Search results

We also find the blue and white plastic Amtrak plates to be visually pleasing and don't mind eating from them. If Amtrak would start using paper or styrofoam plates, we'd consider that to be tacky. The real issue is to bring back traditional dining on all LD trains.

Aren't plastic plates recyclable?

Two adults eating lunch at McDonalds can spend almost that much now a days.

A well-run hotel was the inspiration for the operation of many long-haul luxury trains in the extra-fare all-Pullman years. The people who rode those luxury trains were those who not only expected the best of everything but who could afford service in the same style they might have encountered...

It took years of practice for a dining car waiter to gracefully walk through a train of swaying cars while carefully balancing a heavily ladened food tray destined for some private bedroom or drawing room. When asked how he did it, one waiter responded, “You simply learn how, that’s all. I can’t...

We’ve never had a problem eating off plastic Amtrak plates or drinking hot liquids in paper cups. On our trip last May, the dining car was using stainless steel Amtrak flat wear and cloth napkins. We even had stainless steel Amtrak flat wear and cloth napkins delivered along with the evening...

We continued to be amazed by those who are able to take off on a long-distance Amtrak trip when some great deal on a roomette or bedroom turns up at the last minute. Some people even depart without having a clear idea of the trains and accommodations they’ll have on the return portion of their...

Stage 3: Chicago to Toledo (September 5th) Because a majority of travelers are unfamiliar with the places and processes, the very nature of travel can result in feelings of tension, confusion, and sometimes even anxiety. This is especially true right now in Chicago Union Station because of the...

(Day 3: September 5th) Once again, I was up early. By the time I’d showered and dressed, we were already in Kansas City from where we departed on time at 7:01 a.m. Thirty minutes later, we crossed the Missouri River. The weather was beautiful, and we had every reason to believe that we’d...

(Day 2: September 4th) I woke up to find it still dark outside and our train standing still. We travel with a little battery-operated digital clock with large red numerals that are easy to read in the dark. Seeing that it was 4:00 a.m., I opened a corner of the window curtain just in time to...

Stage 2: Los Angeles to Chicago (Day 1: September 3rd) With our carry-on items in tow, we used a conveniently located ramp to descend from the platform to the wide pedestrian tunnel that runs underneath the tracks and into the station. Walking leisurely, we made our way to the elevator that...

Part 1: San Diego, California to Toledo, Ohio Stage 1: San Diego to Los Angeles (September 3rd) We left home a little before 9:00 a.m. to allow ourselves plenty of time to reach San Diego, drop off our car, and catch a shuttle ride to the Santa Fe Depot. (Once we turn in our car and until we...

Prologue Last year and right after we’d booked our May 2024 trip to Ohio, we made the decision to schedule two long distance Amtrak trips a year for as long as we’re still able to travel. (We’d tried for a second trip in 2023 but then weren’t able to obtain Southwest Chief bedrooms for the...

The sleepers have a center area with coffee and juice but no hot water for tea drinkers and those who want to make their own cup of soup. (Perhaps they did have hot water pre-COVID. I don't recall.) It shouldn't be too hard to set up a second urn with hot water.

Whenever we travel on Amtrak (and to identify myself as a railfan), when in public, I wear a ballcap with the Santa Fe Chief emblem. Although we never had the opportunity to ride on The Chief, we’ve traveled over its former route enough times so that we feel a kinship with those who did ride on...

I can understand why a private sector corporation, which must operate at a profit to survive, would be sensitive to social media’s coverage of how it does business. It my understanding that Amtrak does not exist to make a profit but to provide a Federally mandated service. IMHO, it is probably...

There should be some information available on how Amtrak handled the passengers on the SWC No. 4 which, on June 27, 2022, derailed and ended up on its side after hitting a truck. There were passengers who were injured. Who paid their medical bills? What arrangements were made to assist those...

What exactly is Amtrak’s legal obligation to someone who buys a ticket and then has their train cancelled in mid-journey, as was the case with the SWC No. 3 passengers who were stranded in Albuquerque earlier this year? According to some of the news stories, some of those people didn’t have...

Not everyone who travels has a smart phone or the expertise to use the internet to come up with alternative travel options on short notice. (Do the Amish folk who travel on Amtrak, for example, have cell phones or smart phones?) Even being stranded in a staffed Amtrak station can be stressful...

We were glad to hear that the "Trails and Rails" volunteers are still coming on board and doing their presentations. In September 2009, they were on the southbound Coast Starlight that we were on, giving a running commentary which we found quite interesting. At the summit of Questa grade (which...