First I would like to thank everyone for all the Q&A in this forum. I learned everything needed for a wonderful trip. We left ROC on #49 10/24 in coach seats. We had only been on a train once before last June, the same trip to CHI. We went coach on this leg to save money as the last trip was great. This time we weren't so lucky. Unlike the last trip, we were assigned seats. A very crowded car, newborn behind us, two year old next to us and a cellphone freak in front!! The temp had to be in the 90's, so the fist thing was to change into T shirts. There was also a loose child about 8 years old that had escaped from the next car who thought she was a *** and crawled along the isle barking at everyone. Why no one said anything about this is beyond me, we didn't want to be the "JERKS" so we just rode it out. We arrived in CHI, hit the Met lounge and instantly forgot all our troubles. We had 5 hours so we walked around CHI streets it is a beautiful city. Our next leg #5 departed on time. Bennie was our attendant and explained everything about room #12 and the rest of the train, (I knew already from you guys). The next two days were wonderful! We met some great people, enjoyed some good food, and saw the most beautiful sights. One of my favorite things was to sit in the room at night in the dark and look at the stars and listen to the trucks. We hit a snag at the Moffet tunnel, a freight train had broke down so we sat for three hours, then another half hour to get the fumes out of the tunnel. We had lunch at that time and no one seemed to be bothered by it. Arrived at Reno about four hours late, worked out great for us, had a extra lunch, got to check in our hotel right away. First on our list was to soak in the whirlpool bath. Second was to find a laundrymat. That seemed so simple but after asking a doz or so people who looked at us like we were nuts, we gave up. There are no laundrymats in downtown Reno!! Back to the room, filled the bath, dumped in the Tide added our dirty clothes and hit the jet button!! After the rinse cycle the bathroom and closet were strung with clean clothes that were dry the next morning! We walked to the station early the day we were to leave, as my husband is a worrywort so we could check the status. Thats when we found out about the derailment of a freight train between Sparks and Winnemucca. We started out in a great mood, we were leaving Reno with more cash that we arrived with!! The slots were good to us but our luck stopped there. The #6 was about an hour late, we boarded, went down the tracks a few miles to Sparks, got off, boarded a bus and headed for Winnemucca. The #5 was waiting to head back so everything was in reverse. About 8PM we were in our room #12, and feeling great again. That was until we started to smell fumes. They got stonger as the night went on. We ask Reggie, our attendant about this and he said that when they reversed the train we were now the first car right behind the engines instead of being last. The baggage car is normally where we were. After closing the vent and stuffing a blanket under the door it was a little better but when we had to use the lav, the room would fill with fumes again. By the second night I was very sick, we both had pounding headaches. The last day was spent in the lounge, the fumes weren't there but I was still sick and felt very cheated that I couldn't use the room that I paid for. My husband was getting very upset and just wanted off! CHI was a welcome sight for us. On the #48 we were in room #11. It was a real nice room. We tried to take a shower but it was filled with supplies and a trash can. Our invisable attendant was nowhere to be found. After giving up we made our own beds slept a little. It's a good thing I had an alarm clock, the next time we saw the attendant was when he came out of a room to open the door. So, 3 out of 4 attendants were fantastic; dinning room staff, 7 out of 8 were fantastic; food was tasty but we had the same menu for 6 days due to the derailment (NOT AMTRAKS FAULT); view was out of this world, but to sick to enjoy the return trip. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!! Only hope I can get my husband on again. As of now I am still sick to my stomach, but I will forget that, what I won't forget is the the beauty of the Rockys and the wonderful people we met.
Posted by Mike Smith (Member # 447) on :
Next time, if this should ever happen again (not likely), ask to be transfered to the other sleeper. This time of year, there should be vacancies.
Sorry to hear about the fumes... I couldn't handle diesel fumes for very long (about 5 minutes....)
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Sammy - did you say your train was stopped while INSIDE the Moffatt Tunnel? Wow...... I thought safety regulations absolutely prohibited that.... Or were you just outside the tunnel when you were delayed?
Posted by Sammy (Member # 2860) on :
We were stopped right outside, east of the tunnel. The freight train was stuck inside. Three hours later it emerged but we waited another half hour, so that they could blow out the fumes and coal dust. Once we got going again, everyone cheered! It was fun.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
The part about the fumes in your car is upsetting to me. That is inexcusable, and a real hazard. I would assume that everyone in your car was experiencing the same problem. If the car attendant wasn't able to help, I would have gone to the conductor, who is responsible for passenger safety. This was definitely a safety issue! If the conductor was aware of the problem and did nothing Amtrak could be liable for any medical issues.
I assume that when the train got turned in Winemucca the baggage car ended up at the rear. If the conductor was aware of the fume problem he or she might have arranged to have the baggage car switched around to the front at Salt Lake or Denver to put adequate space between you and the locomotives.
If nothing else could be done, I would have requested that Amtrak make arrangements for overnight lodging somewhere along the route, to catch the next day's train.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 11-05-2003).]
Posted by Amtrak207 (Member # 1307) on :
Am I the only person who can have fun in an LSL coach? When the heat stuck on in my car, first you keep a car end door open, then you get the coach attendant, COBS, conductor or AC. Things that go away by themselves have a habit of coming back by themselves. I live near Rochester. We'll see- I'm off to earn some points on November 16. Nothing but Lakeshore!