Search results

This seems like a good idea. If the conductor asks for ID (and I never been asked for ID in 34 years riding Amtrak), tell your story and chances are it will be believed. On the other hand, if you are going to Eugene to a new job, you really ought to have your paperwork in order. Don't you...

SteveSTX probably has the answer: In general, though, I've never found it useful to try to understand why AGR does certain things. It's all I can do to figure out what they allow.

LAX-PDX-CHI is offered as a legal routing for a departure tomorrow, even with the bus from Eugene. Perhaps only certain city pairs have been reestablished.

I always bring that with me on Amtrak trips. As the number of electronic devices we carry increases, it's nice to have both outlets and USB plugs. I'm not sure that the surge-protector aspect has ever been needed, but it's a great, compact item.

This site claims, "Although Amtrak stopped carrying mail in October 2004, the nation’s freight railroads continue to carry mail through their intermodal service." I'm thinking some posters here are confusing railroads carrying mail with RPOs, which were an antiquated and expensive service when...

Now, come on, surely the guns were a couple of aisles away, in sporting goods. Of course, I've lived in places (St. Croix Falls, Wisc., Minot, N.D.) where the gas station/convenience store stocked ammunition on the same shelf as candy, and, come to think of it, I bought said ammunition...

Worse than Houston? That's saying a lot.

My main credit union (Hiway FCU in St. Paul) is happy to exchange foreign currency (at least Canadian dollars and euros). They get it from Wells Fargo, but don't charge a fee. Like you, though, I just look for an ATM, or use a credit card that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees. Chase...

I'm on the Empire Builder about every month, and usually have several active reservations. Every time the schedule changes, I get a cascade of e-mails, telephone calls, and texts. I start to feel stalked....

I think that high-status fliers are paying their share, and probably more. After all, they are flying a lot (hence the status), and paying well for the privilege, upgrades or no. That's transparently clear with frequent-flyer programs that give status based on money paid, like Delta and...

Actual cold weather (-30 or -40 F) in Minot can cause one big problem. Diesel fuel starts jelling at that temperature, and it can be impossible to refuel the locomotives. When it's warmer than that the principal problems occur when there is a derailment or some mechanical problem. It's much...

Wow, you had dinner with Michael Barone? Neat. He really is a nice guy.

Get it with cheese and bacon, then. The bacon-cheese veggie burger is my favorite choice for lunch.

The connections to the Coast Starlight in Portland, and to the Capitol Limited in Chicago are still broken, at least for dates in February. The connection to the City of New Orleans is good now -- you can book PDX-CHI-NOL on #28 and #59 leaving Portland tomorrow.

Chase Freedom card gives 5 points per dollar for Amazon purchases this quarter (and 4th quarter 2015). You could also buy Amazon gift cards at grocery stores (1st quarter 2015) and gas stations (3rd quarter 2015). If you have the Chase Sapphire card as well, you can transfer your Chase Freedom...

Be sure to also read the consolidated thread "Chase closed my CC accounts." I think that manufactured spending is too risky, a proof of the saying, "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."

I was surprised to see a coach-baggage on the Seattle section of the eastbound Empire Builder last Monday, but it was surely there. Is there surplus of Superliner coach baggage cars?

Two incorrect statements there. Minnesota's districts weren't gerrymandered by either party. After the DFL governor kept vetoing the Republican-controlled legislature's redistricting plans, the Supreme Court appointed a nonpartisan panel to redistrict, as it happened, the DFL really liked the...

But they aren't. It wasn't possible when the DFL controlled both houses of the legislature. The Republicans now control the house, and the only thing I hear about transportation from them is that they want to spent transportation money on roads and bridges, not trains for the Twin Cities. It's...

On the Empire Builder it doesn't matter whether your ticket says 8 or 28. Your destination is the key, especially if your destination is a night-time one. Since you're going to St. Paul, a popular destination where all the doors are opened, it's hard to say where they'll put you, especially...