Memorial Day Memories TE/SL CBR-TUS rt

[DryCreek]

OK, this is the trip report from our recent round trip from CBR to TUS. It has been a very long time since we had last ridden Amtrak. When I was stuck on the east coast we used to ride the Colonial from NPN to WUS on weekends. It was a pleasant way to take a trip and avoid the congestion and parking issues in DC.

We departed CBR on 5/25, and boarded our return from TUS on 5/28 - so it was similar to a quick getaway. I have decided to break the trip report up into sections to make it easier to post.

 

[DryCreek]

Outbound Segment

Departure Day – May 25

We waited at the CBR depot during a raging thunderstorm. Since it was a holiday, the inside waiting room was not available to us poor Amtrak passengers. I think that there were 8 of us boarding from CBR that day. Not too bad for such a small town. Luckily, the 22/422 was only about an hour and a half late. That put it in just after the storms cleared the area. The sleeper (2130) was near the front of the consist instead of the rear, and it was the first car they spotted, so we were able to jump right on. Our SCA, Starr, had everything ready and was eager to explain the sleeper layout and where the facilities were located. She also had dinner reservations for us at 1815. We settled in and I tried my scanner. I did not have it programmed properly, so I did not get to really hear anything going on during the first part of the trip. I also managed to forget my frequency listing (from On Track-Online), so manually programming in the frequencies wasn’t going to happen. This was a disappointment as we were hoping to be able to hear the conversations between the operating crew and the BNSF dispatch while we were slow-ordered at 15-20 mph. We crept all the way down to just north of Temple, where we sat in a siding as a BNSF freight roared by at what appeared to be a greater speed than what we were previously allowed. Anyway, after much waiting and speculation, the brass at Amtrak Central decided that we would need to be allowed the experience of being “bustituted” from Temple to San Antonio. We were told that over 200 feet of track had been washed out, and there were no alternate routes available on UP or BNSF trackage. Well, after slowly approaching Temple, and then turning the equipment we were tossed off the train like yesterdays mail. They had set up the main hall in the museum with folding chairs, so we at least had an indoors place to sit. It was now midnight, and everyone was quite tired and agitated. The train and the Chicago based crew took off after the last of the checked baggage was unloaded by the overworked station crew. This is where they really could have done a better job. We sat in the station lobby from midnight to around 0200 when the first bus arrived. It was the express bus to SAS, and was immediately packed. The second and third buses were for intermediate stops. The fourth bus was another express bus, and the one we were able to board. It was packed. The seats were actually as small as airline seats, with only a little more space between them! It was a little after 0430 when we arrived at SAS. Since the seats really didn’t recline, there was no napping or peaceful rest to be had on the bus. Now, what they could have done better – they could have left us on board the relative comfort of the train and then boarded us to the buses from there.

 

[DryCreek]

Outbound Segment - Continued

After arrival at SAS the sleeper passengers were boarded and settled in to the protect cars maintained at the siding on track 1. It was about 0500 when we settled in after a quick cleanup and donning our PJ’s. No sooner than we got to sleep and I felt my upper bunk being bumped. It was my wife using her feet to slowly lift and drop the bunk. I knew right away what she was doing – trying to wake me up to make the deafening snoring stop. Well, the trouble was it wasn’t me. I leaned over the edge and explained to her that it wasn’t me. If I hadn’t been talking to her at the same time the room-rattling noise was going on she wouldn’t have believed me. Our neighbor was a world-class snorer. I would have never thought that it would be that loud through the closed door, but it was. It was only about an hour later that we were being coupled to the westbound Sunset Limited. I guess that they had set us out on another track (2 or 3?) until we were coupled-up. Until then, we sat for about an hour with no HEP. The car rapidly became unbearably warm and stuffy. Even after they coupled us up they didn’t get HEP to us for another 30 minutes. Our LA based SCA scrounged up some bananas, juice, croissants, donuts and juices until we were ready to head out west. As it turned out, due to the flooding around Houston, the #1 SL was severely delayed getting in. They held the diner open for us and we got a late breakfast at around 0930 or 1000, I think – that day was a blur for us. The diner crew on the SL was far superior to the TE crew! With only one exception, they were cheerful and polite, and the service was much better. I will review the diner service separately.

So, once we got out of SAS and heading west, things seemed to be going pretty well until we hit West Texas. I managed to get my scanner to work on 161.5500 and we listened in to the discussions between the engineer and UP dispatch. It seemed that they were having signal issues, and we crept along at 15 mph with the engineer having to call in and get permission to occupy each block as we entered. Sometimes we had to wait for clearance as the dispatcher was very busy with freight also. It was kind of funny though, the talking defect detectors would sometimes tell on the engineer as he passed and may have been going a little over the slow order. It was often followed up by a call from dispatch reminding them of the 15 mph slow order. The scenery was very impressive, and we were given enough notice before passing Lake Amistad and the high bridge. The lunch service went well, except for one server who managed to really **** my wife off. She was thinking about doing the large vegetarian salad for dinner, but wanted to make sure it would be available. If it wasn’t – then she would have had it for lunch instead. When she asked the server, the response was “move your hand – now read what that line there says”. Of course it was the line stating that it would also be available for dinner, but since we had run into issues the night before, she was just checking. Luckily the wife is still hobbled by her injury, otherwise I am sure it wouldn’t have been pretty. Dinner went without issue, except they ran out of lettuce. So, the salad was a no-go.

We retired fairly early (right after sunset). Luckily, I had set my alarm to give us about 30 minutes prior to our (estimated) arrival at TUS. Our SCA did not come around and provide the promised wake-up calls. The lady in the H-room was panicky because she could not find the SCA and the door wasn’t open. I assured her that once we got into the station the conductor would open the door, and if not I was pretty sure that I knew how to open it myself. We arrived at about 0330 and strolled across the street to our hotel. They were waiting for us (I had called ahead when it was obvious how late we were going to be) and it was wonderful to get to a quiet room with a stationary bed. So, we were only 8-1/2 hours down – not a new record I’d bet.

 

[DryCreek]

Return Segment

May 28

We got up early since the #2 SL would be running on a schedule two hours early into TUS due to track work. I think that it was only about an hour late getting in. It was a beautiful morning, and we didn’t mind waiting. I just wish that Maynard’s Market was open so that I could have gotten a cup of their wonderful coffee. Unlike boarding at CBR, we had to present ID along with our e-tickets this time. The line was pretty long. I would guess that at least 20 passengers boarded there, maybe more. We boarded the 2230 sleeper, and Anthony was our SCA. He was the best one for our whole trip. We made pretty good time – but weren’t able to make up for the time we were already behind. That’s OK for me, because that put us pretty much on the same schedule as if we weren’t running two hours early. We made our way to breakfast shortly after getting settled in, and were very impressed with the service and selection available. Again, this dining car crew, like our SCA, was the best we encountered this trip. I think our server was named Mary Beth. She pretty much served us at every meal while during our return trip on the SL. The only issue we had boarding in Tucson was due to some knucklehead leaving the shower on and running the car out of water. We had no water until El Paso. During dinner that night we ran into one amazing thunderstorm in West Texas! You could hear the hail pelting the Lexan windows and ricocheting off of the stainless steel roof. The lightning was almost nonstop, and that worried some folks around me. I thought that this would be an excellent time to remind them how safe they actually were – being surrounded by a Farady cage. In fact, while passing through the worst of the storm I heard on of the talking defect detectors report that the temperature had dropped from a previous 86 degrees all the way down to 56 degrees! Slept better that night, but still not very soundly due to many different reasons.

We awoke the next morning while being cut off from the SL and set out for coupling up to TE #22. Again, we sat for over an hour without HEP and it was unbearably warm and humid in the car. We were about 30 minutes late departing as I recall, and this later stretched out to being 1-1/2 hours behind by the time we disembarked at CBR. Of course I didn’t mind that as it gave us a more leisurely lunch schedule. The levels of the rivers we passed were way beyond anything I have ever seen before!

Overall Impressions:

Would we take another LD train trip again? Probably, but not until much cooler weather. Overall, we thought that the crews based in LA were better than the Chicago crews – by a long shot, with one or two exceptions. Our first SCA – Starr – was very nice and on the ball. She constantly dropped in to chat with us and make sure that we were comfortable and our needs were met. We chatted about the new rules on coffee, water and juice – along with a lengthy discussion on ice buckets. Since she made it clear that those were new corporate policy, I got to wondering if any of their head muckity-mucks perused this forum. Since it it possible that they might, I decided it would be best to not discuss any violations of this policy on an open forum. I wouldn’t want any of them that go above and beyond the company minimums to be punished for their better service! The LA based SCA joined the TE in Ft. Worth. She rode along (9and was on our bus) to SAS. She took over in SAS as Starr returned to Ft. Worth on the train that was turned at Temple. Other than seeing her get some breakfast/snack items together, that is about all we saw of her. Whenever we did see her again she was chatting with her co-workers in the diner or had disappeared to the crew lounge. In fact, since there was so much stuff piled in Roomette 1, she decided to repose in Roomette 5, which had been vacated by Mister Snoresalot at SAS (he decided to fly instead). I did not see her actively cleaning/straightening when I was around. The other issue was with the server that my wife wanted to strangle. Our SCA at Tucson (Anthony) was top notch! He took very good care of us. I mean very good care! If you want specifics you will have to PM me and pinky-swear that you are not Amtrak management. Our SCA we picked up in SAS was helpful, but I didn’t catch his name as he had a very thick Spanish accent. He strictly abided by the ice/juice/water regulations.

 

[DryCreek]

Diners

[SIZE=11pt]Well, I can only describe the Coast to Coast Diner (or whatever that abomination is called) with two words – Nothing Special. By that I mean that they don’t offer any of the specials listed on the menu. If they aren’t going to offer them, then why remove those from the menu? Service on the TE was agonizingly slow. The servers were indifferent and while not outright surly, not very friendly at all. At our table of four, three of our orders were wrong. The lady in front of me asked for mashed potatoes with her steak, and got a baked potato instead. Neither my wife nor I received the salads we ordered. My wife ordered the new light dinner with the Asian chicken breast – and instead they gave her the ½ baked chicken. We were all hungry and tired of waiting so we just ate what was served. I had to get up and act like I was going to refill our drinks myself before they’d pry themselves away from their table. My salmon was not really cooked through – it was still cool and jiggly in the center. I didn’t die from it, so it was probably done enough and I shouldn’t complain about getting some sashimi as a surprise dinner. The return trip TE diner crew was marginally better, but service was still slow. I think that the quality of the meals were way below the value. I would honestly class the menu selections (with exception of the steak) as pretty much the same fare you’d be offered at the quick serve restaurants in both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando. OK, I think that one or two of the WDW counter service restaurants may be better. Typically the vegetables were overcooked to the point of being mushy. The eggs were obviously the commercial pre-scrambled type we had in the Navy. The chicken sausage was good when it wasn’t overcooked (happened on two different breakfasts) and the French toast was very good. The grits on the SL outshone the ones offered on the TE. I think that if we were to take a longer trip we would be bored at mealtime. We pretty much exhausted every menu option during our trip out there and back. The only thing we didn’t try was the new light chicken offering. When the wife wanted to order it for supper on our return trip the waitress highly recommended against it, so she settled for the steak instead. We both agreed that the steak was good and prepared as we requested (medium). I would say that at every seating we attended there were about 10% coach passengers in there. Personally, after having tried the food, I find that it is wayyyyyy overpriced for what you get.[/SIZE]

 

[DryCreek]

Roomette

The space was adequate for an overnighter. If we were to do a longer trip – such as the EB – we would definitely spring for the bedroom. It did seem to be cooler on that end of the sleeper car. All three of the sleepers we were on tended to be on the warm/muggy side. It made sleeping a bit uncomfortable for us. The coach cars were downright chilly in comparison. Sharing the bathrooms and single shower was never an issue. There was always one open somewhere. Initially we were booked in roomette 13 for our return, but when I found a lower price and got a refund they rebooked us into another upper level one. I was talking to a guy that had his first downstairs roomette, and he said that he will never travel upstairs again. Since he had the top bunk, he said that the movement was much less than being upstairs in the upper bunk, and he slept much better. You do get tossed around a bit up there. Oh, and our blankets were not sealed in a plastic bag. Both bun sets were already made up and we crawled right in without giving a second thought to creepy-crawlies.

 

[DryCreek]

SSL

We really enjoyed popping in for some time there. It was usually crowded, and there was the occasional person sprawled out on two or three seats sleeping. My wife would loudly remark “why would anybody sleep in here and take up so much space”? They sometimes woke up and repositioned themselves to take up only two seats….

 

[DryCreek]

Epilogue

The one thing that caught us totally by surprise was the equilibrium issue when we got off. It was very similar to what we experienced after our cruise (and what I used to go through in the Navy) - except that isntead of feeling like we were swaying side to side, it felt as though we were being jerked forward and backward. A very strange sensation indeed! It was really bad in Tucson, but I guess that would be expected after nearly 35 hours of train/bus motion. We even noticed after we got home Friday too. Luckily I had packed some Bonine in our bag. I thought that I might need it for travelling in a backwards-facing seat. As it turned out, that did not bother me nearly as much as I was afraid it would. It is going to be some time before we attempt another LD train trip. Because of the temperature control issues in the sleeping cars, it will most likely be late fall or very early spring. I do intend to write a letter to Amtrak management and explain to them how they could have handled the bustitution better.

The interesting thing was there was a lady in our car that absolutely refused to ride a bus. She said that she would not leave the train and would ride back to Ft. Worth where she boarded – and cancel the remainder of her trip (she was going to Seattle). I don’t recall seeing her in the throngs huddled at the Temple station, so hopefully she got her way.

Oh yeah! One more important note before I forget - about the tap water! Remember how I mentioned that our car ran out of water? Well, after it was refilled in ELP, I went to the icewater dispenser to fill my cup. It coughed and hiccuped and sputtered before it gave up a glass of water. I had walked all the way back to our roomette and was fixing to take a drink when I noticed lots of green floaties swirling around in my cup! I opted not to drink that water. The other sleepers didn't have that issue. I guess the water hammer from the lines refilling might have knocked some of the moss loose in the pipes. I'm sure it was probably harmless......

As a recap, we DO NOT blame Amtrak for the service disruption. We understand the force of nature and the havoc it can wreak on anyones plans. We do fault Amtrak for the way they handled it though. I know they might have been worried about work hour rules, but by my estimation they crew outlawed shortly after leaving temple anyway - so why not have them keep the train there and board buses from the cars?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Another nice train journey semi-ruined by a poorly run bustitution and surly and lazy Chicago OBS! ( they're not all like this as you proved with Starr, but far too many are)

Good idea about traveling in fall and winter/early Spring, that's the best times for LD travel for many reasons!

 

[shelzp]

Excellent reading!

 

[bobnjulie]

Great report! Thanks for sharing! Hope you will let Amtrak know the good and bad about the service you receive! I always try to make sure to they get good props for a hard job but the server needs to learn or be moved to a behind the scenes job!

 

[DryCreek]

Howdy Folks,

I'm glad that some of you enjoyed reading the chronicles of our trip. I just wish that it had gone better. Just last night my wife said "well, that's one thing we can cross of our bucket list". That is code for "I wouldn't want to do that again". I know that because that is what she says each time I drag her back to Disney resort!

Anyway, I did happen to write a nice long letter and send to Amtrak Customer Service. It went in the mail today, as a matter of fact. I explained that they could have handled the "bustitution" better by leaving us in the relative comfort of the train while they loaded the baggage to the proper buses, and then boarded the buses from the train based on destination or status (sleeper/coach). I also made it a point to whine about the lack of proper A/C too.

I also took time to heap praises on those employees that made our trip a joy. I mentioned Starr, Anthony and Mary Beth in particular. I also mentioned that the employees at the Temple station went far beyond their normal job duties making the old waiting room available for us - while also offloading the baggage and getting it aboard the correct bus.

Now, just to make it even better - I checked our e-mail accounts and both my wife and I have a survey sent to us from Amtrak. I don't plan to hold back!

ETA - just finished my survey. I hope that they can fix/address my concerns. I really wanted this to be a great trip. I despise flying any more. I am getting to the point where I don't like to drive - and this seemed like a great alternative to both. I certainly hope to overcome this setback. I know it's impolite to come on to an Amtrak fan forum and complain, but I think I may have set my expectations too high. I will keep y'all informed of any correspondence from the Amtrak customer service folks.

 

[DryCreek]

UPDATE TIME!

Ok, both my wife and I received an invitation to participate in a survey from Amtrak last week. I filled it out honestly and politely. I had already sent a letter via USPS earlier in the week too, but since the survey also had an e-mail contact address, I copied and pasted my letter into that block and sent it in.

Today we received a reply. it is posted below, with proper redactions made:

Dear Mr. Dry Creek,

Thank you for your recent email contact.

Amtrak welcomes feedback from customers, as it helps us to focus our efforts to improve service. We hope that you will accept our sincere apologies for the lack of adequate service during your recent travel.

We have entered your concerns into our customer database. You can rest assured that information has been shared with the responsible managers for review and any necessary corrective action.

As a token of our regret for your disappointment, our department has issued you an Electronic Transportation Certificate in the amount of $500.00. The Certificate is being held on file for you until June 7, 2016. The certificate is non-transferable and may only be used toward the fares of those named on the certificate.

In order to redeem this certificate, please contact Amtrak's Reservation Sales line at 1-800-USA-RAIL (800-872-7245) and speak to a live agent to create your reservation, but do not apply payment. Instead, request to be transferred to the Customer Relations Department to have the Certificate applied to the reservation.

The Customer Relations Department hours are Monday through Friday, from 7 am until 10 pm (Eastern Time). As information, the best times to call to avoid a long hold are typically Wednesday thru Friday, after 5 pm (Eastern Time). It would be helpful to refer to your case number below when calling.

Once again, thank you for contacting us. We look forward to serving your travel needs in the future.

Sincerely,

Bernadette
Amtrak Customer Relations

Case ID: 1234567

So, we have a $500 e-voucher to use within the next year. I am satisfied with their efforts to correct the problem. I just hope that they sincerely address our concerns. If my in-laws would have had the same experience, we'd never hear the end of it. They absolutely cannot learn to roll with the punches and would not be able to adapt.

Now I have the daunting task of convincing my wife to give them another chance. She says that she might consider another trip on the train, but only in a bedroom. That $500 would easily make up the difference between a roomette and bedroom - I think. Now, to make it really worth it, I will need to book a trip of at least two nights. I am thinking about taking the TE north and then using the MRR to connect to the westbound SWC. Is that the direction with the best scenery? Our return would be on the 422 out of LAUPT. Sort of a grand circle trip, but with a layover in LA I guess. The other big issue is purely logistical. We have a fall refueling outage this year, so I am locked out of vacation from pretty much mid September to mid November. We now know better than to book during the summer. The sleeper cars were uncomfortably warm during the spring, I can only imagine that they'd be sweltering in the summer (think #422 being set out for the daily #22 consist with no HEP). I am thinking either mid-November or maybe early to mid-March for the trip. We'd just have to adjust for the change back to daylight standard time. How would the most scenic parts of the SWC routes be during those dates?

Finally, if anyone's interested - I would gladly share my letter to Amtrak customer service by posting a copy of it here. Like I said, I was polite, but firm. I called out where there are glaring needs for improvement, and noted those who provided good to excellent service. I also reiterated that I did not hold the service disruption as their fault, just the way they chose to handle it.

Cross-posted as an appendage to the main discussion forum.