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I was wondering if the SW Cheif arrived 1 hour and 9 minutes early into LA how would they serve breakfast? I know breakfast starts usually at 6 and they close early. If the arrival was this early and they close the diner after San Bernardino how does one eat breakfast? Do they let the passengers spend more time on the train so they can get their gear ready shower and eat breakfast and only have them detrain at the original arrival time of 8:00 AM? Or do they quickly get everyone off and clean the train?
What happens to sleeper passengers who would not get a breakfast should the train arrive early? Also for those hungry coach passengers wanting something before making the connenction. Any ideas?
Room Service Member # 2405
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They usually only have cold cereal left anyway. You'd be lucky to get a cup of coffee. You can forget bacon and eggs even when it's running late.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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The last three times I rode the Southwest Chief, we arrived over an hour early into Los Angeles. On your final morning, they start serving breakfast at 5AM and they are supposed to go until 6AM (but don't show up in the diner at 5:55AM because they might have closed already....depending on the crew, of course). This is an abbreviated breakfast with a limited menu. The have always given me a choice of the Continental, and 2 entrees (I think I got to pick from french toast or the scrambled eggs).
TALKrr Member # 683
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The last time I rode the Chief into the LA area , breakfast service began at 4 AM and lasted only one hour , until 5 AM. I departed the train at Fullerton about 6:30 AM as the train was running on time that particular day.
If I remember correctly, the menu was limited just to either cereal (hot or cold) or a continental style breakfast. I was rather surprised at the number of sleeper passengers interested at that hour.
If the train is running quite a bit ahead of schedule, I still think some sort of arrangement would be made to offer at least some breakfast item/s to sleeper passengers.
I don't know what sort of arrangement is established for coach passengers , however. Normally, the Cafe Car does not open for service until 6 AM. However, it may open earlier on the morning of the Chief's arrival into LA.
mr williams Member # 1928
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I generally concur with what has been posted - the diner opened from 5.00 - 6.00, limited menu (but there were scrambled eggs) and served on paper plates with plastic cutlery, so the crew just dumped everything into a black bag and that was that and everybody was served and out by 6.15!
Arrived about 12 minutes early if I remember rightly.
Bob from MA Member # 4686
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On my trip westbound on the Chief in January I had the same experience. The night before we were informed that breakfast would begin at 5:00 AM. While this would normally seem early, remember that most passengers have set their clocks back two times (three in my case, coming from Massachusetts), so it was no problem waking up at that hour.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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quote:Originally posted by TALKrr: The last time I rode the Chief into the LA area , breakfast service began at 4 AM and lasted only one hour , until 5 AM.
4AM????? That's a first---I've never heard of that before.
notelvis Member # 3071
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quote:Originally posted by Bob from MA: On my trip westbound on the Chief in January I had the same experience. The night before we were informed that breakfast would begin at 5:00 AM. While this would normally seem early, remember that most passengers have set their clocks back two times (three in my case, coming from Massachusetts), so it was no problem waking up at that hour.
Absolutely. Every time I have either flown or taken the train to the west coast I am generally wide awake at 4:00am Pacific Time the first morning there.
mr williams Member # 1928
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That's why I always travel East to West - it's bad enough trying to adjust to the six hours between England and Chicago without having to cope with the eight to the Pacific Coast. For the first few days I wake up in the middle of the night and am ready for bed by dinner time...and by the time I've adjusted it's time to go home and do it in reverse!
Geoff M Member # 153
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I actually find that an 8-hour time difference hit is easier than a 5-hour, probably because it's more significant and the body adjusts to dramatic time differences better than just a few hours. At least, that's the way it feels for me. Over the last few years I've travelled to the Philippines (GMT+8) which I adjust to very quickly, but New York (GMT-5) is harder; LA (GMT-8) easier.
Worst was a cross-country trip starting in LA and finishing in Boston where I would spend a few days in each place. I didn't know whether I was supposed to be eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, awake, or, sleeping!
Geoff M.
notelvis Member # 3071
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My worst time zone issue ever was courtesy the US Army. I had been deployed to Saudi Arabia for about 8 months (plus 9 hours), spent 18 hours aboard a 747 flying westward, and hit the ground in the US Central Time Zone (Ft. Campbell, KY) at roughly 2am local time.
It took about three weeks before I reached a point that I was not wide awake at 3:00am every morning.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Time zone changes can be "wrenching" for me as well, and no doubt why overseas travel is simply not part of my retirement "agenda'.
I can recall my July 1968 return from Nam and my "rail excursion' to my next duty station at Hill AFB (Ogden) UT (yes I had 30days leave, but I wanted to 'scope it out" while on leave, meet my SQ Comdr and First Shirt and Section OIC and NCOIC before hitting the place "cold"). Be assured I was quite zombied (I cannot sleep on an aircraft) all during my rail journey of SP Cascade Fairfield to Oakland, CZ Oakland to Sacramento (I fell asleep in the Dome Obs - have blurred memories of the ascent over Altamont), then SP City Sacramento to Ogden and was asleep shortly after Roseville seeing nothing of the Sierra ascent and passage. Even though my Roomette was center car, I woke up somewhere near Elko "and that was that" - oh well, had a good view at Breakfast X-ing Salt Lake.
But the most merciful, on two counts, military deployment I know involved a "good looking" woman Marine (daughter of friends of mine; also acknowledge she was "posr-Jack, pre-Randy" social life) who was being assigned to Kuwait during Desert Storm (the 1991 Gulf War for those tuning in late). While in flight, Saddam surrendered; when she arrived she was told "Gunny, just get yourself back on that bird; it's all over and it's not even worth it to in-process you". She was in Kuwait all of three hours, and since her body clock was never really unscrambled, by the time she was back at LeJune, she was "in sync' with Eastern Time.
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