Amtrak America's passenger rail service

Donut417 · August 7, 2023

Recently I took a trip out to Colorado. I decided to go by train. Firstly I just wanted the experience. Secondly the Airlines treat passengers as cattle.

To get out there I had to take two trains because Im coming from Michigan. Firstly there was the Wolverine 351 that went from Dearborn Michigan to Chicago and a few stops in between. Secondly I took the California Zephyr 5 from Chicago to Denver. On the way I took the California Zephyr 6 and the Wolverine 354. Im going to take you thru the process and how each train did.

For reference Amtrak allows 2 carry on's, and 2 checked bags for free, unlike the greedy Airlines. I took two carry on bags.

Wolverine 351

This train departed from Dearborn Michigan at 6:44AM. Got to the station early. Was surprised that the station itself was not open. However you can literally just walk up to the train, so I went up to the conductor to make sure I was in the right place. I just go on, there is no security like the airport. It was first come first serve on seating. Technically speaking there was WiFi, but I never got it to work. The seats are not the worst but they are not that comfortable either. Unlike planes you can get up and walk around, just have to be careful as the train is not smooth when going down the tracks. Of course there are bathrooms, and that was a challenge in its own right. There was a cafe car but I did not partake. We rolled in to Chicago around 11am, which was about 30 min or so late. I had a 2.5 hour layover so not really any issues.

Chicago Union Station

Go off here and the plan was to get lunch. Because I was doing a sleeper car for the next leg I was allowed to use the Metropolitan Lounge, they can stow your bags so you can explore the station. I ended up going to Jersey Mikes and brought it back to the lounge to eat. They do offer free beverages and snacks as well. Eventually they will call you for your train and walk you to the platform.

California Zephyr 5

This train ended up leaving at 2pm. I ended up booking a Roomette. Its kinda small, I would say it was a enough for me but according to Amtrak its made for 1 to 2 people. I can tell you two people my size was not going to fit. You have two chairs that can fold down to make a bottom bed and a bunk up top. I choose to use the bottom bed. You have ceiling lights, two reading lights, one for each chair, climate control and 1 power outlet. Because you are paying big money to do a sleeper, you have meals included in the dining car. At about 3 or 4 pm they came by to see what appetizer you wanted as well as what time you wanted to do dinner (5:30, 6:30 or 7:30). I did mine at 5:30 and they make an announcement when they are ready for you. If you choose to eat in the dining car like I did, you are seated with random people if your party is less than 4. I ended up having a salad as an appetizer, I then went for the steak with mash taters, with some green beans and wax beans in a wine sauce. I have to say that Chef Gordon Ramsay himself would have been impressed. Amtrak has some good food. For desert I have a piece of cheesecake.

Now a few things about the sleeper cars. I was on the top floor because they are double deckers. We had one bathroom on our floor and there were at least 2 on the bottom floor and a few showers. I didn't use the showers. There is a coffee station also on each floor for the morning time. Breakfast starts at about 6:30a, I didn't partake because we were suppose to get in to the station at 7:15am. After about 10p to like 7am is quiet time in the sleepers so they dont make announcements during this time. So they wont announce breakfast until the quiet time is over.

I brought my steam deck and macbook with me. I stared out the window a lot just because I was traveling in parts of America Ive never been to. I watched a few movies on my Macbook as well to pass the time. In the end we ended up pulling in at 8:15 am, so an hour late. Which wasn't an issue as my friend who was picking me up woke up late.

Denver Union Station

Getting off here there is a lot. Firstly the station seems to also support light rail services as well. The station itself has restaurants and such BUT it also has a hotel. No I did not stay there. Parking was a mess, as in there was not much of any. I ended up walking out of the station and my friend saw me and stopped to pick me up.

California Zephyr 6

So this train was suppose to depart at 7:10p. Thing were not clear at the station on where I was suppose to go, so I went up to the ticket counter to ask. They told me what track number and also stated the train was running late and probably wouldn't be here till 7:10p. No worries right? Welp they roll on it at 8:45pm or so. I have a sleeper for this leg. This time on the bottom floor. The car attendant Tony was great, really nice and friendly, had a very pleasant attitude. I basically went to bed after I got on. There was some talk that they could make up time due to the lateness which was caused by high temperatures in the Rockies and they were concerned about the integrity of the rails, so they went at a blistering 10 MPH for hours. I wake up pretty early like 5 AM. At about 7 AM I go to breakfast which is first come first serve. I had the french toast with seasonal fruit. Pretty good. The car attendant put my bed up by the time I got back. I ended up watching some movies and watching the status of our train. See I had to catch the train back to Dearborn later that day. We were suppose to get in to Chicago at 2:50 PM, we rolled on at about 7:11pm. My other train was suppose to depart at 5:50pm. So when we got close to Chicago I was talking to my sister and she offered to drive the 7 hours from Michigan to Chicago to get me.

Chicago Union Station

Before we got to Chicago some of the people who missed connections out of Chicago got off at the stop before and were being bussed to the next station where there train was going to be. The rest of us were told to talk to customer service when we got to the station. I noticed that my next train was delayed but Amtrak's App is not that great and I thought it had left just minuets' before I got there.

I waited in the customer service line and was told that in fact the train I needed to catch was still there. Some kind of mechanical problem. My sister was happy she didn't have to pick me up. The plan was I was going to try to get a refund for that leg of the trip and she was just going to pick me up form there because the next train to Michigan was at 7am. There was some event going on in Chicago and probably no hotel rooms available. Amtrak I was told could put us up in a hotel room or find other accommodations like a bus.

Wolverine 354

This is the train I was suppose to get on. It didn't leave till just before 9pm. I was in coach for this leg of the trip. We start going and we are way behind. We are all tired and some were pretty pissed. All's good until Battle Creek Michgian. So this is where the clown show begins. They had to do a crew change. The issue is the crew was still at the hotel. They told us the crew would be there at 1am, the issue was that was announced at 12:20am. Mind you we were blocking a railroad crossing as well. One car waited for like 40 min to cross and ended up backing up and turning around. Just after 4 AM we got to Dearborn where I was getting off. Originally the train was suppose to get there at 11:37pm.

Over all I did enjoy the experience. I met some nice people on the train and compared to flying it was sooooo much better. Yeah it takes longer to get to your destination. Amtrak is compensating me for my trouble with some travel vouchers, Im not sure how much but they did email me. The other addvantage to train travel is no TSA confiscating your liquids. You can bring on your own food and drink. You can bring bikes with you as well. Granted my trip cost just less than $1,400 Amtrak does not try to nickel and dime you like the airlines. Also I did compare prices with Delta Airlines and for the slightly better seats on the plane it would have cost just as much mor more. The seats in coach on Amtrak are definitely made for bigger people like me. I would definitely consider traveling by train in the future, as far is I am concerned I will hopefully never have to fly.

A few pointers I would like to provide. Try to pack light if you are doing a sleeper or check any bigger luggage you have. Now that being said, not all trains to checked bags, the Wolverine for example doesn't do that, you just have space in the front and rear of the car for larger bags. Next time I probably wont take my macbook. I might invest in a tablet or just bring my steam deck. I would also bring some snacks as I heard the cafe car food is kinda expensive. Next make sure if you have to take multiple trains that you make sure you have some layover time incase something happens. What happened to me was a series of unfortunate events. I dont blame Amtrak for the train from Denver to Chicago because it was an act of god. Now what transpired on the Wolverine 354 was a bit on them.

Update: Got a $40 voucher for my troubles, good for about a year.