njulian
Service Attendant
OK..I am back and I thank you for all your input before the trip. So, I thought it only fair to post a report.
July4: The Albuquerque AMTRAK station is not so bad. Very small, yes, but clean and the people there were fine. The SWC number 4 arrives a hour early. We board, find our roomette (they should really call this a compartment intead of anything with the word 'room' in it). There is a very bad odor in the car and our attendatnt fills us in that there is a problem with the system and it quits at high altitudes, meaning that periodically toilets don't flush and there is no water. It really had a bad smell, (like an untended left in the sun porta potty..you get my drift) Anyway, it isn't too bad with the doors closed, but the air isn't working very well, so it's kinda hot.
We leave Albuquerque on time, while we are having lunch, and make good time to Kansas City where we bog down. (I thought part of the delay in KC was fixing our bathroom issues, but nope). We get into Chicago close to three hours late, so miss the connection to Milwaukee we had planned on taking. Our train attendant informs us that this smell issue had been reported and gives us the info needed to report the problem to Customer service for a partial refund or something. She was very good and apologetic, which made things more tolerable. Spent time quite nicely in the Union Station lounge (nice sandwiches at the Corner Bakery in Union Station, btw.) We catch the next Chicago to Milwaukee train and it is spot on.
Coming back on the 9th, we get to the lounge in Union Station and it is stuffed. Many people, including us, are sitting on the floor for most of the time. About a half hour before our boarding it clears out so we can get a seat.
The Chicago to Albuquerque route would have been great except for the lack of air conditioning. We were told the train was 'running hot'. Indeed it was. You could feel some air in the hall, but none in the rooms, so spent most of the trip with doors and curtain open to get a whisper of air, which wiped out the privacy benefit of a sleeper. Our attendant had a pretty nice size fan in his room, and I guess he heard me whining to my husband (sorry..but it was HOT and I was on the top bunk and I had just come off a few days in Milwaukee heat with high humidity wha wha, and I was so looking forward to chilly AMTRAK air), so the attendant appears with a spare fan for me which got me through the night. Very grateful and I hope the tip was adequate. We got into Albuquerque 40 minutes early, Hurrah!!
The food was OK, kinda like good tv dinners. The beef was nice, the burger ok (found a bone bit in one, but not AMTRAK's fault), the omelet was fair, the quiche kinda old looking and tasting, the pork pretty good, cheesecake nice!
The parking at Albuquerque is $8.00 a day, but very convenient.
Overall the staff was good, dining car servers nice. The trip would have been very good had the mechanical problems not gotten in the way. Come on AMTRAK, at least maintain to a decent level the water system and air.
July4: The Albuquerque AMTRAK station is not so bad. Very small, yes, but clean and the people there were fine. The SWC number 4 arrives a hour early. We board, find our roomette (they should really call this a compartment intead of anything with the word 'room' in it). There is a very bad odor in the car and our attendatnt fills us in that there is a problem with the system and it quits at high altitudes, meaning that periodically toilets don't flush and there is no water. It really had a bad smell, (like an untended left in the sun porta potty..you get my drift) Anyway, it isn't too bad with the doors closed, but the air isn't working very well, so it's kinda hot.
We leave Albuquerque on time, while we are having lunch, and make good time to Kansas City where we bog down. (I thought part of the delay in KC was fixing our bathroom issues, but nope). We get into Chicago close to three hours late, so miss the connection to Milwaukee we had planned on taking. Our train attendant informs us that this smell issue had been reported and gives us the info needed to report the problem to Customer service for a partial refund or something. She was very good and apologetic, which made things more tolerable. Spent time quite nicely in the Union Station lounge (nice sandwiches at the Corner Bakery in Union Station, btw.) We catch the next Chicago to Milwaukee train and it is spot on.
Coming back on the 9th, we get to the lounge in Union Station and it is stuffed. Many people, including us, are sitting on the floor for most of the time. About a half hour before our boarding it clears out so we can get a seat.
The Chicago to Albuquerque route would have been great except for the lack of air conditioning. We were told the train was 'running hot'. Indeed it was. You could feel some air in the hall, but none in the rooms, so spent most of the trip with doors and curtain open to get a whisper of air, which wiped out the privacy benefit of a sleeper. Our attendant had a pretty nice size fan in his room, and I guess he heard me whining to my husband (sorry..but it was HOT and I was on the top bunk and I had just come off a few days in Milwaukee heat with high humidity wha wha, and I was so looking forward to chilly AMTRAK air), so the attendant appears with a spare fan for me which got me through the night. Very grateful and I hope the tip was adequate. We got into Albuquerque 40 minutes early, Hurrah!!
The food was OK, kinda like good tv dinners. The beef was nice, the burger ok (found a bone bit in one, but not AMTRAK's fault), the omelet was fair, the quiche kinda old looking and tasting, the pork pretty good, cheesecake nice!
The parking at Albuquerque is $8.00 a day, but very convenient.
Overall the staff was good, dining car servers nice. The trip would have been very good had the mechanical problems not gotten in the way. Come on AMTRAK, at least maintain to a decent level the water system and air.
