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Green Maned Lion

Green Maned Lion

Engineer
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,334
Location
NJ
Note: The really detailed insightful and fun trip report will, as usual, be delivered later on by my girlfriend. She is so much better at that kind of stuff.

For the purposes of my consist in recording Superliner I cars, UR means its completely un-refurbished in its 70s orange carpet motif. L1 means the car has gotten wood trim in places but retains its orange carpet uppers. L2 means the car has the full Empire-class interior trim but lacks its bathroom/shower/bedroom modules. L3 means the car is a full Empire Class sleeper.

This trip was a tremendous undertaking for a 25 year old guy, dead out of work, with little money. Planning for this trip started long ago the day someone posted on this forum about the loophole between Omaha and Columbus, Wisconsin. I had about 9000 points at the time and the realization was that for a little money- well under $1000 total outlay - I could have a weeks trips with just 6000 points more, easily bought.

In early July, I started talking about this trip in earnest with my life partner, best friend, and fiance, Audrey. It was crazy. It seemed so impossible really. For $621 we could do this thing, going around the country via New York, Washington, Chicago, Sacramento, and Portland. We’d have all but three meals covered for that price, and but one night sitting up in coach.

It was crazy. It was amazing. And just perhaps... possible.

We decided on the winter for two reasons. The first is that Audrey had to get something out of this- and being a Floridian, she has a fondness for snow as a weird phenomenon. The second is that it was the only reliable way to get that $621 price tag.

Well, $747 price tag when you added in the price of buying the points.

Ok, ok. I am under no illusions that I could get away with a weeks vacation for peanuts. But really, I don’t think you could have done any better anywhere else.

Sometime in November I found a low-bucket Roomette on the Lake Shore Limited.

So on January 6th, 2009, our planned itinerary was as follows, over three reservations:

  • 1/06/10: NJT 3210 = Coach = Long Branch - New York
  • 1/06/10: AMTK 141 NER Bankers = Coach = New York - Washington
  • 1/06/10: AMTK 29 Capitol Limited = 2901 Rm 2 = Washington - Chicago
  • 1/07/10: AMTK 5 California Zephyr = Coach = Chicago - Lincoln
  • 1/08/10: AMTK 5 California Zephyr = 532 Rm 2 = Lincoln - Sacramento
  • 1/09/10: AMTK 14 Coast Starlight = 1431 Rm 2 = Sacramento - Portland
  • 1/10/10: AMTK 28 Empire Builder = 2830 Rm 2 = Portland - Columbus
  • 1/12/10: AMTK 28 Empire Builder = Coach = Columbus - Chicago
  • 1/12/10: AMTK 48 Lake Shore Limited = 4811 Rm 1 = Chicago - New York
  • 1/13/10: NJT 3279 Long Branch Express = Coach = New York - Long Branch


What actually happened train-wise was as follows:

  • 1/06/10: NJT 3210 = Coach = Long Branch - New York
  • 1/06/10: AMTK 141 NER Bankers = Coach = New York - Washington
  • 1/06/10: AMTK 29 Capitol Limited = 2901 Rm 2 = Washington - Chicago
  • 1/07/10: AMTK 3 Southwest Chief = 340 Rm 22 = Chicago - Los Angeles
  • 1/09/10: AMTK 14 Coast Starlight = 1430 Rm 13 = Los Angeles - Seattle
  • 1/11/10: AMTK 28 Empire Builder = 830 Rm 11 = Seattle - Chicago
  • 1/13/10: AMTK 48 Lake Shore Limited = 4812 Rm 3 = Chicago - New York
  • 1/14/10: NJT 3271 = Coach = New York - Long Branch


As the trip approached, of course, the weather in the midwest approached nuts. We began to get a bit worried that things might go wrong. I posted my concerns on this forum and you all said “GO FOR IT!” and so I did.

As the day approached we bought things for cold weather, snacks to keep our expenses down, and so on. We packed our “train bag” full of pillows, neck pillows, toiletries and other items one might need for a train trip. We packed my camera, notebooks, pens, scanner, and several copies of Amtrak’s System Timetable.

And planned for the train to be late but made no thought of the trains being cancelled. Cancelled trains simply don’t happen, I told myself.

Our schedule usually runs from about 12 noon to 4 AM so we stayed up all night before the trip commenced. We called up a taxi cab at 4:30 am in order to get us to Long Branch in time for the 5:35 AM train, local 3210 to New York. The taxi cab picked us up and dropped us off at the station in time to catch our train.

It arrived into New York Penn Station relatively on time, at which point we immediately proceeded to the QuickTrak which slowly fulfilled the long process of printing out the 16 tickets we needed for this trip. Little did we know that we’d be reprinting tickets in both Chicago and Los Angeles. By the time the trip was over we had printed 34 separate tickets.

We spent our allocated time in the Club Acela enjoying muffins, soda, and coffee before they called our #141, the train formerly known as the Bankers. We hoped to be setting the pace for our whole trip by arriving into Washington 5 minutes early. Ironically, to some extent, we were. I did not record 141’s consist. Sorry.

At the normal time, we were lead out to board train 29 (1/6/10), the Capitol Limited. It had the following consist:

  1. General Electric = P42DC = 207
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 5
  3. American Car & Foundry = Heritage = Baggage = 1260 = (Formerly ATSF 3669)
  4. Bombardier = Superliner II = Transition-Sleeper = 39010
  5. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32019 = Grand Teton (L1 Refurb)
  6. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32005 = Biscayne (L2 Refurb)
  7. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = CCC = 37011
  8. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sightseer Lounge = 33037
  9. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach-Bag = 31012
  10. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34000
  11. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34032




I’m going to pause here, but here is the rest of the consist information:

Coast Starlight (14-1/9/10)

  1. General Electric = P42DC = 111
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 114
  3. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1242 = (Ex. ATSF)
  4. Bombardier = Superliner II = Transition-Sleeper = 39022
  5. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32047 = Canaveral (L1 Refurb)
  6. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32050 = Cape Lookout (L3 Refurb)
  7. Budd = Heritage Hi-Level = Pacific Parlour Car = 39975 = Willamette Valley
  8. Bombardier = Superliner II = Diner = 38065
  9. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sightseer Lounge = 33046
  10. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34045
  11. Bombardier = Superliner II = Family Coach = 34515
  12. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34046
  13. Alstom = California Surfliner = Cafe Coach = 6361 = Angel Island (cut-off OKJ)


Empire Builder (8/28 1/11/10

  1. General Electric = P42DC = 138 (SEA)
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 13 (SEA)
  3. General Electric = P42DC = 202 (SEA)
  4. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1241 = (Ex. ATSF 3500) (SEA)
  5. Bombardier = Superliner II = Transition-Sleeper = 39034 (SEA)
  6. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32023 = Hawaii Volcano (SEA)
  7. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sleeper = 32104 = Oklahoma (SEA)
  8. Bombardier = Superliner II = Diner = 38043 (SEA)
  9. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34051 (SEA)
  10. Bombardier = Superliner II = Coach = 34107 (SEA)
  11. Private Varnish 800212 Bella Vista dropped at Spokane
  12. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sightseer Lounge = 33035 (PDX)
  13. Bombardier = Superliner II = Coach = 34109 (PDX)
  14. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Baggage Coach = 31023 (PDX)
  15. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32026 = Katmai (L2 Refurb) (PDX)




Lake Shore Limited (48/448 1/13/10)

  1. General Electric = P32AC-DM = 715 (ALB-NYP)
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 2 (CHI-BOS)
  3. General Electric = P42DC = 91 (CHI-BOS)
  4. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1714 = (Ex. Coach) (BOS)
  5. Amerail = Viewliner = Sleeper = 62033 = Scenic View (BOS)
  6. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25115 = (BOS)
  7. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25072 = (BOS)
  8. Bombardier = Horizon = Club-Dinette = 58103 (BOS)
  9. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25053 = (NYP)
  10. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25021 = (NYP)
  11. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25034 = (NYP)
  12. Budd = Amfleet II = Coach = 25013 = (NYP)
  13. Budd = Amfleet II = Diner-Lite = 28023 = South Bend Club (NYP)
  14. Budd = Heritage = Diner = 8532 = (Ex. CB&Q coach 4739) (NYP)
  15. Amerail = Viewliner = Sleeper = 62022 = Mountain View (NYP)
  16. Amerail = Viewliner = Sleeper = 62019 = Metropolitan View (NYP)
  17. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1760 = (Ex. Coach) (NYP)
 
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Looks like you had almost the identical consist for the SWC we had a few weeks prior. We were in the Florida.

Rob
 
Well done for getting your long desired train trip, and for a bargain price. I wish I could earn "points" over here in the UK. As it is I am watching the exchange rate instead!

Looking forward to the full trip details,

Ed :cool:
 
You really did pull of something amazing. I'm impressed, and hope to do something similar sometime! Looking forward to hearing more.
 
Before I continue in this trip report, I want to appologize for the delay. I got quite sick shortly after I got home. I have a nasty cold. Still do. But I want to get a good part of this out before I return to school.

The car we got on the Capitol Limited was in what I specified as level one refurbishment, Pullman-Standard built Superliner I sleeper 32019 assigned but never carrying the name Grand Teton. Just as an aside, I believe that if a car (or a train) is ever assigned a name, it carries it forever, unless assigned a different name. A person does not lose their name just because you refer to them by their social security number in a database. Nor does a train car, or a train. A person does not need to wear a “my name is” sticker on their shirt for them to have that name, and neither does a train car.

True to the course, I didn’t like the bathrooms in the relatively unrefurbished car. Truth be told, I think the people that designed both Superliner I and Superliner II initial bathroom modules were morons. They do not fit people well, do not allow people to spread their legs much. I might be a man, but I ain’t a man who can support his weight, balance himself, and aim himself at a toilet on a moving train. The newer modules are a million times better. I hope they end up becoming defacto standard across the entire Superliner fleet.

And I can’t be unusual except, perhaps, that I’m willing to admit it to myself. I offer as proof the number of people who demonstrate, in terms of left-over evidence, that they too can not aim at the toilet on the moving train with any degree of accuracy. I wish they would, at the least, attempt to remove the evidence of their inaccuracy. Enough of this. I’m getting pissed off. Or maybe they pissed on. This is in poor taste. Sorry.

Speaking of pissed off...Our attendant on this train was a nice sounding man with a friendly disposition that I initially liked. He seemed to offer promise of good service. He went so far as to ask me, first time around, if I was interested in a wake up call- I was. He asked me what time I was planning to go to dinner so that he could put down my bed for me. He made quite cheerful announcements.

We went to dinner and both had the steak. It was good, essentially the same as they served before the braised flat iron of beef this summer. I asked for it rare. It came out raw. I told them this wasn’t what I meant when I said “rare”. They took it back. It came out medium-rare, which was fine. I had desert. It was good. I don’t remember what exactly. Tragically, the first notebook I was recording this story in was lost, likely somewhere on this train. It was one of the really rare times when a book of this sort wasn’t first recorded with name, address, phone number, and a $50 offer for its return if found.

I came back to our room about 10:00, fresh with fun, stories of the world, gaeity, laughter, and enjoyment in our fellow man. Like usually happens on a return from the lounge. I was returning for my notebook, a pen, and my scanner. I returned to... an unmade-up room. I rang for the attendant, politely told him that I’d like my bed made up, which he did, and told him that I wanted a wake up call in the morning for 7:00, so that I could have breakfast.

I went back to the lounge with the items I had seeked. I enjoyed myself further. I have enjoyed myself more in the past, but since this was a special- and long - trip, I had promised my girlfriend (for my liver, my past bad habits, and for monetary reasons) that I would partake in alcohol only during wine tastings and the Coast Starlight’s PPC. So I was dry. But I still enjoyed. We met interesting people, told funny jokes, enjoyed some card games, and so on.

I got back to my room and... the bed was down but the mattress had not yet been laid out, nor had the straps been fastened. I got the attendant again and watched as he did these things. I was somewhat miffed, but I have long learned that honey gets you more than vinegar, so I hid it. He again asked me if I wanted a wake-up call. I reminded him again of the 7:00 time.

We lay down and fell asleep. We woke up at 7:25. I saw the attendant in the hallway. He looked at me as if he hadn’t managed to forget the wake-up call. I asked him why he hadn’t woken us up. He said he didn’t remember us so asking. I understand people forget things. But that was three times. Also, in the job he is in, forgetting such things is bordering on incompetence. No, I take that back. It is incompetence. I gave him no tip.

After breakfast, which was extended due to our running late, and was delicious- the scrambled eggs were freshly prepared, even, we went to the lounge again to partake in the fascinatingly boring scenery one finds in Indiana. At 9:07, I got a call from 1-(800)872-7245. Recognize it? So did I.

It was a woman we all know named Julie informing me that the California Zephyr of January 7th was cancelled. I initially agreed to wait on the line to talk to an agent, but was then informed it was a 32 minute wait. Knowing that we were not much more than 32 minutes outside of Chicago itself, and knowing train cell connections are iffy at best, I hung up. I figured I’d prefer to discuss this face to face with Chicago CS reps. I needed to pack my things, anyway.

We arrived into Chicago some 55 minutes late. I had been planning, you all know, for massively late trains and missed connections. The idea of cancellations never occurred to me. Interesting. The ride into Chicago was our only lateness. We had two cancellations. Go figure, right?

I checked into the Metrolounge. They informed me that they didn’t know what the heck I was talking about and do not bother Customer Service as they did not yet know for sure the train was cancelled. I would have listened if it wasn’t for the complexity of this trip. I was comfortable with whatever they were going to do, but I wanted to be on top of it because I figured I wanted a fresh agent that would not get overly flustered with my situation.

I walked over to CS. Of course 5 was cancelled. (Duh!) Why else would Amtrak unleash unhappy customers on CS unless they were sure? Anyway, I said to the CS person, “Hey, I’m flexible. Here is my itinerary. I got a round the country trip that I want to preserve here. I don’t mind it running a day or two late, nor being put up in hotels. You can route me how you like, and I’ll be happy, so long as I see the country.”

She smiled. We discussed possibilities and decided on the Southwest Chief. We had also considered the Texas Eagle and reversing the loop. (27->11->6) But we decided that the best way to do this, with the least chance of additional problems up the line, was to route me via the Chief. Which was cool with me. I got more time on the Starlight and I wanted to go on the Super Chief since I was a little kid and this was the closest I’d ever get. I can take the Zephyr next time. She assured me this would cost me nothing more and that everything would be in sleeper. Awesome.

I ran back to the Metro Lounge and informed my worried G/F that everything was going to be fine. My sheer faith in Amtrak’s commitment to getting me where I wanted to go made me not worry much. I knew the worst thing that could happen is them decide that my final destination was New York, and send me back that way. At which point I’d get a Chicago turn and run this trip again another time. I knew they wouldn’t charge me more for that.

I went up to the long line at the ticket counter and got to have my ticket’s printed. The ticket clerk didn’t know how to handle it and went in to the back room to ask his supervisor, I suppose. I sat there, as I had been since we got to snowy Chicago, whistling, humming, and sometimes singing, “Let it snow!”. Maybe I scared him a little. I must have seemed happy for someone who just had a monkey wrench thrown in their travel plans!

I got another pleasant surprise, too. Well, 13,110 pleasant surprises. That was the number of pennies they gave me back for the inconvenience of this happening me. Poor unfortunate me.

We then went over to Giordano’s and celebrated with a delicious lunch. We shared our jubilation with a Chicago bum. He got a couple of slices of the best pizza on earth.

We then boarded the Southwest Chief, and found ourselves in room 22, a Trans-dorm room. I’m going to pause for a little bit here to collect my thoughts. I’m also moving consist information for the SWC to this section. (Mods, could you please delete it from my first post?)

Southwest Chief: (3 - 1/7/10)

  1. General Electric = P42DC = 118
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 115
  3. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1211 = (Ex. ATSF 3528)
  4. Bombardier = Superliner II = Transition-Sleeper = 39007
  5. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sleeper = 32078 = Florida
  6. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sleeper = 32118 = Wyoming
  7. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Diner = 38000
  8. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sightseer Lounge = 33014
  9. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34001
  10. Bombardier = Superliner II = Coach = 34103
  11. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Snack Coach = 35007
 
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Part Three

Before I go into this I was just reflecting on this trip. I had a timetable whose map I coloured in as we went along. Looking at the map, I can see clearer than any words just what I accomplished. In 9 days, 8 nights, my girlfriend and I travelled 7800 miles. Spent 162 hours and 49 minutes on the train. Crossed through 24 states (Five of them twice, two of them three times) and the district of Columbia. Saw both oceans. Saw two of the biggest mountain ranges in the world. From below sea level to 7588 feet above sea level. 148 stops, 22 of them twice, and two of them three times.




  1. New Jersey
  2. New York
  3. New Jersey
  4. Pennsylvania
  5. Delaware
  6. Maryland
  7. Virginia
  8. West Virginia
  9. Pennsylvania
  10. Ohio
  11. Indiana
  12. Illinois
  13. Iowa
  14. Missouri
  15. Kansas
  16. Colorado
  17. New Mexico
  18. Arizona
  19. California
  20. Oregon
  21. Washington
  22. Idaho
  23. Montana
  24. North Dakota
  25. Minnesota
  26. Wisconsin
  27. Illinois
  28. Indiana
  29. Ohio
  30. Pennsylvania
  31. New York
  32. New Jersey

I hope all of you make yourselves do a trip of this kind. It is a learning experience, and a humbling one. This is a huge and beautiful country we live in, and seeing it like this just reinforces all of it.

I want to apologize for the incomplete consist information furnished for the SWC, particularly the Sightseer. I really have no excuse for not catching the number of that car. If anyone does know the missing numbers, please let me have them! Also, the baggage could have also been a 1200 series car. It was NOT a 1700 series car.

The train departed Chicago more or less on time. We got settled into our crew dorm room, #21. We found a lot of people in there. Actually, our original room was occupied by a dead heading engineer. He figured the one accross from him was unoccupied. We took that one (#21). Some old people came by and wondered what we were doing in their room. We directed them to the engineer. He apologized. Since we were already settled in #21, the older couple took #22.

In the diner both myself and my girlfriend decided we weren’t going to eat steaks, as good as they might be, all week. I remember having some kind of barbecue beef. It was delicious. We had a waiter named Oscar. He was an exceptional waiter. Friendly, personable, and attentive. When I write my letter to Amtrak, he is coming up for commendation. He recommended a dessert he referred to as the “Peanut butter heart attack.” Aptly described and worthy of the recommendation nonetheless.

We also met several people who were originally slated to go on the doomed Zephyr. Most of them stayed with us all the way through Emeryville on the Starlight, and a few even went as far as Sacramento. A very few of them originated on the Capitol Limited. The couple across the hall had had it. They had originated in Newark, and for reasons not clear to me, had been routed on the Pennsylvanian. If it had been me, I would have routed them via PATH to NYP and then on to Chicago via the Lake Shore. But that’s just me.

One particularly interesting example was a woman named Barbara. I sincerely regret not getting a picture with her. She was traveling with her husband and was a college professor. Her hands, face, and demeanor told three different ages, her hands being the oldest and her demeanor the youngest. Both my girlfriend Audrey and I found her to be an extremely interesting person to spend time with.

Also, she sounded like a college professor I would have loved to have had. Didn’t sound like an easy teacher. But the easy teachers are the most worthy of avoiding if you value your education. While I generally am telling this trip from our point of view, I would be remiss not mentioning this particular wonderful individual that we spent the better part of 4 days with.

We saw some truly stunning sights in our trip on the Southwest Chief. Oh, right, pictures. Let me show you some of them. Also, let me provide you with a link to the photobucket on which all of them are located incase they interest you. The ones I am posting in the thread are SWC only, mind you. Photobucket







Senator George Hart of Michigan was aboard the train, in coach, heading for Albequrque. Friendly guy.

We arrived into Los Angeles about 9 minutes early. I’ll continue my trip later. Now I’m really not feeling to well. *sighs*
 
Ditto! A real adventure for sure, we're all envious that we can't get re-routes like this (except the_traveler, he PLANS them! :lol: )I'm SHOCKED!SHOCKED! that a Senator was riding in coach, you'd think he would have at least a private car! :lol:

Keep up the good work, we often disagree, sometimes strongly, on our outlook on life but we all agree about how wonderful trains are! Was your girlfriend cool with the delays, sometimes women can not have the same reaction to unexpected happenings as us? :lol:
 
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I'm not quite sure who you met on the SWC, GML. Michigan's U.S. Senators are Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. There was a Philip Hart who was a U.S. senator from Michigan, but he died in 1976. I checked the names of state senators in Michigan and there doesn't seem to be a Hart.
 
MikefromCrete said:
I'm not quite sure who you met on the SWC, GML. Michigan's U.S. Senators are Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. There was a Philip Hart who was a U.S. senator from Michigan, but he died in 1976. I checked the names of state senators in Michigan and there doesn't seem to be a Hart.
Click to expand...
Perhaps he is a state senator as opposed to U.S. senator.
 
MikefromCrete said:
I'm not quite sure who you met on the SWC, GML. Michigan's U.S. Senators are Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. There was a Philip Hart who was a U.S. senator from Michigan, but he died in 1976. I checked the names of state senators in Michigan and there doesn't seem to be a Hart.
Click to expand...
He was a state senator from the detroit area. He's not a particularly important person or anything. His most amusing feature was a hilariously ill-fitting suit. I also am quite sure he's retired.
 
Part 4.

As we were leaving Las Vegas, NM, I got another call from (800)872-7245. Guess what? 28(10) Empire Builder was cancelled. Now, I'm quite certain that since I was on the road, if I had, er, missed that call I probably would have been accomodated in a hotel in Portland and sent out the next day. But that would have me mis-connecting with 48 and probably have meant a coach seat on the Lake Shore Limited.

Since we had a very short connection in Los Angeles, and since I was over a day away from it, I called Amtrak's Reservations. I had a few problems convincing them that they could, in fact, rebook AGR reservations as per service disruptions and so on. But after a few tries I found a very helpful agent who managed to help me more than I bargained for. I had once again told the agent that I was "flexible". In doing that, and I don't remember the details precisely, he let it be known that since Amtrak had a problem with accomodating so many passengers for 28 in Portland, they would love to accomodate me elsewhere. Such as in Seattle.

Well, folks, I didn't get another refund. What I did get was rebooked on the Coast Starlight all the way to Seattle. Plus I got rescheduled on the Lake Shore Limited, in sleeper. And rescheduled on the next Empire Builder out, in sleeper, to Columbus. And Amtrak would, they assured me, take care of Seattle lodging and transportation to and from it...

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the train ride is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOOOW!

The next day, we pulled in to Los Angeles 9 minutes early. I didn't realize Union Station was nearly as big as it is. The walk/run to the ticket counter is long and hard. The entire thing was disorganized. Apparently there is supposed to be a separate line for Sleeper/Disabled passengers, but it wasn't very clearly laid out. Furthermore, because the sleeper passengers had their own ticket window, only one other ticket window was availible for the other passengers. I didn't understand the layout and was in the coach line.

I think that half the population of LA was in the line behind me and anxious to kill me by the time the ticket clerk was done quizing me about my reservations and why they seemed to make no sense to her. Especially that way that they seemed to be allowing me to connect overnight to the Builder in Seattle. After about 5 minutes of the inquistion, I said, "Look, trust me, the tickets are right. I take full responsibility if they happen to be wrong."

So she blinked a few times, looked carefully at my ID, old tickets, new reservation, shrugged, and printed them. It must have felt odd printing so many comped tickets. All of the tickets seemed correct to me, so I thanked her, grabbed my bag, and hustled over to the Traxx club. Which as a first class lounge leaves much to be desired.

In general, while a beautiful ediface, I hated the station. The people working there were obnoxious. They were clueless, and treated passengers with a level of respect that New York City would scoff at. It felt downright adversarial. The person monitoring the traxx lounge let other passengers wait as they weighed each bag to be checked, each bag to be redcapped, and each bag the passenger was to carry on. Which is ridiculous (yes, I know its policy!), especially considering redcaps use powered carts in this station. This shouldn't have been the person in charge of the sleeper-passengers.

Finally, they started to load the train. Here was the consist (Admins, please remove from OP)

Coast Starlight (14-1/9/10)

  1. General Electric = P42DC = 111
  2. General Electric = P42DC = 114
  3. Budd = Heritage = Baggage = 1242 = (Ex. ATSF)
  4. Bombardier = Superliner II = Transition-Sleeper = 39022
  5. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32047 = Canaveral (L1 Refurb)
  6. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Sleeper = 32050 = Cape Lookout (L3 Refurb)
  7. Budd = Heritage Hi-Level = Pacific Parlour Car = 39975 = Willamette Valley (Ex. ATSF Hi-Level 580)
  8. Bombardier = Superliner II = Diner = 38065
  9. Bombardier = Superliner II = Sightseer Lounge = 33046
  10. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34045
  11. Bombardier = Superliner II = Family Coach = 34515
  12. Pullman-Standard = Superliner I = Coach = 34046
  13. Alstom = California Surfliner = Cafe Coach = 6361 = Angel Island (cut-off OKJ)


Since I have class to get to, I will continue later.
 
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Green Maned Lion said:
The person monitoring the traxx lounge let other passengers wait as they weighed each bag to be checked, each bag to be redcapped, and each bag the passenger was to carry on.
Click to expand...
That is news to me! :blink:

  1. They didn't weigh bags when I used it a year ago, and
  2. Why would there be any bags to check? :huh: If you're connecting off the SWC, the bags are transferred automatically. If you're starting in LAX, I believe the bags are checked at either the ticket counter or in the baggage room!
 
the_traveler said:
Green Maned Lion said:
The person monitoring the traxx lounge let other passengers wait as they weighed each bag to be checked, each bag to be redcapped, and each bag the passenger was to carry on.
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That is news to me! :blink:

  1. They didn't weigh bags when I used it a year ago, and
  2. Why would there be any bags to check? :huh: If you're connecting off the SWC, the bags are transferred automatically. If you're starting in LAX, I believe the bags are checked at either the ticket counter or in the baggage room!
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Ive been in the Traxx lounge twice this summer/fall and neither time did they weigh luggage. We did have to put it in the corner out of the way in a designated spot but when the RedCap showed up with his cart it was loaded on and the rest of us walked to the train past the Loooooooooong coach line in the lobby. Ive never seen carryon luggage weighed, only checked bags? Perhaps yall got a **** in training that wanted to work the gates in CHI or NYP but I'm surprised by this one! :blink:
 
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GML,

Your trip reports are very well written and a delight to read.
 
Part 5.

Back again with more.

I had a red cap take us out to the Coast Starlight on an electric cart. It is one of the rare times I’ve done that, but I was pretty tired and didn’t feel like the long walk all the way out to the train. I was pleased as punch to find us in 32050 Cape Lookout, which is a fully rebuilt sleeper complete with Empire Class interior package.

Due to all the reroutings and reassignments of rooms, we ended up in the lower level, which was a first for me. We both liked it, as the room was slightly more spacious with the lack of the taper found on the upper rooms. Our car attendants name was a friendly guy named Paul.

Paul showed himself to be good on several accounts, one of which was that he opened his door at any stop that we platformed at (even early in the morning) and trusted us enough to let us step out on to the platform for short stops that weren’t smoke breaks. We stood within jumping distance of the door at such stops, but it was nice that he didn’t take the attitude of others I’ve had over time that we couldn’t touch terra firma if it wasn’t a smoke break.

We were right next door to the Pacific Parlour car, which was even nicer than I had been told to expect it to be. It might be some sort of commentary that a car originally serving Amtrak as the clearly second class counterpart to the Super Chief’s first class Pleasure Dome lounge is the first class lounge on their premier train. Be that as it may, this car was as beautifully outfitted as one could expect, and the level of service that came with it was certainly first class.

Just to give a negative note where it may be due: I was under the impression that champagne splits were supposed to be given out on this train. Now, I wasn’t in the sleeper for the first 3 or 4 hours of the trip, so it could simply have been my sprinting for the lounge and not returning, but I didn’t get one.

The lounge attendant we had was Suzie and she was absolutely awesome. While she seemed a bit stern in demeanor, I think its just the way her face looks. She was friendly, she provided service exceptionally, she even went to the trouble or remembering everyone’s names. She even delivered coffee, no charge, to my swivel seat on the second morning of the trip, and came by for refills a few times.

We took all our meals in the PPC. No comment on the taste or quality of food on the national system, but it did get boring after, oh, 4 days. On the first day’s trip, I ordered a spinach, romaine, garden vegitable and Feta chese salad while Audrey ordered a turkey and jack chesse sandwhich with tomato-basil soup. We ended up trading entrees. Both were really good. The derserts were completely not part of the national system, a mousse choclate desert and a cherry tart.

For dinner that night, Audrey had a delicious merlot-braised lamb dish with tomatos and herbs, that was absolutely sumptious. I tasted it- it was just heavenly. I had a duck breast cooked in a kind of sherry-soy sauce, rahter Chinese and very tasty. I had another one of those choclate mousse delights and she had a Napoleon. With my dinner I had a Vodka martini made with Smirnoff which was quite good. I didn’t know you could make a good anything with Smirnoff.

All was served with real cutlery, real crockery, and real glasses.

We stayed up late at night chatting with some railfans and playing cards. One commentary: the only tables capable of handling the provided board games were usually set up for other things, like meals or wine tastings.

Speaking of wine tastings, I participated in both of them. The wines were pretty good, and presentation was interesting and improvised. Naturally, each glass of wine was better than the last. Truth be told, if there was a 5th wine consisting of swill, it would have probably tasted jes fine’. Hiccup. They poured surprisingly large glasses of wine.

For breakfast we both had scrambled eggs with sausages. I had a croissant with mine. They offered Audrey, though, a slice of delicious bannana bread. I didn’t know they even offered it. The coffee was about as good as I’ve ever had on Amtrak. It was good enough to dispense with the two teaspoons of sugar I usually put in Amcoffee. It came in a real mug.

For lunch we both had the chicken Cœser wrap, which was beatutifully constructed. Not to mention extremely delicious. It came with the same delicious tomato-basil soup as yesterday.

For the second wine tasting, Audrey decided she wanted to partcipate. They told her she couldn’t due to her being 20. (I told her to ask- the worst they’d do is say no) They didn’t quite say no, though. For no charge, they provided her with a bottle of Martinelli’s cider and a plate of cheese and crackers so that she could at least participate to some extent, without partaking. As I said, a nice crew.

At this point we pulled into Portland early. We had some friends to meet up with, which we did.

Pictures:





Me discussing with someone, I guess.



Nice shot of a river, good chance.



A beautiful California sunset.



This soup was awesome. Notice the real bowl.



This was one of the best made wraps I have ever seen.



Me with a pair of friends, known to me only as “Lady Yatexel” and “Lady Yatexel’s Girlfriend.” I don’t actually know their names. But I’m friends with them online.

I’ll get on with PDX-SEA segment later. Gotta run.
 
Damn good report GML! Must have been outstanding to get a rave review from one as particular as you (ie your comment about the coffee for example). Sounds like you had a great OBS crew and the meals and wine/cheese fest is a reminder to all newbies how special the PPC is! Look forward to the next legs! ;)
 
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Green Maned Lion said:
For the second wine tasting, Audrey decided she wanted to partcipate. They told her she couldn’t due to her being 20. (I told her to ask- the worst they’d do is say no) They didn’t quite say no, though. For no charge, they provided her with a bottle of Martinelli’s cider and a plate of cheese and crackers so that she could at least participate to some extent, without partaking. As I said, a nice crew.
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Now that was really above and beyond! :) Kudos to Suzie for doing that. That is customer service at its best! :)
 
Good report Lion...Amtrak does have good service. About the champagne splits~ we left Chicago on the EB,and the SCA forgot to hand out the splits. They were stashed in the lower level baggage area and he told me I could help myself. I don't think I remembered crossing the Mississippi River. :cool:
 
Great stuff GML.

That's cool that they tried to include Audrey in the tasting.

The first time thru on the CS, I actually asked about the splits.

The SCA said they don't give it out upon boarding at SAC (it was midnight),

but he made up for it and brought us two, then asked if we wanted more.

I think you can see why the Parlor Car is our favorite.

P.S. I thought your mane was green??? :lol: :lol:
 
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