# Michigan to California and Back - October 26-November 2, 2015



## tim49424 (Mar 8, 2016)

I started this adventure a little before 7 AM, departing from Holland, Michigan on the Pere Marquette. The first leg was quite normal for me as I've traveled on the PM, somewhere around 5-6 dozen times in either direction. We arrived a few minutes early around 9:05 AM Central time. I boarded the Southwest Chief later that afternoon as Peggy was my SCA. She was wonderful and found out that weeks later she was to receive a lifetime achievement award from Amtrak in Washington DC, well deserved to be sure. It was a fun trip out to Los Angeles, as this was my first time I'd ever been there. I didn't do any sightseeing, however, did purchase tickets while there to head down to San Diego and back on the Pacific Surfliner. There was plenty of time for me to do this as I arrived in LA at just before 8 AM and was scheduled to head back east on the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle around 10 PM. I took the trip to SD late that morning and took the next train back to LA, getting back to Union Station around 5 PM. I hung out in the Metropolitan Lounge for a few hours, watched the World Series and talked to a few of the other passengers until we boarded. The Coast Starlight was late getting into LA so we had to wait for them to arrive, leaving around 10:25. The bed was already made when I boarded and shortly after we departed, I went to sleep. As with the trip out on the SWC, the trip back until San Antonio was without issue. Then the storms hit.....I ate breakfast just as we departed SA and headed north and we had to stop just south of San Marcos due to two tornado warnings. The area had 15 inches of rain in 6 hours and slowly we arrived into the station and sat. The waters were rising at a rate of two feet per hour so the conductor made an announcement that we were going to back out of the station and head to higher ground until further notice. Due to the severe weather, no alternate transportation was sent that day (October 30). Finally the waters began to recede a bit and we returned to the stop at San Marcos and sat there for the night. Saturday (October 31) we were told that there were dozens of washouts down the track, one six feet deep. After sitting in SM all morning, we were finally informed we were going to be bussed to Fort Worth. A bus arrived around 1 PM to pick us up, as we totaled about 30 hours in SM. The southbound TE was turned in FW and we boarded it headed northwards around dinnertime. I ate shortly after we departed Dallas, went to bed a couple hours later and woke in northern Arkansas. We arrived in St. Louis around lunchtime on Sunday (November 1) and due to track work we were detoured and had no station stops until we arrived in Chicago. When we arrived, I missed my connecting train back to Holland by 29 minutes, so my time away was extended yet another day. Amtrak put me up at Swisshotel and gave me a $10 voucher for the food court at Union Station. I ended up spending all day Monday at Union Station as the PM was headed out at 6:30 that evening. I arrived back in Holland around 10:40 PM Monday, 48 hours later than planned. Although the delays were massive, I had a great time on a week long rail adventure, met some really nice people, had great food (yes, I love Amtrak food!) and had a trip that I'll remember for years.


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## oregon pioneer (Mar 8, 2016)

Oh, wow, sounds like a really good time! As long as you aren't missing anything important, I'd gladly take the extra train time and chance to see the storm's effects any day!


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 8, 2016)

Being able to make Lemonade out of Lemons is a good policy when traveling!

San Marcos is my hometown and the flooding can be brutal there!


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## tim49424 (Mar 8, 2016)

Bob Dylan said:


> Being able to make Lemonade out of Lemons is a good policy when traveling!
> 
> San Marcos is my hometown and the flooding can be brutal there!



During the time there, we were able to get off the train. I asked one of the locals about the flooding. He said the same thing. What I couldn't fathom was that it was the second time in 2015 that the area had evacuation orders for some. The other time was in May when a dam burst on the river. I'll never forget hearing the sirens of first responders constantly, seeing rescue helicopters and boats. One very striking site that I took a picture of (it didn't turn out well) was a canoe on one of the main streets. The experience was my first with actual flash flooding.....but not my first with tornadoes. What gave me chills was when the Dallas area tornadoes hit six weeks later, two days before Christmas. It makes me feel grateful that I live five miles from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan where such weather events are rare.


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## benale (Mar 22, 2016)

I love reading trip reports by people who just take the train for their adventure. Done that many times, and I have gotten to LA in the morning with a night return and I have also done a trip on the Surfliner North and South. Can't get too much train time! Enjoyable report. Weather certainly can make a difference in your plans. you seemed to have handled it quite well. A lot of people would have gone crazy. If you are in a sleeper and have to be bustituted for quite some time, that's a tough situation. In Coach, it's not as bad..the downgrade isn't that steep.

I recall taking the Texas Eagle to LA a few years ago and the tracks were closed South of Fort Worth due to flooding,so we were bused. It wasn't that a long a trip and we were back on the train in San Antonio. Another time, also on The Eagle we were bused from El Paso to Fort Worth, a twelve hour overnight ride. Not so pleasant. I did get a voucher from Amtrak for the downgrade from a sleeper, but you are at the mercy of the weather. As long as you have no definite plans the day you arrive, you are fine.

I'm flying to LA from BWI in three weeks just to take my last points achieved trip under the old zone system from LA to Fort Lauderdale on the Texas Eagle,Cardinal and The Silver Meteor. Hopefully,there will be no problems, but when embarking on a train trip,you never know what to expect.


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