Capitol Limited

We followed the crowd of sleeping car passengers out to the train. We had been assigned to car number 2901, room #2. We found the car and Jameel, our sleeping car attendant directed us up the stairs of this double decker car. At the bottom of the stairs was the shelves were we put our large suitcase. Having read many blogs and other web sites about traveling on sleeping cars I learned that there would not be room for a large suitcase in the roomette. So we packed three days worth of clothing in a smaller suitcase and brought that and the backpack with us to the room.

Room #2 was the first room on the right at the top of the steps. It was right next to the coffee machine lucky for Dave! Now we would find out how my claustrophobia would react to the room. I have to admit my heart did a flip flop on first sight. Despite looking at pictures to prepare myself I was taken aback. However, I sat down in the chair and pretty quickly realized it would be ok. There was a huge window to the outside which had an emergency open mechanism. As I studied it, Dave reminded me that it was for emergencies only. I also checked the door to the room which would be closed and locked while sleeping. It was an easy latch lock that I could unlock and slide open with no effort. So, comfortable in the knowledge that I controlled my exit if necessary, I was fine with the room.

Jameel came and showed us how the lights and air conditioning worked in our roomette. He informed us that there was one bathroom upstairs, 3 bathrooms downstairs and the shower was downstairs. He said the best time for a shower in the morinng was between 5:30 and 6:00. Breakfast was at 6 and we arrive in Chicago at 8:30. We thanked him and waited for the dining car attendant to take our reservation for dinner. Meals are included in the fare for a sleeping car. the Attendant takes reservations from sleeping car passengers first then moves on to coach to fill in any extra spots. Coach passengers must pay for their meals.

We chose a 5:00 seating (the earliest available). We hadn't eaten since breakfast at 9:30 plus we wanted to move on to the lounge car after to view the sights for as long as it would be daylight. In the dining car you are seated four to a table. For Dinner our first night we were paired with Bob and Jan from Bloomington, IN. They had driven a car to their Daughter in Orlando and were taking the train back home. Their daughter majored in Theater Arts and is workng for Disney now. Jan was very talkative. Bob, I think, was hungry. He said very little until he had finished eating. Dave and I both ordered the Flat Iron Steak with vegetables. I had baked potato with mine. Dave and rice. It was all very good! I wasn't sure what to expect but this was definitely a surprise.

So it as off to the lounge car after dinner. This car has floor to ceiling windows and 360 degree swivel chairs (although the Empire Buidler did not) It was very cold, though. Very cold. We decided right then to buy sweatshirts as our first trip souvenirs when we arrived in Chicago!

We watched the scenery go by. We saw a father giving his child kayak lessons on the Potomac River. This was evident as we saw the father speaking to the child and then deliberatly turning the kayak over! (I hope it was lessons). A local man from Commellsburg ( a stop on the way) was returning home gave us some running commentary as we rode by. I'm sorry that I can't recall all the details he provided. It made the trip interesting though since this part was mostly trees. Another couple in the car at this time (they were from Minnesota) kept switching chairs from one side to the other. They informed us, laughing, that they were in charge of chair quality assurance. (Ok I guess you had to be there for that but it was funny).

Cumberland, PA was the first 'smoke stop'. There were a number of these along the way. There is no smoking on the train and these stops were long enough that we could get off the train to stretch our legs and for smokers to ...well smoke! Some stops were 2 stop stops. The train is so long that it would stop twice at a stop were both sleeping car passengers and coach passengers were getting off and on.

At about 8 we returnd to our car to sleep. It was too dark now to really see anything. This was the routine for the rest of the trip. We were up at 5 am so we could dress and get breakfast early before the sun or as the sun was coming up and then have as much daylight as possible to see the sights. We were usually lights out by 9!

To sleep, the attendant flattens the two chairs into one bed and brings the bunk down from above for another bed. The mattress for the bottom bed is stored in the top bunk. Sleeping was interesting. Throughout Ohio, the train whistle blew a lot as they are required to do at all crossings of a street.

On Monday, Aug 24 we were up early as planned to shower and have breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast and a colorful sunrise through the fog between Waterloo In and Fort Wayne. We ate with Ann who was on her way to pick up her son Jeffrey who had spent the summer with his grandmother in Chicago.

We opted not to go back to the lounge car after breakfast because of the cold there. So we spent the remaining hours to Chicago on our room where it was warmer and we still had the huge window. It was only 6:30 when we finished breakfast but we turned our watches back after South Bend, Indiana so it was three hours to Chicago still.

We were given a copy of USA Today picked up at the last stop by our sleeping car attendant.
It was looking at the paper that we learned that we had missed an unassisted triple play by Eric Bruntlett to end the Phillies game the night before. This is why, I told Dave, that the sportscasters should not announce the player of the game before the end of the game as they so often do! I've always ragged on that and here was a perfect example of why it is a dumb idea.

We arrived in the city limits of Chicago about 8:10 a.m. central time. I realized as we made our way around the city to the station that I had now arrived in Chicago by plane (on numerous work related trips), train(just now) and automobile(when Dave, Emma and I came out for a vacatoin one summer). I wonder if there is a way to arrive by boat? I'm sure there is. I may have to add that to my bucket list just for fun.

We arrived at 8:30 and the Empire Builder set to leave board at 1:30 p.m. So we checked our bags at the Amtrak Lounge and headed out on a walking tour of Chicago.