Passenger Trains > A night on the Capitol Limited

I flew on Southwest from Pittsburgh to Chicago and returned on the Capitol Limited. The fare was $59.00 on Southwest and $55.00 on Amtrak.

The Pittsburgh passengers were assigned the last coach of the train. I chose a rear seat in order to look out the rear window on occasion. A few miles out, there was a wonderful view of the Chicago skyline at night.

At Elkart, one could see an NYC E-unit with lighted number boards and passenger cars which are part of the National New York Central Museum.

We passed an amazing number of westbound NS freights between Chicago and Pittsburgh.

In Cleveland, the train had to back out of the station in order to allow for #29 to enter the station and proceed westward. There was also some delay around Conway Yard.

The Capitol arrived in Pittsburgh around 6:20 a.m., around 50 minutes late. That worked out well, as by that time there was not a long time to wait for a bus to take me back to my neighborhood.

Didn't get much sleep, but riding a fast train on the smooth NS rails was very nice.

Dave

Thank you for your trip report, Dave!

Ditto, glad youy enjoyed your trip, and I know about not getting much sleep! Had tht happen on No. 3 back in June hanging out with a conductor I know and because of not reading before that I read before I carshed which was after the Kingman Crew change! Fatigue hit me hard that Friday evening after my baby brother's graduation!

Nice report. Nice to hear another positive report. Seems like everyone wants to tell about their problems (yes, those things need to be addressed) but they tend to outnumber the good news. I know what it's like not sleeping. I rode the Kentucky Cardinal from Louisville to CHI. I forgot the exact time but it was about a 12 hour trip. Left Louisville around 8P but with delays, usually got to CHI around 10A. I normally didn't sleep more than an hour. I would spend the day in Chicago and catch the train back to Louisville around 8P. We wouldn't get back to Louisville until after 9A the next morning. I might catch an hour or two of snooze. There wasn't a lot to see during the night (L&IRR basically shuts down after dark) but I didn't want to miss it if there was something.

John