Trip Report From Our Friends

[MrFSS]

I mentioned in my trip report some friends who hadn't ridden on Amtrak before, accompanied us. I asked them to give an honest, unbiased report and they have. Remember these folks are world travelers who have been in many different countries, both traveling and living there. They have experienced about everything in the ways of travel you can all around the world. Any comments you have I will be happy to pass on to them. Here is their report:

In February my wife and I had our first Amtrak experience, traveling on the Pacific Surfliner from Santa Barbara to LA, the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago, and the Cardinal from Chicago to Indianapolis. Both of us had a few opportunities to ride trains in the US as kids, but nothing here since the mid 60's. We have traveled extensively overseas and ridden trains in England, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Russia, India, China and Japan over the past 20 years. Our greatest train experience ever was using 14-day first class Swiss rail passes that included riding the Glacier Express and the lake steamers.

Not having ridden Amtrak before and having ridden trains in the US too long ago to remember details, we can only compare our recent experience with our international experiences. The bottom line is our recent Amtrak travel was better than Russia, India, and China but not as good as our European and Japanese experiences. Overall we enjoyed our trip across the western and plains states of our country, enjoyed the scenery that you can't see from an airplane, and enjoyed the relaxed, unhurried atmosphere. But we think you need to really be a train buff to want to do repeated long trips across the USA. The best part of the trip for us was enjoying this experience with long time friends who are real train buffs.

Here are some specific thoughts and comments:

 

1. The rails are very rough and we could not walk while the train was moving at any significant speed without being tossed from side to side. There was much more movement than any of our international experiences, even India.
   
2. The cars were clean but old and a few items needed some maintenance. Our bedroom on the Southwest Chief was very adequate and we shared the bottom berth and didn't need the top berth. It was fine during the day to sit and watch the passing scenery from our sleeper, but we also spent some time in the observation car.
   
3. For the most part, the staff was friendly and helpful with the exception of the conductors, who said little and were not at all friendly.
   
4. The food in the dining car was good but not great. The variety of choices was very adequate, breakfasts were the best, and service was very good. The food tended to be overcooked; the steak I ordered medium came very well done and the cheeseburger was so overdone that it was dry and tasteless. It was a surprise to find the menu was the same for the whole trip.
   
5. A problem we had specifically was the inability to walk and get any exercise. Having a sleeper, all our meals on the Southwest Chief were included and I was taught to eat everything put on my plate, which I did. But because stops at stations were very short and I couldn't walk on the train because of the rough ride, I got no exercise to work off any of that food. (When cruising, my wife & I always shun the elevators and "do the stairs".)
   

The Southwest Chief left LA right on time and was early at most stops along the way. However, the Surfliner and the Cardinal were late by 1 hour and 2 hours respectively because of bad ordered equipment. In the Chicago Metro Lounge the attendants were friendly but could not get any information on the status of the Cardinal and all we could do was sit or stand around and wait. We did not experience this lateness and lack of information on any of our international experiences and on all the Swiss trains you could set your watch by the exact scheduled arrivals and departures.

Would we do it again? Certainly short trips by train, like the Santa Barbara to LA, we would and it would be a great way to get from the LA area where our daughter and family live to San Diego for a cruise. We also want to take the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Calgary and Via Rail from there to Toronto. But it may be a while before we do another 3-day cross-country trip in the US.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

You've gotta develop what I call the "Amtrak Mindset" of not caring about being late. To many people are too focused on time keeping and "getting there" that they go nuts seeing how late the train is. You'll get there. If you miss your connection, Amtrak will take care of it. Don't worry. IF you're 30 minutes, 2 hours, 8 hours, or a day and a half late, you'll get there.

The secret to moving on trains: walk quickly. I mean quickly. Its the same principle as walking fast or running on snow. Because you are moving fast you are generating your own pendular momentum and are creating a forward vector that practically cancels out the motion of the train. Keep your arms out and ready to catch onto the seat backs if you need a quick steady, but keep moving. It takes some practice, I'll admit, but when you get it you will move through trains with speed and ease that will make people stare. Honestly. I can get through an Amfleet in about 15 seconds flat.

Amtrak still hires chefs so the food varies train to train.

 

[GG-1]

Mahalo for sharing

Eric

 

[Dan O]

Thanks for the information. We are making our first Amtrak trip in June on the Southwest Chief.

DanO