June 15-19 - SWC, CL, Cardinal, SWC

[chertling]

As I travel to Washington DC and back over the next few days, I will be using my phone to create a "real-time" trip report in this thread.

My Scheduled departure is at 7:35 tomorrow morning... but it looks like this will be in jeopardy. There is significant flooding in central Kansas, and the Southwest Chief will be running via a detour between Hutchinson and Topeka. Per the agent I spoke with about an hour ago, the train is expected to be three and a half hours late into Topeka (and at that time they had no firm estimate for the arrival time in KC) I am keeping my fingers crossed that we make up some time, as the current delay makes my connection to the Capitol Limited VERY tight.

Over the course of the trip, I will be sharing my location in near-real-time via Google Latitude. ***LINK REMOVED AT END OF TRIP***

I will also be uploading pictures to a Flickr account

EDIT: Removed link to real-time tracking once my trip had ended.

 

[chertling]

Well... we are running late. Instead of being in Chicago, my train is currently speeding through downtown Kewanee, IL. We were delayed by several hours due to flooding in central Kansas... then we lost another hour or so stuck behind a slow moving freight. Food is running low. By the 12:45 seating, the only remaining lunch choices were burgers and veggie burgers. Despite the situation, the crew has remained upbeat and positive. Our dining car attendant, Moses, was excelent!

While it looks like I will make my connection to the Cap. Ltd, many others will be missing theirs, including my seatmate, who is bound for Holland, MI. Carrdinal passengers going to Indy and beyond were transferred to a bus at Galesburg and those connecting to Michigan trains have been told to visit customer service when we get to Chicago.

Keep your fingers crossed for me... I may only have 20 minutes to connect to the CL.

 

[MrFSS]

Keep your fingers crossed for me... I may only have 20 minutes to connect to the CL.

If you have that much time you will be OK.

Couple of weeks ago I literally stepped off the CS and onto the EB. Was on the ground maybe 30 seconds between trains.

 

[chertling]

I made it! After the long walk from the last car of the SWC into the station, I had all of 10 minutes before hopping onto the Cap Ltd. As (bad) luck would have it, no outlets at my seat (and I am a few rows from the "hidden" power outlet)

Will be trying my luck at an on-board upgrade shortly (but I am not holding my breath)

 

[chertling]

Ok, no luck on the upgrade. Add to that the fact that both my footrest and legrest are broken. Plus, they just announced a 15mph speed restriction for the next 40 miles, due to a flash flood warning.

 

[chertling]

My luck has just taken a change for the better. I thought the "hidden" power outlets were at seat 55... but in this car, they are next to seat 51. JACKPOT!!!!!

 

[chertling]

I never thought I would ever say these words.... but.... I wish I would have missed my connection in Chicago!! 5 hours en-route and we have yet to reach South Bend. As I have meetings in DC starting late tomorrow afternoon, I am seriously considering bailing out at Pittsburgh and flying the rest of the way.

The crew has been great, but we haven't broken 15mph since Chicago due to a Flash Flood Warning.

 

[chertling]

Well, I hate doing this, but I'm gonna have to get off at Cleveland and fly the rest of the way to DC if I want to get there on time. I would much rather stay on the train, but I have meetings that I absolutely can't miss that start at 3pm. If we stay on the current trajectory, 30 won't get into DC until 6:10pm. Keeping my fingers crossed for a partial refund or a big service voucher!!

 

[chertling]

Sadly, I am sitting in a boarding lounge at the Cleveland airport. At the rate we were going on the train, I would have missed the entire afternoon's worth of meetings. Not Amtrak's fault at all though... the regulations won't allow them go go more than 15mph in areas covered by flash flood warnings. It is just unfortunate that the weather service issued so many warnings last night. The crew was amazingly friendly, always trying to make the best of a bad situation. I really hated to step off that train, but I simply had no choice.

On a side note... "The Rapid" in Cleveland has the nicest subway station I have ever seen (Tower City) It is too bad Amtrak's trains don't go there as the trains of old did.

 

[San Walkeen]

I was on the same trains. The crews were great under real bad conditions. We ended up getting bussed from Pittsburg to D. C. got there after 3. I have seen nothing on just how late train 30 got or even if it ever got to Washington. We left Washington that evening on train 97 which broke down at the station and then again that nite somewhere in Virginia. It got us all the way to Deland where it broke down again trying to leave the station.

We finally got to Winter Park around 5 hours late.

 

[chertling]

Well, I have made it to Chicago... one more leg left to my trip. The Southwest Chief departs for Kansas City in a little over two hours. The Cardinal was a fun ride, even though I didn't have a window seat. I did miss most of the New River Gourge as I stood in line for dinner. DINER LITE DOES NOT WORK!!!! We had a wonderful pair of diner attendants... and they put in 110%effort... but it was not feasible to expect them to run the diner and snack counter on a sold out train. We got in line for dinner at 7, but didn't get a seat until after 8. By the time desert was served, it was nearly 10pm. They really need to rethink diner light. At the very least, they could have a third attendant to help. Things did get better when the Sleeping car attendant and coach attendant lent a hand.

Aparantly, we were the first to experience a new menu on the Cardinal (per the Dining Car Attendant) I had Chicken w/ Morel mushrooms for lunch... and an Italian chicken dish for dinner. Both were quite good, which was even more impressive when you consider they are frozen pre-made meals. They also had the Braised Beef... but I couldn't justify spending that much.

I do hope to take the Cardinal again someday... Not having a window seat (and having an overly talkative, and overserved neighbor) kept me from getting the full experience.

As with all of the train crews on this trip so far, the Cardinal's crew was Great!

Provided I have an outlet at my seat, I will be adding more pictures to my flickr page once I am onboard the Chief.

 

[chertling]

Well, my trip has finally ended. While there were a few unexpected developments over the course of the trip, I had a GREAT time! The SW Chief was pretty uneventful... I didn't eat on-board as I had a late lunch in Chicago. It was, however, my first experience riding on the Lower Level of a Superliner. A large troop of boy scouts en-route to New Mexico had booked a car and a half of the upper level seats, so the only seats available when I booked were lower level. (Now I know why that particular leg was WAY out of the low bucket!) It was certainly a different perspective than I am used to on that route... but the relative privacy of being downstairs was certainly a plus.

I didn't mention it previously, but I had an unpleasant surprise when I checked my bags in Washington. Apparently, the baggage elevator in Kansas City is either broken or being renovated... so I could only check my bags to Chicago, rather than all the way through to KC. With only one Red Cap in KC, this caused some issues for some of the less mobile passengers.

Now, I can begin the countdown to my next trip... either a KCY-STL-CHI-MKE-CHI-KCY trip in August for baseball, or a single day KCY-GBB-KCY round trip with my niece on a weekend to be determined (as her birthday present)