I just got back from my roundtrip on the Southwest Chief and the Lake Shore Limited. I went to visit my aunt and uncle in Conneaut, Ohio. I started at Van Nuys, CA to Erie, PA. I had a wonderful time. I didn't take any notes or anything. So this will just be off the top of my head.

July 31st (Van Nuys, CA to Los Angeles, CA)

Train arrived a litlle late, about 40 minutes. I had heard that there was some kind of problem with the tracks (or the surrounding area) and they had to get all the passengers off of one train, get them around the problem section, then it was onto another train waiting on the other side. Wasn't a big deal because I had a 2 hour layover in Los Angeles which isn't very far from Van Nuys.

July 31st (Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL)
East on the "Southwest Chief"

Train took off about an hour or so late. I was a bit worried at first because I had a connection to make in Chicago with only a 3 hour layover. Turned out okay, we arrived into Chicago about 2 hours late. Which still gave me some time once I got into the station.
There is some great scenery along this route. My favorites were going through Iowa, Missouri and Ohio. It was so green everywhere. Lots of green countryside viewing. We don't get to see much of that here in Southern CA. So I thought it was beautiful. I heard a lot of people rave about going through NM, but I thought the second half of the route was better with much more to see. Lakes, animails, farmfields, etc. Great views.

As far as the train goes. I was in coach. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The ride wasn't the smoothest at times. As a matter of fact, certain parts of that track really shook a few people scared. I guess it felt like it was going to jump the track a couple of times. It didn't bother me though. Actually, I don't mind the shaking, it rocks me to sleep.
I believe we had about 3-4 mail cars attached, 2 sleeper cars and 5 coach cars. Plus quite a few others. It was pretty much filled up with lots of travelers.

I had breakfast the following morning in the dining car. I had Eggs, Hash browns and Toast. It was pretty good. That same day, I had dinner in the dining car. I had the Penne Pasta which came with Carrots and Garlic Toast, plus a Salad to start with. The Salad was the best part of that meal. I didn't really care for eating dinner in the dining care. The food was warm, but not hot. And it just didn't taste very good. Maybe another dish would have been better, I don't know. So I decided to stay away from dinner in the dining car from then on. But I always ate Breakfast there. That was usually pretty good. The next day for breakfast I had the Pancakes. Those were very good. Can't really go wrong with breakfast! For the rest of that day, I would just go down to the cafe car for snacks.

As far as sleeping. From reading this BB, I knew to bring my own half size pillow and blanket. Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm glad I brought it, I used them every night. Especially since it gets very cold at night in coach and the lounge car. The first night, I tried to sleep in my coach seat. It was pretty uncomfortable. Only slept about 2 hours. The Second night, I slept in the sightseer/lounge car. Quite a few others were doing that. I made a couple friends while I was sitting in there, so I decided I would try to sleep in there too. The attendants didn't seem to mind, they didn't say anything to us. I had a 3 seat section to lay across. I was able to stretch out fully on it, being that I am petite. And actually, I slept wonderfully in there. This one has two levels. Lower level is the cafe car with table and booths. Upper level is the sightseer/lounge car. It has swivel seats, single, double and triple seats. Plus, TV's to watch movies. They played two movies a night. This train had a special room for smokers on the lower level that was enclosed. A great idea, with it being enclosed, it didn't offend any of us non smokers.

My seat mate was a woman named Rain, traveling back home to NY. She was very nice and we had a lot to talk about. Her and I ate dinner together that one night, we sat with a woman and her son who were traveling to NY also. They were very nice too. We all had a lot to talk about. I met many others while eating in the dining car and sitting in the lounge car. Many, many, nice interesting people. Met a man named John in the sightseer/lounge car who was going back home to Indiana. Him and I had breakfast with a couple one morning, they were going to Denver for vacation. I can't remember some of the others names or where they were going. There was only one guy who was pretty obnoxious. Stayed away from him, but he kept trying to bother some of us. I think he was just bored. But he was very overbearing.

The train attendants in all the areas I was in were very nice, friendly and considerate. Good customer service. I was very happy with the crew.

August 2nd (Chicago, IL to Erie, PA)
East on the "Lake Shore Limited"

Didn't get to see much scenery on this train, being that it is supposed to leave Chicago at around 7pm. Plus, that train was running late to begin with. I think we left the station about an 1 hour or so late. Pretty much almost dark by then.

Stayed up late talking with people in the cafe car. It wasn't set up like the "Southwest Chief", so you couldn't really try to sleep in there. It is a single level, so it just has tables with booths (like a diner). On this train, they allow smoking during certain hours in the Cafe Car. It got very smokey in there at times. Made it hard to breathe. That's when I decided to go back to my seat. I think the set up on the Chief is much better all around.

This was a full train as well. The staff wasn't quite as friendly on this train. They were not very nice or outgoing. But, the ride seemed to be a bit smoother. At one point, for the last 1 hour and 20 minutes I had both seats to myself, since my seat mate got off at the stop before mine. I only slept alright after I had the two seats to lay across. My seat mate was a nice guy, forgot his name though. He was on the previous train I was on, so he wasn't a complete stranger. The same lady I sat with, as well as a few others from the Chief were on this train with me. But I got separated from the people I knew, since we were going to different cities. They assigned us to different cars. But, we all met up in the cafe car, so that was cool.

Arrived at my destination 2 1/2 hours late at about 7am.

All in all, I had a wonderful time. It was a great experience for me. I enjoyed the scenery very much. It was great meeting all the nice people that I met. There is so much to see. I did travel alone being that my boyfriend is in England for 1 month of summer school. It was my first long distance train trip. For anyone traveling alone; Me, being a 30 year old female traveling alone, I really didn't have any problems. But, you should always be cautious.

That's it for tonight. I will do part 2 coming back west-bound another day. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this. If there is anything you would like to know that I might have left out, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to try and remember. Either post here or you can e-mail me at my new e-mail address:

sheribaby7@ivillage.com

Take care. -Sheri

[This message has been edited by Sheri (edited 08-15-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Sheri (edited 08-15-2000).]