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2026 California Zephyr trip with Mark and Lindsay
Written by Lindsay Korst
gngoat@gngoat.org
Saturday May 23
CZ_Day3
The first day of Memorial Day weekend. Our 8:00am breakfast buffet was a MADHOUSE,
people rushing everywhere, fighting their way towards the coffee urns,
desperately shoveling food onto their plates.
As tables were scarce, we sat at the bar next to some guy yakking away in rapid Spanish on
his cell phone the entire meal. Beats me how he managed to eat anything. He reeked with some gawd-awful cologne that made
my nose run and my eyes water.
A couple hours to pack, then downstairs at 11:00am to check out, and summon a
Lyft. Our train leaves at 2:00pm. There don't seem to be many Lyft drivers
downtown this morning. We are assigned a driver who is still trying to drop off
his current fare. He appears to be circling. Aimlessly. Lyft keeps saying he
will be here in 6-7 minutes.
After 30 minutes of this, it is decided we will WALK down Madison Street to
Union Station lugging our portmanteaus. How primitive. I canceled the Lyft. We
found out later, there was a Memorial Day parade happening two blocks over and
most streets had been blocked off. What a mess. At least we were walking in the
opposite direction.
A view of the Chicago River (south branch) from Madison Street.
Turning south down Canal Street....ah, there it is. And the First Class lounge,
too!
Well....not exactly. The door below the sign required keypad access. Once
we were inside the cavernous structure, the "Metropolitan
Lounge" is nowhere to be seen. I had to ask someone.
At last. Here is the magic ticket which gained us entry and the blue bracelet of
First Class snob appeal. Some people were still wearing these things the next
day on the train.
Settling back in privileged surroundings, departures are clearly shown on the
wall. We both sampled the fine Dr. Pepper and exotic canapés put forth for our
consumption. Soon, they will walk us, as a group, down to the tracks for
boarding.
Lindsay walks the platform of Track 24 (south end) alongside
Amtrak train #5 the
westbound California Zephyr.
The Korst's are ready to go! We are in named sleeper Minnesota #32091 (car 0531).
Mark is in roomette 10 and Lindsay is in roomette 09...on the ENGINEER'S side of
the train!! (old family lore). See? That's me driving...
1400 Depart Chicago OT.
Our consist is AMTK 146 (GE P42), AMTK 153 (GE P42), Amcafe 43386, Viewliner
62034 Sleeper, Baggage 61027, Superliner Transition Sleeper 39016, Superliner
Sleeper 32098 (New Jersey), Superliner Sleeper 32091 (Minnesota), Superliner
Diner 38007, Superliner Lounge 33004, Superliner Coach 34094, Superliner Coach
31035.
The Amcafe and Viewliner were deadheading (non-revenue) to Emeryville,
California.
Very rough track [Main 1] on the old CB&Q (Burlington Route, now
BNSF Railway) as we pass
through Cicero (a big intermodal yard -- CHC if you're into train symbols).
Rita is our car attendant. She stops by to explain how our Superliner
accommodations work. The most important bit of info (for Mark anyway) is a fresh
urn of coffee at 6am every morning in the center of our sleeper near the stairs.
I finally got a good picture of Rita at Glenwood Springs, CO.
1429 Downers Grove. We are slowly rolling west, probably following a Dinkie (a
Metra commuter train).
1441/1444 At Naperville, we cross over to Main 3 for our station stop. I
didn't get a good depot picture as that was on Mark's FIREMAN'S side of
the train. ;p
1449 We blur underneath an old
Elgin,
Joliet and Eastern Railway bridge. You
can just make out "The J" logo on the right side of the girder.
1455 Now flying through Aurora, I just catch a glimpse of the Dinkie yard. Hey,
that silver/red unit appears to be
the retro-Burlington
heritage scheme Metra cooked up. A
pair of Burlington Junction Railway switchers add some color to this tableau.
Meet Walter, the Farting Dog. This was Baolu's 75th birthday present to Mark.
He's taking a look out the window "somewhere in Illinois".
Old CB&Q/BNSF rough track!! This is my second comment about the unsteady right of
way. It would not be the last.
1525 Earlville. The Dining Car guy came around, and we scored 5 o’clock seating
for dinner, YAY! Our roomettes are right over the trucks (car wheels), but next
to the diner. Bound to be a rough ride at the 79mph we are traveling.
1535 Mendota features a steam locomotive on display as we roll through without
stopping. CB&Q 4978 is a Class O-1 2-8-2 built in 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive
Works.
I have my scanner going and finally hear my first, clear transmission directed
at our train.
"BNSF
Detector, Milepost 56.9, Main One, No defects, repeat, no defects. Total axles
four eight, Out."
1557 Princeton.
Peek-a-boo! I see 7722! (a GE ES44DC diesel locomotive)
in BNSF Heritage II paint.
The guy in 7/8, next roomettes up the aisle, has a very annoying voice. He’s teaching
someone how to play rummy. Loudly. I have to slide my door shut to not hear him.
I guess you can't choose your neighbors, even in First Class.
1655 Galesburg. This is where the old
Santa Fe
Railway crosses underneath the former
Burlington Route at Peck Park.
We stop at the old CB&Q station after passing another Q steam locomotive on
display. CB&Q
3006 is a Class S-4 4-6-4 built in 1930 by Baldwin Locomotive Works.
1700 Supper Time!
Angela is our dining car waitress. She ruled the diner with an iron fist. She
was NOT a happy camper. Thus,
we are seated riding backwards in an otherwise empty car.
The dinner menu for tonight. Served on very thin
Amtrak-logoed Chinet with metal
flatware.
Appetizer: I had the "coconut shrimp" and Mark had the salad.
Adult beverage: Mark had the Rum & Pepsi whilst I tried the Ryder Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cab was kinda sucky.
Main course for both of us was Amtrak Flat Iron Steak (medium-rare) with all the
fixings. Very good (we both liked it) and highly recommended on your next
cross-country train ride!
To top things off, blueberry cheesecake hit the spot.
We sat with a very nice couple from Indiana who barely made the train in Chicago
(their connecting train was 3 1/2 hours late and they wound up renting a car).
They came running up, just as we started to board at Track 24.
1722 Burlington, Iowa
Holy cow, we're crossing the Mississippi River already! As I am actively
masticating my supper, I drop my utensils and bang off grab shots galore.
Hopefully one or two of these will turn out.
The view downstream, the view upstream.
What a dump.
Okay, maybe I was looking at it from the wrong angle. Those
filthy platform canopies sort of ruin the effect.
1911 Ottumwa.
A "Fresh Air Break" and fictitious home town of one
Corporal Walter "Radar"
O'Reilly from MASH.
This station is much more tidy-looking. By golly, there's
yet ANOTHER CB&Q steam locomotive tucked behind the depot. It is, in fact,
the
CB&Q 3001, a Class S-4, 4-6-4 built in 1930 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. They
liked their Philadelphia-built Baldwins along the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
This is a good chance to get off and check out the head-end cars. In the first
image, note the engineer crew change happening up ahead. Not enough time to run
up there and get an engine picture, though. Maybe in Denver. A photo beside the
sleeper "Minnesota" courtesy of Rita.
1930 Nighttime on the California Zephyr. Somewhere west of Ottumwa. Hurtling
thru the night.
Rita comes around to put my roomette in nighttime configuration. I watch
the procedure for future reference.
It is WARM in my room. Turning the a/c all the way up to 11, did no good). I
sleep on top of the sheets with no blanket and am SWEATING. Not good. I open my
door with the curtain drawn for a little air. On top of that, the BNSF track through
Iowa is just as rough as Illinois. If we hit a switch at 79mph, I am nearly
rolled off my bunk. Sleep is impossible. I'm just glad, I'm able to lie down.
 
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