Took Capitol to Chicago , as usual. Had planned on returning to Pittsburgh on it, but due to the schedule change east-bound I decided to switch to the Three Rivers which has a later arrival time into Pitt.

Next, the SW Chief to LA. One of my favorite trains. Great car attendant. Can you believe the train was an hour EARLY arriving into LA ?? We had tp by-pass Fullerton where evidently track work was being done. That was the reason, evidently , that the train arrived early into LA.

That same day, it was the Texas Eagle returning to Chicago. Our arrival into Chicago was over six hours late----fortunately I DID have reservations for the later departing Three Rivers , because I would have missed the earlier departing Capitol.

Extreme heat through the Southwest placed speed restrictions on the engineers , so most of the travel through Arizona and New Mexico and much of Texas was at less than 50 mph. This I am certain caused much of the delay. Also, we were "stuck" at Texarkana for at least three-four hours awaiting an engine crew change.

But, I did not mind the late arrival into Chicago at all because I got to spend extra time on the train and had only a 2 hour lay-over there instead of a 9 hour one if the train would have arrived on time.

Over-all the trip was a good one. No major complaints.

As mentioned, I guess I will now have to take the Three Rivers back to Pittsburgh from Chicago instead of my "favored" Capitol. The 5:30 AM arrival into Pittsburgh (if the train runs on time) is simply much too early for me---I would have to get up at 4:30 AM which is NOT my idea of "fun."

I guess I CAN understand Amtrak's "logic" however related to the schedule change---an earlier arrival into DC means more possible connections to south-bound trains from DC.

I did want to mention that Amtrak was nice enough to "waive" the change of train fee when I switched from the Capitol to the Three Rivers for my return to Pittsburgh.

Wanted to mention something else, that did "dismay" me related to altering a trip after it has been booked.

Due to the fact that I was unable to get a ride home from the station in Pittsburgh after arriving on the Three Rivers, I CONSIDERED simply staying on the train to Harrisburgh, laying-over there , then returning later that day to Pittsburgh (arriving in the evening.)

WELL, when I "suggested" this to the reservationist , I was informed that a $30 "change fee" would be added to the cost of the extra portion of my trip. I did NOT think this was "fair" , and let Amtrak know this "officially" in a letter of "protest."

Here was my logic: I was simply EXTENDING a pre-existing trip already ticketed---thus I felt the service fee of $30 was TOTALLY unnecessary.

Now if there was a BREAK in travel, I could understand. But there was NOT. This would have been a SAME day extension beyond Pittsburgh and back. I was not LESSENING my travel , OR changing trains. In my letter, I stated that the extra travel through to Harrisburg and back to Pittsburgh (in first-class) would have cost over $200---money that Amtrak needs desperately. Amtrak lost that money because I chose to de-train in Pittsburgh and take a taxi home----simply because I did not feel the extra $30 fee was justified. I am anxious to see if Amtrak responds to my letter.

Do any of you AGREE with my "logic" ?? If a trip is already ticketed , and an EXTENSION of that trip is requested , I certainly do NOT think an "extra" fee is justified.

Two other brief thoughts:

On the SW Chief, a lady asked me why Amtrak does NOT recycle. I wondered that myself. Would it be that difficult for Amtrak to request that all cans and bottles be placed in recycling bins on the trains ? I think most every passenger would cooperate. Wouldn't this provide a great deal of extra money to Amtrak ? Do any of you know why Amtrak chooses NOT to recycle ??

Finally, the matter of left-over "prepared" foods from the dinettes---this would be mostly the hand-made sandwiches , I suppose. A fellow in the lounge-car informed me that any of those sandwiches that are NOT sold during the trip are THROWN AWAY at the end of the trip. This sounded ridiculous to me !! Why not reduce the price of these sandwiches to a dollar and SELL them aboard the train until they are gone ?? That way at least SOME money would be made for the company. It doe not make sense to me to simply throw the sandwiches away because Amtrak can not sell them for THREE dollars , as compared to ONE dollar. And the lounge attendant would certainly know WHEN to offer the sandwiches for sale. Why "pitch" the sandwiches with NO profit instead of selling them for LESS profit. This attendant told me that at certain times MANY, MANY sandwiches where simply "garbaged". This is crazy. They could ALL probably be sold on a first-come , first-served basis until they were simply all gone.

Regarding the sandwiches: Selling them at discount toward the end of the trip would require extra work for the attendant. Union agreements provide that all work MUST be completed before the train arrives at its destination. Same applies for dining car workers - no work may be done BEFORE the train leaves its origin point. Hence, though the CARDINAL I rode recently departed Chicago at precisly 7:30, dinner was not served until 9PM! The next day, with an imminent arrival in Washington at 6:30, the first (and only) dinner call was at 4:00!

I've seen this "we have to close the diner (lounge) before arrival" phenomenon several times. Now, I know the solutions to Amtrak's problems are often complex, but surely there can be a (simple!) alteration to union agreements to permit employees to work 10-15 minutes after the train arrives in the station! It's no crime for the lounge attendant to finish his tasks while the passengers are unloading.

I realize that the lounge car must "close" a certain amount of time BEFORE the train arrives at its final destination. That should not effect the "sandwich sale" in any way.

Say, an HOUR or TWO before the train is due to arrive at the final destination, place the sandwiches on sale. Now, you may think , "Well then , EVERYONE would simply WAIT for that announcement and not bother to buy any sandwiches until the "bargain" price is offered." So what ? Better than
"trashing" the sandwiches and making no money on them at all, in my opinion.

And I think this is totally different than a situation one would encounter at a fast-food restaurant with those sandwiches. Amtrak is DESPERATE for money. Every little bit might help. In other words, why "trash" $3 sandwiches when they could EASILY be sold for at least a buck ?? And I really do not think people would be "discouraged" from paying "regular" price. When people are hungry, they want to eat and thus WOULD pay "full-price" for the sandwiches. My suggestion is simply an "option" for Amtrak to consider related to at least realizing SOME "profit" (if we can even call it that) from the sandwiches. Not only would at least SOME of the sandwich making cost be "recovered" , but also many folks who simply could not afford a sandwich from the lounge-=car , might be able to purchase one. Just a THOUGHT , guys.

I would rather that Amtrak give this food to needy than trash it.

Amtrak provided a bus for passengers to board at Pitt for those headed to connecting trains at DC. Since I went on the trip to ride the train, not to rush, I declined the offer and stayed aboard.

I am glad I did. While the bus raced from Pittsburgh and barely made connections with 91, the train crew made every effort to be nice to those few of us who were left. They gave away all the sandwiches in the dining car, brought in free meals for coach passengers at Cumberland, held all kinds of activities for the entire journey, and really made it an enjoyable time. What's more, I was able to get on my train home with no hassle.