Cardinal 50/51 From IL to DC and back

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The lounges aren't beautiful, but they serve their purpose so I'm happy with them. In Washington and Chicago they stored our luggage for the day and directed us to our trains. There were some free sodas and coffee but we only took one coffee. The people at the desk were very helpful in giving us some walking directions as well. The Chicago lounge looks a little better than the DC lounge, but no complaints. We enjoyed exploring those stations; so glad they weren't torn down years ago. We couldn't stop taking photos in CHI's great hall! I had been to DC's before, but this was my first visit to the CHI station.

Jay, I agree that train travel is an adventure, and our trip went like clockwork. We enjoyed every minute of it. Hope yours goes well, too.
 
Does anyone know if there is a similar lounge in Portalnd, OR? I have to transfer there in December and have six hours or so to kill.
 
I hope those 6 hours are not between the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight. Due to the delays of the EB, you are not likely to make a same day connection. (In fact it can't be currently booked, you must overnight.) The lounge in PDX is small and compact, but does its job well
 
the_traveler said:
My experience each of the many times I've ridden the cardinal (eastbound all times) has been that the odd roomettes (1, 3, 5, etc) have been on the right (and correct) side. This was true both when the sleeper was on the rear and front. I once had roomette 2 and was on the left side.
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Viewliners (unlike Superliners) are almost always aligned the same way.
 
JayMadison said:
Does anyone know if there is a similar lounge in Portalnd, OR? I have to transfer there in December and have six hours or so to kill.
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The Lounge in Portland is small and cpmfortable ,as was said,and the attendant is first rate! Great refreshments, a room to store your Luggage(free) and if your arrival allows it, Powell Books and great eating joints are close by Union Station!
 
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the_traveler said:
I hope those 6 hours are not between the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight. Due to the delays of the EB, you are not likely to make a same day connection. (In fact it can't be currently booked, you must overnight.) The lounge in PDX is small and compact, but does its job well
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yea the empire builder gets in at 9 or 10 and doen't leave until ike 3 in the afternoon. Do you think I should change plans? I'm not going until December
 
JayMadison said:
the_traveler said:
I hope those 6 hours are not between the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight. Due to the delays of the EB, you are not likely to make a same day connection. (In fact it can't be currently booked, you must overnight.) The lounge in PDX is small and compact, but does its job well
Click to expand...
yea the empire builder gets in at 9 or 10 and doen't leave until ike 3 in the afternoon. Do you think I should change plans? I'm not going until December
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Yes. The connection from the EB to the CS is currently non bookable. As the EB runs so late now a days.
 
Thanks guys I'll call customer service tomorrow, I can probably just go out the zepher since i'm going to san jose
 
Just spoke with Amtrak, there is track work starting soon in ND to hopefully fix the track issue, the rep suggested checking back in oct/nov to see where they were at, they aren't doing the connection from now through sept but didn't think it would impact my trip (of course there's no garuntee etc)
 
I would avoid the EB if possible if I were you. I'm going to be traveling to a point on the EB route next year, but I'm scheduling an extra night in Chicago to avoid missing my connections.

If you really want to take the EB this year or next, you would be well advised to do the same thing: schedule an extra night in Portland.

There is indeed track work ongoing in ND to fix the timekeeping issues.... but it's almost two years' worth of planned trackwork. If your trip were in 2016, I'd say go ahead and take the EB.
 
Odd they are still selling the connection a few months out. Oh well, it's too bad since it seems like such a cool train.
 
Although it may be bookable right now, I would not expect to make the connection. It's much more likely to be like 7-10 hours late.

The agent said to call back in October or November. Perhaps you do, they say you can't connect and the CZ is sold out at that time - what then? :huh:
 
Good choice. The CZ arguably has the best scenery in the entire Amtrak system. You won't be disappointed.
 
The CZ is a train I wanted to take, so i'm happy :) The connection in EMY seems bit tight (90 mins) but the amtrak rep seemed to know the trains quite well so I wasn't too worried (plus i'm only on the train an hour so not the end of the world if something gets messed up)
 
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