I AM PLANNING TO RIDE THE THREE RIVERS ON JUNE 7, 2001 FROM NY TO CHICAGO. WHAT SIDE OF THE TRAIN IS BEST TO VIEW THE HORSESHOE CURVE? ALSO, WHAT IS THE CAFE FOOD LIKE ON THE TRAIN?
Posted by MLC (Member # 58) on :
The south side of the train. If you are taking a roomette in the sleeper, ask for an odd room number. If the car is positioned correctly, none of the double bed rooms will be on the south side of the train.
The train runs backwards from New York to Philadelphia, where it reverses its direction. So if you are in the coach, choose a north side seat, which will be on the south side of the train leaving Philadelphia.
The Cafe Car is of Horizon construction and is similar to other AMTRAK cafe cars except that it has a train phone. The food is all snacks. Hot sandwiches that are available are microwaved. I suggeset you have one good meal before you board, because it will be your last good one before you detrain in Chicago.
Posted by jebradley (Member # 606) on :
When the train leaves Altoona, be sure you are on the LEFT side of the car as you face in the direction of travel. Horse Shoe Curve should be reached in about 5-15 min. after departing Altoona. After all these years (1846) it's still notable location engineering (actually, it's even more impressive from the valley floor looking up!).
Posted by jebradley (Member # 606) on :
To answer second question, they have heated "sealed sandwiches" (hamburger, etc.,) and snack foods; I thought the food reasonable and quite good, but, if you get the iced tea as I did, WATCH THE GLASS BOTTLE! I 'saved' some for next morning and after falling off seat, it broke inside my 'gym' bag, soaking two issues of TRAINS; that was last Dec. and they're just recovering now!
Posted by MLC (Member # 58) on :
Having recently traveled on the 3 Rivers, the microwaved food was too hot, and tasteless. Of course, I'm not a junk food eater.
Posted by reggierail (Member # 26) on :
I rode the Three Rivers last October from Chicago to New York & had a voucher for a sandwich, snack & beverage as I rode in the sleeper. I had a nice ham & cheese sandwich with a bag of chips, a cookie & a bottle of juice. It was fine for me. We were running almost 2 hours late & somewhere near Altoona they brought on KFC for everyone on the train. The chicken was hot & they gave out free sodas too. We actually made up some time & got to New York City less than an hour late. I had to wait till 1AM for the Shoreliner so everything worked out fine. Reggie