Some passengers who ride Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service trains on weekdays are commuters and they’ve gotten to know each other quite well.
They see each other standing on the platform at the same time every morning and afternoon and sitting in the same seats in the same cars.
That leads them to strike up conversations, share laughs, talk about family and even create their own Facebook page.
They know each other well enough to celebrate together birthdays, retirements and holidays.
“You tend to bond with people you see every day standing on the platform shivering at 6 a.m.” said Carol Abing, who has commuted from Milwaukee to Chicago for her job for nine years.
Todd Allen of West Allis, Wisconsin, agreed. “You spend three hours a day with these people, so you get to know them,” he said. “They become friends and family, both on and off the train.”
Allen has worked in Chicago for 30 years and met a lot of people on the rails during that time.
The website On Milwaukee recently profiled the good times these passengers have had over the years.
That included their recent annual party to celebrate the December holidays that was held as they rode home.
It took place on the train that left Chicago Union Station at 5:08 p.m. and included eating, drinking and laughing that got under way in the café car before the conducted had given the highball to leave the station.
In early May the group holds a Cinco de Mayo party on the same train that features blender drinks. Once there even a pinata.
The parties are held with the approval of Amtrak. “The conductors know we aren’t going to cause any problems or get too wild,” said Allen, who served as the bartender for the party along with his daughter, Rachel.
“It’s one of the high points of my year,” said Rachel Allen, who lives and works in Milwaukee. “I get to spend time with my dad and make sure all these fantastic human beings have a bartender so they can spend more time with each other.”
Many of the party goers sipped SouBoxer’s ready-to-pour Old Fashioned drinks, but shots of Tully and seasonal cans of Miller Lite beer also were consumed in red plastic cups.
There was also taco dip, pizza and homemade cookies to eat.
Sandy Ross of Milwaukee, collected signatures and donations for the conductors’ holiday cards, a tradition of giving cash-filled envelope to the 13 conductors working the route as a gate agent I Chicago.
“This is the most generous group you will ever meet. We raised over $900 for the conductors. They take good care of us, and they put up with our shenanigans,” Ross said.
As the train raced south of Milwaukee the party crowd switched to clean up mode to return the café car to condition it was in when they boarded.
It was then that Santa Clause appeared to hand out boxes of “Naughty Bag” condoms.
Playing Santa was Gary Hollander who has commuted to Chicago from Fox Point,
Wisconsin, for 20 years. It was his first time playing Santa.
“I wasn’t willing to wear a fat suit, but otherwise I’m fine being Jewish Santa handing out condoms,” said Hollander who works as a consultant for a non-profit group working to reduce sexually-transmitted infections and teen pregnancy.
The Hiawatha commuter pay $416 a week or about 5,000 a year to ride Amtrak.
“I look at it as a car payment,” Ross said. “Because I live in Downtown Milwaukee and work in Downtown Chicago, I don’t need to own a car.”
He used to drive to work but began taking the train because it was easier. “Driving to work is more work for people like us,” Allen said.
The train can have drawbacks including delays and mechanical malfunctions. Allen said those who miss the 5:08 p.m. train are stuck in Chicago until the next train leaves at 8 p.m.
The other reality of commuting by rail is a 14-hour work days.
Yet many said they wouldn’t want to live in Chicago because it is too expensive.
Shea Royal said Milwaukee has everything Chicago has and is smaller and easier to get around.
And knowing people on the train has helped him cope with the time spent away from his family.
He said he met the Milwaukee commuters during their last party.
“I was looking for a place to get some water and walked through their party car. I asked them for a cup for water and they said I absolutely should not drink the water on the train because it’s nasty. So they offered me beer and Tully instead. Basically this group saved my life,” he said.
Brian Bell will be retiring soon after working in Chicago for 24 years for the Environmental Protection Agency.
“And I’ll be back on the train occasionally after I retire,” he said. “For the parties.”
There will be seven weekday round-trips between Chicago and Milwaukee with an additional Chicago departure on Friday nights.
Amtrak in the Heartland 