2 THINGS: 1. I could watch this for DAYS... 2. I love beej more than ever for the "You have zip ties?" "What do you think?" exchange. Always bring zip ties!
As a Transit-Oriented Twenty-Something this makes me love trains even more and I wish the USA would invest more heavily in mass public rail systems. Trains are cool and Cars just stink!!
I went to college and grad school in Rochester, NY, and since I was born and raised in Chicago, I took that exact train to get between home and school for breaks and holidays. It remains such a treat to see you capture with awe, attentiveness, and sincerity things that I had taken for granted. Thank you for helping me see some very familiar sights through fresh eyes. Looking forward to seeing the next one!
My sweetie, having recently traveled through Chicago, knows the answer to why you were dropped off across the street from the Main Entrance(TM). When you finally entered the main concourse to Union Station, you may have noticed a grand staircase off to the "left." That's the staircase that leads to the Main Entrance(TM). (This is also the location of the famous "baby carriage" scene from the film "The Untouchables."). That staircase is the _only_ access to the station from the Main Entrance(TM); there is no elevator or escalator. Passengers with luggage are encouraged to use the escalator/elevator facilities at the newer entrance located across the street. Ergo, your Lyftber driver, observing your luggage, was very clueful to drop you off at the other entrance. Elsewise you would have been schlepping seven bags down two flights of stairs.
Graham: Union Station wasn't built by Amtrak. It was built by Chicago for the railroads almost a century ago. Amtrak only came into being in 1971 to take over all of the passenger rail service that the railroads were dropping. (Flight cut into their profits, so the railroads decided that freight was more lucrative than people.) That's why Union Station (and a few others like it around the country) are so nice. Also, riding coast to coast on Amtrak is one of my bucket list items. So, this demented rail fan hasn't ridden Amtrak. (I rode a train in Italy a few times. This was in the early 80's, when I was a kid.)
@@GrahamStarkVlogs There were all sorts of cool statins from the 1890's to the 1940's and 1950's. But, as air travel became cheaper and more popular a lot of cities didn't bother keeping up their rail statins. So, there are few like the ones at Chicago, NYC, Penn Station, and Union Station in LA. I'm glad you got to enjoy Chicago's station. And I'm super jealous that you got to ride Amtrak. ;) Airlines also accidentally killed the Borscht Belt resorts (like the one in Dirty Dancing) because it make going to Europe more affordable, so a lot of tourist destinations accessible by car lost out. I still like air travel as well.
Graham, As a further comment on how people in Chicago drive, people in Milwaukee hate it when people from Chicago and northern Illinois drive into the city for Cubs/Brewers games or through town to cabins in northern Wisconsin or to Green Bay for Bears/Packers football games. The nickname we have for them is more an acronym: FIBs. The I is for Illinois. The B is the word for fatherless children. You can probably guess what the F stands for.
This was really fun to watch. I really liked the reactions to Chicago Union Station. A note about the in-room toilets: Amtrak currently has on order new sleeping cars that don't have toilets in the roomettes. Once those eventually arrive, the plan has been to have the older ones refitted which includes removing the toilets from the roomettes so the both sets of cars are standardized.
I think this gvlog has my favourite instance yet of Graham goes into the hotel room, places the camera then exits to film his entry. Where at 15:55 they enter the sleeper cabin. Its so squishy and while carrying all that baggage must have been at least a touch awkward. As always, great vlog. Loved it. I really appreciate the stuff Graham chooses to film and how he does it.
amythistxue1 Amtrak has 2 styles of sleeper cars at the moment. I believe one is used mostly in the west (Chicago to the West Coast) and one in the east. The west ones don’t have a toilet in the roomette, but the upper bunk is slightly smaller. I’ve ridden from Sacramento to Washington DC twice and have loved every minute of it.
Thank you for this foreigner's tour of a segment of Amtrak that, as a resident of the US's Northeastern Corridor, feels both familiar and alien to me at the same time.
So I think the more terrifying thing about that toilet is that if you look closely, the seat is angled. I can only imagine to face more directly into the roomette for a more polite conversation.
I laughed so hard at the "Free Smells" joke, even knowing it was coming. Also: most train stations are *not* that nice. Union Station at Chicago is one of the rare good ones, because they're well-maintained relics when trains were more widely used. Other good ones include Grand Central Terminal in NYC, and the other Union Station in Washington D.C.. For an example of another old one that *hasn't* been as well maintained, look up the Michigan Central Station in Detroit (mostly used now as a movie prop).
I love these videos honestly. Before you started this channel the only way for me to watch something this in line with my ascetic was to watch the japan logs over and over.
“Everyone in Chicago drives like they don’t want to live.” Ask Beej how it compared to Edmonton’s drivers as they are the worst I’ve seen outside of Paris. Excited for the next part. Love vlogs from long train journeys, how about you and Beej try and get them to set up Pax in Russia so you can do the Trans Siberian! ;)
honestly train is superior to plane in every respect save for speed, both in that it is slower and that Amtrak trains are notoriously late to their destinations
I live in Syracuse! Didn't think you'd have heard of it. You guys were definitely on one of the better Amtrak corridors. I do like taking Amtrak, I've gone to NYC on it a number of times. Never taken a sleeper anywhere, but after this video, I might have to!
I've been in that Amtrak Lounge; one of the best travel experiences I've ever had. Great service, good snacks, comfy chairs. Also... the place they filmed a scene in The Untouchables.
I am excited for you two to get to ride the train! Amtrak is a well-kept secret even among Americans. The trains are awesome and comfy (even in coach), the menu in the dining car is way more delicious than you might think, and there's an observation car where you can just go and sit and watch the countryside roll by. But far and away the best part of the experience is meeting other people. In the US, nobody rides the train long-distance unless they deliberately want to: Flying is faster and the bus is cheaper. So you end up with a motley assortment of students, artists, philosophers, voyagers, foreign visitors, and retired folks, and most people are just so much nicer and more friendly than you'll find on trains or buses. I hope you got to have some good chats--I guess I'll find out in the next installment!
I've ridden Amtraks to work, and kept seeing the Sleeper Car Trains but never got to stay in one. That was fascinating! I absolutely share your opinion on that very cool little room! This is making me want to do a train trip in one of those.
In my (very) limited experience, American train stations run the gamut. The one in Portland, Oregon is a normal, reasonable modern station. The one in Everett, Washington is a _hole_
You having heard of Schenectady brings joy to someone who lives there. I hope the new Union Station was finished when you came through! I forget when about it was actually completed.
Excellent, you survived the Jimmy John's sandwich delivery zone. Too many good people never make it out, and many that do leave only with harrowing tales of the rain of pastrami and torrents of black forest ham.
I know this train! I moved from Ohio to Boston in 2011 and I've had several trips back and forth on this line. I've always wondered what the sleepers were like, so this is extra fun for me. Oh, and South Station will be in the next episode! It's so fun seeing stuff you recognize. :)
Just got into these when I heard Graham mention his vlogs in some other LRR content. Really enjoying them enormously, a terrific thing to put on in the background while, say, playing endless mindless diablo 3. Anyway, 13:10 - making doors with handles like this that open this way is the act of a diseased mind.
24 hours train trip vs. 15 hours by car... Not a bad trade-off considering. For a one-way trip it would be cheaper since you'd have to rent a car with one-way drop-off..
Chicago has, within the past year, has usurped the throne of "most breweries in a city," taking it from Portland I think? Or maybe Denver. Amazing that you uploaded these videos on the EXACT weekend I took Amtrak for the first time. I only took my first baby steps into the experience, though, with a mere 4 hour trip from Chicago to St Louis. Union Station is totally huge, but I don't even think you explored the whole separate underground station home to 6 or more commuter lines that extend out into suburbia. Also 4820 bl8ze it
I just had my first train adventure a couple weeks ago going to Maker Faire on an 18 hour ride. I thoroughly enjoyed it and got to relive it a little with you guys.
Additional information for your adventure: Elkhart IN is where most US RV are manufactured. Also your train went through my town, the closest I'll ever be to meeting you 🤷♂️
I'm a subscriber to the DBF patreon and totally missed that Graham and Beej were on an aftershow and now i have to absolutely give that a listen. Also this makes me want to take a sleeper train trip
In case you didn't know, South Bend (which you passed through) is where the University of Notre Dame is located. Also immediately had to put on "Night Train" by The Bouncing Souls after finishing this episde.
Chicago traffic is insane. but next time you head there and have free time, definitely go and try out DMK. its a very cool burger bar. Also, get some dang deep dish pizza! lol
Take the train to (or from) Seattle some time. King Street Station was renovated not too long ago. It's not as gilded-age OMG as Chicago or NYC, but it's nice that it's beautiful again.
The single-level Viewliner cars like the one you were in are somewhat unique in that they have an 2nd upper level window for the top bunk. You don't get on the bilevel Superliner cars you'll find on trains that don't have to go through the Northeast Corridor, the upper bunk just gets a wall.
Nick Hunley yeah but we are east enough to be considered in EST time.... so weird. And then there is the “Ohio Valley” which includes all of Ohio even though the great valley only encompasses the very southern tip.... that never made any sense to me
I travelled by Amtrak last year for Pokémon Go Fest and the trains aren’t that bad. Didn’t know the sleeper cars were that nice maybe I’d gotten on but I live in the Toledo area so it wouldn’t have been needed. If you ever go back to Chicago I recommend trying Jeppson’s Malort for a touristy thing if you haven’t had it before. I keep a bottle of it at home for people to try because it’s an experience.
