I’ll break this report into 4 parts to cover the various sections of my route across the United States, otherwise it’d just get too long to read and post in one session. So here goes...
Los Angeles - Chicago
Left Port Macquarie on 27 March to allow for any problems with Qantas which may have affected my connection with the SWC in Los Angeles. An unnecessary precaution, as it turned out as we docked at the air bridge at precisely 09:50 – dead on time. And welcome to ‘Groundhog Day’ as it was only 20 minutes by the clock since I’d left home thanks to the International Date Line.
As an aside, we had the new A380 and I have to say it certainly shows just how dated the 747-400 has become. Will try and schedule my international travel in future to get A380 flights.
Caught the Flyaway bus from LAX to LAUPT (bet no-one calls it that anymore) and transferred to the Metro Plaza an overnight stay. Had early check-in so I grabbed a shower and shave, a change of clothes and went out to walk off the jet-lag in Chinatown and get some provisions for my Journey. Metro Plaza is showing its age but is still one of the best locations in LA if you don’t have a car.
The next day (28th) I was due to board the SWC but first I had a day to kill so it was back to LAUPT to buy a Metro Card and hit the rails. Rode all the lines and spent some time in Long Beach and Pasadena before heading back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head back to the station to wait for boarding time.
While waiting I fell in with a group from Albuquerque who were returning from a cruise. They were travelling in coach and I commented that they might find it a bit of a shock after a cruise the facilities they’d just enjoyed on their cruise.
I didn’t bother checking in at the desk in the hall and headed to platform 11/12 to wait for the train to be pushed back. There was quite a delay and it wasn’t in the platform until the actual departure time. I suspected that they might have had to replace a carriage and I suspect that this was confirmed when I boarded my sleeper to find it plastered with Coast Starlight posters and a ring binder in my room explaining the delights of that train.
The good news was that it was a rebuilt Superliner I, and immaculately maintained. It’s amazing what adding a few curves can do to a bedroom, primarily providing a bathroom that one can actually turn around in. The other good news was my attendant Renee who had ‘service’ running in his veins.
The train departed about 30 minutes late and I settled myself into my room with the intention of bringing my large bag up from the downstairs rack before we got to Fullerton. No chance, Renee turned up with it before I could get it announcing to all the bedroom passengers that he was bringing up their bags to make room for the roomette passengers luggage. As my bag was nearly as big as he was it must have been quite a feat for him to get it up the stairs. I knew this trip was going to be special.
Went to dinner early (note: you can no longer reserve dinner at LAX) as it was already too dark for any sightseeing. Had the trout in cream sauce with a baked potato the size of Idaho (crisp skin, too) followed by a lime and berry cheesecake. The food service has improved exponentially in the past 12 months– at least on the SWC.
There was a long stop at Riverton and the train actually reversed back into the station prior to departure, maybe to position the sleepers for a disabled passenger.
After dinner I headed back to my room to get some chocolates to share with my acquaintances from Albuquerque who were in the SSL playing cards. My room had been transformed to night mode (I like the room to be made up while I’m at dinner as I generally hit the sack soon after dinner) and it looked great- not only was the bed down and arranged with four pillow but the lighting had been set rather seductively and my clutter had been tidied away. My tip was going to be on the generous side!
Only the wives of the Albuquerque group had stayed in the lounge so we had a few chocolates (they like Australian chocolate) and some conversation before I decided to call it a night. Decided to watch a movie on my laptop for a while (Silver Streak – after all I was supposedly travelling the same route) before falling asleep.
Slept fairly soundly, woke early, grabbed a shower and headed to the diner for breakfast.
The diner was packed as a school group from Albuquerque had been sprung for breakfast . This group had been given sole occupancy of the third coach and the crew had been led to understand that they would self-cater. Lucky I went to breakfast early as things started to run very low shortly after I arrived. Had my breakfast with a couple of the girls from the group and they were both exceedingly well mannered and polite and absolutely intrigued by me – guess they don’t get too many Australians in Albuquerque.
My breakfast was the cheese omelette with hash browns, croissant and orange juice. As usual when I travel in America I made my own coffee with my French press.
We arrived in Albuquerque over an hour ahead of schedule so those not leaving the train headed into town for a look around but being of a nervous disposition I didn’t wander to far. Also, my Amtrak rig of shorts and t-shirt did not lend itself too well to the outside temperature. So I had a good look at the train as it was serviced.
We had left LAX with three engines but one was being dropped which I thought slightly odd with the Raton Pass still to come. The engines were numbers 185, 127 and 87, with 185coming off. Trailing were the baggage car, the trans-dorm, 2 sleepers, diner, SSL, three coaches one of which was number 71024 (coach/baggage) and bringing up the rear was Pacific Surfliner coach/cafe number 6307. The Surfliner had been gutted of all its fittings on the upper level but there were still catering items visible on the lower level. Obviously the kitchen was still intact.
Left Albuquerque on time and I headed to lunch. Tried the curried chicken with rice, it was tasty but it seemed to be more chilli than curry. Followed it up with the cheesecake (what, no strawberry sauce anymore!).
After Lamy we started to cover the most interesting part of the trip passing through Apache Canyon and up to the Glorietta Pass. Interesting, winding climb and very good viewing. High plains country with distant mesas and mountains as far as Raton where we began the serious climb to 7588 feet at Raton Pass. It was a slow and hard slog for the engines and a similarly slow descent to Trinidad, Colorado. Though Trinidad had one of the ugliest approaches I’ve ever experienced – a bit of civic pride would help.
And then it was dinner time. Rene recommended the steak tonight and as he has been so good on this trip I followed his advice. Not too bad, cooked medium as requested and quite tender, but once again far too much food. But I still finished up with chocolate ice-cream. All in all I’d say the crew on this trip has been very good which, going by our previous trip on the South West Chief, may be a hallmark of this particular service.
Straight to bed after dinner and not even a movie to get me to sleep – I blame jet-lag – and I didn’t really wake until we were pulling into Kansas City over 30 minutes early.
Hopped off the rain for a look around and hopped straight back on again. It was freezing in the pre-dawn light and I certainly wasn’t dressed for it..
Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, croissant and juice. Made my own coffee as usual. During breakfast the train started rolling again and we were soon crossing the wide Missouri river and speeding across the plains toward Chicago.
Made excellent time to Fort Madison and crossed out of Missouri and into Illinois over the Mississippi River. There had been patches of snow on the ground since New Mexico and all the mountain peaks were white but Illinois seemed to be recovering from a blizzard, there were mounds of ploughed snow everywhere. Succumbed to the cheeseburger for lunch with the excellent ice cream for dessert, I swore that on this trip I’d avoid the burgers. Ran ahead of time all the way to Chicago and arrived a good 30 minutes early which ensured my connection with the Capitol Limited to Washington.
Overall it was an excellent trip by Amtrak standards. The food was better than in the past and the service was impeccable, not only from Renee but all the staff seemed to be in tune with each other and worked well as a team.
And to those who know may attitude to the practice of automatically tipping, don't worry, I tipped lavishly
.
Next report will be my stress laden trip to NYP :angry: .
Los Angeles - Chicago
Left Port Macquarie on 27 March to allow for any problems with Qantas which may have affected my connection with the SWC in Los Angeles. An unnecessary precaution, as it turned out as we docked at the air bridge at precisely 09:50 – dead on time. And welcome to ‘Groundhog Day’ as it was only 20 minutes by the clock since I’d left home thanks to the International Date Line.
As an aside, we had the new A380 and I have to say it certainly shows just how dated the 747-400 has become. Will try and schedule my international travel in future to get A380 flights.
Caught the Flyaway bus from LAX to LAUPT (bet no-one calls it that anymore) and transferred to the Metro Plaza an overnight stay. Had early check-in so I grabbed a shower and shave, a change of clothes and went out to walk off the jet-lag in Chinatown and get some provisions for my Journey. Metro Plaza is showing its age but is still one of the best locations in LA if you don’t have a car.
The next day (28th) I was due to board the SWC but first I had a day to kill so it was back to LAUPT to buy a Metro Card and hit the rails. Rode all the lines and spent some time in Long Beach and Pasadena before heading back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head back to the station to wait for boarding time.
While waiting I fell in with a group from Albuquerque who were returning from a cruise. They were travelling in coach and I commented that they might find it a bit of a shock after a cruise the facilities they’d just enjoyed on their cruise.
I didn’t bother checking in at the desk in the hall and headed to platform 11/12 to wait for the train to be pushed back. There was quite a delay and it wasn’t in the platform until the actual departure time. I suspected that they might have had to replace a carriage and I suspect that this was confirmed when I boarded my sleeper to find it plastered with Coast Starlight posters and a ring binder in my room explaining the delights of that train.
The good news was that it was a rebuilt Superliner I, and immaculately maintained. It’s amazing what adding a few curves can do to a bedroom, primarily providing a bathroom that one can actually turn around in. The other good news was my attendant Renee who had ‘service’ running in his veins.
The train departed about 30 minutes late and I settled myself into my room with the intention of bringing my large bag up from the downstairs rack before we got to Fullerton. No chance, Renee turned up with it before I could get it announcing to all the bedroom passengers that he was bringing up their bags to make room for the roomette passengers luggage. As my bag was nearly as big as he was it must have been quite a feat for him to get it up the stairs. I knew this trip was going to be special.
Went to dinner early (note: you can no longer reserve dinner at LAX) as it was already too dark for any sightseeing. Had the trout in cream sauce with a baked potato the size of Idaho (crisp skin, too) followed by a lime and berry cheesecake. The food service has improved exponentially in the past 12 months– at least on the SWC.
There was a long stop at Riverton and the train actually reversed back into the station prior to departure, maybe to position the sleepers for a disabled passenger.
After dinner I headed back to my room to get some chocolates to share with my acquaintances from Albuquerque who were in the SSL playing cards. My room had been transformed to night mode (I like the room to be made up while I’m at dinner as I generally hit the sack soon after dinner) and it looked great- not only was the bed down and arranged with four pillow but the lighting had been set rather seductively and my clutter had been tidied away. My tip was going to be on the generous side!
Only the wives of the Albuquerque group had stayed in the lounge so we had a few chocolates (they like Australian chocolate) and some conversation before I decided to call it a night. Decided to watch a movie on my laptop for a while (Silver Streak – after all I was supposedly travelling the same route) before falling asleep.
Slept fairly soundly, woke early, grabbed a shower and headed to the diner for breakfast.
The diner was packed as a school group from Albuquerque had been sprung for breakfast . This group had been given sole occupancy of the third coach and the crew had been led to understand that they would self-cater. Lucky I went to breakfast early as things started to run very low shortly after I arrived. Had my breakfast with a couple of the girls from the group and they were both exceedingly well mannered and polite and absolutely intrigued by me – guess they don’t get too many Australians in Albuquerque.
My breakfast was the cheese omelette with hash browns, croissant and orange juice. As usual when I travel in America I made my own coffee with my French press.
We arrived in Albuquerque over an hour ahead of schedule so those not leaving the train headed into town for a look around but being of a nervous disposition I didn’t wander to far. Also, my Amtrak rig of shorts and t-shirt did not lend itself too well to the outside temperature. So I had a good look at the train as it was serviced.
We had left LAX with three engines but one was being dropped which I thought slightly odd with the Raton Pass still to come. The engines were numbers 185, 127 and 87, with 185coming off. Trailing were the baggage car, the trans-dorm, 2 sleepers, diner, SSL, three coaches one of which was number 71024 (coach/baggage) and bringing up the rear was Pacific Surfliner coach/cafe number 6307. The Surfliner had been gutted of all its fittings on the upper level but there were still catering items visible on the lower level. Obviously the kitchen was still intact.
Left Albuquerque on time and I headed to lunch. Tried the curried chicken with rice, it was tasty but it seemed to be more chilli than curry. Followed it up with the cheesecake (what, no strawberry sauce anymore!).
After Lamy we started to cover the most interesting part of the trip passing through Apache Canyon and up to the Glorietta Pass. Interesting, winding climb and very good viewing. High plains country with distant mesas and mountains as far as Raton where we began the serious climb to 7588 feet at Raton Pass. It was a slow and hard slog for the engines and a similarly slow descent to Trinidad, Colorado. Though Trinidad had one of the ugliest approaches I’ve ever experienced – a bit of civic pride would help.
And then it was dinner time. Rene recommended the steak tonight and as he has been so good on this trip I followed his advice. Not too bad, cooked medium as requested and quite tender, but once again far too much food. But I still finished up with chocolate ice-cream. All in all I’d say the crew on this trip has been very good which, going by our previous trip on the South West Chief, may be a hallmark of this particular service.
Straight to bed after dinner and not even a movie to get me to sleep – I blame jet-lag – and I didn’t really wake until we were pulling into Kansas City over 30 minutes early.
Hopped off the rain for a look around and hopped straight back on again. It was freezing in the pre-dawn light and I certainly wasn’t dressed for it..
Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, croissant and juice. Made my own coffee as usual. During breakfast the train started rolling again and we were soon crossing the wide Missouri river and speeding across the plains toward Chicago.
Made excellent time to Fort Madison and crossed out of Missouri and into Illinois over the Mississippi River. There had been patches of snow on the ground since New Mexico and all the mountain peaks were white but Illinois seemed to be recovering from a blizzard, there were mounds of ploughed snow everywhere. Succumbed to the cheeseburger for lunch with the excellent ice cream for dessert, I swore that on this trip I’d avoid the burgers. Ran ahead of time all the way to Chicago and arrived a good 30 minutes early which ensured my connection with the Capitol Limited to Washington.
Overall it was an excellent trip by Amtrak standards. The food was better than in the past and the service was impeccable, not only from Renee but all the staff seemed to be in tune with each other and worked well as a team.
And to those who know may attitude to the practice of automatically tipping, don't worry, I tipped lavishly
.Next report will be my stress laden trip to NYP :angry: .
