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It's normal high bucket and that one single bedroom sleeper accommodation is the only sleeper accommodation of any type available on 3(15). Today's 4 is sold out entirely in sleepers. That 3 is going out with just one empty room of any type and 4 is entirely sold out signifies that that yield...

Yeah, the line under the NP was all ABS protected and Class 4, so the "fast" parts in the Yakima Valley and around Ellensburg could be 75. BN/BNSF pulled the ABS and put in the CTC islands when they rebuilt Stampede in 1990s after they decided to put it back into service after it had been...

A couple of bones to pick with your assertions there: 1. The Stampede Sub is "up to passenger train standards". It's just dark with a three CTC islands for sidings at Bristol, Easton, and Kanaskat. It is FRA Class 3 and is perfectly fine for passenger trains up to 59 mph. 2. The 59 mph FRA...

Washington DOT appears to have taken the position that absent at least some financial support from BC there will be no additional Vancouver frequencies. They also are downplaying any cross-state proposals. Everything I've seen lately points to an almost exclusive focus on Seattle-Portland...

Just the Acela (both "Business" and First Class) and NE Regional Business Class offer advance seat selection.

A Talgo trainset has returned to the 516-519 SEA-VAC train pair for now. I checked 519 last night at EVR. The two ODOT Talgo VIII sets have been shifting around during the later part of this summer. Shortly after my previous post 516-519 started operating with Horizons again. I am not sure...

Nope. You can only check bags between stations that both have checked baggage service. You will have to carry all your luggage on, both directions, to and from Mt. Vernon. Normally, that isn't a much of a problem as Amtrak's general practice in the field is "if you can carry it, you can have it".

Assuming they want to try, which it kind of looks like they don't.

Nice report, thanks. Bit of useless trivia. While the highways in Canada are posted in kilometers, the railroads still use miles and mph. Not all that unusual. LAUS uses a tunnel to access the platforms, but no escalator, just ramps and stairs. San Jose Dirdion uses a tunnel to get to the...

Call and speak with an agent. A skilled agent can switch roomettes from the initial computer assignment without affecting the price. Since I am picky about roomette location I always call to reserve sleepers so I can get a roomette I prefer if one is available. I only use the website/app for...

Seems odd to have a conductor on a bustitution. I have never been on a regular Thruway or a bustitution where there has been a conductor or T&E crew. The last Amtrak bus I was on was a normal scheduled Thruway codeshare with Cantrail. The Cantrail driver scanned the ticket. The one time I was...

Can't really disagree with that. "Not particularly bad" isn't a high bar. Beats Third and Pike in Seattle, though.

Just did that in August. It wasn't particularly bad

It has probably been flagged as an issue for a long time. Earthquake awareness jumped with a lot more damage than anticipated in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, like a section of the Bay Bridge collapsing and the complete failure of the Cypress Viaduct, and the 1994 Northridge quake. As @Willbridge...

Portland hasn't had a significant earthquake in the last 128 years. Not even one the size of the Nisqually quake, which was only moderately large, a 6.8, and caused significant damage to unreinforced masonry structures 60 miles away in Seattle. That does not mean there will never be a major...

Not a clue. Perhaps the MSP-Duluth Northstar? Which was not a "leg" of the Builder, either.

Which never was the Empire Builder and not a "southern leg" of anything. The ex-NP route through southern Montana was operated as the North Coast Hiawatha under Amtrak.

A completely canned response. At best it was just skimmed by a CSR who then selected a canned "carry by" response letter. A process of seconds. Be happy they initiated a refund. When it comes to Amtrak Customer Relations, it is almost always better to phone them, then send a confirming email...

Apparently not, same thing for SFC/EMY.

A couple of thoughts. The first is that King Street Station was restored and brought up to modern seismic standards. It would have been cheaper to demolish and start over, too, but the City of Seattle went ahead and restored it at a cost in the hundreds of millions. King Street was a steel...