Sept. 2-3, 2023: Back to the rust belt
I confess that it hasn't been that long since my last train trip, which you might have read about. I find that there is a certain withdrawal symptom that comes from any train trip -- after I finish one trip it isn't long before I begin pining for the next one.
So it's with that in mind that I this summer I planned a "triangle" type route throughout the Midwest, which will give me a chance to ride a couple of trains I haven't been on before, one being the famous Acela. I convinced my friend Eric to come along for the ride from D.C. to Chicago, Boston and then back to D.C.
The first leg, Amtrak's westbound Capitol Limited, I won't go into too much detail about since I wrote about it during my last trip. Like my last trip on the Capitol, the consist featured only three Superliners today: a coach car, sleeper and dining car. I lament the equipment shortage Amtrak has been experiencing since the start of the pandemic. As late as 2019 this train was running 7-8 cars, including a sightseer lounge car.
Departing just about on time, we slowly chugged out of the busy Union Station yard past the Amtrak maintenance facility. As it happens, we will pass many maintenance facilities on this trip.
We pulled into Cumberland at 7:30 p.m., running just slightly behind. It was just about dark at this point, although the town was still visible. During my May trip there had been slightly more daylight when we reached Cumberland since the sun sets much later during that part of the year.
When I stepped off the train I was able to get a look at the locomotives pulling our train this day. The lead locomotive was a standard GE Genesis, but the second locomotive was one of Amtrak's new ALC-42 locomotives built by Siemens. This is Amtrak's new fleet of engines that use considerably less fuel than the current diesel fleet that's been in service for the past 30 years. Amtrak has slowly been phasing in the ALC-42s on long distance routes over the past year.
I won't go into detail about my attempt to get any sleep, as it was basically the same as every overnight trip I've taken in coach since the age of 15. The good news is our train kept rolling along through Pennsylvania and Ohio during the night, making only one unscheduled stop from what I could tell.
As was the case with my last trip on the Capitol, our train arrived in Waterloo, Indiana around the time the sun began to come up. This was followed by a stop at the ornate Elkhart station, and the 1970's-era South Bend Station, which you'll recall is in a makeshift structure. Eric, using his Amtrak station evaluation methodology, was more scientific in describing the depot as "janky."
We crossed into the central time zone, and slowly made our way along Lake Michigan and crept through the Chicago suburbs. Around 8:30 a.m. local time, we were making our way through the big beautiful train yard just outside of Union Station.
When we got into the station, Eric and I checked into the Metropolitan Lounge to store our luggage, and take a bit of a breather. We had about 12 hours until it was time for our next train, the Lake Shore Limited, to leave. Eric suggested we head down to Navy Pier since it was a nice day. We caught the bus from just outside the station, and rode several blocks East.
This was one part of the city I hadn't been to in all my trips to Chicago. 
I was quite impressed with the area. The juxtaposition of the lake and the city skyline makes for nice views, particularly here. And the retail portion was nice as well.
We also chose Navy Pier for our morning stroll, because a Giordano's Pizza is there -- one of Chicago's world famous deep dish establishments. We got there right when the place opened for lunch at 11 a.m., and when we left more than an hour later there was a line. The pizza takes a while to bake (45 minutes to an hour), but if you want good deep dish this is the place to go!
I had one other place I wanted to swing by while we were still in the Windy City. I had never been to Wrigley Field in my five previous trips here. The Cubs weren't in town, but at the very least I wanted to see the outside of one of the oldest and most storied ballparks in America. To get there, we walked several blocks from the pier to the Grand Avenue station on the red line of the L. This was also the first time I had used Chicago's subway system. It felt very old school, similar to New York's subway, in that there were a lot of people with limited seating on our train. But despite the close quarters, it was for sure an authentic public transit experience and I wouldn't have picked any other method of travel.
After perhaps a 20-minute ride, we reached the Addison station on the north side of town. During our ride we emerged from below ground and began riding on elevated track as we continued north. After disembarking, we descended a long set of stairs to get down to the street level.
Wrigley Field is right there after you get off the train. Something about the place just tells you it's old, and full of history. It feels similar in some ways to the proximity of the New York subway to Yankee Stadium, although not quite as overwhelming and congested in this case.
After browsing the gift shop, Eric and I headed to the L to make our way back downtown. The day had grown rather hot for a September afternoon, and it was time to rest up a bit back at the station.
One of the advantages to the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago -- showers! Yes indeed. The restrooms include complementary showers for travelers with tickets to the lounge. And I must say, it felt quite refreshing after a 17-hour train ride in coach, and half a day spent schlepping around the city.
The only downside to taking an evening departure is that I had still had several hours to kill. But it's a small price to pay. I brought a laptop and a book.
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