SUMMER 2002
AMTRAK TRAVELOGUE
PART I OF V
INTRODUCTION
AND THE HIAWATHA
by Carol Larsen
ITINERARY
CITY TIME DAY DATE AMTRAK TRAIN # SVC. CLASS
DEPART
ARRIVE
DEPART CHICAGO 3:15 PM SUN 08-18 SW CHIEF 3 STD BEDRM
ARRIVE WMS. JCT. 10:04 PM MON 08-19 0330-05
DEPART WMS. JCT. 10:09 PM MON 08-19 THRUWAY 6803 UNRESERVED
ARRIVE WILLIAMS 10:19 PM MON 08-19
NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY CONVENTION
FRAY MARCOS HOTEL
WILLIAMS, AZ 86046
1-800-843-8723
DEPART WILLIAMS 4:15 AM MON 08-26 THRUWAY 6804 UNRESERVED
ARRIVE WMS. JCT. 4:25 AM MON 08-26
DEPART WMS. JCT. 4:35 AM MON 08-26 SW CHIEF 4 STD BEDRM
ARRIVE CHICAGO 4:36 PM TUE 08-27 0430-08
DEPART CHICAGO 5:08 PM TUE 08-27 HIAWATHA 339 UNRESERVED
ARRIVE MILWAUKEE 6:45 PM TUE 08-27
OR:
DEPART CHICAGO 8:05 PM TUE 08-27 HIAWATHA 341 UNRESERVED
ARRIVE MILWAUKEE 9:34 PM TUE 08-27
Once again I was traveling on Amtrak to the National Railway Historical Society convention. It was difficult to believe that it had been three years since my last Amtrak trip. The experiences are so clear in my mind that it could have been only last year. This year's convention was at Williams, AZ, a round trip on the Southwest Chief. I didn't opt for a circuitous route as I have previously, due to the lack of direct connections on possible routes.
With route cuts and schedule changes that don't allow direct connections, I regret that Amtrak presently fits my travel plans only when I attend the conventions. I was riding Amtrak every year for several years, even though it's a complicated process for me to reach the closest Amtrak station, Milwaukee, WI. One year I rode ten different Amtrak routes and a couple of other years I rode five. Amtrak lists a Thruway bus connection to a city near me, but the Hiawathas that bus serves don't connect with the proper trains in Chicago.
I had been attending the NRHS convention every other year, intending to go last year when it was held in St. Louis, MO. As it turned out, I had a time conflict, a chance to go to Philadelphia where I was born and lived for only the first three months of my life. I thought I should take advantage of the opportunity to visit my birth city, so had to pass up the convention. The short Amtrak round trip of Milwaukee-Chicago-St. Louis wouldn't have been as enjoyable as riding the long distance trains or made a very interesting travelogue.
In 1999 when I last rode Amtrak, I wasn't sure what to expect due to dining car issues at the time. This year I began to be concerned about having a train to ride at all if Amtrak was forced to shut down in July, a month before my scheduled trip. Fortunately, the government came through in time. I was on the train as planned, but wondering if this could be my last Amtrak trip. I'm not normally a pessimistic person, but you never know where the government is
concerned. With all those uncertainties, I wondered what level of service to expect and how crew morale would be. I wasn't disappointed.
As in the past, I still hire someone to drive me to the station in Milwaukee. This time Gary brought his wife, Karen, along to make a day of it with relatives there. We arrived at the station at 5th and St. Paul at 10:00 AM, which gave me time to people-watch and to program the Hiawatha and Southwest Chief radio frequencies into one of my scanning transceivers before the 10:50 AM departure.
There were a lot of people in the station, considering it was a Sunday. I’ve been accustomed to riding during the week. All those people began lining up at the gate by 10:25, so I stacked my carry-on atop my upright wheeled case and joined them. Boarding didn't begin until 10:35. The train was on the far track, which necessitated a walk down the ramp, through the tunnel, and up the far ramp. The down ramp is easy with wheeled luggage, but not so with the up ramp being a heavy haul.
The Hiawatha is operated in push/pull mode with Horizon coaches. The engine on the point was a Genesis locomotive in Phase V colors. With my luggage in tow, I'm never able to get the numbers for the Hiawatha engines or cars. Conductor Mike Burns lifted my heavy suitcase and carried it into the car for me where I dropped myself into the first empty seat.
During the ride, I entertained myself listening to my radio, mostly to HBD's (hot box detectors). We had 24 axles for a train length of 458 feet. I don't recall ever hearing the train length measurement before. Conductor S. A. Carlascio did a passenger check after our 10:50 departure and took our tickets after the Sturtevant (Racine, WI) stop.
The entire trip was uneventful except for an area just before and after Glenview, IL. We slowed for a red flag just before Glenview which I believe was for a track crew at work. I heard the engineer talking to the foreman then and to another foreman at Golf, IL, during which time we had a 35 MPH slow order somewhere in the segment between 11:51 and 12:07. Despite the restriction, we arrived on time in Chicago Union Station at 12:19.
The conductors were both busy with a handicapped passenger at the next car, so Mike wasn't at the foot of the steps when I detrained. I boosted my suitcase down the steps with my knee and was immediately swept along with the crowd into the station where I had almost three hours before the Southwest Chief departure.
CONSIST:
P42's in push/pull mode
Horizon cars
CREW:
CONDUCTORS M. T. "Mike" Burns
S. A. Carlascio
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© Copyright 2002 by Carol Larsen