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My wife and I had visited our son at university in San Francisco last year. It was the first time we'd flown anywhere, and our first visit to the U.S. As I like travelling by train we booked a two-way ride from EMY to DEN. What a journey. It was so good we both came back in November, after retirement, having planned another, more complicated journey involving a round trip SJC-SBA-LAX-AUS-SPR-GBB-SAC-YOS-SAC-OAC. After a few days in San Francisco, which involved using Caltrain to Sunnyvale to visit the Lace Museum there, we took Caltrain again on 11/10/06 to SJC and then the Thruway coach 4798 to SLO, connecting to train 798 to SBA. I had hoped to use the Starlight but when we reserved our tickets its timekeeping was really bad and I didn't want to get to SBA after midnight. On the day, the Starlight was only about an hour late so we followed it in the coach for most of the day, and I was able to photograph it at Salinas and SLO. The coach journey was OK, and the connection was made easily. The train was delayed at Grover Beach for a private car to be attached. When we eventually got to SBA I got a brief look at it and it appeared to be a dome car from the old Zephyr. On 11/12 we got on the Surfliner to LAX. It was a pleasant ride on a very crowded train, and I could not work out why all the baggage storage was upstairs. Dragging two heavy cases up and along the car was not easy. All the other journeys we made had storage by the door downstairs. Arrival in LAX was a few minutes late, and with the help of one of the station staff we were soon lined up to take our place on train 422.We had booked a sleeper on the Texas Eagle through to Austin where we stayed for a few days. The sleeper, being on the rear, gave me the chance of some pretty good photographs, but it was a long walk to the diner. We had cabin E and our attendant was Isaac. Not long out of LAX we were told that after UP trackwork, just finished, there was a backlog of freights. OK, it delayed us for a total of about two hours, but the way UP dealt with this was impressive. We sat in a siding for about 25 minutes, while three freights roared past within a few minutes of each other, went onto the next siding where this was repeated, and so on until 13 freights had passed us. After that, we had no further delays. The new two-track sections were very impressive. Arrival at SAS was 90 minutes late, pretty good going. We seemed to be shunted about for much of the night, attaching to the Eagle going north. I knew the schedule was slow from SAS to AUS but with the reversal out of the station and the poor track for several miles out of SAS I can now see why. Arrival at Austin was on time, and the station agent there, Clifford Norton, was extremely helpful in sorting out a problem with our tickets for the final part of the journey. Austin was great, but we departed, on time, on 11/16. This time we had Room E, attendant Alan, and were at the rear of the train again. At Taylor 128 schoolchildren joined for a journey to Temple. The track on this section looked poor and progress was slow. We were an hour late leaving Temple, but at least the BNSF line looked in better condition. Tower 55 congestion made us even later into Fort Worth, where the south-bound Eagle was kept waiting for an hour before getting a clear road. We eventually reversed out and got going, two and a half hours late. After that, speed increased and we made up time. What a depressing place Texarkana station looked, with the roof collapsing and very poor lighting. Most of the other places were well maintained. Arrival at Springfield was nearly two hours late, but the van shuttle (5522) was waiting for us and quickly took us to Galesburg, where the station agent called us a cab for our hotel. We had hoped to join the Zephyr that night, but all the bedrooms were taken when we booked, so we had to stay overnight. The cab driver was late. He'd 'gone to the other station' which had been closed years ago! Still, he was a really nice man, even though he couldn't find our hotel, either. The next day's Zephyr was on time, and this time we were in bedroom B with Linda our attendant.(Coach 32070). All the sleepers we rode in were unrebuilt, though the one next to us on the Zephyr was, and it looked good, though all the rooms were occupied by people who kept their curtains drawn, so I have no idea what the rooms were like. Congestion at Burlington delayed us, and we passed the east-bound Train 6 running 7 hours late. A lot of slow running followed, and during the night the track was so bad we had to hold onto the sides of the bed at times. Leaving Denver only 45 minutes down, we enjoyed the wonderful views as the train climbed the Front Range. Stopped for 25 minutes before Moffat Tunnel for a broken rail to be fixed, then again at Fraser, this time for over three hours. The story was that the sudden cold had caused rails to break. At least it was a nice place to wait, and we had lunch. We spent an hour a Glenwood Springs waiting for a new crew to arrive, and then ran non-stop to Grand Junction. When leaving, the conductor warned us that the track was rough from there to Provo, and he was right. We were sent throught the yard at Elko, with the conductor throwing switches by hand. There were a lot more slow orders through to Reno, and after that we were held behind a disabled freight, losing more time. Our eventual arrival in SAC was 8 hours late but no problem for us as we were booked into the Vagabond and only had to walk across the road. We knew the Zephyr had serious timekeeping problems, so were ready for this, but I felt really sorry for the on-board crew. The lead diner attendant, Susan, had been wonderful throughout the journey, and had provided all the sleeper passengers with an extra meal, but she and all the others were so tired. They still had to get to EMY, and would be back on board very early the next morning. On 11/22 we took the early morning train from SAC to Merced and the bus to Yosemite. Perhaps the day before Thanksgiving was not a good time to travel, but it was my birthday and when we booked up from the UK in January I hadn't realised it would be Thanksgiving. The return journey, involving train from Merced to Stockton and coach to SAC is best left to the imagination. We did get to SAC eventually. 11/23 saw us on the 10.40 Capital Corridor, which took us efficiently to Oakland Coliseum, where we tranferred to BART for the final leg to the SFO for the flight home. I wanted to travel through Jack London Square to experience street running.
A few general thoughts: The whole experience lived upto our expectations, even surpassed them. We knew about train lateness, so it didn't bother us. The bedrooms were great, and the food was usually good, though the broccoli and beans were always too tough to eat. All the staff were efficient and some were really nice. One of the best things was meeting other people in the diner. Why did they all want to discuss politics with me? Was it so obvious that I'd taught Politics for the past twenty years? Nearly everyone we met was travelling home for Thanksgiving, lots of people couldn't or wouldn't fly, and the trains provided a very useful service. Will we come again? You bet. The SWC, EB and CS are all calling us!
notelvis Member # 3071
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Thank You for a really useful (and enjoyable) trip report.
I'm glad to hear that your trip was enjoyable in spite of the delays. Reports such as yours allow those of us who enjoy Amtrak travel to keep an eye on where things are working reasonably well and how to cope with where they are not.
For instance - If it's a trip with my wife and daughter these days I would opt for travel on the generally reliable Southwest Chief or Empire Builder. If it's me going west alone I'll take my chances with the California Zephyr.....but expect to stop for the night in Sacramento instead of going all the way to Emeryville.
Geoff M Member # 153
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That's an interesting report. I often wonder what fellow Brits think of the US rail system.
It's nice to hear something positive about UP's dispatching for once!
Geoff M.
John Hull Member # 4465
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Thanks for the comments. I did forget one thing, which was to say how useful the information on this forum has been. I felt as if I'd been travelling Amtrak for years, thanks to everything I'd read here over the past months. I look forward to learning more!
sojourner Member # 3134
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Lovely report, John, and I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself!
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