My First Train Trip -- First Leg

Train Leg One of Two

We got up from our hotel bed at 3:00 am Friday morning to get ready for our 4:45 am departure.  I checked the train status and was informed that it was running thirty minutes late.  We were already up, so no additional sleep for us.  Since we had to park the car near the terminal, we left around 4:15 am.  When we got in the terminal we found that the train wouldn't be at Flagstaff until about 6:00 am.  Oh, well!  As some of you know, passenger trains defer to freight trains, so the delay was for the train to pull into a side track and wait for freight trains to pass.

Our roomette was much smaller than pictures portrayed.  We had taken two medium-sized bags (and a brief case for me and a cosmetic bag for my wife and a bag of snacks).  Getting up the narrow steps to our second-floor roomette was a challenge with all of that stuff.  Note to self:  put the bags into the cubbies on the first level and carry only a small bag for the things needed on the train into the room.  Here are some pictures of the hallway (about 18 inches wide), the roomette and the roomette with beds unfurled:

I'm a light sleeper, so I had little sleep that night.  The train didn't rock me to sleep, especially since it jerked around a lot.  The train whistle also was distracting since it had to be sounded every time the train was at a crossing.  My wife (being more agile than me) had the top bunk and had no problem with her sleep.

The meals on the train are included with being a "sleeper."  They were very good, and since Amtrak puts other people with you at tables for four, we enjoyed those who were also at our table.  They came from many other places and were traveling to  many locations.  What the trains really need are exercise cars since we ate more than we normally eat and had little space to exercise in.

The train made up its time, and we arrived in Chicago only about fifteen minutes late.   Being "sleepers," we were entitled to stay in the lounge to await our next leg of the trip.  Supposedly, the lounge had wi-fi, but it was not working.  I was told that it is up and down most of the time.  So I just read e-books and played some word games on my Kindle.

I'll cover the train trip from Chicago to Cincinnati on my next blog.  Stay tuned!