Chicago to San Francisco, Part 2, The Train

 

May 9^th. A short cab ride brought us to Chicago’s Union Station, and just like that our 4 days in the “Windy City” were behind us.

Chicago’s Union Station is attractive, as is Denver’s Union Station, both on our route.

They are not in the same league as Kansas City’s Union Station. We have previously visited New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, which is significant but, in my opinion, just a close second to KC.

This is not just a matter of Kansas City “pride”:

“KC Union Station encompasses 850,000 square feet of space and originally had 900 rooms on 10 levels. The ceiling in the Grand Hall soars 95 feet high and from it hang three chandeliers, each weighing 3,500 pounds. A 6-foot-high clock hangs from the ceiling at the nexus of the Grand and North Halls. The North Waiting Hall, with its 65-foot ceiling, can contain an assemblage of 10,000 people.” (from USA Today)

Major city rail stations all carry the name “Union”, not in reference to the Civil War, but because in the heyday of passenger rail travel they served many rail companies and thus were a “union” of many routes.

The Chicago Station had an attractive waiting area for certain classes of ticketed passengers. It was stocked with beverages and snacks.

We were surprised to see a large population of Amish and/or Mennonite passengers. We believe that they departed our train somewhere in Iowa.

The California Zephyr was scheduled to depart Chicago at 2 p.m. and arrive 52 hours later in Emeryville California.

The final connection to San Francisco would be 30 minutes by Amtrak chartered bus. We had heard horror stories of hours long delays that resulted in midnight arrivals, loss of hotel reservations, and no available late night public transportation. Fortunately, our departure and arrival were both on time.

There were three groups of passengers. Those in regular coach seating (reserved and open seating), those in small 2 seat “roomettes” which convert to narrow top and bottom sleepers,

and Superliner bedroom compartments with more space that includes a private toilet and shower. We traveled in that third category.

It was nice to have our own bathroom, but it was nearly half the size of a phone booth (for those who remember what a phone booth is) and did double service as a shower.

I used it for both purposes but after sizing up the challenges Christine limited her use to the toilet, deciding to wait for the comfort of our San Francisco hotel shower.

Roomette and bedroom passenger tickets include well prepared meals in an elegant dining car.

Coach passengers may access the dining car for a price ($25 each for breakfast and lunch, $45 for dinner) if there is seating still available. Coach passengers also have a “café” option where meals can be purchased ala carte.

The train also featured a sightseeing car available for all to use. Seating was limited and at one point the conductor limited use to hour and a half rotations. It worked.

Who rides the Zephyr? Those afraid of flying, those favoring low tech (the Amish/Mennonites?) and those just pursuing the experience. We fell into the third category.

On the first night Christine and I tried to share the bottom bunk in our compartment. The bed was long enough but about the width of one and a half twin beds. On night two we optioned to have the upper and lower beds both prepared.

Sleeping for me was not as much of a challenge as it was for Christine. Significant rail sections were rough and “rocky”. This was not the regular motion of a vessel at sea, but more like the shaking of a moderate earthquake.

We were a few cars from the engine, but not far enough to be insulated from the train’s signal horn. As the train approached every intersection the engineer sounded the horn: two long blasts, a short one, and then a final long one. EVERY intersection day and night, large or small, urban and rural. The sounds wound themselves as tendrils into my dreams. They just kept Christine awake.

The personnel on the train were efficient and professional. This included the conductor, the dining attendants, and Tanika who was our cabin attendant. She had coffee brewing at the end of our car at 6 a.m. each morning, collected garbage, provided bottled water on demand, and turned down our beds at night, then made up our cabin the following morning. Through it all she maintained a smile.

There was a major problem with the adjoining train car. The toilets in the sleeping rooms ceased to function. Thankfully, we were not affected. Those passengers who were used the general toilet facilities available to coach passengers. We understand that they would be compensated with partial refunds.

We experienced minor annoyances. Our compartment only had two electric outlets and no USB ports. This, no doubt, is due to the pre-internet age of the train car. There was no Wi-Fi, and cell service tended to be spotty because there were stretches that did not parallel major roadways. The compartment had a very small 6-inch-wide hanging locker, but no suitcase storage. We chose to work around and out of our bags rather than keep them in baggage storage located outside and downstairs from our compartment. Based on our experience we recommend that travelers keep a small bag with only the barest essentials in their compartment.

The scenery is where the Zephyr really shined. We reached the Mississippi by late afternoon and crossed into Iowa.

We slept through Nebraska and awoke to the eastern plains of Colorado.

First view of the mountains was exciting.  We arrived in Denver before businesses opened. This was our longest stop at about 40 minutes.

Putting Denver behind us, we quickly ascended into the mountains where we entered and exited dozens of tunnels.

The 6.2-mile-long Moffat Tunnel (built in 1927 and currently the fourth longest rail tunnel in the US) took over 10 minutes to transit and is the highest point in the entire Amtrak system at over 9,000 feet.

There were more tunnels. When we emerged from the Moffat at Winter Park we were amazed to see people still skiing.

It is possible to tire of the scenery as it unrolls, mile after mile. A kind of visual fatigue sets in which gets shaken out when something new appears.

 

One such example was the appearance of kayaks and rafts on the Colorado River.

More sights…

It did not take long to observe a curious habit with some of the river folk. One after another (male and female) turned their backs to us and dropped their pants, “mooning” the train.

The conductor explained over the intercom that “mooning the Amtrak” began over 40 years ago in California and has since expanded along the route. I did not get a closeup picture, but many are available online.

There were also some sad sights…

Would we do it again? Probably not. However, we are considering the trans-Canada equivalent for the future. 13 days long, with 5 onboard. We are also considering 2-month Eurail passes. Unlimited train travel in 33 countries at a cost of approximately $1,700 for the two of us.

Would we recommend the California Zephyr? Yes, to people who with eyes open understand the limitations of the experience. For those who wish to see just the highlights, book the trip from Denver, Colorado to Reno, Nevada.

Next, Part 3: San Francisco.

Peace Everyone. Pete