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I boarded the Portland sleeper on train 27 (Empire Builder) in Essex, Montana on April 5, 2015, 3 hours and 37 minutes late. We continued to lose time and arrived in Spokane 4 hours late. Thirty minutes before we arrived in Pasco, the conductor announced that the train would terminate in...

I will be boarding in Independence next week at 8:34am and wondering if directions are clear as to where I should be positioned to board business class heading east toward Jefferson City. I know the station is unmanned, and because I'm carrying a suitcase, I'd like to be reasonably close to my...

PDX-ESM-PDX On April 2, I arrived at Portland Union Station to ride the Empire Builder #28 to Essex, Montana. I had planned a trip to the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex Montana to use part of a voucher given to me by Amtrak after a terrible trip in December 2014 on the California Zephyr and Empire...

I will be taking Acela for the first time Feb. 19 from Boston to DC on #2155. I will be trying for First Class upgrade with a Select coupon 12 hours before. I understand the FC car can be at either end of the train. Can you help me figure out which direction the train leaves Boston so I can...

I received this email from Amtrak concerning a trip I am taking Dec. 24 from Chicago to Portland, OR. The same day I had a phone call and a computer read me the same message over my phone. I was aware of the delay potential, but I'm glad Amtrak is being proactive about notification to...

Yesterday I emailed directly to Mr. Boardman, the chairman/CEO of Amtrak. I will not post the email address since the forum moderators have previously censored it in a post I made the other day in response to a post titled "Contacting Amtrak. Today, I received the following response: Dear Mr...

My cousin who is on CZ #5 (11) is sitting in his roomette at the Denver station. The conductor has told the passengers they can't go west and they can't go over the Wyoming detour. No more details yet. I would have been on the train, but I needed to fly home yesterday. Jim

I am taking a trip soon from PDX to Denver via SAC. I had a roomette booked on the CS and the CZ. Something made me look up the price again today and I discovered a very cheap price for a bedroom on the CZ. I called reservations and asked them how much to upgrade and she said "nothing"! I had...

I boarded the CS #11 on December 7, car 1131 an un-refurbished Superliner II in pitiful condition. The carpets were ripped and dirty. The reading lights were out in my roomette and I had no heating control at all. My SCA, Robin, was awesome and tracked me down to provide sparkling cider. I was...

Hi, I got a 50% deal on The Canadian for travel next month and will travel Vancouver to Toronto. From there I will take the Maple Leaf to Buffalo, lay over about 10 hours, and then take the LSL to Chicago and then home on the EB via Seattle to Portland. I need some help figuring out how much...

I'm considering taking a roomette on #421 from Chicago to LAX and am curious about the layover (9:45pm - 2:45am) in San Antonio before the Sunset Limited leaves. Is there power during this time? I have a CPAP (machine used to keep airway open) and am used to the brief disconnect on the EB in...

In late October, I flew into Dulles,VA. rented a car and drove to Laurel, MD. I took MARC into Baltimore to see the B & O Railroad Museum and enjoyed a mid week visit with very few visitors and personalized tours of the roundhouse and north shop. MARC was right on time and cost me $5 each way...

I was scheduled to take 29 from Washington DC to Chicago tomorrow, but got the dreaded robo call advising of cancellation while I was walking the Mall. It took over an hour on phone with Guest Rewards, but they found me space on Nov. 1 on 29 in room H and then moved me from 7 to a roomette on...

Interesting entry from this Law professor who loves to blog about government and the comments. HSR in Oregon Link Jim from PDX

This CZ trip ended well after complaining to Chris Elliott. CZ Complaint I can agree with the state of the roomette I traveled in last November.... Very dirty and non refurbed sleeper car. Jim in PDX

Pug running loose this morning in King Street Station. Owner could not even control the dog with voice commands and no attempt to leash it up. This occurred near the sleeper check in area, so the conductor had to have seen the commotion. The owners boarded sleeper 1131 for a bedroom to LAX...

Coast Starlight #14 (4) arrived Salem and stayed there for long time due to assault on board. Station agent in Portland told my son they were treating the train as a crime scene and he is now being bussed from Portland to Tacoma. Jim in PDX

Onboard EB #7 (29) and a car was hit at crossing and is currently wrapped around the lead engine. Fire/EMS just arrived. We are about 5 miles SE of Watertown, WI. See this link for more info:My link Replaced a ditch light and Amtrak #194 still in lead heading for Columbus, WI at 8:20 pm CST...

Left St. Louis this morning Business Class on 302 to Chicago and connected to #3 SWC for LAX. Nice ride and mostly on time. We did a couple of reverse moves to allow southbound trains by. After arriving Chicago and exploring for lunch, walked the wrong way on Jackson Street and found...

The Coast Starlight hit a very expensive herd of cattle north of Klamath Falls. Click here for the story. Jim in Portland