What is the City of New Orleans like now?

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Larry H.

Conductor
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
1,045
As much as I detest the new downgrades on dining and other amenities I am considering a one day trip to Chicago from southern Illinois. Going up I plan to use the state trains going Business Class, but to have some time to spend in Chicago for a while were returning hopefully on the CN. ON that I am wondering what equipment they are currently running? The return would hopefully be a bedroom for one with two additional passengers. Is the dome lounge in the consist or just a newer dinner lounge which I think is not serving meals currently? The old schedule years ago left at 6pm and included dinner but now it leaves at around 8pm and not sure if any meal is included or maybe a sandwich in the lounge if its running? We have a lot of Guest Reward points doing nothing so I figure might as well at least get something out of them.
 
I presume you are taking the City of New Orleans on the return? This is a superliner bi-level train with a SSL car and a Dining Car (no Chef - so limited menu) plus Sleeper and Coaches. 59 does leave at 8:05 PM. I would get a good dinner in Chicago and skip the Dining Car. The Sleeper has 14 Roomettes that hold two people and 5 Bedrooms that say 2 people, but daytime hold three.
 
Thanks for the report. I believe the sleeper last I had checked you pay the full fare for the bedroom and then you can have several additional passengers for the coach fare ride in it as well, unless they cut that out? A while back you could take the sleeper from Chicago to Centralia for little more than the cost of business class and it then included full meals for the occupants of the room. That was really quite a deal. The last time I checked on a sleeper from Chicago to Kansas City they had raised the cost by several times over the old fare I would guess to keep people from tying up the space for a shorter trip.
 
Just FYI, if you write CN, most folks are going to think Canadian National. It took me a while to realize you were talking about the City of New Orleans. Even more confusing considering that the City operates on the CN for virtually its entire route.
 
Could you maybe clarify your original post a bit? I was thinking the exact same thing as Trogdor (he beat me to it), so it might make it a bit easier to understand if you used fewer (or clearer) abbreviations.

As Lonestar said, the City of New Orleans users a Superliners. It operates with a Sightseer Lounge and a dining car that serves a limited selection of heat and eat meals. Dinner is served out of Chicago, and meals are free for sleeper passengers, but there's only one person working the whole dining car, so there might might be a bit of a wait to get your food.

Also, why are you getting a bedroom, or even taking the CONO at all, for such a short ride? And what do you mean by "a bedroom for one with two additional passengers?" I'm just a bit confused by a couple of your questions...
 
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I changed the CN to City of New Orleans. As far as the reason for the trip its pretty simple to me. We have a lot of Guest Rewards points and it is a trip my 94 year old mom can manage if she wants to. A day trip fits that bill. Sure you can drive to Chicago from where I live but I don't enjoy driving that much. Its an excuse to take a train trip. A lot of people during peak times use the train to go shopping in Chicago. The bedroom gives you more privacy and a bathroom of your own. I usually travel roomette which we know mostly now doesn't have a built in bathroom. Mom has always gone bedroom for the privacy. The rules for that used to be and hopefully still are that one full bedroom charge is made for a room. Other people who occupy it have to just pay the coach fare. That may have been eliminated but I will try and find out. We had done that quite a few times from Chicago.
 
Larry H. said:
I changed the CN to City of New Orleans. As far as the reason for the trip its pretty simple to me. We have a lot of Guest Rewards points and it is a trip my 94 year old mom can manage if she wants to. A day trip fits that bill. Sure you can drive to Chicago from where I live but I don't enjoy driving that much. Its an excuse to take a train trip. A lot of people during peak times use the train to go shopping in Chicago. The bedroom gives you more privacy and a bathroom of your own. I usually travel roomette which we know mostly now doesn't have a built in bathroom. Mom has always gone bedroom for the privacy. The rules for that used to be and hopefully still are that one full bedroom charge is made for a room. Other people who occupy it have to just pay the coach fare. That may have been eliminated but I will try and find out. We had done that quite a few times from Chicago.
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Fair enough. I had thought that the ride on the CONO to the south of Illinois was only a couple hours, but having checked, I now know it's a lot longer

BTW, it is still the case that when you book a sleeper, you pay a flat rate for the room, and plus the rail fare for the occupants.
 
I know you want to eat Dinner on the CONO but it is not a hot prepared meal. Amtrak eliminated the chef so the single server takes your order puts your order in the microwave and serves you. I personally suspect that the food on the CL and LSL starting 6/1 will be better than what you will get on the CONO today.
 
(The City of New Orleans is usually abbreviated CONO here.) As noted, it's Superliner equipment. The bedrooms are upstairs; this may be an issue for your 94 year old. The southbound leaves Chicago at 8:05 PM and will get to Centralia about half past midnight. The diner does serve an "Express Dinner," but the choices are limited to sandwiches and a Caesar salad. It may be worth noting that by consensus here the CONO gets the award for worst diner food on Amtrak.
 
RPC said:
(The City of New Orleans is usually abbreviated CONO here.) As noted, it's Superliner equipment. The bedrooms are upstairs; this may be an issue for your 94 year old. The southbound leaves Chicago at 8:05 PM and will get to Centralia about half past midnight. The diner does serve an "Express Dinner," but the choices are limited to sandwiches and a Caesar salad. It may be worth noting that by consensus here the CONO gets the award for worst diner food on Amtrak.
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If she can make it up the stairs once, she's all set for the rest of the ride. Remember that the passage between cars is on the upper level, so if they want to do the SSL or go to the dining car, as Larry seemed to imply, the upper level is ideal. If she can't make it up the stairs at all, even when stopped at a station, then the H room would be the only good option (since the OP said that they wanted the bathroom).
 
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Lonestar648 said:
They could do a couple roomettes downstairs since there are three bathrooms downstairs.
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Right, but he said:

Larry H. said:
The bedroom gives you more privacy and a bathroom of your own. I usually travel roomette which we know mostly now doesn't have a built in bathroom. Mom has always gone bedroom for the privacy.
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So it certainly seems like a private bathroom is ideal for them. And his mother has had a bedroom in the past, so assuming her mobility hasn't gotten much worse since her last ride, getting up the stairs to the Bedroom should be doable. And again, if they plan on going to the SSL or dining car, the upper level is unquestionably the better location.
 
About four years ago now we went to Seattle and Back, the next year the California Zephyr to San Francisco and on to Los Angles with a return on the Southwest Chief. That trip the bathrooms refused to work on much of the trip so we got a large refund from Amtrak which we used for a Washington D. C. and New York City loop. Mom is pretty spry for her age. Maybe getting a bit forgetful now but aren't many of us. I just haven't ridden the City of New Orleans probably since that last trip and was curious as what to expect. I appreciate the responses. I think I would take your advice and plan to have dinner in Chicago before boarding. At one point they had removed the observation car and wasn't sure if that might be true again.
 
Larry H. said:
At one point they had removed the observation car
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That was when they first introduced the Cross Country Cafe and they were using it both as the dining car and as the lounge car, to cut back on staff and costs. That system was a flaming disaster as the CCC did not come close to the necessary capacity or staff for simultaneous use as a lounge and diner, so after a few months they put the SSL back more or less went back to the original system. The dining car is still a CCC, and the menu is limited to a couple heat and eat entrees, but at least there's a separate lounge car with wraparound windows and capacity for more than eight people.
 
 
I'm on the CONO as I write. Chicago to New Orleans in a roomette. I had probably the worst dinner I ever had on board last night. Some beef thing. They have the nerve to charge $22 for Coach passengers. It was probably a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew. I'll be on the Sunset tomorrow night and I'm looking forward to a full diner and their incredible steak. Last time I was on the CONO was in 2001 when I was connecting to the Eastbound Sunset heading to Fort Lauderdale
 
cpotisch said:
Also, why are you getting a bedroom, or even taking the CONO at all, for such a short ride? ...
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Umm... Cause it goes where he needs to go when he needs to go? I've taken the City several times from Chicago to Carbondale after the last corridor train has run.
 
He has points to burn and want to take others on a day trip to Chicago. I am still concerned about the 94 year old making those stairs. I know how difficult it was for me after my attack a couple years ago. My daughter and granddaughter were in front and behind me, it was a slow process. Actually, thinking about it, I was so glad they convinced me to make the trip, so I understand her making the trip.
 
If your mom qualifies as handicapped (probably could get a doctor's letter about her mobility issues) then how about using the handicapped room on the lower level? Or, the family room that has ample seats (no bathroom) but bathrooms nearby.
 
I had the family bedroom on my trip on the Empire Builder. If the CONO has that exact same setup (Superliner with family bedroom on the lower level), that might be nicer than the handicapped room. It doesn't have the bathroom, but there are several just a short hallway walk away. I took a peek in the handicapped room on the Superliner and thought the family bedroom was much more attractive. It also has windows on both sides, so you can always look out the "best" side.

Also, I think, having traveled with my own mother as she got older, stairs when a train is moving would be more difficult than being on the lower level, where you have easy access to the bathrooms and the door to the platform.

If you have meals brought to you (and quite frankly with the way the meals are going, I would just have something nice in Chicago), there would be no need to go upstairs.

One more thing--I found that my mother, as she reached her 90s, always thought she would have more stamina than she did. You might want to consider an overnight in a nice Chicago hotel so she can take the trip more leisurely.
 
Amtrak George said:
If your mom qualifies as handicapped (probably could get a doctor's letter about her mobility issues) then how about using the handicapped room on the lower level? Or, the family room that has ample seats (no bathroom) but bathrooms nearby.
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This was already mentioned. If they want to go to the CCC or SSL at all, and his mom can make it up the stairs once, then it's ideal to have a room on the upper level. And bear in mind that the H room is just a roomette bed module plus some empty floor space and a curtained off sink/toilet. Whereas the Bedrooms have a significantly larger lower bunk, an enclosed bathroom (including a shower), a more comfortable layout, etc.

If they got a room on the upper level, then his mom would really only have to go up and down the stairs once (when they board, and when they get off), so if it's possible to get up the stairs one time, then the upper is better.
 

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