We survived the Sunset Limited! Actually it was fun. I didn't mind coach seating too much, a room would have been better but for the price it was fine. I loved the sound of the train rolling, clunking through the switches, the horn blaring almost nonstop through the east.
Everyone was pretty nice. One guy snored like hell, I didn't sleep well anyhoo. Especially when cutting cars at 2am the first night.
The food was ok, nothing to write home about. A bit pricey. NY Steak was $17.50! Kids meals $5.50 and only Mac & Cheese or chicken nuggets.
The lounge car was the coolest car. It rained hard at times. In Texas, I saw 3 slugs, never seen those before. Weird.
Lots of tiny towns, one stop there was a California Zephyr car on display. Some other small towns had some kind of station preserved with a car or steamer. I saw some guys clowning around on horses waving at us!
One thing annoyed me about a family, they were nice people but complained all the time about the service. They complained how slow the train was, all the stops for freight, why there were freight on the back-they said that made the train slower, they whined that the conductors and other employees are not friendly..I kept my cool but it drove me nuts. They don't understand the rail system, that Amtrak don't have their own rails, they can't go 100+mph, they have to use UP's rails...morale on the Sunset may be down because of the crap that's been going on, yeah they'll be grumpy, I didn't have a problem. The cafe guy made announcements like 10-15 min before he would close the snack bar, I can understand his frustration when some goon comes downstairs and bitches at him when he's just closed up; he grouched at one person when he headed back to his car. Nobody pays attention to annoucements. Well some you couldn't hear but most you can.
Then a whole bunch of people were rude enough to complain how rude Californians are. And me and my son felt like the only Californians there, I felt a little insulted but kept my cool. That's what ya gotta put up with in coach class.
It was fun just trying to WALK on the train! Some rails are so bad the train just bounces around. UP needs to do some upgrades bigtime out there! I can see some little kid's toes getting caught between the car platforms in the passthrough.
I enjoyed talking to the Rails & Trails couple.
All in all I've enjoyed the #2, I'm looking forward to the #1 back to home. I have a 2nd chance getting pics of things I couldnt get first time around!
Oh yeah, Chris loved the ride all the way.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Bus Lady - thanks for the report!! Where did they "cut cars" at 2 AM? I can't think of anywhere on the Sunset route they do that except maybe New Orleans, and that is not at 2 AM!
The "California Zephyr" car on display, I assume, was at the Maricopa, AZ, stop -- that car is actually used as the new station there!
Sounds like you had a good crew, but some troublesome passengers -- oh well, there's always those who will complain about everything. I am glad you enjoyed your trip.
By the way, what was your final destination? And how late did you actually arrive at the final destination?
RRRICH Member # 1418
posted
OOOOPS!!!! It must be too early in the morning for me to function properly! Concerning the last post, of course -- the cars are cut in the middle of the night in San Antonio!!! I know that, but I think what confused me was that Bus Lady said the cars were cut at 2 AM "the first night out" -- if you left from Los Angeles, San Antonio would be the 2nd night out, not the first!!
Please forgive my ignorance -- I also reviewed your last postings, Bus Lady -- you went to New Orleans, then went to Atlanta by car, right? How soon we forget!!
Oh well, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip! Let us know how the return trip is! --Rich K
[This message has been edited by RRRICH (edited 08-06-2002).]
Mr. Toy Member # 311
posted
Buslady, thanks for sharing. Sounds like quitte a trip, and all in coach! I've done one night in coach many times, but never two.
About those rude folks, maybe you just got in with a bad bunch. In my experience such people are fairly rare. I hope your fellow travelers on the return are more civilized.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
posted
Yeah Maricopa, that's it. That was cool. There were so many locations I couldnt remember them all! We picked up something during the first night, the night we left. I have no idea where we were..it was dark of course. I woke up and we were going real slow, it was cool felt like we were floating, then I saw 2-3 boxes, then a pickup off the side with headlights on, we stop...move forward, I saw a conductor off the train! Then we're jerking back & forth, I guessed we picked up or dropped cars.
My run was LAX to NOL. Left LAX at 11.15 but then we cut the cars that rolled in beside us! So we actually rolled out at 11.30ish. We got to NOL at 2.30 am. Better time than what I was hearing,4am!
quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: Bus Lady - thanks for the report!! Where did they "cut cars" at 2 AM? I can't think of anywhere on the Sunset route they do that except maybe New Orleans, and that is not at 2 AM!
The "California Zephyr" car on display, I assume, was at the Maricopa, AZ, stop -- that car is actually used as the new station there!
Sounds like you had a good crew, but some troublesome passengers -- oh well, there's always those who will complain about everything. I am glad you enjoyed your trip.
By the way, what was your final destination? And how late did you actually arrive at the final destination?
[This message has been edited by Buslady (edited 08-06-2002).]
lakeshorelimited Member # 576
posted
Nice report, Buslady, thanks for sharing. I've heard people complaining about the same issues before. The only thing I can do is try and educate those who will listen, but just try and ignore those who won't..
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