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October 18 my wife and I started our much anticipated trip to Sacramento, California. My son dropped us off at the STL station. We embarked on the Texas Eagle (TE).
Some of you may recall that my original plan was to take the Lincoln Service (LS). But due to 6 bridges being upgraded for higher speed trains all LS trains were cancelled and we had to opt for the TE. I shared the story with Rail Forum about my experience making alternate plans. GBN informed me that the the TE's reroute route would follow the former C&EI route.
As we were preparing to board at STL it was announced that the TE was now an "express" in that it would not make any stops. There were cheers among some of the passengers. Unfortunately, due to increased freight traffic, the term "express" did not translate into speed. True, there were no station stops but we were delayed often by freights. We were over an hour late into CHI. Late or not we still could not have made the connection with the CZ. So earlier we decided to spend a night in Naperville, a western suburb. We had to catch a Metra train to get to Naperville. We would connect with the CZ the following day. We did have to run for the Metra because it was almost ready to pull out of Union Station.
I have never had a good experience on the TE except on one trip from Dallas to St. Louis. On that trip the staff was excellent. The train was early. But this time the TE was, as usual, disappointing. We had sleeper accommodations. When we boarded the attendant told us due to over booking? that our rooms were not ready. He said that we should go ahead and eat breakfast and then the rooms would be ready. But the rooms weren't ready after breakfast. In fact we sat in the diner and then the observation car for over 2 and one half hours until the rooms were ready.
But back to the Metra trip to Naperville. I have found that the people in Chicago are generally nice folks. We got on the Metra and it was packed. I found a seat and my wife found one several rows ahead of me. These are double decker cars. The doors are in the middle of the car. The second level is open so that the conductor can reach up and get the tickets. There is a luggage rack about seven feet up from the lower level. We both had a large shoulder bag and a heavy suitcase. I took my seat and held the shoulder bag on my lap and placed the suitcase in the aisle. A young man across from me said that they would not let me leave the bag there. He said I needed to put on the overhead luggage rack.
I looked up at that luggage rack and knew that regardless of how much pride I had about my strength in my younger days that luggage rack might as well have been 70 feet away. The young man looked at me and asked if if I would like for him to put my suitcase on the luggage rack. And he offered to put my wife's luggage up there also. Swallowing my pride I said yes and thanked him.
Naperville is about 25 miles west of CHI. As we got closer I kept looking over at the young man wondering when he was getting off and how was I going to get the luggage down. He must have seen my worried look and said that he was going to Naperville also and he would get the luggage down for me. On the return to CHI via Metra both my wife and I were helped by young women, not Metra employees, by lifting the suitcases down from the train for us. Nice folks.
We boarded the CZ without incident. The sleepers were the last two cars on the train. We were in the last car. The attendant seemed a little brusque and we bumped heads a bit at first. Maybe he had a fight with his wife or boss. He did mellow as we got under way. The train moved along smartly. Illinois and Iowa scenery is beautiful. I know that some don't see the beauty in the Midwest but I always enjoy watching the rich farmland, stands of oak and hickory, gentle streams, and small towns pass by.
We enjoyed supper. We had steak and merlot. The salad was surprisingly good. Everything was good.
Somewhere in western Iowa darkness settled in. Our roomettes were readied for us and we turned in. The conductor or attendant warned us the some of the roughest track crossed Nebraska. He wasn't kidding. Sleep was difficult due to the jostling and noise. The car we were in was very creaky and groaned and rattled. But about midnight I managed to sleep until 4AM or so.
We had a nice breakfast and interesting table mates. We were treated to a colorful sunrise as we neared Denver.
The last time I was in Denver I was 15 years old. I had ridden the Rock Island Rocky Mountain Rocket to Colorado Springs. So it was great to see the grand old station again and the contemporary treatment of the tracks in front to the station. There is an interesting sculpture of a semaphore on a overhead walkway that moves. It is done in a contemporary style.
I didn't go into the station on the westbound trip but did so on the return eastbound trip. Gorgeous. Packed with people. Lots of restaurants, shops, ice cream, gifts, etc.
It appears that Denver is investing in light rail. I don't know to what extent but I saw quite a bit of rolling stock that looked new.
I have read that the CZ is ranked by some a one of the top 5 scenic train trips in the world. Well, the "scenic show" started as we pulled out of Denver and began the climb into the Rockies. It is fascinating how the Great Plains just end and the Rockies suddenly rise up. The CZ follows the Colorado River for 236 miles. The river plunges and boils through boulders and narrows. The canyons are incredible. The Moffat Tunnel, one among 40 some, is something. The scenery is just too impressive to try and describe it. But I am so glad that I saw it. And one has to admire the fierce determination of the RR and its people who carved the route out of the granite bluffs.
One of the interesting stops was Grand Junction. There is a beautiful old station that is set off by chain link and has for sale signs on it. As someone else mentioned Dave's grocery is next to the station. And as it was said previously the conductor plugged Dave's. We bought some fruit and snacks.
The countryside changed into what seemed to be desert and lots of rocky formations. I believe that red sandstone replaced the granite of the Rockies east of us. Soon it was getting dark. We prepared for bed. The tracks didn't seem quite as rough as they did across Nebraska. We crossed Utah. In Nevada near a town called Winnemucca early in the morning it was announced that we had stopped. The reason was due to flooding the bridge ahead was under water. How ironic, I thought, that the west was suffering from a prolonged drought and the day I pick to travel they have flooding. We sat in the darkness for an hour or more. The conductor said that they were waiting for inspectors to determine if the bridge was safe for crossing. Fortunately we were given the go ahead and continued.
Somewhere in western Nevada we entered the Sierras. My geography may be a little weak. But as daylight came on we were treated to a great forest of huge trees and deep valleys. The train followed the Truckee River for over a hundred miles. The forest was comprised of pine, spruce, fir, and an occasional redwood. We went past Donner's Pass and were near Lake Tahoe.
I guess around noon or early afternoon we descended from the mountains and were nearing Sacramento. After the flood incident we came into Sacramento only about a half hour behind schedule. We met my old friend whom I had not seen in 53 years. And he was the tour guide. I got to see the giant redwoods, Lake Tahoe, and Napa. The weather was perfect.
Sacramento Station is interesting. There is extensive renovation. It is destined to become a multimodal transportation center. The station was built by Southern Pacific. The sunset logo is carved into the wooden benches. At first I thought that the brick structure was not particularly attractive. From a distance it appeared as nothing more than a light colored reddish blond brick. On closer inspection I counted at least 6 different colors of brick along with what appeared to be a southwestern design motif. The different colors of brick seemed to be representative of the colors of the terrain of the American Southwest.
On the return trip the departure from Sacramento got off to a shaky start. The CZ was supposed to depart at 11:09. About 10:40 it was announced that there had been a vehicle or pedestrian struck on the tracks at Davis, CA. The delay might be up two hours. As it turned out the CZ was not involved in the accident but all traffic was stopped pending police investigation. We were under way by 11:45. The eastbound scenery was mostly a replay of the westbound trip with the exception of mountains graced with a snowfall that occurred while we were in California. The mountains were cloaked in white. Some of the villages roofs were covered with snow.
Amazingly the CZ came into CHI almost to the minute that it was scheduled to arrive despite the late start from Sacramento. We spent the night in CHI and had supper at a great Italian restaurant, Italia Village. It is the oldest restaurant in downtown Chicago.
The next day we boarded the TE back to STL hoping for the best. But the TE did not fail to be a bad trip as usual. First, the train was not ready for passengers. I had to get down on my and and knees and pull 4 laundry bags out of the luggage bay. People were backed up onto the platform. They had no where to put there luggage. The attendant seemed at a loss what to do. There was no water or coffee. Supper was OK food-wise but the server and lead attendant were so disorganized that the service was poor. They forgot to serve my wife. And after paying for a half bottle of wine that we had with dinner she, the dining car attendant, later came into the sleeper claiming that I hadn't paid her. I showed her my receipt and she apologized.
But the final downer on the CHI to STL run was the time. The TE was running well behind, maybe 2 hours. Then the conductor announced that there was a derailed freight train ahead. We were rerouted from the reroute. We came into STL about 4 hours or better behind schedule.
On the balance it was a great trip. Some of the more interesting tablemates included two German railroad men. One of them said that he was a driver. They said that they liked Amtrak because it was roomier than European trains. We met a young couple from Arkansas. The young lady was an architecture professor and her husband was a sound engineer for movies. There was an Australian woman who was critical of things. When she started in on the United States I got a bit argumentative. We met a Polish couple, a Canadian couple who raised vegetables in green houses. Meeting people from so many different walks of life is part of the fun of train travel.
Finally, I have a question for you rail techies. We had two Genesis locomotives and in the third position a Siemens ACS64. It was very clean and looked brand new. This 3 locomotive configuration was both westbound and eastbound. I thought that the Siemens were electric. So why would they be pulling this locomotive through the mountains both eastbound and westbound?
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mr. Iron, the Siemens ACS 64 locomotive you observed was dead in tow and was being delivered to Amtrak from Sacramento, where the 70 locomotives, comprised largely of foreign sourced parts, were assembled. I have often wondered if the reason they were assembled "way out West" was that the cost of transporting them was needed to comply with "Buy American" provisions.
I have no explanation for your sighting of a Siemens locomotive moving Westward.
I trust as you rode on METRA to Naperville, you were looking out about MP 18 as you passed through my town (whoops, vernacular; the community is incorporated as a Village).
palmland Member # 4344
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Sounds like a good trip, IM. Too bad about the TE. You would think Amtrak could do more about consistency of on board service. Good customer service can go a long way to help passengers enjoy train travel, even with late trains and mediocre food.
We're in AZ now and will start our Amtrak portion next Thursday from northern CA. My sense is Amtrak has gone downhill a bit since our last LD trip. We'll see.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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Great report, Iron Mountain. Very immersive. Shows how much padding is in the schedule!
Iron Mountain Member # 12411
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GBN, I was raised in Itasca and Wheaton. Itasca was on a double track Milwaukee Road main. I well remember the Hiawatha blasting through the town. The commuter trains were pulled by either Pacifics or Hudsons. The vintage of the passenger cars must have been early 1900's. They still had the gas lighting fixtures. There was no air conditioning. You could open the windows.Sometimes smoke and cinders would blow in. Itasca had a population of about 900. We lived there from 1949 to 1955. Wheaton was our next home. The Chicago & Northwestern was still running some steam on commuter trains. In Wheaton we also had the option of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban electric. The C&NW was still running the Kate Shelley 400 through Wheaton. The "'Roarin Elgin" had a swift train referred to as the "Cannon Ball". Thee were 5 tracks running through Wheaton. Three C&NW and two CA&E. Yes I am familiar with Claredon Hills, Lisle, Downers Grove. I attended North Central College for three semesters. Naperville was kind of a farm town with about 15000 pop. at most. Today it is an upscale city. High tech and medical centers have taken over. As to the ACS64 my wife says she did not see one on the westbound trip. Maybe I imagined it.
Palmland, I cannot understand how the TE can be so screwed up so often. When we got on in STL they acted like they didn't expect a large number of passengers. Wouldn't you think they would anticipate an increase when all the Lincoln Service was cancelled? And on the return trip they (TE) acted like they were totally unprepared for travel. I wonder if different LD trains have their own specific supervisory office? Maybe somebody needs to do some pruning to the TE personnel. Have a good trip from northern CA.
HopefulRailUser Member # 4513
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That was a great trip report. I have yet to travel on the CZ and this reinforces my need to do so.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Great trip report, Mr Mountain. Thank you! CZ is my favorite train.
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