Old Pioneer Questions

[sunchaser]

I've had a few non important questions rolling around in my head about the old Pioneer Route.

I thought I'd throw them out there, just in case they EVER decide to reinstate it again. (Not holding my breath!)

Since there was only one sleeper, did the staff have rooms too?

Where were the 'refresh stops'?

Does anyone remember rail fare/roomette/bedroom pricing? (I'm sure pricing will be higher now, just curious)

Was the train usually full?

I'm sure some of rode this route, how did it compare with others like CZ, CS, EB or any of your favorite trains?

What's the scenery like?

Thanks to all in advance!

 

[the_traveler]

I only rode it once, when it split in SLC. And this was in the "old days" when I didn't travel on AGR awards (it didn't even exist in 1986 :lol: ) and I rode coach! So I can't even comment on the sleepers!

When I rode it, the Pioneer split off the CZ at SLC, after the journey thru Colorado. But I do remember the journey thru the Columbia River Gorge - on the south shore (thru Oregon)! It was very different from the north (Washington) shore, and quite scenic. You pass Multnomah Falls (sp?) within feet!

 

[greatcats]

I rode that train once, in 1990, when I took a raft trip down the Salmon River. I had come westbound on the Empire Builder to Spokane and then rented a car. ( at great expense ) and drove it to Boise. I returned on the train from Boise, which was a beautiful station. The train arrived, with an engine and four cars, and I was riding coach. ( all the way to New Jersey, which I would not do anymore. ) I can tell you the crew had changed at Nampa, Idaho. There were two coaches, diner-lounge, and sleeper, all Superliner. The trip to Salt Lake was uneventful, but the trip became more delay prone the further east i travelled.

 

[MikeM]

The newer Pioneer route split in Denver, with the Pioneer headed north on UP to just outside Cheyenne, then across UP's transcon line to Ogden. It then headed northwest on the Oregon Short Line routing. Scenery in Wyoming, while subdued compared to the Rockies, was pretty I thought, with high mountain prairie in eastern Wyoming, followed by the red desert in central Wyoming. Western Wyoming has a number of buttes and lots of sagebrush, once you enter Utah you're traversing sandstone canyons into Ogden. Headed north, the scenery improves somewhat, with the end of the trip spent beside the Columbia River. I always thought it was attractive as a route, although many like to grumble about missing the Rockies. Too bad. Lots of wildlife, particularly deer / antelope in Wyoming. Be nice to see this train back, although with UP providing the trackage that could be an impediment.

 

[jis]

I guess I am pone of the few that rode the Pioneer when you had to do a cross platform connection at Ogden from the San Francisco Zephyr to it. This was before the San Francisco Zephyr was re-routed over DRGW and renamed California Zephyr. Pioneer was a SLC to Seattle train.

 

[NEW RIVER GEORGE]

When I took the Pioneer the darned sleeper was up against the F40, so it was pretty noisy. Well, you could get used to that after a couple of days but unfortunately the trip didn't last that long. On the other hand, when I took the Desert Wind section the sleeper was on the rear, which is where it should be. So guess the two trips balanced each other out.

Too bad there is no expansion plan in the future for Amtrak, would have liked to have seen both of those routes come back. It is inexcusable for Las Vegas not to be reachable by passenger train.

 

[sunchaser]

When I took the Pioneer the darned sleeper was up against the F40, so it was pretty noisy. Well, you could get used to that after a couple of days but unfortunately the trip didn't last that long. On the other hand, when I took the Desert Wind section the sleeper was on the rear, which is where it should be. So guess the two trips balanced each other out.
Too bad there is no expansion plan in the future for Amtrak, would have liked to have seen both of those routes come back. It is inexcusable for Las Vegas not to be reachable by passenger train.

I'm with you on that. I, for one would like to see both of them return. Being out here where there are no north/south routes, we have to travel around 36 hours from SLC to get to OLW and 2 trains, but if the pioneer was running, it would be much shorter & one train.

It would be even worse to go from SLC to ONA. We would need 3 trains.

The Desert Wind was a shorter run too. My mom took it once to come visit, long before we even thought about taking the train.