t walk that close)
Baggage Car
39018 – Crew Dorm Car
32078 – Sleeper 431 Car
32082 – Sleeper 430 Car (ours)
38063 – Dining Car
33029 – Sightseer Lounge Car
34090 – Coach 413
34032 – Coach 412
34055 – Coach being deadheaded back to Chicago or Beech Grove.
I had a chance to talk with an assistant conductor while we were stopped at ABQ. He has only been with Amtrak for about a year. From Ohio, he retired from his work and just happened to take a trip on Amtrak to California. Two things happened. He decided to move to California and he fell in love with train travel and applied for a job with Amtrak. He said he couldn’t believe they were paying him to work he was having so much fun! Very nice fellow!
We left ABQ on time and remained on time or early all afternoon. Had lunch at 1:00 and I enjoyed the countryside views as we travelled across New Mexico into Colorado. Earlier in the day we had reached speeds of 90mph before getting into ABQ. Slowing down to 79mph feels like you are crawling along.
The track north of ABQ to Lamy was very rough. You could hardly walk down the aisle without being thrown back and forth.
It was just starting to get dark as we arrived in Raton and completely dark by the time we left. Not much to see. I had read The Christmas Train by David Baldacci some years ago. No snow like they had in the book!
We had the 7:15 dinner, again. More on the meals later, as I mentioned. Again, we would lose another hour tonight so we turned in after the stop in La Junta. I wanted to be up to see the Kansas City station in the morning as they said it had some remodeling work done. The ride from La Junta into Kansas was even worse than what we had north of ABQ. But I was finally able to get to sleep. I thought I would come out of the bunk a couple of times.
We were to arrive in Kansas City about 7:26 by the schedule. We were again very early and would have close to an hour and 30 minutes before departure. Several interesting things happened. It was just getting light out and not too cold so I put my light jacket on and proceeded to walk up the near three flights of stairs to the crossover from the platform to the station. As I walked into the station, I found a very small Amtrak area and that was it. Evidently the part they remodeled wasn’t open yet so I went back down to the platform.
This is the interesting part. They were taking our two engines off the train and I saw them pulling forward out of sight. On the next track over, closest to the station sat the St Louis train, #314, waiting to leave at 7:30. Folks were boarding and I thought I would get some pictures of all the activity. Them all of a sudden, what I later learned was one of our engines backed up in front of 314. They coupled it on the engine already there. Now I’m really confused. One of the conductors walked over and I asked what the heck was going on. Here’s the story.
Number 3 from the night before had limped into Kansas City with one of its engines on the fritz. It would need two engines to get over the passes further out west. So, they took the good engine from 314 and gave it to 3. They then put the bad engine from 3 onto 314. Then they took one of our good engines to get 314 to St Louis and eventually the bad engine back to Chicago. We then finished our trip with only one P42. We made it fine, and as the conductor said, it’s pretty flat between Kansas City and Chicago! You could tell the difference in acceleration, though. But that one engine kept us perking along at 79mph most of the way and we arrived in CHI 15 minutes early.
314 with a bad engine from #3
Coupling our engine to 314
Something else that happened in Kansas City I had never seen before. A DEA agent with a drug sniffing dog was going through every car. They were quick about it and evidently didn’t find anything.
The rest of our trip into CHI was uneventful and it was cloudy and rained off and on. The Mississippi was frozen over as were many of the other lakes, ponds and streams we saw in this part of the country.
After arriving CHI we went to the Metropolitan Lounge and checked in for our 5:45 departure on The Cardinal. We would go as far as IND, from whence we started this trip 9 days earlier.
I mentioned we were travelling with another couple we have known for many years. While they are experienced world travelers, they have been in 85 different countries, and ridden many trains in many of those countries, they had never been on an Amtrak trip. So, I have convinced them to do a report with their impressions as first time Amtrak travelers. When they send those to me I’ll post them here for you to read.
They had never been in Chicago Union Station, either, so I gave them the nickel tour before going back to the lounge. We both had our laptops with us but neither of us could get on the wi-fi connection in the lounge. Neither could another lady at the next couch down from us. But we could get on The Corner Bakery site and so we were able to check some email for the first time in three days. And then it was almost time for our 5:15 promised boarding time for #50.
5:15 came and went. 5:30 came and went. The 5:45 departure time came and went. I knew we were in trouble when the engineer and the conductor both came into the lounge about 5:50 and said they didn’t have a train in the station, yet, and they sat down and had a cup of coffee. The display on the monitor didn’t tell us anything other than the 5:45 departure time. Then all of a sudden #50 vanished and The Cardinal wasn’t even listed. We thought we were going to spend the night in the Windy City!
The two young ladies at the desk were great. They kept making calls and tried to find out what was going on. Finally about two hours late were told we could board the train. The lounge folks did get us out to the train before the masses started, but just barely. We were able to get seats together and our uncheckable luggage aboard before the crowds got there. I later found out from a very nice lady conductor that the IND car was bad ordered and they had to swap it out for another one. The other one was the worst Amtrak train car I’ve ever been in. There were foot rests broken or gone. There were some places where a set of seats had been completely removed. It smelled and was either very cold or very hot. The temperature varied back and forth every 10-15 minutes like the thermostat wasn’t working correctly. But, we endured it and made it to IND about 2:00AM on Friday morning. Our daughter who lives there had parked our car at the station so it was waiting for us which was nice, and she went on home and was in bed asleep when we finally got to her house about 3:00AM.
A long day since I had gotten up before Kansas City.
Also, I had heard The Cardinal was supposed to have the new type café car. It didn’t. It was one of the very old ones with tables on both ends of the food area in the center. The far end was for the sleeping car folks and our end for coach. By the way, we had three deadhead coaches on the train they would take off in IND for Beech Grove. The coaches were packed and all with college age kids (most got off in Lafayette for Purdue) and they all went to the café car. I had wanted to try a meal in the new car, but was very disappointed when I found they didn’t have one. We had some snacks and they weren’t very good. The two folks working the snack counter weren’t real interested in providing they type of service we had on #4, that’s for sure.
A few comments about some various aspects of the trip in the next thread.
Food on #4
The food was generally very good. Not Ruth’s Chris quality, but I ate everything and it filled me and I was satisfied with the taste and quantity. Some things could have been warmer and the salads could have been much colder. The dressing selection, all T. Marzetti (sp?) could have included some red type dressings, 1000 Island, French, etc. Everything was white or oil type dressings. The Greek dressing was very nice even though it came out of a packet.
The bread for lunch and dinner was fresh, warm and very tasty, with real butter. The biscuit for breakfast could have been warmer.
Both mornings I had the scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon. As good as Denny’s if not better. And, much to my surprise, brewed decaf coffee. In years past and in the café cars it was always Sanka out of a packet. It was very good coffee. So was the OJ for breakfast.
My flat iron steak one evening was over cooked and parts were so tough I couldn’t eat it even though I like my meat well done, this one was cremated. But, I ate enough to be satisfied and the baked potato was hot and fresh. The vegetables were usually fresh and tasted very good, too.
I had the cheese care with strawberry topping twice and ice cream twice. My wife tried the red velvet chocolate cake and said it was very dry, especially at lunch the third day.
My wife was well pleased with the baked talapia and also the turkey salad sandwich on wheat bread.
It is interesting to see some of the coach passengers come in and see the prices on the menu, especially for the evening meal. One fellow was seated across from us who had just come in from the coach. He sat down, took one look and got back up and left. Another man and his almost teenage son had come in from coach to eat. When they brought his bill, it was over $50.00 for the two of them for dinner. I think he had some drinks, too, though.
And it is interesting to see folks leave nice tips on their tables and others get up and leave without any tip being left at all.
One lady across from us at lunch told the LSA she didn’t know it was going to take so long to get from LA to Chicago. She could hardly wait to get off the train. So, all types and kinds of folks on board.
We were able to hear all of the announcements the coach attendant made after all major stops for the new passengers. He really emphasized that it was a family train, there was to be no swearing or loud behavior. Also, everyone needed to act as if they were one big family and clean up after themselves in the restrooms. I thought that was pretty neat.
My wife and I have now been on the EB, the CZ, The Canadian, and the SWC. I have also ridden The Cardinal from NYP to IND, plus many short run trains in the Midwest. All we need is the Sunset Limited and the CS and we’ll have many of the LD train routes completed. I rode my first train in 1946 and I’m still enjoying it today at near 67 years of age.
Here are a few pictures of the scenery to enjoy.
The famous Wig Wam Motel on Route 66.
In the Red Rocks Canyon Area
Red Rocks Area
Red Rocks as far as you could see
Snow capped mountains
Nice rock formations
All sorts of colors
If you are interested in almost 1200 other pictures from this thrip, they are HERE.
Feb 19, 2008, 12:16 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
A very nice rail trip report. I'm quite sure I've ridden with LSA Charlie before as well. She's a real star for Amtrak.
For those who may not know...
EB = Empire Builder Chicago - Seattle/Portland
CZ = California Zephry Chicago - Emeryville (Oakland)
SWC = Southwest Chief Chicago - Los Angeles
CS = Coast Starlight Seattle - Los Angeles
Sunset Limited New Orleans - Los Angeles
On my recent trip aboard the California Zephyr, a couple of foamers mentioned that Amtrak is considering reviving the Pioneer (Salt Lake - Boise - Portland - Seattle)
My wife and I have now been on the EB, the CZ, The Canadian, and the SWC. I have also ridden The Cardinal from NYP to IND, plus many short run trains in the Midwest. All we need is the Sunset Limited and the CS and we’ll have many of the LD train routes completed.
EB = Empire Builder Chicago - Seattle/Portland
CZ = California Zephry Chicago - Emeryville (Oakland)
SWC = Southwest Chief Chicago - Los Angeles
CS = Coast Starlight Seattle - Los Angeles
Sunset Limited New Orleans - Los Angeles
On my recent trip aboard the California Zephyr, a couple of foamers mentioned that Amtrak is considering reviving the Pioneer (Salt Lake - Boise - Portland - Seattle)
Feb 19, 2008, 1:12 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Central Ky
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 30
Feb 19, 2008, 5:07 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Central Ky
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 30
The dome diner car was one like this.
Feb 19, 2008, 8:11 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: The OC ca usa
Programs: BA Blue forever!
Posts: 633
What a fantastic report! And those wonderful, large photos! I took the LA to Indianapolis train trip in the 90's. It was great, even without a berth, but when we got to Chicago we were told we'd have to be bussed to Indianapolis. The driver went over the speed limit, was w/o his driver's licence until he stopped at some bus place on the road and ran it to get it.
He dropped something way down past the accelerator and then reached down to get it, all the time speeding along. I read him the riot act but we parted on friendly terms anyway.
He dropped something way down past the accelerator and then reached down to get it, all the time speeding along. I read him the riot act but we parted on friendly terms anyway.
Feb 22, 2008, 2:19 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SYD
Programs: UA, VA, ZL, Priority Club, HH. Rydges.
Posts: 126
G-day mrfss,
What a great trip report along with the photo's. A refreshing change to the reports of first class lounges and meals. It brought back memories of my three day trip from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific quite a few years ago. I enjoyed it that much that on arriving in Perth I cashed in my return to Sydney airline ticket and returned on the IP.
Ray
My photo's at smugmug are not of trains.
What a great trip report along with the photo's. A refreshing change to the reports of first class lounges and meals. It brought back memories of my three day trip from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific quite a few years ago. I enjoyed it that much that on arriving in Perth I cashed in my return to Sydney airline ticket and returned on the IP.
Ray
My photo's at smugmug are not of trains.