I don't have pictures downloaded from phone yet, but you've seen similar pics, so not really necessary.
Trip Agenda:
Buffalo to Chicago (LSL) (4/9)
Chicago to Seattle (EB) (4/9-4/11)
Seattle to LAX (CS) (4/12-4/13)
LAX to New Orleans (SL) (4/15-4/17)
New Orleans to Chicago (CONO) (4/20-4/21)
Chicago to Buffalo (4/21-4/22)
Train Stations:
Depew Station (Buffalo) - Someone new but just a small and functional facility, plenty of long-term parking, nothing special about it.
Union Station (Chicago) - Spectacular, really spectacular! Incredible architecture and materials, great front entrance, grand great hall, excellent Metropolitan Lounge. All I could think about was that scene from The Untouchables with the baby carriage falling down that stairway.
King Street Station (Seattle) - Another worthy piece of architecture that looks recently restored, though on a much smaller scale than Chicago. Only negative is no Metropolitan Lounge, which seems a terrible oversight.
Union Station (LA) - Another building worth a few hours of walking around and admiring the architecture. Very different style than Chicago but so reflective of golden era LA.
Amtrak Train Cars:
Viewliner I Roomette - This is, in my opinion, the best design of an Amtrak roomette, though it could use a reupholstery. As a single traveler, I loved the convenience of having a toilet and sink in the room, it didn't bother me at all. Great windows, very high ceilings with maximum storage and headroom for a roomette. I just threw my 25" roller in the top bunk and pushed it back up. My daypack went in the seat opposite mine. The shower down the hall was spacious and worked perfectly.
Superliner Bedroom - A great luxury for a solo traveler. Loved the extra space and en suite toilet/shower, plenty of room in there for me to shower and had change of clothes right outside the bathroom door in the bedroom instead of bringing a change of clothes down the hall to the shower. Some rattling of the sliding connecting door to the adjacent room (I had bedroom B & E segments), that was solved with some towels. One segment this door was locked but left a small gap open between rooms, this was solved with gaffer tape from ceiling to floor over the gap (glad I brought this). Also in all the rooms the multi=plug 8 foot extension cord was very useful. Loved laying down on the long bench to take a nap while still in daytime arrangement. Found the bench seat and jumper seat both very comfortable for several hours at a time. Plenty of room for my 25" roller bag on the bench seat during the day and between the jumper seat and bathroom door in night arrangement. Definitely the most comfortable sleeper room.
Superliner Roomette - Not as much room as the Viewliner Roomette and no in room toilet but plenty of room and comfort for a solo traveler, again threw the 25" roller bag in the upper bunk and it folder back just fine . The upstairs bathroom down the hall was clean and convenient. The downstairs shower was clean and perfectly functional. Upon reflection, the 3 big advantages to a bedroom over a roomette are seeing out both sides of the car with your door open, en suite bathroom/shower and more space. I'd say it is worth a few hundred dollars more or so than a roomette. But if the price difference is much more than that I'd choose the roomette for one person.
Observation Car - A nice choice to hang out for a few hours, if not too crowded, great place to meet people. The cafe downstairs is great for a beer or snack but wouldn't want meals from here.
Amtrak Sleep Quality:
I really had no problem at all sleeping in roomettes or bedrooms (perpendicular or parallel to direction of travel). I brought earplugs but didn't need them, never used them. I slept through decoupling in Spokane.
Amtrak Dining:
Flex Dining - The new dining car in the Viewliner is quite nicely styled and comfortable. Had only two flex dining meals. Dinner, the short ribs were reasonably tasty (6 out of 10) but I wouldn't want multiple flex dining lunches/dinners on a segment. Breakfast, went for continental with breakfast sandwich and yogurt (5 out of 10). Entire meal just dumped onto table in a bag was unsatisfactory.
Traditional Dining - Had 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 6 dinners. The food quality, presentation, and taste was consistently very good to excellent. The dining car experience with service from an attendant, multiple courses, fresh roses, tablecloth, and real silverware was great. Had several meals that I prearranged with other sleeper car passengers communally which was a fantastic experience. Also had a a few meals on my own, they didn't put you with other passengers unless you had prearranged it as a larger party.
Traditional Dining Breakfasts - Continental (7.5 out of 10), really enjoyed the bowl of fresh berries, strawberry yogurt, warm croissant, and cereal. Omelet (8 out of 10), I had mine with swiss cheese, onion, and pepper with side of pork sausage and bacon, and warm croissant.
Traditional Dining Lunches - Angus Burger (8.5 out of 10), very juicy and tasty, great warm bun, cooked medium with swiss cheese, bacon, and onion with sides of cole slaw and chips. Artisan Grilled Cheese (7 out of 10) with sides of cole slaw and chips. Chili served in Baked Potato (9 out of 10), chili had just the right amount of spicy flavor and baked potato was hot and delicious, very filling.
Traditional Dining Dinner Appetizers - Tamale (8.5 out of 10), cheesy, a little spicy, and the sauce was excellent. Lobster Crab Cake (9 out of 10), great seafood/breading profile, and loved the sriracha cream sauce. Salad (5 out of 10), ok, nothing special, no choice of dressing.
Traditional Dining Dinner Entrees - Flat Iron Steak (9.5 out of 10), cooked exactly at medium, great flavor with vegetables and piping hot baked potato which I filled with butter and warm dinner roll. Pan Roasted Chicken Breast (7 out of 10), chicken a bit dry, enjoyed the mushroom risotto and mushroom sauce, warm dinner roll. Tortellini with Pesto Cream and Chicken (8.5 out of 10), asiago, chicken not dry and quite flavorful, and perfectly cooked tortellini, warm dinner roll.
Traditional Dining Desserts - Only had these with dinner though it is offered with lunch as well (a bit too much for me). Cheesecake with Berry Drizzle (9 out of 10), two of the better pieces of cheesecake that I've ever had. Carrot Cake (10 out of 10), I had this several times, I'm picky about my carrot cake but I've never had better.
Overall, bravo Amtrak for your performance on dining experience and menu on traditional dining!!!!
Trip Overview/Highlights:
Timeliness - All segments were within an hour of being on time except the LA to New Orleans (Sunset Limited) which I had a separate post about as it was happening. We had 4 delays in the first half of the trip and instead of arriving at 10pm in New Orleans, we arrived at 4:30am. Kind of a waste of a hotel night. Overall, I'm reasonably pleased with timeliness, I knew that with 6 segments at least one was likely to have a few problems and a multiple hour delay. They did buy KFC for the entire train (including coach) to make up an extra meal.
Scenery - My favorite places/views were Glacier National Park and Whitefish station (I've been to Glacier 13 times in the last 15 years, so it wasn't new to me); Southern Oregon (Cascades), we went through in a blizzard and the snow on the massive pines in the mountains as we passed through was sublime; California Coastline/Beaches, between San Francisco and LA the ocean views are nearly never-ending and gorgeous; Arizona, my first experience in the deep Southwest, beautiful red rock formations.
Cities - I spent one night in Seattle (Public Market, Aquarium, Huge Ferris Wheel), two nights in LA (Dodgers game, Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier), and three nights in New Orleans (French Quarter, Bike Historical Tour, City Park, Garden District, Cemetery Tour, Lots of Cajun Food and hurricanes).
Oh, one of the best things I did pre-trip was get my cell plan upgraded so I could use it as a wi-fi hotspot. I had internet 80% of the time.
I'd be glad to answer anyone's questions if you have any!
Thanks to all here for the great material for my pre-trip research!
Trip Agenda:
Buffalo to Chicago (LSL) (4/9)
Chicago to Seattle (EB) (4/9-4/11)
Seattle to LAX (CS) (4/12-4/13)
LAX to New Orleans (SL) (4/15-4/17)
New Orleans to Chicago (CONO) (4/20-4/21)
Chicago to Buffalo (4/21-4/22)
Train Stations:
Depew Station (Buffalo) - Someone new but just a small and functional facility, plenty of long-term parking, nothing special about it.
Union Station (Chicago) - Spectacular, really spectacular! Incredible architecture and materials, great front entrance, grand great hall, excellent Metropolitan Lounge. All I could think about was that scene from The Untouchables with the baby carriage falling down that stairway.
King Street Station (Seattle) - Another worthy piece of architecture that looks recently restored, though on a much smaller scale than Chicago. Only negative is no Metropolitan Lounge, which seems a terrible oversight.
Union Station (LA) - Another building worth a few hours of walking around and admiring the architecture. Very different style than Chicago but so reflective of golden era LA.
Amtrak Train Cars:
Viewliner I Roomette - This is, in my opinion, the best design of an Amtrak roomette, though it could use a reupholstery. As a single traveler, I loved the convenience of having a toilet and sink in the room, it didn't bother me at all. Great windows, very high ceilings with maximum storage and headroom for a roomette. I just threw my 25" roller in the top bunk and pushed it back up. My daypack went in the seat opposite mine. The shower down the hall was spacious and worked perfectly.
Superliner Bedroom - A great luxury for a solo traveler. Loved the extra space and en suite toilet/shower, plenty of room in there for me to shower and had change of clothes right outside the bathroom door in the bedroom instead of bringing a change of clothes down the hall to the shower. Some rattling of the sliding connecting door to the adjacent room (I had bedroom B & E segments), that was solved with some towels. One segment this door was locked but left a small gap open between rooms, this was solved with gaffer tape from ceiling to floor over the gap (glad I brought this). Also in all the rooms the multi=plug 8 foot extension cord was very useful. Loved laying down on the long bench to take a nap while still in daytime arrangement. Found the bench seat and jumper seat both very comfortable for several hours at a time. Plenty of room for my 25" roller bag on the bench seat during the day and between the jumper seat and bathroom door in night arrangement. Definitely the most comfortable sleeper room.
Superliner Roomette - Not as much room as the Viewliner Roomette and no in room toilet but plenty of room and comfort for a solo traveler, again threw the 25" roller bag in the upper bunk and it folder back just fine . The upstairs bathroom down the hall was clean and convenient. The downstairs shower was clean and perfectly functional. Upon reflection, the 3 big advantages to a bedroom over a roomette are seeing out both sides of the car with your door open, en suite bathroom/shower and more space. I'd say it is worth a few hundred dollars more or so than a roomette. But if the price difference is much more than that I'd choose the roomette for one person.
Observation Car - A nice choice to hang out for a few hours, if not too crowded, great place to meet people. The cafe downstairs is great for a beer or snack but wouldn't want meals from here.
Amtrak Sleep Quality:
I really had no problem at all sleeping in roomettes or bedrooms (perpendicular or parallel to direction of travel). I brought earplugs but didn't need them, never used them. I slept through decoupling in Spokane.
Amtrak Dining:
Flex Dining - The new dining car in the Viewliner is quite nicely styled and comfortable. Had only two flex dining meals. Dinner, the short ribs were reasonably tasty (6 out of 10) but I wouldn't want multiple flex dining lunches/dinners on a segment. Breakfast, went for continental with breakfast sandwich and yogurt (5 out of 10). Entire meal just dumped onto table in a bag was unsatisfactory.
Traditional Dining - Had 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 6 dinners. The food quality, presentation, and taste was consistently very good to excellent. The dining car experience with service from an attendant, multiple courses, fresh roses, tablecloth, and real silverware was great. Had several meals that I prearranged with other sleeper car passengers communally which was a fantastic experience. Also had a a few meals on my own, they didn't put you with other passengers unless you had prearranged it as a larger party.
Traditional Dining Breakfasts - Continental (7.5 out of 10), really enjoyed the bowl of fresh berries, strawberry yogurt, warm croissant, and cereal. Omelet (8 out of 10), I had mine with swiss cheese, onion, and pepper with side of pork sausage and bacon, and warm croissant.
Traditional Dining Lunches - Angus Burger (8.5 out of 10), very juicy and tasty, great warm bun, cooked medium with swiss cheese, bacon, and onion with sides of cole slaw and chips. Artisan Grilled Cheese (7 out of 10) with sides of cole slaw and chips. Chili served in Baked Potato (9 out of 10), chili had just the right amount of spicy flavor and baked potato was hot and delicious, very filling.
Traditional Dining Dinner Appetizers - Tamale (8.5 out of 10), cheesy, a little spicy, and the sauce was excellent. Lobster Crab Cake (9 out of 10), great seafood/breading profile, and loved the sriracha cream sauce. Salad (5 out of 10), ok, nothing special, no choice of dressing.
Traditional Dining Dinner Entrees - Flat Iron Steak (9.5 out of 10), cooked exactly at medium, great flavor with vegetables and piping hot baked potato which I filled with butter and warm dinner roll. Pan Roasted Chicken Breast (7 out of 10), chicken a bit dry, enjoyed the mushroom risotto and mushroom sauce, warm dinner roll. Tortellini with Pesto Cream and Chicken (8.5 out of 10), asiago, chicken not dry and quite flavorful, and perfectly cooked tortellini, warm dinner roll.
Traditional Dining Desserts - Only had these with dinner though it is offered with lunch as well (a bit too much for me). Cheesecake with Berry Drizzle (9 out of 10), two of the better pieces of cheesecake that I've ever had. Carrot Cake (10 out of 10), I had this several times, I'm picky about my carrot cake but I've never had better.
Overall, bravo Amtrak for your performance on dining experience and menu on traditional dining!!!!
Trip Overview/Highlights:
Timeliness - All segments were within an hour of being on time except the LA to New Orleans (Sunset Limited) which I had a separate post about as it was happening. We had 4 delays in the first half of the trip and instead of arriving at 10pm in New Orleans, we arrived at 4:30am. Kind of a waste of a hotel night. Overall, I'm reasonably pleased with timeliness, I knew that with 6 segments at least one was likely to have a few problems and a multiple hour delay. They did buy KFC for the entire train (including coach) to make up an extra meal.
Scenery - My favorite places/views were Glacier National Park and Whitefish station (I've been to Glacier 13 times in the last 15 years, so it wasn't new to me); Southern Oregon (Cascades), we went through in a blizzard and the snow on the massive pines in the mountains as we passed through was sublime; California Coastline/Beaches, between San Francisco and LA the ocean views are nearly never-ending and gorgeous; Arizona, my first experience in the deep Southwest, beautiful red rock formations.
Cities - I spent one night in Seattle (Public Market, Aquarium, Huge Ferris Wheel), two nights in LA (Dodgers game, Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier), and three nights in New Orleans (French Quarter, Bike Historical Tour, City Park, Garden District, Cemetery Tour, Lots of Cajun Food and hurricanes).
Oh, one of the best things I did pre-trip was get my cell plan upgraded so I could use it as a wi-fi hotspot. I had internet 80% of the time.
I'd be glad to answer anyone's questions if you have any!
Thanks to all here for the great material for my pre-trip research!
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