Amtrak Hiawatha from Milwaukee to Chicago (in "Business Class"!) - Apparently a Trip Report
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- The only "commuter train" with a "business class"!
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Ngl, I saw "Hiawatha", looked at the day, and almost expected this to a secret trip report of the Borealis.
I didn't intend for the release to work out that way but here we are!
Vending machine chicken salad sandwich seems like it might ultimatly cost a lot more than $6.
It’ll cost ya a couple hours in the bathroom
@@bubbaoreilly7519Gumbercules!
@@bubbaoreilly7519 Gumbercules? I love that guy!
the cost of toilet paper will vastly outweigh the cost of the sandwich
"Oh you don't pay... with moneyyyyy" *twirls moustache*
Yes WisDOT received 5 million from the FRA in 2019 for the airport station to build another platform and a footbridge! Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is named in honor of US Army General Billy Mitchell, who was raised in Milwaukee and is often regarded as the father of the US Air Force! Mitchell served in France during World War I and by the time the war ended, commanded all American air combat units in France! After the war, he advocated for increased investment in air power. He was the one that during an inspection tour of the Pacific in 1923, predicted the rise of Japanese strength and later foretold its Sunday-morning attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. He passed away in February 1936, over five years before the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, and in 1946, Congress posthumously awarded Mitchell a special Congressional Medal of Honor
i think the metrolink cars are being refurbished by talgo which is why they're in wisconsin
Yeah, saw this on another video. They were towed by the SW Chief to Chicago then probably the Empire Builder to Milwaukee.
I always appreciate the serenity of the Nathan videos
Nathan is love, Nathan is life
Serenity now
ahh shit this video holds dear to me...gosh its not as bad as you think... :P
The Hiawatha Service's name refers to the original Hiawatha streamliner fleet! Historically, the Hiawathas were operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad aka the Milwaukee Road, and were among the world's fastest trains in the 1930s and 1940s, initially traveling between Chicago and the Twin Cities. The original Hiawatha fleet in turn was named after the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an epic about the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman! The story takes place in Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. Amtrak began using the Hiawatha Service name for a Chicago-Milwaukee service in 1972, pivoted to other names between 1976 and 1989 (Turboliners, the Badger, the Nicollet, the Radisson, and the LaSalle), and then returned to the name from then on!
That intro still slaps
Lol the gate at in the beginning, I am now sold on this channel.
Glad to see more Wisconsin videos! I'll be looking forward to the Portage least used station eventually.
I take the Hiawatha for work. For $25 bucks one way for an hour and half train ride, it is a great service. Just wish it had more frequency.
Two comments from a Chicagoland transit employee:
1) The construction appears to be at Grayland (Metra) Station, which is being rebuilt for full accessibility along with some more basic repair/replacement work.
2) Glenview Station is interesting in that it's one of a few mini hubs out in the suburbs that have Metra, Amtrak, and somewhat decent Pace service. It and La Grange Road will be as of next year the only Amtrak stations in the region without Interagency Signage, the program I work on; I'm hoping to add signage at both in a later phase.
Very cool, thanks for the context!
You really need to ride the Pacific Surfliner. From San Diego to LA it’s a commuter type train that very frequent. And it has great scenery. And the trip from LA to San Luis Obispo is amazing, but only 2 round trips a day.
Technically it’s San Luis Obispo to San Diego twice a day.
you should do the new borealis train next.
happy to see nathan back! also a beautiful station at the beginning
Amtrak is trying to bring the Hiawatha to 10 trains a day, but plot twist! While Wisconsin is very supportive, Illinois is filibustering! Apparently, some of the suburbs are upset about the addition on third-track sidings, complaining about noise and pollution from stopped trains. I say, third track the whole thing-problem solved!
Wow, this feels like the reverse of how it usually is!
Nathan's sick burn "So you can;'t view that!" at the end hehehe.
If you lived in downtown Chicago and worked in downtown Milwaukee, this train would be the absolute best!
@10:08 i like the stray hairs who decided to form either single cat ear or single devil horn.
So, they are also chucking the Venture business-class cars randomly in the middle of the set on the Lincoln Service route between Chicago and St. Louis, which does still have a Horizon cafe car with business class at the front. You can imagine my surprise when I saw it pass me, then was ushered on to the Venture business car with a coach ticket. Single seat both ways, baby!
Talgo in Milwaukee has been contracted to build the Metrolink cars. Same facility that built the Chicago--Madison articulated sets. The Metrolink cars get to and from this facility via the Southwest Chief and Hiawatha.
I've never been THIS early! Usually I'm Coast StarLATE! 😂 😂
5:15 Nederlandse Spoorwegen announcement jingle??🫵🤨⁉️
I KNEW that sounded familiar
You’re wondering why there’s Metrolink coaches in Milwaukee? Im still trying to figure out who’s idea was it to bring NJ Transit Comet cars to Los Angeles.
I took this trip back in March when it still ran with Horizon cars. There was some snow out in Wisconsin which made the scenery actually somewhat interesting. I still feel like 7 round trips + the empire builder is pretty lackluster though, especially for a commuter train. they should have added a round-trip with the Borealis instead of replacing one. also there was some drama about Amtrak removing the Monthly Passes on the Hiawatha for a while and their response to all the people who got screwed over was basically “Amtrak is an intercity provider not a commuter service. If you want a commuter train, take Metra [which doesn’t run up to Milwaukee so drive like a normal human being]”.
😅😮
I like how they have to specify that alchohol consumption is strictly prohibited, as if that wouldn't just be a given. Gotta love Wisconsin lol
Well on long distance it's not forbidden.
@@BrianWeber-gt4ho huh, wasn't aware that was the case (I've only been on an Amtrak service once before, at least a decade ago, as a kid). Guess it's an oddity then that they're *not* letting us Wisconsinites drink on that train, haha
I look forward to riding in business class on my coach ticket when I ride the Hiawatha in August. Thanks for the heads up on the price of batteries in the vending machine. I'll be sure to buy some before arriving at the station if I need them.
vending machine sandwiches are awesome was really hoping for a review of that chicken salad.
EDIT: and there is limited/no food service on your train!
I’ve missed Nathan! Top tier costar ⭐️
What the hell, Miles? Videos don't just... start!
Thanks for the video! Sad there were no fun facts but given the circumstances I understand.
speaking of Amtrak, im sure we've all heard the news about this new Borealis train.
I road this service a few years ago in the old Amfleet or Horizon cars. At that time there was even less trains per day but they did have the cart snack service. This service other than frequency and distance is similar to what we have in Pennsylvania on the Keystone trains between New York and Harrisburg. They use Amfleet cars but other than the train to Pittsburgh do not have a cafe car. One reason I heard was that Pennsylvania did not want to pay to have the service since the trip between Philadelphia and Harrisburg is around two hours and people can get food at either 30th street station outlets or the newsstand in Harrisburg that also has limited food service available as well as local stores near the station. The same could be said for New York if you started there as there are many food outlets in the station area.
This better lead to the new Borealis train!
Unfortunately not, I still haven't been on it!
@@MilesinTransit do you need me to send you a check?
Haha, I appreciate the thought! I'm just not really raring to ride it, since it's all track that I've been on and the equipment isn't anything special. It's definitely exciting, but I don't know if I'd make a whole trip just for it! It's the kind of thing where next time I go to Minneapolis, I'd want to take the Borealis one of the ways.
@@MilesinTransit fair point, but just let me know if you need me to put my social security number here in the comments as a motivator
i do have to agree on the greyhound option to CHI from MKE.. i guess its available only to those who don't book in advance for Amtrak, or for whatever reasons... the cost is quite the same... (i think.. not a big significant change)
Similarly, I rode on a Business Class Siemens Venture on the Lincoln Service to St Louis despite I had a Coach Class ticket though I was exiting the train at Alton Station which is the station before it's terminal stop.
Nathan is the Steven Wright of foamer videos
I’m surprised that someone from the Milwaukee tourism didn’t immediately pop out of nowhere to say “it’s not just a station. It’s Milwaukee Intermodal Station.” Mind you, they’ve been trying to get us to stop calling the airport “Mitchell Field” for decades and it hasn’t worked either.
NATHAN!!!
Here for the sphere \m/
You should do a review of the metra that goes from Chicago to Kenosha
I want to ride the PCC trolleys up there!
FYI, i feel like there is no queue at the MKE station for amtrak.. since you show you tickets/boarding pass on the train while sitting... (just Chinese cut in the line... and no one seems to bother..)
The "sphere" is Foxconn's "Research Sphere"
I think that this is the shortest Amtrak route. To put it in perspective, it’s roughly 25 miles shorter than the LIRR Montauk branch.
Hartford line is a bit shorter
Boston to Penacook, NH update: Concord Area Transit now runs service to Laconia, NH (fare free). It looks like you and Nathan are going to have to revisit the route to include the new 30ish miles from Penacook to Laconia.
Also, thanks for highlighting the Hiwatha line. I grew up in Milwaukee and amtrack is by far the best way to get into downtown Chicago.
The last trip is at 4 PM, huh? I'm not sure if it's possible to get up there in time, at least using the "cheapest" way... some good diners along that route though!
Did you ever find out why the GO cars are there?
There is a nice coffee shop across the street from the station.
People have said it's because they're being refurbished by a rail company in the area!
Amtrak and Via Rail Canada will someday realize what we figured out a hundred years ago. Trains have many doors and there is no reason for anyone to wait in a single file line to board.
Video Idea: ride Amish and Mennonite Bus lines? Or perhaps: try to cross the country on buses without Greyhound?
I sort of do the former in a very old video called "The Pretzel Pilgrimage"!
FYI, i have suspision that people in MKE take the Hiawatha as a taxi/train service (for free) just to get to the airport.. I suggest that my theory is true... :)
Strangely, on Amtrak you can book MKE to MKA (airport-trains, now 7 per day with Borealis) or MKB (airport-buses, 2 per day, on a Thruway bus). The bus originates at Green Bay. Amtrak doesn’t usually sell bus-only tix. The other thing is Amtrak parking at the airport, which Miles mentioned. They say they check tix, but it’s the same rate as remote airport parking (shuttle).
One flub on the Amtrak app is that if you type in Milwaukee Airport it only shows you MKB, or only MKA if you’ve previously typed in MKA because you know. The algorithm seems to break on parentheses. Arghh.
I know there's a big bottleneck in service due to lack of equipment but based on the crowds it seems like they should be really investing in this route to get more service. You could probably double the amount of trains per-day and still have room to grow.
so you took the 6pm train from mke to chi.... i can understand why you feel skechy about this place. to my point of view; at least when i make the trip to SHEB->MKE-> the only way for me to get there is via Bus and Train (Indian Trails and Amtrak) and that's at 6am in SHEB and MKE at 7:45 for a departure at 8:05 to get southbound to Chicago (there's always the airport and other stops along the way to CHI)
Man I so look forward to commuting to Minneapolis like this in 2028 when NLX gets built.
When are you going to do Clifton Forge VA least used station? You must try Mike’s NY Style pizza while you are there.
Justin Roczniak is originally from around there and we've been saying we should do it together at some point!
Although this was posted just days ago, while you were waiting in line to board, I noticed a sign advertising "Milwaukee Holiday Lights" from Nov 2020--Jan 1 2021, at the 3:21 mark right about the time the pandemic virtually shut down the US! Did you wait 3 yrs+ to post this? Or was this sign badly outdated and somebody failed to take it down? And the Empire Builder pulled in from Seattle next to you--you could've opted to take a Superliner to Chicago with some advance planning AND had a cafe meal! Ironic how no alcohol allowed seeing that Milwaukee is known for its breweries!
This was filmed in October 2023, so both the video is late and the poster is out of date!
The Trip Report theme song has been stuck in my head for 3 months, send help...
wth NS station chime on the ventures?
Siemens use it on all their newer stock now for some unexplained reason - You can hear it on Thameslink 700s in London
3:21 lol when was this filmed? Or did the station never bother taking the sign down
This was last October!
Do you take requests? If so idk why but a future video of the LIRR oyster bay branch
I've never been on it, so noted!
When are we going to get the Chicago to Minneapolis or Minneapolis to Chicago on the new Borealis route? Also as someone who lives in Madison WI the fact that there is NO Amtrak service makes me so sad :(
I haven't ridden it yet, unfortunately!
Lots of planning for Madison, it would be popular for sure. I think 7 station locations are under discussion, about 3 seriously. The Borealis went the other way because it had existing service. The snail’s pace is an insult to snails, but that’s the news. The movie The Prince and Me had a funny scene at the Rathskeller with yelling about Minnesota, but it didn’t look like a great movie so I didn’t watch the rest.
I'm curious: what qualifies a journey as Apparently a Trip Report? You've taken plenty of train trips that didn't have that branding
It's kinda vibes-based, but I consider it to be any video that's entirely dedicated to a long-distance means of transportation.
Those batteries in the vending machine are a POOR BID!
Is this the first instance of a Strong Bid?
An Infinitely Strong Bid
No poor bid required!
🔥🔥🔥🔥
cross the country by city bus only :)
Man, if it was possible to do that...
@@MilesinTransit You never know until you checked it out. :) First data mining over OpenStreetMap and then confirm routes with each agency. Also, bring a bag of changes.
Today's Soundbites
0:00 Apparently a trip report
2:47 5 minutes later (is this really a *miles in transit* soundbite though?)
5:33 F tier F tier F tier F tier
9:17 Credits
I gotta step it up!
Oh god did you guys take the blue line out to the airport? That sucks ass
No, we went a far more convoluted way explicitly to avoid the Blue Line!
They need a bar car!
The dome I think that was zion nuclear plant
That dome is part of the Foxcon factory complex that was built/ failed. Microsoft is now investing in a massive data farm on the site.
Hiawatha sounds kinda japanese if you read it differently.
its not business class.. its the newer style train car.. they have.. personally i see that kind of train car it seems modern than the old style amtrak... but that's not business
ohh crap thats right amtrak may have a Business class train on their hiawatha... but i feel like its to 'move train cars within the system' so to be honest you may have gotten lucky.. which in my experience i got lucky a few times.. (not many to be honest; once i believe)
you might get lucky with different style of cars.. yup! i love that feeling.. never know what train car i get to hop on to!
and then...
and then...
Thrid
The Hiawatha Service was supposed to get Talgo HSR trainsets but Governor Scott Walker cancelled the project and the Talgo trainsets built in Wisconsin ended up....in Lagos, Nigeria. Sturtevant was originally known as Parkersville, after early settlers in the area called the Parker family. It's been named Sturtevant since 1923 which was when the B. F. Sturtevant Company, a fan manufacturer, opened a plant. The manufacturer ceased to exist in 1989. Right next to the tracks in Glenview is the site of a big Naval Air Station! It was originally built by the Curtiss Flying Service and intended to be the hub of Chicago's air service. When it was dedicated as Curtiss Field in 1929, it was home to the largest hangar built to that time, Hangar One. And it was quite advanced for the time like having a one gigacandela electric light which allowed for night airfield activity. It was used by the military starting in 1937 as NRAB Chicago and later renamed to NAS Glenview in 1944. It was eventually shut down in 1995, being turned into mixed-use development called The Glen, with Hangar One and the control tower remaining. Before it was shut down, this was the staging area for the Chicago Air & Water Show.
I still am upset about Walker doing this.....Hate that guy!!!!!!!!!
The Hiawatha is a pretty good service, and I believe one of the few profitable Amtrak lines. It was poised for HSR upgrade until the Wisconsin government nixed that idea. They used to have a beverage and snack cart, but I guess that's gone now too. They really need to get rid of the ridiculous waiting queue at either end and just let people board.
To be specific, it was Republican Governor Scott Walker who nixed the HSR upgrade of the Hiawatha.
@@davidhein8322 Correct. I was trying to stay apolitical, but that was the reality of what happened. Contracts had been signed and construction was ready to begin. Walker wanted roads, and instead got nothing. He was also responsible for the Foxconn debacle, so not a great track record. Oddly it was Tommy Thompson, a Republican, who wanted HSR over a decade earlier.
The reason why the Metrolink cars are in Milwaukee is because the Talgo factory is there so Metrolink contacted Talgo to refurbish the Bombardier Bi-Level.
To add on, the Talgo factory I believe was originally for building and maintaining the trains that would go on the higher speed Milwaukee to Madison route, which was about to start construction in 2010 before it was cancelled.
2:18 "I assume everyone's yelling at me."
Same, Nathan. Same.
2:01 the reason why those Metrolink cars are there is because they are being rebuilt by Talgo on the north side of Milwaukee. The cars you guys saw have already been rebuilt and were awaiting delivery to the west coast.
That's what we speculated when we were there to see CP 2816 come through. Thanks for confirming!
4:29 - It's nice to see Konstantin from "Killing Eve" still alive and doing well with his new protege!
5:55 - Uh, oh... you've angered Konstantin...
Took the Hiawatha last year was honestly really comfortable. Haven’t tried the new Venture cars yet, but the horizons were really nice
I am probably the only republican that fully supports public transit. I appreciate your videos. I used to take public transit adventures when I was a trucker and visited different cities, Public transit adventures are the best adventures. Thanks for posting and safe travels.
There’s at least two of us.
Great job (as usual) Miles; hoping a collab with you and Jeb one day!
Jeb and Suzanne and Miles and Aleena couples' trip when?
For about half a second I thought this was a Borealis report.
Same :(
Same
Yeah, I haven't been on it yet :(
What do we want? More trains
How do we want them? Midwestern levels of reliable and boring
I had no idea there was such a thing as sandwich vending machines. The fact that they exist is a really cool thought.
Food-related stuff aside, this video was pretty good. I would definitely like to try one of Amtrak's Midwestern short-distance routes one day, especially if it has the Venture coaches.
I know you weren't trying to annoy her, but I feel sorry for your seatmate.
I hope the Siemens Venture ICTs for the northeast corridor are slightly better than the ones bought by the states for the midwest service. I’ve seen some meager evidence they will have more passenger comforts, but nothing definitive.
welcome. we have a cozy prison right downtown for your convenience
Wow
My comments are gaining traction. Remember this when I make it big @@MilesinTransit
I understand that Mitchell airport also serves a "Route 128-like" role of being the station that most suburbanites will use instead of the one downtown.
Yea, a lot of the south side, south shore, and southwest suburb folk use this station instead of downtown
5:13 NS bing bong
Directly across the street from the Milwaukee station is Stone Creek Coffee roastery and factory coffee shop. HIGHLY recommend, they know how to roast a good blend. I'm from Seattle and I still regularly order their stuff online because I enjoyed it so much one of teh times I was visiting.
Granted, that may have partially been because I took the redeye from Seattle to Chicago (getting no sleep thanks to the screaming child a few rows over, and his poor mother was doing everything she could to try and calm him down and stop him), took the L across Chicago, and then caught the first Hiawatha north, and it was a glorious beacon of caffeinated hope to my body running on basically 36 hours of wakefulness. It's still good coffee though.
7:25 That massive sphere is basically the only existing remnant of the failed Foxconn plant that Scott Walker tried to orchestrate. Quite ironic that you can see it from the Hiawatha, the train service that he campaigned on stopping the improvements of. Scott Walker deserves the worst and genuinely set Wisconsin back a decade, if not more, in many facets.
the hiawatha is boring but its Wisconsin. with its a connection for to be in the bigger cities! .. ... #Borealis #Amtrank [not affiliated with amtrak with my comments just a avid viewer, thanks Miles! :) ]
Despite it's name, I found it interesting that it follows the Metra Milwaukee District. I expected you to join in with the UP-N in Kenosha.
I love your trip reports!!! Thank you for posting this fun and funny report!!! 😃 I liked the sandwich vending machine, too.
Would love to see more Chicagoland content, there's plenty of oddities and weird transit trips to be taken here.
It's cool that they operate the same policy as the UK regarding Business Class/First Class: if the service is advertised as coach/standard only but they use a train that has the fancy seats, anyone can use them.
omg hi miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now you need to ride the Borealis train. Chi-Stp afternoon
I guess it made sense to let the builder go 1st since they make less stops
In my honest opinion, Milwaukee to Chicago by Amtrak is a very short time, so it might not be worth it. Now Chicago to Minneapolis or Los Angeles, NOW THATS WORTH IT!!!
worth it in what sense?
Yeah, I have the same question...!
@@MilesinTransit its a longer distance, but do what you want.
@@LewisYamanoteAintReal but pricier too