Hoosier state business classes

Excellent service. Boarded in Indianapolis and there were two attendants waiting to assist passengers. One guy stowed my luggage and the attendant for bc, Erin, welcomed me.

The food in BC was all you can and want to eat. I ordered extra bacon and the cinnamon rolls with my eggs and hash browns. The food was delicious. I had several cups of coffee. And a second breakfast of blue berry pancakes that were beyond awesome.

The seating was at tables. Some had table clothes and some didn't. When it was clear it wasn't going to be crowded I camped out at a table with the railfan view near the front. Iowa Pacific refurbished the dome quite nicely. The seats were much more comfortable than the one in Amtrak's Dome. I never got tired of sitting which is the case on amfleet and horizon business class seats.

This is a premier operation. Well worth a trip to Indianapolis. I recommend taking it to Indianapolis on Friday night and returning Sunday morning. Check hotel rates and with weekend discounts you have a nice trip.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.



A humorous moment occurred as we were held for a UP freight at Thornton junction. As the freight rolled by the engineer was actually laughing at us as he rolled by.

A few more pictures!

Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Nice pics and trip Steve!

Hopefully the reliability will improve and eventually this will be a daily train to go with a daily Cardinal!

The 2 Joe's concurr. We are on the reverse trip back to Indy right now, the blue plate special tonight was shrimp with coconut curry sauce, broccoli and a starch. Of course Merlot all around!

Amber said the 2 Joes couldn't have breakfast on the Hoosier State this morning. Our buddy, Steve, ate three breakfasts on the Sunday train so there was nothing left for us!!!

Seriously, this is a great 5 hour trip in a very comfortable dome car, cordial staff and wonderful food and service.

So with a rail fare of $70.00 for BC according to Amtrak.com, how is this operation not bleeding more money than when Amtrak was running the service 100%? Its all great and dandy for the railfan but how long do you think this kind of service will last? Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if they offered breakfast like that on the Surfliner.

How much of a savings is coming from not using Amtrak equip and food and beverage labor?

And remember Amtrak's hard to explain allocated costs. I think the main culprit is the unfathomable algorithms or Ouija Boards used for the costs that first get allocated to a train and then demands made of states to cover said costs and then some.

But as I said elsewhere, it sure would be interesting to see the books of the operation.