The Lake Shore Limited: Chicago to NYC on a Viewliner 2! Amtrak's NEWEST Sleeper

hello and welcome to Chicago's Union Station today we're heading to New York City on Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited in the comfort of a viewliner 2. Amtrak's newest Sleeper Car adventure begins at Chicago's Union Station Amtrak's Midwest Hub and Gateway to the West Chicago serves an impressive 15 Amtrak routes including eight long-distance Services a number surpassed only by New York Penn Station 17. Union Station also serves six of Metro's Commuter Rail lines cementing Union station's place as the fifth busiest railway station in all of North America the first stop on any Journey out of Chicago is of course the Great Hall the Great Hall is one of the most stunning places found at any railway station in the U.S the Great Hall encompasses a massive 24 000 square feet 115 feet above which stands its beautiful vaulted skylight built in the neoclassical architectural style the Great Hall features Roman travertine walls massive columns with Corinthian capitals and a coffered ceiling with rose insets standing watch over the waiting passengers are two Statues by artist Henry Herring the piece titled night and day symbolizes the continuous 24-hour operation of the railroads included in our sleeper ticket is access to Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge the lounge is located in the main passageway just off the Great Hall access to the lounge is complementary to all sleeper and business class passengers and to Amtrak Select Plus and select executive rewards members Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge isn't super flashy but there's plenty of seating and it offers some decent amenities among those are Business Center luggage storage snacks and drinks and showers snacks can be found at the bar upon entering the lounge behind the snack bar are the complimentary drinks there are plenty of sodas water and juice and hot coffee and tea clearly there are quite a few empty slots in the refrigerator but the staff were quick to restock the missing options the food options may be disappointing but the lounge itself is spacious and comfortable so no real complaints from me plus I'm used to the lacking food options by this point the sunset over Chicago as we waited in the lounge and soon enough New York New York came blasting out over the PA system indicating it was time for departure [Music] after the lounge attendant crowd the last passengers to the hallway we headed out to track 26. of course it wouldn't be Amtrak if there wasn't unnecessary waiting our conga line coming to a halt just shy of the boarding door finally boarding actually begins waiting out on track 26 is train 48 Amtrak's a Lakeshore Limited our room is in car 4812 the third and subsequently rearmost sleeper on today's train as we approach I'm delighted to see that the phase 3 paint scheme of the baggage car is mirrored on the last sleeper which means we've scored a viewliner 2 for our ride to New York after a quick check-in with our sleeper attendant we can climb aboard one of Amtrak's newest sleeper cars immediately it's like stepping into another world for the first time traveling with Amtrak in first class it actually feels like I'm walking through a first class coach the wood veneer walls exude class and the well-lit corridors make our viewliner 2 more akin to a hotel than a train Four Doors Down on the left hand side is room seven our home for the next 20 hours while we wait for boarding to conclude let's take a look at our route over to New York City Our Journey Begins heading south out of Chicago wrapping around the South Bank of Lake Michigan we Traverse Indiana in darkness Crossing through South Bend and Elkhart IN quick succession around midnight Ohio is our third state of the ride Toledo our first smoke stop at 3am the tracks hug the South Bank of Lake Erie through and past Cleveland we briefly crossed paths with Pennsylvania making a stop at Erie before entering New York our train leaves Lake Erie just before Buffalo our now Eastern train making stops in Rochester and Syracuse ahead of our major stopover in Albany our final segment takes us South down the Hudson River Valley and into New York's Penn Station we'll cover a total of 959 miles between the windy city and the Big Apple with a travel time of 20 hours and 12 minutes boarding concludes a little after 9 45 and train 48 pulls out of Chicago beginning our adventure on the Lakeshore Limited as we leave downtown Chicago a metro train pulls past on its way to the yard it might be late but we can't go to bed before getting cleaned up which means it's shower time the shower facility is located at the rear of our coach and opening the door we're met with a very nice facility first off there's a ton of space unlike the older showers the viewliner 2's shower is entirely open from floor to ceiling the dry side of the room is quite spacious with a large seat to make changing easier complementary to passengers are the usual set of shower toiletries a few bottles of lotion and plenty of washcloths fresh towels are found on the towel rack beside the mirror with two outlets below beneath the vanity is a small cubby for personal belongings or soap maybe plus a large trash can the best new addition is the dedicated towel shoot which is much nicer than the usual linen bag between the dry side and the shower stall is a frosted glass door the door features a stylized p-42dc and the skyline of DC as decoration the door itself is spring-loaded and holds itself shut through magnets on the handle the shower stall is also quite large despite the room itself stretching the full height of the car the shower head is still positioned just below head height though it is detachable so no worries there the temperature controls are easy to adjust and the water pressure is nice and high definitely one of the nicest showers I've taken on Amtrak returning to our room our car attendant has converted the lower bunk into a bed the bottom bunk is about six and a half feet long or the entire length of the room at the base of the bottom bunk comes from the converted seats though a mattress topper has been added for a bit of extra Comfort what's interesting though is that one side is notably thinner than the other in order to fit the staircase to the upper bunk the rear-facing seat has been shaved down by about four inches which means there's really only one sleeping orientation in viewliner roomettes the six and a half foot bed length is also from wall to wall climbing into bed we discover an interesting side effect of this layout when lying down my head sits directly under the forward headrest so definitely don't get up too quickly once you look past the quarks of the headrest in the strangely shape in bed it's actually quite comfortable with that we can turn the lights out for a good night's rest day two begins with sunlight streaming through the window shade and a strangely quiet car outside our window the Waters of the Portage River flow past the clouds above still a little pink as the sun ascends the sky normally this would be a beautiful sight to wake up to but we're supposed to be in New York by now and the Portage river is in Ohio checking Amtrak's service alerts we find out what's wrong last night there were not one but two separate switch failures on our route the first came between South Bend and Elkhart Indiana which left us 2 hours and 45 minutes late only for a second to come between Toledo and Sandusky upping our delay to 4 hours and 20 minutes of course I wasn't gonna let a few delays get in the way of our experience so it's off to the dining car for breakfast much like our sleeper the dining car on today's train is also a feliner too the dining car interior is very classy there's wood grain veneer on the walls and ceiling decorative glass dividers between the tables and some pretty lights down the aisle the Lakeshore limited like many of Amtrak's Eastern Long Distance routes serves the flexible dining menu this means pre-packaged reheated meals instead of fresh cooked ones three options are offered for breakfast a continental selection buttermilk pancakes and a three egg omelette I went with the pancakes which came served with a side of sausage and plenty of maple syrup the pancakes were light and sweet and genuinely quite tasty though the same couldn't be said about our microwave sausages for the flexible dining menu the pancakes weren't half bad though I would have preferred something fresh which is why I'm giving this meal a 5 out of 10. as we're dining the truth behind our brief stop alongside the Portage river is revealed the drawbridge ahead of us has malfunctioned it opened fine when a boat had to pass through but it wouldn't close properly requiring a maintenance crew to come out and solve the problem the issue ahead is resolved quite quickly and we finally get back on the move the maintenance crew packing up their equipment as we roll past returning to our car it's time to take a tour of our wonderful Romance the first thing anyone will notice is just how smooth the doors and locks are on these coaches they're practically effortless the lock latching into place in one fluid motion each door has a large window into the hallway though each room includes blinds for passenger privacy a secondary smaller window into the hallway is found just above the stairs the exterior of which features the Amtrak logo the roomet is Amtrak's smallest accommodation at three and a half by six and a half feet Amtrak advertises the room at as having enough space for two adults though it can definitely get a bit cramped with two people from our aerial view we can also clearly see the width difference between the forward and rearward seat it's also interesting that this is the first time we've seen an Amtrak room at with anything besides the classic blue fabric the maroon maquette is a welcome change and looks great alongside the dark wood veneer and white walls the forward seat is the captain's chair of the roomette with extra width and a padded armrest on either side each seat reclines in the same manner as any other Amtrak room using the bar beneath the seat bottom above the seat are a suite of lighting and room controls each seat includes a large area light a bright LED reading light and a tendon call button and the PA control there's notably no volume control it's just on or off but that's usually all the adjustment I need anyways so no problem beside that are the ceiling and night light controls the ceiling light includes two fluorescent bulbs and stretches the entire length of the cabin with a blue NightLight situated in between next to the master light controls is an electronic thermostat which seems great until you actually start messing with it no matter how many times I pressed either button the screen stayed dark and the room at the same temperature it's possible that these are only enabled in winter when heating is necessary but it would have been nice to have at least some control over the temperature Air volume though is a different story these new coaches include head level AC vents the airflow for which is controlled via the dial below there's also two more vents below the window if you want even more air control below the Forward Air Vent are two of the four outlets for our cabin inside the cubby beneath the armrest is the room's trash can the side which is a coat hook with a couple of hangers the rearward seat is almost identical to the other side with the same reading and area lights found in the panel above the headrest between the seats is the table safety information card and complementary water bottles the table pulls up and folds down over both sides of the cabin much larger than I initially expected with more than enough space for a couple of laptops or a meal for two adults should you want to dine in your room board space in a viewliner 2 roomet is fantastic for personal belongings there are two medium-sized holds beneath in between the stairs the lower space is large enough for a full-size backpack or potentially a smaller suitcase with the stair Gap large enough for smaller items there's also a rack back here for toiletries for larger bags and full-size suitcases a sizeable luggage hole is found above the roulette overhanging the central hallway the space is easily large enough for my standard carry-on bag with plenty of room to spare of course if you're traveling with more or larger baggage then there's always the option to check your bags to your final destination easily one of the nicest features of any view liner room at is the full sink and vanity beside the sink are the remaining two of four Outlets the mirror light switch and the sink open light cups are found on the built-in dispenser next to the release latch pulling the latch releases the Basin Illuminating the open light as it folds down over the upper stair the Basin is surprisingly large with high pressure hot and cold taps the Basin does not include a built-in drain instead emptying into a space behind the sink when closed foreign the vanity above the sink includes a small countertop and a large mirror with complementary face and hand towels plus two bars of soap the one thing that's missing from our viewliner roomette is a toilet to the Delight of some and the disappointment of others the toilet was removed from the v-liner 2 roommates in favor of two communal toilets at the end of each coach I personally am in favor of this decision as sleeping next to a toilet is not pleasant though I know that some other passengers have advocated in favor of the ensuite toilet unlike their super liner counterparts each room on Amtrak's single level Fleet includes two windows with one for the main seats and one for the upper bunk stored above the lower seats is the upper bunk twisting the handle releases the bed which rolls down on tracks from the ceiling it's actually surprisingly easy to operate helped in part by the spring-loaded support cables in its lowest position the top bunk sits just below the upper window and has the same strange shape to accommodate the stairs up the bed itself is fairly comfortable and is just barely long enough to fit my 6'3 frame though as you can see the end of the bed is quite narrow a reading light and air vent for the upper bunk are found near the head of the bed along with an attended call button a small pocket for personal belongings and a couple of coat hooks safety is always a priority on Amtrak and the upper passenger is kept safe via the netting that clips into the ceiling climbing back down we can store the upper bunk back in the ceiling the roommate though small is a great option for solo Travelers or couples looking for a cheaper option v-liner 2 takes that already excellent choice and adds in modern features and amenities making it easily one of the nicest travel experiences you can find in the eastern United States if you're enjoying our ride on the Lakeshore limited why not hit that subscribe button it's totally free and it really helps support the channel I also want to give a huge shout out and thank you to my patrons and channel members y'all are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for your incredible support if you two want your name in the video or just want to support the channel in more ways than one then head on over to the links in the description below just as we finish the tour of our room at our train crosses the Cuyahoga River before coming to a stop in Cleveland four hours and 11 minutes behind schedule [Music] Cleveland is the first Smoke Stop we're able to take advantage of so up the car we go before stepping down into the Ohio sunlight foreign comes at 5 30 in the morning but our late arrival gives us a rare daylight view of the station and the absolutely massive Cleveland Browns Stadium just beyond the daylight also gives us a great opportunity to look at the rest of our concept forward of the rear sleepers and dining car are five ampleet 2 coaches a cafe car and yet another sleeper the sleeper sandwich is the result of the Lakeshore limited actually being two trains not one from Chicago to Albany New York the Lakeshore limited runs as train 48 but from there the train splits in half the forward coaches continue East towards Boston as train 448 while the rear half heads South to New York as the continuation of train 48. Amtrak's viewliner ones and twos are quite easy to tell apart from the outside mainly due to their different paint schemes the older viewliner ones run with Amtrak's phase 4B paint Scheme while the newer v-liner 2s operate with the tri-colored phase 3B Livery manufactured by Spanish company calf viewliner 2's entered service in 2015 beginning with the baggage cars and ending with the sleepers when Amtrak purchased the viewliner twos they ordered 55 baggage cars 25 dining cars 25 sleepers and 25 bag dorms later though the order was adjusted to 10 bag dorms and 70 baggage cars our sleeper named after the Satilla River was built in 2020 and is car 14 of 25. the All Aboard call comes after about 15 minutes out on the platform so we climb aboard and carry on coffee is next up on the agenda located between the bedrooms and roommates is the drinks station which offers passengers complimentary ice bottles of water hot coffee and if you're lucky a few Snickers bars as well I snagged a piece of candy in a coffee and retired to a room as mentioned in our room tour the toilets were removed in favor of communal facilities at the end of each coach this also means that viewliner twos have won fewer rouettes than the v-liner one each bathroom is very nice and quite spacious despite not being an accessible facility the sink works well with both hot and cold taps with a bottle of soap and towels found nearby beside the sink is the cup dispenser and two 120 volt Outlets what I appreciate most about this bathroom layout is that the toilet is angled towards the opposite corner which gives much more space than the usual Amtrak bathroom arrangement Erie Pennsylvania is our next scheduled stop though due to Freight traffic between here and Cleveland we're now five hours behind schedule lunch time comes as we make Headway towards New York despite my initial thoughts lunch is not served on a reservation system with passengers instead seating themselves on a first come first serve basis on offer for lunch and dinner are five meals of the options the kofta kebabs were calling my name so that's what I went with our meal comes served with a side salad a bread roll and a beverage of choice the salad and roll were pretty standard stuff not great but not terrible the kebabs however were not the right choice the basmati rice and veggies were spicy and flavorful but the actual kebabs were terrible they were chewy bitter and had almost no flavor to them I took a couple bites and immediately decided that the rest was going in the trash fortunately the rice salad and roll were more than enough food plus we got a delicious brownie for dessert as a meal it's a three and a half out of ten we finally crossed into New York As We Dine our trains still five hours behind schedule on approach to Buffalo Depew we passed by Buffalo Central Terminal the once Grand terminal served a buffalo from 1929 until it was abandoned in 1979. in its Heyday the station served nearly 200 trains daily from the New York Central Canadian national Pennsylvania and Toronto Hamilton and buffalo railroads the station now lays dormant though restoration plans are underway to convert the 17-story building and surrounding structures into a Civic Commons the New York Greenery flies past the window as we reach 70 miles an hour though we pulled to a stop just before Syracuse to let an eastbound Freight and the westbound Maple Leaf go by Syracuse is our second Smoke Stop of day two our train now 5 hours and 45 minutes behind after our brief stop the sky turns from clear to gray as light showers sweep across the area our crew ushering us back on board in an attempt to make up for some lost time the sun begins to slide towards the horizon as we reach the Erie Canal the beautiful sunset has been sullied by the overcast Skies a forecast soon to change as storm clouds Loom high above dinner unlike breakfast and lunch is by reservation only however there's a problem I had anticipated dinner being run like how it is on Western Long Distance routes where passengers are seated to fill tables as they arrive that was not the case here instead everyone seated themselves which meant when I showed up for a reservations thought there was nowhere for me to sit instead of sitting me at a table with someone else the member of Staff running the car recommended I come back later to try again which was very annoying it didn't look like anyone was finishing up soon so back to our room I went 30 minutes later I went back to the dining car and was able to find a seat for our final meal of this journey for dinner tonight I went with the chicken enchiladas which again came with a side salad a roll and a butter cake instead of a brownie the enchiladas though not the most visually appealing tasted great especially for a pre-packaged meal the ranchero sauce was a little watery but it still held its flavor and the chicken was well seasoned though a little dry the beans and corn were also nice adding some different flavors beyond the enchiladas themselves The Roasted jalapeno was a welcome addition bringing some heat and a bit of smoke to the dish somehow the dining car ran out of salad dressing so I mixed the lettuce in with the main dish which actually ended up being a tasty solution overall I was pleasantly surprised with the chicken enchiladas and I'll give it a 7 out of 10. definitely not a bad choice given the options Schenectady comes and goes as We Dine our train finally pulling into Albany as we return to our room Albany is where things get interesting for the Lakeshore limited here train 48 splits into its Boston and New York halves the process begins in the middle of the train where the front and rear halves are disconnected this leaves train 48 our New York segment without a locomotive and more importantly without head end power until our new engine is hooked up once disconnected locomotives 92 and 85 pull forward to form train 448. [Music] under normal conditions this would be the end of the story for train 448 now a separate concept it would leave Albany and head towards its final destination of Boston but we're not in normal conditions no we're five and a half hours behind schedule because of our delay is train 448 won't arrive in Boston until after midnight which means the safety inspection on locomotives 92 and 85 will expire before train 448 gets to Boston in order to ensure it doesn't have to stop in the middle of the night to redo the inspection 92 and 85 are swapped out for locomotive 96. the crew Works quickly to get 92 and 85 disconnected the p-42 is pulling away before backing down the empty track 1. [Music] [Music] [Music] 96 then backs on to train 448 and the crew can finish the connections swap complete 448 continues on towards Boston [Music] for us in train 48 the swap is similar though we're getting a slightly different locomotive in order to run in the tunnels beneath New York we require an electric locomotive but the tracks aren't electrified this far north meaning we also need a diesel so instead of getting one or the other we get both a p-32 AC DM dual mode locomotive the p-32 acdm like locomotive 707 and 705 scene here get their power either from their onboard diesel engine or from a third rail pickup on the rear bogey this allows our train to run between here and Penn Station without needing another locomotive we don't have to wait long for our locomotive to arrive as the crews were ready well ahead of our arrival locomotive 715 backs up and couples on to train 48. [Music] heading back to our room we find an immovable object the crew has yet to reconnect the head end power from our p-32 which means the door won't open leaving us locked out for the time being fortunately an Empire service heads off to the Albany shops giving us something to look at while the crew finishes the locomotive hookup power returns to our coach a few minutes later in locomotive 715 hauls us out of Albany and on to New York City foreign for a little bit of context on the quality increase on the viewliner 2 it's worth taking a peek at a v-liner one the physical layout of the v-liner one room at is virtually identical to our viewliner too there's the two seats for daytime riding plus a bunk above for when night Falls the seats are quite comfortable as you'd expect on Amtrak but the blue fabric just feels a bit tired a lot of the lighting controls and locations are the same as in the newer model just with worn out control pads the vanity is also similar to our viewliner 2 with a fold down sync and mirror below that though is the biggest difference from the v-liner too the toilet folding up the bottom step reveals the in-room toilet I personally think that having a toilet directly next to where you sleep is disgusting but I understand that some passengers like having a private bathroom over a communal facility whether that be by personal preference or for medical reasons there's also no communal bathroom anywhere in the car so things can get interesting if you're traveling with someone else moving to the shower it's a similar story the stall is cramped but functional though there's a piece of tape holding the shower door closed when it's not in use the viewliner one isn't bad per se it's definitely more comfortable than coach but with the v-liner 2 in play I'll take new over old any day as passengers reach their final destinations our sleeper begins to clear out one of the rooms left unoccupied as we head down the Hudson is the bedroom the bedroom is the second largest accommodation offered on the v-liner 2 at six and a half by seven and a half feet in its daytime configuration bedrooms include one full width sofa and an armchair the sofa seating is similar to our roomette but the width-wise orientation of the couch allows for the bottom bunk to be much wider when converted to a bed above the sofa are the same great area and reading lights as our roomet with two outlets in between the armchair in the v-liner 2 is particularly interesting because it can fold out of the way when unfolded the chair sits opposite the main couch with a reading light on the wall following the instructions on the post the chair folds out of the main area easily building chair is great and all but why would this ever be necessary will the second look at the wall behind it reveals it's actually a door which would connect the two bedrooms for larger parties it also makes getting in and out of the bathroom easier so there's that too the second bunk is stowed away during the day folding down from the ceiling using the lever in the center the upper bunk isn't as wide as its lower counterpart but it's still much wider than either option in our room at both the mattress topper and the upper bunk look pretty comfortable with around four inches of bedding per bunk there's also plenty of lighting controls up top with yet another air vent storage space is similar to the roomette there's the cubby above the door but there's an additional storage area above the bathroom which adds another suitcase and a half worth of space bedrooms also include a full vanity and more importantly an ensuite bathroom and shower the sink works perfectly well with a bottle of soap the second of two sets of outlets and a large mirror beside the mirror is the medicine cabinet which opens to reveal extra cups toiletries and both paper and hand towels the Rim's trash can is found behind another door beneath the vanity each bedroom includes the same newer thermostat that again was turned off below which is the bathroom light switch foreign the shower is very similar to the communal facility at the end of the car just with a toilet off to one side instead of a seat it's small for sure but it's nice to have a private facility the bedroom is certainly a huge step up from the room at but bedrooms come at Double the cost of a room at plus I'm not sure I needed the bedroom on this particular Adventure I quite like the Cozy feeling of our roomette though that larger bed would have definitely been nice around the corner is where we'll find the third type of accommodation on the viewliner too the accessible bedroom the space has been converted into a linen closet as we approach New York but we can still have a look around first off the room is massive it's about nine and a half feet long and six and a half feet wide the bed and seat setup is identical to the bedroom we just left but what isn't identical are the toilet and shower the sink and toilet are found on the wall share with the outer hallway the sink works well with large handles on each tap plus plenty of washcloths and toiletries tucked behind the spout the toilet is also in a convenient location with easily accessible controls [Music] sliding the door shut reveals the shower space the shower is similar to the other two we've seen in the rest of the coach though it's large enough to accommodate the accessibility seat or a Mobility Aid device if needed if you're traveling with someone else and are worried about privacy when showering the accessible bedroom includes a large curtain that spans the entire room though our brief overview isn't perfect due to the massive pile of linen bags on the floor it's still more than enough to tell that the accessible bedroom is a fantastic facility for passengers with disabilities Croton Harmon is the Lakeshore limited's penultimate stop on route to New York only a few passengers disembark here before we continue South darkness fills the corridors we approach NYC the passing Metro North station is the only source of light as the night dragged on we plunged into the Empire connection under the East Side our train finally pulling into New York's Penn Station a full 5 hours and 30 minutes behind schedule having reached our destination we can grab our belongings and disembark into New York's Penn Station where we'll bring today's video to a close Amtrak's viewliner twos are a huge step forward for sleeper trains in the U.S the quality of these CAF coaches combined with the modern amenities make these the nicest sleepers you'll find in the United States it's a shame there's only 25 of them in circulation well 35 if you include the bag dorms but I can't wait to be back out on the rails in a viewliner too if you've stuck around this far I just want to say thank you I know this video was a long one but I hope you enjoyed the Lakeshore limited as much as I did next week we'll be up in Toronto to take a ride on VIA Rail up to Oshawa on board their Bud hp2 coaches from the 1950s and 60s if you're new around here I would really appreciate it if you hit that subscribe button down below it's totally free and it really helps support the channel if you want to go the extra mile with your support then check out the Channel's patreon or become a channel member if you two want your name in the video access to exclusive weekly posts and even the opportunity to vote on future videos then click the links in the top right or in the description below to learn more but anyways that's all I have for today thanks for riding with me and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: Lonestar Trip Reports

Views: 148,014

Keywords: amtrak, viewliner, amtrak viewliner, amtrak viewliner roomette, amtrak viewliner ii, amtrak trains, amtrak roomette, amtrak sleeper, amtrak viewliner 2, amtrak viewliner 2 bedroom, amtrak viewliner 2 roomette, amtrak viewliner 2 tour, amtrak viewliner ii tour, viewliner ii, viewliner 2, amtrak viewliner ii sleeper, amtrak viewliner 2 sleeper, new york to chicago, lake shore limited, amtrak new viewliner ii sleeping car, amtrak 49, amtrak room, amtrak room tour, amtrak train

Id: B8WmHmTvTsc

Length: 42min 13sec (2533 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 19 2023