# First LD trip on the SWC May '08



## SweetSue (May 29, 2008)

My hubby Bob and I had been anxiously awaiting our first long distance train trip for weeks. We drove to the Toledo station two weeks before to pick up the tickets and ask questions. The ticket agent behind the counter was very nice and helpful. She told us to arrive 1/2 hour before our scheduled departure and gave us the direct phone number of the station so that we could call the day our journey began to check if the train was on time. Since Bob and I both went to work the day before, we were up late checking and rechecking our bags to be sure we had everything, so we probably only got about 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep. Once we were up and ready, I called the station and the LSL was on time so we headed to Toledo stopping off at Tim Horton's for our morning coffee. Bad idea. We dropped off the luggage at the station and I waited with it outside as Bob parked the car. Once inside, we were told we were too late to check our luggage as we had to be there 1/2 hour before to check it, (we were only 2 minutes late to the counter) guess we shouldn't have stopped for the coffee. FIRST LESSON: Be there to check luggage *before* 1/2 hour prior to departure!

So, we were told we could immediately board the train. We wheeled our two large suitcases, one wheeled duffle bag and carried a large tote bag to the train. This was at 5:47 am and most people that were in coach were asleep. We found a seat and settled in after placing the two large bags in the luggage area. No one ever asked us for our tickets when we were boarding or after we boarded. We ate some snacks that we brought along and arrived in CHI an hour late. Bob struggled with the largest wheeled luggage and large tote bag as he got off the train. On the viewliner you are coming down steps to get off the train and he ended up going down backwards as he couldn't see the steps to go down with the luggage forwards. Another bad idea..... he missed the platform and scraped his shin on the step as his foot went between the last step and the platform. The attendant standing outside the car never asked if he was alright when he practically fell, but he limped all the way into Union Station. The were no redcaps in sight and hubby didn't want to make a big deal out of it so we slowly made our way into the the lounge. He elevated his leg and I put ice in a baggy that I had left over from some snacks we ate on the train. We put the ice on his shin which was now swollen and he sat there while I went to the food court and brought us back some food. A woman sitting next to us asked what happened and after we told her she said that we should make out a report. Hubby again didn't want to make a fuss about it but this woman happened to be an off duty conductor (she works between Quincy,ILL and CHI) and she went to get a manager from guest services, who brought a form to fill out about the incident. (She also offered to have an ambulance take him to an emergency room but he refused.) We were told that we would be contacted within 5 days about it but it has been 14 days and we haven't heard anything, which is okay with us because he is fine.

We boarded the SWC at 2:45 and left the station at 3:15. Our attendant Vincent greeted us at the door and asked if we needed help with our carry-ons. We did not since we now have checked the large luggage! He explained how everything works in the room and got our dinner reservations and told us that if we needed ice to let him know. (I really like the fact that he was the only one getting ice and not all the passengers could scoop it out) We settled into our roomette and enjoyed the scenery. (We saw so many animals on this trip including deer, turkey, horses, cattle, porcupine, coyotes, jack rabbits, elk and antelope) We sat with a nice couple at dinner that were heading home to New Mexico. They rode in coach on the TE to Ohio and changed to the SWC to go home as it was quicker and also went into a bedroom and loved it. I told them about this forum and the gentleman made a note of it. Bob and I both had flat iron steak for dinner and the steak was cooked right and it was tender, the baked potato could have been cooked a little longer and the beans had little taste. We enjoyed the chocolate Hagen Daas for dessert! Over all we enjoyed the meal and the scenery as we were crossing the Mississippi while we ate. We went to the sightseer lounge afterward to enjoy the view. Back in our room later to enjoy the scenery and quietness. Everyone says to not stay in your room and to go to the observation car and that is fine for awhile for us, but we like the privacy of our own room. We usually went to the observation car when we knew there would be things we wanted to see especially on the opposite side of the train.

As it got dark and we were waiting for Vincent to make up our room, an annoucement was made that they needed a medically trained person in the last coach car. We never heard if anyone ever went to help or what the problem was. Vincent came to make up our beds around 9:30 but we asked him for some ice and if he could wait a little while longer as we had a bottle of wine that we wanted to enjoy first. Vincent is a wonderful attendant (something I plan to let Amtrak know) and did everything he could to make our trip enjoyable. Anything we asked for was done promptly. He told us that he has been doing this for 17 years and he lives in LA. He works 6 days straight and then has 6 days off. He seems to really enjoy his job. We went to bed around 10:30 as we were exhausted from not sleeping much the night before. It was a little difficult to climb into the top bunk, but being that my husband is a bit bigger than me, I figured it would be easier for me to climb up there. It was a little hard to get used to the motion of the car but we both slept on and off. Sometimes when we woke we felt like the train was going extremely fast. If it wasn't so hard to get up and down from the bunk I would have gotten my Garmin NUVI 200 out to check the speed. We had checked it before going to bed and usually we were at 79 MPH but I did see it get up to 90 at one point.

We woke up around 6:30 and got ready to go to breakfast. I had the french toast and Bob had an omelet. Both were good. Vincent made up our room while we were gone and put out fresh bottles of water for us. We sat with a couple of gentlemen during breakfast and had a nice conversation, then we went to the sightseer lounge. Once the conductor told us that we would be picking up about 30 school children at our next stop in Lamar and they would all be in the lounge, we decided to go back to our room. The children only rode to Trinidad but then some high school kids got on that were riding to Fullerton to go to Disneyland and they were in the observation car for most of the trip. We were fine with staying in our roomette. We were told that we had a full train and those in the coach cars must keep their things off the seat next to them as all seats would be taken. Our train consisted of 2 engines, a baggage car, a transition sleeper, 3 sleepers, dining car, lounge car and four coach cars. At some point I believe during the night, a private car was added on to the end.

We had a nice lunch and headed back to our room and enjoyed the scenery through NM. My husband was looking for wildlife and I was trying to read a book, however I was afraid I would miss something and kept looking out the window and couldn't even get through a chapter. The were a couple of people from the Rails and trails in the lounge giving commentary about the Sante Fe Trail and it was also broadcast throughout our car for awhile. Someone in one of the roomettes was trying to "work" and it bothered her so they stopped piping it into our car and we were told we would have to go to the lounge if we wanted to hear it.

Before we reached Albuquerque, we were told that we could not use the sink in the upper level restroom as it was leaking water onto the luggage area below. They were planning to fix it when we got to Albuquerque. Once we arrived there, we purchased some jewelry and blankets from the vendors outside the train. So far, we have made each of our scheduled stops on time or at least very close to it. Back on the train we went to dinner and we both decided to have the flat iron steak again because it was so good the night before. We were not disappointed. The steak was great and the potato was better than the night before. Back in our room later, we gave Vincent a $20 tip as he was an excellent attendant. We were told that we could not use any of the restrooms in our car as they had another plumbing problem. The other thing that we noticed is that we had some kind of a short in the electrical system, as our lights would go dim as if it went to battery power at times. I was glad that I brought a surge protector extension cord as we plugged in our cell phones and camcorder batteries to charge them.

We arrived in Flagstaff on time and this is were we got off. We took a cab to our motel and the next morning we had a Budget rent a car pick us up to take us to the airport to fill out the paperwork. We drove to the Grand canyon were we checked into our motel there, took a sunset jeep tour of the Kaibab National Forest and the Grand Canyon. The next morning we stopped at Hoover Dam on our way to Las Vegas. Spent two nights there and then drove to Seal Beach, California to my aunt and uncle's house. We turned in the rental car right away. While in CA we went to see a taping of the Jay Leno show and if you watched it on May 21st you would have seen me be the first one to shake Jay's hand, also went to a car museum, Disneyland/California Adventure and Club 33 and Seal Beach pier. Also went to Crystal Cathedral for church on Sunday where they had a special memorial service since it was memorial day weekend.

On Sunday evening my aunt and uncle took us to the Fullerton station to board the SWC to come home. We left only 10 minutes late at 7:30pm. This consist did not have a transition sleeper and only 3 coach cars but we were told it was full. Our attendant Patty met us at the door and came to our room once we were moving and gave us a dinner reservation for8:15. She said it was the only time left. We were starved and they didn't call us to come till after 8:30. We both had the 1/2 cornish hen and it was good. We were not sure if it was because we ate so late but neither Bob or I slept well that night.

However we were sleeping when we stopped in Flagstaff and a mother and her daughter boarded. The dad came on long enough to help them get settled and then he got off the train. They were a bit noisy, as I could hear what was going on with our door shut. The little girl was about eight years old and was very excited. We barely pulled out of the station when we heard an anouncement asking for the conductor for a medical emergency. This time the train stopped and then we pulled up a little further till we were near a road crossing. An ambulance was waiting there and they took a guy out of the sleeper car ahead of us. He had a stroke. By this time we were totally awake so we got up and dressed and were ready to go to breakfast by 6:30. We ended up sitting with the mother and daughter. They were moving back to Iowa from Arizona and would meet the moving truck there. The dad was driving their car. We went to the sightseer lounge at different times throughout the day, otherwise stayed in our roomette and tried to get a nap. Some of the best advice I've received from this forum is to bring duct tape. Well, we didn't have any but we brought some blue painters tape that we had at home and used it to tape our window and door as it rattled awful, a problem we didn't have on our trip west. There was no other way to get it to stop. So, we will always bring duct tape or some kind of strong tape with us when we travel again.

We got into Albuquerque early so we had more than an hour to get off the train. Did some shopping and took pictures and got back on the train as we were scheduled to go to lunch. We napped a bit in our room after lunch and watched for wildlife.

For dinner we decided on the flat iron steak since it was so good before. It looked delicious when it was put before us and the first bite was tasty and tender, however after cutting into it further it was barely more than rare (we asked for it to be cooked medium), I caught the LSA and asked her if we could have it done a little more, like medium and she took it downstairs herself. The longer we waited for it to come back, the more we worried that it was going to be overcooked and sure enough when we got it back it was well done and tough! We didn't complain as we really were not that hungry and could tell that they just wanted to get done and get people out. Sitting on the train all day, eating with little activity, we found that we were not really hungry by dinner time. But if that were to happen again, I would ask for a new steak.

Patty made up our beds around 10 pm and this time my hubby said I should try the lower bunk. He had difficulty getting up there but had slept on a small bunk when he was in the Navy (however, he was smaller himself at the time) I slept better that night, he didn't!! We woke at 6am and got ready to go to breakfast. Sat with a gentleman who was traveling to NY to catch a plane to Greece. Sounds like he has traveled alot by train. When it was time for lunch, it was announced that it would be modified, (whatever that means). Guess they wanted to get everyone in and out in a hurry as we were called to lunch about 1/2 before each reservation time. Usually we were called really close to our reservation time. We were only offered the special for the day, a cold sandwich or hamburger. We took the hamburger and it was good.

We arrived in CHI an hour and 1/2 late. Ate some dinner at the food court and boarded the CL at 6:45. Arrived in Toledo an hour late.

We throughly enjoyed our time on the train and are planning to take another bigger trip in a year or so. Most likely the EB, CS and then CZ or TE. We hope to be able to have a bedroom for that trip!!!

Thank you so much for this forum and all the helpful advice that you provide. SS


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## AlanB (May 29, 2008)

Sorry to hear about that mishap getting off the LSL. 

But otherwise pleased that the rest of the trip went reasonably well. Thanks for the report Sue.


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## MrFSS (May 29, 2008)

Thanks for the great report. Sounds like a good trip. My wife and I rode the SWC in Feb and we really enjoyed it, too.


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## Rail Freak (May 29, 2008)

SweetSue said:


> My hubby Bob and I had been anxiously awaiting our first long distance train trip for weeks. We drove to the Toledo station two weeks before to pick up the tickets and ask questions. The ticket agent behind the counter was very nice and helpful. She told us to arrive 1/2 hour before our scheduled departure and gave us the direct phone number of the station so that we could call the day our journey began to check if the train was on time. Since Bob and I both went to work the day before, we were up late checking and rechecking our bags to be sure we had everything, so we probably only got about 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep. Once we were up and ready, I called the station and the LSL was on time so we headed to Toledo stopping off at Tim Horton's for our morning coffee. Bad idea. We dropped off the luggage at the station and I waited with it outside as Bob parked the car. Once inside, we were told we were too late to check our luggage as we had to be there 1/2 hour before to check it, (we were only 2 minutes late to the counter) guess we shouldn't have stopped for the coffee. FIRST LESSON: Be there to check luggage *before* 1/2 hour prior to departure!
> So, we were told we could immediately board the train. We wheeled our two large suitcases, one wheeled duffle bag and carried a large tote bag to the train. This was at 5:47 am and most people that were in coach were asleep. We found a seat and settled in after placing the two large bags in the luggage area. No one ever asked us for our tickets when we were boarding or after we boarded. We ate some snacks that we brought along and arrived in CHI an hour late. Bob struggled with the largest wheeled luggage and large tote bag as he got off the train. On the viewliner you are coming down steps to get off the train and he ended up going down backwards as he couldn't see the steps to go down with the luggage forwards. Another bad idea..... he missed the platform and scraped his shin on the step as his foot went between the last step and the platform. The attendant standing outside the car never asked if he was alright when he practically fell, but he limped all the way into Union Station. The were no redcaps in sight and hubby didn't want to make a big deal out of it so we slowly made our way into the the lounge. He elevated his leg and I put ice in a baggy that I had left over from some snacks we ate on the train. We put the ice on his shin which was now swollen and he sat there while I went to the food court and brought us back some food. A woman sitting next to us asked what happened and after we told her she said that we should make out a report. Hubby again didn't want to make a fuss about it but this woman happened to be an off duty conductor (she works between Quincy,ILL and CHI) and she went to get a manager from guest services, who brought a form to fill out about the incident. (She also offered to have an ambulance take him to an emergency room but he refused.) We were told that we would be contacted within 5 days about it but it has been 14 days and we haven't heard anything, which is okay with us because he is fine.
> 
> We boarded the SWC at 2:45 and left the station at 3:15. Our attendant Vincent greeted us at the door and asked if we needed help with our carry-ons. We did not since we now have checked the large luggage! He explained how everything works in the room and got our dinner reservations and told us that if we needed ice to let him know. (I really like the fact that he was the only one getting ice and not all the passengers could scoop it out) We settled into our roomette and enjoyed the scenery. (We saw so many animals on this trip including deer, turkey, horses, cattle, porcupine, coyotes, jack rabbits, elk and antelope) We sat with a nice couple at dinner that were heading home to New Mexico. They rode in coach on the TE to Ohio and changed to the SWC to go home as it was quicker and also went into a bedroom and loved it. I told them about this forum and the gentleman made a note of it. Bob and I both had flat iron steak for dinner and the steak was cooked right and it was tender, the baked potato could have been cooked a little longer and the beans had little taste. We enjoyed the chocolate Hagen Daas for dessert! Over all we enjoyed the meal and the scenery as we were crossing the Mississippi while we ate. We went to the sightseer lounge afterward to enjoy the view. Back in our room later to enjoy the scenery and quietness. Everyone says to not stay in your room and to go to the observation car and that is fine for awhile for us, but we like the privacy of our own room. We usually went to the observation car when we knew there would be things we wanted to see especially on the opposite side of the train.
> ...


Thanx SS,

Great report! 

PS> and thanx for the duct tape reminder


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## JayPea (May 29, 2008)

Great report! I'm glad that you chose not to dwell on the less-than-positive parts of your trip and instead concentrated on the positive. I rode the SWC from Chicago-Los Angeles a couple of years ago and would love to do it again sometime.


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## jackal (May 30, 2008)

Amtrak's got its silly little issues (just like any other company, whether in the transportation industry or not), but on the whole, I think travel by train is so much fun that I'm willing to overlook the little things and still enjoy the trip. Sounds like you did, too. Great report--thanks for sharing!

On my northbound Coast Starlight, our diner attendant called people very early for their reservations (about a half an hour), and he even said that he would be doing that when he took the reservations. I wasn't sure what that was about, but interesting that yours did the same thing. On my southbound trip, we were called almost exactly on time. Anyone know about that?


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## gswager (May 30, 2008)

jackal said:


> Amtrak's got its silly little issues (just like any other company, whether in the transportation industry or not), but on the whole, I think travel by train is so much fun that I'm willing to overlook the little things and still enjoy the trip. Sounds like you did, too. Great report--thanks for sharing!
> On my northbound Coast Starlight, our diner attendant called people very early for their reservations (about a half an hour), and he even said that he would be doing that when he took the reservations. I wasn't sure what that was about, but interesting that yours did the same thing. On my southbound trip, we were called almost exactly on time. Anyone know about that?


It could be the number of passengers on dining car. If there are few, then the time will fly by fast.


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## jackal (May 31, 2008)

gswager said:


> jackal said:
> 
> 
> > Amtrak's got its silly little issues (just like any other company, whether in the transportation industry or not), but on the whole, I think travel by train is so much fun that I'm willing to overlook the little things and still enjoy the trip. Sounds like you did, too. Great report--thanks for sharing!
> ...


Well, what was odd was that he specifically said that he usually called people about a half an hour early for their reservations. He specifically said this when he made the announcement that he would be making his way around to take reservations before we even left Union Station. It just seems that if he knows in advance that he would be calling people a half an hour early, why wouldn't he just shift all of the reservation times forward a half an hour?

I'm not complaining--he was exceptional at his job--I'm just remarking that it was somewhat strange...


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## RailFanLNK (May 31, 2008)

Great trip report! I'm glad you have the attitude that you have. So much of a "newbie's" first LD trip is centered around attitude. You could have had the lacerated shin screw up the whole thing and turn it into an "ordeal" but you chose not to! Thanks for sharing!

Al


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## p&sr (May 31, 2008)

jackal said:


> It just seems that if he knows in advance that he would be calling people a half an hour early, why wouldn't he just shift all of the reservation times forward a half an hour?


Maybe his Boss tells him what Times to schedule people for, and HE decides what Times to actually serve them?


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## SweetSue (Jun 1, 2008)

rail rookie said:


> Great trip report! I'm glad you have the attitude that you have. So much of a "newbie's" first LD trip is centered around attitude. You could have had the lacerated shin screw up the whole thing and turn it into an "ordeal" but you chose not to! Thanks for sharing!
> Al




Well, I know that "things happen" and not everything is going to turn out perfect or exactly as planned no matter whether you take a train, plane, boat, bicycle, car or walk!!!! It did help that I found this forum before we went and I learned a lot of useful ideas. We have been telling our family, friends and co-workers about our fabulous trip and now many of them are thinking they would like to do the same. We can't wait until we can take another LD trip, hopefully next year, but we may take a shorter one before that! SS


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## jackal (Jun 2, 2008)

p&sr said:


> jackal said:
> 
> 
> > It just seems that if he knows in advance that he would be calling people a half an hour early, why wouldn't he just shift all of the reservation times forward a half an hour?
> ...


I think he was the LSA, which would make him the boss...

But enough detracting from Sweet Sue's report!


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