Recent content by snvboy

I'm very excited about the possibility of an east/west Staunton - Charlottesville - Richmond - Williamsburg - Tidewater service.

Thanks for the feedback! For those following along at home, Veronica whipped up this makeshift wine cooler - complete with the kerchief to catch the condensation - when we ordered a bottle of white wine with dinner and they didn't have one in the cooler already. After dinner, she was totally...

Last week on the Southwest Chief I received the best service I've ever had in the dining car. I would like to make sure that they get properly recognized by Amtrak for this. What's the most effective way to let Amtrak know?

I think in 2016 they worked with Amtrak to add a dedicated Sightseer Lounge  for their group, but the train was still a mix of Tain Jam and regular riders. 2017 and 2018 they booked out the whole train. 

I was a regular rider.

Sorry if it was unclear in my post, but the tab for regular passengers was not covered in the cafe. The TrainJam had several sponsors who were covering the Cafe tab for TrainJammers, but not for regular riders. I'm pretty sure that didn't cover alcohol, as booze is the one thing that wasn't sold...

Let's leave it that way.

I am surprised that nobody - and I haven't seen it in the media either - have made reference to the 1999 Air Botswana crash, that is eerily similar to the current Horizon one. A disaffected employee, in this case a pilot who had lost his certification multiple times, stole an airplane (the same...

If you haven't booked the trip already, consider doing it in the reverse if you are concerned about the connection in Chicago. Fly to DC, and take the Capitol Limited or Cardinal to Chicago and connect to the California Zephyr. There's MUCH more connection time westbound than eastbound, and the...

My gut tells me that Mr. Anderson, with an airline frame of mind, came in and looked at the diners and exclaimed "Are you ****** kidding me? Three plus people to turn out this slop!?!?" Everything about this experiment leads me to believe this to be true, and that dining for sleeping car...

You might find this useful: https://www.up.com/aboutup/reference/maps/highest_elevations/index.htm which also advises to use caution when shipping potato chips as well. Not mentioned so far is taking the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, and the Coast Starlight down to LA. This would be...

A business class ticket will also help put you in a (typically) less crowded car and therefore a better chance at the seat your want. And you get free coffee.

What I think would be really amazing is..... if this topic could stay on topic. Actual reviews and photos from people who have actually eaten the new meals. There are other threads to discuss your dietary restrictions and to speculate on how elimination of steaks will lead to the downfall of...

Considering the persons budget, and his extreme under-appreciation of the beauty of the wide open plains, I'm curious why he didn't take an excursion with the Rocky Mountaineer instead?

And I think this is possibly where Mr. Anderson's thinking on food service is at - if better food can be done on the airline with less crew and less specialized crew, why can't it be done on Amtrak as well? And I have to agree with him. And for the catering company, I think Amtrak can be just...