posted
Info in the posts where, and the fact that I've never taken it, have convinced me to consider trying the Capitol Ltd to Chicago instead of the Lakeshore Ltd, even though it will be longer for me to get to NYC and then get to DC. But I have an important question: If I book an earlier train from NYC to DC, and then I get a sleeper from DC to Chicago, is there a place in DC where I can check both my larger suitcase and my overnight bag and then still get them back for the train trip itself? I don't mind paying a few bucks for the privilege, but I don't want to get to DC and find out I have to lug my suitcase around with me when I go have lunch (which I hope to have time to do there; I want to be able to walk around, too).
Also, what is the special lounge like for sleeper customers in DC? Is it easy to find?
Thanks for the info!
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Unless something has changed in the last few weeks, there's a parcel check room at the entrance to Washington Union Station's Gate A where you can parcel-check your luggage for a per-item fee. (I don't remember what the fee is.)
If your "larger suitcase" is not for overnight use, why bother carrying it with you on the Capitol Limited? Just check it to Chicago immediately upon your arrival in Washington. (Go to the baggage-check ticket counter positions, which are on the right side of the ticketing area.) In fact, if you won't need your suitcase right away when you arrive in Chicago, why not check it directly from New York Penn Station to Chicago? They're perfectly comfortable with passengers doing this. It'll go on the Lake Shore Limited, which currently gets into Chicago at 9:30 a.m., meaning your suitcase will appear on the baggage carousel at around 9:45 a.m. (later if the Lake Shore is late, of course).
If you're not at the carousel to claim your suitcase when the Lake Shore's baggage arrives (or, for that matter, when the Capitol Limited's baggage arrives, if you check your suitcase on that train), you don't have to worry about it being stolen in your absence, as they're quite careful about matching claim checks with tags on all baggage that exits the baggage claim room. They'll just store your unclaimed suitcase for you. One small warning, however: The last time I checked suitcases to Chicago, in March 2004, they had done away with the unclaimed-luggage storage cage in the baggage claim room, and were forcing owners of unclaimed luggage to take an obscure elevator to the station basement and make their way through a large, confusing baggage processing area to a small office, where they could present their claim checks to a none-too-friendly employee. I sincerely hope they've adopted a more user-friendly procedure since then.
Posts: 86 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
If you'll also be making an equivalent return trip, i.e., Chicago to New York via the Capitol Limited and a Northeast Corridor train, checking your luggage directly on the Lake Shore offers at least the possibility that your luggage might arrive in New York at about the same time you do, or even a little before. As you no doubt know, unclaimed luggage is exceptionally safe at the New York Penn Station baggage area, where there is no carousel or other self-claim facility.
Finally, if you choose to carry both your overnight bag and your large suitcase aboard the Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington, but then want to get rid of your large suitcase during whatever layover you'll have in Washington, you have the option of checking your suitcase from Washington to New York even if the train you'll be travelling on doesn't carry checked baggage. If I'm not mistaken (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this), they'll put your suitcase on the next checked-baggage-carrying train from Washington to New York, even if that train doesn't accept passengers in Washington. In other words, I believe they'll put it on the Silver Star, the Carolinian, or the Palmetto, rather than waiting to put it onto train 66 (the former Night Owl/Executive Sleeper/Twilight Shoreliner/Federal), which is the only northbound checked-baggage train that accepts passengers at Washington.
Regarding the lounge for sleeper passengers in Washington: The ClubAcela lounge, which is open to all departing and arriving sleeping car passengers, is quite nice and well kept up. It's rarely crowded, and to the best of my knowledge is never full. It has many comfortable chairs and couches; free newspapers (Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times); free soft drinks and snacks; a non-secure luggage storage area; a brochure rack that usually includes some local visitor information; several pay phones, with chairs, desk surfaces, and local phone books; and phones in the seating area with free local service (you just dial "9" first, if I remember correctly). There's also a room with two free computers with Internet service. (One tip: If the background music in the computer room is too obtrusive for your taste, the control knob to turn it down or turn it off is next to the door.)
To get to the ClubAcela lounge, go behind the passenger information desk in the center of the concourse. There are two discreetly signed doors in the wall: The left one is the exit, and the right one is the entrance. Press the doorbell button, and you'll be buzzed in.
Posts: 86 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you are in a sleeper, you may leave your luggage in the first class lounge, which is right between gates C and D at Washington Union Station. I also agree that the best solution is simply to check your luggage in Washington and simply keep your carry-on, leaving it in the lounge luggage area while you meander around the very lovely Union Station. Coach passengers can also check their luggage and leave any carry-ons at the aforementioned parcel room. I do not know why folks would decline to check their luggage, and instead opt to lug it around. The Washington lounge is, IMHO, the nicest of all the first class lounges.
Posts: 255 | Registered: Nov 2001
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
