My Pullman journey...
Alan Orbell climbed aboard some beautifully restored Pullman carriages in Chicago and headed through the heart of America
34 MY JOURNEY
pullman
I
From winter to spring in one journey
t’s not often that the US trails Europe but in the case of rail travel it certainly
does. The renaissance of rail travel has been a European phenomenon for the last few decades but it’s much more
recent in the US. However, the idea that rail travel is
invariably the most relaxing and interesting way to travel or indeed simply an end in itself is now catching on Stateside too. My Journey aboard the new Pullman rail service between Chicago and New Orleans was a great mix of each of those factors, a
definite ‘Revival of the Golden Age of Rail Journeys’, as parent company Premier Rail Collection describes it. Not since I was 14, when I travelled
from London to Austria by train, had I been on a rail journey as long as this was scheduled to be – 19 hours – but I enjoyed every minute. Chicago in the north to New Orleans in the south sounded as though it should take days but no, 19 hours it is, in six restored 1930s/50s carriages.
After-dinner live
music on board was anunexpected treat
Passengers were escorted to their rooms by the
stewards and my suitcase was waiting for me. I quickly freshened up using the tiny basin (there is also an en suite toilet), watched through the picture window as the train eased out of Union Station on the dot of 8pm and headed for the adjacent dining car.
All inclusive Being on the upper level of the carriage there were good
views as I sipped on my first gin and tonic of the evening which, like everything on board, was included in the fare. It was easy to chat to fellow passengers and after a while the waiters invited us to take one of the spacious tables. Linen tablecloths, crystal glasses, flowers and silver cutlery graced the table – as did the menu, which offered an unexpectedly good range of choices, both food and wine. After a comprehensive ‘relish tray’ – think celery,
olives, watermelon, etc – the choice (in brief) was beef tenderloin, chicken, salmon or spinach ravioli. I selected the latter and topped it off a strawberry parfait dessert. It was delicious. Meals can be served in passengers’ rooms if preferred.
“A definite revival of the Golden Age
of Rail Journeys” PREMIER RAIL
All aboard... As requested I arrived at Chicago’s Union Station in plenty
of time and handed over my luggage – I was at the tail end of a week’s business trip at IPW in Chicago, to where I was returning for my flight home, but, sadly, it’s no longer possible to deposit luggage in the station. I sat in the lounge to read, watch TV and my fellow travellers, trying to decide who was on the Amtrak train and who was in the stylish Pullman carriages tagged on the end. I failed totally.
Fast forward
Thinking that American trains don’t do fast I was surprised just how speedily we were travelling, but not too fast for me to head to the Club
Car. A few books and games are available but I settled down to enjoy the entertainment – a guitarist/singer and sax player – and, it’s true, another drink or two. Some time after the witching hour I headed to my room
where the lower bed had been turned down and I snuggled under the linen sheets. I’d be a liar if I said I slept like a log, although others told me they did, but it was therapeutic listening to the clickety clack on the rails and the occasional atmospheric blast of the train’s horn. Soon after dawn we stopped in Memphis, Tennessee and after I’d showered in the shower at
Picture windows perfect for daydreaming
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My Magical Moments
Sipping my first perfectly-served gin & tonic a few miles out of Chicago as the train rolled through the darkness of the American heartlands, and being presented with the menu to discover an unexpectedly great choice of dishes. And then to further discover that the quality of the food surpassed all expectations.
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