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First off, I just want to say that I am moving back to New Orleans tomorrow permanently. I want to do my part to help my hometown rebuild. I just flat out miss the place. New Orleans will come back better than before. It will be a long, hard road, but the city will find a way. It always has. Long live New Orleans.
Now onto the report...
I was supposed to take train #6 out of DEN on 9/28, but that train was running wayyy late (think 10 hours +) so I would have missed my connection in Chicago to train #59. So, I flew on Frontier Airlines from DEN to Chicago. I got to Chicago for about 9:30am so I had plenty of time to kill. I decided to buy a roundtrip ticket on the Hiawatha train to the Milwaukee Airport and back...that would kill several hours. It was my first time on a Horizon coach, which I found to be pretty comfortable for short haul trips. Both trains had 4 Horizon coaches, with one P42 and 1 F40 cabbage on either end. The Milwaukke Airport rail terminal was very nice as well. I spotted the eastbound Empire Builder fly past the station just minutes before our train back to CHI pulled in. All in all, an excellent way to spend some time.
9/28/05 Chicago,IL to Hammond, LA Train #59, "City of New Orleans" Superliner Reserved Coach
Due to the Hurricane, the City of NO trains only went as far as Hammond,LA, which is only like an hour from my house in Metairie, so it really isn't too bad. Boarding for the train started at 7:35 from Gate D. It was a small consist: 1 P42, 1 coach baggage, 2 coaches, 1 sightseer lounge, and 1 sleeper. On time departure at 8:00pm with a decent load on board. No movie was shown for some reason, but no bother, I was pretty tired anyway and needed some sleep. So after buying a snack and a drink, I was out by about 10pm. I slept well, and I woke up to find us in Memphis, right on schedule. The rest of morning/early afternoon was spent cruising through the Mississippi River delta region. We arrived Hammond 10 minutes down. Only about 35 people got off here, which is about what I expected. Great ride, even though it is sad to see the Dining Car go. There's just no demand for it honestly. One of the conductors told me that it is gone for good actually. He said Amtrak has been looking for a way to cut the Diner off of 58/59 and this was the perfect oppurtunity to do it.
After spending a very enjoyable ten days in the New Orleans area (I got to help out my family and friends a lot), it was back to DEN, but this time, I got to leave from NOL, as Amtrak had resumed service from there on the 9th. I made it by one day!
10/10/05 New Orleans, LA to Chicago, IL Train #58, "City of New Orleans" Superliner Sleeping Car (Roomette)
Half of the NOL terminal is still used by the NOPD as a jail. There's a big white wall running down the middle of the station. The entire Amtrak counter is not in use thanks to the wall...there is only room for one ticket agent to check in people. Also, the First Class Magnolia Room was occupied by some officials. After waiting in line for 15 minutes, it was my turn to check bags. I checked three of them, and had a seat. I had a sleeper booked on this train: room #3 in the 5800 car. Boarding was called at 1:25pm. I made my way to my car, which was the last one on the train. The sleeper attendant, Randy, introduced himself to me. He has worked for Amtrak for 25 years and is currently based in CHI as an extra board employee. I took my room and found that it was obviously a Superliner 1 car (showing its age in places) but it had the newer blue interiors...a LOT better than the orange! We headed out right on time at 1:45pm with a light load: only about 30 in coach, and 2 in the sleeper. Demand will increase as more people return to New Orleans without question.
We were right on time through Louisiana (about 20 people got on in Hammond including 5 sleeping car passengers) and Southern Mississippi, as such, we were 20 minutes early into Jackson, so I stepped out of the train for a while there. After we left JAN I went to the Lounge car to get my dinner, which was a boxed lunch-type thing. In it was a large tuna fish sandwich, some veggies with some ranch dip, a cup of fruit, and a slice of pecan pie. It was nothing fancy but it did the job. I still miss the Dining Car though, but as I said before, the demand is not there for it. We were a good 10 minutes early into Greenwood so I got off here again to get some cool, fresh air. At about 7:45 Randy put my bed down for the evening. I just sort of layed back and listened to music for awhile before trying to go to sleep at around 9 or so. I was unsuccessful so I sat up until we reached MEM. We ended up being 20 min late into MEM. We got help up about 32 minutes at one point to let a freight pass...that's a pretty long delay for the CN railroad. But, we left MEM only about five to ten minutes late. I went to sleep for good at about 11pm and slept soundly until 6:30am.
I woke up to find us running about 35 minutes late. I went ahead and took a shower. I liked the shower in this car. You didn't have to press the button to make the water flow, all you had to do was turn a knob like in a normal shower. It was not an upgraded shower, still had the sort of green walls and the curtain, but it got the job done. After I got back Randy made up my room to the day configuration, and I was off to the Lounge for my breakfast box, which had two bowls of Cheerios, some fruit, and a cup of yogurt in it. We were really flying between Champaign and Chicago and made up all of the time we had lost, but we ended up being 15 minutes late into CHI as we were held up waiting for METRA traffic to get out of our way. As I exited the train I thanked Randy for his excellent service and tipped him accordingly. Another day, another great ride on the City of New Orleans. Even though the train is a shell of its former self, there's still something special about taking a ride on 58/59.
I spent most of my time in the Metropolitan Lounge, waiting for the 1:15pm boarding call of the California Zephyr. It was my first time in the new lounge and I was very impressed. And let me tell you, it was PACKED by about noon. Hardly a seat left in the place. Apparently the Zephyr and the Empire Builder both were going out with full sleeping cars today. I was probably one of the only, if not the only, person in there who was taking coach on the next segment!
10/11/05 Chicago, IL to Denver, CO Train #5, "California Zephyr" Superliner Reserved Coach
An Amtrak attendant announced boarding for train #5 at 1:15pm. I was first in line as we walked around the corner of the station to track 24 to find our Superliner there ready to hit the road. The consist of today's #5 was as follows: 3 P42's, 1 baggage car, 3 sleepers, 1 diner, 1 sightseer lounge, 3 coaches. I was put in the last coach, which was for Denver bound passengers only. There were maybe about 40 people in my coach and in the other two. One thing I didn't like about my coach was that the a/c was broke in it. It got pretty stuffy to say the least. The a/c was eventually fixed in Omaha thankfully. With the sleepers being full, it was a pretty full train overall. We left on time at 1:50pm. We got held up a few times in Illinois for freight traffic and we stayed about 30 minutes behind schedule for the rest of the day...all the way until Omaha actually. The crossing of the Mississippi River in Burlington was very scenic. Shortly thereafter I went to the Lounge car to get some food and to watch "Bewitched". It was an ok movie. They showed "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" after "Bewitched" but I had already seen it, so I went back to my seat, and listened to the new Ryan Adams cd, which is excellent.
After we left Creston, Iowa, I decided to call it a night. I thought the track in between Creston and Omaha was pretty rough, but oddly enough I didn't find the track in Nebraska to be too bad...not as bad as my last trip on the Zephyr anyway. I woke up at 6:30am (what is it with these 6:30 wake up times for me on trains? It happens every time!) to find us running about 20 minutes EARLY. We had made up a lot of time overnight. And let me say, if we were only doing 79 overnight, then I am a billionaire! We had to be doing 90, which is fine by me. We pulled into Denver Union Station at exactly 7:08am, some 22 minutes ahead of schedule. A large number of passengers detrained here, and a huge number, 70 at least, boarded here for the journey West. I was impressed by the numerous announcements made on this train by the conductor's thanking passengers "for riding the California Zephyr, train #5". Those announcements were made after every station stop. A nice touch. Obviously the staff takes some pride in this great train. The Zephyr, like the City of New Orleans, is an American institution.
sbalax Member # 2801
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Thanks for the report and good luck to you as you return to New Orleans.
Hopefully, as traffic builds and more sleepers are added, the diner will return to the City.
Frank in Sunny, Warm SBA
Geoff M Member # 153
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I saw a report like this on airliners.net and was going to suggest you post it here - but I guess you're the same person!
Nice to hear it, shame about the diner on the CofNO as that did the best food in the country.
Geoff M.
AHALL Member # 3515
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I traveled on the City of New Orleans in June. Part of the problem with the diner was the lack of patronage. Despite a full passenger load departing Chicago, the diner was lightly patronized for dinner due to the 8:00 pm departure (people had already eaten) and the fact the diner had only one seating which was delayed until past 9:00 pm for reasons unknown.
Breakfast was delayed until after the Memphis stop, which became nearly 7:30 am and they quit serving about 8:45 am. Lunch was quick too, they said they had to clean up before the 3:30 pm arrival in New Orleans. It seems like things are starting late, and ending earlier than they used to on the trains, maybe less staff?
My train out of Pittsburgh, the Capitol Limited, suffers from the same problem. Westbound, dinner is the only full-time meal, breakfast is rushed and barely announced since Chicago is an 8:25 am arrival. Eastbound, dinner is served late, seems to start late, and barely announced in the coaches. Breakfast is a full-time meal, no lunch due to D.C. arrival.
It is hard to break even financially in the diner with such limited meal opportunities.
In May, I took the Capitol Ltd. eastbound to D.C., and at breakfast the staff was the rudest I have even encountered in 15 years of using Amtrak. A man at my table had limited English language knowledge, and was pointing the Menu. The dining car attendant said to him, "If you can't pronounce it, I am not taking the order." He did his best to pronounce it, and she scribbled it down.
I have had so many wonderful experiences on Amtrak, it was sad to witness this happening.
sbalax Member # 2801
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Geoff--
Thanks for the reference to airliners.net . I'd not seen it before and find it quite good. I've already sent a couple of "postcards".
Frank in Sunny SBA
notelvis Member # 3071
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quote:Originally posted by AHALL: I traveled on the City of New Orleans in June. Part of the problem with the diner was the lack of patronage.
Losing the diner on the 'City of NO' is really sad. The best meal I have ever had on an Amtrak diner was one I had on the northbound 'City'. The chefs based out of New Orleans are, I think, the best in the system.
I must admit though that the City has probably the worst diner patronage from coach passengers of any train in the system. I think that's due to the departure times southward from Chicago and northward from both Jackson (where a coach passenger would still have a fairly long wait after getting on the train) and Memphis. The average coach passenger is going to have had supper before getting on the train.
Another issue is the socioeconomic status of the areas the 'City' operates through. Many of the coach passengers on this train aren't even quite up to lower middle class. These are folks who are most likely going to bring their own sandwiches and boxed chicken aboard rather than submit to the relatively high prices that await them in the Amtrak lounge and diner.
One possible compromise though......the superliner lounges built new when the auto-train went bi-level have about 8 dining car style boothes in one end of the upper level. I presume that these were intended for 'overflow' dining on the auto-train. Wouldn't it be nice if some of the other lounges were fitted with a small upstairs dining area. First class passengers could be offered sit-down hot meal service in this section much like what the late 'Three Rivers' offered. This could be done on the 'City' and the Portland section of the 'Empire Builder'. This would be a fairly low-cost improvement that would be welcomed by passengers I think.
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