Sunday 15 July 2018

By train and plane across the USA


The other night I made the final booking for my forthcoming trip to the United States, and the travel arrangements are now complete. It's been a little complicated at times and I've had to make a few changes, but now with the last of five flights and two train journeys, plus hotels in two different locations booked, I can sit back and do the interesting stuff - like searching out the best bars and breweries where I can enjoy a few beers.

I won't bore people with all the details, but basically I'm flying into Washington Dulles, and then spending three nights in nearby Loudon County, Virginia, at the hotel which is hosting this year's Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference.

The conference, of course is one of two reasons for my trip; the second being spending a few days with my sister and her husband at their home in a small Ohio town to the south-west of Cleveland.

Once the conference has finished, I've got to travel between the two locations, but before doing so I will be heading south-east from Loudon for a brief visit to Richmond, on the BBW Post-Conference trip. This will be a whistle-stop tour of some of Richmond's finest breweries and bars.

I mentioned before that Richmond was the Confederate State Capital during the American Civil War, but I don't think we'll be seeing much from those times, as the city was razed to the ground by the victorious Union forces in the closing days of the conflict. I'm certain though, that in the intervening 153 years, Richmond will have had plenty of time to rise from the ashes, reinvent itself, and get brewing some amazing beers.

CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The following morning it's time to let the train to take the strain, as I'll be heading back to Washington on the first leg of a two stage journey, which will take me all the way to Chicago. So it's a three hour train ride into central Washington and then a 17 hour journey to Chicago, on the Amtrak service known as the "Capitol Limited."

CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I've booked a "roomette" for this stage of the journey, as the train will be travelling through the night, but there's a further civil war connection en route. From Washington the rail line follows the valley of the Potomac River, and passes through the historic settlement of Harper's Ferry; best known as the location of John Brown's raid on the federal armoury at Harpers Ferry.

The raid took place in 1859, and Brown's objective was to start an armed insurrection amongst local slaves. The skirmish certainly escalated tensions and alarmed many of Virginia's slave owners, and was one of the contributory factors which led to the secession, a year later, of the Southern States from the Union; an event which led directly to the  start of the American Civil War.

The rail-line then follows a winding route up through West Virginia and into Maryland, before crossing into Pennsylvania. The train reaches Pittsburgh at around midnight, and I had considered leaving the train and spending the night there, before taking a Greyhound bus to my sister's the following morning. Amtrak's poor time-keeping record (more on that later), plus the hassle of checking into a hotel in the early hours of the morning, persuaded me it was best to stay on the train, and sleep the night away in the comfort of my roomette.

The following morning we will be journeying through Ohio and up towards Cleveland. I could have asked my sister to meet me there, but as our arrival would be around 2am, it didn't really seem fair to ask her and, as I've said already, I fancy a decent night's sleep.

The train is due in to Chicago at 8:45, having travelled from Ohio, across the state of Indiana and into Illinois. In theory this should have left ample time for me to walk across to the Greyhound bus station and take the 11:15 service to Elyria; the nearest large town to my sister's place. I mentioned earlier though about Amtrak's poor time-keeping, and this somewhat threw a spanner into the works.

A friend of mine, who has travelled extensively all over the US by rail, told me that it is not unusual for delays of several hours to Amtrak services. I did some checking of my own and discovered this was indeed the case. The delays are due to the fact that Amtrak do not own any of the tracks their trains travel over. Several large railroad companies own the majority of America's remaining rail routes, and freight, rather than passengers, is their main concern.

Anyone who has travelled through America cannot failed to have been mesmerised by the sight of some of the incredibly-long freight trains, hauled by two or sometimes even three powerful locomotives as they pass by. On a still evening, you can hear them from my sister's house, as they emit their ghostly whistles whilst rumbling onwards through the night.

Although they are not supposed to, the railroad companies will normally give priority to these massive freight trains; after all they are their bread and butter and the fees they collect from Amtrak pale into insignificance compared to a lucrative shipment of coal, timber, iron ore etc. Amtrak's own site indicated that delays of up to three hours are not uncommon on the southern section between Washington and Pittsburgh, whilst from Pittsburgh to Chicago delays of up to 90 minutes may be experienced.

I decided to change my plans, swapping road transport for air, and booked a flight of just one hour 20 minutes back to Cleveland. It was considerably more expensive than what Greyhound would have charged me, but it not only gave me a lot more "slack" time to play with at Chicago, it also saved me a bus journey of almost nine hours!

So after two days and one night's travelling, I will have five and half days to spend with my sister and her husband. I know my brother-in-law has booked a few days off work, and if my last visit, nearly 10 years ago, is anything to go by, there will be quite a lot of beer drinking involved.

My brother-in-law developed a liking for decent beer during his 13 year deployment with the USAF at Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk. Returning to the states, with my sister in tow, some 20 years or so ago, he managed to track down plenty of interesting local beer, and I imagine what was a burgeoning brewing scene back in 2008, will have changed out of all recognition.

Cleveland-based, Great Lakes Brewing are now one of the major players locally, but there are plenty of others. One place I know we will be visiting, is a place called the Brew Kettle. This establishment, in the suburbs of Cleveland, acts as a place where enthusiasts can visit in order to brew their own beer, as well as enjoying a few of the multitude of different ales on tap at the Brew-Kettle bar and  restaurant.

The good news is that a branch of the Brew Kettle has opened in the town, where my sister and her family reside. We can now just stroll down the road, and all enjoy a few excellent local beers, without any of us having to moderate their consumption for the drive back.

I've left the "there and back" part of the trip until last, but it's no less interesting. I'll be flying with Icelandair, who operate out of Gatwick, and fly to both Washington Dulles and Cleveland, via Reykjavik. On the outward journey it's significantly cheaper for me to break my journey, and when I say "significantly," I mean virtually half-price!

I'll therefore spending a night and a morning in the Icelandic capital - not the cheapest place for a beer, but another destination to cross off the list.

A quick final word about the photos. Most were taken on my previous visit to America, back in 2008,and several of them relate to places described in the narrative.




11 comments:

Ian Worden said...

An interesting itinerary but if going all the way to Chicago I would stop for a night or two to take in the fascinating architecture and excellent brewpubs. I'm not sure that internal flights save much time when you allow for transit to/from the airport and all the messing about when you get there.

Your train does stop in Elyria, although at about 0330, but surely your sister could book a cab to pick you up and leave the door key in the shed, if Americans have such things?

I haven't been to the USA since 2011 so train reliability may have got worse in the meantime. but I don't recall Amtrak being all that unreliable and in any case they have been around long enough to build allowances into their schedules. They do actually own their busiest route, the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington - delays there tend to be caused by the suburban services that also use the line.


You can have meals brought to your roomette (aka a cupboard) but I would advise going to the restaurant car, which normally offers "craft beer" of one sort or another.


Ian

Paul Bailey said...

Hi Ian, thank-you for your comments, thoughts and suggestions which are much appreciated. I understand where you are coming from about spending a night in Chicago, and when I realised (after having booked my Greyhound ticket), that the connection with the train could be a little tight, I looked into this.

I also weighed up the coast of the flight against that of an overnight stay, and there wasn’t that much in it, bearing in mind that I would want to stay in a decent hotel and in a safe neighbourhood.

There is another reason though, for not going for an overnight stay, and that is my brother-in-law has booked time off from work and, given the small amount of leave entitlement which most American workers get, I don’t want to mess him around by arriving a day later than scheduled.

Seeing that I have now booked a flight which leaves Chicago at around 5pm, I should still have sufficient time to visit at least one of the city’s brew-pubs. If I can fit one in on my way to the airport, then so much the better, especially if Amtrak’s time keeping proves better than my friend suggested.

Cheers, Paul.

Paul Bailey said...

Hi Ian, I forgot to add that yes, the Capital Limited does indeed stop briefly at Elyria: but as you point out, its 3.30 in the morning!

My brother-in-law says Elyria is not a nice place after dark, but I’m sure the same could be said of many American towns. That aside, I’ll stay on the train, cocooned in my roomette, and ride all the way to Chicago. I’ll also be dining in the restaurant car, and looking out for some of those craft beers you mention.

ETU said...

Where are The Blues Brothers, now that they are so urgently needed over there?

Cheers,

E

Paul Bailey said...

"The Blues Brothers?" You've lost me there, I'm afraid Ethelred.

ETU said...

Have you seen the film, Paul?

There's a sub-plot about the extreme right wing in the US, in the shape of the Illinois Nazis et al.

Cheers,

E

Paul Bailey said...

ETU, I'm not much of a film buff, and am probably one of the few people who hasn't seen the film.

ETU said...

What? You've not seen "The Blues Brothers"?

Paul, then one of life's finest pleasures awaits you. Forget beer.

Cheers,

E

Russtovich said...

"So it's a three hour train ride into central Washington and then a 17 hour journey to Chicago, on the Amtrak service known as the "Capitol Limited.""

Oof. That's a bit of a roundabout way to get to Ohio. But since it's by train I kind of understand. :)

"to have been mesmerised by the sight of some of the incredibly-long freight trains, hauled by two or sometimes even three powerful locomotives as they pass by."

The same in Canada. Woe be the person driving in a hurry who gets stopped by one of these behemoths at a railroad crossing.

"it also saved me a bus journey of almost nine hours!"

Which is why we fly more often over here. :)

"We can now just stroll down the road, and all enjoy a few excellent local beers, without any of us having to moderate their consumption for the drive back."

Perfect!

"I'll therefore spending a night and a morning in the Icelandic capital - not the cheapest place for a beer, but another destination to cross off the list."

My youngest did the something similar a few years ago when Icelandic air started flying out of Edmonton, Alberta. Much cheaper to get to Europe that way, plus stay a few days in Iceland to see the sights. :)

Cheers

PS - as the city was raised to the ground by the victorious Union forces

I think you mean razed. :)

Paul Bailey said...

Hi Russ, on paper taking the train from Washington all the way to Chicago, does seem a rather roundabout route, especially as I will then have to fly back to Cleveland. In addition, the Capitol Limited train does actually call briefly at Elyria, which is a short drive from my sister’s home.

This brief halt takes place at around 3.30am, and whilst I’m sure my brother-in-law would turn out and meet me off the train, I don’t want him to have to do that. Much better for me to remain on the train, get a reasonable night’s sleep, and awake refreshed the following morning somewhere between Elkhart and Chicago.

I have another reason for wanting to remain on the train, and that is Washington-Chicago is roughly half-way across the country, and it has always been an ambition of mine to travel coast to coast, right across the USA. In a few years time I can complete the journey by travelling Chicago-San Francisco, or vice-versa.

Bit of a silly error on my part, raised and razed. This has now been duly corrected!

Russtovich said...

"I have another reason for wanting to remain on the train, and that is Washington-Chicago is roughly half-way across the country, and it has always been an ambition of mine to travel coast to coast, right across the USA. In a few years time I can complete the journey by travelling Chicago-San Francisco, or vice-versa."

Ok, I get it now. (and good planning). If you're already there it makes perfect sense to get in half of your ambition. It should be interesting to compare the two trips once you do the Chicago-San Fran one. I grew up in eastern North America (near Toronto, Ontario) and have lived out west now in two different places for 20 years. I think the scenery in western North America (for the most part) is better than that of the east*. :)

Cheers

* - and I'm saying that based on driving from eastern Ontario to the west coast (or vice versa) at least seven times over the last 30 years; and two of those were mostly through the US. :)