Recent content by SteveSFL

I’d wondered if it was something to do with freight traffic, but La Plata has a platform that is elevated for part of its length so that a stool is not needed for superliner boarding. The freight traffic thru La Plata seems to be at a higher speed than what I’ve seen in Flagstaff. Of course...

For what it’s worth I watched #4 stop in Flagstaff this morning. Going in the opposite direction as the problem stop on #3 that’s the subject of this thread, the sleeper was stopped in that same spot as #3’s coach was. The sleeper attendant stood right by the door and assisted every single...

Last night I was watching the Flagstaff railcam as the SWC arrived. The conductor threw the stool out of the coach and then stepped out and immediately walked to the line of coach passengers waiting to board. The first detraining coach passenger had a large suitcase and the attached video...

Ah yes, when I said “platform” I should have clarified that I meant the elevated and fenced portion of the platform. I agree making the ramp wider would go a long way towards fixing the issue.

Like many of you (probably) I periodically watch the La Plata railcam. It seems inefficient to me that the stationmaster holds boarding passengers near the station until the SWC stops, and then allows them up the ramp onto the platform to board. This sometimes results in a delay if there are...

I stayed at the Four Points when I connected in Emeryville last September. We arrived after dark on the northbound Coast Starlight. We took the elevator up to the crosswalk over the tracks and on the opposite side, when the elevator arrived at the top, the doors opened and there was a person...

Regarding the ATL baggage screening system: Imagine a single conveyor feeding trays into the scanning device. At the drop off point, there are 4 or 5 short conveyors side by side that intersect the main conveyor to feed trays onto it. Each of these short “lanes” holds I think three trays...

I traveled from ATL last Wednesday and the lines at TSA security were terrible (even with PreCheck). They had a new device I’ve not seen before where you insert your identification and then stare into a camera screen to be photographed. I guess it does some sort of facial comparison and...

It’s more likely that Amtrak will realize ahead of time that the connection will not be made and will take connecting passengers off the CS train in Kalamath Falls and bus them 8 hours to Pasco to meet the EB. Getting a hotel is a good idea!

So if you had two people in a roomette on the Zephyr eastbound, that would be three lunches @ $25, two breakfasts @ $20, and two dinners @ $45 times two people makes $410 “dining car surcharge” if my math is right. That would make roomette not too much more than coach fare. Sign me up!

We complain about how Amtrak has been mismanaged by former Airline Execs — well check out the linked article that chronicles what’s been happening at the once-proud Australian air-carrier Qantas. It sounds like they are suffering a perfect storm of personnel and equipment shortages, maintenance...

Yeah looks like that bedroom is gone already but oddly enough it’s letting me book up to 8 roomettes so they must still have a lot of space in the transdorm.

I just got invited to bid for an upgrade from roomette to bedroom on my Zephyr trip later this week. Can you imagine bidding $500 and getting upgraded to a bedroom only to then get downgraded to coach when they remove a sleeper! No thanks! I’ll stay in my 631 roomette!

On the California Zephyr, is the dining car restocked in Oakland for the return trip to Chicago? Or do they leave Chicago with (ostensibly) enough food for the round trip?

What car were you booked in on the Zephyr, 632?