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I departed Austin TX Wed Aug 12 on my longest Amtrak trip to date: 5 days and 4 nights terminating in Seattle. The trip was almost totally enjoyable, not a moment too long and I'm ready to do it again now. Train 22, NB Texas Eagle arrived on time. Not too many occupancies in my sleeper but we gained as we went along. I was in the car named 'Nebraska' (2220,#6)- it was one of those Superliners that doesn't have the sandwich-like closet in it. Everything worked, it was clean, curtains looked pretty new as did the upholstery. Duct tape/safety pins/ear plugs not required. The linen was clean and the comfortable mattress did not smell of urine; there were no roaches or other vermin. The attendant, named Roberto I think, was fine and I was impressed with the way he maintained the toilets starting with placing in each toilet one of those auto deodorizers that one sometimes sees hanging from rearview mirrors. Outstanding. There was a minor glitch when the toilets blew a breaker somehow but that was repaired at Fort Worth (maybe an hour or 2) and there was no further problem. The food was more than adequate and I enjoyed all meals. The food closely resembled the photos in CoastStarlight's earlier thread here. We arrived in St. Louis about an hour early and I had plenty of time to explore the new station which I approve of. It's modern and with little character but seems functional and has some class to it. The old Amshack is still there next door.
We arrived in Springfield on time and I had a couple of hours to walk around before taking the van to Galesburg. I liked Springfield a lot. I explored the state capitol where I discovered a celebration going on around the minting of a new penny. Lincoln's farewell address carved on the base of his statue's pedestal brought tears to my eyes - that man had a way with words!
Corn, corn and more corn on the way to G'burg. Then I had another couple of hours to wait for #5, California Zephyr. I walked around and had lunch. This town, too, seemed somewhat depressed economically, but not severely - probably recession related and hopefully temporary. Unlike S'field, I did not entertain thoughts about relocating there. The train was about 45 minutes late. I had sleeper #2 in car 531. It was almost identical to my earlier home and in a similar state of good repair. This train was packed, 3 sleepers, 4 coaches. There was a tour group on through Reno. The diner was busy busy busy at every meal. Joanne, the steward, did a passable job managing her difficult task but she was not outstanding. The sleeper attendant again did a much better job than I expected keeping the toilets presentable; this one had aerosol spray, handiwipes and some toilet spray in each one! Maybe that inspired us passengers to do our part for a change! We had a wonderful day through the Rockies, on time at all points. The food varied some from the Eagle and I felt satisfied on all occasions.
We arrived in Sacramento early and I had 9 hours to spend with my old friend there. The Starlight, #14, arrived on time and I was back in roomette #6 in car 1431, 'George M. Pullman.' This car was one of those refurbed a few years ago and was in even better shape than the others. I awoke around 6am in time to have a long inspiring view of Mt. Shasta. A nice breakfast was eaten under a lot calmer circumstances than the other train. This was a long train, 4 sleepers, 4 coaches, bag, Parlour, diner, lounge. It was full. We were an hour early into Klamath Falls and in the brisk morning air I had time to contemplate the possible pleasures of relocating there. Wonderful views of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Ranier, all snow capped, were available in turn through the day. As we approached Portland there was some difficulty with tracks in the station, i.e., no room for us. This seems to me a dispatching problem not of Amtrak's doing. Anyway we waited maybe half an hour making us a little late; they held the EB Builder for transfers. I got off and there was enormous activity in the PDX station. A LOT of people boarded our train - even in sleepers. When we departed very shortly after #8 we soon both came to a halt on parallel tracks before the steel drawbridge over the Willamette River. An ocean going tanker was approaching and apparently had priority over these two LD trains. It took at least half an hour to get underway again. We arrived in Seattle about half an hour late, 9:15pm, and hordes of people detrained. I was shocked at the activity in the station. The Parlour Car was OK but kind of underplayed compared to my previous experience with Nanette. The espresso machine was not working; they did not charge for wine tasting as far as I could tell. The Coast Starlight, nonetheless, was showing many signs of having been relaunched a couple of years ago.
A few days later I had my first Talgo experience on train #513 from Seattle to Olympia. I got off the busy train there and visited the Olympia Zen Center for 24 hrs, boarding the same train the next day on to Portland. This was a long train, 9 cars, and again at least a couple hundred people got off in Portland. The station was very busy again. I was totally impressed. I walked to my hotel, the new Marriott Courtyard City Center on Oak St. which I recommend. The next day I bought a Trimet day pass for $4.75 and rode around a lot checking out the city for you-must-know-what-by-now. I was totally impressed by how well the system works. I rode a couple of busses, a couple of MAX trains, the street car and the WES commuter train (heavy rail with a DMU -is that the right term for the single car thing?- that seated about 68 and was full but not yet standing on the first run of the afternoon) from Beaverton to Tigard and back. I am sure this service will expand in the near future. They really know how to make a transit center work there - they actually function in multiple ways, i.e. the TC itself is a destination with shopping, parks and other amenities. Everything is so well done and those water fountains all over the place constantly bubbling up their refreshment somehow seemed so GENEROUS and civilized. Then I took the MAX train to the airport (YUK!!) and flew home to Austin. It was a wonderful trip and I am very grateful to Amtrak for making it possible for me.
You know what I like? - It is the sort of timeless quality of being on the train - the 'awayness' of it without really being anywhere - a kind of suspended animation, a little like long meditation retreats. I am housed comfortably, entertained endlessly looking out the window, fed at intervals where all I have to do is go eat and I can interact or not totally as I please, unlike daily life. And then magically, effortlessly, I find myself where I'm going in a totally different environment in a different part of the country. In this case, getting there is almost ALL the fun. Flying is not like this.
Posts: 326 | From: San Antonio Texas USA | Registered: Dec 2003
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Interesting report. thanks. I agree with you .As I tell friends when you fly you really need a vacation at your destination but with the train your vacation starts when you board. It seems timeless to me. Looking out the window even at corn fields or pine trees give one time to pause and think.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Sounds like a great trip! I'm so happy to hear about the OBS employees and the extra little touches.
A couple of interesting (or maybe not) notes.....
-The station master at Portland (Scott) is a great guy. He knows the history of that old beautiful building, and if you saw old relics on display in glass cases, those were discovered and preserved by him. He found them when some renovation work was being done on the building. Additionally, just keep this in mind for the next trip up there, but you can go inside the hallways and the upstairs of that building. They are business offices not associated with Amtrak or trains, but there are some incredible photos of that building throughout the years. One in particular was very interesting to me---it was an overhead shot of all of our military men getting onto multiple trains as they went off to war.
-The coffee machine in the Parlour Car.....well, I hate to say "I told you so", but I did (not you specifically...just a general "you"). I'm out of town at the moment, and will be all week, so I don't have access to my notes and reports at home. But just off the top of my head, I think the cost of each coffee machine was $7,500. They purchased 5 of them---one for each Parlour Car. It was a joke from day one. They are European and are used routinely on trains all over Europe, and are specifically made for the rigors of train movement and vibration. However, there are very specific cleaning and operating instructions. There is no way that Amtrak can train their employees to use it properly so that it stays maintained and operational. I told Brian Rosenwald this on "re-launch" day on June 10, 2008 (it was only relaunched a tad over a year ago). It was so blatantly obvious to me that a specialized piece of equipment like this---that is nowhere else on the Amtrak system---would be a complete waste of money. Ever since they installed those units, they have been broken more than they have been operational. $37,000 down the drain....
-Regarding the problems when you came into the station at Portland....as far as I know, it's not a dispatching issue. There has been a track out of service (broken rail I think) that was just sitting there unrepaired for several days. Maybe even over a week---I'm not totally sure. I think it was finally repaired a few days ago and everything is back to normal.
I'm glad you had a nice trip. That's great news!
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Interesting trip. A couple of points: seems that maritime generally has priority over rail - perhaps a nationwide thing as I recall it happening in LA as well.
The WES commuter train is indeed a DMU, but single car or otherwise is irrelevant in that context. In simple terms a DMU is a train with built-in cabs and no seperate locomotive - the motors are under one or more cars. Some don't like them as they perceive them to be noisy and cause vibrations but modern DMUs don't suffer such problems.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Thank you so much for the report. It sounds like you had a lovely trip, and I am delighted to hear the Zephyr and Coast Starlight were by and large on time. Portland Station is so nice; and the people working there are very nice too. When I was there an employee gave me a little tour of a Talgo car as I waited for the EB East, simply because I expressed interest. (I have since been in a Talgo car, between Seattle and Vancouver BC etc)
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Good report, City!! I'm glad you had a succesful trip with so few problems. Thanks for posting!!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Thanks for the trip report. Glad you decided to post it, I really enjoy reading all of them. I have one question, when you mentioned that the CS showed signs of having been relaunched a couple years ago, was that a positive comment or negative?
Posts: 406 | From: La Grange, CA | Registered: Sep 2007
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RR - Oh that was a positive comment. There were various things that set it a notch or so above the Zephyr and certainly the Eagle. The diner was nicer, the sleeper was nicer with the reconfigured toilets etc. Not major elegance by any means but I certainly noticed a difference. You know what I liked, because I kept looking at it - was the replaceable head protector thing on the seat with the Coast Starlight logo on it. A little thing, and dumb, but I liked it. I forgot to mention that when the Cascades 513 pulled into Olympia half an hour late on 8/20, it had a regular (Genesis?) loco up front instead of a Talgo engine. They were showing Star Wars, The Prequel which you could listen to or not with your own headset plugged into the armrest. They also had very good coffee. The best cup of coffee I had in the Northwest was Peet's on Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. Outstanding!
Posts: 326 | From: San Antonio Texas USA | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by City of Miami: An ocean going tanker was approaching and apparently had priority over these two LD trains. It took at least half an hour to get underway again.
This was not poor planning or dispatching by the railroad.
Rights of vessels over trains at drawbridges is a matter of Federal LAW. It goes way back to the beginning of railroads. The only exception is if a train is already on the bridge when a vessel requests it to be opened. There is some slight mofication on the Northeast Corridor, but the "Weekend Admirals" with there pleasure boats effectively killed the Shoreline East commuter service shortly after it got started due to their complaints about restrictions in there ability to go through the bridges.
If you do not like this make an uproar with congress. The shipping and inland waterway operators certainly do when there is any talk of changing it.
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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The replaceable head protector used to be common on trains. They were also on coach seats. It might be a little thing, but it's the little things that count. That espresso machine sounds like a flop because of lack of proper care and maintenance. But thank you for a very enjoyable read. It's always a pleasure to read when someone enjoys their train trip...that "sort of timeless quality of being on the train" as you put it so well.
Posts: 498 | From: New Hope, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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My grandmother used to call those things Antimacassars. I think it was for protection from hair oils and pomades.
They have pretty much disappeared from the airlines, too, except in First Class.
The problem with the espresso machines has to be training related. I know at least one airline that has similar machines on all their 767's and 777's and they are reliable and a great marketing tool.
Frank in sunny SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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