Recent content by Steve4031

IMHO Amtrak should resurrect the Chicago to Philadelphia Pennsyvanian. An Empire Service train could be extended to Cleveland and hopefully connect with the Pennsylvanian.

There is a drug smuggling/transportation issue on most Amtrak long-distance trains because there are no security procedures for checking luggage before boarding. Maybe the Amtrak police officer was there because he was on the lookout for someone.

These flex meals are not acceptable. It does not matter what you serve them on. They're slop. If Amtrak cleaned out the kitty litter box and served them on China, would that suddenly make them a great meal? I don't think so. The traditional dining service works. It is not perfect, but the...

IMHO, the fares posted here encourage people to use the Empire Builder. A roomette is not that much more than BC. At those price points, I would take a roomette over BC every time. The Empire Builder coach seats should be sold as BC seats between Chicago and Milwaukee. Those seats are way better...

The commuter stations at Naperville, Glenview and Homewood are prompt equipped for long term parking.

I like how the administrators here create threads for different categories for the other routes. I have not seen one for the Midwest corridors out of Chicago, so I thought I would start one. I discovered the following service alert while looking at a Sunday round trip on the Saluki. This is...

IMHO, marketing this as a one-seat ride to Florida is the only way. Many non-railfans lament the fact that there is no through train to Florida. Getting on and off of the same train is no better than changing from Capitol Limited to Silver Meteor or Star. They could schedule the stop in...

This would mean the end of flex dining between Chicago and Washington. They have to do something to improve superliner availability.

Downtown is also a good home base if you can score a decent rate at the Oakland City Center Marriott. It is right across the street from a BART station. Then, a leisurely ride on BART to Embarcadero. The suggestions in the post above are about the best advice possible.

I have been trying to locate PDFs of the ocean dining car menus. I am planning a round trip on this train for this summer.

I cannot log into my account on my Mac desktop at home or on my MacBook. I have tried Google and Safari. When I use Google and try to sign in, the language switches to Chinese or Japanese. I am not able to reset my password on Google Chrome. I tried Safari. I could change my password, but...

I rode that train years ago, in 1994. It was a fantastic ride. The vestibule end of the last coach was at the car's rear. I stood on that platform for hours, enjoying the ride. It took a circuitous trip out of Montreal and headed northeast before heading north.

Are there any first-hand reports about breakfast being served out of Emeryville on the 8:25 am departure?

A very thorough and accurate report. I usually have my Uber pick me up from Beggars Pizza on the corner of Clinton and Jackson.

St Louis is good. Lower hotel prices and a ride on the higher speed trackage. Carbondale is a good day trip.