Riding the Rails
For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued train travel. As a kid, I spent hours playing with my BRIO wooden train set, which was followed by an HO gauge model railroad. One of my favorite PBS shows growing up was even Shining Time Station (of course, how can you not love a children's show where one of the main characters was played by, first, Ringo Star and then George Carlin; seriously).
However, growing up in Missouri there just weren't lots of options for taking the train anywhere. We would occasionally take the Missouri River Runner over to St. Louis, but constant delays and several bad experiences (aka getting stuck on a Trailways bus for 5 hours) led to almost always driving. I eventually came to terms with the fact that long train trips just weren't in my future and did my best to enjoy road trips.
Fast-forward to 2012, fall. I'm settling into my life as a seminarian on the East Coast. One of my realizations is that, unlike back home, trains are everywhere. There is a train station not a five minute walk from my dorm. You want to go to New York? Philadelphia? Newark? (Ok, you probably don't WANT to go to Newark, but the other two?) Hop on a train and you are there for less time and aggravation than you would spend driving. It started me thinking about the possibility of taking the train between Princeton and Kansas City.
What seemed like a crazy idea to just about everyone but me (and even me at times) started to take shape into an actual plan when I looked at available routes through Amtrak. It was possible to get from Kansas City back to Princeton, granted it wasn't cheap or fast, but it was possible. As I did more research I found that on certain days there was a cheaper train between Chicago and Trenton (the closest regular Amtrak station to Princeton) and that it was going on the day I wanted to head back to school. So, it was decided. I would take the train from Kansas City back to Princeton, via Chicago. Here was my route:
I left Kansas City Union Station on Thursday, January 17th, at about 7:45am on Amtrak's Southwest Chief train and took a fairly straight shot right to Chicago. After a relaxing 2 hour layover at Chicago Union Station it was on to the Cardinal, the overnight train that would take me on the much longer, but beautiful, journey through the mountains. I arrived in Trenton about 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 8:45pm on Friday, January 18th. All told, the journey from Kansas City to Trenton took about 36 hours.
Southwest Chief
My journey began on the Southwest Chief, a train that runs between Amtrak's national hub in Chicago and Las Angeles. Like all long-distance, overnight trains the Southwest Chief is made up of a mixture of sleeper cars and coach cars with cafe and dining cars in the middle. It is also a Superliner train, which means that all of the cars are double-decker. Since I was only going to be on this train for a little over six hours, I decided to get a coach seat, even though I was a bit nervous about being cramped for the long ride. I needn't have worried! While almost every seat on the train was full, it didn't feel crowded or uncomfortable at all.
For starters, the seats were very comfortable with an amazing amount of leg room. I am what most clothing stores classify as "Big & Tall" and I could stretch out my legs without hitting the seat in front of me and move around in my seat without constantly elbowing the guy sitting next to me. Combine that with the fact that the seats recline and have leg-rests like a recliner in your living room, and it was a very comfortable ride.
However, even the most comfortable seat gets old after a while. One of the great things about train travel is that if you get tired of sitting you can get up and walk around. In this case, just a few cars forward was the lounge and cafe car. On the top (main) level was the observation lounge, a wonderful space with wide open windows and comfortable, couch-like seats. It was a great place to see the country rolling by, share in conversation with fellow passengers, and get a nice change from your coach seat. On the bottom level, accessed by a small stairway mid-car, was the cafe. With some small tables like you would find at any cafe, it offered a variety of hot and cold items ranging from cheeseburgers and chips to yogurt and fruit juices. This is where I got my lunch; and even though the burger was microwaved it was still quite good, far better than your average drive-through. Beyond the lounge car was the dining car which served full, sit-down meals; of course for a much higher price.
Between napping, conversation with my seat-mate (a very interesting gentleman, retired military), watching the scenery, and reading, it certainly didn't feel like a long ride. Before I knew it we were pulling into Chicago, Union Station.
Chicago Union Station
I had a two hour layover in Chicago between trains. If you have spent any time in a major train station, you know how hectic they can be. As the junction between light-rail or subway, commuter rail, and long-distance trains, not to mention usually busses and taxis as well, there are tons of people going every way imaginable. People are in a hurry, there are rarely enough seats if you have to wait, and it can be a touch overwhelming if you are new to the whole thing.
Luckily, one of the perks of being a sleeping car passenger (which I was for the second leg of my journey) is that you have access to the First Class Lounge, in Chicago called the Metropolitan Lounge. Here there are a wealth of comfortable seats, private restrooms, free drinks and snacks, and above all: quiet. They will watch your luggage, keep track of when your train arrives, and escort you past the check-in line so you may board faster. It was a great place to relax before I boarded the Cardinal for the last leg of my journey.
Cardinal
The Cardinal is not the most direct train to the Princeton area, there are faster routes. However, those options are both more expensive (by almost 50%) and they require an additional train change in Washington, DC. I figured that if you are on the train for that long, what's another couple of hours? Besides, the Cardinal takes you through some amazingly beautiful country and that is part of the point of train travel. Unlike air travel, where all you see are clouds and the occasional hazy view of undefined greens and blues, on the train you get to see the landscape up close and personal. It is a great way to see the country!
The big change once I boarded the Cardinal was that I was in a sleeper car. This meant I had a private room; it was like a little, rolling hotel room! There were two seats facing each other which folded down into the bed at night. If someone else had been along for the ride there was an upper bunk that pulled down from the ceiling. There was a shelf for your suitcase, place to hang your coat, a pull out table, and your own private toilet and wash-station. Click on the image to the right to enlarge. There was also a sleeper car attendant who checked in from time to time, let us know when meals were ready, brought by complimentary drinks and newspapers, and helped with luggage. He was both very helpful and friendly; he had memorized my name within 15 minutes of being on the train and made me feel very welcome.
Two huge picture windows gave you great views of the scenery, but curtains let you get some privacy (and dark) for sleeping and napping. Each room had its own thermostat and fan control, so you could control the temperature in your room. There were lots of options for lights in the room; there was an overhead light with a built-in night light (a blue light), two lights above each seat, and a light above the mirror. Simply put, my room was cute and comfortable!
Another perk of sleeper car travel is all of your meals are included. So, for the four meals I was on the Cardinal I ate in the dining car. Unlike the Southwest Chief, the Cardinal is a Viewliner train, which means it is single level (due to the shorter tunnels on the East Coast). This also means that the dining car does not have a full kitchen, but can only heat up pre-prepared meals. That being said, I was very impressed with the food. While it certainly wouldn't pass for home cooked, it was tasty with big portions. Lunch and dinner included salad and bread, plus dessert if you wanted it. The service was friendly, you ate off white tablecloths (granted they were disposable, heavy paper, but still) with actual flatware (not plastic), and the views were great.
One interesting thing for me was that, due to space, they would seat you with other passengers. This meant that I shared my meals with someone new each time. This made for great conversation and a less lonely trip. I met a wonderful retired gentleman named Larry who was on the way to visit his son (who had just returned from Afghanistan), a couple traveling to the inauguration, and a scenic artist heading back home to Philly to work with an opera company.
It was a great ride on the Cardinal. I had good food, great views, time to read and take a nap or three. I took the train almost the entire route from Chicago to Trenton; the train only had two more stops before reaching the end of the line at New York, Penn Station.
Final Thoughts
I will be honest, not everything about the trip was wonderful. Specifically, using the restroom on a train is a decidedly unpleasant experience. It is much better in the sleeper car than coach, but still not fun. By virtue of being on a train everything is very compact and efficient - it is also always moving. Using a sink that is moving is a challenge, not to mention shaving.
Beyond those small items, however, this was an amazingly wonderful trip. After even a short flight I am exhausted, a 36 hour road trip would simply do me in, but when I got into Trenton I was relaxed and refreshed. It was the opposite of stressful. Train travel is a wonderful way to go, if you have the time and money. It is cheaper and faster for me to fly back to Kansas City, by a decent margin on both. However, compared to driving the time and costs (by the time you factor in fuel, food, and hotel stays) are much closer - and the train is a much more relaxed option. I don't know that I would recommend the train every time, in fact I wouldn't, but I think that it is something everyone should consider doing when possible.
I know Amtrak gets a lot of flack for being expensive and slow, but I can share that my experience was nothing short of excellent. I would not hesitate to do it again! Below are a bunch of photos I took during my adventure. Click on any of them to enlarge the image.
Thanks for reading along!
