Pacific Parlor Car

[EmpireBuilderFan]

How does this work on the Empire Builder between Portland and Spokane when there is no dining, only a lounge. I think sleeping car passengers get some sort of cold meal.

Yes, they do. The last time I had a sleeper berth out of Portland, the sleeping car attendant passed out the meals shortly after we left Portland's Union Station. There was also a free bottle of wine for those passengers who were of legal drinking age.

 

[steve_relei]

The fact that I can tell people so much of what's going on outside one's windows between the hours of about 4am and 6 am (and other times) shows that I am more observant--or just know the route so well, perhpas been by some places in daylight or have read about them. There are highlights of other routes at those times that I can recite.

I have just read that VIA Rail has just put a Panoramic Car on its Skeena train (from Edmonton to Prince Rupert) and passengers will be allowed to pay an extra $35 per day to sit in it; it's a two-day trip and the train stays overnight at Prince George so that the entire route is run and seen during daylight hours. That seems reasonable and seems like something I could afford to do.

 

[battalion51]

Is that C$35 or US$35?

 

[seajay]

The fact that I can tell people so much of what's going on outside one's windows between the hours of about 4am and 6 am (and other times) shows that I am more observant--or just know the route so well, perhpas been by some places in daylight or have read about them.

You've just proven my point. This has nothing to do with whether you're more observant than anyone (or everyone) else.

 

[steve_relei]

I just know more about the routes (Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Mt. Baker Int'l to Vancouver, BC, in particular) than most--if not all--others riding and or working on those trains. This knowledge comes from a variety of venues: riding the trains and paying attention to what goes on outside my window, reading about them, having walked or riden along the tracks at various places along the way, seeing photos, reading histories, writing about the trains and routes, etc. This knowledge contributes to the lure and love of being--or wanting to be--on these trains and experiencing the different things these trains have to offer. I am certainly more observant sitting in a dome seat and looking out than someone who is sitting in a dome seat and sleeping!

I presume that was $35 in American money, as the article was in an American newspaper for an American audience.

 

[seajay]

Well, I must admit this is pretty impressive. So, exactly what is the scene outside the right side of the northbound Coast Starlight at mile 698 between Chico and Redding, California? I hope to travel that way someday soon and I'm curious as to what I might see.