When it was decided that I needed to get to and from Chicago with short notice and within a very specific time frame, my first thought was Amtrak. And this is because I know the schedule in and out of Cleveland. Just in case, however, I checked the airlines.
Delta’s last minute prices were $606 round trip. Had I gone with a less than ideal airline schedule I could have found something in the $300 range. I determined that the $359 round-trip on Amtrak suited my needs perfectly.
Had I purchased a coach seat alone it would have cost $98 round trip, but I’ve always wanted a room on a train. And with a meeting to attend at 07:30 Wednesday morning, I’d prefer to arrive feeling fresh and rested, so….why not get a room and rest properly.
As I boarded the train in Cleveland Sunday night I was greeted at the track and introduced to my steward. “Ben will be taking care of you this evening”. Ben welcomed me on board, escorted me upstairs and showed me to my room.
“Would you like your bed made up this evening sir?” I told him that I’d hoped to sleep most of the way. Within minutes things were ready.
“Shall I wake you for breakfast?”. I thought an 07:45 breakfast seating would be in order. Ben said he’d wake me at 07:30.
I slept through until the train stopped in Toledo. The sharp curve of the tracks as they arc into the station have awakened me in the past, as they did early Monday morning. Ben slipped the newspaper under my door while we were there. I fell back to sleep for another hour once we left Toledo.
At 07:00 I decided to get dressed and I asked Ben if he could show me how to convert my room back into seats. “I’ll take care of that for you sir.” While he made up my room I poured a cup of coffee – a fresh pot had just been made and sat on a small credenza adjacent to the stairs.
I made my way to the dining car a bit before 07:30 and was sat with a couple from London – they were here traveling across the country over a span of twenty-two days. We exchanged travel stories and enjoyed breakfast together – I had french toast with bacon. They had oatmeal and fresh grapefruit. Fresh coffee and juice.
By 08:00 (07:00 central) the sky was brightening and the Indiana country side was illuminated with the autumn colors. Here’s a video I took from the window somewhere between South Bend and Gary. (It’s nothing spectacular to watch, but I will say that I was intrigued with the number of nice houses we passed).
We arrived at Union Station twenty-minutes ahead of schedule. Chicago’s a.m. rush hour was in full swing.
Check back later this week for a review of my ride back to Cleveland. I’ve been made aware of something rather unique happening at Union Station on Tuesday night – so I’ll check it out and report back. Stay tuned!
What is an appropriate tip for an Amtrak steward?
Wow! Sounds like a pretty nice “rolling” hotel room.
Training is a wonderful way to go. I often wonder why Americans don’t demand better service (schedules) from their politicians. True the tracks are owned by the railroads but the initial charters required those railways to provide passenger service. They managed to weasel their way out of that one for the more profitable freight.
Some say that Amtrak is heavily subsidized but so are all forms of transportation. Four dollars a gallon would be about the actual cost of gasoline without the subsidies, and airfare cannot begin to cover the actual costs of maintaining the air traffic control system.