So after a nice restful night in Chicago, it was time to go off on the train again. But before I ventured off to the station, I decided to go to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry to see the original Burlington Zephyr. Getting down to the museum was easy as the bus stopped just outside my hotel on Michigan Avenue so I was there for opening time. The train was spectacular but the tours of it didn't fit in with my other tours of the mine and the U-boat so I only saw the outside. I did however spend some time looking at the model railroad which attempts to copy the route of the Empire Builder. All in all, it was a good way to spend the morning.
So next was back to the hotel, pick up my bag and walk up to Union Station which was just as grand as I had remembered it from 30 years ago. I dropped off my bag in the lounge (again slightly underwhelming) and went to see what I could find for lunch. I was pretty amazed not to find a single place selling pizza in the food court and not really having time to look outside, I opened for a Chicago style hot dog which was pretty good really. Then back to the lounge and onto the train.
My first feeling about boarding the California Zephyr was that it was a much more professional environment than the Cardinal. There was a SCA for each sleeper who helped me aboard and directed me where to go and offered help with bags etc. On finding the roomette, there was a route guide and a timetable. The attendant, "J", was OK but not exactly pro-active with advice or assistance. No matter, if you rang the bell, he came and put your bed down pretty quickly.
We left Chicago about 30 mins late due to a) checking the engine (why this couldn't have been done before the departure time I don't know) and b) the presence of a large number of police waiting for a particular passenger to board. He didn't. But anyway, we were soon on our way. I also noticed that we were generally going much faster than the Cardinal.
After we left Chicago, I want for a wander round the train including a beer in the SSL where I was pleased to find that they sold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, one of my favourites. As we went past farms and fields and grain elevators, I was lost in the American dream and quite happy that the land was so flat. I really enjoyed seeing all the little town and houses though I did wonder why people don't get rid of their old cars rather than just leave them in their gardens!!
For dinner that night, I ate with a nice lady who was also travelling the whole way. She had the chicken which she enjoyed and I had the steak which was nice but certainly the smallest steak I had ever had in America. We both had rice with it which was completely tasteless until smothered in tobasco. But still a much better meal than on the Cardinal and of course I had the cheesecake to follow with a half bottle of Chardonnay which was also pretty good.
Off to bed then as I wanted to be up early to get a good seat after Denver.
We arrived pretty much on time in Denver and I went for walk around the station. It all looked very nice and I wished I had stopped for a day in Denver to see the city. Maybe another time. And then we were off, or at least as far as the yards where we sat for nearly 45 minutes, but eventually we were on our way up to the mountains. This really was the bit that I had been looking forward to the most and it was even better than I had expected, I loved looking at the track as it wound its way up the foothills of the Rockies. And up and up and up till we got to the Moffat tunnel. I won't go on any more about the scenery but the Rockies, the canyons, the Sierra Nevada and the desert were all spectacular in their own ways. And spending most of the day in the Observation car was also cool with some nice people to talk to, all of whom just loved my English accent.
A nice salad for lunch and the half chicken for dinner rounded off my day and I forgot to mention the Railroad French Toast with Bacon, delicious!!! The servers were also friendly and made the dining experience truly great. I forget the waitress' name but she kept calling me "Precious" and was just such a bundle of fun.
Slept quite well again and missed Salt Lake City but again spent most of the day in the Observation Car. A lot of people got on in Reno and the train was pretty full by then. Last meal was again a burger which was also pretty nice. I had lunch with a couple of people who had travelled all the way from Florida to Washington to Chicago and were going to Roseville. The lady said that it had been a bit much. I can agree with that, I feel that you really need to have a break from travelling.
The final stretch through California was actually a bit boring and we went from being 30 mins early to 30 mins late around Oakland but overall the train was pretty much on time though there is so much slack in the timetable that it would be difficult not to be on time.
So, overall, the California Zephyr was a great experience but maybe I would skip the Chicago to Denver section another time.
Almost at the end now but there was one more chapter to my trip. I got the bus to my hotel, and was checking in when I realised that I had left my coat in the little wardrobe in the roomette. Not a big issue as it was an old coat and I didn't really need it in San Francisco as it was nice and warm. there was only one problem. My passport was in the pocket!!
So I phone Amtrak Customer Services who said it would be no problem and they would fill in a form and someone would phone me back with details of how to get the coat back. Could I give them my phone number. Sure I said and reeled it off. And she said, they wouldn't be able to call me back on an international number did I have a local one? So I gave the hotel number and she said they would call me back that evening which of course they didn't and I started thinking of what to do.
So the next morning, I caught the bus back to Emeryville to check if it was still on the train (6) going the other way. Of course it wasn't, so the coat must have been taken off in Oakland. The guy in the ticket office said it might be two weeks before it got to the lost and found which wasn't really much use to me but I eventually got him to phone the yard and lo and behold, they had my coat and passport which they put on the next train and which I picked up from the baggage car at Emeryville.
So thanks to Doug Jensen, I had my passport back and I could get on with the rest of my holiday (Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury, organic microbrewery, Alcatraz, more sushi, visit to an old friends vineyard in Lodi, renting a Camaro, street cars, cable cars, Fishermans Wharf, clam chowder )and a pretty average flight back on British Airways.
So where next, not totally sure but I quite fancy another train trip in a couple of years. And San Francisco again. Looks a really great place.
Finally, thanks to all the people who answer my questions about the trip. I had a great time.
So next was back to the hotel, pick up my bag and walk up to Union Station which was just as grand as I had remembered it from 30 years ago. I dropped off my bag in the lounge (again slightly underwhelming) and went to see what I could find for lunch. I was pretty amazed not to find a single place selling pizza in the food court and not really having time to look outside, I opened for a Chicago style hot dog which was pretty good really. Then back to the lounge and onto the train.
My first feeling about boarding the California Zephyr was that it was a much more professional environment than the Cardinal. There was a SCA for each sleeper who helped me aboard and directed me where to go and offered help with bags etc. On finding the roomette, there was a route guide and a timetable. The attendant, "J", was OK but not exactly pro-active with advice or assistance. No matter, if you rang the bell, he came and put your bed down pretty quickly.
We left Chicago about 30 mins late due to a) checking the engine (why this couldn't have been done before the departure time I don't know) and b) the presence of a large number of police waiting for a particular passenger to board. He didn't. But anyway, we were soon on our way. I also noticed that we were generally going much faster than the Cardinal.
After we left Chicago, I want for a wander round the train including a beer in the SSL where I was pleased to find that they sold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, one of my favourites. As we went past farms and fields and grain elevators, I was lost in the American dream and quite happy that the land was so flat. I really enjoyed seeing all the little town and houses though I did wonder why people don't get rid of their old cars rather than just leave them in their gardens!!
For dinner that night, I ate with a nice lady who was also travelling the whole way. She had the chicken which she enjoyed and I had the steak which was nice but certainly the smallest steak I had ever had in America. We both had rice with it which was completely tasteless until smothered in tobasco. But still a much better meal than on the Cardinal and of course I had the cheesecake to follow with a half bottle of Chardonnay which was also pretty good.
Off to bed then as I wanted to be up early to get a good seat after Denver.
We arrived pretty much on time in Denver and I went for walk around the station. It all looked very nice and I wished I had stopped for a day in Denver to see the city. Maybe another time. And then we were off, or at least as far as the yards where we sat for nearly 45 minutes, but eventually we were on our way up to the mountains. This really was the bit that I had been looking forward to the most and it was even better than I had expected, I loved looking at the track as it wound its way up the foothills of the Rockies. And up and up and up till we got to the Moffat tunnel. I won't go on any more about the scenery but the Rockies, the canyons, the Sierra Nevada and the desert were all spectacular in their own ways. And spending most of the day in the Observation car was also cool with some nice people to talk to, all of whom just loved my English accent.
A nice salad for lunch and the half chicken for dinner rounded off my day and I forgot to mention the Railroad French Toast with Bacon, delicious!!! The servers were also friendly and made the dining experience truly great. I forget the waitress' name but she kept calling me "Precious" and was just such a bundle of fun.
Slept quite well again and missed Salt Lake City but again spent most of the day in the Observation Car. A lot of people got on in Reno and the train was pretty full by then. Last meal was again a burger which was also pretty nice. I had lunch with a couple of people who had travelled all the way from Florida to Washington to Chicago and were going to Roseville. The lady said that it had been a bit much. I can agree with that, I feel that you really need to have a break from travelling.
The final stretch through California was actually a bit boring and we went from being 30 mins early to 30 mins late around Oakland but overall the train was pretty much on time though there is so much slack in the timetable that it would be difficult not to be on time.
So, overall, the California Zephyr was a great experience but maybe I would skip the Chicago to Denver section another time.
Almost at the end now but there was one more chapter to my trip. I got the bus to my hotel, and was checking in when I realised that I had left my coat in the little wardrobe in the roomette. Not a big issue as it was an old coat and I didn't really need it in San Francisco as it was nice and warm. there was only one problem. My passport was in the pocket!!
So I phone Amtrak Customer Services who said it would be no problem and they would fill in a form and someone would phone me back with details of how to get the coat back. Could I give them my phone number. Sure I said and reeled it off. And she said, they wouldn't be able to call me back on an international number did I have a local one? So I gave the hotel number and she said they would call me back that evening which of course they didn't and I started thinking of what to do.
So the next morning, I caught the bus back to Emeryville to check if it was still on the train (6) going the other way. Of course it wasn't, so the coat must have been taken off in Oakland. The guy in the ticket office said it might be two weeks before it got to the lost and found which wasn't really much use to me but I eventually got him to phone the yard and lo and behold, they had my coat and passport which they put on the next train and which I picked up from the baggage car at Emeryville.
So thanks to Doug Jensen, I had my passport back and I could get on with the rest of my holiday (Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury, organic microbrewery, Alcatraz, more sushi, visit to an old friends vineyard in Lodi, renting a Camaro, street cars, cable cars, Fishermans Wharf, clam chowder )and a pretty average flight back on British Airways.
So where next, not totally sure but I quite fancy another train trip in a couple of years. And San Francisco again. Looks a really great place.
Finally, thanks to all the people who answer my questions about the trip. I had a great time.
*** Convertible Top... 
