Condition of train that goes to Texas

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Guest_Gingee_*

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As I have mentioned in the past, we are looking at taking the train from Lincoln, Illinois to Galveston, Texas. I think it is the Chief but I could be wrong. Anyway, can anyone tell me the condition of the train that goes there. Also, the FOOD. LOL

Thanks
 
There is no Amtrak service to Galveston that I am aware of unless maybe a bus connection via Houston under the Amtrak banner. You would be boarding the Texas Eagle, which will take you to Ft. Worth or Austin where you can easily rent a car in daylight to drive the rest of the way. You can stay on to San Antonio, which is a midnight arrival, but not a heck of a lot closer to Galveston than Austin.

Amtrak serves Houston, but only by way of an iffy connection with the tri-weekly Sunset Limited at San Antonio, or New Orleans, requiring at least one overnight hotel stay each way at your expense. The Sunset's on time performance recently has been as much as a day off schedule, so it would likely ruin your Galveston vacation to try and depend on that unless you have things you want to do in San Antonio.
 
There is still a diner on the Eagle at this writing, along with either a sightseer snack lounge or a coach with a snack section underneath. The dining car food is not bad actually, but that is certainly a subjective matter. You will not starve certainly. The other day when the dining car expired en-route, the train made pit stops for KFC and Wendy's, and everybody seemed to be relatively happy.
 
Actually no need to go to Austin or Ft Worth. There's a guaranteed bus connection in Longview to Galveston. You'd be riding the Texas Eagle from Chicago, and transfer to a bus at Longview. So no need to rent a car or anything. Food? Well, its all simplified service now. Everyone seems to have their opinion about it.
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
As I have mentioned in the past, we are looking at taking the train from Lincoln, Illinois to Galveston, Texas. I think it is the Chief but I could be wrong. Anyway, can anyone tell me the condition of the train that goes there. Also, the FOOD. LOL
Thanks
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I think we have been through this before. You are comin gfrom around Peoria, if I remember right. The simplest way is to drive or get somebody to drive you to Normal, catch teh Texas Eagle, which is train no. 21, go to Longview TX where you will bet on the Amtrak bus connection that goes to Houston and Galveston. The ticket tfor the is from Amtrak. You should be eating supper the first night, breakfast, and if the train is really late, maybe lunch before Longview. The bus is shown in teh timetable, and is listed as run No. 6021 southbound and 6022 northbound. In parenthesis, it is noted as being operated by Lone Star Coach. There should be no trouble making the connection, as the bus is operated as an extension of the train.

I am not quite sure what you mean by condition. The equipment will be the superliners, which are bi-level. doors are about mid car into the lower level, and you go up steps to the upper level. connections between cars are on the upper level. Views are better from the upper level. Restrooms are on the lower level. If you have mobility problems, then you can stay on the lower level. I believe that you can got to www.amtrak.com and find car layouts somewhere in there, but I have never done it.

The exact number of each type of cars needs to come from someone else, but there will coaches, a diner, and sleepers. with one or two diesels in the front. Maximum speed is 79 mph between Chicago and St. Louis, 60 mph between St. Louis and Poplar Bluff MO, and 75 mph the rest of the way to Ft. Worth. For the rest of the route, it is 79 mph on the BNSF tracks between Ft. Worth and Temple TX and 70 mph the rest of the way into San Antonio. There are numerous locations in all these zones where lower speeds are required due to curves, junctions, urban area, etc. Between Chicago and St. Louis, there are not a lot of freight trains. between St. Louis and Poplar Bluff, very few freight trains, and south of Poplar Bluff, a lot of freight trains.

The line is mostly single trackwith a mix of medium speed and low speed passing tracks, and with double track for a few miles just south of Poplar Bluff, between Bald Knob, Little Rock, and Benton, Arkansas, about 80 miles in total, and for a few miles just north of Texarkana. After Longview, there are a few miles between there and Palestine, also between Ft. Worth and Dallas, and two separate main lines between San Marcos and San Antonio TX, one the ex MoPac the other the ex MKT.

You cross the Mississippi River just before entering St. Louis and the Arkansas River just before entering Little Rock. There are several other lesser river crossings that may be noticible but these are the two main ones.

George
 
Good point, saxman.

gingee, check this out for the bus info:

http://www.texaseagle.com/thruway.htm

Back in the day Santa Fe ran the Texas Chief (Trains 15-16) all the way to Galveston, from Chicago, through Kansas and Oklahoma (subsidiary=GCSF, Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe).

Santa Fe changed the terminus to Houston in the 1960s and operated connecting bus service to-from Galveston. Interestingly, the Texas Chief traversed a wye to back into Houston Union Station upon arrival.

Amtrak assumed operation in 1971, and in 1974 Santa Fe yanked back the train's name. Amtrak's renamed Lone Star ran to Houston until it was discontinued in 1979.

Those of us in the DFW area wish the service would return. Part of the Texas Chief's route lives on today w/the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, and the Texas Eagle south of Fort Worth.

Interestingly, The Galveston Railroad Musuem has a nice indoors display, with rolling stock outside, freight and passenger.
 
Galveston has a beautiful trainstation. It's a rail museum now. However it's ready for service if a train in the future returns. I don't know why a Dallas/Houston/Galveston train would not work. It could be ran like the Alaska Railroad alongside Cruise ships. You leave the station, cross the street, get on a cruiseship.
 
I wish we could go to Galveston (straight there) but I did see that it goes to Longview. Anyway, I was wondering what the condition is on the inside of the train compared to Empire Builder or the Cardinal (the only two I have taken).
 
Anyway, I was wondering what the condition is on the inside of the train compared to Empire Builder or the Cardinal (the only two I have taken).
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The Empire Builder has had a recent facelift if you have ridden it recently. It is also one of only two trains to have full service dining. The other trains have food in the diner that is prepared off the train and re-heated except for french toast and a handful of other items. Don't know if ice cream is back on the menu yet but keep hearing rumblings that it is returning. Won't call the food delightful but as another poster put it, "You won't starve." I would highly recommend an emergency supply of rations as the Texas Eagle's diner is notorious for "breaking down."(Hence the calls and enlongated station stops to KFC among other eateries.)

As far as the condition of the trains the Empire Buider spoils you; the refurbished cars and amenities plus the full service diner. The Texas Eagle gets its some of it's equipment from the City of New Orleans. The revenue sleeper, which is also the last car northbound out of New Orleans, has been a rag-a- muffin the last three trips that I have ridden it. You almost get the feeling that you don't want to sit down without spraying some Lysol and this is starting at the originating station. I doubt Chicago does much except sweep up and fill up the toilet paper because it leaves the same afternoon on the day that that it arrives into Chicago (usually around 9 a.m.) Get on the good side of your car attendant and you usually will have an enjoyable trip IF you don't set your watch by each and every station stop.

(edited by AmtrakWPK to add quotes)
 
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Dirty train? Ewww. We had that on the Cardinal. We were thinking of getting a familyroom but that doesn't have a toilet in it. Hmmm Maybe we should drive. Yuck. How late does this train run?
 
That is interesting about the AmBus at Longview, was unaware of it. In the old days the InterAmerican or whatever it was called split apart, with one part going to Houston, but don't think Amtrak ever went to Galveston even then.

Just wondering out loud, how much of the trip from Illinois would be on the train and how much on the bus, about 60/40?

As for clenliness, the Eagle is usually the extension of the City of New Orleans. So it goes from New Orleans to Chicago to San Antonio back to Chicago and back to New Orleans without the toilets being dumped or the exterior washed. I am guessing that is about 4500 miles roundtrip although I am sure somebody will correct me. There is some minor trash dumping and maybe a vacuum cleaner in Chicago, but not much else. It is nastier on the second half of the cycle of course, and by the time it leaves Chicago most of the toilet tanks are overflowing onto the ground. You can smell the train coming into Memphis and Mississippi points.

In the winters there is very little washing in New Orleans either, I think they pretty much give up on it due to the nasty weather up north. But right now, when the train leaves New Orleans, it is pretty much spotless since they finally got the wash rack fixed.
 
Chuck said:
In the winters there is very little washing in New Orleans either, I think they pretty much give up on it due to the nasty weather up north. But right now, when the train leaves New Orleans, it is pretty much spotless since they finally got the wash rack fixed.
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Which leads us to another shot in the foot; is the New Orleans maintainence facility up for closure soon? Maybe they'll be handing out paper towels while we sit in sidings so the passengers can clean the windows. There is nothing more annoying than boarding at an originating station with blurred views of the passing countryside; one of the major reasons we use the train/ Then if you go open the vestibule window to take some pictures you're really opening a can of worms...
 
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Ewwww. Has anyone been on this train lately? In answer to the question, I think it is l7 hours on the train and five on the bus or maybe it is a total of l7 hours. I would have to check that out again.
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
Ewwww. Has anyone been on this train lately? In answer to the question, I think it is l7 hours on the train and five on the bus or maybe it is a total of l7 hours. I would have to check that out again.
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Gingee...I rode the Texas Eagle from Austin, Texas to Chicago and back in June. The sleeper we had on the trip up to Chicago wasn't that dirty and needed only the basic sanitizing that you would do in any public venue. Now the lounge car could have been better than it was. It had an faint but unpleasant urine smell that an attendant said was a leaking sewer pipe. On the trip home several days later, the lounge car if it was the same one was clean and odor free. The sleeper we were on was a brand spanking newly refurbished sleeper that was great. Only problem, it was headed to California with the Sunset Limited. I still wonder if it is with either the Sunset or Eagle or did it get confiscated and remained in California.... :rolleyes:

As for the bus trip from Longview, time wise it is quicker and shorter to Houston than if you went to San Antonio. San Antonio to Houston is about the same as Longview to Houston(about 215 miles). You will however be in Houston long before the Eagle arrives in San Antonio. Scheduled for 11:30 pm but seldom on time.
 
Thanks Boxcar. We don't really have a choice if we do decide to take the train. We are headed to Galveston so this train is the best bet. I told my husband we could drive and he says he doesn't want the stress. He said we could fly and I said I don't want the stress (I don't like to fly).

Hopefully we can hear some more encouragement from other people who have taken it. How did the coach car look?
 
The bus part should be quite good, as bus rides go. Most of the route is good road. Can't remember the road number form Longview to nacogdoches, but south of Nacogdoches you are on US 59 which is mostly divided highway and Freeway style closer to and into Houston. Houston to Galveston is I-45. Mostly good smooth pavement. (Just drove Houston - Nacogdoches - Texarkana about 4 months ago. Also drove Dallas - Nacogdoches, but not through Longview. It is generally hard to find a bad road in Texas. Congested around the cities, but not bad road conditions.)

George
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
Thanks Boxcar. We don't really have a choice if we do decide to take the train. We are headed to Galveston so this train is the best bet. I told my husband we could drive and he says he doesn't want the stress. He said we could fly and I said I don't want the stress (I don't like to fly).
Hopefully we can hear some more encouragement from other people who have taken it. How did the coach car look?
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You could take the bus the entire way. :)
 
Take the bus all the way? I don't think they have anything like that from Peoria to Galveston. We did really like taking a train but if we are going to sit in a garbage pit,....................well.
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
Take the bus all the way? I don't think they have anything like that from Peoria to Galveston. We did really like taking a train but if we are going to sit in a garbage pit,....................well.
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Sure - Greyhound has service. Takes 33 hours and 5 transfers, but it can be done. One way fare is $153 per person!

Does the train sound better, now?
 
The bus would cost more. No food on bus either. Does anyone have any pictures of the inside of this train?
 
Well someone in the earlier post said it was very dirty looking inside.
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
Take the bus all the way? I don't think they have anything like that from Peoria to Galveston. We did really like taking a train but if we are going to sit in a garbage pit,....................well.
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Gingee, I can honestly say that you will not be sitting in a garbage pit. The coach cars are not overly dirty either. Granted, the cars sleepers and coach will not be "hospital" sanitary but I didn't feel like I suddenly needed a shower when I boarded either. You will find some of them to be somewhat tired and worn but not a garbage pit...

Relax, don't expect grander and just go with the flow and you will do just fine....
 
Thanks Boxcar. From what others have said, it sounds like a horrible train.
 
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