Hitting the Rails...

In just a few hours, I'll climb aboard Amtrak #26 – the 4:05 p.m. departure of the westbound Capitol Limited. I'll be aboard the Capitol the entirety of its trip to Chicago, Ill., scheduled to arrive in the Windy City at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow morning. From there, I'll spend little more than a day in Chicago, exploring some of the railroading nuances there – and a brief trip up to the historic Wrigley Field for a Cubs game – before catching Amtrak's #5, the westbound California Zephyr on Thursday afternoon en route to Denver, Colo., to attend the USA Rail 2010 Conference early next week.

Along the way, you can expect a series of posts not only chronicling my journey, but also some commentary and analysis of some of the interesting elements of long-distance train travel and a few of Chicago's railroading distinctiveness. For instance, I'm planning posts on dining aboard long-distance trains, a visit to Prairie Crossing, Ill., Chicago's four train stations and some background on how trains are named. Some posts might be rather brief on account of travel limitations. Lastly, I'll be liveblogging the USA RAIL 2010 Conference once it gets underway.

Stay tuned...