Recent content by gregoryla

Glenwood Springs is a definite "yes", but I suggest you reconsider eliminating Truckee. It is a charming old town that has quite a bit to do, including renting a car for a drive to Lake Tahoe. One thing I don't know is about the availability of hotel accommodations in Truckee itself, though...

I couldn't get that link to work. I had better luck with this one: https://amtrakdowneaster.com/themes/contrib/client_theme/images/cafe/downeaster-cafe-menu.pdf

A few years ago we took the Empire Builder from Portland via Spokane to the Izaak Walton Inn. Note that the stop is Essex MT, essentially in the front of the Inn. The Inn was very very nice in a rustic way, and the food was excellent. We spent 2 nights, using our day there to walk into...

We stayed at the New Yorker Hotel a few weeks ago and it was very nice. Rooms are smallish but comfortable. We were on the 25th floor with a great view of the Empire State Building. And being only a block from Penn Station is great. The Tick Tock Diner in the Hotel is decent and convenient...

Get your ticket on the CZ to San Francisco - Shopping Center. Get off at Emeryville (last stop on the CZ). Your checked baggage will be brought around to the front of the station for you to claim and then loaded onto the bus. The shopping center is, as I recall, the third stop in San...

Does anyone know if taxis are available at the Gallup NM Amtrak station? I'll be arriving on the SW Chief in the morning and then need to get a ride to a car rental agency so I can drive to Durango CO. Alternatively, does anyone know if any of the local car rental agencies will pick up at the...

Does anyone know the highest elevation reached on the Sunset Ltd?

Again, not Amtrak, but CalTrain makes a special stop near the Stanford stadium in Palo Alto on Cardinal game days.

Just to clarify one point. You may put baggage in the under-bus bins even though it was not "checked" on the train. So bags you "carry on" the train can be put in the under-bus bins.

The buses are like Grayhound buses. I've never counted the steps but my best guess is 3. I've also never noticed the handrails but I'm sure there is at a handrail on at least one side and probably both. The drivers are also usually pretty good about helping people on and off the bus. The...

Failure of the attendants to clean the bathrooms is my biggest complaint in both coach and sleepers.

My experience has been that the Wine & Cheese tasting on the second day happens just before PDX, though it might not be totally done by arrival in PDX. There is usually a movie downstairs on the first evening -- typically a romantic comedy. It will be over by the time you board in EMY.

The L.A. Conservancy has periodic tours of Union Station -- well worth taking. Among the highlights of the tour are visiting the restrooms in both the Harvey House and the ticketing area, and the bar/lounge in the Harvey House. Amazing art deco.

I agree with me_little_me that you are under no obligation to stay as long as your table mates stay at dinner -- but you will likely find them so interesting that you will want to stay! My two favorite conversations (both on the Coast Starlight): 1. A couple from the same town in England that...

Last summer I took the CSL from L.A. to Seattle, then continued onto Victoria B.C. by ferry. Canadian customs took a quick look at my passport and I was through. Coming back, U.S. customs took an equally quick look at my passport, asked if I had any fresh fruit or vegetables (I had a banana...