With the future of the former Santa Fe Raton Pass line very much in
doubt in early 2015, I resolved to make a journey over that route in
case it turned out to be my last ride over the former “Route of the
Stars”. Thus I found myself in the midst of a massive rainstorm
as I drove to Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, September 12 to catch
the northbound Silver Meteor.
After lunch with my friend and former work colleague Katie, I made my
way to the Jacksonville Amtrak station to board the on-time train #
98. Viewliner sleeper 62006, still displaying the name “College
View” on its end doors, was my home for this trip. The sleepers
were turned backwards meaning my roomette 4 would unexpectedly be on
the east side. Minutes after our 5:09pm departure I was seated in
the dining car enjoying the views as we crossed the St. Mary’s River
and passed the crowded rail fan pavilion at nearby Folkston, GA.
Twilight views of the marshes and rivers of eastern Georgia made for a
fine sight as day gave way to night. Savannah came and went then
we spent a few minutes on a siding north of Ridgeland, SC waiting for
the southbound Palmetto to sail by. The headlights of passing
vehicles on nearby I-95 made a nice sight as the Silver Meteor cooled
its heels. I turned in after Florence but awakened at
Fayetteville and observed the passage of the southbound Silver Meteor
just north of that city. I slept through the next several stops
until we stopped in Washington, DC at 6:45am. An efficient 24
minute stop was all that was required to switch out our diesel engines
for a new electric engine then we were on our way, gliding along the
Northeast Corridor. Sleeping car attendant “Larry” greeted me
with a friendly smile as he no doubt had done for hundreds of
passengers during his 43 years of service for the Seaboard Coast Line
and Amtrak. This would be his next to last trip before retirement.
New ACS-64 Sprinter engine # 602 prepares to lead the Silver Meteor at
Washington, DC
Brand new Viewliner II baggage car 61011 on the Silver Meteor at
Washington
One of the impressive river crossings on the Northeast Corridor
The dining car was not at all busy when I made my way to the Heritage
fleet diner for breakfast as we left the nation’s capitol. Our
Sunday morning stops were brief and we arrived in New York 27 minutes
early at 10:33am. With over 5 hours to kill, I divided my time
between the first class Club Acela in Penn Station and a walk around
Manhattan. It was easy to stroll to the Empire State Building
area passing the Affinia Hotel, Macy’s, and a bunch of interesting
establishments along the way.
The Empire State Building as seen during my walk between trains at New
York
Amtrak’s first class Club Acela in Penn Station
A friendly red cap took me to the westbound Lake Shore Limited well in
advance of its 3:40pm departure. When I booked the trip I was
happy to have roomette 1 as it is my favorite Viewliner room
location. I resolved to enjoy the trip along the Hudson River
from the diner or lounge car since odd numbered rooms have always been
on the right hand side. But in a stroke of good luck, the
sleepers were again running backwards from their intended orientation
so my room was on the river side. Dinner in the diner actually
surpassed the meal I had the prior night as the steak on the Lake Shore
seemed to be a better cut of meat than the prior night. The
placid Hudson River provided outstanding views from my dining car table
then I enjoyed the sunset from my room.
Passing beneath the I-87/I-287 bridge over the Hudson River north of
Dobbs Ferry, NY
Dinnertime in Heritage dining car 8502
The stylish Lake Shore Limited dining car menu
Twin Interstate 84 bridges north of Beacon, NY seen during dinner in
the dining car
The stop at Albany-Rennsalaer was uncomplicated as there were no Boston
cars to cut in since a stub train had protected that route.
Station platform construction at this stop negated switching so until
this is completed passengers from Boston have to transfer. I
settled in for the night by Syracuse and sleeping car “Tranquil View”
lived up to its name by providing a good night’s sleep.
Rear of the Lake Shore Limited at Albany-Renssalaer
The southbound Maple Leaf arrives in Albany-Renssalaer
Morning kicked off with breakfast in the diner as the train traversed
the former New York Central line across northern Indiana. A kids’
baseball field built in the middle of a cornfield west of Waterloo
reminded me of my favorite baseball movie, “Field of Dreams”. Shortly
we passed three deer in an open field before eventually making stops in
Elkhart and South Bend. The old steel mills around Gary and the
skyline of Chicago soon appeared and 40 minutes later we arrived at Chicago Union
Station at 9:46am, 1 minute late.
A farm west of Waterloo, IN
Once again a five hour wait for my connecting train awaited and I
contemplated the many options for passing the time. On past trips
I have taken commuter trains to the suburbs, visited some of Chicago’s
fantastic museums, taken a city bus tour, or enjoyed a boat tour down
the Chicago River. This time I decided to walk a few blocks to a
favorite restaurant then ride the Elevated around The Loop, something I
always wanted to do but never had. This was an inexpensive way to
get an aerial view of the downtown area and some northern
suburbs.
The Chicago River adjacent to Union Station
An elevated train approaches a station in The Loop
Trump International Hotel & Tower seen from “The L”
Back at Amtrak’s first class Metropolitan Lounge I enjoyed conversation
with fellow passengers until boarding for the Southwest Chief began at
2:20pm. As I reached sleeper 0331 I couldn’t believe my eyes as
my car was number 32111 “Texas” which years ago was the final
Superliner sleeper that I had never seen. It finally came my way on
the Sunset Limited which was running hours late giving me a chance to
only get a dark photo of the car for my collection of Superliner II
sleeper photos. To actually ride that car in roomette 2 was an
unexpected bonus.
Chicago Union Station’s Great Hall
Our 3:00pm departure from the Windy City was followed by passage
through several villages that comprise the Chicagoland area.
Dinner came as train # 3 stopped at Galesburg and lasted until after we
crossed the Mississippi River as the sun began to set. In the
dark of the night we crossed the Missouri River, the route of Lewis
& Clark and the Corps of Discovery, at 9:20pm and 30 minutes later
stopped at Kansas City for 55 minutes. My room’s location on the
right hand side allowed excellent views of a half dozen passing
freights on the nearby main line traversed by Union Pacific and
Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
Mississippi River sunset as the Southwest Chief crosses from Illinois to Iowa
Crossing the Des Moines River and entering Missouri west of Ft. Madison
Sunset in the farmlands of northern Missouri
The last glow of daylight silhouettes a Missouri farm
Overnight the Southwest Chief traversed Kansas and entered southern
Colorado in the morning. As the train departed Trindad I fired up
an I phone app that gave me speed and elevation information. The
slow climb approaching Raton Pass took us from 6103 feet to 6607 ft in
just 7 minutes and 15 minutes later we passed 7077 feet as we traveled
17 mph. The old ATSF sign marking the site of the Dick Wooten
Ranch appeared a couple minutes later and we reached the entrance to
Raton Tunnel 3 minutes after that. Here an ATSF sign noted that
at 7588 ft this was the highest point on the (former) Santa Fe
Railway. Exiting Raton Tunnel a herd of elk were spotted in a
gully below and passengers in the lounge car excitedly pointed out
other elk seen during the next couple of miles. Meanwhile, a
conductor advised me that indications are that the Raton Pass line has
gotten a reprieve that should ensure its survival for a few more years.
Sleeper 32111 “Texas” at LaJunta, CO
The head end of the Southwest Chief at LaJunta
Heritage fleet baggage car 1751 is making one of its last runs before retirement
This mountain overlooking Trinidad, CO displays the town name on top
A preserved Santa Fe sign close to the tunnel at Raton Pass
A large herd of elk spotted just beyond the Raton Tunnel
After lunch we passed Wagon Mound, Shoemaker Canyon, and Starvation
Peak, each a notable landmark along this beautiful route. Minutes
past Starvation Peak we navigated a pair of S curves that always are a
highlight and made our way over Glorietta Pass and through Canyoncito
before pausing at Lamy, NM. Eastbound train # 4, running almost 3
hours late, passed at 3:40pm and 40 minutes later we arrived at
Albuquerque 25 minutes tardy.
Raton, NM station
Las Vegas, NM station
Starvation Peak is a notable landmark west of Las Vegas, NM along the old Santa Fe Trail
Albuquerque would be my first stopover and my lodging at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel was perfectly located about 3 blocks from the train
station. This hotel was my family’s home for a week back in 2007
when son John was a finalist at the International Science and
Engineering Fair (see my article “Point Me in the Direction of
Albuquerque”). I was pleased to find
the hotel even better than ever with a perfect view of Sandia Mountain
from my spacious room and a great surrounding area for walking,
something badly needed after 3 nights on trains. Before I could
totally relax, I had more train riding to do aboard a commuter train to
Santa Fe, NM as detailed in my next story.
The Hyatt Regency Albuquerque is an excellent hotel located within walking distance of the Amtrak station
