My wife and I needed to get away so she told me to book the Empire Builder and she would take her first Amtrak trip. I booked 6 weeks prior and since the bedroom price was up two notches, I took a roomette. Abut a week prior the bedroom price droped to it's lowest price(I think) so I upgraded to bedrom round trip. On departure day, we arrived at Chi Union Station and found the First Class Lounge full. An "America By Rail Tour Group" had most of the seats and depleted any "free bees" that was put out.(STRIKE ONE! on my thoughts of tour groups) The "wifi" still does not work. I was told on this board that the Empire Builder Only pool of refurbished cars has been deluted and my chance of a refurbished car was 50-50. That proved to be correct. Going to Seattle in redone cars was great, coming back in about a 30% redone sleeper was...so,so. On #7(to SEA) the room was a 100% redone. It looked and felt great. It was quiet, did not squeak or rattle. The only downer was the new "easy chair". It was like sitting on a steel card table chair. The seat board...I mean cushion.. no, seat board was tilted down at the front and the arm rests were much to low. "unsitable". The food was good, Breakfasts were the best, then the steak dinner was excellent and the rest ..Good. One "special" was "turkey schanks" that my wife ordered and did not like(too dry). You could get only "turkey Sausage Links" goin west and pork sausage going east. Day two, it took 90 minutes to have lunch and dinner. We departed Chi and arrived Sea as scheduled. On the return, Another tour group was on the train and in 90% of our sleeper. On depature, I heard the tour leader ask the sleeper attendant and diner Reservation taker to keep his group together for dinner. They took all the 5-6:30 reservations. " Bull **** boys" as my old football coach would say in disgust. I told both attendants, I would file a formal complaint, with Names, if this occured on Day two. As it was was I was one third of the way through the flat iron steak as we entered the "Cascade tunnel" that I wanted to film. STRIKE TWO! on my thoughts of tour groups. Now, our return room. Room "B" of the 830 car(32060). We got blue carpets and curtains and that goofy "notso" easy chair. The halls had the simulated wood grain paneling. The room sink/shower/head module was the old one complete with vinyl shower curtain. The roomette shower down stairs was the old stall and plumbing but had a clear plexiglass door. The toilets were the old ones. The upstairs toilet(only 1) was the old one with the window that you can watch the world go by as you dump. With the new toilet module, the window is gone(I'll miss that). Enroute to Chi, from St Paul there would be a wiff of toilet waste each time the door to the diner was opened. I heard over the PA "Conductor, 830 car, toilet two". The sleeper Att. said he heard nothing. Room B and C as well as D and E have a door that opens to make a suite. This door as well as several roof panels was "Duct taped"!, old duct tape, they all rattled and vibrated and had magazines, wash clothes stuffed in to stop the noise. It did not work. Down on the lower level "electric panel" doors the wood panels were seperateing from the metal. Someone at one time tried to duct tape those doors closed. When the tape came off the sticky gum remained..looks like hell. 5 mins of gum removal liquid and the doors would have looked good!...not my job! Oh ya, the Ice is now under lock and key or in the attendants room. He told me someone, somewhere, used the ice chest as a toilet! Why should God bless America ? STRIKE 3 ! Someone told me tour groups bookings drive the room fares up and only come down if the tour releases those unsold rooms about a week befor departure. Jim55
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