Long trip, Builder, Starlight, Sunset

[saxman]

Here's is the most fun trip I have taken on Amtrak. It was back in May, and I will try to remember as many details as possible. Enjoy.....

My route would take me from Grand Forks, ND to Houston, TX, via Glacier National Park, Portland, LAX, and Houston. I'll break this into 3 parts for each leg of the trip.

Empire Builder, #27, Grand Forks to East Glacier Park

Coach seating

My grandparents flew up to Grand Forks from Texas the night before our departure. I picked them up and brought them to the hotel for our early morning departure. The EB was pretty much ontime however it always has trouble keeping up between Fargo and Grand Forks. It was to leave at 5:04 AM but did not arrive until about 5:20 AM. We arrived at the station around 4:15 AM and we checked our bags to Glacier Park. The timetable says East Glacier does not have checked bags but it indeed does. I also had two big suitcases and a box which I checked all the way to Houston, since I was going home for the summer. Funny how I would not see them for about a week. The train arrived and we boarded as the sun was coming up. We began the excursion across North Dakota. I was glad to see it during the day time for once. I always go toward CHI and its always at night normally. We past through alot of small towns including Larimore, which I fly into sometimes. It has a scary runway right by the tracks.

Where I am, its very flat in Grand Forks, but as you travel west, it actually gets into some rolling hills. It was also very wet along the route. The ditches were full of water as were the fields. However I'm glad to see there was not much trash along the way. Its nice to know, there are many parts of the country that are still left to its natural states, unlike the spreading Dallas/Fort Worth or Houston where I live.

Me and my granddad went to breakfast in the diner. We sat with a man who makes the Minneapolis-Williston ride about once a month in a sleeper. He says its alot more convenient then flying because of the price and time it takes also. (not many flight go to Williston, ND) It just proves why America need Amtrak. By the afternoon we crossed into Montana.

I thought North Dakota was desolate. I was just aw struck as we sped by Montana's grass lands, where I could look out the window of both sides of the train and not see a single tree, house, barn, or anything. It was just grass for miles and miles. Then out of nowhere a town would come up, like Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, etc. I now see how Amtrak service is vital to these towns economy. The only other roads were US 2, which is two lanes and maybe something going south. Some towns have a small airstrip, but thats it! No bus, no airlines, just the train. We had lunch and dinner aboard and soon we were to arrive in East Glacier Park. It was snowing too as we started the ascent. Its not a very long ascent because just about 10 mins into the mountains we were there. We were greeted by a big Red Bus which are famous in the park, built in the 30's. Right across was the historic Glacier Park Lodge where we would stay the next two nights.

The Glacier Park Lodge as well the depot were built buy the Great Northern Railway in 1912. There was alot of history in the Lodge about the railroad coming. It was cool that the 75th anniversery of the EB was coming soon. I think it is amazing that it still runs after all these years. Well we rented a car and drove around the park for the next two days. We drove to Whitefish and also went into Alberta. It was absolutely amazing scenery and wildlife in and around the park. I will definetly be back.

Soon it was time to catch the EB again at 6:45 and head to Portland. This time we had two deluxe sleepers, and we opened the wall in between to share between the 3 of us. It was quite a big room with four beds and two showers. Much more spacious than a standard. We sat down to dinner soon after we left as we climbed into Marias Pass. I was excited to see it, because we had drove all along the tracks on US 2 the previous day. Lots of sharp curves and cliffs as we climbed. Lots of BNSF freights too, but didnt' stop for a single one. Soon it was dark, and we headed to bed. I dont' remember waking up very much, because it was daylight and we were almost to Portland. Soon came the Columbia River gorge. I could see another set of tracks on the otherside of the river with many freights. I think thats where the old Pioneer traveled from Portland to Denver and on. Soon Portland came into view and we pulled in just 3 minutes down. We were about 30 to 45 mins down along the journey. We found the nice lounge in Portland and waited for the Coast Starlight.

I will continue with the CS to LAX in the next reply....I'm tired of typing

Chris

 

[GG-1 From someone else's com]

Aloha

That was a great report. Hope I can do as well for my September trip

Eric

 

[saxman]

Ok, I have been meaning to continue my trip report from last May.

So finally, here is the leg from PDX to LAX....enjoy

Once arriving in Portland, we decided to tote around the city. We also found a new friend to come along with us. We mainly did some walking and rode a bus further into downtown. If I were by myself, I would have ridden the MAX system a little. But because my granddad can't walk very fast anymore, we headed back to the station for some lunch.

At the station again, I was hoping to get some pictures of some Talgo train sets. But the platform was gated off, so I was unable to walk about very much. I did however go on to an overhead walkway and got some good shots from there. Overall a very nice station and city.

The Coast Starlight arrived promptly, and we went out to meet and board. Our sleeper was the third one just in front the Pacific Parlour Car. I had room A and my grandparents took room B. Now this is the way to travel! A huge room all to myself, complete with sink and shower, and even some walking space. We couldnt open the wall to connect our rooms though, but thats ok. Our car attendant was very good, having water, and some flowers all set out on the table. Next thing was to see the Parlour Car, something I had been waiting to enjoy. I had seen a video of the Coast Starlight before, and knew what to expect. I didn't realize it was actually an old Santa Fe car. The big swivel chairs and the couches with games as well as places to sit and chat. I also enjoyed the cheese and crackers. The neatest part was the movie theatre downstairs. The car reminded me of the old days of train travel when you had cafe cars, hopping with people sitting at the bar and such, like the movie Silver Streak.

We departed Portland right ontime at 2:25 pm. The consist was 2 horses, transition sleeper, 3 sleepers, the Parlour Car, diner, lounge, and 3 or 4 coaches. We continued through the cities in Oregon which was not too interesting. We did visit with a man in the parlour who was a bishop of some school. My grandmother talked to him mostly, discussing various parts of the catholic education system and such. It wasn’t too interesting for me. Soon would be our first of delays, outside of Eugene. The conductor stated we were waiting for one freight. An hour later it came and left. Still sitting there, the conductor came on again, and said UP had let another freight through and we would have to wait again. Sure enough, it came through, and two hours later we moved again. Later we had dinner in the diner. I forget what I had though. I do remember the head dining car attendant was celebrating 25 years at Amtrak that day. Soon it was dark and we were ready for bed. I remember we stopped again before heading into the Cascades. There was one freight coming down, then we started the big climb. I sure wish it had been daylight. I really wanted to see the Cascades. I tried to look outside during the night, but could only see trees and a few streams. Next thing I knew, it was morning. Luckily we had not lost anymore time enroute and we pulled into Sacramento just before 9:30 am. They serviced the train here. I was standing in the vestibule while the conductor was shutting the door and gave the all aboard call. This poor lady ran up to him and asked to allow her to board. She was going to Mobile, AL. The conductor decided to let her on, but, her suitcases were still sitting way on the other side of the fence. So he would not let her board as he wanted to leave right away. The lady begged and begged and he told her to go inside and she could take a train down the valley to LA. She would probably be there before we got there. The train pulled out without her and we were on our way to the Bay Area. It was interesting going into area, traveling right along the shore lines. I could San Francisco in the distance. We past the eastbound California Zephyr going to Chicago. Oakland we received an additional horse from Amtrak California. It was now our lead engine. I forgot to ask what it was for, but I can only guess they were deadheading it to LA. We traveled through the farmlands of California, and down to San Luis Obispo, after horseshoe curve. Going though the tunnels and mountains was pretty cool as we passed the NB Coast Starlight.

At this point I was ready for some coastline. I was surprised by the roughness of the track before reaching the coast. It seemed we were on an abandoned road with nothing around us. Finally we made our way to the coast and sped up. It was dusk now, and the sun was beginning to set out over the Pacific. Quite a sight I must say. I will do it again on the Surfliner this spring. As darkness came upon us, we would soon be in LA. Since I was connecting to the Sunset, they said I would have to get off in Santa Barbara and be bused to make my connection. Yet later, they found the Sunset would not be leaving ontime, and we would make the connection. They showed a cute movie in the theatre. I watched it. I cannot remember the name though. It had Hugh Grant who was the Prime Minister who fell in love with his server, as well as other love stories.

We arrived into LA at 11:00 pm. This was truly an amazing trip. We had a great car attendant and we tipped her so. My grandparents were to fly home the next morning, yet I would stay and meet my stepfather for the trip to Houston on the Sunset Limited. That leg will be my next post.

Chris

 

[JESUSrocks]

Thanks for the repot

in JESUS,

Gavin