Coast Starlight Electrical Fire 9/20/24

badavis55 · Sep 20, 2024

I’m not sure if I’m placing this in the correct place. I boarded this morning LA Union Station for a much anticipated trip to Seattle. This is my first time on CS. After enjoying my lunch in the dining car, I headed to the sightseer car to listen to the volunteers share their vast knowledge about the area we were going through. After about an hour I decided to head back to my roomette for a nap. As I walked through the dining car I detected a smell like burning rubber. One said she had turned the fan on and another was asking someone to open the doors. Soon after there was an announcement for sleeping car passengers who were in the sightseer car to either return to their rooms or stay where they were until we get to the next stop of San Luis Obispo. We were allowed to get off at the next stop but were told to stay close and not go into the station as the break would be short. Once we reboarded they announced there had been an electrical fire and the dining car would be closed for the rest of the day. Sleeping car passengers would have dinner delivered to them and coach passengers would have access to the Cafe car for food. Our car attendant came to inquire if we were vegan otherwise we would be served a chicken & vegetables meal along with drinks and dessert. So, we’re waiting and enjoying the passing scenery. What do you do when life hands you lemons? You make a lemon drop martini

#Could’veBeenWorse

Cal · Sep 21, 2024

Seems minor, as they are still seemingly serving traditional dining and might be reopening tomorrow. Hope they're able to get passengers back in, and I'm glad everyone is good!

badavis55 · Sep 21, 2024

Update: Around 6:30 pm the announcement was the Grub Hub driver seems to have stolen our chicken. Yup, he made off with 160 pieces of chicken that was to be delivered to us in Salinas. We were told to go to the cafe to grab something to eat and that pizza would be delivered in San Jose. We opted to wait for the pizza as there was a mad dash for the cafe car. About an hour or so later the dining room attendant came through and asked if we had eaten yet? We said no - he told us to go to the dining room to get food. We were given 2 pieces of baked chicken, rice and mashed potatoes with gravy and flat bread, sodas and ice which we took back to our roomette. Shortly after leaving San Jose the Announcement was made that pizza was here. Staff made sure everyone was able to have something to eat! What will happen tomorrow? Stay tuned!

alpha3 · Sep 22, 2024

Glad they did something passenger-forward for you guys; sounds like they really tried to ease the inconvenience, especially for sleeper passengers. Much better than what I experienced on CZ last year. Dining car died completely, couldn't serve anything. All the crew did is tell us to go to the Cafe car. That's it.

Cal · Sep 23, 2024

So what happened on the second day?

badavis55 · Sep 25, 2024

Saturday morning we were offered to get food from the cafe (breakfast sandwich, bagel & cream cheese, cinnamon streusel) and/or cereal from the dining car. They delivered hamburgers, dessert & sodas for lunch. Dinner was ham or turkey subs with dessert & sodas! To compound things we got stuck up in the Cascade Mountains due to a disabled freight. We were due in Seattle at 9pm Saturday night but didn’t arrive until 5 am Sunday Morning!

zetharion · Oct 6, 2024

Well that's a trip you wont soon forget lol. Sounds like you handled it like I would, just go with the flow! No use in getting upset and setting a negative mood for the rest of the trip.