We took the Hiawatha to Chicago on Saturday and noticed a few fire pots out on switches trying to keep the system thawed ahead of the storm. After an ontime arrival in Chicago we then took a cab over to the South Shore Line. When the cabbie dropped us off at the wrong station, we didn't realize that this was just a clue as to how the weekend travel was going to progress. We lugged our selves and our bags to the correct station and boarded the South Shore to South Bend.
The return was planned for the 5:45 South Shore which would give us an hour to get to Union Station to catch the last Hiawatha back to Milwaukee. It started snowing in South Bend on Saturday night and got heavier on Sunday. We decided to go up to Niles to catch the 2:58 pm Wolverine instead. This would give us two Hiawathas to choose from in Chicago and we wouldn't have to change stations. We got dropped off at the station in Niles. That is a really nice station, by the way. Built in 1892 and refurbished, or just kept up, in great shape. We boarded the single level train and started watching the blizzard out the window...then time started to drift just like the snow. Seven miles outside of Niles, the air line froze up on the loco and we were dead. We still had heat and light, so it could have been worse. The conductor tossed out the plans on the pa, but time just kept drifting. More plans, more drifting. Another plan, more drifting. I have to give kudos to the crew, they were out there with torches and who knows what else, in some pretty rotten weather trying to get us rolling. Finally at 11:30 pm, 9 hours after we were stopped, the last Wolverine of the night, a Superliner, of course, backs up, hooks up, and pulls us into Chicago.
We arrive in Chicago at 1:20 am, two sold-out Wolverines, blizzard conditions still raging, double digits below zero wind chill...no taxis. I had checked the Holiday in on the way to town and knew they had rooms, so we started our trudge, took a wrong turn, of course, corrected mistake and arrived at the hotel just as fingers started to turn to sticks. We fell asleep rather quickly.
Awoke on Monday to hear that Amtrak canceled about half the Hiawathas for the day. We're still ok. We find a cab for our return this time for the 8:25 return to Milwaukee. We just grab some breakfast and sit in the waiting room when there is announcement that a Metra train hit a truck at a crossing that we'll be needing. Then we learn that one of the busiest switches in town is frozen, stopping cold everything going north and west. OK, we're used to this by now. Unfortunately, the seats in Union Station are not as comfy as on the Wolverine. We ended up leaving around 10 am with no further drama. We got back to Milwaukee around noon, the car started, we're home, fed and happy, and a pretty fair story to tell.
The return was planned for the 5:45 South Shore which would give us an hour to get to Union Station to catch the last Hiawatha back to Milwaukee. It started snowing in South Bend on Saturday night and got heavier on Sunday. We decided to go up to Niles to catch the 2:58 pm Wolverine instead. This would give us two Hiawathas to choose from in Chicago and we wouldn't have to change stations. We got dropped off at the station in Niles. That is a really nice station, by the way. Built in 1892 and refurbished, or just kept up, in great shape. We boarded the single level train and started watching the blizzard out the window...then time started to drift just like the snow. Seven miles outside of Niles, the air line froze up on the loco and we were dead. We still had heat and light, so it could have been worse. The conductor tossed out the plans on the pa, but time just kept drifting. More plans, more drifting. Another plan, more drifting. I have to give kudos to the crew, they were out there with torches and who knows what else, in some pretty rotten weather trying to get us rolling. Finally at 11:30 pm, 9 hours after we were stopped, the last Wolverine of the night, a Superliner, of course, backs up, hooks up, and pulls us into Chicago.
We arrive in Chicago at 1:20 am, two sold-out Wolverines, blizzard conditions still raging, double digits below zero wind chill...no taxis. I had checked the Holiday in on the way to town and knew they had rooms, so we started our trudge, took a wrong turn, of course, corrected mistake and arrived at the hotel just as fingers started to turn to sticks. We fell asleep rather quickly.
Awoke on Monday to hear that Amtrak canceled about half the Hiawathas for the day. We're still ok. We find a cab for our return this time for the 8:25 return to Milwaukee. We just grab some breakfast and sit in the waiting room when there is announcement that a Metra train hit a truck at a crossing that we'll be needing. Then we learn that one of the busiest switches in town is frozen, stopping cold everything going north and west. OK, we're used to this by now. Unfortunately, the seats in Union Station are not as comfy as on the Wolverine. We ended up leaving around 10 am with no further drama. We got back to Milwaukee around noon, the car started, we're home, fed and happy, and a pretty fair story to tell.
Last edited by a moderator:
