About Taking The Train To Chicago

This was my first Amtrak train ride since I was 4 or 5 years old.  This trip was originally going to be a road trip, which I really enjoy, but then on a lark I looked into what would be involved if we took the train instead.

We had booked a "roomette" for the journey to and from Chicago since we would be traveling overnight. The roomette is a small 3x6 compartment that has two seats that face each other with a small table that folds down between.  The seats fold flat and come together in the middle to form a bed, and another bed folds down in the top of the compartment.

Luxury Accommodations

The little cabin wasn't actually that bad.  It allowed for privacy and had a large private window that could be curtained off.  In addition there was a sliding door and window into the train aisle, and both also had curtains that could be closed and held together with velcro.  The door locked from the inside only, so if you left the compartment you took your valuables with you.  The cabin controls were much like an airplane with reading lights, cabin lights, air vents, an electrical outlet and a call button for the car attendant (I don't think they're called porters anymore).

The sleeping cars are double-decker (our roomette was on the top level going and coming back).  The upper level has 1-2 bathrooms which are exactly like an airplane bathroom, and a little coffee/water/juice station where you could help yourself.  The lower level had more bathrooms and a couple of shower rooms as well.  The lower level also had a communal berth where passengers left their carry-on luggage.

Those passengers that are booked in the sleeping cars have 3 meals a day included in their ticket price.  What I didn't expect was how good the entree was.  More on that in the trip report.  The side dishes and desserts were pretty ho-hum, and everything was served on flimsy, cheap plasticware.  Dinner is the only meal that is by reservation, meaning that shortly after boarding the train the dining-car attendant comes by and asks at what time would you like to have dinner.  Breakfast and lunch are first come, first served.  If there's a wait you sit in the adjacent observation car until you are called.  All meals are communal - couples are asked to sit side-by-side, and another couple or two strangers sit at the table across from you.  A little awkward if you're not in the mood to be social, but otherwise part of the adventure.

When it comes time to sleep, the car attendant will come by and set up the bunks.  Getting into the upper bunk is a little tricky.  In the photo above you can see two shelves on the left by the cabin door.  These are the steps.  You're supposed to undress first, climb up to the top, heave your leg up and since there's not much headroom, roll yourself into the bunk.  Once you're in, there is a heavy duty harness that hooks into the ceiling from the edge of the bed to keep you from falling out.  The top bunk is a) more claustrophobic than the lower bunk, b) right beside the main air vent for the cabin, making it colder, and c) not as padded as the lower bunk.  While I didn't have any problem, I can see that it could make a lot of people very uncomfortable to be up there.

Now for a couple of things that weren't on any printed materials and that I didn't think about until they actually happened.  Two of them were just inconvenient, and the other you should prepare for:

1. The horn.  Depending on how close the sleeping car is to the engine, the horn can be annoying.  Trains are required to blow their horn at every intersection, and by God there are a lot of intersections between here and Chicago.  I'm pretty good at tuning out background noise so it wasn't too bad, but on the ride to Chicago our car was only 2 away from the front of the train.  On the way back the sleeping car was at the end of the train, and I couldn't even hear the horn.  Bring headphones or earplugs if needed.
2. Taking care of business in the middle of the night if you're in the top bunk.  No sleepily stumbling out of bed and plodding down the hall to bathroom, then falling back into bed half-asleep.  You will be fully awake as you have to (in the dark) unhook the sleeping harness, wriggle out of the sleeping bag-like bed, roll and lower yourself onto the top-most step, put on some clothes in a space about a foot wide, put your shoes on as shoes must be worn in the hallways, un-velcro the curtains which seem louder than the train itself at 2am when everyone is sleeping, unlatch and slide open the door, stumble down the hall balancing yourself on other people's cabins as your lurch to the bathroom, do what you have to do while the train is rocking, then repeat it all in reverse to get back in bed.  This is very complex, and there is no way to be quiet enough so as not to wake the person in the lower bunk.
3. Train motion.  I fully expected the train to bounce, rock, jerk and lurch during the trip and it did although for the most part it was consistent and not too bad.  There were extremes at both ends where it was really smooth and where it felt like it was about to jump the tracks.  There was much more side-to-side motion than I expected.  Motion sickness is not a problem for me, but if it is for you, be prepared.  What I was not prepared for was the after-effects once we disembarked from the train.  Whoa-nelly it was bad.  Not sickening, just bad.  You can read more in my trip report.

All-in-all, the train trip was fun and added to the adventure of the trip.  It has its charms but it also has its drawbacks; being sick on the way back was miserable.  It was much more convenient than driving and took about the same amount of time overall.  I saw different scenery that I would have from the highway, but a lot of that consisted of industrial areas, old abandoned buildings and run down train stations.  Oh, and a lot of backyards.  Backyards filled with crap.  While it costs about the same to fly, and on a plane of course you get there much quicker, this was a fun alternative to a road trip.  It was relaxing for the most part.  Would I do it again?  Well........