RailFanLNK
Conductor
wierd!!!! :blink: Thats about how it went. The Amtrak employees were good. I left Lincoln NE Tuesday morning early and on time with the #5 pulling out of LNK right on time. I boarded and thought the "consist" looked different but I boarded quickly and didn't pay real close attention. I was paid the "ultimate" compliment by an astute passenger the following day. He "observed" me board and quietly thought to himself, "that guy knows what he's doing!" (I'm still real clueless about riding Amtrak but I'm tryin'!)This passenger was sitting across the aisle and back one row and watched me board. I boarded for the trip in my "night clothes" which is a pair of hospital scrub shorts and scrub shirt. I also board with a pillow and a blanket crammed into the pillow strapped to my carryon with a bungee cord. He then saw me pull out a bottle of water and a bottle of Triaminic and stick it in the back of the seat in front of me. I pulled out two earplugs, stuck them in my ears and was probably asleep before we left the city limits of Lincoln NE covered with my blanket with my pillow wedged up against the window and seat. When I awoke in the morning is when I noticed this trip was a little "wierd". There was a good sized contingent of Amtrak brass riding this train. All the employees backsides were really puckered up pretty tight. 
It was because of what/who was on board. When we had a small layover in Denver CO, I got off the train and noticed the consist was 2 engines, baggage car, transistion sleeper, two sleepers, observation car, dining car, 3 coaches and....................another observation car!!! AT the end the doors wouldn't open for me to pass back into the second Observaton Car. A bunch of Amtrak management was aboard from Chicago to Denver. I saw alot of Amtrak employees walking around and being social, but I just thought they were part of the crew. When they detrained in Denver, the employees of the #5 sighed a big "sigh of relief". The employees of this train seemed real "uptight" and they tended to relax after the management crew detrained. There wasn't rude comments, but there was comments to the effect that "were glad they are now off the train!" I arrived in Winter Park CO 7 minutes late. I was so mad!!! 7 minutes dang it! (I'm kidding) LOL It feels good to know that even though I'm a "rookie", I'm really starting to get the "hang of it". This was a trip that I had seen a $108 fare, I ended up going for $71.00 RT finding the fare on the Hot Deals/Weekly Specials segment of Amtrak.Com. I stayed at the Rocky Mountain Inn and Hostel for $19.00 a night. Its 4 blocks away from the unstaffed Amtrak station in WinterPark/Fraser CO. I only ate one meal out and deposited my brothers ashes in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I did this trip very inexpensively. The Amtrak #5 was a very good trip. Now......about the return trip on the #6..........well......I can't say it was the "trip from hell" cuz it wasn't but it had all the makings of it. I think the combination of my attitude and my sense of "adventure" made the return trip bearable instead of one from "****"! :huh: I began to call the day before and it was "on time", (you all said call the day before and you can get a small idea of the train status) so I was feeling kinda good. On departure day, things deterioated. First of all, the TV at the hostel kept beeping with "flash flooding" in southern and western Colorado. (not a good sign) I then started to call and the train was 1 hour behind, then 2 hours, then 3, then 4 hours and then JULIE started telling me it was REAL LATE and lets talk to an agent. Well, I talked to enough agents where one of them was starting to recognize my voice. They ALL were pleasent and understanding. I started to get a little fustrated when one agent was telling me it was arriving in WIP (Winter Park) at midnight and another agent was telling me 1am. That is 9 HOURS late!!!! WIP is an "unstaffed station" meaning there is really no where to "hang out" other than a hut by the tracks. In the mountains....well....at dark it gets cold!!!! Finally I was put on hold and the agent "Linda" went to the effort to call someone in Omaha (UP maybe?!?) to tell me exactly where the train was. It was near Granby and that was my signal to walk the 4 blocks from the hostel to the unstaffed station. When I arrived at the "hut", I noticed an "Amtrak station" across the street. I walked in and was greeted by another passenger in a real dingy unstaffed station. I'm pretty sure he was a transient and he was HAMMERED!!!!! He was so intoxicated that I had to help give him a boost up into the train when we boarded. He was going to Denver and needed to pay the conductor on the spot. I think if he was going farther they may have not let him board. But he ended up being harmless and a little more profit margin for the passenger railroad we have all come to love/hate/like/question/dislike....whatever. I boarded the #6 in the middle of the night, onboard was a large amount of the most different passengers I have ever encountered on Amtrak. One man in his early '60's was singin' blues songs out loud at 2am in the MORNING!!! There was some passengers telling him to "shut up"! (since there's kids on this forum I won't elaborate on the other words with that statement) There was constant moving by the passengers at night down to the lower level of the car. I believe there was illegal drinking or something going on downstairs. Since the train had been delayed 9 hours, there was alot of upset passengers. Alot of people didn't get to see much if any of the Rocky Mountains since it was dark for that part of the trip. When I awoke the next day, my seat partner told me that he was an ex-con from San Quentin, going to Chicago, to see family who hates him since he's a "jailbird" and not a "church goer". He also explained that its easy to live in San Francisco when the government gives you a check every month!!! He said this with a grin! He was....well....uh....interesting!!! :huh: There also was alot of "full" trash cans etc and I think there had been alot of drinking with the delay. Not that its bad, but what else is there to do?!? In the dining car for breakfast I was really ready to talk to someone kinda....well....NORMAL but my tablemate grunted when I said, "hello" and then gave me the dirtiest look when I asked him "where are you travelling to?" This guy didn't want to say a word so I left it at that. I had the railroad French Toast and was happy with the food and the service. The dining car staff was busy, businesslike and friendly. I have no complaints with the crew. As I was walking to the Dining Car for breakfast I was surprised to see a "Observation Car/Sleeper." Yes...Observation Car Sleeper. There was 8 people sacked out at 8am in the Observation Car using it as there own roomette or somethin'! :huh: I'm surprised they didn't glare at us when we snapped pictures of the scenery. And now...about the scenery...... I got to see the State Of Nebraska in the daylight. WE NEVER get to see Nebraska cuz the #5 leaves at 12:30am and the #6 usually arrives around 5-7am in the morning when we are sleeping. So I got alot of good pics of the Nebraska in the Autumn. I was excited about it, but there was alot of people that wanted to see the "autumn of the Rockies" instead. The train was packed and it was packed to the gills with some real different characters. I don't know if it had anything to do with the "special fares" the CZ had advertised on the "Hot Deals" for about 36 hours last week. One passenger remarked that it seemed like alot of "hitchikers/bus passengers" aboard. It was just a real tough crowd. Please don't think that I'm making fun of anyone, it was just real different compared to any other trip I have encountered on Amtrak. There was not one single employee who disapointed me. They all worked hard and was very apologetic about the lenghtly delay. Will this change my attitude toward riding again?!? HECK NO!!!!! I enjoyed myself again. I love riding the rails! I'm learning more and more every trip. I wish I could have given maybe a "nicer" report, but I'm not going to BS people on the forum. And I repeat, this was not a BAD trip, just a tad....bit....wierd!!! :unsure:
Railrookie
It was because of what/who was on board. When we had a small layover in Denver CO, I got off the train and noticed the consist was 2 engines, baggage car, transistion sleeper, two sleepers, observation car, dining car, 3 coaches and....................another observation car!!! AT the end the doors wouldn't open for me to pass back into the second Observaton Car. A bunch of Amtrak management was aboard from Chicago to Denver. I saw alot of Amtrak employees walking around and being social, but I just thought they were part of the crew. When they detrained in Denver, the employees of the #5 sighed a big "sigh of relief". The employees of this train seemed real "uptight" and they tended to relax after the management crew detrained. There wasn't rude comments, but there was comments to the effect that "were glad they are now off the train!" I arrived in Winter Park CO 7 minutes late. I was so mad!!! 7 minutes dang it! (I'm kidding) LOL It feels good to know that even though I'm a "rookie", I'm really starting to get the "hang of it". This was a trip that I had seen a $108 fare, I ended up going for $71.00 RT finding the fare on the Hot Deals/Weekly Specials segment of Amtrak.Com. I stayed at the Rocky Mountain Inn and Hostel for $19.00 a night. Its 4 blocks away from the unstaffed Amtrak station in WinterPark/Fraser CO. I only ate one meal out and deposited my brothers ashes in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I did this trip very inexpensively. The Amtrak #5 was a very good trip. Now......about the return trip on the #6..........well......I can't say it was the "trip from hell" cuz it wasn't but it had all the makings of it. I think the combination of my attitude and my sense of "adventure" made the return trip bearable instead of one from "****"! :huh: I began to call the day before and it was "on time", (you all said call the day before and you can get a small idea of the train status) so I was feeling kinda good. On departure day, things deterioated. First of all, the TV at the hostel kept beeping with "flash flooding" in southern and western Colorado. (not a good sign) I then started to call and the train was 1 hour behind, then 2 hours, then 3, then 4 hours and then JULIE started telling me it was REAL LATE and lets talk to an agent. Well, I talked to enough agents where one of them was starting to recognize my voice. They ALL were pleasent and understanding. I started to get a little fustrated when one agent was telling me it was arriving in WIP (Winter Park) at midnight and another agent was telling me 1am. That is 9 HOURS late!!!! WIP is an "unstaffed station" meaning there is really no where to "hang out" other than a hut by the tracks. In the mountains....well....at dark it gets cold!!!! Finally I was put on hold and the agent "Linda" went to the effort to call someone in Omaha (UP maybe?!?) to tell me exactly where the train was. It was near Granby and that was my signal to walk the 4 blocks from the hostel to the unstaffed station. When I arrived at the "hut", I noticed an "Amtrak station" across the street. I walked in and was greeted by another passenger in a real dingy unstaffed station. I'm pretty sure he was a transient and he was HAMMERED!!!!! He was so intoxicated that I had to help give him a boost up into the train when we boarded. He was going to Denver and needed to pay the conductor on the spot. I think if he was going farther they may have not let him board. But he ended up being harmless and a little more profit margin for the passenger railroad we have all come to love/hate/like/question/dislike....whatever. I boarded the #6 in the middle of the night, onboard was a large amount of the most different passengers I have ever encountered on Amtrak. One man in his early '60's was singin' blues songs out loud at 2am in the MORNING!!! There was some passengers telling him to "shut up"! (since there's kids on this forum I won't elaborate on the other words with that statement) There was constant moving by the passengers at night down to the lower level of the car. I believe there was illegal drinking or something going on downstairs. Since the train had been delayed 9 hours, there was alot of upset passengers. Alot of people didn't get to see much if any of the Rocky Mountains since it was dark for that part of the trip. When I awoke the next day, my seat partner told me that he was an ex-con from San Quentin, going to Chicago, to see family who hates him since he's a "jailbird" and not a "church goer". He also explained that its easy to live in San Francisco when the government gives you a check every month!!! He said this with a grin! He was....well....uh....interesting!!! :huh: There also was alot of "full" trash cans etc and I think there had been alot of drinking with the delay. Not that its bad, but what else is there to do?!? In the dining car for breakfast I was really ready to talk to someone kinda....well....NORMAL but my tablemate grunted when I said, "hello" and then gave me the dirtiest look when I asked him "where are you travelling to?" This guy didn't want to say a word so I left it at that. I had the railroad French Toast and was happy with the food and the service. The dining car staff was busy, businesslike and friendly. I have no complaints with the crew. As I was walking to the Dining Car for breakfast I was surprised to see a "Observation Car/Sleeper." Yes...Observation Car Sleeper. There was 8 people sacked out at 8am in the Observation Car using it as there own roomette or somethin'! :huh: I'm surprised they didn't glare at us when we snapped pictures of the scenery. And now...about the scenery...... I got to see the State Of Nebraska in the daylight. WE NEVER get to see Nebraska cuz the #5 leaves at 12:30am and the #6 usually arrives around 5-7am in the morning when we are sleeping. So I got alot of good pics of the Nebraska in the Autumn. I was excited about it, but there was alot of people that wanted to see the "autumn of the Rockies" instead. The train was packed and it was packed to the gills with some real different characters. I don't know if it had anything to do with the "special fares" the CZ had advertised on the "Hot Deals" for about 36 hours last week. One passenger remarked that it seemed like alot of "hitchikers/bus passengers" aboard. It was just a real tough crowd. Please don't think that I'm making fun of anyone, it was just real different compared to any other trip I have encountered on Amtrak. There was not one single employee who disapointed me. They all worked hard and was very apologetic about the lenghtly delay. Will this change my attitude toward riding again?!? HECK NO!!!!! I enjoyed myself again. I love riding the rails! I'm learning more and more every trip. I wish I could have given maybe a "nicer" report, but I'm not going to BS people on the forum. And I repeat, this was not a BAD trip, just a tad....bit....wierd!!! :unsure:Railrookie
