# Pt. 3 and Pt 4--Eugene to Portland to Spokane



## JayPea (Jun 20, 2008)

*Parts 3 and 4*

The return journey home went a lot smoother than the first day's. It didn't hurt that both legs of the journey originated in each city, thus not being dependent on incoming trains. Which is why I've combined the journey home into one.

I awoke about 7:30, and by 8:00 was at the station in Eugene, ready to return home. It was a bright, warm sunny day in Eugene, and, in fact, I got warm walking the five blocks from the motel to the train station. After the events of the day before, I made sure to look at the board to make sure our train, #504, was on time for a 9 AM departure, which it was. Right on time, the train rolled into the station. There were no assigned seats on Business class this time, so I chose a single seat on the left hand side. Once the train got rolling, I went into the Bistro for breakfast and settled down to read all the news that was fit to print in Eugene. Most of the journey of the night before between Portland and Eugene had been under the cover of darkness so this time I got to see what I missed out on. Once again, the staff aboard the Cascades was very pleasant, courteous, and helpful. I must be hitting things at the right time; I never seem to run into rude or surly Amtrak employees. We were right on time, or close to it in every station stop. And our car was about half-empty, though the coaches were pretty well filled. We pulled into Portland right about on schedule, and once in the station, I grabbed a walking map of Portland. On a previous travelogue, Cascadia had mentioned Powell's bookstore, so I made sure I made that a must-see. I had nearly five hours in Portland so had plenty of time. Once I got there, I immediately saw that the next time I'm in Portland for any length of time, I'll need two things: more money and a bigger bag to carry more books in. :lol:

I had planned to spend more time exploring Portland, but I found I'd lost my map, unfortunately. And, being totally unfamiliar with the city, I headed back to Union Station for lunch, and began to devour another book. That, and people-watching, and getting up and exploring Union Station, kept me busy. I just had to get one souvenir at the little shop inside Union Station: An Amtrak hat. I'm sure that will go over well on any future journey I might take on any of the nation's airlines. :lol:

This time, as opposed to the day before, the Starlight wasn't too late; it's due in Portland at 3:40 PM and was going to be in about 4:05. I got into a conversation with a man who was waiting impatiently for it; his dad, whom he hadn't seen in ten years, was coming up from Palm Springs.

About 4 PM, 45 minutes before our departure, I began to notice a line forming at the gate where we were supposed to leave from. There had been no announcement of any kind, but I was certain that it was forming for a reason, that a large group of people hadn't, by some large coincidence, decided to all stand in line right there. :lol: So I asked the conductor, who indeed said it was the line for the EB: those traveling with a group of two or more through one door, and those traveling alone in another. We began to board about 4:15, and I chose a strategically located seat: on the right side of the train, nearest the stairs and thus nearest the bathroom. :lol: The train was completely full, and my seatmate was a man on his way to an Elks convention in Pasco. The car attendant was new; in fact, this was his first ever trip from Portland. But he did a great job, more competent than many who have been on the job for years. And he had a great personality as well; it's easy to say now, before he gets tired of the travel, but I predict great things for him.

As we got underway, it didn't take long to bore the man next to me: After a few minutes, he went to sleep for awhile, then headed to the sightseer lounge. :lol: As for myself, I stayed in my coach seat this time. I was tired by then and wanted to nap. The EB made great time; it was early at every stop it made, which made the smokers happy; they got more smoke breaks that way. The day was gorgeous; Mount Hood was shining majestically in the distance.

We lost most of our passengers at Pasco, but gained even more; the coaches were completely full. Though there was no assigned seating out of Portland, there was out of Pasco, and an elderly lady sitting in front of me seemed nervous; she wanted a lower level seat, but was told none were available. She also seemed concerned on another front as wel, as she asked whether a man was going to be seated next to her. I don't know what that was about. I couldn't quite figure out the large amount of passengers getting on in Pasco, until it dawned on me that the vast majority of them were most likely part of the Coast Starlight bustitution at Klamath Falls. The fellow that became my seatmate was a young man headed to Glasgow, MT; I must have bored him, too, as he immediately headed for the lounge as well. :lol:

As I said, the train was early all the way around; in fact, we actually arrived in Spokane about 40-45 minutes *early!!* Too bad that doesn't happen more often.

Again, a kudos goes to the BNSF; we must have passed nearly a dozen freight trains between Portland and Pasco, all waiting on sidings for us. As I have said, the UP could learn a thing or two from then. And the crews all the way around were great; some had no personalities whatsoever, but they did their jobs competently, weren't rude and nasty, and were helpful all the way around.

I'd sure do this trip again. I filed a few things away for future reference as far as what to do and what not to do, so that will help. Now, I'm ready for my next trip: Chicago-Sacramento on the CZ. Can't wait!!!


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## p&sr (Jun 20, 2008)

JayPea said:


> I'd sure do this trip again. I filed a few things away for future reference as far as what to do and what not to do, so that will help.


Thanks for the interesting Report! Sounds like a great trip, scenic and nicely structured. Allowing an overnight break between segments was a great way to avoid a "Cascade"-effect of possible delays!



JayPea said:


> Now, I'm ready for my next trip: Chicago-Sacramento on the CZ. Can't wait!!!


Enjoy!


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## Cascadia (Jun 23, 2008)

Glad you made it to Powell's! You said "more money and a bigger bag for books", keep in mind that the main Post Office is right next to the Union Station, so if you bought books and could scrounge a box, you could ship them to yourself very cheaply using the Media Mail rate.

Thanks again for the report. I saw myself inside that Portland Station again while reading it.


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## R. W. Rynerson (Jun 24, 2008)

JayPea said:


> The return journey home went a lot smoother.....


I enjoyed your account and agree that a trip like that can be mellow if you put the right breaks into your itinerary. The Northwest Triangle is one of the outstanding short rail vacation trips in the world, and it is a nice idea to add on the Willamette Valley side trip.

The Northwest Triangle Tour (PDX-SEA-SPK or various combinations) used to be a tariff item in the Optional Routings of the pre-Amtrak rail lines. I made this trip from Portland in early September 1966 on a Milwaukee Road ticket. My itinerary then was:

Pool Train 457 (UP) PDX - SEA

Empire Builder (GN) SEA - SPK (pickled herring as an appetizer, served in a chilled silverplate bowl with a trident fork)

The Spokane (UP) SPK - HNK (one coach)

The Idahoan (UP) HNK - PDX (with a meal stop in The Dalles).

It was great fun to present a Milwaukee Road ticket to the GN conductor, and after musing over it, he accepted it. The reason for using this combination is that the Milwaukee had a Northwest Triangle tariff filed with the UP, whereas the GN tariff was filed with the SP&S and NP. However, when the Milwaukee Road withdraw from the Olympian Hiawatha service, they made arrangements for their tickets to be honored on parallel lines. The joys of pre-computer tariff analysis!

My dad and mom made this same itinerary in the 1950's using the GN daylight Cascadian from Seattle to Spokane. Years later, my mother would still recall the tons of snow. For the railroad, difficult, but for my parents a relaxing time away from us kids.


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## JayPea (Jul 15, 2008)

When I was a kid, I went with a friend and his dad (the dad was a depot agent for the UP in our town at the time) from Spokane to Hinkle and back on a mixed consist train, a coach in the middle of a long freight. We watched the freight operations at the big yard in Hinkle, which to me was very fascinating. That was not long before the old Union Station in Spokane was torn down to make way for Expo '74.


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