To Chicago: Train lessons

May 31, 2023

For weeks I’ve fretted about the train logistics on this trip. I already had to change our destination from West Glacier to Whitefish so we could get our baggage off the train. What else could I mess up?

I had our seats booked on the 6:40 a.m. Lincoln Service train from St. Louis to Chicago, and a sleeper roomette on the Empire Builder line from Chicago to Montana. The three hour layover in Chicago seemed like plenty of time. Still, with two bikes in boxes, a third box for our recumbent seats that don’t fit within Amtrak’s 8.5” width limit for bike boxes, and a duffel bag holding two panniers, we have four big unwieldy things to check. My bike box with tools, shoes and other bike gear is close to the 50 lb. limit. The others are not quite that heavy, but I wondered how we would manage the transfer.

Unable to get any clarity from Amtrak’s customer service on how it would work, I drove to the St. Louis Gateway station downtown last week. There the ticket agent gently told me that we can’t check any baggage at all on the Lincoln Service train. D'oh! I still hadn’t caught on to those details on the Amtrak site. So some trains don’t take checked baggage, but even if they do, you can’t get them off the train at some stations. Got it.

The agent suggested we switch to the 7:55 Texas Eagle. He said they would check the baggage all the way through to Whitefish and transfer the boxes. So we don’t have to haul them around Chicago Union Station ourselves. Great! Taking a later train would cut the layover time to 1:20 but he assured me that would be enough, so I changed the tickets, again.

Yesterday I spent the day with my grandson Ronan and we stayed last night at my daughter's house. They live 10 minutes from the station and have a pickup truck that can handle our bulky load. We won’t have to lay awake worrying about traffic or an Uber that‘s late or isn’t big enough. Feeling good about all this proactivity.

One more day to play with this little goober

At 1:30 this morning I get up for a bathroom visit and notice a message on my phone: “Train 22 is currently experiencing a disruption.” The Lincoln Service train is hung up by freight train interference and running almost two hours late. Uh-oh. We need a Plan B.

Searching online for a large van or pickup truck that we can rent one way to Chicago, I find nothing available at the last minute. I might have better luck calling when the rental agencies open at 7 or 8, but the clock is ticking.

Then I remember reading in someone’s Cycle Blaze journal about renting a U-Haul. In short order I find a 10 foot truck available downtown, a block from the train station. I can reserve it online and they open at 7 am. Jackpot! It’s pricier than a car rental but at this point there’s a lot more at stake, between the sleeper room on the train I had to reserve months ago and non-refundable rooms the next three nights, not to mention the psychic investment in the whole plan.

It takes a long time to fall asleep again after all that. I get maybe another hour before the alarm goes off. Barry sleeps through it all. Good, he can drive.

By 7:30 we’re on the road, feeling confident enough about making our 3:05 train to Montana to take a quick breakfast stop at McDonald’s. The highway is pretty rough and the truck suspension isn't in great shape, so its a loud bouncy ride much of the way up I-55. Bang, bang, bang over one bump after another. No napping for me.

We hit the traffic in downtown Chicago close to 1:00. Between our confusion around Upper & Lower Wacker Street and the Google Maps arrow going bonkers on the underground parts, we make several navigation errors that cost us some time.

Eventually we find the station on Canal Street and circle the block to find a place to pull over. Barry drops me at the curb with the boxes and drives off to refuel and return the truck to a U-Haul shop eight miles away.

One by one I schlep the boxes from the curb to an elevator, then onto the elevator, then out of the elevator and into the great hall. Peering through the crowd I have no idea where to go next or how to get our stuff there. I wander around awhile and spy a Skycap ferrying two women with their bags to the elevator in his cart. I flag him down and he whisks me off with our cargo to check it all. Hallelujah!

At least the 50 pound bike box will hold the elevator for me

At check-in, just out of curiosity, I ask the agent whether the boxes would have been transferred in time if we had been on the train from St. Louis and it wasn’t late. He says they would have arrived a day after we did, on the next train to Montana. Turns out it’s a good thing that first train was late and we had to scramble and find another way to Chicago.

An hour and a quarter before departure I’m comfortably settled in the lounge thinking we’ll be ok.

The boxes are on their way, now I just have to worry about Barry making it back to the station.

The sleeper class ticket gets you into the cushy lounge with free snacks. Deluxe!

I don’t want to call Barry. He has enough to handle navigating in traffic, but after sitting for 20 minutes I can’t take any more suspense. Good news - he has just returned the truck and is calling for an Uber. Then he calls me back and says the pickup time isn’t for another 34 minutes. Argh. Guess I should have tried to schedule that in advance, but I wasn’t sure about the timing.

I start calling cab companies with no luck. Checking back in Barry tells me he cancelled the Uber thinking I’ll pull it out of the fire and a cab will appear any minute now. Double Aargh. He tries Uber again and this time the ETA is 6 minutes. Phew, this could still work.

The attendant in the lounge warns me that we need to be at the gate for our train before they lock it at 2:55. Barry reports that he and his new Uber friend are stuck in traffic. I run back out to the curb to meet him and wait for another 10 or 15 tense minutes, watching as his location on Google maps barely moves. Suddenly they pull up, he lays a $40 tip on the driver, we run down the stairs to the gates, and board the train with 9 minutes to spare. NINE.

We are so relieved to be on this train together. The seats are comfortable, both in our room and the airy observation car. I'd do an Amtrak trip again, but not with a connection. We're settled in for the next day and a half. Looking forward to moving under our own power again in Montana.

Our private roomette, with just enough space for two in facing seats. The seats fold down to make one bed, and another sleeping berth pulls down from the top. Comfortable enough.

Dinner in the dining car was quite good. I had the salmon, Barry had the steak. It is ever thus.

Crossing the Wisconsin River by the Dells

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Scott AndersonWhat an appalling story. There are so many reasons we prefer biking in Europe, but the availability of a function train system is high on the list.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Scott AndersonWe learned from experienced travelers on the train that delays are routine because the freight trains own the tracks, so Amtrak always has to wait for them. That's not something you have to deal with in Europe fortunately.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsYeesh what a nightmare. Glad it worked out okay, but who needs that kind of stress, especially when you're supposed to be going on *vacation* for cripes' sake?
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1 year ago