A Family Adventure:: Riding the Rails

Last summer, my family embarked on a new adventure. We decided to travel to Chicago on the Southwest Chief departing from Union Station in Kansas City. My husband and I are experienced travelers, but the thought driving 11 hours with our 6 and 4 year old boys didn’t seem that appealing, and airfare for 4 wasn’t in our budget.

I’ve known a few people who have taken a train between Kansas and Chicago, and they all had great experiences, so I thought that we might be up for the adventure and looked forward to making new memories! We found that there were a few differences from air travel, but all in all it was a very good experience! We learned a few things on our maiden voyage, that could be helpful if you decide to take a family train trip.

Things to Consider

We found that there are very few departure options with train travel. We chose to travel from Union Station in downtown Kansas City. The beautiful train station was the perfect place to embark on a brand new adventure and the photographs on the walls showed the travelers of the past setting out on adventures of their own. It made the excitement build even more as I could sense the excitement of travelers all around. 

Check the travel schedule to see the trains status. Similar to air travel, if an arrival is late, it will push back the subsequent departures. We discovered the Amtrak app shows arrival and departure times. Because the Southwest Chief travels from Los Angeles to Chicago, there are many opportunities for delays to occur. If you track the progress of the train, you can have plenty of advanced notice to not have to rush out of the house in the early morning to catch the train. If a delay does occur, Union Station in Kansas City is a great place to wait it out with family as there is a free train museum. The impressive Science City museum was an engaging distraction from our delay.

Think ahead about food. As you might imagine, food is important while spending hours on a train. There is a dining car that you can access on a first come first served basis once the announcement is made, but they only bring a certain amount of food to prepare, and when it is gone, you’re out of luck. There is also a snack bar in the observation car that is intermittently open. We found that it was a decent priced option that served more “kid friendly” food. Since we were on a budget, and we have a picky eater, we decided to pack a soft sided cooler with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. We were very happy with our decision to bring our own picnic style lunch, and there was plenty of room to stash it above us alongside our luggage.

 

There is plenty of space to stretch out. We didn’t have the budget to purchase the Superliner Roomettes or Family Bedroom, but we were completely satisfied with our seats. They were very spacious and each set of 2 seats had 2 plug ins for recharging our phones or tablets. The seats leaned back nearly flat without encroaching on the leg room of the seat behind. Each seat had a leg rest that made for a pretty comfortable place to relax. Some trains have free wi-fi, however the Southwest Chief did not.

You do not get assigned seats until you board the train. However, the best part of traveling with children is that all of the travelers with children get moved to the front of the line. The conductors do their best to place families in a row, but the child will never be separated from the adult.

The observation car is a fun way to see the country. There are restaurant style tables and individual chairs that are first come first served. Many families enjoyed hanging out and playing games in the observation car. The snack bar was located in this car.

Pack minimally. While some trains offer a checked baggage option, not all do. We invested in roller style luggage so that our children could carry their own belongings, but unless you are needing to travel in the handicapped accessible car, you will likely be riding in the upper part of the train cars. That requires you to carry your luggage up a very small stair well. Large backpack style bags work best for adults in order to have extra hands to help the kids carrying bags up and down stairs. Both of the train stations we visited required carrying bags up and down flights of stairs as well.

Our boys have continued to talk quite a bit about our train adventure last summer, and we’ve talked about new destinations to check out in the future. The Amtrak system goes all throughout the country! We can’t wait to see what adventures riding the rails has in store for us!


Make sure you never miss out: subscribe to our weekly Wichita Moms Blog newsletter! Be the first to know about our exclusive events, special offers and discounts, neighborhood group activities and, of course, local resources and parenting voices powered by local Wichita moms!

 

Amy Foster
Amy is a lifelong Wichita-area resident, with the exception of her college and grad school years. Amy has worked as a pediatric physical therapist for a local non-profit organization during her 22 year career. She married Brett, a youth pastor turned special education teacher and coach, and can be seen supporting Andover Middle School with her two boys, aged 13 & 11, only 18 months apart! They keep her occupied in athletic activities . When she isn't busy momming, she likes to walk her dog in her neighborhood, and do embroidery by hand.