The Throughway bus trip from Eugene to Portland was uneventful but things got interesting right away in the lounge in Portland. 32 skiers were present to keep me company to Whitefish Montana. Dennis my car attendant to Chicago was outstanding and made the trip seem short. The skiers were from a club in Portland and they were having a wonderful time. It is so easy for me to put up with noise when folks are having a good time. The only down side of this portion of the trip was that when the skiers got off in Whitefish the cars' toilets when on the blink. We had to use the next car until they were repaired in Minot. Fran ran the dining car and as usual did an excellent job. The way to Chicago was train travel at its best. On time arrival in Chicago.
I walked down to the Italian Village in Chicago for dinner. It was a recommendation from my car attendant and it was fine. While I was there I noticed I had left my cell phone charger plugged in the Roomette ! When I returned to the Metro Lounge I was told it was "too bad"........then after a walk I went into the passenger service office across from the ticket counter and the lady behind the desk arranged for the information lady to escort me back to the train to pick up the charger. Funny how it's all who you talk to. I boarded the Lake Shore Limited took no time in having my room made up. Paul the car attendant was good and the ride just fine. We slowly lost time and by the time we left Albany on #448 we were about an hour behind. I asked the conductor on 448 if there was going to be a through sleeping car to Boston in the future and he assured me that there would be as soon as service could be arranged in Boston. The Albany/Boston leg was exciting. We left Albany an hour behind and got to South Station 1/2 hour early. I'll tell you about the trip back soon.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
How was the ride on the second night? The last time I rode this route (almost 2 years ago), there were several times where I thought the cars would go flying off the track at any moment. There would be the "boom boom boom" sound of hitting the rails back and forth, followed by complete silence where I thought we were flying through the air. Almost gave me a few heart attacks!
I'm curious...with all of the skiers on-board, which menu items did they run out of in the diner or lounge car?
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Thanks for an exellent trip report, Wayne. In just a few short paragraphs you made me feel like I was there.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
Great report, thanks.
Last April I became separated from my cell phone somewhere between leaving the Southwest Chief and trying to make a call from the Metropolitan Lounge before boarding the City of New Orleans.
A frantic search of all my belongings yielded nothing. Inquiring at the Metro Lounge desk or Customer Service brought a surprising lack of empathy (or a huge amount of 'Not My Job'......depending on how you interpret.).
By this time my train was boarding and I left assuming that my cell phone and I would never be reunited. I called my wife the following mid-morning from an airport payphone in rainy Memphis and she said "An Amtrak conductor found your cellphone on the platform in Chicago."
And that's how it was.......my phone was picked up by a conductor who spotted it on the platform. He was working an outbound train and didn't have time to take it inside the station so my phone made a roundtrip to Grand Rapids on the Pere Marquette (a train I have yet to ride myself) before getting mailed to me from Chicago the following Monday.
Just another story of an Amtrak employee going out of his way and doing something decent that I really appreciate.
Interestingly......I didn't mind and barely noticed being without a cell phone for a week.
Posted by wayne72145 (Member # 4503) on :
I have finally beat the bug I picked up on the Chicago/Portland run. After 4 beautiful days in Boston I was ready for the trip home. I took the advice of Sojourner and used the lounge in Boston and checked my bags with the red cap. The trip to NYC on #171 was beautiful, great weather and few passengers. I wanted to take the Lake Shore Limited from NYC just for the ride up the Hudson and I did enjoy the Regional too. Once in NYC I checked my bags in the Lounge and went out into the world. Having a bad foot I had to keep my adventure in the City short. I walked down to the Empire State Building and went to the Observation Deck. It was a smoggy day but the view was good and I was impressed. However, being from rural Oregon that's not hard to do. On the way back from the Empire State I had lunch at Fat Annies Truck Stop. Not bad and very friendly. Years ago I heard EVERY waitress in Manhatten was an aspiring actress so I asked the young lady if she were an actress. She lit up like a Christmas tree and asked if it showed. I guess what I heard was true. When the time came to board I found out my car had been scratched and no one knew what Roomette or Car I would be traveling to Chicago. It took nearly to departure before that was resolved. The trip to Chicago was uneventful and we arrived on time. I did enjoy the trip up the Hudson being glad I went through the trouble. In Chicago I had breakfast at Lou Mitchell's and got on the Empire Builder. In St. Cloud that evening the Conductor let a young lady out with my suitcase. She got hers back but so far no one seems to care about mine. The Conductor never bothered to talk to me. I'm only out dirty laundry but this doesnt endear me to the coward of a Conductor who wouldnt even talk to me about it. My car attendant was helpful but no one can make the young lady return the luggage to the station so I must take responsibility for leaving my suitcase in the rack by the door. C'est la vie. Catching the flu AND losing the suitcase has taken the foam from me. After 70 000 miles since 2003 I believe Im through with long distance trains.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Thanks for the update.
I'm confused by one part of your trip---when you say your car was scratched and no one knew what Roomette or Car you were in, what does that mean? Does your sleeping car getting scratched mean that it was broken? I've not heard that term before.
I don't blame you for being done with Amtrak long-distance trains. They are a crappy organization who are about to receive BILLIONS of dollars of your money and my money. I do not hold much "hope" that they will handle their windfall wisely.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Wayne, I'm glad you enjoyed the eastern part of your trip and that some of my trips were helpful. I'm sorry you had trouble regarding luggage and getting sick. I am confused about how the young lady got her luggage back but you did not get yours--if it's known who she is, why can't she bring your luggage to the St Cloud station for "shipment" to Oregon? Although I do understand that Amtrak does not take responsbility for luggage on those shelves, that I should check it if I want it to be more secure, I still often leave my main luggage on those shelves on the l-d trains that have them. Thus far I have never had any trouble. It helps that my suitcase is gray, not black; people do mix up the black ones. Some people tie a small neckerchief or something on their suitcase handles for ID.
I too occasionally get sick when I travel, but I do think planes are worse; many people I know get sinus infections or bad colds whenever they fly, which is another reason I stopped. I think it must be the ventilation or something. However, I have occasionally gotten sick while traveling by train too, although the sickest was not on Amtrak but on VIARail, Jasper to Vancouver--I missed so much of the scenery because of it! I think it was something I ate in the predinner cocktail nibbles on the train or in Jasper station before we left (the train was 3 hrs late and there were coffee and some crackers etc there).
As for Amtrak, I like it fine and am delighted they are getting some much-needed money.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
This reminds me of the time I lost my lugagge on the Sunset Ltd (someone else took it at the overnight Phoenix stop), and I didn't get it back for about a week, when it was delivered to Chicago via #4 (SWC) -- but I had to be persistent and keep checking, checking, checking on it at every stop I made.
Posted by wayne72145 (Member # 4503) on :
My ticket stated I would be in car #4911 and the two sleepers on this train were #4910 and #4912. I asked what happened and was told they didnt know ! Yes it is confusing to me too that when I got to Portland the young ladies bag was sent back to St Cloud, however she hasnt found the time or interest to return my bag. I'm not out much, Amtrak lost a very good rider and I'm sure they could care less. Indifference breeds indifference.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Smitty I had to smile when I saw your name. I just knew it would be "doom and gloom". I guess being on the forum does give you a chance to "vent" your feelings and since you are among friends it is no big deal.
Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :
I have never trusted those downstaris luggage racks on the Superliner sleepers. I always insist that my bags be taken upstairs and put in my bedroom, although sometimes the attendants grumble and try to persuade me to put my largest bag downstairs.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
quote:Originally posted by wayne72145: When the time came to board I found out my car had been scratched
Eayne, the railroad term for such is "blanked'.
Secondly I note you also visited Lou Mitchell's restaurant for 'breakfast' during your 49-CHI-7 layover. If you had one of their omlettes somehow, I think Amtrak got off lightly at Dinnertime. Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
quote:Originally posted by sojourner: I too occasionally get sick when I travel, but I do think planes are worse; many people I know get sinus infections or bad colds whenever they fly, which is another reason I stopped.
Ms. Sojourner, getting sick while on a trip is definitely "the pits'. I was on the fence until the day before departure whether I was going to make the journey last week to Florida noted in other postings.
Airplanes are no place to be if you have any kind of blockage in your ear passages. There is a TV ad for some cold remedy that I find quite irresponsible in that it depicts an airline Flight Attendant who has a cold and is still flying (of course take their product and she is 'fine'). At one time, an airline would ground any Flight Crew member reporting such a blockage.
If that wasn't enough, at least my Sister had the sense to ground herself for her return (she hasn't always - and has "paid dearly" for so doing in the past) from our Florida hook up last week, While I flew home this past Sunday, she was not out of there until Tuesday. The last I saw of her was taking her to a Hertz office in Boca to get her own auto "for the duratioon' (yes I was "brotherly' enough to hang around until I knew she actually had the auto).
I have since heard from her that the Tuesday flight was without incident; she resides in the New York area.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
trainlady you crack me up! I'm glad I made you smile.
Just to add to my previous comments about my AmExperiences......I was on the California Zephyr both eastbound and westbound in a sleeper just a few days ago.
Eastbound: The attendant was NOWHERE to be found from Emeryville to Reno, except when he had to show up to open the door in Sacramento. While I was standing on the platform outside of my car at SAC, an older gentleman asked for assistance in lifting his bag into the car. The oh-so-typical AmAttendant said to the man, and I quote, "I ain't doin' no lifting of bags no more man. All of this liftin' crap is hurtin' my back". Another passenger stepped up to help the guy. I would have offered assistance, but I have rods and screws in my spine so it would not be possible for me to safely do it.
Westbound: I had a reservation for Room #5 out of Reno. When the train pulled in, the AmAttendant said to me, "You want room 6 or Room 9?". I said, "How about the room I reserved?". He said, "Oh, someone else took it so you need to use another room". When I got to the room, it was dirty and had not been cleaned. That's okay with me if someone just came out of it (which I'm assuming was the case), but the AmAttendant later came by and replaced the pillow cases, but he never offered bottled water, and there was no safety card, no schedule, and no route guide.
The bathrooms were a mess on both trains. Now how can I possibly praise Amtrak when I run into this same stuff trip after trip?? I'm not looking for things to find and complain about---they're just there, right in front of me.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Joe Btfsplk?
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
It does bother you when the little things which could make a trip nicer are left undone. When we took our Big Family Trip to LA in '06, our attendant was tolerable—but to the best of my knowledge he never lifted one finger to keep the restroom clean. By El Paso the trash bins in the restrooms were all overflowing, and they were left to stay that way through the rest of the trip even though there were those large disposable trash boxes with plenty of room in the vestibule. Is there no place between Houston and Los Angeles where Amtrak could dump trash? On the return trip we had the same attendant—same story, same situation.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Henry Kisor: Joe Btfsplk?
Who--me....or Amtrak?
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
As you said to Trainlady, Smitty, you crack me up!
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
don't crack too much Smitty. We still need your comments to enliven things
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Okay---I'll try to just remain half-cracked. Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
OK Henry -- my ignorance again comes out. Who is "Joe Btfsplk?" I'm sure that is an anagram for something, but I can't figure it out.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Mr. Kimmel, in the meantime until Mr. Kisor has the opportunity to respond:
Thanks, GBN!!! I guess I never read the L'il Abner comic strip, and I don't remember him from the Head and Shoulders commercials referenced in the Wikipedia article.
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