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Just got back from an extended trip out west from Pittsburgh.
I rode the Capitol, the Chief, the Starlight, the Empire Builder and the Three Rivers.
Overall, a great trip. However, as you can imagine, I quickly tired of the menu items now that the menu is standardized---oh well !
My only minor "irritation" surfaced on the Starlight---and it had nothing to do with Amtrak. As most of you know, the major "perk" of that train is the Parlour Car and especially the 8 soft , cozy chairs at the one end. Well, a family of 6 adults and a baby boarded with me in LA and quickly "claimed" ALL the chairs for THEIR party !! I never witnessed anything like it. They also traveled with a small baby. Each adults quickly claimed a chair , the baby's car seat was placed on the 7th chair, and the teen-age daughters coat was placed on the 8th chair. This rude group claimed those seats the ENTIRE trip betweem LA and Emeryville !! I was so disgusted with them I could have screamed !! They NEVER stayed in their rooms. If they DID, there was always a small nucleus of them "saving" the seats for the rest of the "herd." This type of thing simply should NOT be permitted.
The Chief was on time the whole way---in fact, ahead of schedule most stations.
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That incident on the Coast Starlight would have been more than a minor irritation for me. I would have raised Heck till something was done. In a way though I would have been happy just to have the Parlour car on the train. My last trip on the Starlight ran with no Parlour car.
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I know I really should have SAID something to someone !! I probably WOULD have if I knew the group was continuing the whole way up to Portland or Seattle.
Also, there was a young man in the group who I KNOW was "under-age" , yet was served a beer. When one of the crew "addressed" the situation and asked for ID , he said that his wallet was with the SHIPPED baggage. He made and "effort" to go and get the ID after confronted. But he soon returned and informed the service crew member that he did not have it "ON" him. I found this VERY odd. What young man is not going to always carry their wallet on their person. Anyhow, he got scolded, but that was that. To be honest, I don't know HOW he was able to convince the Parlour Car hostess that he was 21 !! I am tellinmg you, this kid could NOT have been that old. Then to NOT have any ID !!
I was sitting amidst the group when he was confronted. The family KNEW this kid was in the wrong, yet INSISTED that they did not KNOW he had to carry ID on the train----so that was his "excuse."
Anyhow, I thought the whole bunch of them was extremely rude and selfish related to the seats. They did not give a minutes thought to whether or not others on the train may like to sit in the chairs during the trip also.
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It's too bad that much of life is like this. The majority of the population are good, honest people. There always has to be a few others to ruin things for the good people.
Amtrak should not have served the alcohol without the id, even if it was checked in his baggage.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
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On our recent Coast trip several couples claimed the swivel chairs (and held the empty ones for their spouses) for most of the trip. This particular group was mostly senior citizens.
I found the booth closest to the bar facing away from the bar a nice place to sit/good view, although not as comfortable as the padded chairs. Sorry to hear of your experience.
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