Empire Builder discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024

[Jsandrews1]

MODERATOR NOTE: From October 1, 2023 forward, please post comments discussing the Empire Builder here. For previous posts regarding the Empire Builder, please refer to this thread, which is currently locked:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/empire-builder-discussion.82448/page-15
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Good day to all, heading to SEA on Saturday from CHI, I am trying to remember the consist of the Empire Builder, is it baggage, 732, 731, 730, dinner, coach, coach, (27) coach, sightseer, 2730?

 

[oregon pioneer]

The 27 coach, and a coach/bag, are usually between the sightseer and the 2730 sleeper. Sightseer should be immediately behind the Seattle coaches. Last time I was on this train, anyway... I am booked to take it eastbound in January (train 28 from Wishram WA).

 

[oregon pioneer]

Has anyone been on the Builder #28 out of Portland recently? I can't find the 28 dinner menu on Amtrak's website any more. What were the choices, and are they any good?

Yeah, I know that is subjective, but I'd like to hear opinions. I am booked on the Portland sleeper, out of Wishram WA, in early January. Boarding time is 6:59pm, so they will give me whatever is left after the other passengers get their choice. If the train is very late, I may well go hungry as I did last time. I'll make sure to have some nuts and chocolate in my pack!

 

[user 33429]

Has anyone been on the Builder #28 out of Portland recently? I can't find the 28 dinner menu on Amtrak's website any more. What were the choices, and are they any good?

Yeah, I know that is subjective, but I'd like to hear opinions. I am booked on the Portland sleeper, out of Wishram WA, in early January. Boarding time is 6:59pm, so they will give me whatever is left after the other passengers get their choice. If the train is very late, I may well go hungry as I did last time. I'll make sure to have some nuts and chocolate in my pack!

I’m doing a round trip Chicago pdx in two weeks - I’ll let you know

 

[glensfallsse]

I was on 28 Chicago to Portland earlier this week. Traditional dining (before Spokane), which I think is outstanding, but then again Waffle House is my standard for good food. The sleeper looked newer to me, with leather seats, but others on here are much more knowledgeable about equipment. Crew was great … “T” was my SCA.
Only downside was the curtains, which let through a lot more light than I’d like from the hallway.

 

[danasgoodstuff]

I took the Builder out of PDX last year and thought the cold chicken sandwich I got for dinner was very good for what it was. Like they make 'em fresh or got them from a fairly epscale deli. But we were so late and I was so hungry that my opinion might not be typical.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Has anyone been on the Builder #28 out of Portland recently? I can't find the 28 dinner menu on Amtrak's website any more. What were the choices, and are they any good?

Yeah, I know that is subjective, but I'd like to hear opinions. I am booked on the Portland sleeper, out of Wishram WA, in early January. Boarding time is 6:59pm, so they will give me whatever is left after the other passengers get their choice. If the train is very late, I may well go hungry as I did last time. I'll make sure to have some nuts and chocolate in my pack!

remember there is no Diner on #28( it's on 8 out of Seattle)but you do get the Sight Seer Lounge to Spokane.

Your SCA should serve you a boxed Dinner( a couple of choices ) that is not as good as it used to be ( Amtrak changed Vendors).

Disclaimer: I haven't ridden since the Summer of '22, so things might have changed. I look forward to someone that's ridden lately to update us!

 

[JayPea]

I've always thought the boxed dinner out of Portland was very good. Granted, my main point of comparison is my own cooking but I've always liked them. Better than the flex dining, which I don't think was all that horrific.

 

[Siegmund]

Only downside was the curtains, which let through a lot more light than I’d like from the hallway.

Traditionally the curtains were quite thick, and had velcro on the ends, so that you could seal the curtain against the window frame front and back, and seal the two halves of the curtain together in the middle. The single brightest light source in a roomette was often the crack under the bottom of the door (I'd grab an extra towel from the shower room to block that.)

Did that amenity get omitted in the refresh? Or are the curtains thinner than before?

 

[Rasputin]

"Has anyone been on the Builder #28 out of Portland recently? I can't find the 28 dinner menu on Amtrak's website any more. What were the choices, and are they any good?"
Thanks for asking that question and I would be interested in the current situation as well. Based on my limited experience as a sleeping car passenger on the Portland section (breakfast only) I would certainly be tempted to carry aboard No. 28 a hearty sandwich and treat some or all of the Amtrak fare as sort of a dessert.

 

[glensfallsse]

I had no trouble closing the gap in the curtains; the issue was the thinness of the material. Light from the hallway came right through it.

 

[NativeSon5859]

I had no trouble closing the gap in the curtains; the issue was the thinness of the material. Light from the hallway came right through it.

My trick is to hang up two dark shirts on top of the curtain next to each other, so just about all of the remaining light is blocked out. It definitely makes sleep a bit easier for me.

 

[glensfallsse]

My trick is to hang up two dark shirts on top of the curtain next to each other, so just about all of the remaining light is blocked out. It definitely makes sleep a bit easier for me.

That’s a good idea, and I may try it. But a better solution would be to have thicker curtains. Or less light in the hallway. When I walked through the coaches, the only lights at night were these blue lights above the aisle. I’d take that at night for sleepers.

 

[trimetbusfan]

That’s a good idea, and I may try it. But a better solution would be to have thicker curtains. Or less light in the hallway. When I walked through the coaches, the only lights at night were these blue lights above the aisle. I’d take that at night for sleepers.

I completely agree. I hate getting blinded if I end up waking up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

 

[Railspike]

Took #7 last week CHI-SEA and overall good trip. Sleeper bedroom had NO rattles and only a single paper object stuffed between the mirrored door (which was already in place when we boarded), no A/C problems, good food in the diner, good staff and arrived approximately 30 minutes early into Seattle. Got an occasional whiff of the plumbing which was not so good.

The overall condition of the car was beyond dirty. It was filthy. Filthy carpet, filthy hallway walls, dirty windows and a mildew smell permeated the entire car. How much time and cost could be involved during a car's scheduled maintenance to steam clean the carpet, hallway walls and upholstery? My wife's opinion was that a cleaning could not have been performed in years based on the filthy condition and has said this might be her final trip. She joked about taking a tiny carpet and upholstery sample to a lab and have it analyzed. Scary!!!

I know rehabbed cars are slowly coming into service, but in the meantime, a good cleaning of the current inventory would go a long way for an improved experience. I talked with a first-time rider (who was in our sleeper) on this trip who said, "and I paid how much for this third-world experience?"

 

[niemi24s]

If you've not already reported this to Amtrak, recommend you do so ASAP!

 

[Rasputin]

The overall condition of the car was beyond dirty. It was filthy. Filthy carpet, filthy hallway walls, dirty windows and a mildew smell permeated the entire car. How much time and cost could be involved during a car's scheduled maintenance to steam clean the carpet, hallway walls and upholstery? My wife's opinion was that a cleaning could not have been performed in years based on the filthy condition and has said this might be her final trip. She joked about taking a tiny carpet and upholstery sample to a lab and have it analyzed. Scary!!!

This must be what the coach passengers mean when they talk about the filthy rich people traveling in the sleeping car.

Don't ever take a flashlight on board and look under the roomette seats. It is scary down there.

 

[Shawn Rosinski]

Has anyone been on the Builder #28 out of Portland recently? I can't find the 28 dinner menu on Amtrak's website any more. What were the choices, and are they any good?

Yeah, I know that is subjective, but I'd like to hear opinions. I am booked on the Portland sleeper, out of Wishram WA, in early January. Boarding time is 6:59pm, so they will give me whatever is left after the other passengers get their choice. If the train is very late, I may well go hungry as I did last time. I'll make sure to have some nuts and chocolate in my pack!

I just did the Empire Builder to Portland a few weeks ago. As others have mentioned, there is no dining car until it hooks up with the Seattle train. You do have the cafe car which is open later. I think I would have something to eat before boarding or have something with you. The food in the dining car once it is available I found to be quite good.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I just did the Empire Builder to Portland a few weeks ago. As others have mentioned, there is no dining car until it hooks up with the Seattle train. You do have the cafe car which is open later. I think I would have something to eat before boarding or have something with you. The food in the dining car once it is available I found to be quite good.

I should have said, I know that the breakfast out of Spokane consists of terrible sugary processed breakfast foods from the cafe car. I will have home-made granola and a tiny tea kettle with me to cover that meal. My question was not about the breakfast.

But what I am asking about is the dinner meal for sleeper passengers out of Portland, eastbound. It has always been a boxed dinner, put on the train before it leaves Portland. In the past, I've had salmon salad, chicken, and other delicious light meals. Getting on at Wishram, I will of course get the choice no one else wanted, and if the train is 3 hours late (as it was last time due to an engine that fried right outside Vancouver), I may have to settle for the nuts and dried fruit I always have with me.

Does anyone know what the current status of that meal is, and what the choices are? They used to put 27/28 and 447/448 menus on the Amtrak website. I will be taking both those trains, but I cannot find the sleeper car menus for them on the website any more.

 

[user 14106]

I should have said, I know that the breakfast out of Spokane consists of terrible sugary processed breakfast foods from the cafe car. I will have home-made granola and a tiny tea kettle with me to cover that meal. My question was not about the breakfast.

But what I am asking about is the dinner meal for sleeper passengers out of Portland, eastbound. It has always been a boxed dinner, put on the train before it leaves Portland. In the past, I've had salmon salad, chicken, and other delicious light meals. Getting on at Wishram, I will of course get the choice no one else wanted, and if the train is 3 hours late (as it was last time due to an engine that fried right outside Vancouver), I may have to settle for the nuts and dried fruit I always have with me.

Does anyone know what the current status of that meal is, and what the choices are? They used to put 27/28 and 447/448 menus on the Amtrak website. I will be taking both those trains, but I cannot find the sleeper car menus for them on the website any more.

If you mean the 448/449 Boston section of Lake Shore I believe right now for the two meals without the diner (448 dinner 449 lunch) they temporarily close the cafe car and prepare flex meals for the Boston sleeper in a similar manner to what’s done on the Crescent and Cardinal. At one point it was just a cafe car selection. For the meals on the joined train they are prepared in the Viewliner diner and Boston sleeper passengers can go there for the meals if they wish.

 

[trimetbusfan]

I should have said, I know that the breakfast out of Spokane consists of terrible sugary processed breakfast foods from the cafe car. I will have home-made granola and a tiny tea kettle with me to cover that meal. My question was not about the breakfast.

But what I am asking about is the dinner meal for sleeper passengers out of Portland, eastbound. It has always been a boxed dinner, put on the train before it leaves Portland. In the past, I've had salmon salad, chicken, and other delicious light meals. Getting on at Wishram, I will of course get the choice no one else wanted, and if the train is 3 hours late (as it was last time due to an engine that fried right outside Vancouver), I may have to settle for the nuts and dried fruit I always have with me.

Does anyone know what the current status of that meal is, and what the choices are? They used to put 27/28 and 447/448 menus on the Amtrak website. I will be taking both those trains, but I cannot find the sleeper car menus for them on the website any more.

From Facebook..

 

[Railspike]

If you've not already reported this to Amtrak, recommend you do so ASAP!

I always contact Amtrak after every trip. For both good and bad trips

 

[oregon pioneer]

View attachment 34280

From Facebook..

THANK YOU! It's what I would hope for.

 

[BlackDiamond]

If you mean the 448/449 Boston section of Lake Shore I believe right now for the two meals without the diner (448 dinner 449 lunch) they temporarily close the cafe car and prepare flex meals for the Boston sleeper in a similar manner to what’s done on the Crescent and Cardinal. At one point it was just a cafe car selection. For the meals on the joined train they are prepared in the Viewliner diner and Boston sleeper passengers can go there for the meals if they wish.

The last time I took 449 in sleeper we just ordered off the cafe menu but that was in 2021 things may have changed since then. Did not have the 448 dinner as we were planning to dine with family when we got off.

 

[flitcraft]

The good, the bad and the ugly on our trip on the Empire Builder earlier this month:

First the good: the staff on the trip were uniformly excellent: our room attendant welcomed us, warned us that our call button wasn't working but that we could contact him in his roomette for anything we needed, and stopped by our room several times to ask if we needed water, ice, etc. Also offered to and carried our two 21 inch suitcases up to our rooms, both boarding in Seattle and leaving in Chicago. The lead in the dining room set a great example for the whole dining car staff--friendly and clear in all onboard announcements, including post-meal announcements thanking those of us who had just eaten in the diner and that they looked forward to serving us again. The entire dining room staff were both efficient and welcoming. Also, the lead attendant made announcements during each meal about how many coach passenger slots remained for dining car availability, which meant that coach passengers didn't have to make fruitless trips to a sold-out dining car.

And, contrary to most Amtrak train trips we'd taken, we got quick information announcements anytime we were stopped unexpectedly for freight trains, even though none of those episodes exceeded fifteen minutes. So--well done across the board!

An unexpected good surprise was that the windows were cleaned, inside and out, to begin the trip. On a route with some lovely scenery, that was a plus for sure.

The bad turned out to be the chef. We'd eaten on the Southwest Chief earlier this summer with pleasure, but eating on this train was an example of why chefs matter. Railroad French toast was overheated to the point of crunchiness at breakfast, no one at our table the first night had their steaks done as requested, and the second night, the roasted chicken came in a pool of ketchup instead of the tomato sauce on the menu. Really a disappointment, given that the traditional dining menu can be much, much better, as it was on our earlier LD train this year.

The ugly? Toilets in our sleeping car were out of commission the whole trip, meaning we all needed to use the other sleeper's facilities, which were rapidly becoming unpleasant due to overuse. The less said, the better regarding this episode, but it was the second time this season that we'd had a sleeping car without functioning toilets. I realize that the rolling stock is ancient, but Amtrak needs to get its maintenance act together if they expect repeat customers.

So...waited on hold for forty five minutes today with Customer Relations, gave specific kudos to all the staff once I got answered in the order received, and registered my dismay at the toilet situation, which resulted in a $400 voucher.

All's well that ends well...