# Empire Builder plus around the country - December Epic



## oregon pioneer (Dec 9, 2013)

I'm titling this trip as our "December Epic", because it's bound to be! We're starting out with the Empire Builder #28, which has been running epically late all year, and even later this week with the coldest temps of the winter (so far). Just yesterday, they started turning the Builder in Spokane to try and improve origin departure times.

So we'll be leaving PDX shortly on a bus, and we're waiting in the PDX Metropolitan lounge. The lounge attendant Greg is very sweet, and is taking good care of all his pax. I'm sipping chamomile tea, and will make another cup before boarding. He's _promised _we'll get our box dinner when we board the buses, yay! The Portland section boxed dinners are something special, and I've been hoping I and get the salmon...

Bus driver just arrived. More later... I don't have a "smartphone" (just a dumb one), so I am dependent on public wi-fi, and it could be a while before I get another chance. Have a good time till I talk with you all again!


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## Bob Dylan (Dec 10, 2013)

Hope the Bus Ride up the Columbia goes Smooth and you're Warm Sleeper Room is Made Up and Waiting when ya'll Board in Spokane! Have a great Ride on the Hi-Line! You Almost Certainly Will Get to see Some New Territory in Daylight! Looking forward to your Reports as WIFI Allows! Bon Voyage! 

PS-I have a Smart Phone but the Operator is Dumb!!! :lol:


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

Tue 2pm:

Our bus arrived in PDX to pick us up about 4:15 yesterday (aiming at an on-time 4:45 departure). As we funneled through the baggage area into the bus bay, they handed out the boxed meals. Hubby and I both got the salmon salad with roasted vegetables, which was not bountiful, but it was delicious!! I was pleased to see that all the coach pax received boxed lunches with sandwiches. There wouldn't be any people on our bus grumbling because they were couldn't get dinner!

Once we got on the bus, Hubby found that my backpack with the netbook and personal gear would barely fit into the overhead bin with some squeezing (which was probably what broke my cheap sunglasses). Our bodies were similarly squeezed, and though the seats seemed comfy enough, they did not have any lumbar support. There was so little legroom that I could see Hubby's knees were pushed right against the seat back in front of him. Of course, there were no tray tables. As we rocked and rolled over the winding mountain road between Vancouver and Bingen, my lower back began to complain and my neck hurt every time I snoozed for a minute. After I adjusted the seat by using fleece clothing for padding, I was more comfortable and began to feel like the 8-hour bus ride was survivable. Whenever I could see the tracks gleaming to the side of the road, I looked longingly at them, wishing I was on a train.

The bus driver was very skilled, and the Conductor was firm, but also helpful and friendly, so the crowd was as well-behaved and pleasant to be with as possible under the conditions. I heard a little grumbling in the rows behind me about “never traveling Amtrak again” but it was minimal. There was a woman across the aisle from us that was texting non-stop, and every minute or two her phone would announce a return text with an annoying ding-a-ling-a-ling. At the Biggs Jct rest stop, where we got to use a rest room and stretch for 10 minutes, I asked her bluntly if “that dingaling phone had a mute button.” She didn't reply, but I guess she figured it out because the phone was quiet the rest of the way as she continued to text. I mostly looked out the window at the dark landscape, and tried to make out where we were.

After Pasco, when it was obvious I would live till Spokane, I even managed to doze a little. It was bliss to get to the Spokane station, board the train, and go to sleep as we pulled out only about 10 minutes late. Hubby and I both woke up at first light, and got up because we didn't want to miss any of Glacier Park. We saw lots of snow, plus icy blue-water rivers, elk, and avalanche chutes on the steep slopes. We were only about an hour late, more-or-less, and lost a little more near Whitefish where we had to go in the hole and wait for a freight, and then for EB #7(8) to do their station stop (almost 12 hours late, oh my!) and pass us before going in. Conductor assured me we'd get later as we got into eastern Montana and North Dakota. He says Amtrak will cancel a few trains (one at a time) later this week to see if it helps bring trainsets back to on-time. We are just pulling in to Havre right now, still a little more than an hour late. Since just before Browning, every single freight we've passed has been “in the hole” and we have not slowed down. BNSF is doing their best!


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

Tue 7:30pm

Well, we've gone from one hour late at Havre to about three hours late at Glasgow, and gotten used to hearing the conductor say: “Friends, we have been directed onto yet another siding. There's quite a bit of freight traffic out there today. We are going to wait for a westbound freight train to clear, and then we'll be on our way again. Thank you for your patience.” We often wait for TWO freight trains to clear before moving on, and before many minutes we are in another siding.

This afternoon, Hubby talked to someone that mentioned how much better the train service worked in Mongolia, and since then, he's taken to saying “What a way to run a railroad. This isn't Mongolia after all!” At least he won one of the extra bottles of wine at the wine-and-cheese tasting this afternoon, and we shared it with our table mates over the excellent dinner (steak and Cabernet, yes!). We are figuring on a late evening tomorrow into CHI, so it's early to bed tonight.


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

Wed 11am

After some more stops and rough track, we sped through the night unchecked till almost Fargo. The train ground to a complete halt just after they announced the station ahead. Ten minutes turned into three hours, then four and a half. The power went on and off several times, and we managed to get breakfast in between outages. Breakfast was a hilarious affair, with our server Robin entertaining us as we lingered over the coffee (served between power outages), till she kicked us out to set up for lunch. The conductor announced some problems with the lead engine (later found out it had caught fire), and we limped a few hundred yards before grinding to a halt again. Now they say the lead engine unit is totally disabled (cables badly burnt), and they're trying to figure out how to get us to the station to make the necessary changes before we can leave. The westbound EB is sitting in the Fargo station, waiting for us to clear the track. It's below zero outside, and the wind is blowing. Everyone seems in pretty good humor in spite of all.

Wed 7pm

Finally got through Fargo station at noon, about 5 hours after we first ground to a halt. We are now being led by a BNSF freight loco. Lunch was great: the KungPao Chicken and rice is delicious, and the chocolate bundt cake with ganache is warmed and appropriately gooey.

After lunch I called our hotel in SPG and asked about cancellation policy. She said it's usually 24 hours, but what with the weather, they are being accommodating. She moved our arrival date till tomorrow, and said that if a miracle happens and we get in tonight after all, they'll have room for us (but we won't be charged unless we actually make it). Midwesterners are soooo nice!

Dinner service started at MSP. They called all the sleeper pax at once, and gave us three choices (chicken, ribs or pasta) plus dessert. Now they are feeding the coach pax their Amstew.


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

Thu 6am

Was it a mistake to call this an epic? Did I bring this on myself?

Last night, one of our fellow travelers told us she had received her replacement tickets by email. Now, I just have a “dumb” phone, and a netbook dependent on public wi-fi (which they ought to know is not oresent on the EB). I begged her for a minute's access to check my email. Yup, there it was, a message from Amtrak with a new ticket for Thursday afternoon's Eagle to Springfield. There was still time to call AGR and get it changed before they shut down at midnight Eastern Time, so I got it switched to the 7am Lincoln. Business class is sold out, but hey, we will get there before our conference starts at noon!

We were thinking abut what time we might get to CHI, when the train rolled to a stop and just sat there. No explanation over the P.A. (this conductor was not what I'd call a good communicator), but as I later fund out the crew had “gone dead” (timed out) and the new crew had to come and find us where we sat. At least we were by a road, and in another half an hour or so, we were on our way. Our attendant, Chantay, was on a long break, so I out our beds down and managed to sleep till Milwaukee.

We rolled into CHI at 3:41, 11 hours and 46 minutes late. They had the customer assistance folks up for us in lounge G, and after everyone received vouchers, and most went off to the hotel, those of us with early connections were allowed to occupy the Metropolitan Lounge (even coach pax). They gave us each ten dollars for breakfast, and now the lounge agent is re-printing our tickets. He says business class is now available this morning, so a quick call to AGR got that back on our reservation. Ahhh, hot tea and some breakfast, I'm almost a new woman! I'll get my brain back some time tomorrow...


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## amamba (Dec 12, 2013)

Wow, what a journey! Thanks for sharing. Your trip report was excellent. Hope you had a few minutes to nap in the Met Lounge in CHI while waiting for that 7 am Lincoln Service train.


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## Ispolkom (Dec 12, 2013)

Thanks for the epic trip report. I like your attitude, even on a trip that started with a bustitution. Many people wouldn't have found your Fargo breakfast hilarious.


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

Thu 10am

But wait, there's more! So, the rest of the trip to SPG was notable in that it was both comfortable and uneventful –_ until they announced at Joliet that there was broken rail at MP51_, and we'd be delayed there for an uncertain amount of time while it was repaired! They offered to let people off the train at Joliet if they wished (and one passenger indeed departed), but Hubby and I did not have a better option for getting where we were going so we hung tight. Business Class on the Lincoln includes comfy leather seats with cupholders (and bottomless tea/coffee cups), newspapers and wi-fi, and a friendly café attendant right in the same car. How could we do better? An hour, and we're on our way, hopefully to arrive at SPG some time before noon now. But I feel like the jinx!

Stay tuned for the rest of our journey around the country starting Sunday. But I think I will make that one or more separate threads...

Thanks for the moral support. I have not been 100% positive (thinking a few bad thoughts about both BNSF and Amtrak from time to time – it takes two for this particular tango), but keeping a good attitude among a crowd of like-minded people is part of what makes the whole thing worth it, isn't it?


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## CHamilton (Dec 12, 2013)

I think you might want to change "epic" to "odyssey" 





> : a long journey full of adventures
> 
> : a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone
> 
> : a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune


But hang in there...we look forward to reading more!


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 12, 2013)

CHamilton said:


> I think you might want to change "epic" to "odyssey"
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, thanks Charlie, but I am certainly writing an epic about it! No further mishaps, a short nap, and we are barreling towards today's destination: the Acres USA Conference in Springfield, only 5 blocks from the station. It's even a nice day! More later...


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## Bob Dylan (Dec 12, 2013)

:hi: Excellent Trip Report of an Epic Adventure! Sounds like you had Good Karma so ya'll received Excellent Customer Service from Everyone Involved EXCEPT BNSF! Glad Ya'll Made it to your Destination and We Look Forward to the Next Chapter of your Continuing Odyssey on Amtrak !!!


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## ALC Rail Writer (Dec 14, 2013)

I'm glad you had fun in spite of it all, looking forward to the return trip!


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## Ispolkom (Dec 14, 2013)

oregon pioneer said:


> Thanks for the moral support. I have not been 100% positive (thinking a few bad thoughts about both BNSF and Amtrak from time to time – it takes two for this particular tango), but keeping a good attitude among a crowd of like-minded people is part of what makes the whole thing worth it, isn't it?


I'm enjoying this thread because you express a positive attitude, regardless of what you might actually be thinking. And I like epic, as I immediately thought of its use among climbers:



> A climber’s slang term that refers to a big climbing adventure and all the bad stuff that happens on it, like ropes getting stuck, being benighted on a ledge, getting caught in a bad storm, or wandering off route.


After all, on the train you can rarely control what's happening, but you can always control your attitude towards events. Glad that you're finally at your destination, and I'm hoping my post-Christmas turn on the Empire Builder isn't as epic as yours.


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 14, 2013)

I like epic, as I immediately thought of its use among climbers:



> A climber’s slang term that refers to a big climbing adventure and all the bad stuff that happens on it, like ropes getting stuck, being benighted on a ledge, getting caught in a bad storm, or wandering off route.


Thank you. That was indeed in my mind, as I've been on a few mountaineering epics in my younger days. I have now made it past the age of getting into situations on mountains, and I settle for managing situations in life.

Getting ready to get back on a train tomorrow. Stay tuned...


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## caravanman (Dec 18, 2013)

Good to see you visiting an ecological conference by greenish transport... Have a great ride homeward!

Ed


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 18, 2013)

caravanman said:


> Good to see you visiting an ecological conference by greenish transport... Have a great ride homeward!
> 
> Ed


Thanks, Ed! Sustainability is our thing. One of the reasons we love to travel by train! See the next part of our trip here.


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