Here's a note I forgot to add but is worth mentioning: After this ride, I got in contact with Amtrak Customer Relations, and they were able to issue me a $175 travel credit for the delays into NYC. If you ever end up on a super delayed train, then call Amtrak's customer service line and ask to speak with "Customer Relations" and they'll sort out some form of compensation.
Is that all for a delay over 5hrs, I’d be looking for way more than $175, I hate to think what the coach pax in this train has to endure, at least you had the luxury of a shower, semi decent food. Even before the delay, the time taken by this train is frankly outrageous, average speed of 75mph is not good enough,any idea the top speed of the loco and carriages? I see why most Americans doesn’t use Amtrak a simply not fast enough.
My California Zephyr suffered a massive eight hour delay into Chicago. They put us up in a very nice hotel due to the missed connection, a meal voucher, a $200 voucher for future travel, and I lucked out on the next day's LSL by getting an accessible bedroom...super luxury. The delay was not Amtrak's fault as a semi truck crashed onto Utah tracks. I felt well cared for.
Alas, annoyed for my recent delay for Preston to Euston that I thought had ticked over 15 minutes at door release but was officially only 14¾ minutes down, so not compensable.
The third seat in the bedroom is very helpful for families. Our little guy is still young enough we can use one bedroom as a family; saves money and nice to have a seat for everyone without being on the couch all together.
I was travelling with Antrak several times last time I was in USA. Miami to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Cincinnati, Memphis to New Orleans and New Orleans to Chicago! It was absolutely amazing and I really miss those days of travling around in USA!🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲❤❤❤
The U.S. passenger train system lags so far behind those of other developed countries. But considering that what we have now is a mere shadow of what the U.S. once had, we’re lucky to have any passenger train routes at all.
It is so difficult to get people out of their suvs and cars nowadays. And until the politicians show some political will, we will permanently lag the world in this area.
Believe it or not. The Amtrak train from LA to Chicago is sold out months in advance. A ticket from Tucson to Chicago for a sleeper compartment round-trip is $1,600. It is a 51-hour train ride going no faster than 35 moh.
I found this quite well done and very interesting. As an aside, I was disappointed that no mention whatsoever was made of a regular stop in Utica, NY. Utica has one of the grandest (fully restored) passenger terminals of the old New York Central System. It is magnificent and well worth a visit.
I think I was asleep when we went through Utica. I was fighting off a bug of some kind on my first few days of travel this summer, so getting an extra hour or two of sleep here and there took priority over filming everything.
Oh YES! SO refreshing to hear a well modulated voice with proper pronunciation and inflection. As a former radio announcer myself, I enjoy so much hearing a natural voice rather than the annoying AI/Computer generated noise. We can't all be another Milton Cross, but hearing talent is a joy.
You picked a good time to ride the Lakeshore. The third sleeping car, added to the train just a few weeks ago, was on the Silver Meteor prior. With the relaunch of traditional dining, the staff that Amtrak hired was insufficient to handle patronage from the three sleeping cars that the Meteor normally carries. So one sleeping car was taken off so as not to overburden the limited staff onboard. It’s good that Amtrak chose to re-assign those cars to a route that could use additional capacity rather than take even more equipment off the rails.
I had heard about it prior to booking my ticket, and was glad to have it confirmed once I received my room number. Unfortunately, the third sleeper now means there are four sleepers worth of passengers for only one dining car, which is not nearly enough table space for even one reservation's worth of passengers (as we saw at dinner). I'm hoping to take one of the Silver services later this year, so it'll be interesting to see how the capacity change affects dining car service.
That’s a very good point. Tighter capacity means higher fares (supply and demand) but for passengers who get to travel, not having to deal with a lot of other passengers is nice. During the summer of 2019 when Amtrak operated the Empire Builder with 2 sleepers on the Portland section for a total of 4 sleeping cars, 4 coaches and a transition sleeping car. I remember hearing reports that once the westbound Builder was out of Milwaukee, no dining reservations were available. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were instances that no dining slots were available to coach passengers due to the large volume of sleeping car passengers. Chances of finding any open space in the sightseer lounge was also very dim. It is crazy expensive to book a long haul trip on Amtrak right now, but if you’re one of those who aren’t discouraged by the fares, you do get to enjoy dealing with fewer other passengers on board.
Don't forget sometime if you are up in Toronto, take The Canadian, VIA Train #1 from Toronto to Vancouver. We just got back from a round trip returning on The Canadian, VIA Train #2 from Vancouver to Toronto. Five days, four nights! And the meals are absolutely out of this world. Thanks for a great video.
Love the review. As someone from Western NY I really appreciated the bit about the Grand Central Terminal. I rode the Lake Shore Limited from Buffalo to Chicago in Apri April for my first ride on Amtrack and I love it.
I really want to go back to Buffalo just to check out the terminal. It's a shame to see it in such a state of disrepair, but at least there are plans to revitalize it in the future.
In the early 1950's both the "20th Century Ltd." and "Broadway Ltd." took approximately 16'30" between Chicago and New York. Considering today's travel time that is a major step backwards.
It's a shame we've regressed from those days. But back then the tracks were owned by the operating railroads, so there weren't as many freight delays. Plus they made fewer stops, but still, not a good look for Amtrak.
The 20th Century made the Chicago-NYC run in 20 hours in 1927. Since the Broadway Limited (PARR) matched that schedule as well, there were two express trains, running on entirely different routings, that met that standard nearly 100 years ago.
Air travel has slowed since the 1970's, ESPECIALLY if one looks at door-to-door time. Airlines don't care how long it takes you to get to/from/through the airport and the TSA certainly doesnt.
Those new cars look great. I'm still holding out hope for a double-deck successor to the Superliners, but I know fleet management practicalities make that unlikely even if they manage to work around the accessibility challenges. That in mind, I'd be jazzed to see the Viewliner IIs out here in the west.
I'm also hopeful for the superliner successors. Even if they do something similar where the car body is the same but the interiors are much better, then I'll be happy.
@@kskssxoxskskss2189 The tunnels do indeed limit heights in the East, but it is still possible to use shorter bilevel coaches such as the Bombardier MultiLevels used by New Jersey Transit
the viewliner 2's are stupendous. The refresh looks so warm and comfortable, and there's nothing like the sunset glowing through the huge windows as the scenery rolls by. Best sleeper cars on the system without a doubt and I can't wait for more of them to get integrated into the system. I'm crossing my fingers that a similar refresh is in the works for the Superliner sleeper cars since those are getting kind of dated as well.
Never did the LSL. Did the Cardinal from Indianapolis to NYC a while back in a V1 Roomette. It was fun hanging out in the dining car because I got to dine with complete strangers at my table.
I enjoyed your upbeat thorough report and did not feel it was too long. I was hoping that the food would have improved by now but sadly I see it hasn't. I can also see from your coverage how worn out looking the Viewliner 1 Sleepers are. Hopefully they will be all replaced soon. I noticed you updated your music selections which is a nice change. Thanks for a great report!
I'm definitely going to check out AZ to Chicago. As a kid in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, I traveled all about the country via train with my mom. I remember loving the experience. It's been 50 years since I've taken a train trip. Thank you for sharing this review.
Wow I enjoyed your trip report as I have learnt so much about Amtrak viewliners & GE Genesis locomotives. I have train models of viewliner sleeper, budd company's amfleet cars & GE Genesis locomotives. So, this vlog made me to learn more about the reality of my model train too. Thank you! 😍
I got to use union stations redcap service and got a ride to my train and I'm grateful for it bc after a week vacation my feet were done and its a long walk from the great hall to the train lol 😂
I am making this trip in a few weeks. This video makes me look forward to the trip. Made it last year as well. Awesome experience. Amtrak staff is wonderful.
Fun fact: Lake Shore Limited is the only long distance route on the empire corridor while the rest of the long distance routes from nyc are on the northeast corridor.
True! It was unfortunate that we were so late getting into New York, as the views down the Hudson River valley are spectacular. Fortunately, my train out of NYC the next day headed up the Hudson, so I got to see it regardless.
@@LonestarTrips the best views on the Lake Shore Limited are the great lakes which on the video I barely see Lake Erie along with the Hudson River and several mountains in the empire state. I think Lake Shore Limited is the most scenic long distance route from New York City outside the other long distance routes such as the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited and Coast Starlight. Another scenic viewliner train could possibly be the Cardinal since you get to see the great mountains of West Virginia and the big long bridge.
I’ve taken this train twice and it’s one of my favorites on Amtrak. Then again, the only other LD trains I’ve been on are The Cardinal and Pennsylvanian. I’d love to go back to Chicago via The Lake Shore Limited.
I've been on the Lake Shore Limited (aka, the Late For Sure for people who have taken this route, including myself, three times). It is a nice train ride 😊.
My first visit to your channel. You have done an excellent job on this video, Top notch presentation ,of all the details. I will be viewing other in the future. Thank you for this feature.
Coming from Austria, Europe, I still have to try Austria's ÖBB Nightjet (a new series of Nightjet trains are on their way and in operation maybe next year)
Really enjoyed this video. I railfan the Lake Shore Limited every Sunday morning as it heads East through Willoughby, OH. Was always curious as to the inside of the train. You "lucked out" seeing Cleveland in the light, while I'm sure the 4 hour delay was an inconvenience. Might even consider this route to see family in Boston someday. Thanks for the informative review.
I highly recommend antrak for Trevalingbof any sort. Me and my GF took the 184 out of Richmond, VA - Providence, RI and the Ride was unbelievable. We went through DC, Baltimore, Phili, CT, NJ and more! The cars or def more than Spaciouse and Amtrak has Yards along the corridor about every few hours. Great for railfaning and saving money all in 1.
When you are traveling east or west between Syracuse and Schenectady, you are passing along the Mohawk River. There is very little left of the actual Erie Canal. Almost all of it has been filled in and is mostly bike paths now. Also, the canal was located on the south side of the river, not the north side where the AMTRAK trains run. One last fact, the station at Albany is actually in Rensselaer across the Hudson River. (a really stupid decision made back in 1968, there's no easy way to get to the Rensselaer Station from downtown Albany) The original Albany Union Station is still standing in downtown, but is now a credit union.
Nice review! I love the Viewliner II design, but hate the flexible dining that many trains are still stuck with. I have a sneaking suspicion that the former Amtrak CEO who killed traditional dining service in favor of this "flexible" nonsense isn't subjecting himself to such terrible food on a regular basis!
Thanks! The flexible dining should really never be an option for sleeper passengers. If you're paying for a room and the "first class" service, then you should get first class food. No questions asked. Maybe someday the Amtrak CEO will try some of the options on flexible dining and realize what we're dealing with.
I didn't think the flex dining was too bad, just not great. Now we went on the Silvers a month ago and they had what I call "real food" cooked by a chef and it was incredibly good.@@LonestarTrips
The Flexible Dining could be acceptable but you need to choose items on the menu that are suitable for microwave - which - looking at the menu and the video they definitely do not. The food looks like a really basic tray meal for medium-distance flight with a bad budget airline. I want to take the Empire Builder or the Canadian next Spring. The Canadian's food is excellent. I hope the Amtrak West Coast food is still Traditional Dining. If not I reckon McDonalds would make a killing with small take-away outlets on the platforms at every 2-3 stations on long journeys.......
My first time on the Amtrak I had a wonderful experience my first trip was last year before Thanksgiving I went to go travel and see my little sister for the holiday and my eyes was glued to the window as i was enjoying my train ride through Michigan I had the best time ever. I don't Care what nobody says Amtrak is the most beautiful and greatest way to travel.
Excellent review of the roomette and train. In 4 weeks I’ll be taking my first long distance journey aboard the Empire Builder. I booked a roomette and look forward to a scenic and comfortable trip. I’m so glad the COVID microwave dinners are a thing of the past. I am anxious to try true dining, that I’ve heard is pretty good. Oh oh! I looked at the date of your video, August 2023. They still serve those meals? Terrible
My one experience with the shower was that it took a LONG time to get warm water to come up. The pressure was also not great. However, it was better than the standard Navy shower I had in the service. It was also nice getting showered, freshened up and ready to pull into Chicago on the Cardinal (#51). I also prefer to sleep in the upper bunk of the roomette.
Nice to see you had a good trip and luckily no derailments. I appreciate the extra large garbage can and the hot water on the shower. The dining car is really nice and I would like to order some sandwiches and eat them in back in the room with. Also the sink is unreal; just throw all your trash in the trash can and then go to the ding room and get smores. I took a trip last time we had coach car in back and baggage cars in the front with out a toilet.
It sounds like, if one will have a layover in Chicago during a meal time (f.ex., lunch), one should pick up food before entering the Metropolitan Lounge. The Viewliner 2 roomettes seem much nicer than those on a Superliner. (Now, if only the Viewliner roomettes could be combined with the traditional dining on Western Superliner routes!)
There's a food court with a few options inside Union Station, which is where I got dinner before heading into the lounge. You can exit the lounge and re-enter as you please if you wish to drop off your suitcase, as the lounge hands out color coded passes upon entering. All you need to do is present the pass when re-entering the lounge, and they'll let you back in no problem.
“The continuous operation of the rail road” oof that actually made me laugh i wish we still had a consistent 24/7 transit system Edit: also 11:20 is the perfect example of why i laughed after being hours behind schedule Amtrak is still forced to sit and wait for freight trains even though those same freight companies are the reason this train is delayed 😅 yet freight rail companies swear they don’t do this LOL
One of the problems is often that the sidings are too small for the freight trains to sit at so the passenger trains have to be the ones who sit on the sidings. The answer is separate passenger tracks but don't hold your breath.
@@biotrekker I know that’s a major problem but ultimately the real problem is the FRA refusing to regulate. It should be the law that train lengths are capped to ensure passing is allowed or they should be fined a percentage of their company worth not amounts of money the rail executions blow on a lunch. I personally think the federal government should use the frequent rail disasters that seem to happen all the time now as an excuse to nationalize the rail roads. That would probably resolve A TON of issues almost instantly by allowing the FRA and DOT to bill freight companies to finally maintain the rails and the private companies that have not been nationalized due to safety concerns will be forced to maintain realistic safety standards again. I think that would also allow private passenger rail companies to start popping up all over. I think this would be the case because anytime someone wants to make a passenger train the freight companies kill it before it can even be fully planned (other than brightline which is owned by the FEC railway and was able to completely expand its infrastructure using federal dollars lol on top of becoming a passenger rail monopoly essentially). Of course I understand this will NEVER EVER happen but it’s fun to think about what North America could be like if freight rail monopolies didn’t have the US and Canadian governments by the balls lol
I do love train travel and I often take Amtrak into Chicago. However, my enthusiasm for the overnight Eastern US trains has dimmed since they introduced the microwave meals. I loved the food on my trips to Texas, when the food was cooked to order. I'm not highly motivated to take any of the Eastern trains now. I hope Amtrak changes some of the longer trips back to traditional dining.
I hope they do to but I won’t count on it. They are definitely saving more money with the microwave garbage and less staff. They probably will never go back☹️. They could at least knock some of the price of the roomette down!!!
those Viewliner II's look like such a wonderful upgrade. The wood veneers look so much nicer than that 90's faux-granite pattern and blank plastic sheets. That shower looks so much cleaner and comfortable too. I've never had to do a train split before. Seems like a nuisance, to be honest.
Slightly dicey topic so I'll try to thread the needle here: The absence of power will not make the door inoperative. Unless the door is manually locked or you have been told not to use them by the crew, use the finger-hold (and the 'press' latch release if needed) to manually open the door, as depicted in the sticker. In this case, not a big deal, but it's important to note since the vestibule is always the best option as an emergency exit, if available. Having said that, I'd do about what you did, just walk and watch trains outside until the HEP came back. :)
Hey man, I really enjoyed this review! I’m going to Chicago in a few days and I’m really excited! I always enjoy all your train reviews, and the information that you give always welcome. I recently got a new camera too so it would be good for my trip
Glad to hear you're heading out to Chicago! There's so much to cover out there that even I haven't touched on everything in the area yet. If you don't mind me asking, what camera did you get?
@@LonestarTrips I got the Canon T7 so I can retire my M50 MKII camera! It’s gonna be great for when I railfanning on the Métra Racetrack outside of the city
I lived in Erie, PA for 10 months in the late 90's. Looking at some pictures on the internet of the Amtrak station and the platform, it looks quite poor. I enjoyed this video very much. Thank You.
Just make sure you book on car 4912, as that's the one most likely to be a V2. You can change cars by calling Amtrak customer service if you're not in there already.
You won’t be disappointed. Sleeping car passengers on that train are served freshly cooked meals, prepared on board, instead of prepackaged microwave food that’s on this train and many others. Coach passengers are allowed to dine in the dining car, and there are great views to enjoy from the train’s sightseer lounge.
I was on the Texas Eagle, recently. My sleeping car attendant told me there is a possibility that Amtrak has plans to return traditional dining to that train in October.
Hope you had a great trip otherwise, apart from the unexpected delays. Oh and as for when you came through Utica, aforementioned, I now work on a slightly different schedule. I mainly run the local and Mountaineer trains to and from the Thendara station depot and yard, which is still within the Oneida County area but 20 some miles away from the downtown Union Station in Utica.
Personally, I prefer the toilets in the room, but I can understand why some wouldn’t like it. As much as the process of flying (TSA) gives me stress, I try to go by train when possible.
I am most familiar with the Pacific Coast Starlight Express for overnight travel and I am very happy with the fresh food on that car in the dinning car, the accommodations in the sleeper roomette, and shared bathroom facilities for the couchette. This new Viewliner 2, especially with only the microwave meals, does not induce me to take this train, even if there is a basin in the room .(I agree that a toilet in the cabin is not a good idea, but if I did need a toilet immediately available I'd probably choose a full cabin or accessible option.) I love taking the train and want to see Amtrak succeed, but I'm not sure this is going to do it. Bring back parlor cars and keep fresh food, please!
Nice video. I’ll be riding it westbound in late October. Hoping that the windows are reasonably clean. Looks like on your train they were a little bit dirty but I’ve seen worse. Also, hoping that someday they bring back traditional dining to this route.
My friend commonly takes the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to Cleveland whenever she comes back from visiting her dad, after a very bad experience on Amtraks Capital Limited. Luckily, any time I have had to pick her up or drop her off at Cleveland’s Amtrak station, the Lakeshore is usually running at most 10 minutes behind schedule! Too bad the bridge over the portage river was causing issues for your journey.
I had the butter milk pancakes on the Texas Eagle last spring break and I thought they were pretty good and were much better than I had expected. They were about as good as I most of the other pancakes I had had at restaurants.
Hey, I was there for the Cleveland one. I might have saw you(I have no idea what you look like but maybe, haha) I noticed it was running really late so I went over. If you saw a guy standing on the overlook on top the convention center, that was me! lol
I thought I was distracted and missed the coverage of Rochester and the spectacular view of the "High Falls" on the Genesee River, but.. you went straight from Buffalo to Syracuse, totally bypassing Rochester. ;-(
Unfortunately, I think I was asleep lol. I was fighting off some kind of a bug on the first part of my adventures this summer, so getting any sleep I could was key.
I just came back from NYC on a View liner 1 that had a toilet in the room, but my bed was made up with my head on the opposite end of the toilet! I was surprised you slept on that end by the sink?
Some passengers experience motion sickness while facing away from the direction of travel. The bedrooms alternate, so that in some bedrooms the "main" seat faces the rear of the train. There are also some segments where the entire car is going the "wrong" direction. The folding chair addresses all these situations. It is present in all Amtrak equipment -- both Viewliner I and 2 and also the Superliner equipment. For those of us who have reached the age where at least one night-time trip to the bathroom is a necessity, the Viewliner 2 forces three choices: (1) Upgrade to a bedroom at more than twice the cost (on the Lakeshore), (2) Use a plastic urinal during the night, or (3) navigate half the length of the car in the middle of the night. I'm unwilling to do option 3. Are you sure that you prefer option 2 to the older Viewliner 1 approach? I used Viewliner 1 roomettes for decades and never had any issues at all. As you observe in the video, there is only one orientation for sleeping in the Viewliner 1 roomette.
34:17 I burst out laughing at the tone of disgusting. I was palm slapping my mattress and in tears. Lowkey, i don’t think it’s nasty., however the smell may say otherwise if the water spray doesn’t do a great job shoving everything down. If there were even a spec of doo left, the night would be unsleeping 😂
You're generous with your food grading. To me, a meal is a 1 if the main has to get tossed. The US has a lot of catching up to do compared with Japanese rail lines, which are privately owned. In both technology and comfort, Japanese rail lines are far superior. Japanese trains are on time, barring a natural disaster like an earthquake. Coupling is fast with no human intervention. They're all electric. Faster and a smoother ride. Doors lock from the outside with a pinpad that's reset when you deboard. Amtrak is very industrial looking while Japanese trains have a sleek, futuristic design.
I traveled on 4811 Room 2 on 8/20/23 from Union Stattion to Poughkeepsie, NY. The sleeping area was not my cup of tea, as the rocking of the train changing tracks almost made me almost fall out of bed. Felt sorry for your journey. It was some miracle that I arrived at my destination on time. Usually they have built in delays along the way for freight traffic as they have priority over passenger traffic. I had the old sleeper with the toilet. I used GPS to find out how fast we were going and from Chicago to Schenecedy we were topping 80 MPH after that we hit 110 MPH to Poughkeepsie.
3:25 This is for future reference (if you aren't already aware), be careful about that Phase III paint because they've painted several Viewliner I cars in that paint scheme. So hold your excitement until you see the inside because if you instantly get excited based on the outside paint, you may be disappointed.
I will say that there was at one point when the Viewliner II sleepers were entering service there was at least a single Viewliner I that seemed to have been painted in Phase III as well so it's not always a guarantee that you're on a Viewliner II based on livery alone. Best way to confirm which type it is is to look between the boogies/trucks that they ride on. If it all looks like one smooth sort of set up then it's the modern Viewliner II. If it is a bunch of separate boxes and stuff then it is the Viewliner I. I'll also say that Amtrak probably should've ordered a lot more Viewliner II's as well.
Wow 2 trains connected together 1 going to Boston and 1 going to NY so it doesn't matter where your going you don't have to transfer anywhere since the 2 trains are connected together and they get taken apart at albany and go different ways from there right? But is there still anyway you could still take the wrong train since you could accidentally ride in the wrong part of the train if your going to NY or no cause the conductor will tell you which part to ride in if your going to NY?
The nightlight should be an amber color so as not to be annoying. The blue light would keep me up at night. Besides showers, do the trains have toilets?
Of course they do in coach cars no showers but 2 restrooms and at least one coach car has an ADA bathroom but anybody can use those. Also in viewliner 2 cars they in the sleepers they have 2 restrooms at the end of the hall. Only viewliner 1 sleeper only have bathrooms in your roommate and no public bathrooms but then you can either use the toilet in your room, walk to a viewliner 2 car if it has one, or walk to the coach car
I used to take the Texas Eagle frequently between Chicago and Dallas when I still lived in the US, and I really enjoyed the fresh-cooked meals in the dining car. I see now there’s only the “flexible dining” option on that train, which is too bad
Yep. These businesses that had to operate on the cheap during COVID are totally taking advantage of us now, not to mention making money hand over fist.
Literally no one uses the public shower. It’s far bigger than the private showers and way more comfortable (no toilet in the way), with a separate section dedicated for changing and drying off. It’s basically a private shower without any of the cons.
@@BlownMacTruckI respect what you're saying but my OCD would never permit me to use a public shower with any degree of comfort. I have used public restrooms over the years but it's always been a struggle.
I actually say Lake Shore Limited train 49 last night, doing 78 miles an hour, the train passes through my home town so its pretty common to hear it and see it if your up early or wait for the night train
It took us about 25 hours to get from Chicago to NYC in 2019 lol. Really wish I could have seen a view of NYC at night coming into the city, but sadly we went along side it and didn't see much except the tall buildings.
Arriving on a late train in the middle of the night with no hotel reserved -- dumped on the street side to fend for yourself. I say thanks to Gob Amtrack.
Early 50s I made several trips via New York Central RR between Chicago and Boston - Lv Chicago around 3 in the afternoon - Arr Boston around 7:30 next AM. Same for reverse - Boston to Chicago. I guess we've achieved some kind of progress there - ( In the MID 50s I was driving Chicago to Boston in about 24 hours - plus or minus , and that was before the interstates got done - US 6 from Illinois to Ohio then US 20 to east of Buffalo NY then NY Thruway to Albany then US 20 ( I think ) to Boston ) Really loved travel by train when I was stationed in Japan in late 50s , and lived there in early 70s. Anyway, now that we have solved the surface transportation problems here in the US, I guess we're ready to solve global warming or whatever else ails us .
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Here's a note I forgot to add but is worth mentioning: After this ride, I got in contact with Amtrak Customer Relations, and they were able to issue me a $175 travel credit for the delays into NYC. If you ever end up on a super delayed train, then call Amtrak's customer service line and ask to speak with "Customer Relations" and they'll sort out some form of compensation.
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@LonestarTrips, wow 😮!!!
Is that all for a delay over 5hrs, I’d be looking for way more than $175, I hate to think what the coach pax in this train has to endure, at least you had the luxury of a shower, semi decent food. Even before the delay, the time taken by this train is frankly outrageous, average speed of 75mph is not good enough,any idea the top speed of the loco and carriages? I see why most Americans doesn’t use Amtrak a simply not fast enough.
My California Zephyr suffered a massive eight hour delay into Chicago. They put us up in a very nice hotel due to the missed connection, a meal voucher, a $200 voucher for future travel, and I lucked out on the next day's LSL by getting an accessible bedroom...super luxury. The delay was not Amtrak's fault as a semi truck crashed onto Utah tracks. I felt well cared for.
Alas, annoyed for my recent delay for Preston to Euston that I thought had ticked over 15 minutes at door release but was officially only 14¾ minutes down, so not compensable.
The third seat in the bedroom is very helpful for families. Our little guy is still young enough we can use one bedroom as a family; saves money and nice to have a seat for everyone without being on the couch all together.
That sounds like a wonderful time.
I was travelling with Antrak several times last time I was in USA. Miami to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Cincinnati, Memphis to New Orleans and New Orleans to Chicago! It was absolutely amazing and I really miss those days of travling around in USA!🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲❤❤❤
The U.S. passenger train system lags so far behind those of other developed countries. But considering that what we have now is a mere shadow of what the U.S. once had, we’re lucky to have any passenger train routes at all.
It is so difficult to get people out of their suvs and cars nowadays. And until the politicians show some political will, we will permanently lag the world in this area.
Believe it or not.
The Amtrak train from LA to Chicago is sold out months in advance.
A ticket from Tucson to Chicago for a sleeper compartment round-trip is $1,600. It is a 51-hour train ride going no faster than 35 moh.
I found this quite well done and very interesting. As an aside, I was disappointed that no mention whatsoever was made of a regular stop in Utica, NY. Utica has one of the grandest (fully restored) passenger terminals of the old New York Central System. It is magnificent and well worth a visit.
I think I was asleep when we went through Utica. I was fighting off a bug of some kind on my first few days of travel this summer, so getting an extra hour or two of sleep here and there took priority over filming everything.
The Utica station is a jewel to be treasured, indeed.
How great of you to say that. It certainly is!@@The_DuMont_Network
As a lover of train travel,you make this so appealing. Great narratu and wonderful descriptions. Happy trails!
Really enjoyed your video. Much nicer and informative than many!☺️
Thank you! I try my best to keep each video informative but entertaining, and it’s great to hear that comes through.
You have a great narrator's voice. This was a real knowledgable video. Amtrak could learn a lot from you.
Oh YES! SO refreshing to hear a well modulated voice with proper pronunciation and inflection. As a former radio announcer myself, I enjoy so much hearing a natural voice rather than the annoying AI/Computer generated noise. We can't all be another Milton Cross, but hearing talent is a joy.
You picked a good time to ride the Lakeshore. The third sleeping car, added to the train just a few weeks ago, was on the Silver Meteor prior. With the relaunch of traditional dining, the staff that Amtrak hired was insufficient to handle patronage from the three sleeping cars that the Meteor normally carries. So one sleeping car was taken off so as not to overburden the limited staff onboard. It’s good that Amtrak chose to re-assign those cars to a route that could use additional capacity rather than take even more equipment off the rails.
I had heard about it prior to booking my ticket, and was glad to have it confirmed once I received my room number. Unfortunately, the third sleeper now means there are four sleepers worth of passengers for only one dining car, which is not nearly enough table space for even one reservation's worth of passengers (as we saw at dinner). I'm hoping to take one of the Silver services later this year, so it'll be interesting to see how the capacity change affects dining car service.
That’s a very good point. Tighter capacity means higher fares (supply and demand) but for passengers who get to travel, not having to deal with a lot of other passengers is nice. During the summer of 2019 when Amtrak operated the Empire Builder with 2 sleepers on the Portland section for a total of 4 sleeping cars, 4 coaches and a transition sleeping car. I remember hearing reports that once the westbound Builder was out of Milwaukee, no dining reservations were available. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were instances that no dining slots were available to coach passengers due to the large volume of sleeping car passengers. Chances of finding any open space in the sightseer lounge was also very dim. It is crazy expensive to book a long haul trip on Amtrak right now, but if you’re one of those who aren’t discouraged by the fares, you do get to enjoy dealing with fewer other passengers on board.
One note: the car attendant offered to stow my large suitcase in an empty roomette during a less busy run, which was super convenient.
Don't forget sometime if you are up in Toronto, take The Canadian, VIA Train #1 from Toronto to Vancouver. We just got back from a round trip returning on The Canadian, VIA Train #2 from Vancouver to Toronto. Five days, four nights! And the meals are absolutely out of this world. Thanks for a great video.
My point exactly. There is simply no reason AMTRAK should continue with the current "meal" service. The system is broke, and needs fixin'!
Love the review. As someone from Western NY I really appreciated the bit about the Grand Central Terminal. I rode the Lake Shore Limited from Buffalo to Chicago in Apri
April for my first ride on Amtrack and I love it.
I really want to go back to Buffalo just to check out the terminal. It's a shame to see it in such a state of disrepair, but at least there are plans to revitalize it in the future.
In the early 1950's both the "20th Century Ltd." and "Broadway Ltd." took approximately 16'30" between Chicago and New York. Considering today's travel time that is a major step backwards.
Plus the food was probably better back then.
It's a shame we've regressed from those days. But back then the tracks were owned by the operating railroads, so there weren't as many freight delays. Plus they made fewer stops, but still, not a good look for Amtrak.
47 1/2 MPH average. That’s if it arrives on time.
The 20th Century made the Chicago-NYC run in 20 hours in 1927. Since the Broadway Limited (PARR) matched that schedule as well, there were two express trains, running on entirely different routings, that met that standard nearly 100 years ago.
Air travel has slowed since the 1970's, ESPECIALLY if one looks at door-to-door time. Airlines don't care how long it takes you to get to/from/through the airport and the TSA certainly doesnt.
I've always loved the l lay-over in Chicago. I've almost always had time to walk up to the Art Museum, and get a sandwich to go for the train.
Those new cars look great. I'm still holding out hope for a double-deck successor to the Superliners, but I know fleet management practicalities make that unlikely even if they manage to work around the accessibility challenges. That in mind, I'd be jazzed to see the Viewliner IIs out here in the west.
I'm also hopeful for the superliner successors. Even if they do something similar where the car body is the same but the interiors are much better, then I'll be happy.
I've always heard that old tunnel ceilings prevent double-deckers in the east. Urban legend?
@@kskssxoxskskss2189 The tunnels do indeed limit heights in the East, but it is still possible to use shorter bilevel coaches such as the Bombardier MultiLevels used by New Jersey Transit
the viewliner 2's are stupendous. The refresh looks so warm and comfortable, and there's nothing like the sunset glowing through the huge windows as the scenery rolls by. Best sleeper cars on the system without a doubt and I can't wait for more of them to get integrated into the system. I'm crossing my fingers that a similar refresh is in the works for the Superliner sleeper cars since those are getting kind of dated as well.
Never did the LSL. Did the Cardinal from Indianapolis to NYC a while back in a V1 Roomette. It was fun hanging out in the dining car because I got to dine with complete strangers at my table.
I enjoyed your upbeat thorough report and did not feel it was too long. I was hoping that the food would have improved by now but sadly I see it hasn't. I can also see from your coverage how worn out looking the Viewliner 1 Sleepers are. Hopefully they will be all replaced soon. I noticed you updated your music selections which is a nice change. Thanks for a great report!
I'm definitely going to check out AZ to Chicago. As a kid in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, I traveled all about the country via train with my mom. I remember loving the experience. It's been 50 years since I've taken a train trip. Thank you for sharing this review.
Wow! You are so fortunate. I'm a sixties and seventies kid, and all I saw was the dismantling of a once great US train system.
Wow I enjoyed your trip report as I have learnt so much about Amtrak viewliners & GE Genesis locomotives.
I have train models of viewliner sleeper, budd company's amfleet cars & GE Genesis locomotives. So, this vlog made me to learn more about the reality of my model train too. Thank you! 😍
I got to use union stations redcap service and got a ride to my train and I'm grateful for it bc after a week vacation my feet were done and its a long walk from the great hall to the train lol 😂
I am making this trip in a few weeks. This video makes me look forward to the trip. Made it last year as well. Awesome experience. Amtrak staff is wonderful.
Fun fact: Lake Shore Limited is the only long distance route on the empire corridor while the rest of the long distance routes from nyc are on the northeast corridor.
True! It was unfortunate that we were so late getting into New York, as the views down the Hudson River valley are spectacular. Fortunately, my train out of NYC the next day headed up the Hudson, so I got to see it regardless.
@@LonestarTrips the best views on the Lake Shore Limited are the great lakes which on the video I barely see Lake Erie along with the Hudson River and several mountains in the empire state. I think Lake Shore Limited is the most scenic long distance route from New York City outside the other long distance routes such as the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited and Coast Starlight. Another scenic viewliner train could possibly be the Cardinal since you get to see the great mountains of West Virginia and the big long bridge.
I’ve taken this train twice and it’s one of my favorites on Amtrak. Then again, the only other LD trains I’ve been on are The Cardinal and Pennsylvanian. I’d love to go back to Chicago via The Lake Shore Limited.
@@97nelsn that sounds quite cool
I've been on the Lake Shore Limited (aka, the Late For Sure for people who have taken this route, including myself, three times). It is a nice train ride 😊.
My first visit to your channel. You have done an excellent job on this video, Top notch presentation ,of all the details. I will be viewing other in the future. Thank you for this feature.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad you enjoy my content, and I look forward to seeing you in the comments on future videos.
Your very welcome.
Loved your narration, complete and thorough. Good video 👍 ❤
Coming from Austria, Europe, I still have to try Austria's ÖBB Nightjet (a new series of Nightjet trains are on their way and in operation maybe next year)
I’m doing this exact trip in March. I called and I’ll be in the Viewliner II!
Really enjoyed this video. I railfan the Lake Shore Limited every Sunday morning as it heads East through Willoughby, OH. Was always curious as to the inside of the train. You "lucked out" seeing Cleveland in the light, while I'm sure the 4 hour delay was an inconvenience. Might even consider this route to see family in Boston someday. Thanks for the informative review.
I highly recommend antrak for Trevalingbof any sort. Me and my GF took the 184 out of Richmond, VA - Providence, RI and the Ride was unbelievable. We went through DC, Baltimore, Phili, CT, NJ and more! The cars or def more than Spaciouse and Amtrak has Yards along the corridor about every few hours. Great for railfaning and saving money all in 1.
When you are traveling east or west between Syracuse and Schenectady, you are passing along the Mohawk River.
There is very little left of the actual Erie Canal. Almost all of it has been filled in and is mostly bike paths now.
Also, the canal was located on the south side of the river, not the north side where the AMTRAK trains run.
One last fact, the station at Albany is actually in Rensselaer across the Hudson River.
(a really stupid decision made back in 1968, there's no easy way to get to the Rensselaer Station from downtown Albany)
The original Albany Union Station is still standing in downtown, but is now a credit union.
Nice review! I love the Viewliner II design, but hate the flexible dining that many trains are still stuck with. I have a sneaking suspicion that the former Amtrak CEO who killed traditional dining service in favor of this "flexible" nonsense isn't subjecting himself to such terrible food on a regular basis!
Thanks! The flexible dining should really never be an option for sleeper passengers. If you're paying for a room and the "first class" service, then you should get first class food. No questions asked. Maybe someday the Amtrak CEO will try some of the options on flexible dining and realize what we're dealing with.
I agree 100% it’s really a shame we deserve much better plus the cost
I didn't think the flex dining was too bad, just not great. Now we went on the Silvers a month ago and they had what I call "real food" cooked by a chef and it was incredibly good.@@LonestarTrips
The Flexible Dining could be acceptable but you need to choose items on the menu that are suitable for microwave - which - looking at the menu and the video they definitely do not. The food looks like a really basic tray meal for medium-distance flight with a bad budget airline. I want to take the Empire Builder or the Canadian next Spring. The Canadian's food is excellent. I hope the Amtrak West Coast food is still Traditional Dining. If not I reckon McDonalds would make a killing with small take-away outlets on the platforms at every 2-3 stations on long journeys.......
It is expensive to drag along more crew for a handful of people who want full meal service, most people are happy with snacks
My first time on the Amtrak I had a wonderful experience my first trip was last year before Thanksgiving I went to go travel and see my little sister for the holiday and my eyes was glued to the window as i was enjoying my train ride through Michigan I had the best time ever. I don't Care what nobody says Amtrak is the most beautiful and greatest way to travel.
Also as a local thanks for pronouncing Albany and Schenectady correctly 😂
Of all the train travel videos I've seen so far yours is the best. Great show!
Excellent review of the roomette and train. In 4 weeks I’ll be taking my first long distance journey aboard the Empire Builder. I booked a roomette and look forward to a scenic and comfortable trip.
I’m so glad the COVID microwave dinners are a thing of the past. I am anxious to try true dining, that I’ve heard is pretty good.
Oh oh! I looked at the date of your video, August 2023. They still serve those meals? Terrible
Only on some routes. All routes that had traditional dining prior to COVID have it again now, plus the Silver Services.
So yes that means you will have good food on the Builder :) I just was on it this summer and can confirm, it's good stuff
Great review and thanks for taking the time and effort to make it and a BIG thumbs up.
Thanks a lot. It's always wonderful to hear people enjoy the reviews and that the effort I put in isn't for nothing.
My one experience with the shower was that it took a LONG time to get warm water to come up. The pressure was also not great. However, it was better than the standard Navy shower I had in the service. It was also nice getting showered, freshened up and ready to pull into Chicago on the Cardinal (#51).
I also prefer to sleep in the upper bunk of the roomette.
Nice to see you had a good trip and luckily no derailments. I appreciate the extra large garbage can and the hot water on the shower. The dining car is really nice and I would like to order some sandwiches and eat them in back in the room with. Also the sink is unreal; just throw all your trash in the trash can and then go to the ding room and get smores. I took a trip last time we had coach car in back and baggage cars in the front with out a toilet.
It sounds like, if one will have a layover in Chicago during a meal time (f.ex., lunch), one should pick up food before entering the Metropolitan Lounge. The Viewliner 2 roomettes seem much nicer than those on a Superliner. (Now, if only the Viewliner roomettes could be combined with the traditional dining on Western Superliner routes!)
There's a food court with a few options inside Union Station, which is where I got dinner before heading into the lounge. You can exit the lounge and re-enter as you please if you wish to drop off your suitcase, as the lounge hands out color coded passes upon entering. All you need to do is present the pass when re-entering the lounge, and they'll let you back in no problem.
“The continuous operation of the rail road” oof that actually made me laugh i wish we still had a consistent 24/7 transit system
Edit: also 11:20 is the perfect example of why i laughed after being hours behind schedule Amtrak is still forced to sit and wait for freight trains even though those same freight companies are the reason this train is delayed 😅 yet freight rail companies swear they don’t do this LOL
One of the problems is often that the sidings are too small for the freight trains to sit at so the passenger trains have to be the ones who sit on the sidings. The answer is separate passenger tracks but don't hold your breath.
@@biotrekker I know that’s a major problem but ultimately the real problem is the FRA refusing to regulate. It should be the law that train lengths are capped to ensure passing is allowed or they should be fined a percentage of their company worth not amounts of money the rail executions blow on a lunch. I personally think the federal government should use the frequent rail disasters that seem to happen all the time now as an excuse to nationalize the rail roads. That would probably resolve A TON of issues almost instantly by allowing the FRA and DOT to bill freight companies to finally maintain the rails and the private companies that have not been nationalized due to safety concerns will be forced to maintain realistic safety standards again.
I think that would also allow private passenger rail companies to start popping up all over. I think this would be the case because anytime someone wants to make a passenger train the freight companies kill it before it can even be fully planned (other than brightline which is owned by the FEC railway and was able to completely expand its infrastructure using federal dollars lol on top of becoming a passenger rail monopoly essentially). Of course I understand this will NEVER EVER happen but it’s fun to think about what North America could be like if freight rail monopolies didn’t have the US and Canadian governments by the balls lol
I do love train travel and I often take Amtrak into Chicago. However, my enthusiasm for the overnight Eastern US trains has dimmed since they introduced the microwave meals. I loved the food on my trips to Texas, when the food was cooked to order. I'm not highly motivated to take any of the Eastern trains now. I hope Amtrak changes some of the longer trips back to traditional dining.
I hope they do to but I won’t count on it. They are definitely saving more money with the microwave garbage and less staff. They probably will never go back☹️. They could at least knock some of the price of the roomette down!!!
They don't call it the "Late Shore Limited" for nothing! Too bad you wound up traveling the most scenic part of the trip along the Hudson in the dark.
Also known as the Late for Sure Limited. These long delays really make it hard to anyone on any kind of schedule to use.
Blues Brothers! Chicago train station
thank you for this review! I am taking this in about a month and these was very comforting! I did not know I have "lounge access". so cool.
those Viewliner II's look like such a wonderful upgrade. The wood veneers look so much nicer than that 90's faux-granite pattern and blank plastic sheets. That shower looks so much cleaner and comfortable too.
I've never had to do a train split before. Seems like a nuisance, to be honest.
The train split isn't bad. Usually it's not as long as the one I showed because the Boston locomotives don't have to be swapped.
It's a nice place to wander a bit, air one's legs, and even eat in the station. Breaks up the ride from Boston, anyway.
Slightly dicey topic so I'll try to thread the needle here: The absence of power will not make the door inoperative. Unless the door is manually locked or you have been told not to use them by the crew, use the finger-hold (and the 'press' latch release if needed) to manually open the door, as depicted in the sticker. In this case, not a big deal, but it's important to note since the vestibule is always the best option as an emergency exit, if available. Having said that, I'd do about what you did, just walk and watch trains outside until the HEP came back. :)
Hey man, I really enjoyed this review! I’m going to Chicago in a few days and I’m really excited! I always enjoy all your train reviews, and the information that you give always welcome. I recently got a new camera too so it would be good for my trip
Glad to hear you're heading out to Chicago! There's so much to cover out there that even I haven't touched on everything in the area yet. If you don't mind me asking, what camera did you get?
@@LonestarTrips I got the Canon T7 so I can retire my M50 MKII camera! It’s gonna be great for when I railfanning on the Métra Racetrack outside of the city
@@AcelaRailan2150 Sweet. I've always wanted to check out the Racetrack, but I haven't had the time to yet. Can't wait to see the footage!
Neat views in engine switching
I lived in Erie, PA for 10 months in the late 90's. Looking at some pictures on the internet of the Amtrak station and the platform, it looks quite poor. I enjoyed this video very much. Thank You.
Planning on visiting my cousins in Northern CA using Amtrak, taking this and then the California Zephyr, glad to see they are part of the upgrade
Just make sure you book on car 4912, as that's the one most likely to be a V2. You can change cars by calling Amtrak customer service if you're not in there already.
@@LonestarTrips thanks for the heads up
@@katepustay304 Of course, safe travels!
@@LonestarTrips Thanks, whenever it happens, I'll be safe. The trip was supposed to happen a while ago, but a certain event ruined the fun.
Sorry I missed the premiere but I'm definitely excited to watch the video🙏🏾
No worries about the premiere! Glad you're here to enjoy it on your own time.
Great video! I'll be doing the South West Chief in October! This will be my first Amtrak experience!
You won’t be disappointed. Sleeping car passengers on that train are served freshly cooked meals, prepared on board, instead of prepackaged microwave food that’s on this train and many others. Coach passengers are allowed to dine in the dining car, and there are great views to enjoy from the train’s sightseer lounge.
@@johnsons74thsquadron74 awesome! I'm travelling in a Roomette, which I've seen a number of people review and I'm looking forward to it!
They can't ditch that disgusting flex dining soon enough!
I couldn't agree more. My hope is that traditional dining will return to the LSL next year, as they recently added it back to both Silver services.
I was on the Texas Eagle, recently. My sleeping car attendant told me there is a possibility that Amtrak has plans to return traditional dining to that train in October.
@@johnsons74thsquadron74 wow, that would be great!
@@johnsons74thsquadron74I hope so, the best part of that trip was the dining car meals
Hope you had a great trip otherwise, apart from the unexpected delays. Oh and as for when you came through Utica, aforementioned, I now work on a slightly different schedule. I mainly run the local and Mountaineer trains to and from the Thendara station depot and yard, which is still within the Oneida County area but 20 some miles away from the downtown Union Station in Utica.
Personally, I prefer the toilets in the room, but I can understand why some wouldn’t like it. As much as the process of flying (TSA) gives me stress, I try to go by train when possible.
Nice cars, despite the horrible operation
I am most familiar with the Pacific Coast Starlight Express for overnight travel and I am very happy with the fresh food on that car in the dinning car, the accommodations in the sleeper roomette, and shared bathroom facilities for the couchette. This new Viewliner 2, especially with only the microwave meals, does not induce me to take this train, even if there is a basin in the room .(I agree that a toilet in the cabin is not a good idea, but if I did need a toilet immediately available I'd probably choose a full cabin or accessible option.) I love taking the train and want to see Amtrak succeed, but I'm not sure this is going to do it. Bring back parlor cars and keep fresh food, please!
Nice video. I’ll be riding it westbound in late October. Hoping that the windows are reasonably clean. Looks like on your train they were a little bit dirty but I’ve seen worse. Also, hoping that someday they bring back traditional dining to this route.
Does anyone know how to tell if your sleeper will be a viewliner 1 vs 2? And when are the viewliner 1's slated to be retried? Amazing video!
My friend commonly takes the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to Cleveland whenever she comes back from visiting her dad, after a very bad experience on Amtraks Capital Limited. Luckily, any time I have had to pick her up or drop her off at Cleveland’s Amtrak station, the Lakeshore is usually running at most 10 minutes behind schedule! Too bad the bridge over the portage river was causing issues for your journey.
I had the butter milk pancakes on the Texas Eagle last spring break and I thought they were pretty good and were much better than I had expected. They were about as good as I most of the other pancakes I had had at restaurants.
I'm all about the VL1, the toilet is a fascinating aspect of the room that appeals to my sense of weird. My wife, in her sane normalcy prefers the VL2
Hey, I was there for the Cleveland one. I might have saw you(I have no idea what you look like but maybe, haha) I noticed it was running really late so I went over. If you saw a guy standing on the overlook on top the convention center, that was me! lol
I like Metra and Amtrak trains, in fact I want to go to Boston by train.
If you think having a toilet right next to where you sleep is disguising, don’t ever go to jail😂
I thought I was distracted and missed the coverage of Rochester and the spectacular view of the "High Falls" on the Genesee River, but.. you went straight from Buffalo to Syracuse, totally bypassing Rochester. ;-(
Unfortunately, I think I was asleep lol. I was fighting off some kind of a bug on the first part of my adventures this summer, so getting any sleep I could was key.
I just came back from NYC on a View liner 1 that had a toilet in the room, but my bed was made up with my head on the opposite end of the toilet! I was surprised you slept on that end by the sink?
The need to bring back TRADITIONAL dining back to this train and stop serving crap!!!
Some passengers experience motion sickness while facing away from the direction of travel. The bedrooms alternate, so that in some bedrooms the "main" seat faces the rear of the train. There are also some segments where the entire car is going the "wrong" direction. The folding chair addresses all these situations. It is present in all Amtrak equipment -- both Viewliner I and 2 and also the Superliner equipment.
For those of us who have reached the age where at least one night-time trip to the bathroom is a necessity, the Viewliner 2 forces three choices: (1) Upgrade to a bedroom at more than twice the cost (on the Lakeshore), (2) Use a plastic urinal during the night, or (3) navigate half the length of the car in the middle of the night. I'm unwilling to do option 3. Are you sure that you prefer option 2 to the older Viewliner 1 approach? I used Viewliner 1 roomettes for decades and never had any issues at all. As you observe in the video, there is only one orientation for sleeping in the Viewliner 1 roomette.
Given what sleepers cost, it would be nice if Amtrak DID provide maple syrup, but what was depicted was most definitely not!
Eagerly waiting for the Viewliner 3, and Superliner 3 re-designs. I can only imagine the changes that are coming
I'll be traveling the same but in reverse direction. 😊
Enjoy the ride! And hopefully you don’t end up as delayed as I was 😆
34:17 I burst out laughing at the tone of disgusting. I was palm slapping my mattress and in tears.
Lowkey, i don’t think it’s nasty., however the smell may say otherwise if the water spray doesn’t do a great job shoving everything down. If there were even a spec of doo left, the night would be unsleeping 😂
19:40 - "FUN TIMES IN CLEVELAND TODAY! CLEVELAND~"
Buy a house for the price of a VCR!
Awesome video
Thanks a ton for the Super Chat, and I'm so glad you enjoyed! I'll be sure to add you to the list of supporters for the coming month.
@@LonestarTrips of course! 🙌
You're generous with your food grading. To me, a meal is a 1 if the main has to get tossed.
The US has a lot of catching up to do compared with Japanese rail lines, which are privately owned. In both technology and comfort, Japanese rail lines are far superior. Japanese trains are on time, barring a natural disaster like an earthquake. Coupling is fast with no human intervention. They're all electric. Faster and a smoother ride. Doors lock from the outside with a pinpad that's reset when you deboard.
Amtrak is very industrial looking while Japanese trains have a sleek, futuristic design.
Damn Union Station is clean
I traveled on 4811 Room 2 on 8/20/23 from Union Stattion to Poughkeepsie, NY. The sleeping area was not my cup of tea, as the rocking of the train changing tracks almost made me almost fall out of bed. Felt sorry for your journey. It was some miracle that I arrived at my destination on time. Usually they have built in delays along the way for freight traffic as they have priority over passenger traffic. I had the old sleeper with the toilet. I used GPS to find out how fast we were going and from Chicago to Schenecedy we were topping 80 MPH after that we hit 110 MPH to Poughkeepsie.
Can’t Wait until The brand New Cascades trains Come out in 2026 because I’m moving to Washington state Next year 😊
3:25 This is for future reference (if you aren't already aware), be careful about that Phase III paint because they've painted several Viewliner I cars in that paint scheme. So hold your excitement until you see the inside because if you instantly get excited based on the outside paint, you may be disappointed.
I will say that there was at one point when the Viewliner II sleepers were entering service there was at least a single Viewliner I that seemed to have been painted in Phase III as well so it's not always a guarantee that you're on a Viewliner II based on livery alone. Best way to confirm which type it is is to look between the boogies/trucks that they ride on. If it all looks like one smooth sort of set up then it's the modern Viewliner II. If it is a bunch of separate boxes and stuff then it is the Viewliner I.
I'll also say that Amtrak probably should've ordered a lot more Viewliner II's as well.
When the superliners and viewliners get old, Amtrak should get double decker siemens trains to replace them
Wow 2 trains connected together 1 going to Boston and 1 going to NY so it doesn't matter where your going you don't have to transfer anywhere since the 2 trains are connected together and they get taken apart at albany and go different ways from there right? But is there still anyway you could still take the wrong train since you could accidentally ride in the wrong part of the train if your going to NY or no cause the conductor will tell you which part to ride in if your going to NY?
Can't wait!
😄
Also to answer the message you put in the chat, it's going to be about as long as the Coast Starlight video, so bring some popcorn.
@@LonestarTrips Oh okay haha
So hyped
@@arava.kapoor2964 Yup me too!!
The nightlight should be an amber color so as not to be annoying. The blue light would keep me up at night. Besides showers, do the trains have toilets?
Of course they do in coach cars no showers but 2 restrooms and at least one coach car has an ADA bathroom but anybody can use those. Also in viewliner 2 cars they in the sleepers they have 2 restrooms at the end of the hall. Only viewliner 1 sleeper only have bathrooms in your roommate and no public bathrooms but then you can either use the toilet in your room, walk to a viewliner 2 car if it has one, or walk to the coach car
I used to take the Texas Eagle frequently between Chicago and Dallas when I still lived in the US, and I really enjoyed the fresh-cooked meals in the dining car. I see now there’s only the “flexible dining” option on that train, which is too bad
Thanks!
Thanks for the superchat!
nice trip report, I hear the horn from this train when it passes by , would be an interesting trip but so expensive from ROC to CHI in the roomette
It's worth the experience if you ever get the chance (Or whenever Amtrak adds traditional dining back to this route).
23:36 I'm not surprised the kebabs were a bad choice. "Plant based protein?" Yeah, not a good sign.
The food options in the lounges were a victim of COVID.
Pretty much that, but people commenting here didn't seem to notice that detail, though.
Yep. These businesses that had to operate on the cheap during COVID are totally taking advantage of us now, not to mention making money hand over fist.
Shower is still public, though. I'd rather have an in room shower and private bathroom
Literally no one uses the public shower. It’s far bigger than the private showers and way more comfortable (no toilet in the way), with a separate section dedicated for changing and drying off. It’s basically a private shower without any of the cons.
@@BlownMacTruckI respect what you're saying but my OCD would never permit me to use a public shower with any degree of comfort. I have used public restrooms over the years but it's always been a struggle.
the guy doing knee bends at the 21:00 mark looks like the Grounded Life Travel dude
I actually say Lake Shore Limited train 49 last night, doing 78 miles an hour, the train passes through my home town so its pretty common to hear it and see it if your up early or wait for the night train
Flex dining kills me. One of the selling points I would give to people on trying Amtrak was the prepared food
I am going to Washington DC and va on Friday so no Saturday video What is the drawbridge at 11:01?
The drawbridge is the Port Clinton Railroad Bridge.
Did you have to exit while the locomotives were being changed?
It took us about 25 hours to get from Chicago to NYC in 2019 lol. Really wish I could have seen a view of NYC at night coming into the city, but sadly we went along side it and didn't see much except the tall buildings.
It's nice how you cover the amenities so thoroughly, but really (!) we would love to see more scenery along the route...just saying
I would love to, but there's only so many times I can show generic American woodlands before people start to click off.
Arriving on a late train in the middle of the night with no hotel reserved -- dumped on the street side to fend for yourself. I say thanks to Gob Amtrack.
Early 50s I made several trips via New York Central RR between Chicago and Boston - Lv Chicago around 3 in the afternoon - Arr Boston around 7:30 next AM. Same for reverse - Boston to Chicago. I guess we've achieved some kind of progress there - ( In the MID 50s I was driving Chicago to Boston in about 24 hours - plus or minus , and that was before the interstates got done - US 6 from Illinois to Ohio then US 20 to east of Buffalo NY then NY Thruway to Albany then US 20 ( I think ) to Boston )
Really loved travel by train when I was stationed in Japan in late 50s , and lived there in early 70s.
Anyway, now that we have solved the surface transportation problems here in the US, I guess we're ready to solve global warming or whatever else ails us .