# Northwest, Southeast, and Philly



## CHamilton (Sep 27, 2012)

Appropriately enough, I started my adventure on Bilbo's Birthday, September 22. I did remember to take a pocket handkerchief.

*Leg 1: SEA-SAC on the Coast Starlight*

The Starlight was, as always, a very pleasant trip, although we left Seattle late, and we got later due to some equipment changes in Portland. But we made up the time and arrived in SAC about 25 minutes early. I could have gone to Martinez, but didn't want to hassle with changing the reservations.

Neither the SCA nor the dining car staff was quite as solicitous as I'm used to, but maybe I've just been spoiled by the EB crew. This bunch made everything work, but they just weren't quite up to the friendliness and helpfulness I've come to expect. I also skipped the wine and cheese, but we did have a PPC, where I spent several pleasant hours. If only Amtrak could have one of those on every train!

The new hike between the trains and the station is significant, and I was huffing and puffing by the time I got up the ramps. If you are at all unsure as to your ability to take the walk, use the redcap service and their larger-than-usual carts. I didn't see any elevators, so that doesn't seem to be an option.

I didn't bother trying to check luggage; instead, some folks I'd made friends with on the CS who were also transferring to the CZ took turns with me watching out bags while we went down to the Starbucks next door to the station. We then spent our time people-watching the crowd getting on the trains to Oakland for the football game.

*Leg 2: SAC-CHI on the California Zephyr*

What can I say about the Zephyr that Henry Kisor hasn't already said more eloquently? The scenery was spectactular, as always -- leaves were just beginning to turn in the mountains, although the drought-ruined corn in Iowa was pretty shocking.

Unfortunately, I again had an SCA who was not that good. She announced over the PA when she was going to dinner, and said that when she returned, she would put all the beds down. No choice if you wanted that service earlier or later. In her defense, she did have to deal with a passenger who was very unhappy with everything, and who the conductor almost kicked off the train at one point.

I was a little bit nervous about making the connection in CHI, but we actually arrived a few minutes early. The Metropolitan Lounge was surprisingly empty, and the wi-fi even worked. I found out later, though, that the emptiness was due to a several-hour-late EB. I sure am glad that I'll be going home to Seattle that way, and won't have to worry about a connection.

*Leg 3: CHI-BAL on the Cardinal*

We left CHI only a few minutes late, but the train had several PV cars on it (deadleading to Beech Grove, apparently) which caused more delays at IND, which thamkfully I slept through. I did wake up in CIN, and enjoyed the scenery at the New River Gorge and in other parts of West Virginia.

The limited food options in the cafe were not as bad as some people have reported, although my my tablemates and I were amused to discover that every single entree on the menu includes cheese (including the "Cardinal Cheeseburger -- available with or without cheese." Huh?)

I arrived in BAL about an hour and a half late..

*****

This is the first time that I've done four consecutive nights on Amtrak, and I doubt I'll repeat it. I've been weaving rather than walking most of today, and am just now feeling steady again, just in time for my next leg that starts tomorrow afternoon.

By the way, I attempted to use the check-in feature of the Amtrak app with my portable hotspot and my iPad. Results were spotty at best. C'mon, Amtrak, get the Android app done, okay?

I have posted a few pictures. More to come.

https://www.facebook...=3&l=0caee64d61


----------



## Bob Dylan (Sep 28, 2012)

:hi: Thanks for the Report and the Pics Charlie! Im sort of surprised that the CS Crew wasnt First Rate, did that include the LSA in the PPC who I've always found to be Outstanding?

Four nights is just a Nice Ride in the Park, the_traveler would consider that a Day Trip! :lol:

I leave tomorrow for PHL via LAX and will be on the Train 6 Days and 5 Nights, just another Trip to Paradise!  (well, maybe that's overstating it, it is Philly after all!!  ) See you in PHL, dont let Penny get lost on the way to PHL! ^_^


----------



## CHamilton (Sep 28, 2012)

Jim,I confess that I didn't reeally interact with the attendant in the PPC, since I wasn't excited about the meal choices they had available. But you're right, in the past I've had good experiences there.I'm currently on my way south through Virginia on the Silver Star, and am pleased that both the SCA and the dining car folks are, so far, excellent, and more like what I'm used to. So let's hope it continues that way for the rest of the trip!


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 2, 2012)

*Leg 4: BAL-CLB on the Silver Star*

Not much to say about this one. Fun to be leaving from BAL, which was my home station for many years. It hasn't changed much, although I miss the old Solari board and the live arrival announcements. On time, and good and friendly SCA -- whose name I didn't catch -- although he didn't offer to put my bed down. I guess he figured (correctly) that I'd be staying up for the 1:44 am arrival in Columbia (ugh). Great time visiting with relatives there.

*Leg 5: CLB-WPK on the Silver Star*

Again an on-time arrival. Had to wait a few minutes for the roomette to be ready, as I think someone had been occupying it. Another good SCA whose name I didn't catch. Great pancakes for breakfast -- do they really still make them "to order" as the menu says? I assume it might be possible in a Heritage diner. Slow orders from building the commuter rail and signal problems slowed us down south of Deland, and we made it to WPK about an hour late. Hot and sticky, but I walked across the park to the Park Plaza where I've been watching trains go by from the balcony. Had dinner last night with a friend, and am scheduled to have lunch with Penny in a little while. Sightseeing this afternoon, then north on the Star this evening.


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 2, 2012)

*Leg 6: WPK-RVR on the Silver Star*

Am writing this aboard train 92, which left WPK on time, but is now poking along south of DeLand, I assume again becausw of the construction. I had a blast in Winter Park, where I was able to sit on the hotel balcony and watch trains go by, including during a rather impressive thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. I had dinner with an old college friend last evening, and had lunch today with Penny. We chatted for quite a long time about trains and other gossip...and ran into Representative Mica, of all people! I wouldn't have recognized him, but I gather that his toupee is well-known among his constituents 

We let him know that we were train advocates, and Mica said all of the things one would expect. Aside from his comment that Amtrak should lose less money on food service, if one didn't know better, from his talk one would think that he was Amtrak's best friend. He did explain where the FECI project was suppposed to connect to the airport, but not knowing this area I didn't quite understand the geography. I'll let Penny jump in with that.


----------



## Rail Freak (Oct 3, 2012)

Where did you run into Mica?


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 3, 2012)

Rail Freak said:


> Where did you run into Mica?


A restaurant called 310 Park South in Winter Park.


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 6, 2012)

*Leg 7: RVR to PHL on the Silver Star*

After a very pleasant 24 hours in Richmond with a friend, it was back to RVR to connect with Anderson, who was joining me for the remaining pre-Gathering journey. Train 92 was anout 1:20 late arriving due to the accident in Florida mentioned elsewhere, but Penny, who was taking the same train, texted me that she had made us a 2:00 lunch reservation. The three of us had a nice meal and chatfest. The dining staff took our dinner reservations, since it appeared that we would be late enough into PHL that we would get dinner on the Star as well.

Sure enough, we all got to eat some of Amtrak's good salmon before it was time for our arrival in PHL, where we were met by several of the AU crowd. I had decided to stay downtown, so it was a short hop to Market East and hte hotel.

*Legs 8-17 (I think): SEPTA and PATCO and NJT, Oh My!*

The first full day of the Gathering was quite a collection (a decapod?) of trips on local and commuter train lines in the Philadelphia area. They were all fun, although for me, a couple of the highlights were the NJT River Line and the Princeton Dinky. But thank heavens for Peter and Alan, who sorted out the ridiculously complex morass of different tickets that were needed to ride these services. We ended the day with a group dinner that was undistinguished, to put it kindly, but the conversation was terriffic.

*Legs 18-19: PHL-HAR-PHL on the Keystone*

Saturday featured the intrepid AU crowd (Gathering call: "Hey you! AU!") traveling to Harrisburg for a quick look at the beautifully-restored interior of HAR station, and a couple of pieces of Pennsylvania RR equipment, including a GG-1 engine of the sort that my grandfather was an engineer on. We had lunch in a mall food court a couple of blocks away, where I believe that some of the group had a Harrisburger. I skipped a couple of evening SEPTA runs to catch up with this, and rest up for tomorrow.


----------



## caravanman (Oct 7, 2012)

Hi Charley,

Thanks for the report and pics, also seen on facebook too... My sort of trip, taking the long way round! Was the "woozy" feeling from tiredness, or from the motion of the train? I think travel seems to make me extra tired, even when I am sitting down... maybe the constant jogging around of the bones... Hey, what great way to exercise, just sitting on a train!

Cheers,

Ed


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 11, 2012)

Ed,

Did I say "woozy"? I'm always amused at the fact that I tend to feel train motion for a good 24 hours after disembarking.

*Leg 20-21: PHL-WIL-PHL on NE Regional and SEPTA*

I joined the group for our jaunt to Wilmington, where we got to see Amtrak maintenance in action. My interest in trains is not particularly technical, but it was certainly interesting to see the variety of equipment needed to maintain the network. Eric (GG-1) was disappointed that there didn't seem to be much interest in bringing back his namesake, but that's progress for you. The return trip to PHL via SEPTA was unexciting, but at least SEPTA runs on Sunday, unlike a lot of other systems.

After the train trips, we stopped in at Reading Terminal Market, where I had a disappointing cheesesteak. Oh, well, there was more good food ahead. I again skipped the afternoon train rides to Norristown, since I'd have to be up pretty early the next day.

*Leg 21-22: PHL-MET-PHL on NE Regional*

After checking out of our hotel, Anderson and I took one last trip from Market East to 30th Street for a (sort of) points run to Metropark. I had arranged to have lunch with an old friend, after which we went back to 30th Street for a couple of hours in the very pleasant ClubAcela before the next section of the trip.

*Leg 23: PHL-NOL on the Crescent*

For some reason, I'd never taken the Crescent before, so it was great fun to add some mileage. Since there were two of us on this leg, I'm glad I spent the extra AGR points for a bedroom last spring before the rates went up. It's amazing how tight even a bedroom can be with two people. But it was a great trip, and we had sleeping and dining car crews. They were about the most cheerful bunch I think I've ever run into on Amtrak. I missed my chance to have a crescent on the Crescent, though, opting instead for the French toast.

The approach to New Orleans over Lake Ponchartrain happened just at sunset, and was quite spectacular. A great way to end another excellent trip.


----------



## the_traveler (Oct 12, 2012)

Great report. You may have done more miles than me this year, so next year I have to try better!


----------



## AlanB (Oct 12, 2012)

CHamilton said:


> But it was a great trip, and we had sleeping and dining car crews.


I would hope that you had sleeping and dining car crews! 

It would be a major problem if you didn't have any. :lol:


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 12, 2012)

Hmm, I think there was supposed to be a positive adjective in there somewhere.  And Dave, I can't imagine how I could possibly beat you. But to quote the old commercial, if I'm number 2, I'll try harder...


----------



## Bob Dylan (Oct 12, 2012)

CHamilton said:


> Hmm, I think there was supposed to be a positive adjective in there somewhere.  And Dave, I can't imagine how I could possibly beat you. But to quote the old commercial, if I'm number 2, I'll try harder...


Well, you beat me too Charlie! Im used to being either the Last one Home or #2 to Dave but looks like you take the Grand Prize this year with your "Short" Tour of America! We're envious! ^_^


----------



## Railroad Bill (Oct 12, 2012)

Enjoyed your trip report and meeting you in Philadelphia. 

Have a safe and happy trip back home


----------



## pennyk (Oct 12, 2012)

I enjoyed reading your trip report and enjoyed our lunch together on Tuesday and lunch and dinner on Thursday. I hope you are having (had) a safe and enjoyable trip home.


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 13, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes. I'm getting down to the wire now, but it sure has been a blast. I daresay my rear end, elbows and inner ears will be happy to be home, but my brain (not the strongest part of me...) is already planning the next trip  To quote my friend Erik from Minnesota, "life is better when you have train tickets waiting."

*New Orleans*

I'm lucky to have some relatives living in the NO area, so we were able to get together for great food -- including some dynamite fried chicken that comes from a gas station! -- and shrimp, of course, which is my weakness when in that part of the world. During the day, I unfortunately had to work. I guess my company's clients can't manage without me this long.

I stayed in a new Hyatt at Iberville and Bourbon. It was nice enough, but I only stayed there because I had some points to use up. I didn't find it to be worth what they would normally charge.

*Leg 24: NOL-CHI on the City of New Orleans*

The last two legs of this trip included bedrooms, thanks to the AGR points I spent back in the spring before the rates went up. I figured that by now, I'd be needing some creature comforts, and I was right...but a Superliner bedroom feels huge with only one person after sharing a Viewliner bedroom from PHL-NOL. Maybe I'm just used to Superliners, but I felt awfully claustrophobic in those Viewliners.

One thing hasn't changed, though -- the track that the CONO travels is IMHO the worst, bounciest ride that Amtrak has. Lots of other people, including several experienced riders, were saying the same thing, so it wasn't just me.

We sat in the Jackson yard for almost an hour waiting for CN coal trains, but we did manage to pull into CHI only a couple of minutes late.

The sleeper and diner staff, including SCA Tisha, were quite good. But the diner was out of a bunch of things, like cocktail sauce for the crab cakes and most of the salad dressings. The LSA said that they were getting ready to change menus, so items that were being discontinued weren't being reordered. That sounded a little bogus to me.

I had been happy with the crab cakes on several previous occasions, but these were evidently from a different source, and were more bread than crab. Maybe I was spoiled by a couple of days of excellent New Orleans seafood, but Amtrak let me down this time. And I wasn't expecting much from the "express" breakfast menu coming into Chicago, but the French toast was horribly overcooked and tough.

CUS hasn't changed, although apparently a couple of the Met Lounge ladies are working the public Amtrak information desk now. As usual, the lounge got quite crowded as we waited for 21, 5, then 7 to depart. And the wi-fi worked for a while, then quit under the load.

*Leg 25: CHI-SEA on the Empire Builder*

Wow. Our SCA Chris got on the PA to offer an upgrade to a bedroom. Can't remember the last time I heard that. He seems to be very friendly and efficient, as does LSA Stephanie. Both seem rather young, but so far, they're very good. Dinner was good, and had a nice conversation with some novice train riders, all of whom were returning from east coast trips, and seemed to be happy with Amtrak. Stay tuned for more...


----------



## CHamilton (Oct 16, 2012)

*Leg 25 (continued): CHI-SEA on the Empire Builder*

A quick post to finish the trip report before I get bogged down in work (sigh, vacation's end...).

Train 8's staff was, as almost always, excellent. Monty in the cafe made an announcement I hadn't heard before: he said that he'd ordered 30 chicken dinners, with sides and huckleberry cobbler (sounds yummy!) from a local restaurant in Havre, and was selling them for $10. He took reservations. and I was tempted, but stuck with the usual fare, which by this time, I know quite well.

I could definitely get used to the size and convenience of a bedroom on a trip this long, but it's not likely to happen again until I build up some more AGR points.

We ran as much as 1:30 down through ND and eastern MT, so Glacier Park was passed in the dark. But we were a couple of minutes early into Spokane, and almost 45 minutes early into Seattle, where the sun was shining despite a rainy weather forecast. A good end to a great trip!

Now, to plan the next one  It was great to see everyone in PHL. Looking forward to 2013!


----------

