Ridin' The Rails

This weekend I went on an adventure. Mike had to be in Milwaukee on business on Thursday, and I was going to go with him so I could see my family. The problem was I couldn't get off work on Thursday, only on Friday. So Mike went up on Thursday and I went on Friday to meet him. Instead of driving, I took the train.

It's been many years since I was on Amtrak, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. When I got to the station in Champaign, I was surprised by how many people were already there, and by how many people showed up afterwards. Then I took a good look at the crowd and figured it out. Many of the riders were college students, presumably going home for the weekend. With the fare being relatively inexpensive, this would be a good option, especially if the students don't have a car on campus.

The train to Chicago started out in Carbondale, so there were already quite a few people on the train. I was lucky to get a window seat (I love looking out the window!), and my seat mate ended up being one of the many college students. She had a laptop with her and watched Memento during the ride. That's such a good movie, and it was really hard not to shoulder surf (although I couldn't hear anything). I had plenty to keep me busy anyway, I brought my iPod, a book, and a book of crossword puzzles. Amtrak's policy towards food is bring whatever you want, so I also brought some snacks and a soda. I would hate to get stranded on a train without chips!

The train started rolling, slowly, slowly, and then stopped. We were barely up to the north end of town. We then sat and waited, and waited some more. Finally after ten minutes they announced that we were pulled over to a siding to wait for a freight train. It ended up being a half hour wait until we could go, then we had to back up practically to the station to get on the main track. Once again, here we go!

We had to pull over again later on to let the southbound Amtrak pass. All told, we were delayed for an hour. Good thing I had a two hour layover in Chicago! They kept thanking us for our patience. As if we were going to get off the train? Definitely a good thing I brought snacks....

So we rolled into Union Station and my first priority was to find where I caught the train to Milwaukee. I won't elaborate on my second priority but it involved standing in a long line. After that, I stopped at one of the restaurants and grabbed a bite to eat. There was also a bar in the station, and just in case you didn't want to stop at the bar you could stop at the little beer wagon and buy a can of Miller Lite or something. Gotta love the train!

The trip to Milwaukee was much shorter (and also full), and we got into the station just about on time. I got off the train and walked out into a monsoon. The wind was blowing, it was sleeting, and there was thunder and lightning. Mike's parents were there to pick me up, and they pulled up just as I walked out of the station. Talk about great timing!

All in all, it took 6 1/2 hours (including layover) to get to Milwaukee from Champaign by train. Considering it takes about 4 hours by car, yes, it was a longer way, but it was also fairly convenient. I didn't have to worry about driving, and the fare wasn't much more than a tank of gas. It's nice to know that we have this option if we want it.