Amtrak Capitol Limited Thread

Took #29 on Wed/Thur WAS-CLE.

We stopped in East Palestine OH to offload a troublesome passenger.

Also, for the first time in my experience the downstairs snack bar in the Dome care was open; on my past runs it's been half of the dining car.

Just saw a alert there will be no diner over the summer....

I can survive.... I bring my own as TSA does not make me throw everything away while groping me......

george matthews wrote: I have done it on the seats from Chicago. The views of the Cumberland Gap and so on are worth seeing, and the view is better in Coach. When I arrived in DC (late)

You must mean the Cumberland Narrows, where Amtrak, a bike trail, a tourist railroad,a highway, and a small river share a narrow, very deep gorge just NW of Cumberland.

The Cumberland Gap is somewhere near the boarders of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennesee.

Thinking about taking the CL from CHI to WAS over this coming Labor Day weekend. Does anyone know how many meals are included with a sleeper reservation? Do you get dinner when you board, breakfast in the morning, and lunch before you arrive in WAS?

Eastbound its dinner departing Chicago and then breakfast in the morning. Two meals.

No lunch unless the train is late. Then they serve any leftover dinners on a first come basis. A snack pack is provided when the dinners are gone.

And I assume they still don't have a proper diner car anymore?

Correct. They call it the "sleeper lounge". I had the chicken penne pasta a week-and-a-half ago and it was very good. I had the beef entree Tuesday and it was fine.

chuchubob wrote:No lunch unless the train is late. Then they serve any leftover dinners on a first come basis. A snack pack is provided when the dinners are gone.

What’s considered “late?” There were some after 3 pm arrivals on the Capitol Limited and by no means were they breaking out any more food for sleeping car passengers despite the sleepers being VERY full for their arrival into DC. COuldn’t imagine there’d be enough boxes or anything simple to serve that many people on said late trains. Cafe was practically out of food. I was aboard one of the eastbound CL trains running late a friend was on another.

chuchubob wrote:Correct. They call it the "sleeper lounge". I had the chicken penne pasta a week-and-a-half ago and it was very good. I had the beef entree Tuesday and it was fine.

Mr V, I thought you and Mrs. swore off Amtrak travel after your Auto Train experience last year. I swore off AT when their fares for this season "pushed my obscenity button".

Gilbert B Norman wrote: Mr V, I thought you and Mrs. swore off Amtrak travel after your Auto Train experience last year. I swore off AT when their fares for this season "pushed my obscenity button".

Mr N, we swore off Auto Train.

Booked a trip from CHI-WAS in September. This will be my first trip on an Amtrak sleeper. Are the rooms assigned? How early do they let you board in CHI?

Your room assignment should be on your reservation.

I'd get to the station at least an hour early and go to the Metropolitan Lounge and check in. They'll escort you to sleeper when your time is ready.
And you can relax and possibly have snacks.

danib62 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 3:53 pm Booked a trip from CHI-WAS in September. This will be my first trip on an Amtrak sleeper. Are the rooms assigned? How early do they let you board in CHI?

Danib62, I'm very curious to know how your trip went? I'm thinking of finally taking my first sleeper trip this summer (August) and I'm leaning toward the Capital Limited (over the Cardinal or Lakeshore Limited). If I take the Capital Limited it'll be Eastbound. I'll have to train to Philadelphia followed by a Thruway Motor Coach to get home (vs Cardinal/Lakeshore followed by a bus), but it'd be in a Superliner vs a Viewliner.