Picked up the Ambus at the Ferry Building at 7:45 am. Decent waiting area and busy bus schedule. A locked restroom with tokens on the counter for entry was quite dirty already so early in the day. Thanks to George Harris we knew the station was in a separate building to the south. This was new info for our cab driver. Bus was nice, driver a bit surly.Â
Jack London station is nice, comfortable chairs, bright and airy. Two homeless sleeping in the first row of seats and all ticket windows closed. About 20 people here for the train. Two windows did open.Â
A totally unintelligible announcement proved to be the #11 so we headed out, exactly on time. Wonderful news, our SCA is Bob again. He handles the bag, says he will bring the carry on up and sends us to breakfast. Omelet and pancakes consumed and adequate.Â
The PPC "Napa Valley" is all booked for dinner, too bad for us. The specialty coffee machine is broken, surprise. But we did get a lunch time. By the way, Bob is 76 years old, looks 55 and loves his job.Â
The wifi pretends to connect but no websites can be reached due to "server down". Needless to say I ask no questions.Â
North of Salinas  we do the same thing we did northbound, stop at each of three malfunctioning gates to allow the conductor off to manually clear the intersection. Why can't this problem be fixed?
The chicken salad sandwich for lunch seemed more like mystery meat. But we got the chocolate covered cream puffs again! Still no wifi and the PPC Â nice chairs are occupied by people or jackets reserving space for the more deserving apparently.Â
The PPC appears to have had the upper curved windows replaced as they are all clear. And the sleeper, with the brown faux wood corridor walls, has new touch controls for the lights and call button.Â
Snagged two PPC seats at SLO where we're 1/2 hour early. Wine tasting going on now too. Waited in a siding for #14(14) to go by. It had six private cars on the rear including two domes.Â
Had the steak for dinner, odd shaped thing but quite tasty. The diner had run out of rolls and all desserts except for ice cream.Â
An excellent trip with the same excellent crew as on our northbound trip. And very on time.�
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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Glad you had a nice trip back home. I can't say that I've ever met Bob before---he sounds like a great guy, and fantastic employee. 76 and still working full-time? Wow!
The "specialty coffee" machine has been broken for a very long time. It started with one, then another, then another, etc, etc..On the big "relaunch" trip that I was on, Brian Rosenwald showed me the machines. I said to him, okay, they're really nice--but do you honestly believe that these things will last? I told him they are not "Amtrak proof"--meaning, the controls are too complex, and they can't be cleaned unless you have a special solution, which I'm sure will rarely--if ever--be available. BTW, those machines were $10,000 a piece. That's $50,000 on broken coffee machines. Typical.
I told you about the bums sleeping at the OKJ station. And the PA announcements--OMG!!!!! It's been like that since day one. I never have any clue what the heck they're saying. All I hear is "blah blah blah blah blah". I wonder if they realize that nobody knows what they're saying?
The WiFi----it works EVERYWHERE except on Amtrak. Buses, airplanes, airports, restaurants, cell phones---everywhere except Amtrak that is.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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At least there is an electronic departure/arrival board at OKJ that seems to be up-to-the-minute and I've seen conductors step into the lobby and make "all aboard for train 845 to Sacramento" type of announcements at OKJ.
Does anybody know the exact type of espresso machines on the PPCs? Ten thousand bucks isn't unrealistic for a good espresso machine, but they do need to be maintained properly.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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Vincent, the electronic departure board at OKJ only listed a Capitol Corrider train that was due after #11. No mention of #11 which, when combined with the unintelligible announcement, gave me momentary pause. But all was well.
For sure no empolyees stepped into the lobby, I felt like we were on our own, with the homeless guys to help us of course.
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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Vincent: Those electronic signs only list the Capitol and San Joaquin trains. They are updated by Amtrak California which has an office just a few blocks down the street from the OKJ station (on Water Street).
The espresso machines are European made, but I don't know the brand. They are made specifically for railroad use, as this is where Rosenwald purchased them from. I guess I admire that he tried to do a good job, however, he bought something SO specialized that I knew it wouldn't work. These are the exact same machines that are in the cafe cars in most of the European trains---I am told they are not in ANY trains in America.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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smitty, the high-end specialty coffee machine debacle reminds me of another experiment many here won't even remember-- the electronic pianos in the Superliner I lower lounge cars. They "worked just fine" until being subjected to countless spilled liquids going into the keyboards and even actual theft of the pianos, while the cars sat in the various Yards. (!)
Just another "customer amenity" that couldn't stand up to the rigors of the Amtrak environment. Not that management didn't try- this was in the middle 80s-era. Even a clear plastic keyboard cover couldn't save the pianos...
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Bob--believe it or not, I remember them! My first ride on a Superliner train was the Coast Starlight. I was just a kid, and I rode with my mom from San Jose to Salinas, where we caught a bus to Cannery Row in Monterey. That was a lot of fun! When I went to the lounge car, there was the piano---and someone was playing it. I remember when they slowly started to disappear. At first, they were just "out of order". After that, they were gone!
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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And the PA announcements--OMG!!!!! It's been like that since day one. I never have any clue what the heck they're saying. All I hear is "blah blah blah blah blah". I wonder if they realize that nobody knows what they're saying? 
