posted
Just returned from my latest CHI-ALB and ROC-CHI trip on the LSL. This time I was in the Accessible Bedroom, which was GREAT for amount of space & comfortable bed, but the lurching and jerking all night long in both directions was so extreme that I think I wrenched my knee while lying in bed (a feat I didn't think was posssible). I felt like I needed a seat belt to keep me in the lower bed. Is that room over the wheels or what could cause such extreme motion? I'm having to rethink my whole plan in taking the train to visit NY relatives - it's too expensive to be sloshed around all night. And true to my usual experience with the LSL, we were 4 1/2 hours late to Albany & 2 1/2 hours late returning to Chicago.
On the plus side: 1. the catfish dinner on the outbound leg was very good 2. car attendants in both directions were efficient, helpful & polite, although on the inbound run the attendants from my car & the next sleeper in line stood outside my room at 6:10 AM having quite a chat - enough to wake me up from a fitful slumber 3. The ALB-ROC trip in Business Class on the Empire Service was very pleasant with2 & 1 seating, which I had not encountered before, a nice crisp NY Times to read, and a nearly on-time arrival & departure
Looking forward to the next trip west in mid-September: MKE-CHI-LAX on the Southwest Chief, LAX-EMY on the Coast Starlight (can anyone suggest a good place for an overnight in EMY?) and then EMY-CHI-MKE on the CZ.
Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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Judy -- With each passing year the LSL becomes a rougher ride. I suspect it has little to do with the train itself, or the location of the room, but rather the condition of the tracks the train rides on. I am a very sound sleeper -- able to sleep anywhere -- but on the LSL I find the extreme motion (rock n roll is a good description) often jars me awake. I think your suggestion of a seatbelt is quite in order.
Posts: 460 | From: North Central CT | Registered: May 2004
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Even though you report favorable impressions of your Empire Service journey, Ms. McFarland, I note your report still gets the "thumbs down'; presumably based on your Lake Shore experience.
Any accomodation offers a better ride if located "center car". In a Viewliner sleeper that means Roomettes 3 & 4. The Accessible Room is over the wheels and hence is about "as bad as it gets".
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I was amazed that on my cross-coutry Amtrak journey SEA-CHI-SYR-NYP, all in coach, I slept much better on the Lakeshore then at least on my first night on the Empire Builder (This could also have to due with the fact it was my first time overnight on a train, and the fact my night was interrupted by a long walk in Spokane, and a short walk in Sandpoint, Idaho).
-------------------- Visit my trains and subways website: www.subwaynut.com (It has more then just subways!) Posts: 38 | From: Manhattan, NY/Colorado Springs, CO | Registered: Jun 2005
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In early June 2006, I rode Lake Shore Ltd. from Chicago-Springfield, Mass.* I slept fine in Room 4. We were late in NY due to big freight derailment that allowed one-way only traffic at a time. And like you, I thought the meals were good.
Any seat or room over the trucks on low-level equipment portends for a rough ride.
Later on that trip, I rode the Silver Star from NYC to Miami. Amtrak Customer Service contacted me two days before departure about a room change. For my travel date I was moved from one car, Room 5, to another car, Room 1. Amtrak pulled one Viewliner Sleeper from the consist and ran with two only, because of light passenger count.
In Room 1, I lasted about an hour over the trucks. It was very rough, and there was a loud, noisy whine escaping the faulty commode seat seal. Fortunately the attendant moved me to Room 5, so it's all good.
Tip of the hat to attendant Patrick, who provided cheery, excellent customer/passenger service, enroute to his home base in Miami. And interestingly, I took the call from Amtrak about reservations change while I was aboard an Acela south of Boston. I had a laugh because my cellphone Caller ID displayed AMTRAK while I was on an Amtrak .
The food on the Silver Star was OK. However, neither Viewliner had a coffee pot. Patrick would bring his passengers coffee from the Dining Car or Lounge Car. The LSL Sleepers had coffee pots.
And SubwayNut, I've ridden the Empire Builder several times and always slept well. I admire you for stepping off in the wee hours at Spokane. I've thought about doing so, but always awake, look out the Roomette window a bit, then drift back to sleep. If Spokane were a daylight stop, I'd be off and about.
* No. 48 Cgo-Albany/Rensselaer, NY; No. 448 Biz Class to Springfield.
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Just to follow up: Amtrak customer relations called me after I sent an email from the website complaining about the possibly dangerous (to a mobility-impaired person) motion of the train. She asked several questions - including if I had mentioned the problem to any Amtrak personnel. I told her that I didn't think the car attendant could have missed the fact that the train was jerking violently, She also thanked me for my positive comments about the catfish dinner and the helpfulness of the train personnel. Then she said she would send me a $100 voucher, stating that Amtrak admitted no liability for the problem - I knew that & in fact told her that I didn't think the motion was Amtrak's fault. The voucher has arrived.
Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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Wow, $100 is pretty generous for something which isn't really their fault. Having said that, it can be partly due to the design of the vehicle as well as the quality of the track.
Do Heritage cars ride any better/worse than Viewliners?
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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I'm not an expert on train cars, but I'm pretty sure this was a Viewliner sleeper.
Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Geoff M: Do Heritage cars ride any better/worse than Viewliners?
This is something I'm curious about too. I would say the Heritage cars ride better since they are more solidly built and heavier.
I was going north on a Surfliner a few years ago, riding in the Ocean View dome. It was great when we were going 90 mph. Those Horizon cars ahead of the dome were really shaking and quaking, but the dome had just a nice gentle sway. Of course it's not a fair comparison-the dome is WAY heavier than those Horizon tin cans. The dome even has 6 axles!
Posts: 286 | From: Knee deep in the retention tank | Registered: Jan 2006
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Judy, yes you would have been on a Viewliner sleeper. The question I was asking was whether those cars and cars of a *similar* basic design have different riding characteristics. Heritage was the closest I could get to a Viewliner (single deck).
Here in the UK, mark 2F cars ride far better on the same track than mark 3 cars - even though the 2Fs are older. Not sure about weight in the UK case - I think weight has been fairly similar over the last few decades at around 35 tonnes.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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