posted
Having been spoiled by the ride on the Empire Builder my next leg was Chicago to Albany on the Lake Shore Limited. I had bedroom b and was prepared to have a late arrival in Albany. The a/c was working fine (always a plus in a Viewliner) and room was ok. We left on time and were zipping along when we came to a halt after about 40 minutes. We sat and sat and no announcement at all. I asked the attendent and he said conductor said something about a bridge. Was it broken or stuck or?? He didn't really know. We eventually got underway and I never found out what the delay was. Nothing on my scanner.
Even though I was prepared to be late it still bothered me that no one announced anything.
I slept ok and showered in the a.m. although it was tough. The bad part of this trip was the rough ride. Could hardly pick up coffee in the diner without spilling it.
We were really flying along for such a rough ride. How do they guage the speed at which it is deemed still safe when it seemed like we would fly off the tracks at any second?
The Albany station is really a nice one. Something that I don't normally see when riding the train.
I spent a few days in NY and Vermont and rode business class into NYC from Albany. It was a 10am departure. Very few people in business class. No snack car but I knew that and brought some doughnuts. Sat in a single seat. Nice and cushy! Sat on right side of train and had great water views all the way to NYC. On time train.
Spent the night in NYC and took the Silver Meteor home to West Palm Beach. This always seems to be the "ugly " part of my trip. Left on time and had bedroom b again in the Viewliner. Same attendent as I had last fall on similar trip. All started well. He is a nice guy as are almost all the employees I talk to and I do seek them out to see how things are going etc. Upon talking to the attendent about the lack of Viewliner maintenance he showed me how dirty my room really was. Curtains were all dusty and room was not real clean. He expressed a lot of frustration in the overall deterioration of the cars he works in. No coffee maker in this one as well as no PA system. Wanted to know if I would write a letter. I took a white wash cloth and wiped down the room and assured him I would write and send the cloth in as well. It was nasty.
He said there was an inspector in the snack car and would I speak with him and not tell him who sent me to him. Hard to walk up to a guy in plain clothes and ask if he is an inspector but I managed. He was just looking out the window and I am not sure if he was supposed to be "inspecting" or not??? We talked about the condition of the bedroom and he said it was just track dust and all they can do is change the filters. This seemed to be a duct problem rather than a filter problem. I mentioned we had no dust on the Empire Builder and he just basically blew me off. What is this guys job while riding the train or does he do his thing prior to leaving and then just sit and drink coffee? I am curious.
On a more positive note there were three great dining room attendents. 2 very young. I stopped before dinner and asked how long they had been on the job. The guy was doing his fourth run and the girl (she was in charge also) her second. The diner wasn't that crowded and at the 6:30 seating I sat alone. They were both a breath of fresh air! All smiles and full of energy (for now anyway). I left a $5 tip and had an equally good experience at breakfast. The western omlet with hash browns and sausage was very good. I skipped lunch. I was told the diner on train 92 was going to be pulled??
The a/c stopped in bedrooms a and b around noon (not unusual at least for me) but rest of car was ok. Sat in roomette till WPB.
Big surprise was that we were almost on time. A first for me on Silver Service.
I still prefer the train and will continue to ride as I have the time and am not on a budget so can get a bedroom. I am concerned about the lack of maintenance on the Viewliners.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
Thanks for the report - warts and all.
I'm looking into a Silver Service trip in late October and have been shocked to notice dramatically improved timekeeping for most of the trains operating over former Seaboard and ACL lines in the last week or two.
Wonder what gives?
wayne72145 Member # 4503
posted
I have been looking at 92's time for the past few weeks and it has been right there. I'm taking my grandson from Tampa to Portland Or after Thanksgiving and I've arranged a staff led tour of the Capitol during our lay-over in DC. the Silver Star gets to DC around noon and the Capitol Limited leaves around 4:00----So far I think we will make our 1 o'clock appointment at the Rayburn building
Ray S Member # 3175
posted
A couple of employees told me the new president had a face to face meeting with CSX but who knows.
My trains from west to east in September had much better arrival times than my east to west trains in June.
posted