# on my way across the country



## JayPea (Jul 4, 2012)

On my way from Ft. Lauderdale back to Spokane courtesy of AGR. I and my uncle are now leaving Albany on the LSL, little over half an hour late after being delayed by 1 hr and 15 minutes at NYP due to swapping out diners.

The fun began on Monday, where, after being groped, degraded, and having my rights trampled on at the hands of the TSA at Spokane and being entirely too stupid to realize it   :lol: I made two very uneventful flights, first to Denver from Spokane and then to Ft. Lauderdale. All flights were on time, and I met up with my uncle, who had flown in from Chicago. We grabbed a cab to our motel, which was lousy. Bright and early on Tuesday we boarded the Silver Meteor, right on time.

Roger Walton was our SCA, very good, very helpful, very capable. We went to breakfast immediately and were seated with a young woman from all over, actually, who was visiting her family in the States. She was working at a restaurant in Ecuador. Her parents were both sailors and amongst other things had lived on a sailboat for 8 years with her parents, sailing around the world. Very interesting story. The SCA, Brenda, and our server, D. Taylor, were both very good. I had the usual, omellette, biscuit, potatoes, and milk. It was very good, as good a meal as I've had on Amtrak, but the service was glacially slow. It took over an hour to get served, but our table guest was so interesting that it didn't matter. We started out on time, but started losing time at each stop. Then, just outside Sanford, we heard a loud popping sound, followed by the train stopping immediately (well, by train standards, anyway) Turns out a hose popped loose, and that causes the train to go into automatic emergency braking mode. After an inspection and seventy - leven tests, we were on our way, having lost about 15 minutes more. We steadily lost time all throughout Florida.

At lunch, we were seated with a young couple on their way back to New York after a Florida vacation. I had the special, meat loaf and mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. Excellent!

By }acksonville, we were overan hour late. We'd had slow orders throughout Florida, but began to ever so slowly make up time in Georgia. At dinner, I had steak, which was excellent again. We were seated with an older couple from Florida enroute to a wedding in New York. After being behind by up to an hour and a half, we now began to catch up. I retired for the evening around Charleston, but was up on and off all night. After making up a nice chunk of time at Florence, we promptly lost it again when once again the train went into an emergency stop. Turns out the same hose broke loose again. So that was another lost half an hour. We continued to loose time throughout the night, and were 2 hrs late by Petersburg. I awoke for good at Richmond. We once again began to gain ground, and were little over an hour late at Washington DC. At breakfast, which was again glacially slow, I had my usual omelette, biscuit, potatoes, sausage, and milk. Again it was excellent. At first we were seated with two delightful ladies from Miami enroute to Chicago who were only going to have coffee, but when they discovered how latewe were, decided to have breakfast and sit with one of the women's daughters. A mom and her young son were then seated with us. They had almost no command of the English language and the boy had no control over his feet, as the little brat kept kicking my shins under the table :angry: .

After Washington DC, we began to lose time again, even with speeds exceeding 100 mph. We eventually arrived today into NY Penn station 2 hrs late. In New Jersey, we hit 110 mph, and at those speeds, I thought our tired old Viewliner was about to disinigrate.

Thus ended Segment #1, the Silver Meteor. I still prefer a Superliner over a Viewliner, though it is so much simpler to crawl out the upper berth of a Viewliner.

Tomorrow: The LSL report.


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## pennyk (Jul 4, 2012)

Thanks for the report Jeff. I sort of waved when you passed through Orlando on the Meteor. I hope you have a great rest of your trip and I look forward to reading about it.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 5, 2012)

Nice! Looking forward to the LSL report!


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## JayPea (Jul 5, 2012)

Train #2 of 5: The LSL.

After our arrival into NYP, 2 hrs late, we headed for the Club Acela lounge. Not having been to NYP (nor anywhere near the state of New York, for that matter), we were directed to the lounge by a couple of very helpful employees. I found the lounge to be very clean, very well maintained, and well - stocked. And with very courteous and helpful lounge attendants. It was a bit different than the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, for sure.

We hadn't been seated too long before we got an announcement from Ellecia, the attendant, that #49 was going to be delayed due to having to swap out diners. Ellecia was very good about providing us with updates, something that couldn't be said for those whom she was trying to get info from. At 4:30 came the announcement that our train was on it's way. We got boarded and were on our way at 4:58, 1 hr and 13 minutes late. We started to make up time immediately.

At dinner, we were seated with a couple from Australia who were in America for a long vacation. I had salmon for dinner and it was excellent. The salads were much more sustantial than I remember, and I don't remember having such good iced tea.

The stop at Albany to connect 449 was shortened, and we were on our way only about 35 minutes late, a pace we maintained until bedtime, which for us was at Syracuse. We had lost some time at Syracuse, and lost a lot more during the night, as we were well over 2 hrs late by the time I woke up, before Erie. We made up almost 45 minutes into Cleveland, however, and we would stay about 1:30 to 1:50 late the rest of our way into Chicago.

We had breakfast with no one this time, and I had my usual omelette, biscuit, potatoes, sausage, and milk. Excellent again. While at breakfast, around Sandusky, a thunderstorm hit, with substantial rain, thunder, and lightning.

At Toledo, we continued our chat with the delightful Australian couple. We had made up some time by Toledo, but that stop took longer than normal, plus just as we were pulling out, we had to stop for a freight. The rest of the trip into Chicago was uneventful, and we pulled into Chicago about 1:40 late.

Our SCA was Michael, not the greatest I've had, but he at least had a great personality. All the staff in the dining car were very courteous and professional.

So far, even with two late trains, the trip has gone great! Now on the CZ, over 30 minutes late due to heat restrictions and the drawbridge being opened over the Mississippi River.

Back with a multi - day CZ report later!


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## Steve4031 (Jul 6, 2012)

Enjoying the reports. They keep me going until the next trip.


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## Bob Dylan (Jul 7, 2012)

:hi: Ditto!!!


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## JayPea (Jul 7, 2012)

I'm doing this as I go because 1) with the internet on my phone I can :lol: and 2) I'd forget half the details if I waited until I got home. Currently on the CZ about half an hour late between Winnemucca and Reno after having to wait for that half an hour for a freight. I'll post a complete CZ trip tonight. I have a feeling I will have a lot of time to kill between the CZ and the CS at Sacramento.


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## pennyk (Jul 7, 2012)

JayPea said:


> I'm doing this as I go because 1) with the internet on my phone I can :lol: and 2) I'd forget half the details if I waited until I got home. Currently on the CZ about half an hour late between Winnemucca and Reno after having to wait for that half an hour for a freight. I'll post a complete CZ trip tonight. I have a feeling I will have a lot of time to kill between the CZ and the CS at Sacramento.


I am enjoying your reports. I hope you will not be as bored during your CZ/CS Sacramento layover as I was 2 years ago. Whatever you do, do not try to sleep on the benches. The people that did it, were sorry - lots of backaches. I had a sore butt from sitting so long, but a sore butt is better than a sore back. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## JayPea (Jul 8, 2012)

I don't have to worry about a sore butt. Plenty of padding there. :lol:

Anyway, now for train #3, the CZ from Chicago to Sacramento.

We were about an hour and a half late into Chicago from the LSL. After we checked into the Metropolitan Lounge, where everyone's good buddy Tim was on duty, :lol: :lol: :lol: we wandered up to Gold Coast Hot Dogs for lunch. By the time we were finished, we had little over an hour's wait in the lounge before the call came to board. When the time came, our good pal Tim led us to the train from the lounge, at about the same pace it took for the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.  Nevertheless,we got boarded and settled in our bedroom right away. Richard was our car attendant and he is without a doubt one of the best SCA's I've had. We got away right on time.

We had a few slow orders due to heat, but nothing major, just a mile or so at 50 mph, but for the most part we rolled right along at 79 mph. We had to wait to cross the Mississippi at Burlington as a barge had just passed and the drawbridge was up. That was a short delay, though, and we were soon on our way.

At dinner, we sat with a young couple from Bowling Green, OH on their way to Vail for their honeymoon. It was their first train trip and they loved it! I predict a long future with many train trips together in this couple's future. :lol: I had tilapia and it was excellent. Our LSA was Sheila, one of the worst I've ever had. She must be Miss Polly's sister.  Herbie was our waiter, and instead of asking for our beverage choice, he just handed us a tray with beverages on it and had us choose our own. I retired for the evening at Creston, IA, waking only briefly at Omaha. At that point, we were little over half an hour late, but, during the night, lost time. By the time we reached Holdrege, we were over an hour and half late. I can't prove it of course but I swear dispatchers hold Amtrak trains and run freights around them during the night because there are no passengers up at that hour to complain.  At any rate, we were nearly two hours late at Ft. Morgan. We had breakfast with an older man and teenaged boy with whom we didn't exchange any words at all.

We got into Denver over an hour late. I must say Denver's temporary station is better than many permanent ones. I met up briefly with Bharat from this forum here. We also got rid of a huge problem at Denver, 75 Boy and Girl Scouts from Chicago. They completely overran the SSL, bloked the aisles, and made it nearly impossible to get any service in the lounge as they kept running back and forth to it and keeping lines impossibly long. Good riddance!

We made up an hour at Denver and left only 50 minutes down. And we slowly made up time as we went. Our conductor was giving us scenic highlights along the way which added to the scenery, beautiful as always. At Winter Park, I got out to stretch my legs, and continued my chat with Bharat. There was an ambulance and EMT unit waiting at the station, and we saw an elderly woman being wheeled off the train. Bad end to the trip for her. 

At lunch, I went by myself and was seated with none other than Bharat, his wife, and young son. At one point along the river, we got a "Colorado salute" from some rafters. :lol: I had a tough Angus burger with a hard stale bun. I think they must have mistaken me for Texas Sunset. :lol:

I spent the afternoon enjoying the sights and taking lots of photos. Just before Grand Junction, you could see where a recent wildfire had burned right to the edge of the tracks. We continued to slowly make up time, so as to leave Salt Lake City on time. At dinner, we were seated with a couple from Norway who was touring the US. I had steak and it was mediocre at best. It was still light out at Helper, and would continue to do so until Provo, giving me a look at some spectacular scenery I'd never seen before. Right after Provo, I went to bed and didn't waken for good until Winnemucca.

At breakfast, we were seated with an older couple from England. I had my usual an it was good. We had been on time, but had to wait a long time for a freight near Lovelock, and had to slow to a crawl through the rail yards at Sparks due to a derailment. All this put us 50 minutes down at Reno, a pace we would keep until Sacramento, where we arrived nearly on time.

We had a couple of guides from Rails and Trails with us from Reno, and they gave us good narratives along the way. It was a beautiful day in the Sierras! Our lunch was spent with a mom and daughter enroute to Emeryville from New York, where they had been on vacation. I had, in fact, seen them in the lounge in New York.

We arrived in Sacramento just about on time. After having the baggage room hold our bags, we went to the Railroad Museum, took a short train ride along the Sacramento River on the tourist train, and had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. After wandering around Old Sacramento, where we made our way back to the station, where we are waiting for #14. And, unlike Brewer and Shipley's song, I may be sitting downtown in a railway station, but I'm not one toke over the line. :lol:


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## jb64 (Jul 8, 2012)

Enjoying your report. Thanks for sharing.


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## JayPea (Jul 8, 2012)

Onward! Coast Starlight Sacramento - Portland

While waiting in the Sacramento station for the CS, the agent at the ticket counter called us up to the counter. Ooooooohhhhhhhh nooooooooooo!  : Seems AGR had sent them an email, changing our car and room number. Don't know what that was all about. At any rate, the CS rolled into Sacramento about half an hour late and rolled out of Sacramento an hour and 15 minutes late. We made up that time, though, ultimately rolling into Portland maybe 5 minutes late.

I have no idea what our SCA's name was. I saw him as we boarded the train, saw him as we left the train, and never heard of nor saw him any other time. Absolutely worthless!!!!! Worst car attendant I've ever had. The only tip he deserved was the tip of my foot to his butt. :angry:

After departing Sacramento over an hour late, I awoke at Dunsmuir to find us only 45 minutes late. Even though we had a PPC, we opted to have breakfast in the diner due to the limited menu in the PPC. It was a mess at first, because the server was inexperienced and because every one had descended on the diner at once. Tricia, the LSA, stepped in and helped speed the process. I had the usual and it was excellent. We ate with a couple headed to Canada via Shelby.

It was a gorgeous morning in the Cascades! We made time up even with trackwork in the mountains. We stayed in our rooms as the PPC was packed. There were families with small children on either side of us and it wasn't fun. One kid bawled for half the day on one side of us and two little girls on the other were rude, obnoxious, and plain disagreeable. And their parent thought it was funny  No attempt whatsoever to correct them. I don't expect kids to be lie little soldiers, but when they run around the train with voices at top volume, run into and push people out of the way, and their parents act like it's funny, something's wrong. :angry: I blame the parents here.

We had lunch with a couple from the Bay Area who were on their way to Seattle. We gave them plenty of tips about Seattle which they appreciated.

I had the burger and it was excellent.

The trip was uneventful, and we made it into Portland just a few minutes down. We cooled our heels in the lounge for a few minutes before the always excellent Frank led us to our final train, the EB to Spokane. Trip report for that coming up!


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## Railroad Bill (Jul 8, 2012)

Also enjoying your report  :

We really like Sacramento and Joe's is our usual haunt for dinner. Nice scenery along the river and the touristy shops give you something to do while you are waiting for the train connection. And of course, the California RR Museum is the best!!

Have a great trip back to Washington.


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## Shanghai (Jul 9, 2012)

Enjoying your reports Jeff. I hope your EB trip is good.


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## JayPea (Jul 10, 2012)

The end of the road: EB Portland - Spokane

After boarding the EB in Portland, we left right on time. Our SCA was Nancy, a very good one. If I have a longer EB trip, I hope to have her again. After Vancouver, we got our boxed meals. We both got shrimp louie salads, and they were excellent. With a little sweet talk, we even got her to bring us those half cans of diet Pepsi. Then the fun began. Heat restrictions. Heat restrictions??? In western Washington??? The Land Global Warming Forgot???? Here it was, hotter than hell all across the country, with only minor and very short restrictions, and we had to putt along at 25 mph almost to Bingen - White Salmon. It was, however, the hottest day in three years here in the PNW. At any rate, that put us well over an hour behind, not that it mattered. More heat restrictions and having to wait for freights put us over 2 behind by Pasco. Some of the passengers that were headed to Chicago were already getting nervous, understandably. Despite having to wait for more freights, we pulled into Spokane about 1:45 late. After grabbing a cab (one in which the cabbie had never been to our motel and missed a turn) we finally got to our motel, had to drag our luggage up the stairs because there is no elevator in our section, and finally made it to bed. And that ended our journey. Time to plan another trip!


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## PA Traveler (Jul 10, 2012)

Great report! I really enjoyed reading it (and it reminded me I have to do).


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## JayPea (Jul 12, 2012)

Some final random thoughts (or, more appropriately, what I forgot to mention in the first place :lol|)

Great trip! I'd never been to Florida nor New York before, or Delaware and New Jersey for that matter, so the whole Silver Meteor trip was exciting for me in that regard. And I'd never really seen Ohio before, as my only other trip through there, on the CL three years ago, I was asleep the whole time. This time, I awoke at Cleveland, and the LSL was nearly two hours late, so I saw most of the route in Ohio this time. Likewise, on the CZ, the timing was such tnat I was able to see virtually all of the scenery between Helper and Provo, which to me was spectacular, and Nebraska, from Holdredge on, which wasn't exactly spectacular. :lol: But it was the first time I'd seen any part of Nebraska in daylight.

Equipment: We had bedrooms all the way through. I know it goes against conventional wisdom, but give me Superliners any day! It is easier to crawl out of the upper bunk of a Viewliner, but I like storing luggage in the rack downstairs, to me the public shower room is bigger, and I like having bathrooms right by the shower room so I can shave and brush my teeth right there. And to me, having the window in the upper bunk area is inconsequential: I want to sleep in the upper bunk, not look out the window.  . The only equipment malfunctions were a latch that didn't work properly on the in - room bathroom on the Silver Meteor, and toilets that conked out in our car after the first night on the CZ, forcing us to go to the next car to use their bathroom. The most likely cause was that the tank wasn't emptied at Chicago.  It's rhis kind of inexcusable neglect that can make Amtrak travel less enjoyable than it could be.

For the most part, the personnel on board were great. Roger Walton on the Meteor, Richard on the CZ, and Nancy on the EB were all excellent SCA's. Michael Smith on the LSL wasn't quite as good, but he had a great personality which helped a lot. And our SCA on the CS was less than worthless. By far the worst I've ever had. No name tag, and he never introduced himself, so I never learned his name. Never saw him except right at the end and right at the beginning. Never even saw him otherwise. The food was good to excellent, though sometimes the service was very slow. Only the LSA on the CZ, Sheila, who had the appearance of having sucked on lemons the whole time and treated passengers with out and out contempt on occasion, was a downer. She has to be related to the TE's Miss Polly. 

The Meteor was 2 hrs late into New York and the LSL about 1hr and 40 minutes late into Chicago, but that didn't matter to me. All the less time to wait for the next train. The CZ into Sacramento and the CS into Portland were both less than five minutes late. While the EB into Spokane was 1 hr and 40 minutes late, that didn't matter either as that was the end of the line and the motel we stayed in before heading to my mom's for a few days to unwind was fully aware of Amtrak's sometimes less than stellar on time performance.

Great trip all in all! The worst part was my video camera died, not long after we started in Florida. Oh, well. Just a good excuse to buy a camera and take the same trip again! :lol:


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## JayPea (Jul 27, 2012)

Here are my pictures of my recently completed trip. No captions (yet), but that can be considered a work in progress.

Photos here:


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## Rail Freak (Jul 28, 2012)

JayPea said:


> Here are my pictures of my recently completed trip. No captions (yet), but that can be considered a work in progress.
> 
> Photos here:


Great Photos

Got me ready for my upcoming trip in 9 days!!!! :lol:


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## Bob Dylan (Jul 28, 2012)

:hi: Good stuff Jeff!(I made a somewhat similiar trip in May for NTD without the Flying!) Makes me want to leave today, it's still 2 weeks till the Annual California Dreaming and Freeloading Trip to NOCAL! 100+ here, time to head for the Hills! ^_^


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## amamba (Jul 29, 2012)

Those pictures are wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing!


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