When does boarding start for Texas Eagle in Chicago?

My itinerary shows the Texas Eagle starts its journey in Chicago and departs at 1:45 pm. I have a two part question.

1) what time do they start letting the sleeper car passengers get on the train?

2) can we go directly to the dining car and get lunch? I read that they stop serving lunch at 3:00 pm.

When I took the TE out of Chicago in March, we boarded shortly after 1. Lunch was not served in the dining car. If you want lunch you have to buy it from the cafe car.

Thanks for the quick reply. Are there any good places to get lunch within walking distance of the train station in Chicago?

Just a thought. I'm taking the TE back north on my return, and get on the train in Fort Worth, departing station at 2:20. Will I get lunch at that boarding ( taking into account the train is on schedule)?

nirtak said:

Thanks for the quick reply. Are there any good places to get lunch within walking distance of the train station in Chicago?

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Well, there is a food court upstairs in the concourse area at Chicago with several counter service places. If that's not your speed there's no limit of restaurants in the area, depending on how far you're willing to walk.

Lunch Restaurants near Chicago Union Station

nirtak said:

Just a thought. I'm taking the TE back north on my return, and get on the train in Fort Worth, departing station at 2:20. Will I get lunch at that boarding ( taking into account the train is on schedule)?

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No, you don't get lunch out of FTW. However, there is a Subway right in the station.

Thanks for the answers on lunch availability on the train.

And a big thanks for the link to some great options near Union Station.

For lunch in Chicago, I really like Wow Bao. They have several locations within walking distance (loosely defined) of Union Station. The closest one is at 175 West Jackson, but that's closed on weekends. The second closest, at State and Lake, is open every day. The bao make good snacks to take with you on the train.

FYI - For any LD western train departing CHI, the 1st meal served by the Dining Car is always dinner..

And I can verify that. When I took the Chief out of CUS earlier this year, they called for dinner reservation once we were rolling. So I would grab some lunch grub before boarding the Eagle.

Check yelp. There are many good restaurants within walking distance of Chicago union station and fort Worth station.

If in a rush, the Corner Bakery has some good sandwiches that can be made and some already made. Everything can be to go if time is an issue. I have used the Corner Bakery several times when I arrived at the station about 1pm, then just ate at my own pace in my room.

If he's there that day @ the Ft Worth Station, a guy sells really good Hot dogs,Brats and Sodas outside the Station where the City Buses load!

Much better than the Subway inside the Station.

Bob Dylan said:

If he's there that day @ the Ft Worth Station, a guy sells really good Hot dogs,Brats and Sodas outside the Station where the City Buses load!

Much better than the Subway inside the Station.

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STRONGLY confirm this, but he has not been there the past couple times I've been through (last year)

OlympianHiawatha said:

Bob Dylan said:

If he's there that day @ the Ft Worth Station, a guy sells really good Hot dogs,Brats and Sodas outside the Station where the City Buses load!

Much better than the Subway inside the Station.

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STRONGLY confirm this, but he has not been there the past couple times I've been through (last year)

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To the best of my knowledge, he wasn't there when I was a little over six weeks ago. However, I didn't know about him, so I didn't look......but I didn't see anyone eating hot dogs or brats in the station.

No lunch in dining car out of Chicago.

tim49424 said:

nirtak said:

Just a thought. I'm taking the TE back north on my return, and get on the train in Fort Worth, departing station at 2:20. Will I get lunch at that boarding ( taking into account the train is on schedule)?

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No, you don't get lunch out of FTW. However, there is a Subway right in the station.

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I'm not saying you're wrong, and I'm certainly not saying Amtrak is consistent, but I get lunch on the Coast Starlight after boarding southbound in Portland with a 14:25 departure.

OP, for lunch in Chicago on a day with decent weather, I would stash my bags in the Metropolitan Lounge and walk to Greek Islands, because I'm partial to Greek food. Parakalo.

On the TE, lunch is completed by FTW, since that is a service stop.

Lonestar648 said:

On the TE, lunch is completed by FTW, since that is a service stop.

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And starts in Dallas if the Eagle is close to on time! Only 30-45 minutes away from FTW, but since the stop in FTW is usually around an hour, service continues till the Train rolls out headed South.
Dinner begins at 500pm around Temple and last call is at Austin.

Ugh, I hate the thought of the food court at Chicago Union Station. Too many of the options are the same fast food fare, you find in too much of America.

If you don't mind going a little east into the Loop, Revival Food Hall is really cool, and has a lot of interesting places to eat at. The places serving a lunch menu start serving that at 10:30am, so I think you could squeeze a lunch there just before you board the TE. Here's Revival Food Hall's website: https://www.revivalfoodhall.com/

I've also liked Saucy Porka, when I've seen their food truck out. That's located just south of Van Buren on Financial Place, 1 block east of Wells. Too bad Haute Sausage on Franklin(north of Van Buren) is now closed, since they were a great food truck that briefly operated their own storefront. I forget if they still operate their food truck, anymore.