# 12 Days on Amtrak



## Rcknchr (Dec 18, 2008)

After spending 12 days traveling from Maine - LAX - Canada and back to Maine, I have a new concept of train travel. First, try not to travel in the Northeast during an ice storm, be ready for anything, and expect the unexpected.

It took 10 hours to go from Syracuse NY to Boston MA. That was the least enjoyable part of my journey. The rest of my coast to coast, north, south, east & west, trip was all I expected it to be. The Lake Shore limited was ahead of schedule most of our journey headed west. Watching the country go by and listening to the rails was mesmerizing and I couldn't get enough of it. So far, so good.

From Chicago I continued west on the Empire Builder (also early much of the time) and that was my favorite train - service, rooms, and food were good. Next time I will travel west to east in order to see the rockies during daylight. The Mediterrain Inn in Seattle was only $108, in a very safe area of the city, with a full city view from my 6h floor room, and close to the monorail and food places. I enjoyed Seattle.

I boarded the Coast Starlight in Seattle to travel to LAX and didn't see sunlight due to fog and drizzle, until we got into northern CA. The parlor car was empty much of the time and that surprised me. In fact, most of the trains I was on did not seem to be full. I quess it was the time of year. In LAX I stayed where the train crews often stay - Metro Plaza Inn - only one block from the station - $100. Clean with a cont. breakfast. Back on the train the next day up to Oakland where I stayed overnight at the Inn at Jack London Sq. not to be confused with the Jack London Inn. Clean, quiet, and inexpensive, with a free shuttle to the station. I hopped on for a free Amtrak train ride to Emryville to catch the California Zephyr west to Chicago.

The Zephyr was my least favorite train. Only one dinning attendant the whole trip and he was stressed out. Food was not good, nor was the service. For two days and nights this was not a good place to be. I suspect other travelers felt the same way. The scenry was beautiful outside and commentary interesting, That helped make the trip memorable.

I arrived in Chicago around 4PM with an 6 hour layover. When the Lake Shore Lim. got to Chicago from the east (late), engines and toilets had to be thawed before we could board and head back east. We did get grapes and fruit for an evening snack around 11:30PM. We were to arrive in Boston the next evening at 9:45. All went well until we ran into the snow and ice storm in Syracuse NY. Signals out, toilets frozen, 2 engine breakdowns, food gone, 2 crew changes, and wait-wait-wait. We arrived in Boston at 7:45AM - 10 hours late!

If I hadn't had bedrooms the whole way, it would have been too much for this 73 year old lady from Maine. Would I do it again? Only if I won another free trip!


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## MrEd (Dec 18, 2008)

Thanks for the excellent report.


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## the_traveler (Dec 18, 2008)

Rcknchr said:


> After spending 12 days traveling from Maine - LAX - Canada and back to Maine, I have a new concept of train travel. First, try not to travel in the Northeast during an ice storm, be ready for anything, and expect the unexpected.
> It took 10 hours to go from Syracuse NY to Boston MA. That was the least enjoyable part of my journey.


 Once, outside of Erie (due to an engine breakdown) it took me over 9 hours to get through a freight yard! 



> From Chicago I continued west on the Empire Builder (also early much of the time) and that was my favorite train - service, rooms, and food were good. Next time I will travel west to east in order to see the rockies during daylight.


I agree with you on both counts!



> The parlor car was empty much of the time and that surprised me. In fact, most of the trains I was on did not seem to be full. I quess it was the time of year.


When I took the CS in October, I too was surprised. And I was very surprised bout the number of people who chose to eat meals there. (5-20 per meal, if that much!)



> If I hadn't had bedrooms the whole way, it would have been too much for this 73 year old lady from Maine. Would I do it again? Only if I won another free trip!


Give Amtrak another chance!  And next time, try the CZ westbound and the EB eastbound! 

BTW - good report!


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## AAARGH! (Dec 19, 2008)

Rcknchr said:


> After spending 12 days traveling from Maine - LAX - *Canada* and back to Maine, I have a new concept of train travel. First, try not to travel in the Northeast during an ice storm, be ready for anything, and expect the unexpected.


Just curious, when / how did you get to Canada?

I took a very similar trip to yours in October, but in reverse (9 days: CHI-EMY on CZ, EMY-LAX ON CS, LAX-SEA on CS, SEA-CHI on EB, and CHI-CLE on LSL). I didn't start/end farther east like you did.

I agree with just about your whole review. My experiences were similar. The dinning attendant on my CZ was also the poorest of the four I had. She was just lazy, not stressed out. She had the servers do all the sitting and just had them bring her the checks.

For my two legs on the CS, the parlour car was somewhat crowded, but thay be more indicative of the time of year. All 5 segments were fairly crowded.

Sorry about your trouble in the east. But, mother nature rules, as always.

EDIT: OH, and as The_Traveler says, if you go again, try it in reverse (CZ westbound and EB eastbound). Better timing for scenery.


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## AlanB (Dec 19, 2008)

AAARGH said:


> The dinning attendant on my CZ was also the poorest of the four I had. She was just lazy, not stressed out. She had the servers do all the sitting and just had them bring her the checks.


A clear violation of SDS policy. :angry:


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## AAARGH! (Dec 19, 2008)

AlanB said:


> AAARGH said:
> 
> 
> > The dinning attendant on my CZ was also the poorest of the four I had. She was just lazy, not stressed out. She had the servers do all the sitting and just had them bring her the checks.
> ...


She just sat at the unused center table and yelled orders to her servers. Later on the trip (when they were very busy) did she jump in and help. The other thing I remember is that the dining car crew YELLED everything. It didn't matter if they were on opposite ends of the car, they would just yell it out. They would also stand at the top of the steps and yell to the downstairs crew.

At one point, the servers were upset with the LSA and were openly griping with her (they were right about what they were saying though). They had had it with her lack of work ethic. They were working hard and we (the passengers) commiserated with them. It was after that episode that the LSA jumped in.

Other than the yelling and griping, the two servers were friendly enough.


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## AlanB (Dec 19, 2008)

AAARGH said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > AAARGH said:
> ...


Next time get the employee's name a report them! It's one of the few ways that Amtrak has to learn about bad employees.


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## caravanman (Dec 27, 2008)

A very good trip report, I liked the fact that you put in details of the costs of hotels, etc, which all helps others that may follow in your footsteps. Sad that the Zephyr staffing was a let down, it is my favourite train, scenery wise.

Was this trip a free one too? How did you win it?

Cheers,

Ed B)


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## trainfan (Dec 27, 2008)

thanks for the report! We did the Cz out and back to Sac a couple years ago and I enjoyed the west bound

better because of the trip up the front range out of Denver, I an sorry about the poor service . we had

good service both ways,

Trainfan


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## ALC Rail Writer (Dec 28, 2008)

On the first day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

a seat check on a ticket.

On the second day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the third day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the fourth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the fifth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the sixth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the seventh day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the eighth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Eight men a making

seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the ninth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Nine ladies gabbing

eight men a making

seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the tenth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Ten hot dog's cookin'

nine ladies gabbing

eight men a making

seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the eleventh day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Eleven horns a honkin'

ten hot dog's cookin'

nine ladies gabbing

eight men a making

seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket

On the twelfth day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,

Twelve cars a carrying

eleven horns a honkin'

ten hot dog's cookin'

nine ladies gabbing

eight men a making

seven Superliner's swayin'

six books for readin'

five coach class seats...

four laptop cases

three french blends

two fold down trays

and a seat check on a ticket


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## Rcknchr (Dec 29, 2008)

caravanman said:


> A very good trip report, I liked the fact that you put in details of the costs of hotels, etc, which all helps others that may follow in your footsteps. Sad that the Zephyr staffing was a let down, it is my favourite train, scenery wise.Was this trip a free one too? How did you win it?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ed B)


I won a free first class trip anywhere in the US because as a volunteer train host on Amtraks Downeaster, which runs between Portland ME and Boston MA five times a day, I volunteered the most hours. Strange that I was rewarded for doing something I enjoy and do for free. Often, I would host 4 times a week (6 hours a day) to Boston and back. As a 'Host' I am expected to provide information about trains, hotels, attractions, and other things that passengers might need to know to enjoy their train trip. I didn't have to travel the world - it traveled to me.


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## Hanno (Jan 20, 2009)

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> On the first day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,a seat check on a ticket.
> 
> On the second day of Amtrak my Conductor gave to me,
> 
> ...


Very creative. Thanks for sharing!


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