Chicago

Of Interest: downtown Chicago which includes the theater district, the Chicago Board of Trade, museums, and several universities

Hotels: Of course, at all prices and qualities

Grocery Store: Several small markets downtown. A Whole Foods is visible from the tracks, but not from the station.

Other Transit: City buses run by the station. Buses in Chicago run in a grid pattern. An El station is a short walk to the north. The loop is across the bridge. Just walk straight ahead. Besides the "L", multiple bus lines also end at the loop

ATM: in station

Lockers: yes, but $3.00/an hour

Chicago's original downtown is the to east of the station. Many commercial offices have moved north to the Golden Mile, but the futures market, the Chicago Board of Trade, is still here. Most of this area is now devoted to shopping. Chicago's theater district is to the northeast of the station while bars that serve the student population are to the southeast. The lake, and the park that runs along it, is a 30 minute walk to the east.

If you are walking to the South Loop are, Van Buren is the southmost street you can walk east without having to deal with a highway or a major road. All "L" trains meet at the Loop. The red subway line runs underneath.

Amtrak and Metra trains run from Union Station to neighboring states and the rest of the country.

Chicago is the transfer hub between trains heading east and trains heading west. Daily Amtrak trains run to New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, and New Orleans and all major locations in between. Amtrak also runs multiple trains within Illinois and to neighboring states. A daily train runs to Indianapolis, IN in six hours. Also daily is train that takes four hours to get to Grand Rapids, MI. Running to the other end of Michigan, a daily train takes seven hours to get to Port Huron while three trains a day run to Detroit in five and a half hours. These two lines split at Battle Creek which is three hours from Chicago.

Trains run twice daily to Quincy, IL (four and a half hours). Along the way they stop in Galesburg where Illinois service splits from the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief. Lincoln Service runs four times a day along the Texas Eagle route to St. Louis, five and a half hours away. The last stop within Illinois is Alton. Carbondale is also five and a half hours away, although this train runs less often, three times a day, and follows the route of the City of New Orleans.

Probably the most frequent interstate train coming out of Chicago is the Hiawatha which runs seven times a day in each direction, taking an hour and a half to get between Chicago and Milwaukee. This route parallels the Empire Builder and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line.

Metra operates eleven train lines into Illinois suburbs to the west, south, and north of Chicago. The last stop of one line, Union Pacific North, is in Wisconsin at Kenosha. Metra does not run to anywhere in Indiana. Six of these lines run from Union Station while another three run from Ogilvie Transportation Center, a short walk to the north. The other two run from stations that are just south of downtown.

Most lines do not connect. Exceptions are the Rock Island and Heritage Corridor lines which both end in Joliet, a little more than an hour away. Only Rock Island runs from Union Station and it is peak hours only in the direction of commuter traffic.

Pittsburgh

Of Interest: downtown, multiple theaters, Pitts Fort, PNC Park, Andy Warhol museum

Tourist Office: no

Restrooms: cleaned with bleach just before the first train arrived at 5 am

Hotels: multiple

ATM: several banks are a 15 to 20 minute walk away

Groceries: There are a couple of small markets downtown. There is a regular-sized grocery store is back along the tracks across a highway. This may or may not be walkable.

Other transit: Bus bay parallel to the tracks. Regional and local buses stop here. Greyhound is across the street from the station exit. There is a subway stop within walking distance, but it is not easy to find.

An amazing number of people are awake early in the morning in Pittsburgh, but there are not many businesses open early. If you are looking for a place to eat after getting off the early morning train, walk down Liberty Avenue to Smithfield. Walking further down Liberty will take you further into downtown. Liberty Avenue ends at Point State Park which is the location of Fort Pitt, where Pittsburgh was founded.

PNC Park, the home of the Pirates, is just across from downtown via the Roberto Clemente (6th Street) Bridge. The Andy Warhol Museum is on the same side of the river.

Two daily Amtrak routes pass through Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvanian leaves early in the morning and then returns late in the evening. This train takes five and a half hours to arrive at Harrisburg, seven and a half to get to Philadelphia and finally ends in New York City, nine and a half hours later. Pittsburgh is in the middle of the Capitol Limited. This train takes five and a half hours to arrive at Harrisburg, seven and a half to get to Philadelphia and finally ends in New York City, nine and a half hours later. Pittsburgh is an intermediate stop on the Capitol Limited route. Going north and west, the Capitol Limited is an overnight train to Chicago that stops in Cleveland and Toledo during the night. Going the other direction, it leaves very early in the morning to go to Washington, DC, eight hours away. The train coming into Pittsburgh from DC arrives in the evening.