This is a journal of my rail trip April 8, 2000. I traveled over 7,000
miles & 25 states. The trip took 10 days with only 2 nights off the train.
My trip as planned included travel on 7 different trains, unfortunately I
was obliged to ride another train due to a missed train. I began my
adventure in Bakersfield where I got a ride from a friend to Los Angeles
Union Station. The Coast Starlight used to depart at 9:45AM & I planned to
arrive about 9:30. I arrived at 9:35 & stood on the platform watching the
train pull out of the station. The departure time was changed to 9:30, a
good lesson to check your schedule to make sure of the departure time.
Amtrak strives to be on time & is usually on time from the origination
point. My ride had left & I was forced to try & catch the train somewhere
north. I took the Thruway bus to Bakersfield arriving at 1PM, 6 hours after
I had left that morning. I then caught the San Joaquin Train #715
destination Stockton. Arriving into Stockton 5 minutes early I found the
bus going to San Jose & asked the driver when we would arrive. He said 6:30
& since the Starlight didn't depart till 7:47 I decided to head for San
Jose rather than staying on the train to Oakland where I could have made
the connection. They say bad things come in threes & this was number 2. The
bus blew a radiator hose near Dublin & we sat on the side of the freeway
for almost 90 minutes waiting for a bus sent from San Jose to pick us up.
When the bus arrived I knew I couldn't risk missing the train in San Jose &
Amtrak considering that arranged for a cab to bring me to Oakland to catch
the train there. You're probably wondering why I didn't stay on the train
to Oakland. The reason being I wanted to have dinner on the Starlight &
depending on the time into Oakland that might not be possible. As it turned
out the train was late & the dining car was closed when I boarded in
Oakland. Having had only a small salad on the train out of Bakersfield
about 6 hours earlier I was very hungry, tired & upset at this point. The
steward in the dining car said they would be bringing some snacks to the
Parlour Car in about 30 minutes. I was not in the mood for snacks & spoke
to the conductor about my predicament. I was in luck after telling my tale
of woe trying to catch up with the train & he said he would see what he
could do. As it turned out about 15 minutes later the conductor himself
brought a tray of food back to the Pacific Parlour Car for me. I had a nice
piece of chicken breast & salmon. also a small salad, some dinner rolls and
a piece of caramel turtle ice cream pie. Well my luck was changing for the
better & I probably enjoyed that meal as much as any on the trip. the
attendant also gave me a cocktail as a little token of Amtraks apology for
the whole mess. Needless to say finally aboard one of my favorite trains,
being pampered, on my way at last I was one happy puppy. I had a night-cap
in the Parlour car & then headed to my room #11 in the 1430 car where I was
greeted by my attendant who was curious why I had not boarded in L.A. After
telling him my tale of woe he sent me off to my room which he had already
made up for me & wished me a good nights sleep. As it turned out my
attendant was one of the nicest, most helpful, always available attendants
I had ever run across on any of my trips. His name was Terry Ray & you'll
be happy if you ever have him as your attendant. He always had a smile & a
kind word for everyone. He works out of the L.A. crew base & for the most
part I have had good service from everyone based in L.A. I soon was fast
asleep, unusual for I normally don't sleep well if at all the first night
on the train. I guess I was so beat from my trials I slept great for about
7 hours & awoke as we pulled into Dunsmuir. We were about 90 minutes late &
after my first cup of coffee I headed for the shower. Sometimes the showers
on Amtrak are unpredictable but since this was a newer Superliner II car it
worked fine. On the Coast Starlight Amtrak provides a pack with soap,
shampoo, hand lotion & hand towels for your use. They also have towels
available in the shower room. These packs are not supplied on the other
trains although soap & towels are always available. Most of the trains also
supply a bag of necessities that the attendant can get something if you
need. They include feminine napkins, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste,
razors & shave cream. If you forget something ask your attendant he may be
able to get them for you. After my shower I got dressed & headed to the
Dining car for breakfast after getting another cup of coffee from the
sleeping car. I was surprised to find steak & eggs on the menu & as luck
would have it I got the steak I wanted last night. This is the only train
that I have seen this breakfast item offerred. It wasn't a little breakfast
steak either. It was what appearred to be a nice N.Y. strip steak. I had 2
eggs over with toast, grits, O.J. & more coffee. The food on Amtrak is
usually quite good & the portions are quite generous. I have never left the
diner hungry. We were now almost 2 hours late & I was beginning to worry
about my connection to the Empire Builder in Portland. I found a conductor
& asked him about it & he cheerfully told me not to worry it was a
guaranteed connection. enough said & I headed for the sightseer car as we
just left Klamath Falls & would be heading into some of the most beautiful
scenery on this route. Earlier we had some great views of Mt. Shasta as
we were running late out of Dunsmuir{it's normally 4:30AM}. Another reason
why the best travel direction on the Starlight is northbound as a late
train allows more scenery in daylight. The South bound train,if late loses
some of the little daylight viewing through the Cascades. The only down
side is the late arrival into Seattle northbound which can be avoided by
overnighting in Portland & taking one of 2 trains from Portland to Seattle
the next day at 8:45AM or 12:30. This would also make for better
connections to either Victoria or Vancouver when you arrive into Seattle.
They just made first call for lunch & we're just a few minutes out of
Chemult so I think I'll go to the diner & enjoy lunch as we continue
through the Cascade Mountains. There's nothing finer than to eat in the
diner while viewing the ever changing scenery unfolding right outside the
window. For lunch today I had the coastal wrap, a delicious dish of sliced
beef with cheese & black beans in a flour tortilla with a mild chili sauce.
It came with a small side salad & I also had a bowl of very good clam
chowder. I also finished up with a piece of my favorite turtle pie. I
wanted to have a big lunch as the Empire Builder out of Portland doesn't
have a diner & all we get in the sleeper is cold meal service. Still about
90 minutes late we pass through Albany & Salem Oregon, still no word about
our connection in Portland. I know we have quite a few people making that
connection & wonder why no announcement was made. Over 1 & 1/2 hours late
we arrive into Seattle about 30 minutes after the scheduled departure of
train #28 the Empire Builder. Still no word from anyone as to what's going
on. As a travel agent & tour operator I am familiar about the transfer but
many making the connection are not. There was a lot of confusion as I
quietly headed down the platform & around the end of the Empire Builder &
headed for my sleeping car. Eventually everyone was directed to the train &
we were on our way departing about 50 minutes late. We travel across the
Willamette River, the Slough & then the main channel of the Columbia River
into Vancouver Wa. The route of the train takes us almost along the banks
of the Columbia river for well over a hundred miles, passing several dams
including the Bonneville dam. The scenery is quite spectacular as we head
into eastern Washington. Night soon is upon us & the attendant offers us a
choice of cold meal packs chicken or sirloin. They both looked nice & the
sirloin was quite good. I spoke to several others not aware of the fact
there was no diner till we got to Spokane, that thought the meal was quite
good also. We make a stop in Wishram & are met by an EMT unit which the
conductor had called ahead to meet us. It seems we have a young lady on
board having complications from a recent appendectomy that was taken off
the train there. I hope she's doing OK, just another example of train
travel not being just a trip but rather an adventure. I decided to try &
get to sleep early tonight & maybe I can sleep through the commotion when
we arrive into Spokane & they add our train to the Seattle section of the
Empire Builder. Leaving Portland the consist of train#28 includes a genesis
locomotive, a lounge car, 1 coach car, 1 coach baggage car, a sleeper & 1
express car. The locomotive will be joined with another in Spokane from the
Seattle section, 2 more sleepers, 2 coaches, the dining car & several more
express cars. The Portland sleeper is now still at the end of the
train{except for the express cars} & 5 cars away from the dining car. This
strange consist happens on several trains that are split up enroute such as
the Lake Shore limited with New York & Boston sections, also the Texas
Eagle Joining with the Sunset Limited in San Antonio. The reason for the
strange consist arrangement is to save time when joining the trains. It
also allows coach passengers easier access to the sleepers as they would
normally have to go through the dining car to get to the sleepers. Not that
I have a problem with that but the sleeper passengers pay a price for their
privacy & it's comprimised by the situation on these trains. The sleeper
passengers also have a very long trek sometimes 5, 6 or more cars to get to
the dining car. We just left Pasco, Wa. about 45 minutes late & after a
brief moment off of the train to stretch my legs & smoke a cigarette it's
to my room hopefully for another good nights sleep. Just a brief comment
about smoking on the train, there's no smoking anywhere on the Coast
Starlight or the Portland section of the Empire Builder. Once we join with
the Seattle section in Spokane we have access to a coach car that has a
smoking lounge in the lower level. This room is equipped with exhaust fans
that vent directly to the outside & therefore the impact on non-smokers is
minimized. Until several years ago smoking was allowed in the lounge car
which meant everyone in the lounge car smoked whether they wanted to on
not. I think this is a much better plan. Smoking is never allowed in the
sleepers, coaches or dining cars. On some single level overnight trains on
the east coast smoking is still allowed in the lounge car during brief
periods during the day & from late at night till early in the AM. Well I
slept great again last night except I awoke briefly in Spokane because the
train was too quiet as we were just sitting in the station. The rhythm of
the rails can put many to sleep & when stopped for any length of time I
usually wake up. I awoke about 6AM & could smell the coffee brewing
upstairs in the sleeper. The attendant usually has the coffee going before
6AM for the early risers & I'm usually one of the first to grab a cup.
Amtrak also provides juice, sodas, bottled water & on most trains this trip
fresh fruit in the sleeping cars. this was definitely something new & a
very nice touch. I was also very aware of a very marked improvement in the
level of service provided by almost all of the employees I encountered on
this trip. This continues an improvement I have noticed on my last few
trips. I hope this trend continues as the service several years ago left a
lot to be desired. My thanks to all of those dedicated Amtrak employees who
are striving to do the best they can with the help of some new amenities
from Amtrak, keep up the good work. After my first cup of coffee I head to
the shower, this not being one of the newer Superliner cars I'm a little
apprehensive, no cause for concern as it seems Amtrak has upgraded some of
the older cars. When Amtrak first put showers in the sleepers the water
pressure was variable & temperature hard to adjust. Shower & shave, then
off to the diner for breakfast. No steak for breakfast on this train but
the standard fare of eggs as you like them, bacon, sausage, toast, biscuits
& gravy, hash browns, pancakes & hot or cold cereal. Really fine food at a
fair price & the view is everchanging as we are now going through the best
scenery on this route, Glacier Park. We travel along the southern edge of
the park for quite some time & the scenery is spectacular. On my first
group rail tour I put together in 1998, this was the favorite scenic
highlight for many of my passengers, the other being the route of the
Cardinal through West Virginia & Kentucky. We're now passing the Izaac
Walton Inn in Essex Montana, a great place to do some train watching for
you railfans out there. A nice place to stay within a few hundred feet of
the tracks. If you're thinking of getting off here remember it's one of the
few whistle stops left in the Amtrak system & you must notify the conductor
if you want to detrain here otherwise the train just glides on by. today no
one on or off here so it's right on by the station. I must say we are doing
quite well as we are back on schedule, Hi-Ball #8 departing Browning, next
stop Cut Bank Montana. Just a little about the service stops on the train,
stops where the train operating crew{engineers&conductors}are changed. The
service crew such as attendants in the coach cars & sleepers stay aboard
for the whole trip as do the dining car crew. at the service stops the
train is fueled, trash taken off, supplies loaded & water tanks filled. the
stops are usually 15-30 minutes but be careful if the train is late some
time could be made up here so stay close to the train as it will leave as
soon as possible. At about 9AM they were showing cartoons in the lounge car
for the kids, at night after dinner they show movies. They show relatively
new releases usually before they are released on video. they usualy have 2
or 3 movies that they show during the trip. We are just arriving into Cut
Bank Montana on time. I clocked the train between milepost 1107 & 1103 in
just 3 minutes that equates to 80 MPH. A pretty good clip although it
doesn't seem like anywhere near that fast. As we travel through the wide
open spaces of eastern Montana I'd like to say a little about the lounge
car. This car is available to all passengers on the train & serves a
variety of hot & cold sandwiches, snacks, non-alcoholic & alcoholic
beverages, souvenirs & other sundry items. This car is generally open from
6AM till at least 11PM with the exception of meal breaks for the attendant.
We're now departing Shelby Montana, on time & if we keep this up we may
just arrive into Chicago on time or close. My last trip in October 1999 it
seemed like anytime we went through Chicago we were anywhere from 3-4 hours
late. this caused problems with connections & rather unpleasant situations.
I sure hope this will not be the case on this trip. After spending some
time on my journal it's off to the dining car for lunch. Today in addition
to the standard fare of burgers, chicken breast on a bed of lettuce,
hotdogs or grilled cheese for the little engineers, they had a hot open
faced turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes & gravy. for dessert turtle ice
cream pie, cheese cake or chocolate cake. We've got a break in the scenery
as we pass through the rather desolate big-sky country of eastern Montana.
This would be a good time to mention the Metropolitan lounge located in
Union Station in Chicago. This lounge is open to all first class passengers
arriving or departing from the station. first class includes sleeper, club
& business class passengers. Even if you depart in coach class as long as
you arrived in first class service you are allowed to await your departure
in the Metropolitan lounge. These first class lounges have easy chairs &
couches, hot & cold beverages, snacks at various times during the day for
example donuts or muffins, a good supply of magazines & newspapers & also
very well maintained rest rooms. The rest room facilities available to the
general public can at times be rather unpleasant especially right before
scheduled cleaning times. these lounges provide a rather nice place to
spend the time waiting for your next train & are a rather nice perk foe
first class passengers. There are Metropolitan Lounges also in New York,
Wash. D.C., Philadelphia & Portland. Separate first class waiting areas
with some of the amenities are also located in Miami & New Orleans. The
nicest Metropolitan Lounge is located in Wash., D.C. They also have a
computer where you can access the internet for those of you wanting to
check or send E-mail. I understand that service is also available in New
york City. We're just arriving into Havre Montana a little ahead of
schedule so we'll have almost 40 minutes before we leave. A good chance to
stretch your legs & for you steam engine buffs a really well preserved
example of a Great Northern S-2 locomotive. A few words now about meal
service in the dining car, one of my favorite places to eat anywhere. Meal
service for breakfast is first come first served until the car is full then
a wait list is started & as space opens you are called into the dining car.
Breakfast is usually from 6:30AM till about 9:30 & if you get to the car
before 7AM you can usually get a seat right away. At 7AM the call over the
PA that meal service in the dining car is open & the car fills up rather
quickly. No announcements are made over the PA after 10PM or before 7AM to
allow passenger to sleep. Lunch service is from about 11AM till about 2PM
again no reservations until the car is full then a wait list is started. If
there is a larger than normal demand for service in the dining car it will
remain open until all passengers wanting to eat are served. Dinner is by
reservation only & someone will come through the train after lunch to take
your reservations. The seatings run from about 4:30 till about 9PM. The
crewmember taking reservations will go through the sleepers first then the
coaches & finally the lounge car. The early & late seatings are all that
are left by the time they get to the lounge car. If you must eat at a
certain time because of your destination or medical reasons make sure
someone is at your seat or in the accomodation when they come through
taking reservations if you're in the lounge car otherwise you'll get either
the very early or very late seatings. Every one that wants dinner will be
served eventually though & the car will remain open until everyone is fed.
Kepp in mind that many factors can affect the meal service hours & these
guidelines are just that, guidelines. Please enquire on the train for more
specific meal service information. If you want special meal service for
dietary or religious preferences please notify Amtrak Reservations or your
travel agent as far in advance as possible, I would recommend at least 72
hours or more. Whiloe I'm on the subject of meal service I would like to
mention a very special lady who was the dining car steward on our trip to
Chicago, Janet Duncan. She was one of the best Amtrak employees working in
any category of service that I met on this trip or any other trip for that
matter. She always had a smile, was very pleasant, professional & made the
dining experience all the more enjoyable. She should be commended for her
dedication to excellent service & be an example to other employees. One
more thing before I finish up this first part of my rail adventure about
making your reservations. I would recommend using the services of a travel
agent familiar with rail travel. That can be no easy task as many travel
agents are not at all familiar with train travel. I am one of a very few
travel agents dealing primarily with rail travel. Be of good faith there
are others out there too. If you can't deal with a travel agent who is
familiar with rail travel you would be better off dealing directly with
Amtrak at least that's their only job. Dealing with a travel agent
unfamiliar with rail travel could be worse. I hope to post the next part of
my rail trip as soon as possible. If you enjoy this commentary please let
me know & make any suggestions as to how I could improve them. Please feel
free to contact me at
Yours
Reggie
