Traveling by Train from Washington D.C. to Chicago on Amtrak's "Capitol Limited"

In June of 2020 Billie and I embarked on a cross-country train journey on Amtrak from Washington D.C. to Seattle. From D.C. to Chicago we road the "Capitol Limited" , and from Chicago to Seattle the "Empire Builder". The main purpose of our trip was to help out my parents during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and so in order to remain as safe as possible we booked Superliner Bedrooms for both legs.
This video is the first half of that Journey. We left Durham, NC on June 6th at 9 am and drove to D.C.'s Union Station, catching the Capitol Limited at 4 p.m. The train traveled overnight, making stops in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, as well as very short stops at a number of other places. We arrived in an eerily deserted Chicago at 9 am on June 7th, and had about 5 hours to explore the city before boarding the Empire Builder for a 3 day journey westward to Seattle.
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[@what_321]

12:01 Home Indiana State Library Trade Catalogs The story of the saxophone : Its history and uses

[@divox9pqr]

Great video...You two are a fun couple to watch. I’ve ridden this train many times, and you made the video informative and fun to watch. Hope you will travel more by train with more videos.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Thanks so much Rodney! We're glad you enjoyed it.

[@gregtrain1]

I had the bedroom also last time I did the Empire Builder in Both directions! Loved it!

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

I definitely foresee us doing this again. We just took the Coast Starlight and it was also awesome! Vlog coming...eventually!

[@gregtrain1]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 : I did that route from San Jose to LA. Way back in 1996. We hit A semi truck at A crossing! He tried to get Away! We were late getting into LA and catching our train to San Diego.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

@@gregtrain1 Oh no!

[@chriscc6054]

HA ha - Just saw my house in your video in DC lol

[@Hispandinavian]

I love to ride the AMTRAK. When I used to live in Newport News, Virginia, I'd take overnight trips to DC. My bucket list is to ride the train through states I've never been before. I want to ride Empire Builder all the way to Seattle, and then Seattle to LA.

[@karolinesmail489]

Awsome I love big band.......music from the greatest generation...

[@douglasengle2704]

Thank you for the video. 6:30 a cool part of this trip is seeing how it goes from the heavy urbanized D.C. area to Potomac Maryland horse country almost instantly and then shortly running along the C&O Canal and Potomac River to go through a short tunnel to come out onto a bridge crossing the river into Harpers Ferry WV. I'm glad you got an overall positive impression from your visit to our nation's Capitol. That's important and there are a lot of people that work hard to bring that about. I've lived in N. Va for about thirty years and volunteered in a rail-to-trail project "The Capital Crescent Trail" from Silver Spring Md to Georgetown D.C. and the one thing D.C. government elected officials are generally not is unifying. It's aways best to not think that way when going into talk to one if you have any hope of getting anything constructive done. It takes some effort and acting to have a few practiced phrases to sound up beat and unifying. It is something else entirely to do the thinking, effort, organization, combined with some talent to make things change for the better. It's far easier to blame the conditions on others and take no responsibility for the running of the city. Much of Washington D.C. that most visitors see is around the National Mall run by the National Park Service and the federal office building areas. These areas have turned out to have to be run by federal entities for the safety of the area, but the city can still find ways to undermine these efforts. As more higher income persons have moved back into D.C. things have gotten better, but its a hostile environment not a helpful unifying one once you've stepped out of gentrified zones. It's not all that safe in the gentrified zones compared to cities like Indianapolis, although Indianapolis was one of the few large cities that wasn't burned and vandalized from the riots following the Martin Luther King killing in 1968 so it maybe that's too lofty a standard. Thank You again for the video.

[@goosubux]

This is such a nice video to watch. Billie is so cute.

[@danielkamiot-priso6706]

love your post hilarious Music etc awesome

[@Jsfreedom]

18:11-18:15 - SIMPLY HALARIOUS!

[@KillerDoc42]

Good video! I’m an engineer for Norfolk Southern & when you crossed into Chicago you passed a couple of my yards.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Thanks so much for commenting! We really had a magical time on this trip. I remember that section along the lake and coming into Chicago well:) A slow but enormous change to the landscape and scenery.

[@scottprice4813]

Took this train from Chicago to Pittsburg. Then the Pennsylvania from there to NYC. I thought you showed the high points without a lot of wasted time.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Thanks Scott, I appreciate it. I always want to include as much as possible and worry that they're too long, so thats very nice to here! We'll have a new Amtrak video up before too long!

[@RobertKrebill]

Great video

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Thanks Robert!

[@DavidJones-dy2ul]

Gutsy move going to visit Millennium Park, The Art Institute, Buckingham Fountain, etc... They could have raised the one remaining bridge across the river and then you would have had a problem. Also, as band director of the Chicago Military Academy for 11years ( you were less than a mile away when you passed Sox Park) I enjoy the fact that the 🎷 Saxophone was invented to meet the needs of the Military Band!! Hail Sousa

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

"Gutsy" is a nice way of putting it:) We heard that the bridges were raised to control traffic, so we felt relatively safe walking inside the loop. And yes, Sousa's roll in popularizing the saxophone in the US is always overlooked! The trials and tribulations of Adolphe Sax trying to perfect and market the sax before that are equally entertaining. Thanks for watching and commenting on the video David!

[@robertmoir5695]

2023 and the pandemic still continues That is just ridiculous The last time I traveled on Amtrak October 1995 I tried to get a sleeping car but they were all sold out None the less my vacation was just exuberant Oregon

[@katepustay304]

I plan on visiting my cousins in Northern California and I'm glad to see it's doable by Amtrak

[@debannboocherhicks8841]

I have traveled this route many times and really liked it ,.my next time I'm going to try a sleeper car .!

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

The sleeper car was well worth it. We did it primarily for covid-related reasons, but having a private room from which to watch the scenery go by felt like one of the more special and luxurious experiences of my life. Highly recommended! We just did the Coast Starlight from Seattle to San Jose with a Roomette. Expect a vlog in the coming weeks!

[@robertcroft8241]

Last September flew from home (Manchester England) to Washington, stayed at the Phoenix Park Hotel (With Beer Garden) , took the Amtrak with a Roomette to Chicago , stayed at the Mile North Hotel then off to Denver, and LA , Magic !!

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

@@robertcroft8241 Thats sounds amazing!

[@akagumasony]

I would like to board Capitol Limited once, so I will use it as a reference. Thank you very much.

[@tinaduncan72]

Why you didn't get the train in NC and transfer in DC to save that long drive?

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

We considered it! It ended up being an issue of timing. We couldn't get to DC via train early enough to catch the Capitol Limited.

[@randall8379]

It's a lot better when they have a full service dining car, not five star as it was on many trains pre-Amtrak but comparable to an average restaurant. My concern about the food they are serving now is the high sodium levels, high cholesterol. Anyway did you feel safe in terms of cleanliness? By the way, Chicago really looked like a ghost town.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

I can't be sure, of course, but I would guess that the sodium levels in the food were very high just because they were to some degree preserved, but other than that the food didn't seem out of the ordinary. We did feel safe in terms of cleanliness. There were mandatory social distancing and mask-wearing rules, and the workers and passengers were all complying. The reason for our trip was that we were going to help out my parents during lock-down, and we took the train specifically to avoid airports and flying. It seemed like the safest option at the time, with the added upside of being a great adventure.

[@randall8379]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 Will you take trans-con trains again?

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

@@randall8379 Absolutely. But, of course, time and money are the major obstacles. We really want to take the California Zephyr, so our dream train trip now is to take the Zephyr from Chicago to CA, and then take the Coastal Starlight up the west coast. We enjoyed ourselves so much on this trip that I feel confident we will do something like it again.

[@randall8379]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 Denver to California on that route is spectacular.

[@hughosborn7292]

What a great video of your travels !! Until you got to Chicago, sand in the Vaseline. Cancelled my idea of trying to travel .

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Hey Hugh, I'm glad you at least like the beginning! If the problem with Chicago was how locked down it was I would simply say that that was a response to protests the night before and expected protest the next evening, NOT a simple Covid19 lockdown. I suspect that the city is in general much more open now. Cheers!

[@hughosborn7292]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 That makes sense. Thanks for the videos !! You can really tell you guys have fun !! Keep it up !!

[@randall8379]

How was the room temperature? I like it around 70F or even a little cooler.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

There is some amount of climate control in each room, but we found the temperature to be very comfortable and didn't really do much adjusting. That said, we were traveling at a very mild time. When we got into the Rockies we could definitely tell that things got colder, and wore jackets when moving about the train. In other videos the only temperature complaint I recall is that the train was too cold, and they advised to bring layers and potentially your own blanket.

[@randall8379]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 Glad to hear it. I usually find it too warm. How was the food? It's apparently no more dining car, just fast food airline style.

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

@@randall8379 We were on the train during the pandemic so all the meals were pre-made, but our room attendant on the second leg (Empire Builder) told us that there is usually a chef and that it is really a treat, so we definitely missed out on that. Since our trip Amtrak has also decreased service (at least on the Empire Builder) from 7 days to 3, so I don't know what other changes might have been made. I would love to take the train when there is a chef on board. It's also worth pointing out that when you book a Bedroom (and I think Roomette) all meals are included and can be served to you in your room (big plus when trying to social distance). Regardless of the expected food situation, I would recommend bringing your own snacks.

[@randall8379]

@@aaronhillvlogs173 So was the food bad?

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

@@randall8379 No, but they were basically microwave meals. With that in mind we actually enjoyed them. However, they had roughly the same meals on both trains (at some point early in the video I show the menu), something like 5 breakfast options and 6 lunch/dinner options. I think we both ended up having each of the lunch/dinner options twice. For just one leg, no big deal, plenty of variety. And there was always coffee, soft drinks, wine, and beer, snacks like muffins and crackers, and deserts like brownies and cakes added to each meal. We were fine, but we are also pretty happy-go-lucky people. If you're a picky eater...depends. That said, I would love to know what its like when they have a chef!

[@Jason-bh3vy]

There is a version of take the A train remix I've never heard before an I can't find it on spotify or youtube an would love to have it in my collection were can I find it please let me know if you could thank you so much

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Thanks Jason! I made that remix specifically for these videos, and I've never uploaded them anywhere. If you send me a private message I'd be happy to send you a copy.

[@lynneg.308]

Why no seatbelt on the wife in the vehicle?

[@BillieFeather]

Promise it's there! Had a sore shoulder from an injury and it's under my arm.

[@raymurphyii]

Where is Gretchen's mask?

[@JoanDoris1]

So you drove from Durham to DC> That train station was in DC, not Durham?

[@aaronhillvlogs173]

Yes, the first train station was Union Station in DC. It's pretty time consuming to get from Durham to DC and we wouldn't have made it in time to catch the train to Chicago without staying overnight somewhere, so we drove the first leg of the journey. And, now that I think about it, flew home, for the planes, trains, and automobiles trifecta!

[@jaretalbaugh7034]

Nice mask wearing like you are suppose to in station and on train expect in you room.

[@JaxBrubaker-po8ld]

You needed to be vaccinated then you can do it

[@JaxBrubaker-po8ld]

You guys should not have been doing this during the pandemic!