Riding Amtrak Coach from Chicago to Salt Lake City

 

                                                     Chicago's Union Station.

A strong desire to see more countryside than one can see out of an airplane prompted a California Zephyr train ride, in coach seating, from Chicago to Salt Lake City on October 3-5, 2024.

While my wife flew home from Chicago, I went solo, on the train. This is the story of my trip….

The Chicago Train Station is simply huge. Amtrak took just a fraction of it. And, there were all kinds of food options available at the station, including McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. It took some wandering, but I finally found the Amtrak section. (I had months earlier paid $167 for my ride, which included $18 insurance extra, to get a complete refund, should I cancel my ride.)

Surprisingly, there were zero security checks. No one even glanced at my bags. I was given a piece of cardboard with my coach seat number on it and I boarded. (I chose riding coach, because the “roomettes” are way too small and the actual rooms are way overpriced.) I lucked out and not only got a window seat, it was on the second floor, mid-train car and on the left side of the train (best overall view for the trip).

I quickly realized that all the YouTube videos I watched of this ride really didn’t contain enough pertinent information…. I was one my own.

The train left on time – 2 p.m. and a woman sitting next to me was only going to western Illinois and used the Zephyr as a commuter train, not a scenic train. Once she left, I was sitting alone until Denver.

                                          California Zephyr as it leaves Chicago.

One of the most important things to learn is how to safely and efficiently walk down the aisles as the train is moving. Unless you are really short, grabbing onto the ledge of the upper compartment hold works best. That way, you keep your balance, but do not disturb passengers in the seats below.

                                        Wide open farm fields of Western Illinois.

It is also important early on know where the rest rooms are, plus the observation room, café and dining car. (Being frugal, I brought many snacks, drinks and sandwiches, so I never spent a penny on the train.) As a passenger nearby said, if you ate every meal through the train’s dining, you would pay $85 a day and at least compared to a coach train face, would surpass that total cost by about your fourth meal. (Breakfast was $20; Lunch $25 and dinner was $40.)

                  Amtrak crossing the Mississippi River.

I really enjoyed watching all the little Illinois and Iowa towns go by from my window view. When we crossed the Mississippi River, near Burlington, Iowa, only I seemed to even notice that. I didn’t go to the observation car until near the end of my ride, because, yes, it was crowded and my window seat already had good views.

The leg room was slightly bigger than what I had on my first-class airplane ride to Chicago and the seats reclined back a long ways. There was also a fold-out tray for food or a computer, an electrical plug nearby and room under my seat for a carry on bag and my other bag was above my seat in the storage area.

All passengers around me were rather quiet and most kept to themselves. The rest rooms were about the size of those on an airplane, but one was larger for the handicapped and another one was larger because it included extra space to change one’s clothes. There was no shower – just a sink, mirror and toilet.

The first conductor was firm about no passenger changing their assigned seats and one woman got kicked out of her seat three times by him, as at night she sought a seat by herself. (The later conductors just cared about knowing where one moves to, as a tag above your seat states where your final destination is and they simply didn’t want anyone to miss their stop.)

It got dark outside just before the train hit Omaha, Nebraska. (The interior train car lights get turned down by 11 p.m., until about 7 a.m., during the quiet period).

I should have used earplugs as the train whistles kept blaring all night going through numerous small crossings in Nebraska. It took over an hour because I dozed off. When I woke up about 6:30 a.m., we were in Colorado. I shaved and refreshed in the bathroom and was soon back in my seat looking at N.E. Colorado.

The train had to do some fancy switching and reversing to get into the Denver Train station, but it arrived about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

                                                            Denver's Union Station.

I went in the Denver Union Station to use a real rest room and stretch. I was gone just 20 minutes, but there was an unannounced “mechanical problem” and we sat an extra 70 minutes before we moved again. (We were now an hour behind schedule and looking at what others have said about this ride, Amtrak is almost never on time, so plan on that scenario…)

Three women from Salt Lake had taken the Amtrak to Denver two days earlier and got on at Denver. One of them sat next to me, but the trio spent ample time in the dining and observation cars, so I had plenty of solitude…

All my pre-made peanut butter sandwiches tasted great, but some donuts and pop tarts I have brought were smashed into small pieces.

Now came the best part of the ride. Looping through the Denver foothills to climb through the Rocky Mountains offered the best scenery so far.  The train had to climb almost 4,000 feet to enter the Moffat Tunnel, a 6.2-mile-long conduit through the mountain tops, to Winter Park. Surprisingly, there were a dozen or more small tunnels to go through to even reach the Moffat Tunnel.

The fall color scenery was excellent and the train was nearly full, because of that reason.

I was amazed how much loose rock was on the mountainside above the railroad tracks and yet we were sailing along smoothly. Also, every time I thought we were above paved roads on the Colorado mountainside, I’d spot a different, new road, that cut through the Rockies.

The Moffat Tunnel ride seemed quick and Winter Park, 9,000-feet above sea level, was reached. For the rest of the trip, I was amazed at how many passengers got on—and—off at little towns in Colorado. The train soon followed the Colorado River all the way to Utah. About half of that was in an area north of Interstate 70, where there are rarely paved roads nearby. A lot of river rafters were spotted and the fall colors were at their peak. When the train left Glenwood Springs, it was full to capacity again …

         Utah's La Sal Mountains (east of Moab), as seen from the Amtrak observation car.

When the train reached Utah, it was only about half full again and I sat in the observation car for the rest of the trip. The train was about 90 minutes behind schedule at Price, Utah. By then, it was pitch dark outside and there was little one could see. The train stopped almost a half-hour again partway through Spanish Fork Canyon, for some unknown reason. Now, we were two hours behind schedule.

When the train reached the Provo, Utah station, I was alone in the observation car and got a kick out of seeing the Wasatch Front zoom by. It was supposed to take 72 minutes from Provo to Salt Lake, but the train moved faster than any previous point on the trip and was going 79 miles an hour all the way – and did the trip in about 58 minutes.

The train was supposed to reach Salt Lake City at 11:15 p.m., but it was 1 a.m., when it finally arrived. A line of three dozen passengers were waiting there to get on the train to the Nevada-California segment.

Mission accomplished, I saw scenery I wanted to see.

Would I do the ride again? Probably only if my wife or another family member or friend was with me. It was inexpensive and a rather unique ride.

NOTE: If I had booked a "roomette," the trip cost would have been $500 and a room on the train would have been about $1,000, as compared to $149 in coach (without insurance).