We had come a long way from the glamour days of sleeper trains. A century ago, the original Lake Shore Limited set the bar for deluxe rail travel, with an 1897 New York Times story reporting reverently on news of the train’s silk draperies, gold moldings, and inlaid woodwork. Later, the Twentieth Century Limited famously whisked Vanderbilts and Roosevelts, stars of Broadway and the silver screen along this route, offering cocktails made to order, fresh- and saltwater baths, and such attendants as a stenographer, valet, tailor, barber, ladies’ maid, and manicurist. You might sit next to Spencer Tracy at breakfast, or spot Gloria Swanson waving from the observation platform.
In those days, a train whistle was the high, keening sound of romance, with all its pains and pleasures. Think Bogart in the rain in Paris, Marilyn leaning into a bunk in “Some Like It Hot,’’ Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint flirting as the landscape rolls merrily by in “North by Northwest.’’
Fast-forward to today’s cash-strapped Amtrak. Because of equipment problems, Amtrak eliminated sleeper cars from the Boston leg of the Lake Shore Limited in 2004, so locals bound for Chicago had to get off in Albany-Rensselaer and join the train coming up from New York to get a bed. Rensselaer? I can tell you: not glamorous.
Then last year, responding to a surge in overnight rail travel, Amtrak restored sleeper cars to the Boston line. We had been planning a trip out west. This would be a kind of test ride. Was the Lake Shore Limited ready for its close-up?
Room with a view
Once we were in our room, our perspective quickly shifted. A surprisingly spacious overhead storage bin turned out to hold all our bags and even a small guitar. Hangers on a wall kept our jackets neatly to the side. Freshly stacked towels, pillows, and water bottles greeted us.
