posted
My wife and I just returned from a western trip that gave us a chance to ride the SWC twice and then the LSL.
After visiting relatives in Arizona and New Mexico (via Continental and Southwest) we were ready for a good train ride and that is what we had.
What a pleasure to board the SWC in the nice Albuquerque train/bus station. Never thought I would say that about a bus station but it shows it is possible to have good intermodal facility. We never got a chance to sit down as the SWC arrived 30 min early and we boarded immediately.
Since our trip involved several short trips, we decided to try a roomette. It worked well for us but would not want to do it on a two night transcon trip. It was particularly handy when the roomette across from us was unoccupied and the backward facing seat was far more comfortable than the awkward single seat in the bedroom.
The crew and service were excellent. Our attendant, Donald, had been bumped from the canceled Starlight. He knew his job and did it well (also enjoyed his soft baritone singing of Porgy and Bess as he did his job). The lunch of turkey salad sandwich and burger were very good. We particularly enjoyed our table companions - a thirty something lawyer and his lady friend, a writer, both from New York city.
Dinner was not so good. All four of us at the table had the flat iron steak. While it was cooked to perfection - medium rare for my wife and I, the taste and texture were poor. My wife said it reminded her of cooked liver. A thumbs down from all of us.
The couple sitting with us were from Brussels. He was a university professor and now worked for KPG? accounting firm. Again, both in their thirties. Kind of a sad story. They had a very rough transatlantic flight to NY - where he proposed to her. They were then flying to Hawaii when another very rough transcon flight forced them down at LA and she would not go further. They were returning to NY and immensely enjoying the train trip but it was clear she was terrified of the pending air trip back to Europe.
The trip was very enjoyable through the canyons and over Raton but the last freight cars I saw were on the interchange track at Lamy. While it looked like the route was indeed passenger only, there were still active track machinery on sidings at Glorietta pass and Las Vegas, NM. My beloved semaphores were also in good shape and displayed perfectly in the twilight.
We arrived our destination of Garden City, KS five minutes early and a quick cab ride had us in bed before midnight. After a few days taking care of some family business in western KS we continued on.
One note on our stay there. We drove a rental car, actually a pick up - to better negotiate some farm roads, about 130 miles north to our destination and passed over the former Rock Island main line (Rocky Mountain Rocket) which is barely functioning as a short line (Kyle RR??). A short distance further and we drove over the abandoned cinder trail of the Missouri Pacific (Colorado Eagle). Our destination near Hays, Ks is on the recently upgrading Kansas Pacific line of the UP. Appears to be primarily coal and grain but quite active.
We returned to Garden City to continue our journey on the SWC. From LaJunta, Co east freight is still active as a intermodal train screamed through the station just before the Chief, which arrived 10 minutes early. Our beds were ready and I was enjoying the well maintained jointed rail as we continued east. It appears we soon lost some time as we negotiated several meets before I went to sleep.
The next morning we were awake as we left KC about 20 minutes late. A good breakfast of Belgian waffles and omelet had us ready for a nap as we raced across Iowa. Making good progress on our books we were surprised to look out the window and see flurries as we went to lunch. Lunch was ok - but certainly the best part was the chocolate cake and Hagen-Daze ice cream.
The snow increased as we neared Chicago. It had started to blow sideways and cars on the roads were moving slowly as the roads were now covered. How nice to be racing along at 90mph warm and well fed in our snug rooms. What better way to travel.
Chicago arrival was 3:10, 10 minutes early. That gave us enough time for a quick visit to the Art Institute before meeting Gil Norman for a good dinner at Lawry's Prime Rib. We enjoyed seeing Gil and solving the problems at Amtrak. As Gil left for a concert we returned to the station in time for the early boarding of the LSL.
As a precaution, I had booked a room in Chicago that night. When I called to cancel, the Marriott customer service person wanted to know if I was canceling because of the weather. She said they had a lot of cancellations for people flying into Chicago from New York but because of conditions at O'Hare many flights were canceled. She was amazed that a)I was on a train and b)that it was not affected by the weather.
While my wife settled into our room I sampled the wine and cheese in the diner. This was nice touch by Amtrak and helped by a very good waiter, James. Another James was our sleeping car attendant. He was a young man but clearly wanted to do a good job. Maybe a little rough around the edges but a great attitude and should be a good employee for Amtrak. Glad to see they are getting some younger blood on the trains.
By the time we left Chicago, we were both in bed and soon asleep. The next morning we had a good breakfast in the diner (is it possible to have a bad one as you sip coffee and watch the landscape roll by in the morning sun). Our companion was a nice gentleman from Missouri enroute to see his sister in Mass. At that time we were less than an hour late. But at our Buffalo stop, the crew decided the second unit needed to be set out with a mechanical problem, and we left there two hours down.
The skies were dark and full of rain as went east. Evening came early as the rain increased but we enjoyed the scenery from Utica east as we followed the river (Mohawk?) to Albany. Fortunately there was considerable pad in the schedule at Albany and we left there only an hour late and maintained that into New York. The only way we could tell we were following the Hudson was the lights of the tugs on the river as they towed barges. I was surprised at the amount of river traffic.
I guess I was pleasantly surprised by the crew on the LSL as they seemed as good as the western ones. The recent transformation of the amfleet car into a diner was OK and the food was good. But I would still prefer a heritage car - at least as they were before they had the shoddy refurbishment a few years ago. Clearly new equipment is needed for this train. And while everything worked in the sleeper it was definitely threadbare and needing a major overhaul.
The one major complaint I have about the trip is the failure to provide at least a light dinner into New York. For a train that is frequently late and not scheduled in until 7:30, some food should be offered. I went to the cafe car to buy something and they were out of most everything I wanted. We had no food until getting to our son's house around 10pm after a 10 min connection to a NJT train.
While we tried to do too much in too short a time on this trip, the trains lived up to our expectations and we are looking forward to a more relaxing transcon trip for our next adventure.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by palmland: Chicago arrival was 3:10, 10 minutes early. That gave us enough time for a quick visit to the Art Institute before meeting Gil Norman for a good dinner at Lawry's Prime Rib. We enjoyed seeing Gil and solving the problems at Amtrak. As Gil left for a concert we returned to the station in time for the early boarding of the LSL.
Be assured, all, that feeling is indeed mutual!!!
Posts: 9979 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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-------------------- Matt Visit gallery for photos of our train layouts Posts: 579 | From: San Bernardino Subdivison | Registered: Dec 2001
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Will #92's new schedule impact your travel plans on future trips?
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Thank you so much for the report. I recently took the LSL eastbound too, as you know, and agree that those going all the way to NYC should have dinner. In general, while I like the wine n cheese n grapes business, I think in other regards this train needs some food upgrading, not just re offering dinner but also because of the paucity of choices offered at lunch. And on my train, they ran out of the Haagen Daaz dessert before lunch! Since no dinner was served, it doesn't sound like they had very much of it to begin with.
I gather you had no problems with customs/border patrol as I did, Palmland?
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Notelvis- As much as I would like to use 91/92 the 12:50am and 4:49am times don't sound like fun. Since most of our travels from here are north, it's much more convenient to take the short drive to Florence and then business class on the Palmetto to the northeast.
What I would like to see is a return to the old Meteor schedules when it used to come through Florence around 10pm and 7am.
By the way, amazingly CSX has deposited ballast and ties on the line through Camden and I suspect we'll see a track gang in a few weeks. May have something to do with the FRA inspection train I saw a few miles north (McBee, SC) around Christmas.
Sojourner - we did see Border Patrol on the LSL. We were eating breakfast at the Erie stop. All in the diner were asked if they were US citizens. A man and his son across from us said they were not and after much radio conversation with his office, the officer let them continue on even though his son did not have proper papers. The officer was not the usual officious type, nice guy and we probably didn't lose more than 5 minutes.
I was glad to see we had a good crew similar to what you reported on your trip.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote: Dinner was not so good. All four of us at the table had the flat iron steak. While it was cooked to perfection - medium rare for my wife and I, the taste and texture were poor. My wife said it reminded her of cooked liver. A thumbs down from all of us. re. [/QB]
I too had a terrible flat iron steak, and others have commented on the train I was riding how terrible it was. I think Amtrak should come up with some other meat product and quickly dispose of this wretched steak.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
I have had it twice and thought it had the taste and texture of flat irons. Maybe it would go better with a Bob Evans Breakfast Scramble on the side.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
Apparently Amtrak is not using the right cut of beef. The long thin strips are very tender and can be cut with a fork. I get them at the grocery all the time.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Just maybe.....the Flat Iron steak is the old Country Fried Steak special with the breading scraped off!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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