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Trip Home with Simplified Dining on the Cardinal and Southwest Chief Part 4

4/19/2006 This day began with a wake-up call. I repacked before checking out and walked the four blocks to Penn Station and went straight to Club Acela.

Welcome to Club Acela Penn Station.

After taking the final picture in Club Acela, I relaxed with a cinnamon roll and orange juice. After that, I walked across the street to the Post Office to mail a pair of postcards.

On my way back to Penn Station, I stopped for a picture of New York with taxi cabs hurrying about during rush hour. Back inside Penn Station, I picked up some New Jersey Transit timetables then went downstairs to the Long Island Railroad for a set of their timetables. I returned to Club Acela, watched the Today Show and relaxed. At 9:11 AM, they called for passengers for train 51.

Since I was not preboarded, I had to go down the escalator with all the other passengers. My sleeping car was at the end of the train and we came down by the front coach, so I decided to get the train's consist on my way to the sleeping car. We had electric engine HHP-8 664, Coaches 25034, 25101 and 25094, Horizon Dinette 53509 and Viewliner Sleeper 62030 Patriot View. I met my sleeping car attendant M. Evans and stored my bags in my room.

Then, I walked down the platform for a picture of the train. Back in the room, I was the lone passenger in the car when we left New York. I set up my room prior to our on-time departure.

Views of my Viewliner Sleeper. I went back to the rear door to start taking pictures but had to deal with dirty windows. We exited the Hudson River Tunnel into New Jersey,

We left Penn Station on time passing a Long Island train switching over to the next track.

The train exited the Hudson River Tunnel into New Jersey

The train ran through the Seacaucus Station in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which was built as a transfer station between the New York and Hoboken rail lines.

Our train flew by Hudson as we made our way to Newark. From there, I just relaxed as the train sped down the Northeast Corridor. Later we sped through Princeton Junction before we paused briefly at Trenton for some unknown reason, then headed to Philadelphia.

We crossed the Schuylkill River just before Zoo Tower from the low route before we pulled into 30th Street Station.

After leaving 30th Street Station, we ran to our next stop of Wilmington.

Next we crossed the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace. I went to the Dinette for lunch but because of the cheese on all of the sandwiches I could not eat anything from the lunch menu. When I suggested something from the cafe menu, they agreed to give it to me. I received chicken wings, potato chips and a Mug Root Beer.

I dressed up my plate and it turned out to be an excellent meal. Travelling at 125 miles per hour during the meal really enhanced the Dinette experience. I showed the picture to the attendant who said if she prepared this meal again, she would set it up like I did. I walked out a happy and satisfied passenger as we neared Baltimore.

Exiting from the first Baltimore Tunnel before we arrived into Penn Station Baltimore.

Leaving Baltimore, we went through the 3rd and 4th tunnels.

Just before Bowie, Maryland, we passed the noon Acela Express 2164 bound for Boston, before we made our way to Washington Union Station.

Here, electric engine 664 was removed and replaced by P42DC 134

While I was enjoying the fresh air, a Virginia Rail Express train for Fredericksburg with ex Metra bi-level cars from Chicago came and went.

AEM7 934 looked too good not to photograph during our layover. We departed on time and entered the Capitol Tunnel.

A few minutes later, we exited the tunnel into a beautiful clear Spring afternoon.

The last of the planned pictures for this trip was when we crossed the Potomac River into Virginia. Fortunately a CSX freight that had been on the bridge cleared in time for my pictures. Now I was able to sit back and relax since I had documented this route in my "A Return to the New River Gorge" story. Travel tip, this route is best taken eastbound when the light is perfect in the New River Gorge. Westbound you don't get to the Gorge until after dark. I put on Yes "The Endless Dream" as we arrived at Alexandria, Virginia. South of here, Spring had come with the trees showing their new leaves as we made our way down the Norfolk Southern to Manassas and Culpepper. I met Ronald Dick, Vice President, Coastal Region of the National Railway Historical Society, and his wife, heading to a national meeting in Indianapolis. We reached Orange, leaving the Norfolk Southern for the Buckingham Branch Railroad, that took us to the CSX mainline. CSX leased this section of track to the Buckingham Branch Railroad which we took to Gordonsville. Once we were back on the CSX mainline, we picked up speed to Charlottesville station, where we enjoyed a fresh air break.

The Cardinal at Charlottesville. The Charlottesville station serves both the Crescent on the Norfolk Southern and the Cardinal on CSX.

Our train crossed the former Southern Mainline{NS} with the Charlottesville station behind. My next musical selection was Led Zeppelin's "How the West was Won".

At EE Ivy, we held the mainline for the on-time eastbound Cardinal.

I took a picture of the Staunton station on this nice sunny Virginia afternoon. At 5:00 PM, the steward took my dinner order and I would eat at 5:30. I was seated with Nancy and Eddie, going to Wenatchee, Washington.

We all selected the braised beef which was good and had a key lime pie for dessert, which I enjoyed as we left Clifton Forge. It was a beautiful evening as the Cardinal climbed the east slope of the Alleghenies as we passed through Covington.

The Cardinal entered the first of many tunnels.

The train passed Ox Cabin, climbing higher on the grade.

Our train went through more tunnels.

Later the train ran through the Lewis Tunnel before MP 303.

Our train passed through the Allegheny Tunnel and we were now in West Virginia.

The White Sulphur Springs station was my last picture of the day since we were losing daylight. I would now relax for the rest of the day. We stopped at the flag stop of Alderson before we passed through the Great Bend Tunnel, prior to reaching Hinton in the twilight of this great day.

After going by Sandstone Falls, I made up my bed and just looked out of my darkened room to enjoy as much of the New River Gorge as I could before we were enveloped in total darkness. After that, I called it a night.

4/20/2006 I slept soundly and had a fantastic dream, where I was the new Doctor Who that had to rescue five other Doctor Whos by going back through time in a plot involving the Master, Daleks and Cebermen. It was quite a vivid and clear dream and one that I would not forget for a while. I awoke at Indianapolis and headed to the Dinette as the Cardinal left this town on time.

I enjoyed French Toast, country ham, orange juice and tea. Rob was my wonderful server for all my meals on the Cardinal.

I enjoyed an Indiana sunrise this morning, then took a shower and sat back to enjoy the vistas of "Scenic Indiana" pass by outside my window. We stopped at Crawfordsville and Lafayette with me listening to Chicago "If You Leave Me Now." Styx "Live 2001" took me north to Rensselaer after Monon.

Our train rolled up the former Monon Railroad towards Dyer. Next, the Scorpions' "Live Bites" got me close to Chicago.

We switched onto the former Grand Trunk Western {CN} and passed a CN freight on the way to our Union Pacific connection at Thornton Junction

At Thornton Jct, where a red signal greeted us because a Union Pacific Railroad stack train was passing by going south.

A look back onto the CN. The Union Pacific kept delaying us for no apparent reason before we transferred to Metra trackage for the final run to Chicago Union Station.

OSS 4297 switching stack cars before we neared Union Station. Before arriving we had to stop, first to let the Capitol Limited pass so it could be wyed before it arrived at Union Station. Then, Metra 811 heading to 179th Street in Orland Park departed and finally, we made our way straight into Union Station arriving at 10:54 AM {10:40 AM}.

I took one final picture of the Cardinal in Chicago.

I checked in at the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge and put my luggage into storage. I bought a Metra round trip ticket to Bensenville on Train 2215.

I visited Gold Coast for a pair of Char Dogs which tasted very good before heading to the north platforms to find my train to Bensenville.

I would have had two options today had we arrived early. One was to ride to the new stations of La Fox and Elburn on the Union Pacific West Line. The other was Metra 811 to Orland Park. But that was one of the trains that held us up outside Union Station. Since neither of those could be done, I chose Bensenville because with an hour layover between trains, I thought I could catch some freight action. I took a picture of our train before we left on time. Since I had covered this line several times, I just sat back and enjoyed riding Metra to Bensenville. After the train arrived, I decided to take a walk. I remembered that I had taken a picture of a steam engine on display near the large water tower. So I decided to try to find it. About a quarter of a mile from the station, there it was.

The whole display train on display.

Chicago Gravel Co. 0-6-0 18.

Milwaukee Road Mt. St. Helena.

Milwaukee Road Caboose 992114. Satisfied, I walked back to the station to use the phone, but found it broken. A few minutes later, the east crossing gates went down.

CEFX AC4400 1017, which had pulled west with a cut of cars to be dropped off in the yard, was now waiting for a signal to head east. While I was waiting for Metra 2236, two units of the Bensenville Police and a Canadian Pacific Railroad Police Officer arrived to talk to two people at the west end of the platform.

Metra train 2217 arrived two minutes before my return train to Chicago was scheduled to arrive.

I was feeling really tired before my train arrived, so this would be a relaxation trip as well. Franklin Park would have been a better place to watch trains since all transfers to other railroads pass through here and the restored Franklin Park Tower is a block away. I returned to Union Station, bought a pair of postcards and some Coca-Cola to keep me awake. I returned to the lounge, called Steve Grande of Trainweb.com to catch up on a few things.

Once I had finished, I sat back, enjoyed my Coca-Cola and relaxed until my train was called.

The Red Cap gave me a ride out to the train again, so I got most of the consist on the way to my sleeping car. Before boarding, I got the rest. We had P42DC's 89, 157 and 80, baggage 1716, Transition 39026, Sleepers 32032 and 32059, Diner 38004, Lounge 33012, Coaches 34045, 31028 and 34057, along with deadheading 38040. I was greeted by sleeping car attendant Mary Coleman, who welcomed me to Sleeping car 32032 and I made my way to room 5, which I set up for the trip home. We departed Chicago Union Station on time. I got a 5:15 PM dinner reservation and relaxed until then. Bob {Robert Zunco} from Sullivan, Missouri was across the hall from my room. He had a steaming website called railroadradio.com. We went to the dining car and were seated with Margie and Bob, going to Albuquerque.

I had Pork Shanks for dinner which was excellent.

That meal took us back all the way onto the former Santa Fe tracks. Sleeping car 32032 was having the same odor problem that I had on my trip to New Orleans two years ago. Since that trip was in 2004, the story, "A Winter Trip on the Sunset Limited" can be found in Volume 2 of this book. That included an unexpected stopover in New Orleans giving me a chance to ride all the streetcar lines, including the new Canal Street Line. Was this the same sleeping car? No! That Sleeping Car was 32073, California,

The Southwest Chief left Illinois, crossing the Mississippi River just east of Fort Madison, our fresh air stop.

I enjoyed the rolling hills of Missouri into the night, made up my bed and called it a day.

4/21/2006 I woke up the next morning just as we pulled into Garden City, Kansas, and headed to the dining car for breakfast. After playing "which meal ticket is the right one for a sleeping car passenger", I was joined by Diane, going to Lamy, New Mexico, transferring to the shuttle to Santa Fe. I saw one of the Garden City Western engines in the low morning light.

The meal was good, but I was becoming tired of the same thing every morning. I took a nap through Lamar, Colorado, but was awakened by three groups of passengers complaining about not getting breakfast right away. We made our way to La Junta, where we arrived at 8 AM. I detrained and walked to Loves for some snacks and postcards, but they no longer carried the latter. I also wanted a USA Today, so I walked all the way to Safeway, but had no luck. Maybe Albuquerque would have some left. We left La Junta on time but met BNSF 776 at Timpas on the way to Trinidad. We climbed up and over Raton Pass, then to Raton itself, which was a fresh air stop.

Between Springer and Wagon Mound, I took a few pictures of the last semaphore signals on this route. As I traveled this early afternoon, I was making plans to complete the remaining New Jersey Transit lines on a future trip back there. Plenty of antelope were out running about this early afternoon.

We made our way to Las Vegas, New Mexico after stopping at milepost 759 to receive additional track warrants.

One of the more unique aspects of this trip was that our sleeping car attendant, Mary, had an area full of little candies which she kept stocked at all times complete with a teddy bear which dispensed them. The train climbed Glorieta Pass, descended through Apache Canyon, met the eastbound Southwest Chief at Canyoncito, then arrived at Lamy. I got a 5:15 PM dinner reservation before the Southwest Chief made the final sprint into Albuquerque, arriving at 3:37 PM {3:55 PM}. On the platform, I was met by Randy and his wife, who brought me a six pack of 8 ounce cans of Coca-Cola to keep me going. Randy had ridden with me on several Milwaukee Road 261 trips and most recently on the Feather River Express last month. They drove me up and over the bridge so I could get some pictures of the future New Mexico Railrunner commuter equipment.

Parked in the yard was Railrunner 103 and train set, and Railrunner 102 and train set. I walked back over the bridge before stopping at the Greyhound station for some postcards before returning to the train. I asked what happened to Cheryl's Bus that had always been here before, but had been absent on my last few trips. I learned that Cheryl had retired from the business. Too bad as she always took good care of me anytime I came through Albuquerque. Our engineer then asked me how many more miles until I reach the million mile mark. I told him about a year or 18 months God willing. We left Albuquerque on time and eighteen minutes later, we crossed the Rio Grande River. At 5:15 PM, we went to the dining car with Bob, and was seated with Steve and Susie going to Flagstaff.

I enjoyed the Pork Shank with the chocolate bundt. The meal took us west to Grants. I took a shower and washed my hair, which completely relaxed me while I listened to the Rolling Stones before I called it a night in Arizona.

4/22/2006 I was already wide awake when we arrived on time in Victorville. I dressed and headed to an almost empty lounge car for our pre-dawn trip over Cajon Pass. At 5:00 AM, as we passed Kennebrook, I went to the dining car for my final meal of this trip. Charles and Mary from Winslow joined Bob and me for this morning's meal.

I had my last French Toast and sausage patties.

Bob had a Quiche Lorraine. While we ate, the train stopped at San Bernardino and Riverside. We then made our way through Corona, Santa Ana Canyon and to Fullerton on time. The train made its final sprint into Los Angeles Union Station as I gave Bob the railfan's tour of the route. The Southwest Chief arrived at LAUPT at 7:06 AM which was one hour and nine minutes ahead of its scheduled 8:15 arrival. What a trip it had been! I walked over to Track 9 to wait for my Surfliner train home to Santa Ana.

After 564 backed in to the station, I took a picture of my train home and then boarded. On the platform, I spotted Chris Parker, who was going to San Luis Obispo and Ken Ruben, who was headed to Santa Barbara. Once on the move, I talked with engineer Doug Bussler who was deadheading to San Diego this morning to catch a job there. We retraced my morning route to Fullerton, then stopped at Anaheim and then Santa Ana, where I detrained. A taxi cab took me home ending another excellent Amtrak adventure, plus a surprisingly positive experience with Simplified Dining, as well as all the other new routes I rode on this trip. What a trip!