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Happy Train Day folks! I was very impressed with what Amtrak pulled off today at Los Angeles Union Station. Here's my Trip Report from today, keeping in mind I'm not nearly as knowledgable about trains as many here are and I don't know all of the lingo.
A friend I work with at Disneyland and I met at the Anaheim station at Noon with our round trip Pacific Business Class tickets in hand for the 12:30 Surfliner to Los Angeles Union Station. The Anaheim station had a little exhibit set up for Train Day with lots of brochures and giveaways up for grabs. They had these very classy looking Train Day fans on wood sticks that seemed to be popular for the 50 or so people waiting at the station, plus stickers and paper conductor hats and paper California Car model trains that were all popular with the kids. They also had a table set up with free cookies and punch and coffee, which was nice.
About two minutes after the southbound Surfliner showed up, the northbound Surfliner pulled in and we jumped onboard. We had a very good car attendant who met us at the door and welcomed us aboard the two thirds full car and when we found two seats together he immediately brought us a bag of snacks (which was better than anything you could find on a plane now) and asked for our drink order. A moment later he brought us our drinks and a LA Times, and the conductor was right behind punching our tickets while we sped through Anaheim towards Fullerton. My friend who hadn't been on a train in years commented how friendly and well run the Surfliner was, and I agreed with him.
We sped through the Amtrak yards east of Union Station quicker than I've ever seen a Surfliner go before through that stretch, and we pulled into the station on Track 11 a few minutes early. We went down into the concourse beneath and were surprised to see it extremely busy; it looked like the Christmas rush. We immediately started seeing banners and signage directing people to the train tour, but we went on towards the station hall itself, and it was just as busy as the concourse. We walked through the grand lobby and marveled at how impressive that station is, and we could tell there was a lot of activity going on at the front of the station. Sure enough, we had arrived at National Train Day!
We stepped right up to the main Information Booth which was acting as a Train Day Welcome Center of sorts. Amtrak had literally dozens of staffers in Train Day shirts, and they were bustling about the crowds passing out buttons and freebies and generally spreading good cheer. It was hectic and busy, but the mood was very cheerful and everyone seemed to be having fun. We were given Train Day bags to put freebies in, we were both given free National Train Day t-shirts that had the handsome logo on it by a very friendly woman staffing the booth, and then we were off to the exhibits just outside.
There was a dozen or so trade show type booths set up in the long breezeway to the south of the main station hall, and we enjoyed looking at the pictures and talking to the representatives there. Brochures were acquired for some tourist locations, more Amtrak staffers were there handing out gifts and stickers and things, and every exhibit had a crowd around it. Of particular interest was the very nice guy working the California High Speed Rail display, and we took some of his brochures and signed some of the letters to the Assemblymen and Congressmen who are involved in Sacramento with the rail ballot measure coming up this November.
There were a couple of booths out there that had nothing to do with trains or the communities they serve really, like the Volaris Airlines (the JetBlue of Mexico) booth staffed by two Volaris flight attendants who just sat there behind their table talking to each other in Spanish and paying no attention to anyone around them. In the entire time I was out there, not a single person stopped at their table, which had likely been the case for hours and caused the girls to throw in the towel and just ignore everyone. There was also an area set up regarding the musical "Wicked" currently playing in LA, but that did have a small crowd interested, unlike the lonely Volaris booth. Everything else on display however had some sort of a train connection.
After about a half hour strolling that area, and watching the large model train setup that also had a large crowd, we went back inside the station and came upon the Amtrak exhibit. The Amtrak staffers at that area were all extremely friendly and outgoing, and they were passing out luggage tags, buttons, stickers, engineer hats, travel bags, pencils, etc. to anyone in sight. They had tons and tons of booklets and brochures available, and I picked up several of them, while each Amtrak staffer seemed to want to give us more freebies. We were just laughing and goofing off at this point, and we had our picture taken by an Amtrak staffer with "ARTE" the roving Amtrak environmental mascot.
Our Train Day bags were now nearly full of stuff, and we wandered back through the main lobby and towards a souvenir booth set up with Coast Starlight merchandise. This merchandise was for sale, unlike all of the other free stuff, but it was all at very reasonable prices. I purchased three extremely nice polished steel Coast Starlight luggage tags for 3 dollars apiece, and an old Dining Car menu just for fun that was only one dollar. The folks staffing this busy booth were also just as friendly as can be and very polite to us. It was at this point where my friend made a note of how much fun all of these Amtrak employees seemed to be having amongst all of the happy crowds, and I agreed.
Then we wandered over to a display of Amtrak photography that showed trains and tracks going through some very pretty Western locales and scenery. This was apparently a photo campaign sponsored by Amtrak, and it was interesting to see. Nearby were some computer kiosks with the Coast Starlight logo on them and a small crowd around each kiosk. We didn't go over there, and I'm not sure what they were exactly. Instead we headed back down the concourse and followed the sign to the train tour set up on Track 12B. The concourse leading to all of the tracks and the Red Line subway station was decorated with Train Day banners and signage everywhere.
When we got out to Track 12B, the tour was of four cars with a locomotive that had been given a shrinkwrap billboard style overlay to it with the Train Day logo and title on it. The tour began at the back of the train, and it began in a Superliner Coach Car that appeared to be freshly refurbished from top to bottom. A line of people wandered through the cars, stopping to sit in the seats and check everything out. There were lots of families with kids at this part of the event, and the kids were clearly enjoying checking out each car. After the Coach Car came a Sleeping Car that also appeared to be freshly refurbished. There were signs in the first few Roomettes explaining that this was one of a fleet of newly refurbed Sleeping Cars that would be used on the Coast Starlight beginning this summer. Some of the Roomettes and Bedrooms were made up as beds in night mode, and most of them were open in Day Mode with glassware and flowers placed on the tables. You could inspect and sit in any Roomette or Bedroom you wanted. We didn't go downstairs, but some people were. A very friendly car attendant was staffed at the top of the stairs, and she seemed genuinely happy to see each family and group of people shuffle by her on the tour.
Next up on the tour was one of the new Parlor Cars, and they had it decorated very nicely. You could tell everything was new and freshly refurbished here as well. Tablecloths and full place settings were at some tables, while others had martini glasses and appetizer plates set up on them. We went downstairs and looked at the refurbed theater, and they had the big Plasma screen TV playing that Ice Age movie. Back upstairs again, and as we walked past the bar there was a hostess in front greeting us and a bartender behind the bar with faux cocktails set up and he said "Welcome Aboard the Parlor Car!" to us as we passed.
The final car was a Surfliner Business Class Car that also looked brand new. There were some signs and displays in that car also that explained the Surfliner route and the benefits of upgrading to Business Class. We went down the stairs and out the door and back onto the platform where more friendly Amtrak staffers were there directing people. That was the only train tour available, and while it only took about 15 minutes to complete, it was a fun thing to do.
We headed back into the station where we saw a line of teenyboppers snaking their way through the main waiting room and out into the garden north of the station. From the previous thread here, I knew they must have been waiting for the Drake Bell concert to start, which was being set up in the north ticket hall of the station. This was also were the "Amtrakids" area was with lots of coloring books and arts and crafts type activities set up, and also where those paper engineer hats were the latest craze with everyone. We moved outside the station and began the three block walk over to Phillipes to have a french dip.
The french dip was fantastic, and I've never seen Phillipes as crowded as it was this afternoon at 3 o'clock. In addition to Train Day (and lots of people on the streets around Union Station had Train Day bags and buttons on), there was also a big Taiwanese Festival going on in the park near Olvera Street. After lunch at Phillipes, we walked back and paused to watch a very good Taiwanese folk group perform some traditional dances in authentic dress to a big crowd. Back into Union Station just as the Drake Bell concert was ending to the roar of hundreds of screaming teenage fans, and we found two of those huge Streamline Moderne chairs to wait in until the next southbound Surfliner was called to board at 4:45.
We went out to Track 12 and boarded the Business Car, and again had an excellent car attendant who welcomed us aboard. Shortly after we got underway, right on time at 5:10, the attendant was at our seat with another round of big snack bags and then brought us two small bottles of white wine to go with it. The train ride back to Anaheim was very smooth and speedy, and we got into Anaheim right on time, got into our cars, and headed to our homes.
Overall, I'm very glad I went to Train Day. Amtrak is to be commended for staffing this event with enough employees to keep things moving and keep everyone happy. All of the Amtrak employees could not have been nicer or in cheerier moods, and they were generally being excellent hosts and hostesses to everyone at Union Station. I was also impressed with all of the info and freebies they gave away.
My friend and I both work in management at Disneyland, and we tend to be rather critical of public events or other entertainment venues when they aren't run well. It's just something that comes with being a Disneylander, and you really can't turn it off! While there were a few minor quibbles I had with some of the details around the operation of the event, these were very minor and were completely overshadowed by the otherwise excellent staffing levels and the overwhelmingly happy mood that every Amtrak employee seemed to have at this event. And of course it didn't hurt that there were buttons and stickers and hats and Amtrak freebies galore being passed out all afternoon. I can't commend the Amtrak staff enough for pulling off this event with such an upbeat, friendly and hospitable mood. Bravo to the staff, and to whomever was in charge of planning this event for the first time!
Will there be another Train Day next year? Who knows. But this first Train Day has been succesful if only because I have now decided that I will in fact take the Coast Starlight back to SoCal later this summer, instead of flying both ways as I had considered. And my friend who has only been on a Surfliner once or twice before was very impressed with the Sleeper Cars and the Parlor Car and is now seriously talking about taking the train up to Seattle this Fall at least one way for a birthday trip he's planning. I guess it's also succesful because it got us into round trip Business Class fares on a Saturday afternoon that normally wouldn't have been sold.
Great job Amtrak! Happy Train Day!
Posts: 56 | From: Orange County, CA | Registered: Jun 2007
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posted
Great report and kudos to Amtrak for creating this event and pulling it off so well.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Great report! I'm really sorry now that I had to miss Train Day because of visitors here.
I'm also glad to hear that they are starting to refurbish the Surfliner cars. The B/C cars we had earlier this month SBA/SAN and BUR/SBA were in really sad shape. Worn upholstery, seat padding just about non-existent, broken tray tables, broken reclines (It took three attempts SB to find a pair of seats where both seats worked.) and general grunge. The service southbound was very good but coming out of Burbank the Cafe Car attendant didn't know what we meant when we asked for wine and snack packs. We mentioned it to the Conductor and he went and found the snack packs in the Cafe and told the attendant about the free wine and sodas for B/C pax. He told us she was "new" but shouldn't there be some minimal training?
Frank in foggy SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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