had8ley
Engineer
Took # 19 & 20 on Thursday, April 6th from Slidell, LA to Tuscaloosa, AL. The breakfast was excellent as was the service. The Viewliner sleepers were immaculate and they have replaced the old tattered folding chairs.
Riverside (CA) reservations usually gives us a hard time about making connections from #20 to #19 but this time they didn't say a word. With the new schedule there is only 20 minutes between trains. Sometimes it is very difficult to get someone in Riverside to understand that there is only one main line track in Tuscaloosa and that both trains have to use the same track. You can almost see the reservation agent scratching their heads after you try to explain the situation.
#19 was about an hour and a half late so we appreciated the rest stop at the depot. Our room on #19 was clean and the attendant, named John was excellent. He had only been with Amtrak for 2 years. We wound up meeting 8, yes eight, trains between Meridian and Picayune, MS. The poor A/C was worn out from lining us out of sidings and lining behind.
There is only one negative to report; the diner crew (New York based) was awful. We had asked what time dinner would be served and were told 5 p.m. We headed to the diner about 5 minutes early because our room was uncomfotably hot. (Both the car attendant and the conductor tried to fix the problem with no luck.) About 5:15 the LSA walks into the diner and asks us, "Who sat you here?" We were trying to explain our problem and she blurts out, "you have to move to that table" pointing to the one next to us. We looked at each other in amazement but tried to move one table over. Unfortunately, one of our party was too big to fit into the other table. It took quite a bit of talking to convince the LSA that we were telling the truth.
Well, exactly a total of four tables of customers showed up for dinner. We were in the diner first but got served dead last. I had ordered a medium rare steak but it came so well done that I honestly considered re-soleing my shoes with it. The LSA had to come look at our meal checks (she made quite a scene) to see if, indeed, I had ordered a medium rare. Needless to say, it seemed like an eternity before the re-cooked steak showed up. By this time the other three tables were finishing up and leaving. Then the crew sat down and started cutting up amongst themselves. I have no problem with people having fun but when the volume of laughter gets so loud that you can't hear a person sitting across from you, and the crew is at the other end of the car, enough is enough.
When I finished eating I signalled the waiter to please come to the table. I asked, "What do we have for dessert?" He said, "Nothing." When I asked again he said they were out of everything. "Surely", I said, "you have some ice cream. "I'll go look", was all he said. I asked him if he would mind putting some strawberry topping on it for me and he nodded his head. About ten minutes later he showed up with dessert. He had made a chocolate sundae. When I explained to him that I can't eat chocolate he mumbled,"We don't have any strawberry topping." I would loved to have been a fly on the wall in that kitchen! He finally brought some plain vanilla ice cream. By this time it was quite apparent that our presence was no longer appreciated as the volume of carrying on continuously got louder and louder. We left shortly thereafter. My only question about his trip is, "Where is Amtrak management ???" It was also very apparent that this crew knew the new meal format was coming up soon.
Riverside (CA) reservations usually gives us a hard time about making connections from #20 to #19 but this time they didn't say a word. With the new schedule there is only 20 minutes between trains. Sometimes it is very difficult to get someone in Riverside to understand that there is only one main line track in Tuscaloosa and that both trains have to use the same track. You can almost see the reservation agent scratching their heads after you try to explain the situation.
#19 was about an hour and a half late so we appreciated the rest stop at the depot. Our room on #19 was clean and the attendant, named John was excellent. He had only been with Amtrak for 2 years. We wound up meeting 8, yes eight, trains between Meridian and Picayune, MS. The poor A/C was worn out from lining us out of sidings and lining behind.
There is only one negative to report; the diner crew (New York based) was awful. We had asked what time dinner would be served and were told 5 p.m. We headed to the diner about 5 minutes early because our room was uncomfotably hot. (Both the car attendant and the conductor tried to fix the problem with no luck.) About 5:15 the LSA walks into the diner and asks us, "Who sat you here?" We were trying to explain our problem and she blurts out, "you have to move to that table" pointing to the one next to us. We looked at each other in amazement but tried to move one table over. Unfortunately, one of our party was too big to fit into the other table. It took quite a bit of talking to convince the LSA that we were telling the truth.
Well, exactly a total of four tables of customers showed up for dinner. We were in the diner first but got served dead last. I had ordered a medium rare steak but it came so well done that I honestly considered re-soleing my shoes with it. The LSA had to come look at our meal checks (she made quite a scene) to see if, indeed, I had ordered a medium rare. Needless to say, it seemed like an eternity before the re-cooked steak showed up. By this time the other three tables were finishing up and leaving. Then the crew sat down and started cutting up amongst themselves. I have no problem with people having fun but when the volume of laughter gets so loud that you can't hear a person sitting across from you, and the crew is at the other end of the car, enough is enough.
When I finished eating I signalled the waiter to please come to the table. I asked, "What do we have for dessert?" He said, "Nothing." When I asked again he said they were out of everything. "Surely", I said, "you have some ice cream. "I'll go look", was all he said. I asked him if he would mind putting some strawberry topping on it for me and he nodded his head. About ten minutes later he showed up with dessert. He had made a chocolate sundae. When I explained to him that I can't eat chocolate he mumbled,"We don't have any strawberry topping." I would loved to have been a fly on the wall in that kitchen! He finally brought some plain vanilla ice cream. By this time it was quite apparent that our presence was no longer appreciated as the volume of carrying on continuously got louder and louder. We left shortly thereafter. My only question about his trip is, "Where is Amtrak management ???" It was also very apparent that this crew knew the new meal format was coming up soon.
