Dec 24. Day 1. New York to Chicago.
The 1st day of the journey takes us from New York to Chicago, via the Shoreline Limited, a Viewliner train. A Viewliner train is a single decker train with coach cars, sleeper cars, a dining car, and a lounge car. It departs from NYPenn station at 3:40PM EST arriving in Chicago Union station at 9:45AM CST the following day, Christmas day.
Coach seats on the Amtrak trains are similar to Business Class seats on airplanes, comfortable enough for long haul trips. Sleeper cars are upgrades which have rooms or cabins for families wanting a more private setting. We have a Roomette upgrade on this trip, a cabin in one of the sleeper cars. A Roomette has 2 seats facing each other convertible to a small sleeping bed come night time. The other bed folds down from the top making the cabin a bunker style bedroom. From the experience, I’d say the sleepers provided a comfortable sleeping condition.
The Roomette in the Lakeshore Limited train also provides a private toilet and a folding mini sink. One person has to leave the room if the other needs to use it. It’s more of a convenience rather than a luxury, having the option not to share toilet with the other passengers.
The trip from New York to Chicago was uneventful. Peaceful. Spending quality moments with my daughter. Windows sightseeing of sunset and vast flatlands in the New York region.
Dinner was served with menu options of steak, fish, noodles, and vegetables. I chose the steak even though I am not a big meat eater – might as well try it since it came with the package. My daughter chose the fish – salmon with mashed potatoes and veggies. Garden salad for appetizers, main entree after, ending dinner with chocolate mousse and strawberry cheesecake. Dinner was served with the same silverware used in restaurants. The food was surprisingly good!, from appetizers to desserts. Even better than some local restaurants I’ve tried.
We went back to the cabin after dinner and our beds have already been set up by our cabin attendant, Alvin, who was very accommodating and helpful. All the staff we have encountered were polite and courteous.
We woke up somewhere in Indiana the next day, still on EST. Breakfast was served before arriving in Chicago. We had egg omellete and pancakes for breakfast, and again as good as any breakfast you’d get from a typical restaurant.
We arrived in Chicago on time, 9:45AM CST. Deboarded the train and checked in to the lounge for the connecting train to San Francisco, the California Zephyr, a Superliner train, which departs at 2PM CST.
This ends the 1st leg of the journey. Merry Christmas!
