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Hi Friends, I decided to post my photos as a separate thread. These are from my eastbound trip January 10-12, which consisted of -ONLY- the Empire Builder (due to blizzards in upstate New York and Pennsylvania), and from my westbound trip February 9-13. I had a grand time, as you will see, in...

EASTBOUND - 1/11/24 Train 28 was just an hour late at Wishram, which wasn’t bad considering the short turn due to a late 27 arrival in PDX. We had time to go up the hill to the Pastime tavern for a snack and a glass of something cold. We got root beer, but it looked like the tavern keeper had...

The way the weather has been, and with the forecast for lots of rain and snow this next week, I would not be surprised if people think the train might be safer than trying to drive.

The weather in Boston was truly unpleasant. We’d been watching the snow turn to sleet on and off, and freezing rain was expected in the afternoon. By mid-morning, my sister and I had agreed that it made sense to take an MBTA train to South Station instead of risking a traffic incident on the way...

I watched the snow mess on the Empire Builder with consternation. Trains stuck on Stevens Pass, trains stuck behind disabled freights, avalanches in Montana. It just didn’t look hopeful. My train got canceled once and I rescheduled. The second time they canceled me, I looked at driving south and...

I saw on facebook that there was a disabled freight blocking the track near Cheney (WA?), and they canceled last night's #28 east bound. I heard later that the freight was actually derailed, and that the track would be blocked for quite a while. I see that Amtrak also has no info available about...

I will be going through CHI in a week, changing from the EB to the LSL. Weather and train arrival time permitting, I want to store my bags in the lounge and go outside for a walk and visit with a friend, then possibly dinner (I need to eat somewhere, LOL). Last time I did this, the lounge closed...

This was posted on another thread, and I thought it was so wonderful it had to be its own thread! I'm going to start by saying I've made two! One was a similar situation to the above (an open door, a cheery greeting). The woman I greeted shared a poster of herself with one of her students, a...

Did anyone else get this promo today: It says in the text "register with one click" (yeah, sure). I clicked on the linked image, and got a "404 not found." :confused::rolleyes: Tried the link in the text, same thing. Hubby has not gotten a promo email at all. Did anyone else get it, and did...

Here's a question I've been having (while dithering about making a reservation for a trip next winter). I received an email from Amtrak that said: So, it says the reservation must be MADE by May 31. But not that any cancellations or changes must also be made by that date. So the...

I just looked at my points balance, and I see that AGR gave me 5,000 points on 1/31/20. I also see that it is from the Bank of America, but it was mid-cycle and not associated with any amount I charged to my credit card, or with my monthly balance. Of course, I am delighted (it gets me over the...

I am starting to think about my next cross-country trip, which will be just about a year from now. I always go in winter *and* book early, LOL, because I can only afford low-bucket days. I have just about enough points saved up so that when my sister tells me what dates work for her, I'll be...

Our train trips these days often start with a visit to our friend Gladys. She lives close enough to the Empire Builder’s Wishram station (WIH) that we can park our car at her house, take her out to dinner in The Dalles, and then get dropped off at the station. Dinner was at the Canton Wok...

My nephew is currently on the Empire Builder (#8 - 6/24) going from Seattle to Chicago. It was one of the last seats on a full train, and the only seat available was on the lower level. People on the train are saying there are more cars than normal in the consist. He is riding facing...

I see that they have raised the low bucket fare on the LSL, and it is now cheaper to take the Cap Ltd and NE Regional if going from CHI to BOS (perk if I can take the NE Regional is that RTE is closer to where I am going than BOS). So the question is: on the 178 NE Regional, what is the...

Hello friends, Hubby has to go to Kansas next week. When we planned this a few months ago, he really wanted to go by train. However, he didn't want to use up all his points (which it would have), take three days in each direction (counting the drive/bus to the train), and THEN make his relatives...

This story about the  Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club ( biggest model railroad club in the Northwest ) showed up on Oregon Public Broadcasting's show Oregon Field Guide this week! Be sure and watch the seven minute video embedded in the middle of the story.

By my reckoning, a December 12-14 trip would be less than 11 months out now. It shows on Amsnag. and the Amtrak site allows me to choose route options. So, this evening, I tried to book a trip from MSP to WIH on the amtrak.com website, using points. Got all the way to the last screen, and THEN...

(note: this is a continuation of my trip begun with the eastbound trip in January) Thursday 2/22: Wednesday morning, my sister parked her car “Tessie” at South Station, and we spent a couple of hours strolling around downtown Boston. She had an errand at the registry in City Hall, we got a...

Thu 1/25 I started the trip at 8:30 in the morning, driving the 185 mile trip from my house to friend Gladys' house near The Dalles. Gladys is a fan of train trips, in fact I met her on my last long distance train trip, so she was willing to take me to the station and keep my car in her drive...