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Acting on a sound suggestion from SilverStar092, we had inserted a buffer day at Vancouver in case we had travel problems in crossing the continent. One does not want to miss their cruise sailing time. My wife and I spent our 2 nights at the downtown Hampton Inn. They provided a pickup and delivery service, hot breakfast, a reasonably priced restaurant on site, and a guest laundry on the top floor with a nice view of the city. Being on the road for 30 days, laundry duties were essential.
The buffer day included a SkyTrain ride across the towering Fraser River bridge to the end of the line at Surrey/King George. (Hard to figure out the all-day rail/bus pass purchase as no one lifted it much less even looked at it onboard.) On the return, we stopped at the VIA Rail station so I could take a look at the Canadian. Unfortunately, no access was allowed and the cars were spread over several tracks, mostly coaches. The name on a dome obs was blocked by a tent. Walking down a side street, I did spy sleepers Chateau LeMoyne and Chateau Radisson, along with a silver and green car with windows up onto the roof. We finished our day at the aquarium in Stanley Park.
The level of service on our 7-day Princess cruise to Alaska took some getting used to after so many years of travel by Amtrak. Cheerful service, great food, perfect organization, and wonderful scenery despite clouds and fog almost every day. We opted for shore excursions at Ketchikan (totem poles and lumberjack show, our only sunny day and in a place that sees 160" of rain per year) and Juneau (salmon hatchery, rain forest, and Mendenhall glacier), but Skagway was THE event - a ride up the White Pass and Yukon Railway.
We had 2 engines and 10 cars, and following us up part way, was another train of 3 freight engines and 15 cars. Surprisingly good track allowed speeds of 20-30 mph even as we climbed White Pass. The summit was completely covered by snow and fog. We transferred to a motor coach at Fraser, BC, passed through customs quickly, and rode on into the Yukon to tiny Carcross.
I wandered into the WP&Y train station there to talk to the lady agent. Did passenger trains run to Carcross? Yes, but later in the season, not from cruise ships, and not beyond to Whitehorse. (I was wearing my Amtrak cap, purchased through their on-line store but looking quite official.) Had she ever seen an Amtrak cap before. Uh, no, you're the first. Mark it down, I quipped.
After some glacier cruising along the Gulf of Alaska, we docked at Whittier on the coast SE of Anchorage. It was hard to leave the ship after such a great 7 days, and especially noting outside was 42 degrees, rain, and wind. Covered passageways brought us to our motor coach as the Alaska RR train ride would wait until later. It's curious how both the rail line and road leave Whittier through a one lane tunnel (road on top of rail) that is not only timed to alternate north-south traffic but also to spread the traffic out in case of trouble. Safety bays dotted the entire 3-mile tunnel.
Our Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage was only 4 blocks uphill from the Alaska RR station, so I walked down to take a look. A family trip way back in 1969 from New York State required we place our camper truck on a flat car to reach Denali Nat'l Park while we rode the AuRoRa passenger train, so I'd been there before. Everything was naturally much more developed and spread out now 43 years later, but I did note our little block-style hotel from '69 was still there on a hill nearby. I asked the female college student station agent about Hurricane Gulch and whether she'd ever seen an Amtrak cap. "No, but I've heard of it," she smiled.
The Princess land tour we were on only allowed rail travel from Talkeetna to Denali, a 4 1/2 hr ride from 11:15am to 3:45pm, I guess so we could experience lunch in a moving diner. The Denali Star train pulled in behind 2 SD70MAC's 4324 & 4317. We were assigned the 11th car of 13, the Holland America "Kobuk", a bi-level dome coach diner. Good track, tight curves, a way-up-in-the-air stop atop the Hurricane Gulch bridge, plus a slow meet with the southbound to exchange crews and supplies made for a great day.
The land tour was well-planned and orchestrated by Princess, including overnights in their lodges at McKinley State Park, Denali NP, and in Fairbanks. A surprise segment in Fairbanks was a short ride on the narrow gauge Tenana Valley gold mining railroad. We panned for gold - $18 worth - rode a portion of the Ice Road Trucker Route - and I rapped on the Alaska Pipeline, a full, dense sound... And yes, we saw all of Mt.McKinley twice from the ground, thus joining the 25% Club because that's how often it's not in the clouds.
It's curious how heavily they promote Alaska on the various tours. Come visit us, tell your friends, come live here. They easily dismiss the -40 degree temperatures in the winter, one guide claiming Chicago winters are worse because of the wind, and never mention how 40 below solidifies oil, jells gasoline, requires vehicles to be plugged in to keep the engine warm, and freezes flesh in minutes.
My first ever plane flight was Fairbanks back to Seattle. I never had a need to fly before this as I could drive or ride a train. I must say seeing clouds and scenes from above (we noted 4 cruise ships at Ketchikan) and traveling faster does not make up for the stuff they put people through getting on and getting off. Check-in at little Fairbanks took some people an hour and a half. Hey folks, it's cruise season and busloads of people will be moving through your terminal. Sea-Tac Airport is a mess. Even though it's new and clean, it's spread over several city blocks so there's lots of walking, there's no decent signs to direct you, and there's no food once you've left the secure area to retrieve your luggage. "Ground transportation"? Why not just say taxis, bus, and rental? "Gates A,B,D, and S Baggage Claim" actually means baggage claim for all gates including Gate C where we arrived. "SkyBridge"? Why not walkway to parking garage and taxis? Whew.
more to come...
Posts: 17 | From: central Florida | Registered: Apr 2009
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Very nice (and thorough!) trip report! I've enjoyed reading all three of them. A few random notes:
-"The level of service on our 7-day Princess cruise to Alaska took some getting used to after so many years of travel by Amtrak."
Heh heh...It's so refreshing to hear an experienced AmTraveler say this. I've had good service on Amtrak before, but I've never been "wow'd" like I am over and over again when traveling to places such as Las Vegas. Or traveling on Virgin America. Amtrak is very "eh" to me. I like it, and I enjoy train rides, but it's still very "eh" to me.
-Your first EVER plane flight? Whoa!!! How have you made it this far without ever stepping on-board an airplane? I got a good chuckle out of reading your comments about airport lingo. I'm so used to it that I don't even think twice about it. Unfortunately, yes, Sea-Tac is not a very efficient airport. But then again, most American airports are that way. I hate to say it, but it's true. You could have been in Chicago, Los Angeles, whatever--they're all the same. And the term "Ground Transportation" has been used ever since I've been alive--it's just the term that they use. I guess instead of having a sign that says: "Taxi, Rental Car, Limo, Shuttle Bus, Rental Car Shuttle, Subway, Buses, Charter"--it's just easier to cover all of them at once and say, "Ground Transportation". You will see that at every airport you go to---it's not unique to SeaTac. And if you think it was a big walk inside the airport, just imagine what it's like if you take the new light rail system from downtown Seattle to SeaTac! The light rail dumps you off basically across the street. You have to walk FOREVER just to get to the terminal. Then once inside, the airline that I use (VIrgin America) has a gate all the way on the other side.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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I like that in Seattle you can reach the light rail just by walking through the Sea-Tac parking garage!
-------------------- 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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I forget which part you mentioned this in (I don't want to re-read all three parts, so I'll just post it here), but you had talked about a "UP Efficiency Test". That is where a UP manager (they go by the nickname of "Weed Weasel") pops a surprise test on the engineer. For example, they might put out a lit fusee (flare) in the middle of the tracks to see what the engineer does. Does he run right over it? Does he stop for it? Slow down for it? Or the "weed weasel" might put out an unexpected red flag (red metal sign) to see if the engineer notices it, and reacts correctly to it.
Engineers are tested like this all the time. If they fail a test, the weed weasel usually has a relief crew sitting right there with him because the on duty engineer AND conductor are immediately relieved of duty and replaced with a new crew.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Thanks for explaining the "efficiency test". Do other railroads routinely do this? I only think I've heard of something similar once or twice in all my travels.
Posts: 17 | From: central Florida | Registered: Apr 2009
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All of the Class I railroads do it, but I don't know about the smaller companies. But UP, BNSF, NS, etc---they all do it. Amtrak engineers are tested by whatever road they happen to be traveling over.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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