CHICAGO — “This is a special day on the Texas Eagle,” said the attendant over the PA system as the train emerged into daylight on its Monday, March 3, departure from Chicago Union Station. “Because today is the day we got our observation car back! Anyone can go in there and relax — it lets you break away from your regular seat.”
Exactly. Passengers who have ridden the Eagle for any portion of its 1,305-mile, 32-hour-plus route had been deprived of the car since October 2020. That’s when the train reverted to triweekly operation in a pandemic-related move, despite proving itself as a vital, daily intercity conduit throughout the early months of COVID-19. Overseers in Washington arbitrarily decided the Sightseers could continue running on all Superliner-equipped overnight trains except the Eagle and Capitol Limited. Coach and sleeping car capacity on those trains was simultaneously downsized.
When daily operation resumed, too many cars had been sidelined past their mandatory brake inspection dates to immediately restore them to service. So the Eagle and the Capitol continued to draw the literal “short straw,” officially because they were “one-night trains” (though the Coast Starlight and City of New Orleans were not similarly penalized). That has now changed, along with capacity expansion for the summer as more equipment is returned to service [see “Texas Eagle lounge car set to return …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 25, 2025].
For those seated on the left side of a coach where every seat was taken — mostly with passengers traveling within Illinois — another pandemic casualty, Chicago’s inoperative train washer — was visible as the train passed. Coach and sleeping car windows may have been dirty, but those on the the Sightseer Lounge were relatively clean.
Lower-level cafe lead service attendant Wilma Snow would later tell News Wire that because this Sightseer had been out of service for a while, she felt she needed to do a little extra cleanup before loading in her stock. This delayed the snack bar’s opening almost until Joliet, Ill., the first scheduled stop. Scheduled is the key word — the train halted just past Lemont, Ill., when P42 locomotive No. 61 sustained an unexplained PTC failure. As overheard on a scanner packed for such occasions, the engineer told someone troubleshooting the problem remotely, “I’m permanently in penalty but there are no faults on the screen at all.” After 15 minutes working on a reset, he said, “We have PTC again; I don’t know what happened.”
One of the best places to sit in a Sightseer Lounge is at the end of the car where the full effect of the windows can be enjoyed. The spacious atmosphere is an especially welcome alternative to taking food back to one’s seat. Onboard service crews and conductors on some trains — especially those with single-level cafe cars — mandate that only people who buy food can sit at tables, then must leave when finished. Fortunately, that was not the case here.
Sightseer No. 33038 is a Superliner II constructed in 1995 by Bombardier to an Amtrak-Pullman Standard design inspired by Budd-built Santa Fe hi-level cars. It was originally delivered with window-facing seats throughout. Although tables have since been added at one end of each car, this seating continues to provide a unique perspective.
Caron Johnston (no relation) and husband Mark are returning to Dallas in coach after visiting relatives and were pleased the car was back on the train. “I prefer not to fly, and having a lounge like this makes the trip so much enjoyable,” she says. Texas and Arkansas destinations were prevalent on checks above seats in the coach next to the Sightseer, but most of the people riding out of Chicago in the other coaches were headed to stops between Bloomington-Normal and St. Louis. Eagle pricing is generally more expensive than Illinois-sponsored Lincoln Service trains, whose Venture equipment has only a snack bar with no alternative seating. That may not be a problem for many passengers buried in their phones — also, there is currently no Wi-Fi on most Superliner-equipped trains — but the lounge offers a uniquely inviting environment for everyone, regardless of how far they are traveling.
That’s good news the Eagle has its lounge car back. Now passengers can ride in comfort from Chicago to Los Angeles on the Eagle.