Well hopefully, this will be the first part of a two page trip report (the other the CZ).
I have always wanted to travel across the USA by train. This desire was brought on my a) flying over from Boston to LA and seeing the country and wanting to see more, b) love of trains since boyhood and c) reading Dee Brown's book, "Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow" which conveyed to me the sheer achievement of building the transcontinental railroad. So this March after my first year of retirement and learning to play golf, get fit and just hang out rather than work, I decided to book the trip. My wife didn't want to go so it was just me.
The trip was as follows:
Flight London to Washington
One night Washington
Cardinal: Washington to Chicago (chosen rather than the Capitol Limited because of the views)
One night Chicago
California Zephyr: Chicago to Emeryville
Three nights: San Francisco
Flight San Francisco to London
Luckily, I still have a lot of airmiles and hotel points from my working career so I was able to get both flights business class for a low cost and the first two hotels for free. Lucky me
Well I started off badly, nearly missing the flight but underestimating how long it would take to get from the cheap parking I'd booked to the airport but I just got there on time and was told to go straight to the plane with no shopping on the way. Yes Ma'am, I thought.
The United Airlines flight was about the most emptiest I've ever been on. I went round and counted 40 passengers on a Boeing 777. This did however mean that the service was excellent and I enjoyed a 5 course meal, a few drinks, a film and a snooze.
Into Washington by taxi and to may hotel which I won't go into as it was just a big standard Fairfield Inn. It did however have an Irish bar attached so after a drink in there and some Sushi across the road, I went to sleep quite happy. Up with the lark, or at least with jet lag, I put on my running gear and went out for a six mile run around the National Mall taking in the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the White House. I thought it was all pretty stunning. And then back to the hotel, a shower, breakfast and then a walk to the station.
While Washington Union Station itself is pretty stunning, I thought the Amtrak lounge was pretty basic. No newspapers or magazines and only a small range of drinks and snacks. No big deal but nothing special.
And then the train was called and I was led down to the platform. I seemed to be the only passenger going from the lounge and halfway there, the guy who was guiding me was shouted at by his boss and had to leave me, but to be honest, it was not difficult to find the train.
The Cardinal was starting at Washington that day and was Superliner equipment. I think the consist was engine, baggage, sleeper, cafe/lounge, coach, coach. It was certainly not full leaving Washington. The Roomette was clean but no Route Guide or Timetable.
We left some 15 minutes late for no particular reason and soon were out in the Virginia countryside after crossing the frozen Potomac. This first couple of hours was probably the prettiest but everywhere was covered in snow so the view was a bit monochrome. Still it was nice to sit back and watch the world go by. I was particularly amazed by the deserted/ruined/foreclosed houses. House prices in England are so high that abandoning a house just wouldn't happen.
Lunch was a burger which was OK, only about 5 people eating in the diner and not a very friendly crew. I asked for a side salad to be told they didn't have any.
And then a long afternoon watching snow covered fields and trees as we wended through Virginia and West Virginia. The SCA, name of T, introduced himself, he was pretty friendly and helpful. One of the other passengers also introduced himself and started talking. He was a bit drunk and must also have had a cold as he was sniffing all the time, though this didn't stop him from talking a lot!!
Still we had a chat and arranged to meet for dinner. Dinner hmmm dinner, well what can I say. It was pretty awful. I had the Short Rib of Beef which was basically a small portion of beef stew with a small round of polenta and some washed out vegetables. If I had paid $25 for it, I would have been pretty furious. Still it was edible which is more than you can say for my companion's salmon which was so overcooked that it was like hard leather. I could not believe that they would serve something like that.
At about this time, they announced that there was a speed limit of 40 mph due to a flood warning around the Ohio river. This meant that we crawled all night and by the morning were nearly 3 1/2 hours late arriving in Indianapolis. The roomette was pretty comfortable (for one) but I did hear another couple arguing about where to put their bags (I left my big bag downstairs and took a smaller one to my room).
The next morning we crawled into Indianapolis and then crawled out again and then meandered slowly towards Chicago. Breakfast was better than dinner but I suspected that a microwave was used as bits were hard. No orange juice. How can you not have orange juice in a breakfast car? I mean how hard is that? It didn't matter much to my dinner companion of the previous night as he had two bottles of red wine to go with his breakfast.
And then a slow ride through Indiana and into Chicago arriving about 2 1/2 hours late.
Did I enjoy it? Sort of but I was disappointed by the views (I believe it would have been better eastbound) and very disappointed by the food service.
Anyway, my first long distance train ride in the USA since 1986 and also my first visit to Chicago since then and the city didn't seem to have changed much. It was just as cold, the wind blew in from the lake and when you went inside it was too hot. Just as I remembered.
Only one night in Chicago so I had a meal (Shaw's Crab House - nothing special) and then went to Buddy Guy's Legends to see the excellent Cash Box Kings. A really great place to go with reasonable price drinks and good music. I did wonder what I had let myself in for though with a two day train trip starting the next day.
More on the California Zephyr when I get the chance.
I have always wanted to travel across the USA by train. This desire was brought on my a) flying over from Boston to LA and seeing the country and wanting to see more, b) love of trains since boyhood and c) reading Dee Brown's book, "Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow" which conveyed to me the sheer achievement of building the transcontinental railroad. So this March after my first year of retirement and learning to play golf, get fit and just hang out rather than work, I decided to book the trip. My wife didn't want to go so it was just me.
The trip was as follows:
Flight London to Washington
One night Washington
Cardinal: Washington to Chicago (chosen rather than the Capitol Limited because of the views)
One night Chicago
California Zephyr: Chicago to Emeryville
Three nights: San Francisco
Flight San Francisco to London
Luckily, I still have a lot of airmiles and hotel points from my working career so I was able to get both flights business class for a low cost and the first two hotels for free. Lucky me
Well I started off badly, nearly missing the flight but underestimating how long it would take to get from the cheap parking I'd booked to the airport but I just got there on time and was told to go straight to the plane with no shopping on the way. Yes Ma'am, I thought.
The United Airlines flight was about the most emptiest I've ever been on. I went round and counted 40 passengers on a Boeing 777. This did however mean that the service was excellent and I enjoyed a 5 course meal, a few drinks, a film and a snooze.
Into Washington by taxi and to may hotel which I won't go into as it was just a big standard Fairfield Inn. It did however have an Irish bar attached so after a drink in there and some Sushi across the road, I went to sleep quite happy. Up with the lark, or at least with jet lag, I put on my running gear and went out for a six mile run around the National Mall taking in the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the White House. I thought it was all pretty stunning. And then back to the hotel, a shower, breakfast and then a walk to the station.
While Washington Union Station itself is pretty stunning, I thought the Amtrak lounge was pretty basic. No newspapers or magazines and only a small range of drinks and snacks. No big deal but nothing special.
And then the train was called and I was led down to the platform. I seemed to be the only passenger going from the lounge and halfway there, the guy who was guiding me was shouted at by his boss and had to leave me, but to be honest, it was not difficult to find the train.
The Cardinal was starting at Washington that day and was Superliner equipment. I think the consist was engine, baggage, sleeper, cafe/lounge, coach, coach. It was certainly not full leaving Washington. The Roomette was clean but no Route Guide or Timetable.
We left some 15 minutes late for no particular reason and soon were out in the Virginia countryside after crossing the frozen Potomac. This first couple of hours was probably the prettiest but everywhere was covered in snow so the view was a bit monochrome. Still it was nice to sit back and watch the world go by. I was particularly amazed by the deserted/ruined/foreclosed houses. House prices in England are so high that abandoning a house just wouldn't happen.
Lunch was a burger which was OK, only about 5 people eating in the diner and not a very friendly crew. I asked for a side salad to be told they didn't have any.
And then a long afternoon watching snow covered fields and trees as we wended through Virginia and West Virginia. The SCA, name of T, introduced himself, he was pretty friendly and helpful. One of the other passengers also introduced himself and started talking. He was a bit drunk and must also have had a cold as he was sniffing all the time, though this didn't stop him from talking a lot!!
Still we had a chat and arranged to meet for dinner. Dinner hmmm dinner, well what can I say. It was pretty awful. I had the Short Rib of Beef which was basically a small portion of beef stew with a small round of polenta and some washed out vegetables. If I had paid $25 for it, I would have been pretty furious. Still it was edible which is more than you can say for my companion's salmon which was so overcooked that it was like hard leather. I could not believe that they would serve something like that.
At about this time, they announced that there was a speed limit of 40 mph due to a flood warning around the Ohio river. This meant that we crawled all night and by the morning were nearly 3 1/2 hours late arriving in Indianapolis. The roomette was pretty comfortable (for one) but I did hear another couple arguing about where to put their bags (I left my big bag downstairs and took a smaller one to my room).
The next morning we crawled into Indianapolis and then crawled out again and then meandered slowly towards Chicago. Breakfast was better than dinner but I suspected that a microwave was used as bits were hard. No orange juice. How can you not have orange juice in a breakfast car? I mean how hard is that? It didn't matter much to my dinner companion of the previous night as he had two bottles of red wine to go with his breakfast.
And then a slow ride through Indiana and into Chicago arriving about 2 1/2 hours late.
Did I enjoy it? Sort of but I was disappointed by the views (I believe it would have been better eastbound) and very disappointed by the food service.
Anyway, my first long distance train ride in the USA since 1986 and also my first visit to Chicago since then and the city didn't seem to have changed much. It was just as cold, the wind blew in from the lake and when you went inside it was too hot. Just as I remembered.
Only one night in Chicago so I had a meal (Shaw's Crab House - nothing special) and then went to Buddy Guy's Legends to see the excellent Cash Box Kings. A really great place to go with reasonable price drinks and good music. I did wonder what I had let myself in for though with a two day train trip starting the next day.
More on the California Zephyr when I get the chance.
