- Joined
- Nov 13, 2007
- Messages
- 11
After we arrived, courtesy of #302 at CUS only 12 minutes late, we went directly to the Metropolitan Lounge. CUS was bustling with passengers. It reminded me of the old days. Speaking of which, the old days that is, I couldn't help remembering entering Union Station when I was a child. We rode a Milwaukee Road commuter train pulled by a steam locomotive, a Hudson perhaps? Today the train shed was still dark and noisy, as in the old days, but, without the hissing and huffing of steam engines. The sleek streamliners sporting the colorful liveries of the various roads are gone too. Now the shed is full of Amtrak and Metra trains. It is still exciting.
Back to the Metropolitan Lounge. We were greeted by friendly helpful Amtrak personnel. The lounge was relaxing and comfortable. After stowing our baggage we heading into the Great Hall. It was magnificent. Before leaving the station to checkout some sights we had a good lunch at the Metropolitan Cafe. A lunch of Italian beef, lasagna, and Honkers Ale fortified us for an envigorating hike to the Loop.
I wanted to see what used to be Marshall Fields. Traditionally Fields was the place to go before Christmas to see the incomparably beautiful store windows and the Great Tree. Now Macy's owns the store. Chicagoans have been less than pleased with the takeover. After viewing the store window displays and the "Great Tree" I was disapointed. In my opinion Macys doesn't measure up. Well nothing stays the same. We hiked down LaSalle Street admiring the Chicago Board of Trade Building. The Sears Tower was an incredible sight as we craned our necks in awe of its size. As we worked our way back to the station we paused for a bit on the drawbridge just looking at the Chicago River. Simple pleasures I guess.
There are quite a few shops and eateries in the station. I bought a couple of gifts and a snack. Soon we were relaxing in the Metro Lounge waiting to board the Capitol Limited.
Since we were sleeper passengers we boarded the Cap early, about 6:30PM. I was surprised at the length of the train. It was big. Phil, our attendant, met us at our car and greeted us pleasantly. By 7:00PM we headed to the diner for dinner. Another couple was seated with us. After some introductory remarks we discovered that we all four were retired from the same profession. Consequently, we had a lot of enjoyable conversation. The train was well under way by the time dinner was served. The dinner was good. We all had the beef ragout. My wife and I enjoyed a bottle of wine with dinner. I had chocolate cake and the rest had cheesecake. All quite good. The diner car staff was pleasant and efficient.
After dinner we decided to go to the lounge car for "happy hour". We were served by a pleasant young lady. Eventhough it was dark it was fun to look out the large windows and watch the Christmas lights on houses and small towns go whizzing by. Soon we felt it was time to head to our bedroom. Phil made up our beds and we turned in. I took me a while to get used to the sounds and motions of the train. It felt like the Cap was really rolling. After a couple of hours I was sleeping soundly.
Phil gave us a wake up call before 5:00AM. He said we were 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. We scrambled to get dressed and gather our things together. The Cap pulled into Pittsburgh 20 minutes early. We said good bye to Phil, and tipped him nicely. He was very good. The station at Pittsburgh is not much to report on. Since we had about two hours until we boarded the Pennsylvanian we checked our baggage with the ticket agent. We had not had breakfast and were hungry so we asked the agent if there was anything open for breakfast. She was polite, friendly, and helpful, as all of the Amtrak personnel had been so far. She suggested that we take a short walk to the US Steel Building and we would find a Starbucks.
On the way to the US Steel Building a beautiful sight emerged from the darkness. There was a life size Nativity Display. The figures were costumed richly and Christmas music was playing. After enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas we entered the big building for breakfast.
On the way back to the Amtrak Station I noticed that the original Pennsy RR station was next to the current depot. Today the old station is owned by a private concern. It is called the Pennsylvanian. Apparently it is leased out to businesses for office space and maybe some condos. We couldn't go inside but by looking through the windows I could see that the station's "Great Hall" had been beautifully restored. The passenger drop off and pick up structure was interesting also. It was a large vaulted dome covering an area paved with bricks that were laid out in concentric circles. On each of the four pillars supporting the dome was a relief naming the four cities served on the line: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
The Pennsy pulled out right on time. Business Class accomodations were better than on the Lincoln Service between St. Louis and Chicago. On the Lincoln Service only one complimentary beverage was provided. On the Pennsy coffee, water, juice, and soda were all complimentary. Everyone was provided pillows also. I read that business class accomodations differed from region to region. At first I found that odd but maybe not when one realizes that the different states support the trains at varying levels of financing.
It seems as though you could set your watch to the performance of the Pennsy. It was ontime to the minute all the way to Lancaster. Before Lancaster the Pennsy had a prolonged stop at Harrisburg. I enjoyed the fresh air and took a couple of pictures. There was a Pennsy GG1 with a wooden Pennsy caboose sitting by the main. I then walked up to the engine at the front of the Pennsy and there was a current generation electric engine sitting beside the Genesis diesel that was heading up our train. I asked someone who exited from the locomotive if they were going to change engines and he said no.
The other interesting sights viewed between Pittsburgh and Lancaster included Horseshoe Bend, tunnels, mountains, forests, rivers, and picturesque towns.
The Lancster station is an example of many along this line. It is straddles the tracks with the main station to one side. It reminded me a little of the "L" stations in the Chicago Loop. The old Lancaster Station was well decorated for Christmas. It was encouraging to see that there are efforts being made to make things look good.
Nex: Chapter III The Keystone Service, Philadelphia, and return to St. Louis
Back to the Metropolitan Lounge. We were greeted by friendly helpful Amtrak personnel. The lounge was relaxing and comfortable. After stowing our baggage we heading into the Great Hall. It was magnificent. Before leaving the station to checkout some sights we had a good lunch at the Metropolitan Cafe. A lunch of Italian beef, lasagna, and Honkers Ale fortified us for an envigorating hike to the Loop.
I wanted to see what used to be Marshall Fields. Traditionally Fields was the place to go before Christmas to see the incomparably beautiful store windows and the Great Tree. Now Macy's owns the store. Chicagoans have been less than pleased with the takeover. After viewing the store window displays and the "Great Tree" I was disapointed. In my opinion Macys doesn't measure up. Well nothing stays the same. We hiked down LaSalle Street admiring the Chicago Board of Trade Building. The Sears Tower was an incredible sight as we craned our necks in awe of its size. As we worked our way back to the station we paused for a bit on the drawbridge just looking at the Chicago River. Simple pleasures I guess.
There are quite a few shops and eateries in the station. I bought a couple of gifts and a snack. Soon we were relaxing in the Metro Lounge waiting to board the Capitol Limited.
Since we were sleeper passengers we boarded the Cap early, about 6:30PM. I was surprised at the length of the train. It was big. Phil, our attendant, met us at our car and greeted us pleasantly. By 7:00PM we headed to the diner for dinner. Another couple was seated with us. After some introductory remarks we discovered that we all four were retired from the same profession. Consequently, we had a lot of enjoyable conversation. The train was well under way by the time dinner was served. The dinner was good. We all had the beef ragout. My wife and I enjoyed a bottle of wine with dinner. I had chocolate cake and the rest had cheesecake. All quite good. The diner car staff was pleasant and efficient.
After dinner we decided to go to the lounge car for "happy hour". We were served by a pleasant young lady. Eventhough it was dark it was fun to look out the large windows and watch the Christmas lights on houses and small towns go whizzing by. Soon we felt it was time to head to our bedroom. Phil made up our beds and we turned in. I took me a while to get used to the sounds and motions of the train. It felt like the Cap was really rolling. After a couple of hours I was sleeping soundly.
Phil gave us a wake up call before 5:00AM. He said we were 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. We scrambled to get dressed and gather our things together. The Cap pulled into Pittsburgh 20 minutes early. We said good bye to Phil, and tipped him nicely. He was very good. The station at Pittsburgh is not much to report on. Since we had about two hours until we boarded the Pennsylvanian we checked our baggage with the ticket agent. We had not had breakfast and were hungry so we asked the agent if there was anything open for breakfast. She was polite, friendly, and helpful, as all of the Amtrak personnel had been so far. She suggested that we take a short walk to the US Steel Building and we would find a Starbucks.
On the way to the US Steel Building a beautiful sight emerged from the darkness. There was a life size Nativity Display. The figures were costumed richly and Christmas music was playing. After enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas we entered the big building for breakfast.
On the way back to the Amtrak Station I noticed that the original Pennsy RR station was next to the current depot. Today the old station is owned by a private concern. It is called the Pennsylvanian. Apparently it is leased out to businesses for office space and maybe some condos. We couldn't go inside but by looking through the windows I could see that the station's "Great Hall" had been beautifully restored. The passenger drop off and pick up structure was interesting also. It was a large vaulted dome covering an area paved with bricks that were laid out in concentric circles. On each of the four pillars supporting the dome was a relief naming the four cities served on the line: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
The Pennsy pulled out right on time. Business Class accomodations were better than on the Lincoln Service between St. Louis and Chicago. On the Lincoln Service only one complimentary beverage was provided. On the Pennsy coffee, water, juice, and soda were all complimentary. Everyone was provided pillows also. I read that business class accomodations differed from region to region. At first I found that odd but maybe not when one realizes that the different states support the trains at varying levels of financing.
It seems as though you could set your watch to the performance of the Pennsy. It was ontime to the minute all the way to Lancaster. Before Lancaster the Pennsy had a prolonged stop at Harrisburg. I enjoyed the fresh air and took a couple of pictures. There was a Pennsy GG1 with a wooden Pennsy caboose sitting by the main. I then walked up to the engine at the front of the Pennsy and there was a current generation electric engine sitting beside the Genesis diesel that was heading up our train. I asked someone who exited from the locomotive if they were going to change engines and he said no.
The other interesting sights viewed between Pittsburgh and Lancaster included Horseshoe Bend, tunnels, mountains, forests, rivers, and picturesque towns.
The Lancster station is an example of many along this line. It is straddles the tracks with the main station to one side. It reminded me a little of the "L" stations in the Chicago Loop. The old Lancaster Station was well decorated for Christmas. It was encouraging to see that there are efforts being made to make things look good.
Nex: Chapter III The Keystone Service, Philadelphia, and return to St. Louis
