As I'd posted a few weeks ago, was looking to spend some time sampling long distance rail travel in the USA, and finally got round to it last week. Had always fancied the 'Zephyr', which is arguably the most known about American train amongst the UK's railway enthusiasts. So starting from Boston, eventually decided on the 'Lake Shore Limited' on the Tuesday 7th December to Chicago. Night in a hotel to regain probably lost sleep, and then join the Zephyr for a 33 hour journey to Salt Lake City with a friend from that part of the World. And just for good measure, she works for an airline thus got me a bargain flight to Boston.
So....was with great trepidation that I wandered into Boston South Station at around 11:20am to catch the 'Lake Shore Limited' to Chicago. The train was already backed into the platform, although boarding didnt begin until around 11:40am. Had decided to give 'coach' class a go, and was fairly impressed with the comfort of the Amfleet II. Departure was on time, the train picked its way out of Boston and was soon ambling along in the reasonably picturesque countryside of Massachusettes. A quick visit to the Cafe car at the end of the train gave an interesting view of the route behind us, and our leisurely progress was probably just as well, as the track clearly wasnt what you'd call perfect! Arrival in Albany was ahead of time, and we awaited the portion from New York. This turned up ahead of time too, and the two trains were joined. Departure was rather rapid and we were now clearly travelling on some fairly well laid permanenty way as the train travelled at more or less full speed. Decided to give the dining car a go, and despite a few remarks about the food not being great on this service, was pleasantly surprised by the cuisine on offer. A well cooked half chicken with rice and green beans washed down with a glass of white. The waitress was very friendly too, which without being unkind, was in contrast to the majority of the onboard staff who didn't really go out of their way to be helpful or even manage the odd smile or two. I expected better than this on a long distance service. If you can't at least show a happy or helpful face to the customer, then you really need to think about whether you are in the right job? But the actual train ride itself more than made up for this, with snow now falling heavily in the Northern parts of Ohio as the train thundered on through the night. Was surprised at the reasonable amount of sleep I managed, and eventually gave in somewhere in North Indiana. Arrival in Chicago was something of a prolonged stagger. Stop, crawl along for a mile or so, stop, crawl along etc. Was more interested in the immense freight activity though, virtually everywhere you looked there were wagons or locomotives in action, or awaiting their next turn of duty. A rail enthusiasts dream come true really. Arrival in Chicago was about 30 mins late. Not a problem for me at all though.
Nights stay in a hotel in Chicago to catch up with my sleep and liase with a friend from Salt Lake City who would take the Zephyr with me back to SLC.
Arrived at Union Station at around midday to collect tickets and tuck into some rather tasty food on the concourse. This time around had a roomette, so we made our way to the first class waiting area and await boarding on to the 2pm Zephyr. The train was announced and we made our way to the sleeping car, and were shown onboard by a much more cheerful attendant. The roomette resembled an oven, but was extremely cosy to settle into and once the heating was turned down, was a fairly civilised place to be spending a fair amount of the train ride in. Departure was on time, and after 2 hours or so we made our way to the observation car which allows excellent views of the landscape. Managed to bump into someone from this forum who had earlier kindly offered my a place in his bedroom, and was travelling with his son. A few drinks were had and it was clear a number of people in the observation car were the for a 'vaction ride' and making conversation with people was extremely easy. The beauty of having sleeping car tickets is that use of the dining car is 'free', and we made our way for dinner, of which again, was tasty and well presented. Time to turn the roomette into a mini bedroom, of which our attendant did without fuss. The ride did seem to become a lot more lively after Omaha NE, with parts of the jointed trackwork giving a real 'old school' travelling experience. Must say though, that the superliner was extremely quiet inside and absorbed the rather patchy track extremely well. A better nights sleep was had and emerged to have breakfast as the train left Denver. Have to also mention the shower was extremely clean and better than the one we'd had in the hotel! The majesty of the Rocky Mountains was upon us and the slow but steady climb to the peak was witnessed from the Observation car. The Moffat Tunnel was entered with the ground covered partially in thin snow, but was exited to a burst of white light to comprehensive snowfall and the first ski resort of many. A couple of leg stretchers were had en route through the Rockies, and the scenery from the train spectacular. The early evening yomp across Utah saw a spectacular sunset and another tasty evening meal was consumed. We said goodbye to the Zephyr at SLC and were rather sad not to be taking it the entire journey to San Fran.
I'd definately recommend this trip to anyone. And when you consider all meals are 'free' when you go sleeper class, a roomette actually works out to be fair value for money. Worked out that the food bill for the time on the train would have come to around $150 for 2.
Have enclosed a few snaps of the trip just to prove I wasnt dreaming
Yours truly at Chicago Union Station
The start of the climb up the Rockies
Following the Colorado
Observation Car gives an excellent view
The 'Genesis' loco with a new found Gargoyle to attach to the front!
Journeys end at SLC
So....was with great trepidation that I wandered into Boston South Station at around 11:20am to catch the 'Lake Shore Limited' to Chicago. The train was already backed into the platform, although boarding didnt begin until around 11:40am. Had decided to give 'coach' class a go, and was fairly impressed with the comfort of the Amfleet II. Departure was on time, the train picked its way out of Boston and was soon ambling along in the reasonably picturesque countryside of Massachusettes. A quick visit to the Cafe car at the end of the train gave an interesting view of the route behind us, and our leisurely progress was probably just as well, as the track clearly wasnt what you'd call perfect! Arrival in Albany was ahead of time, and we awaited the portion from New York. This turned up ahead of time too, and the two trains were joined. Departure was rather rapid and we were now clearly travelling on some fairly well laid permanenty way as the train travelled at more or less full speed. Decided to give the dining car a go, and despite a few remarks about the food not being great on this service, was pleasantly surprised by the cuisine on offer. A well cooked half chicken with rice and green beans washed down with a glass of white. The waitress was very friendly too, which without being unkind, was in contrast to the majority of the onboard staff who didn't really go out of their way to be helpful or even manage the odd smile or two. I expected better than this on a long distance service. If you can't at least show a happy or helpful face to the customer, then you really need to think about whether you are in the right job? But the actual train ride itself more than made up for this, with snow now falling heavily in the Northern parts of Ohio as the train thundered on through the night. Was surprised at the reasonable amount of sleep I managed, and eventually gave in somewhere in North Indiana. Arrival in Chicago was something of a prolonged stagger. Stop, crawl along for a mile or so, stop, crawl along etc. Was more interested in the immense freight activity though, virtually everywhere you looked there were wagons or locomotives in action, or awaiting their next turn of duty. A rail enthusiasts dream come true really. Arrival in Chicago was about 30 mins late. Not a problem for me at all though.
Nights stay in a hotel in Chicago to catch up with my sleep and liase with a friend from Salt Lake City who would take the Zephyr with me back to SLC.
Arrived at Union Station at around midday to collect tickets and tuck into some rather tasty food on the concourse. This time around had a roomette, so we made our way to the first class waiting area and await boarding on to the 2pm Zephyr. The train was announced and we made our way to the sleeping car, and were shown onboard by a much more cheerful attendant. The roomette resembled an oven, but was extremely cosy to settle into and once the heating was turned down, was a fairly civilised place to be spending a fair amount of the train ride in. Departure was on time, and after 2 hours or so we made our way to the observation car which allows excellent views of the landscape. Managed to bump into someone from this forum who had earlier kindly offered my a place in his bedroom, and was travelling with his son. A few drinks were had and it was clear a number of people in the observation car were the for a 'vaction ride' and making conversation with people was extremely easy. The beauty of having sleeping car tickets is that use of the dining car is 'free', and we made our way for dinner, of which again, was tasty and well presented. Time to turn the roomette into a mini bedroom, of which our attendant did without fuss. The ride did seem to become a lot more lively after Omaha NE, with parts of the jointed trackwork giving a real 'old school' travelling experience. Must say though, that the superliner was extremely quiet inside and absorbed the rather patchy track extremely well. A better nights sleep was had and emerged to have breakfast as the train left Denver. Have to also mention the shower was extremely clean and better than the one we'd had in the hotel! The majesty of the Rocky Mountains was upon us and the slow but steady climb to the peak was witnessed from the Observation car. The Moffat Tunnel was entered with the ground covered partially in thin snow, but was exited to a burst of white light to comprehensive snowfall and the first ski resort of many. A couple of leg stretchers were had en route through the Rockies, and the scenery from the train spectacular. The early evening yomp across Utah saw a spectacular sunset and another tasty evening meal was consumed. We said goodbye to the Zephyr at SLC and were rather sad not to be taking it the entire journey to San Fran.
I'd definately recommend this trip to anyone. And when you consider all meals are 'free' when you go sleeper class, a roomette actually works out to be fair value for money. Worked out that the food bill for the time on the train would have come to around $150 for 2.
Have enclosed a few snaps of the trip just to prove I wasnt dreaming
Yours truly at Chicago Union Station
The start of the climb up the Rockies
Following the Colorado
Observation Car gives an excellent view
The 'Genesis' loco with a new found Gargoyle to attach to the front!
Journeys end at SLC
