Full quote:
"Passenger trains are like the male teat - neither useful nor ornamental."
Attributed to James J. Hill, the Empire Builder.
Lake Shore Limited discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024
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"Passenger trains are like the male teat - neither useful nor ornamental."
Attributed to James J. Hill, the Empire Builder.
Heck of a name for an Airline Eddie!Sadly, I realised today that I didn't relish that bustitution on the LSL from Boston after all. A bit too soon after arriving in the USA just the day before.
I cancelled my ticket, but lost 25% of the fare paid. Not a major amount, but I still feel it is wrong. Not many firms can get away with entering into a contract to supply something, changing what is delivered, but then charging 25% because the substitute supplied is not suitable.
I have booked to fly instead. Got a cheap fare on Plummet Airlines.
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Two months of substantial cancellation of trains 448 and 449 from Sept. 1 to the end of October. No guarantee of any Albany - Boston express busses as a substitution. Just sad.
With all of the months of cancellations of these trains over the years, I would think that the "necessary" trackwork would have resulted in getting the speed on the line between Albany and Boston up to about 95 mph by now but nothing ever seems to change. These trains just get no respect from Amtrak, CSX, MBTA and Keolis. They all want these trains to just go away but 448/449 passengers are a rugged breed and we return for punishment time and again.
With all of the months of cancellations of these trains over the years, I would think that the "necessary" trackwork would have resulted in getting the speed on the line between Albany and Boston up to about 95 mph by now but nothing ever seems to change. These trains just get no respect from Amtrak, CSX, MBTA and Keolis. They all want these trains to just go away but 448/449 passengers are a rugged breed and we return for punishment time and again.
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I am trying to piece together from various reports and comments what happened with the Boston sleeper earlier this month. It appears that the Boston sleeper went west to Chicago and a problem was found with the air conditioning. Maybe there was no air conditioning. Based on the comments, Chicago failed to fix the problem and the car came east on 448. The car was supposed to go out on 449(12) but because the repairs had not been made in Chicago, the car was bad ordered in Boston and the sleeper passengers in 449(12) were downgraded to coach. I don't know if an extra sleeper was added to 49(12) in NY to accommodate the Boston sleeper passengers or if the Boston sleeper passengers went all the way by coach. Corrections and additional information would be welcome.
As I have discovered from time to time, just because you have a sleeping car reservation for the Boston sleeper is not a guarantee that you will get to use it.
As I have discovered from time to time, just because you have a sleeping car reservation for the Boston sleeper is not a guarantee that you will get to use it.
fdaley
OBS Chief
I believe Steve4031 reported on this incident starting about post #20 in the thread "Trip Report: Brightline and the Silver Star." I will try link to that here:
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/trip-report-brightline-and-the-silver-star.87770/#post-1048218
I gather from his report that an additional sleeper ultimately was not added to the New York section and that there were not enough remaining rooms in the NY sleepers to accommodate everyone who had reservations in the Boston car. So some, including him, wound up spending the night in coach.
caravanman
Engineer
Following on from the bustitution change to my LSL from Boston to Chicago, I cancelled my ticket, but lost 25% of the fare paid. Not fair in my opinion, as I had been offered, and paid for, an all train ride.
I emailed Amtrak, and it looks like being a slow process to resolution:
"Dear EDWIN,
Thank you for contacting us regarding your refund. We apologize for the delay in responding, but we have been experiencing a high email volume. Your patience in this matter is appreciated.
We have forwarded your e-mail correspondence to our Customer Relations Department. A Customer Relations representative will contact you as soon as possible. Please be advised that a response may take several weeks."
Sounds like they have a lot of Customer Relations emails to deal with, one can only guess that most are lavishing praise onto Amtrak for the excellent service it provides...
I emailed Amtrak, and it looks like being a slow process to resolution:
"Dear EDWIN,
Thank you for contacting us regarding your refund. We apologize for the delay in responding, but we have been experiencing a high email volume. Your patience in this matter is appreciated.
We have forwarded your e-mail correspondence to our Customer Relations Department. A Customer Relations representative will contact you as soon as possible. Please be advised that a response may take several weeks."
Sounds like they have a lot of Customer Relations emails to deal with, one can only guess that most are lavishing praise onto Amtrak for the excellent service it provides...
We made the Downeaster to Lake Shore connection. As probably all of you know there's no baggage car on the Boston train. A few days ago I checked on sleeper availability on the website. It showed no rooms available. We figured we would be sleeping with our 2 suitcases, 2 backpacks and 2 camera bag's. Turns out that they do not sell roomettes 8 and 10. They store linens and water in those. Now they also have e everyone's bags piled in there everyone's bags piled in there.
fdaley
OBS Chief
Do they really block out two roomettes on every run for storage? So much for maximizing sleeper revenue.
Doing away with baggage service at Boston was another Anderson-era innovation, like dining cars without dining.
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I have had no issues with storing my luggage at the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge, as previous posters have said, Amtrak people keep the access pretty tight, and there are cameras, so I don't worry about it. For myself, I will point out that there is never anything in my roller bag or bigger luggage that I can't do without for a day or two. Anything vital to my well-being stays with me in a shoulder bag: Wallet, keys, garage door opener, passport, spare cash, medications, DSLR, extra lens, tickets and itineraries, phone and charger, etc. Can be a bit of a hassle, but this way if my bag is checked and lost, or stolen, it is only a minor inconvenience.
I haven't watched the Springfield, MA railcam that much lately as I used to, but when on it today watching 449 go through, I noticed it had two horizon cars (I'm assuming deadheading and not in revenue). Not used to seeing horizons utilized in that part of the country.
It was also cool to see one of the phase 7 P42s on it as well.
It was also cool to see one of the phase 7 P42s on it as well.
Horizons have run on the DownEaster
As far as I'm aware, this makes sense because I think they're slowly bringing Horizons to the Downeaster, such that in the interim before the Airos come along, I believe the plan is to make it an entirely Horizon train (similar to the Cascades). The Downeaster has until recently used Amfleet Is, which I presume Amtrak needs/wants to use on the burgeoning Northeast Corridor.
The saga of Ye Olde Horizons fascinates me, honestly. Given that some have been/are even this year still being refurbished, I imagine we'll see them for years to come on new routes like the Borealis and the New Orleans - Mobile serivce, as Airos finally displace Horizons used on the Cascades, Downeaster, etc. Maybe even for a much-desired 2nd Borealis frequency!
If they are for the Downeaster, strange that they would be on 449 as that is heading away from Boston. Perhaps they need to be shopped for some reason?
Probably going back to Beech Grove for something. You see that with some regularity on the Empire Builder with the Cascades Horizons.
caravanman
Engineer
I experienced the opposite journey just this last week. I was in coach, all that was offered were tiny bottles of water, given out to each passenger. No passengers received any food aboard the bus, but whether we were all "coach" passengers or mixed, I couldn't say.
We called at each station en route from Albany to Boston, picking up additional passengers and discharging original passengers accordingly.
The bus was pretty full, only the Amtrak staff were able to reserve two seats each to themselves. Bus toilet facilities were good, a modern vehicle.
We passed through some interesting towns along the way, seeing more scenic views than one would get from the train.
My advice, if you feel you will need to eat between Boston and Albany, pack some food!
We called at each station en route from Albany to Boston, picking up additional passengers and discharging original passengers accordingly.
The bus was pretty full, only the Amtrak staff were able to reserve two seats each to themselves. Bus toilet facilities were good, a modern vehicle.
We passed through some interesting towns along the way, seeing more scenic views than one would get from the train.
My advice, if you feel you will need to eat between Boston and Albany, pack some food!
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Normally roomette passengers get lunch between Boston and Albany, provided out of the cafe. Seems to me they should provide something but based on Caravanman's experience I wouldn't count on it. You usually get dinner from the diner that comes from NY once you leave Albany.
Ed was referring to east-bound dinner, not west-bound lunch, I think. The east-bound LSL (448) departs ALB at about 3:30 PM and arrives at BOS about 5 hours later so should provide dinner. I think the SCA usually distributes flex meals from the cafe car, but they are so unmemorable, I don't remember my last one.
One time, all they had were salads and mine was still frozen! There were literally chunks of ice in the iceberg lettuce. Fortunately, I was meeting some friends at Alewife to eat dinner at Summer Shack (Jasper White's excellent seafood restaurant) across the street, and we were on time and the Red Line was working well that evening.
We were there in mid September. The lounge stayed open till 9pm. It worked fine as we waited for the LSL. The lounge was nearly empty one the westbound trains had departed.
caravanman
Engineer
In post #131, back in August, I contacted Amtrak requesting a full refund of my Boston to Chicago fare, which I cancelled due to a bus substitution. True to their word that a reply from the Customer Relations Department might take several weeks, nothing heard, now in October!
I have The Guinness Book of Bad Records on standby in case it's a world record! (It's Amtrak... it won't be. )
I have The Guinness Book of Bad Records on standby in case it's a world record! (It's Amtrak... it won't be. )
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Evidently they have discontinued the small bag of peanuts which was provided to each passenger during our bustitution in 2019.
Definitely pack a supply of your own food before any Albany - Boston bustitution.
Definitely pack a supply of your own food before any Albany - Boston bustitution.
August is just a few hours ago on Amtrak time.In post #131, back in August, I contacted Amtrak requesting a full refund of my Boston to Chicago fare, which I cancelled due to a bus substitution. True to their word that a reply from the Customer Relations Department might take several weeks, nothing heard, now in October!
I have The Guinness Book of Bad Records on standby in case it's a world record! (It's Amtrak... it won't be. )
Just want to follow up on the bus substation from Boston to Albany. The bus did have an Amtrak attendant and he handed out snacks and water at the start of the trip. Thanks to this site I also brought food and glad I did. It made the trip bearable. I don't recommend this route though and I would look to circumvent it in the future.
