And Amtrak would have to pay 2 crews to deadhead home…more likely cheaper to fly them home…Not sure, but they gotta get home as well. They can't work back on another train. 8(31)'s crew will turn on 7(3).
And Amtrak would have to pay 2 crews to deadhead home…more likely cheaper to fly them home…Not sure, but they gotta get home as well. They can't work back on another train. 8(31)'s crew will turn on 7(3).
If you mean the cafe LSA, that position is on 27/28 and so is normally based out of Chicago, not Portland. Portland does not have an OBS crew base.The LCA seemed stressed out, others were performing well enough I didn't notice.
How much corn spilled ? Bears have been rumored to feast on derailed, fermented, spilled corn, get drunk, and act more unpredictably than normal.
A requirement driven in no small part from BNSF trains smacking into wasted bears foraging for their favorite intoxicant on the ROW.Bears drunk on fermented corn is more than just a rumor, and is a perennial point of contention between BN(SF), Montana Fish and Game, and the Park Service. The railroad is required to clean up the grain now, but TBA how good of a job they do.
This seems like a Hollywood movie plot can be made of this somehow. Like "Cocaine Bear". That may bring more attention to the problem and possible solutions....
Bears drunk on fermented corn is more than just a rumor, and is a perennial point of contention between BN(SF), Montana Fish and Game, and the Park Service. The railroad is required to clean up the grain now, but TBA how good of a job they do.
To respond to (most of) your points:For the non-booster readers of this forum who are considering a sleeper accommodation, I would encourage you to experience it for yourself and as quickly as it can be arranged. Given the coming end of the revenge travel surge; given the coming end of the physical ability of the Baby Boomers to stagger through independent travel; given the dirty, broken cabins, the thinly veiled hostility of the crew, the unprofessional, almost teutonic public demeanor of the self-important adolescents running the trains ("You Will line up and wait quietly outside the dining car," repeatedly. "You Will Not leave the train at any stop for any duration unless told to do so," repeatedly. "You Will Not leave your cabin or seat in the last 30 minutes of the journey," repeatedly); given the jittering, rocking, rolling, thumping, clunking, sleepless ride on rail beds that are obviously maintained to the minimum freight level; given Amtrak management's willingness to force its passengers onto un-safe alternate transportation to maintain its schedule and budget; given all this and more it is my conviction that sleeper train passage will soon disappear from the American experience. And good riddance, as this rolling boondoggle is costing the American taxpayer billions in subsidies yearly.
My full review will appear elsewhere on the internet and hopefully, in due course, in the "Congressional Record."
Well said!To respond to (most of) your points:
*Hope you're right about the end of the post-pandemic travel surge, would take some pressure off sleeper pricing.
*Some rooms are worn, some aren't. Try a Viewliner II sleeper if you can.
*Haven't run into hostile on-board staff yet. Have run into plenty of friendly staff, and some polite-but-not-really-friendly staff. I don't expect friendly (though I'm glad to get it), I only expect polite and competent. Pullman's long dead, and sleeping-car attendants are not Pullman porters.
*People have been complaining about overbearing train and station staff ("gate dragons") for decades, and Amtrak's ridership is still up. I also give them a little slack when they're dealing with once-daily trains and probably have seen passengers left behind for waiting too long to board, wandering too far during a smoking break, etc.
*You're probably aware, but I'll note that the shitty track isn't owned by Amtrak. The first battle is to get the freight railroads to handle Amtrak trains in a timely manner, and that battle is ongoing.
*Funny, people usually complain when Amtrak doesn't provide alternative transportation. When there's one of these scheduled maintenance shutdowns with bustitution (Boston-Albany, Crescent south of Atlanta), it's not like there's a lot of alternative rail routes or crews cleared to operate on them.
*You went and saved the "best" for last! The government is not subsidizing the long-distance or sleeper trains to the tune of billions annually, not by a long shot. Most of Amtrak's money, its own and the government's, goes not to the sleeper trains but the NEC and other services that run multiple day trains.
Actually, I checked a recent Amtrak financial statement. In March 2022, 1.4 billion for the national network, 870 million for the NEC. December 2022, 1.2 billion for the national network, 1.2 billion for the NEC.To respond to (most of) your points:
*Hope you're right about the end of the post-pandemic travel surge, would take some pressure off sleeper pricing.
*Some rooms are worn, some aren't. Try a Viewliner II sleeper if you can.
*Haven't run into hostile on-board staff yet. Have run into plenty of friendly staff, and some polite-but-not-really-friendly staff. I don't expect friendly (though I'm glad to get it), I only expect polite and competent. Pullman's long dead, and sleeping-car attendants are not Pullman porters.
*People have been complaining about overbearing train and station staff ("gate dragons") for decades, and Amtrak's ridership is still up. I also give them a little slack when they're dealing with once-daily trains and probably have seen passengers left behind for waiting too long to board, wandering too far during a smoking break, etc.
*You're probably aware, but I'll note that the shitty track isn't owned by Amtrak. The first battle is to get the freight railroads to handle Amtrak trains in a timely manner, and that battle is ongoing.
*Funny, people usually complain when Amtrak doesn't provide alternative transportation. When there's one of these scheduled maintenance shutdowns with bustitution (Boston-Albany, Crescent south of Atlanta), it's not like there's a lot of alternative rail routes or crews cleared to operate on them.
*You went and saved the "best" for last! The government is not subsidizing the long-distance or sleeper trains to the tune of billions annually, not by a long shot. Most of Amtrak's money, its own and the government's, goes not to the sleeper trains but the NEC and other services that run multiple day trains.
It sounds like Amtrak's often-questioned accounting may be changing, as if all that questioning is finally having an effect.Actually, I checked a recent Amtrak financial statement. In March 2022, 1.4 billion for the national network, 870 million for the NEC. December 2022, 1.2 billion for the national network, 1.2 billion for the NEC.
It has always been a pretty even split between the NEC and the National Network ever since Congress demanded that the accounting be kept separate several years ago. Nothing new there and not evidence that mis-charging NEC expenses to National Network trains had stopped in that fact alone. There are instances documented by the RPA since the Congressional mandate has gone into effect.It sounds like Amtrak's often-questioned accounting may be changing, as if all that questioning is finally having an effect.
Yep. Amtrak isn't perfect, but even besides a love of trains, there are many reasons why we should want more (and of course better) train service.To respond to (most of) your points:
*Hope you're right about the end of the post-pandemic travel surge, would take some pressure off sleeper pricing.
*Some rooms are worn, some aren't. Try a Viewliner II sleeper if you can.
*Haven't run into hostile on-board staff yet. Have run into plenty of friendly staff, and some polite-but-not-really-friendly staff. I don't expect friendly (though I'm glad to get it), I only expect polite and competent. Pullman's long dead, and sleeping-car attendants are not Pullman porters.
*People have been complaining about overbearing train and station staff ("gate dragons") for decades, and Amtrak's ridership is still up. I also give them a little slack when they're dealing with once-daily trains and probably have seen passengers left behind for waiting too long to board, wandering too far during a smoking break, etc.
*You're probably aware, but I'll note that the shitty track isn't owned by Amtrak. The first battle is to get the freight railroads to handle Amtrak trains in a timely manner, and that battle is ongoing.
*Funny, people usually complain when Amtrak doesn't provide alternative transportation. When there's one of these scheduled maintenance shutdowns with bustitution (Boston-Albany, Crescent south of Atlanta), it's not like there's a lot of alternative rail routes or crews cleared to operate on them.
*You went and saved the "best" for last! The government is not subsidizing the long-distance or sleeper trains to the tune of billions annually, not by a long shot. Most of Amtrak's money, its own and the government's, goes not to the sleeper trains but the NEC and other services that run multiple day trains.
Staff initiative. And more efficient than answering all the questions that it conveniently answers.I’m on 7 starting today in Chicago. This printout was waiting for me in my room. I haven’t seen one of these in years … not one provided for me anyway.
Part of the toilet problem is that some of the riders can't resist flushing paper towels or other bulky matter, and once one of the toilets is jammed like that the whole car shuts down. They make announcements, which are ignored by a few (Oh, what do they know).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...
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