Part four takes us between Portland, Oregon and Sacramento, California
With the pleasant weather that Portland was enjoying, it was bitter-sweet to only have a few hours time to spend in that pleasant little city. Of course, some of the good times were due to the company of our friends, but we did have a schedule to keep and as such we found ourselves walking back into the front doors of Portland Union Station at 1:30 PM. The station had filled dramatically since we left earlier that morning, when we had stepped off of the Empire Builder and day-checked all of our carry-ons and heavy jackets in the Metropolitan Lounge. Aside from the ability to stash stuff, we really did not utilize the lounge in Portland at all, something that may change with later travels through the city in the future. It certainly looks nice, and drastically more pleasant than the same lounge in Chicago.
Instead, we settled on a bench out front of the little market inside the main hall and kept our friends company. Our conversation halted as a very early Coast Starlight rumbled in on the platform and proceeded to stand. The loud speakers rumbled the invite for sleeper passengers to board, but that Coach passengers would have to wait until the posted boarding time of 2:10 PM, which made more than a fair share of the people around us vocally angry about having to wait a half-hour to board a train that was already in the station while the sleepers had free reign to get on right then. Ahh, the eccentricities of Amtrak. Me and Mrs. Blackwolf decided to keep the good company a little while longer and waited until the top of the hour to say our goodbyes and make our way to the platform.
The first thing I immediately noticed about our train was the conspicuous absence of a Pacific Parlor Car. Well, CRAP! In its place was a Superliner I Sightseer Lounge. I had been talking up the PPC to Mrs. Blackwolf ever since we booked this trip, and just as Murphy's Law would have it, we would be robbed of the opportunity. Ah well, nothing to do but make lemonade out of lemons, right? We met Emilio at our 1131 sleeper and with a smile, he welcomed us aboard. We had Bedroom E at the top of the stairs, and we settled in comfortably. Our car for this last leg of the trip was a recently refurbished Superliner 1 and looked to only be out of the Beech Grove shops by a few months. I desired to see what kind of service our non-PPC lounge would be offering and ventured the two cars back to check it out. It was obvious that the car was normally part of the Sunset Limited consist as posters for that train were on both of the end walls, and that train's schedules were stacked in several locations. I could wager it was a last-minute substitution on the Coast Starlight when this consist was in Los Angeles.
It was completely empty as I walked in, the table end of the car facing the sleepers. The table cloths were rolled up beneath the windows and the upstairs wet bar was stocked for serving (the only time I have ever seen this stand used beyond as a podium for speakers.) As I was about to saunter downstairs to see if anything on the lower level was being used, I head footsteps coming back up and was greeted by William, the LSA who was running the car. He politely remarked that “Nothing is down there.” and turned me away, adding “The lounge is currently closed. It'll open after we leave Portland. You will need to either go back to your sleeper, or to the other lounge for now.” I opted for going back to our room, a little annoyed about the off-limits nature being imposed as I had not been barred from going into the first class lounge before as a sleeper passenger. Again, one of those eccentricities.
The doors were opened for coach passengers and I watched them streak into the train from our window while on the other side the rumble of a locomotive announced the arrival of the consist for that evening's Train #28, the East-bound Empire Builder into the station. We did not leave on time, instead departing about 20 minutes late due to track congestion. But when we did finally start moving, the movement brought about a very loud and persistent metal-on-metal squeaking from somewhere above the bathroom. Out came the duct tape again, but this time it would be worthless. The issue was inaccessible, likely being an air duct in the ceiling, and there was nothing that could be done to quiet it. So much for being a rebuilt car! Our next in-room issue was the heat. The room was a little chilly, so I cranked the heater control to max and settled in on the couch beside Mrs. Blackwolf. A few minutes later, I leaned over to feel the grille beneath the window for warmth, but the metal was ice-cold. Another few minutes, no change. Yup, we had no heat in our room, but at least the air conditioner vent control did work and we were able to shut it off completely.
Emilio came in and introduced himself, and provided the complementary champagne with a smile. He apologized for the issues, but unless we were interested in down-grading to a roomette, no other bedrooms were available to switch into. The roomette was a no-go option at this point, so we grabbed the ear plugs left over from our VIA train earlier in the week from our luggage and asked Emilio for some extra blankets for later. A little while later, William came over the PA and announced that dinner reservations would be taken for sleepers in the next few minutes. We took the 5:30 slot, and he finished with an invitation to join him in the now open pseudo-PPC for the wine and cheese tasting if we wanted. We did, so to the lounge we went.
There were about 15 others who also came in to enjoy the event, and William went on to explain why the normal PPC was not being used. Seems they had a small electrical fire in the breaker panel for the car's AC unit while it was being cleaned in LA. And since the other spare PPC was already in use (they have five total, four in normal operation and one reserve) we got stuck with the Sightseer. He did point out that we almost had a Diner-Lite, but were able to steal the SSL from the Sunset Limited and that train got the Diner-Lite instead. That explains the posters and the schedules. Man, I'd be pretty angry if I was on the Sunset and had a Diner-Lite for my lounge car! The tasting was quite enjoyable, and we ended up springing to buy one of the bottles we tasted: a Genesis Vineyards 2009 Syrah. It was very, very good!
We lingered in the lounge for a while longer, watching the scenery and the cities slide by before dinner time. We both went for the full diner instead of the private lounge seating because we wanted the lamb shank, something only offered on the full diner menu. The meal was great, but the portion was absolutely HUGE, the largest portion I have ever gotten on an Amtrak train! More food than either of us could eat, we had to leave a large amount on the plate and we both skipped desert. A nice older woman joined us from the coaches, and we exchanged the normal pleasantries of train dinner conversation before heading back to our room. Mrs. Blackwolf was at her end with being on the move for a week, and as such she retired early for bed. She has said that long-distance train travel will be in our future again, but the massive days-on-end stuff is something she'll opt out of unless we make stops along the way for a few days break. Maybe doing a 7-day stint like this was a bit much for her introduction to overnight rail travel?
As such, I missed my chance to have one of the classic treats on the Coast Starlight: the famous Bloody Mary's. For some reason, they are always better from the PPC bar on the Starlight than on any other train. Baring an unforeseen event, this will be remedied the next time the CS beckons! We contacted Emilio and had the bed turned down, then slid beneath the sheets for our final night on the train. Aside from waking up a few times as our ears popped inside the many tunnels leading down the mountains from Klamath Falls, we slept all the way through until the knock at the door at 5 AM announced our mega-early arrival into Sacramento. We got up, stretched, and put our bags together. I walked out and grabbed a cup of coffee for the two of us to enjoy while we lingered for a little while longer. Yes, we had pulled into the station, but we were over an hour under the scheduled time and wanted to not feel too rushed to get off. But when Emilio came back around, he kindly asked for us to depart because our room was to be occupied by a new passenger in Davis, the next stop on the line, and he wanted to remake the compartment. I shrugged, and Mrs. Blackwolf agreed to vacate, so down to the platform we went. I gave Emilio a modest tip, the smallest amount out of all our SCA's, of only $8 instead of the full $10 I would normally give for an overnight trip. That last-minute chasing us out of the room was what cost him those $2, he had ample time to turn the room around for the next passengers between the longer stay in Sacramento and the 20 minute ride to Davis, and aside from emptying the waste bin and redoing the bed, there was absolutely no mess for him to clean up.
We had to wait nearly 40 minutes in the station for the single baggage agent to finish unloading from the train and drive her carts of luggage over. Nice to people's bags, she was not, as she threw them to the ground or kicked them off the cart with her foot. Our luggage had actually arrived into SAC the day before on the California Zephyr, and was sitting in the corner of the lock-up in plain sight. Because of this, the agent made me wait until all the other passengers had grabbed their bags before allowing me to walk into the lock-up five feet and take mine. She got no tip, but she did get my scowl.
To sum things up, this last leg on the Coast Starlight was actually the low-point of our Amtrak travels. A real surprise, considering that the service I've received in the past is usually 180 degrees opposite, with the west-coast trains being the best and the east-coast ones having surly service. Mind you, it was not horrible, but in comparison to the Maple Leaf, Lake Shore Limited, and Empire Builder, it stood out poorly. But over-all, this was the absolute BEST Amtrak experience I have ever had! All of our trains were either on-time or even early into their destinations, the service was mid-range (formerly the best you could expect) to absolutely fantastic, and the food was pure greatness. In my humble opinion, Amtrak actually met the service standards and levels I've come to expect from the Canadian trains, and that is saying something! As for VIA Rail, we really only had that one issue with the other passengers between Montreal and Toronto. The rest was right on par with what we expected.
Our travels between Halifax and Toronto cost $556 for two people, the overnight stay in Toronto was $88, and our Business Class seats to the US border were $92. Beyond these costs, minus any gratuities and purchases on-board, the rest of our travels were covered by a three-zone Amtrak Guest Rewards redemption for bedroom; 50,000 points. 7 days of travel, first-class, for two people: $736. This is the same price it would have cost for us to fly in sardine class on an airline from Halifax to Sacramento, minus the baggage fees, for 14 hours of pure joy flying in three individual cigar tubes (two layovers are required these days to do that route from where we live.)
One helluva trip, and one I'll be savoring for many, many months. Now comes the anticipation of our next adventures! Mrs. Blackwolf has never seen the Grand Canyon... We will see!
With the pleasant weather that Portland was enjoying, it was bitter-sweet to only have a few hours time to spend in that pleasant little city. Of course, some of the good times were due to the company of our friends, but we did have a schedule to keep and as such we found ourselves walking back into the front doors of Portland Union Station at 1:30 PM. The station had filled dramatically since we left earlier that morning, when we had stepped off of the Empire Builder and day-checked all of our carry-ons and heavy jackets in the Metropolitan Lounge. Aside from the ability to stash stuff, we really did not utilize the lounge in Portland at all, something that may change with later travels through the city in the future. It certainly looks nice, and drastically more pleasant than the same lounge in Chicago.
Instead, we settled on a bench out front of the little market inside the main hall and kept our friends company. Our conversation halted as a very early Coast Starlight rumbled in on the platform and proceeded to stand. The loud speakers rumbled the invite for sleeper passengers to board, but that Coach passengers would have to wait until the posted boarding time of 2:10 PM, which made more than a fair share of the people around us vocally angry about having to wait a half-hour to board a train that was already in the station while the sleepers had free reign to get on right then. Ahh, the eccentricities of Amtrak. Me and Mrs. Blackwolf decided to keep the good company a little while longer and waited until the top of the hour to say our goodbyes and make our way to the platform.
The first thing I immediately noticed about our train was the conspicuous absence of a Pacific Parlor Car. Well, CRAP! In its place was a Superliner I Sightseer Lounge. I had been talking up the PPC to Mrs. Blackwolf ever since we booked this trip, and just as Murphy's Law would have it, we would be robbed of the opportunity. Ah well, nothing to do but make lemonade out of lemons, right? We met Emilio at our 1131 sleeper and with a smile, he welcomed us aboard. We had Bedroom E at the top of the stairs, and we settled in comfortably. Our car for this last leg of the trip was a recently refurbished Superliner 1 and looked to only be out of the Beech Grove shops by a few months. I desired to see what kind of service our non-PPC lounge would be offering and ventured the two cars back to check it out. It was obvious that the car was normally part of the Sunset Limited consist as posters for that train were on both of the end walls, and that train's schedules were stacked in several locations. I could wager it was a last-minute substitution on the Coast Starlight when this consist was in Los Angeles.
It was completely empty as I walked in, the table end of the car facing the sleepers. The table cloths were rolled up beneath the windows and the upstairs wet bar was stocked for serving (the only time I have ever seen this stand used beyond as a podium for speakers.) As I was about to saunter downstairs to see if anything on the lower level was being used, I head footsteps coming back up and was greeted by William, the LSA who was running the car. He politely remarked that “Nothing is down there.” and turned me away, adding “The lounge is currently closed. It'll open after we leave Portland. You will need to either go back to your sleeper, or to the other lounge for now.” I opted for going back to our room, a little annoyed about the off-limits nature being imposed as I had not been barred from going into the first class lounge before as a sleeper passenger. Again, one of those eccentricities.
The doors were opened for coach passengers and I watched them streak into the train from our window while on the other side the rumble of a locomotive announced the arrival of the consist for that evening's Train #28, the East-bound Empire Builder into the station. We did not leave on time, instead departing about 20 minutes late due to track congestion. But when we did finally start moving, the movement brought about a very loud and persistent metal-on-metal squeaking from somewhere above the bathroom. Out came the duct tape again, but this time it would be worthless. The issue was inaccessible, likely being an air duct in the ceiling, and there was nothing that could be done to quiet it. So much for being a rebuilt car! Our next in-room issue was the heat. The room was a little chilly, so I cranked the heater control to max and settled in on the couch beside Mrs. Blackwolf. A few minutes later, I leaned over to feel the grille beneath the window for warmth, but the metal was ice-cold. Another few minutes, no change. Yup, we had no heat in our room, but at least the air conditioner vent control did work and we were able to shut it off completely.
Emilio came in and introduced himself, and provided the complementary champagne with a smile. He apologized for the issues, but unless we were interested in down-grading to a roomette, no other bedrooms were available to switch into. The roomette was a no-go option at this point, so we grabbed the ear plugs left over from our VIA train earlier in the week from our luggage and asked Emilio for some extra blankets for later. A little while later, William came over the PA and announced that dinner reservations would be taken for sleepers in the next few minutes. We took the 5:30 slot, and he finished with an invitation to join him in the now open pseudo-PPC for the wine and cheese tasting if we wanted. We did, so to the lounge we went.
There were about 15 others who also came in to enjoy the event, and William went on to explain why the normal PPC was not being used. Seems they had a small electrical fire in the breaker panel for the car's AC unit while it was being cleaned in LA. And since the other spare PPC was already in use (they have five total, four in normal operation and one reserve) we got stuck with the Sightseer. He did point out that we almost had a Diner-Lite, but were able to steal the SSL from the Sunset Limited and that train got the Diner-Lite instead. That explains the posters and the schedules. Man, I'd be pretty angry if I was on the Sunset and had a Diner-Lite for my lounge car! The tasting was quite enjoyable, and we ended up springing to buy one of the bottles we tasted: a Genesis Vineyards 2009 Syrah. It was very, very good!
We lingered in the lounge for a while longer, watching the scenery and the cities slide by before dinner time. We both went for the full diner instead of the private lounge seating because we wanted the lamb shank, something only offered on the full diner menu. The meal was great, but the portion was absolutely HUGE, the largest portion I have ever gotten on an Amtrak train! More food than either of us could eat, we had to leave a large amount on the plate and we both skipped desert. A nice older woman joined us from the coaches, and we exchanged the normal pleasantries of train dinner conversation before heading back to our room. Mrs. Blackwolf was at her end with being on the move for a week, and as such she retired early for bed. She has said that long-distance train travel will be in our future again, but the massive days-on-end stuff is something she'll opt out of unless we make stops along the way for a few days break. Maybe doing a 7-day stint like this was a bit much for her introduction to overnight rail travel?
As such, I missed my chance to have one of the classic treats on the Coast Starlight: the famous Bloody Mary's. For some reason, they are always better from the PPC bar on the Starlight than on any other train. Baring an unforeseen event, this will be remedied the next time the CS beckons! We contacted Emilio and had the bed turned down, then slid beneath the sheets for our final night on the train. Aside from waking up a few times as our ears popped inside the many tunnels leading down the mountains from Klamath Falls, we slept all the way through until the knock at the door at 5 AM announced our mega-early arrival into Sacramento. We got up, stretched, and put our bags together. I walked out and grabbed a cup of coffee for the two of us to enjoy while we lingered for a little while longer. Yes, we had pulled into the station, but we were over an hour under the scheduled time and wanted to not feel too rushed to get off. But when Emilio came back around, he kindly asked for us to depart because our room was to be occupied by a new passenger in Davis, the next stop on the line, and he wanted to remake the compartment. I shrugged, and Mrs. Blackwolf agreed to vacate, so down to the platform we went. I gave Emilio a modest tip, the smallest amount out of all our SCA's, of only $8 instead of the full $10 I would normally give for an overnight trip. That last-minute chasing us out of the room was what cost him those $2, he had ample time to turn the room around for the next passengers between the longer stay in Sacramento and the 20 minute ride to Davis, and aside from emptying the waste bin and redoing the bed, there was absolutely no mess for him to clean up.
We had to wait nearly 40 minutes in the station for the single baggage agent to finish unloading from the train and drive her carts of luggage over. Nice to people's bags, she was not, as she threw them to the ground or kicked them off the cart with her foot. Our luggage had actually arrived into SAC the day before on the California Zephyr, and was sitting in the corner of the lock-up in plain sight. Because of this, the agent made me wait until all the other passengers had grabbed their bags before allowing me to walk into the lock-up five feet and take mine. She got no tip, but she did get my scowl.
To sum things up, this last leg on the Coast Starlight was actually the low-point of our Amtrak travels. A real surprise, considering that the service I've received in the past is usually 180 degrees opposite, with the west-coast trains being the best and the east-coast ones having surly service. Mind you, it was not horrible, but in comparison to the Maple Leaf, Lake Shore Limited, and Empire Builder, it stood out poorly. But over-all, this was the absolute BEST Amtrak experience I have ever had! All of our trains were either on-time or even early into their destinations, the service was mid-range (formerly the best you could expect) to absolutely fantastic, and the food was pure greatness. In my humble opinion, Amtrak actually met the service standards and levels I've come to expect from the Canadian trains, and that is saying something! As for VIA Rail, we really only had that one issue with the other passengers between Montreal and Toronto. The rest was right on par with what we expected.
Our travels between Halifax and Toronto cost $556 for two people, the overnight stay in Toronto was $88, and our Business Class seats to the US border were $92. Beyond these costs, minus any gratuities and purchases on-board, the rest of our travels were covered by a three-zone Amtrak Guest Rewards redemption for bedroom; 50,000 points. 7 days of travel, first-class, for two people: $736. This is the same price it would have cost for us to fly in sardine class on an airline from Halifax to Sacramento, minus the baggage fees, for 14 hours of pure joy flying in three individual cigar tubes (two layovers are required these days to do that route from where we live.)
One helluva trip, and one I'll be savoring for many, many months. Now comes the anticipation of our next adventures! Mrs. Blackwolf has never seen the Grand Canyon... We will see!
