Empire Builder to the LSL

[amamba]

Well folks, I know many of you were following along in the "EB Lateness" thread, but to recap, I boarded the #8 Empire Builder in Seattle on Monday, July 16th. About 24 hours into our trip we got stopped in Glasgow, Montana due to a freight derailment between Glasgow and Wolf Point. BNSF had 17 cars derailed and there was a fire so big that route 2 was closed for a while.

Approximately 19 hours after we stopped, we began boarding buses around the derailment. We were bused to the westbound #7 which was stopped in Wolf Point. They didn't have enough buses for everyone, so it took until 6:30 PM Mountain time to get all the luggage and people back onto the new #8 (formerly #7), at which point our crew died. We got a new conductor and engineer at around 8 pm and made our way East from Wolf Point. We finally made it into Chicago at 9:30 PM Central time on Thursday, July 19th - a 29.5 hour delay. Luckily the LSL was running late anyway, so I made it onto my originally ticketed train of 448 on July 19th.

They were only offering comp meals to sleeper pax on my first #8 in Glasgow, and we had great meals. However we didn't get lunch on the day of the bus bridge. Then they started feeding half portions of dinner to people as they were feeding all pax for free once we got east of the derailment. Breakfast the following morning was a very sad scrambled egg with a hamburger bun, and lunch was "chicken fricasse" over rice, which must have replaced the dinty moore beef stew as the emergency rations. Dinner on the last night was KFC, and it was a welcome sight.

I put lots more details on my blog which is just too much to copy and post here, so you can all read about it at trainsacrossamerica.blogspot.com.

I am now still heading East on the LSL, having just left Rochester about two hours late. I am in the Boston sleeper and will be detraining in Springfield, where I hope to connect with the 479 to Wallingford, CT at 7:25 PM tonight. The staff on the LSL in the diner is very surly and very slow, which is such a stark contrast to the WONDERFUL staff we had on the EB. At breakfast, I asked our server Miles for more coffee and he didn't even acknowledge the response - although he did bring the coffee pot over. When I thanked him, he grunted in response. What the heck is that about? It seemed like he loathed his job and all of the passengers on the train.

On our first train we had Randy, Daniella & Mary in the diner and they were awesome. On our second train I think we had Joyce and I can't remember the names of the others. I know they were tired and some of them had been working extra days, but they always had a smile on their face and were very kind. Our SCAs on the #8 - first David and then Eric - were phenomenal. I can't say enough good things about the wonderful staff on the EB.

I was feeling kind of grumpy so didn't really get many pictures once we derailed. I just got tired of the whole experience. I am really a roll with the punches type of person so I think that helped, but my husband got pretty grumpy by the end. He especially was not happy with his "gruel" for lunch on the #8 after we had that very sad breakfast. This was his first LD trip, and that is quite unfortunate, because we have reservations for a trip to Florida in November and we might have to cancel and fly. He also greatly prefers the superliner sleeper to the viewliner sleepers, so that is making him a little nervous. He also did not like the LONG walk to the diner from the Boston sleeper on the LSL.

Any questions? I will be happy to answer them. Thanks again to all of the people on this board who helped me along the way. I knew you were all routing for me to make the LSL.

 

[NY Penn]

Thanks for the report.

Do you know why it took them 19 hours to get the buses?

 

[Bob Dylan]

:hi: Glad you made it Home finally! Id say, like most of us,that now that youve had your "Trip from Hell", eventually it will be memory book stuff for ya'll and youll "dine out" on the stories like so many of us! ^_^ Id think that the Viewliner Roomette would be something your husband would prefer over a Superliner Roomette, most of us feel this way! Looks like the Empire Builder is having a Rough Summer, not as bad as last year but seems like the hits just keep on coming! Hopefully AGR and Customer Relations will treat yall right as to compensation and you wont have to "fly" to Florida when the time comes! I really am impressed with your "go with the flow" attitude, and feel that something like this is best shared with some else since "the adventure" can be understood by someone who matters to you! The Diner crew attitudes are inexcusable, hope Amtrak hears from you on these jerks! :angry2:

 

[AutoTrDvr]

I am now still heading East on the LSL, having just left Rochester about two hours late. I am in the Boston sleeper and will be detraining in Springfield, where I hope to connect with the 479 to Wallingford, CT at 7:25 PM tonight. The staff on the LSL in the diner is very surly and very slow, which is such a stark contrast to the WONDERFUL staff we had on the EB. At breakfast, I asked our server Miles for more coffee and he didn't even acknowledge the response - although he did bring the coffee pot over. When I thanked him, he grunted in response. What the heck is that about? It seemed like he loathed his job and all of the passengers on the train.

I wonder if perhaps his schedule got disrupted as well (i.e. had a better itinerary but got bumped or something)...

Any questions? I will be happy to answer them. Thanks again to all of the people on this board who helped me along the way. I knew you were all routing for me to make the LSL.

Perhaps a little off topic, but I'm curious... When I used to do the LSL and Broadway Ltd, as we crossed into Indiana from Illinois, (what was) the Inland Steel plant was always quite busy. At times, the smoke reduced travel to almost zero visibility.

How active is it now? IIRC, it was sold to Arcrelor Mittal.

 

[amamba]

To answer the question re: buses. We were being bused around the derailment to the #7 that was heading West. They were not due in Wolf Point until 11:41 AM. We stopped in Glasgow at 5:00 PM. So there was nothing to bus us to at first. Also that #7 was running about 2 hours late, so IIRC, it didn't even arrive in Wolf Point until between 1 and 1:30 PM. We arrived at the #7 on the first batch of buses around 2 PM, so that was a pretty smooth move. The problem was that they must have had trouble procuring buses because it took I believe three trips from Glasgow to Wolf Point to get everyone from my #8 to the #7 and vice versa.

The people I felt the worst for was a sad group of folks that got kicked off the #7 when we arrived. It was between 90 - 100* in the sun and they were stuck outside, standing with their luggage, for 2+ hours. I also saw an ambulance called at one point to that group of people outside. My guess is someone elderly succumbed to heat stroke.

Also, I am not home yet! Don't jinx me. I am the 448 right now and we are running late. At this point I think I am going to miss my connection to the 479 in SPG (leaves at 7:25 pm, my estimated arrival is 7:52 PM) and will have to get a family member to drive an hour to pick me up there.

 

[amamba]

Any questions? I will be happy to answer them. Thanks again to all of the people on this board who helped me along the way. I knew you were all routing for me to make the LSL.

Perhaps a little off topic, but I'm curious... When I used to do the LSL and Broadway Ltd, as we crossed into Indiana from Illinois, (what was) the Inland Steel plant was always quite busy. At times, the smoke reduced travel to almost zero visibility.

How active is it now? IIRC, it was sold to Arcrelor Mittal.

I am not sure, as we headed past that it was dark. We didn't leave CHI until 11:20 PM.

 

[amamba]

@jimhudson, we have been in bedrooms the whole way. The thing about the superliner bedroom is that it seems bigger than the viewliner bedroom, especially in the bathroom. I think it might be because a) there isn't the space for the ladder between the bathroom and the wall and b) we were on the renovated superliner I's with the curved shower wall. It also seems that there is more floor space between the bathroom and the chair in the superliner bedroom.

Now my H is singing "I am so bored, I am so bored" over and over. We also skipped lunch in the diner because a) our SCA encouraged us to go at 12 pm and we didn't get back from breakfast until 11 am so we weren't hungry, and b) when we did head down there was a long wait and the staff looked extra surly. Does anyone know if they give out dinner boxes after Albany to the sleeper pax in the BOS section?

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I think a funny thing about this is that on the blog, you posted the picture of the estimated arrival into Chicago, with the 28 hours late thing. The system is not deigned for such great delays and it said you would arrive at 8;30 on Wednesday, only a few hours late.

 

[amamba]

LOL at Johnny, I didn't notice that it still said Wednesday. I just noticed that it said 28 hours late!

 

[Dovecote]

So sorry to hear about this trip. Actually I never read the "EB Lateness" thread so this is the first I am aware of your trip from hell. I was aware of the "EB Lateness" thread but figure why read something that is par for the course.

I admire your desire to prepare this trip report considering everything that has happened to you (and your husband). I hope you get home before it gets dark and you make a train trip to Florida later this year.

 

[amamba]

Just as a final update: I am still on 448 the LSL. We are about 2.5-3 hours late into Springfield so I have missed my final connecting train, rhe 479 which goes south to new Haven. This is a guaranteed connection so the conductor told me that the station agent would be calling cabs for folks. My in laws took pity on me and said they would pick us up in SPG (our final destination is WFD) as its only about an hour. So I should be off the train in about 20 minutes and my trip will be over. Thanks for following along.

 

[pennyk]

So sorry to hear about this trip. Actually I never read the "EB Lateness" thread so this is the first I am aware of your trip from hell. I was aware of the "EB Lateness" thread but figure why read something that is par for the course.

I admire your desire to prepare this trip report considering everything that has happened to you (and your husband). I hope you get home before it gets dark and you make a train trip to Florida later this year.

Ditto. I had not read the thread either and I hope you make it to Florida by train.

 

[acelafan]

The staff on the LSL in the diner is very surly and very slow, which is such a stark contrast to the WONDERFUL staff we had on the EB. At breakfast, I asked our server Miles for more coffee and he didn't even acknowledge the response - although he did bring the coffee pot over. When I thanked him, he grunted in response. What the heck is that about? It seemed like he loathed his job and all of the passengers on the train.

I am so sorry to hear of your disaster on the EB - I, too, would be "over it" by the time you got to Springfield (and then missing your connecting train).

I have to comment on the poor dining service on the LSL. If "Miles" is the same server I endured with my mom on her first LD trip last fall, Amtrak really needs to do something about that guy. Surly is not the word for him - downright rude and insubordinate is what he is. At least you got a coffee refill - we never did and I mentioned that to the LSA. She seemed too busy to care...she was also very slow in the diner and didn't seem to hustle any of the times I saw her working.

I realize the LSL diner serves a lot of passengers on that very long train but the attitude of some of the dining staff is awful. I don't know what the solution is except to complain to Amtrak customer relations and hope that someone out in the field will get "Miles" removed from his job. New Amtrak passengers get an awful first impression. Sad.

 

[GG-1]

removed from his job. New Amtrak passengers get an awful first impression. Sad.

Aloha

Well I must comment that I find it so sad that so many seem to feel that the first solution is firing someone. This lack of caring is symtomatic of our country's decline. Now I am not sugesting that termination may not be necessary, but it should be a last resort. Some of these problems may be due to the "disconnection" of Amtrak workers and Management. I also beleive that way toany expect bad service and if what we expect is bad service then bad is what we will get. Expect, treat workers good then we will usually get good.

Getting of the soapbox

Mahalo

 

[amamba]

I treated my server on the LSL with the utmost courtesy and respect that I treat everyone. In return, I got walking away from me in mid-sentence and a grunt in response to my cheerful "thank you" for bringing me more coffee.

I am all for retraining before termination - and he needs it - but I find it a little insulting to insinuate that I received poor service because of anything I did. Especially when I raved about the great service I did receive from all of the staff on the EB. Seriously, hats off to the OBS staff on both of my EB train sets.

 

[OBS]

I treated my server on the LSL with the utmost courtesy and respect that I treat everyone. In return, I got walking away from me in mid-sentence and a grunt in response to my cheerful "thank you" for bringing me more coffee.

I am all for retraining before termination - and he needs it - but I find it a little insulting to insinuate that I received poor service because of anything I did. Especially when I raved about the great service I did receive from all of the staff on the EB. Seriously, hats off to the OBS staff on both of my EB train sets.

Your server on the LSL has a long history, and a personnel/work record a mile long. He is well known to mgemt. Hopefully your complaint will help move the process along...

 

[1KAWASAKI]

I DO NOT MEAN TO POKE MY NOSE INTO YOUR BUSINESS, BUT.... I WILL OFFER MY INSIGHT AND OPINION USING "MILES" AS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH AMTRAK. YOU ARE CORRECT, MILES DOES HATE HIS JOB, AND SHOULD NOT BE IN A CUSTOMER SERVICE JOB, PERIOD!!

IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY FROM WHICH I RETIRED, YOU WOULD BE A HIGH MILEAGE ELITE FREQUENT FLIER. AS SUCH, YOU ARE TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND KID GLOVES. IN EITHER TRAIN OR PLANE INDUSTRY, YOU ARE THE ONE THAT PAYS THE BILLS AND PAYCHECKS. I AM NEW HERE AND MY OPINION MAY NOT BE APPRECIATED. MY ANSWER TO THAT IS SIMPLE, DELETE. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY THE RUDE SERVER, MILES, TREATED YOU, WRITE A LETTER TO MANAGEMENT AND COMPLAIN. THEY DO LISTEN. IF YOU WONDER WHO'S THIS GUY, THE ANSWERS ARE A FEW KEYSTROKES AWAY. IF NOTHING ELSE, KNOW THIS, I FLY "FREE" AND IT IS FAR FROM FREE ON AMTRAK. I DON'T NEED A, MILES, TO SPOIL OUR TRIP.

GOOD DAY.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Man, what a trip! Never had so many delays on Amtrak. I didn't even know about the bus bridge. They probably took 19 hours to get buses because there's not much bus companies in Montana. It would be nice to know which company provided the buses.

Thanks for the report!