Martinsburg to Riverside on the Cap and the Chief

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EmCee Al

Train Attendant
Joined
Aug 16, 2016
Messages
52
Location
Colorado, USA
It doesn’t require much for me to plan a long distance train trip, so when a chance to visit relatives in both West Virginia and Southern California came up, my first thought was to call Amtrak and make reservations on the Capitol Limited and the Southwest Chief for a cross country rail trip! Then, of course, all I had to do was to anticipate!

When I was about ten, my family made a trip from Washington to Detroit on B&O’s Ambassador, which in the early sixties was combined with the Capitol Limited and the Columbian, creating a huge train leaving Washington, DC. We had a chance to enjoy the “Help Yourself” Salad, and the Strata-Dome with its floodlight that illuminated the multitude of trees along the right-of way. I was interested in how it might feel to repeat the journey some fifty-five years later.

So, in the Autumn of 2016, my trip began at Martinsburg. Since my hometown is Jackson, Michigan, I was interested in investigating the station to see for myself whether Martinsburg or Jackson can logically claim the title of “Oldest Amtrak Station”. With my investigation complete, I now believe that Jackson is the rightful claimer, but this is a topic for a future discussion.

The Capitol Limited, Train #29, arrived and departed on the advertised, and my wife and I settled into the familiar surroundings of Bedroom B of Car 2901. It was the first trip for our SCA, and she did a fine job. Our Dining Car reservation was already set for 6pm, so we quickly made our way to Dinner.

Right away, I noticed the “cut-away” tables in the recently refurbished Diner. The plus is that access to the window seat is much easier. The minus is that the aisle seat places the diner farther from the edge of the table. Since I was on the aisle and had to reach farther to eat, I decided that the older tables are my favorite. My wife had the Chicken, and I had the Shrimp Crab Cakes, and both meals were wonderful. After dinner, we watched Western Maryland slide by as the sun set, and soon decided it was time to retire for the night.

The Cap was on time thru Northern Indiana and into Chicago Union Station. Breakfast in the Diner was fine, as usual. The most noteworthy item for me was to go thru Porter, Indiana without taking the sharp curve onto the old Michigan Central.

Upon arrival at Union Station, we quickly found the renovated Metropolitan Lounge and settled in for our six hour plus layover. My observation here is that the new lounge is a distinct improvement. I did not even mind the unattended luggage storage room situation. My impression was that the Front Desk people had control of all access to the room. I did notice that sleeping car passengers may have been escorted to the Empire Builder, judging by the announcements. Sleeping car passengers for the Cal Zephyr and the Southwest Chief simply lined up along the hallway leading away from the front desk and were told how to get to their respective trains. Once on the platform, train crew members directed us to our particular car. It was Sunday and crowds were smaller, but nonetheless, it did seem to work OK for us.

We were directed to our accommodations, this time Bedroom C in Car 0330. Departure was on time, and we soon made our dinner reservations for 6:30pm. I personally love heading west from Chicago, from downtown thru the suburbs and onto the land that gave Illinois the nickname, “The Prairie State”. At dinner, my wife had the Flat Iron Steak, I had Salisbury Steak, both were more than fine.

The Chief was subsequently on time all the way to Albuquerque. but the installation of a new bridge span just east of Gallup required the significant amount of rail traffic on the old ATSF to line up to use the remaining single track. We left Gallup an hour late, and never made up any of the delay all the way into California.

This is a good time for a quick review of track conditions. Track on the old CB&Q from Chicago to Galesburg was in its usual fine condition, but it seemed that the old ATSF main thru Missouri was in extraordinary shape! The Chief was fast with barely a shudder! Track in Kansas and Eastern Colorado was smooth enough that I was never awakened from my upper berth sleep by any sudden jolt.

If you are interested in traveling along jointed rail with the resultant “clickity clack”, a trip from La Junta to Albuquerque will do it for you. Line and surface was fine, as was the rest of the track thru New Mexico. The exception was one crossover between Dalies and Grants, which produced one very severe jolt. As expected, the track and the resulting ride were fine for the rest of the trip.

I did notice that the Dining Car Crew on the Chief took lunch reservations along with dinner reservations for the second day. I had never seen that procedure used on the Cal Zephyr during any of the many trips I have taken on that train. No matter, I overdosed on beef that day, enjoying the Burger at Lunch and the Flat Iron Steak at Dinner.

The difference in arriving in Southern California an hour late meant that our relatives who met us in Riverside could be there at 7am rather than 6am, and that was a good thing. On the way, I noticed how the ATSF Shops at San Berdoo had been razed and replaced by an immense intermodal yard.

All and all, it was another wonderful trip. I wondered whether three straight nights in the sleeper, a personal record for me, would be too much. Turned out it was fine! Or, to put it in other words, I’m more than ready for my next cross country Amtrak trip!
 
Great trip, thanks for sharing!

And it's good to know that the tracks in Western Kansas are in good condition.( see the Looooooong thread here on AU about rerouting the SWC on the UP Southern Transcon!)

When's the next trip?
 
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