# CHI to LA the long way (EB & CS)



## Cristian (Mar 18, 2011)

Hi all,

This is my first trip report. I'm traveling from CHI to VNC via SEA. Currently on my second night on the Empire Builder #7, now heading towards Whitefish with a delay of almost 4 hours.

When we were leaving Shelby, 2 minutes after departing the train came to a complete stop and HEP was turned off. No announcements were made as to what was going on and I was standing in the hallway advising people trying to use the restrooms that they currently do not work. The only announcement came from the dining car attendant and said that services are temporarily suspended and that she does not know the cause. We started to roll back towards the station and then stopped. After about 20 minutes the conductor came on and said that a PV had to be attached to our train. (I guess when you have a PV and spend $$$ to attach it to Amtrak you have the power to stop trains in their tracks). Power was restored and everything went back to normal. Later in the dining car I saw both conductors and they looked like they could use a couple of beers. Had the steak but couldn't finish it due to a bad toothache even though it was very good. Now I'm trying to go to sleep because breakfast is really early tomorrow morning 

Will keep you posted.

Cristian


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## emmy (Mar 18, 2011)

Not a very good start for such a long journey.Looking on the bright side the bad start is behind you.Hope it will be sunshine and adventure for the rest of the trip.Keep us posted and hope you get rid of the toothache.The lounge would be good for that I am sure.


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## Cristian (Mar 18, 2011)

We just left Spokane right no 6am PT. Eta 2.5 hrs late in SEA per amtrak.com


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## Cristian (Mar 18, 2011)

We're (very) slowly making our way to Everett - now ETA into SEA is ~4 hrs. late. Hopefully no more mudslides!. The PV is still attached to the train, I took some pictures but now my camera is dead. The car is blue, not a dome and couldn't find any name on it, but i'll upload pics once my battery is charged.

EDIT - Here's pic of that PV:



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## Cristian (Mar 18, 2011)

emmy said:


> Not a very good start for such a long journey.Looking on the bright side the bad start is behind you.Hope it will be sunshine and adventure for the rest of the trip.Keep us posted and hope you get rid of the toothache.The lounge would be good for that I am sure.


Thanks 

Toothache is slightly better, however I still had pancakes for breakfast to be on the safe side. Lounge car is on its way to PDX; I am, however, looking forward to the Parlor Car on tomorrow's CS.


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## Cristian (Mar 18, 2011)

Conductor just made an announcement that due to today's mudslide they're stopping in Everett and bussing everyone to Seattle. ugh..


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## GG-1 (Mar 18, 2011)

Cristian said:


> The PV is still attached to the train, I took some pictures but now my camera is dead. The car is blue, not a dome and couldn't find any name on it, but i'll upload pics once my battery is charged.


Aloha

That paint looks like the VIA paint.


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## Cristian (Mar 19, 2011)

On the CS now which is completely sold out - including the transdorm. Just finished lunch in the Parlor car. I'm in 1132 which is the only car that has yet to be refurbished - just my luck.

There is a huge tour group on board of elderly persons called "America by rail"


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## Cristian (Mar 19, 2011)

Having thw wine & cheese tasting which is now free - that was a surprise.


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## Cristian (Mar 19, 2011)

I noticed that the same PV that was atrached to the EB in Shelby is now attached to my CS. I was even allowed onboard and took a couple of pics


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

We are horribly delayed due to a locomotive breaking down last night while going up a mountain before Klamath Falls, as well as further delays down the road due to frozen switches (?) and freight traffic. The train was also overbooked in coach in Eugene (Over 60+ people got on here) and they had to put some people in the lounge car for the night.

I had a great dinner - Asian short ribs with mashed potatoes it was very very very good, the best meal I've had on any mode of transportation so far  Other choices for dinner in the dining car included St. Louis spare ribs, and a very nice halibut fillet. The Parlor Car ran out of the lamb in the first sitting and ran out of the lobster bisque shortly after. I've never seen a train run out of food so fast.

Breakfast this morning was hectic to say the least with huge waiting lists and almost nothing left on the menu after the second group. All was left when I finally got to sit down was some scrambled eggs (which were portioned in sizes smaller than a kids' menu in order to serve more people) and a biscuit. No grits, no bacon, no pancakes, no french toast, absolutely nothing. Even the coffee appeared to have been portioned in smaller sizes as all the cups were half-filled.

We are now making our way towards Chico with a delay of over 5 hours. And I'm also being told that we will be delayed for an additional 2 hours in Salinas due to track work. This is getting better and better.

The bedroom I have in the non-refurbished car "Wyoming" has a strong "sewer system" odor. There are 2 bedrooms (E and D) unoccupied in car 1130, however, I was unsuccessful in getting any conductor to allow me to switch to one of those, claiming that someone will occupy those at the next stop - which never seems to actually happen. This morning the bedrooms were still unoccupied. For a "premier" train as Amtrak calls this one, they should not have any un-refurbished cars IMHO....

Will keep you posted as I can and as I have available internet connectivity.


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## hello (Mar 20, 2011)

_I'm glad that you found the Parlour Car dining selections delicious ... we will be trying their menu for the first time this spring ... but in the opposite direction! _

_ _

_I've enjoyed reading your reviews ... thank you!_


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

@hello Glad I'm able to be of assistance, hope you enjoy your upcoming trip; the CS truly is one of the best runs in the US (especially when everything is smooth and on time...)

We are now stopped somewhere before Sacramento, yet with another engine issue. Have been sitting here for the past 40 min or so and they do not have an ETA as of yet. The conductors are talking with Operations and trying to figure out how to proceed further.


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

We are now waiting for a UP loco to take us to SAC. No ETA on when that's going to arrive. The power keeps coming off and on making it difficult for the dining cars to prepare lunch.


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

We are just pulling into Sacramento right now (9 and 1/2 hours late!). The dining car ran out of food - they even served the dinner entrees for lunch) so what they are announcing right now is that at OAK everyone is going to get KFC (!!). The Parlor Car still has its dining entrees but the attendant doesn't know how to proceed and has not been informed on how to proceed with his entrees.

ETA into LA is now 6:30am LOL!


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 20, 2011)

:hi: It's not just another Train Ride but an Adventure! I sense a nice Voucher :help: ( or refund of AGR points if you used them) for this trip from Hell, which can happen on any LD train, we've all had at least one! Maybe youll get some good KFC and then get to see SBA-LAX in the daylight as late as the train is running, remember Phillipes in LAX for Breakfast when you arrive! :wub:


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

We left Sacramento about 20 min ago - they actually loaded KFC here and gave everyone a box of 2-piece chicken and mashed potatoes. It appears that the diner car had some salads available for vegetarians - but was not advertised - you had to ask the right people about it.

The Parlor Car attendant had meals but did not want to serve them saying that it wouldn't be fair to the people that ate KFC. He served free wine/beer instead to calm people down.

I was talking to one diner attendant and he said this delay wasn't even on his top 10 of wost delays; however, he has been with Amtrak for 17 years LOL.

@jimhudson: Oh I'm getting off at VNC (one stop before LAX) as that is where I had left my car. And it feels a bit strange to have all these issues as a relative newbie with riding Amtrak 

ETA 6am arrival into VNC but that is likely to change further down the line to an even later time.

I'm still a bit upset about the attendant who did not want to allow me to switch my bedroom to his car saying that the room will be occupied at the next station - when I just walked past the two rooms one of them was being used as a storage for soiled linens and the other one had the bed made up but untouched.....


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## Cristian (Mar 20, 2011)

We're still being pulled by the UP loco. The second loco is a Cascades one. Currently approaching EMY.

Does anyone know how will the system handle two train numbers at the same station on same day? (ie: VNC, LAX, etc.)


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## Cristian (Mar 21, 2011)

Well this is getting better and better. We're stuck at a small station somewhere between SLO & SBA there has been a mudslide and no traiins are alliwed thru. They will bus everyone to their destinations and will more than likely turn the train here. No breakfast available....some people got some croissants on a first come first seved basis. No coffee either. What a nightmare. Sory about spelling errors my cellphone sucks.


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## jb64 (Mar 21, 2011)

I am so sorry your trip has been plagued with problems. When my big trip comes up this summer, I am going to keep your trip in mind when things don't go quite like I expect. Unless they rise to the level of your fiasco, my problems should seem small. Here's hoping that Amtrak Customer Service accomodates you as best they can.


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## Cristian (Mar 21, 2011)

Just arrived at SBA via bus. Now waiting for a Surfliner to finally take me home.


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## Cristian (Mar 21, 2011)

Managed to find a business class seat in a non-existent train SBA-VNC that does not show up online or anywhere.

It's a single level train with the recliner seats as well as the half-cafe car thing. Will post some pics from this unique trip (to say the least....) once i get settled at home.


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 21, 2011)

Cristian said:


> Managed to find a business class seat in a non-existent train SBA-VNC that does not show up online or anywhere.
> 
> It's a single level train with the recliner seats as well as the half-cafe car thing. Will post some pics from this unique trip (to say the least....) once i get settled at home.


:hi: Glad you finally ended the trip from Hell! :wacko: Please remember to Call Amtrak Customer Relations, :help: sounds like you should receive a very Large Voucher or AGR point Rebate if you used points for this fiasco of a trip! :excl: We've all had them! Very interesting about the Ghost Surfliner that finallt got you to your Station, Look forward to further Reorts/Info! hboy:


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## hello (Mar 21, 2011)

_Glad that you're home ... and that you have a year's worth of stories to tell!!_


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## Cristian (Mar 21, 2011)

Here are the train-related pics that I've taken throughout this crazy journey. Having trouble embedding the pics so please click on the link below to view the album.

Enjoy! 

https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink



jimhudson said:


> Please remember to Call Amtrak Customer Relations, :help: sounds like you should receive a very Large Voucher or AGR point Rebate if you used points for this fiasco of a trip!


I spoke with Customer Relations - they did not seem inclined to refund part/all my points used for this trip, however, they gave me a $1,000 voucher (how is this amount on the scale of vouchers for similar situations? - she did say that she'd rather keep the voucher on file electronically rather than mailing it out to me as she was not sure if the stations could print high value residual vouchers on ticket exchanges.)

Of course I would've preferred the points refund instead, perhaps I'll try to talk to AGR directly and see if they can do anything. (Since if I were to pay for this trip with cash it would've been over $2300...)



jimhudson said:


> Very interesting about the Ghost Surfliner that finallt got you to your Station, Look forward to further Reorts/Info! hboy:


As for that Ghost Surfliner train the only thing I can tell you about it is that it showed up all of the sudden on the platform, lots of people rushed to board it and the conductor kept saying it's oversold; I went to the business car attendant and showed her my bc ticket for the 1:40pm train and asked if I can board this one instead. This train did not show up online neither when trying to dummy book SBA-VNC earlier on the bus on my way to SBA, nor when checking the train status page. Unfortunately I did not recall the train number since that was the last thing on my mind at that point. I'm pretty sure it might've been one of the morning trains which was supposed to go to SLO and that got canceled due to the mudslide or something similar.


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## ColdRain&Snow (Mar 22, 2011)

Glad you made it back to SoCal finally. That was one heck of an adventure. Last month, I did a 14|28|5 triangle that featured an 8+ hour bustitution from Havre to Minot and an 8 hour hold at the top of Donner Pass in a relentless snowstorm. It's funny how those memories faded quickly while the trip's many fond memories continue to burn bright in my mind. I hope the same will be true for you. Thanks for the interesting reporting along your trek, and welcome home.


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## Cristian (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks! It's good to be back, although I'd do it again tomorrow if I could (minus all the delays and issues, of course  )


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## AlanB (Mar 22, 2011)

Cristian said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > Please remember to Call Amtrak Customer Relations, :help: sounds like you should receive a very Large Voucher or AGR point Rebate if you used points for this fiasco of a trip!
> ...


Customer relations AFAIK cannot deal with points, only AGR could have given you back some points for the problems.

And now that CS has given you a voucher, unless the AGR agent fails to check things out, they won't give you points back. That would be like getting a double refund. I also don't think, although I will not swear to it since AGR is now in house, that the AGR agent can cancel the voucher and then give you back points.


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## Cristian (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the insight; I did not know CR does not deal with points. It was actually AGR whom I called first and they were the ones that transferred me to CR. Since I value the miles more than the $1,000 voucher I will see if I can get them to switch. (now, if somehow I end up with both, well, that's another story  )

It would be nice if Amtrak would take it upon themselves to send an apology to all the passengers on that train - similar to what an airline would do and has done.

Before I got on the bus, I spoke with the attendant whom yesterday told me this wasn't even on his top 10 list in 17 years of Amtrak, and he admitted that with the new developments this is now high on his top 10. Most other train staff I've talked to said that this was the worst incident so far for them, including the two conductors.


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