NYP to EMY, My First Transcontinental Trip

[reefgeek]

I just got back from a week-long trip where I took Amtrak out to visit my brother in San Francisco. I was on Train 5 when it broke down out in the Nevada desert for 12 hours. I’m going to do my trip report in two parts, because up to the point the train stopped moving, it was going great!

Part 1, the good part.

I left from the Denville NJ Transit station around 11AM, my first ride in the new double-decker cars.

After we got to NYP I found the Acela lounge and hung out for a while. I checked my suitcase and had a walk around the area. The Acela lounge is really nice, in comparison with the regular Amtrak waiting area and especially in comparison with NYP in general. There were coffee, soft drinks and Danishes as well as free Wi-Fi. Later we were joined by TV’s George Will, travelling with his wife. He looked a little different than he does on TV, but the plummy New England voice is unmistakable, and the already –friendly lounge staff fussed over him a bit. He didn’t get on the Lake Shore Limited with me; I bet he was headed for Washington.

When Train 49 was ready for boarding they announced that and we headed down to the platform. It was very close. My car was called Metropolitan View. I met my SCA Melissa and settled into my Viewliner Roomette. I hadn’t been in a Viewliner before and liked the roomette better than I thought I would. The storage cubby up high fit my suitcase perfectly although it was a bit of a challenge getting up there. We pulled out around 4PM and eventually the SCA came by to talk about the features of the room and other aspects of train life. There was no lounge car added to the train until Albany but I was able to go up to the diner and purchase a cocktail, and they were selling snacks as well. The lady in charge of the dining car seemed to be either very tired or maybe, I dunno, maybe she takes allergy medication.

Around 5:30 I was wondering why nobody took my dinner reservation, so I went up and they seated me shortly thereafter. I sat with a man and his son, who seemed maybe to be autistic, and had a nice time. They had been to see a Shakespeare play in New York and we had a good time making jokes about King Leer and the bard in general, if you can believe that. The lad was quite bright but wore headphones though the whole dinner, and a hat.

I met a number of people with mental and physical disabilities on my trip. There are some people who can’t easily jump though the hurdles a plane trip requires. I think this points out another critical reason for the preservation, improvement, and expansion of Amtrak.

I had the New York strip steak with mashed potatoes, and it was delicious. I had a half bottle of the Hahn cabernet sauvignon as well. Desert was crème brulee cheesecake, and it was good.

I went back to my roomette and enjoyed the scenery; there were a lot of interesting things to look at along the way, although it was raining.

Around 9:30 I realized the SCA had not been around to change my room, so I went looking and found her sleeping in her room at the end of the car. She insisted on getting her clothes on and coming down to change the room. I decided to sleep in the bunk, although I am 6’3” 280lbs. It was pretty comical getting in there, kind of like maneuvering in a space suit on the space station, but eventually I managed it.

My sister recently got back from a trip to India and had recommended sleeping pills for the train. I slept badly on my last sleeper trip (Coast Starlight) so I got something from my doctor, a pill called Edluar that’s the same as Ambien but goes under your tongue. And tastes nasty. But it worked great! I slept soundly and woke up refreshed, even considering I had my CPAP mask strapped to my face.

Showered and shaved and hit the dining car for breakfast, scrambled eggs and sausage, very tasty.

We pulled into Chicago a few minutes early.

For some reason I checked my bag at the idiotic bag check which was expensive and difficult. They use a locker system along with a fingerprint scanner which could not read my oversized paws. I should have gone right to the first class lounge and checked it there. What was I thinking? After I went to the Metropolitan lounge I went back and got my bag and checked it there.

The lounge in Chicago is as nice as the one in New York but was crowded. When you check in there they give you a card with your car information and a time you have to be back. You then use that card to re-enter the lounge if you go out. I did some online business then went out to look around. It was raining steadily and the wind was blowing. No Sears Tower, even a walking tour was pretty much ill-advised. I had a look at the old and unused parts of CUS, hit the CVS drug store for some supplies and eventually spotted Lou Mitchell’s.

Most people were having breakfast (it was Sunday) but I opted for lunch. I had a club sandwich which might well be the best club sandwich I ever had. The turkey was the real thing, the bacon crisp, the bread fresh, the tomatoes ripe, just a little mayo. I wish I had one now. The French fries were lousy however.

I returned to the lounge. Around 1:45 they had the California Zephyr pax line up at the back of the lounge where we took a separate door down to the platform.

I boarded my car (Superliner I) and met my SCA Jay who was cheerfully greeting passengers. (“Hi! Have you ever been in a sleeping car before?”). I settled into my roomette and we left at 2PM. Lots of railroad related stuff to look at around Chicago.

I hopped off the train at Galesburg to take some pictures of the train, plus there’s a steam engine on display there to look at.

I had dinner at 6PM with an American man who lives in Japan with his Japanese wife. We had an interesting conversation about the recent tsunami. He also had done a lot of railfanning in Japan and told me about that, including a luxury train called Cassiopeia. What a great name. I had steak again, the flatiron number this time, and it was very tender. And another half bottle of the Hahn Cabernet. It was quite tasty actually, along with a baked potato and some vegetables. I had a chocolate éclair for dessert, the best dessert I had on the train.

In Omaha the train parks next to a fairly hideous abandoned station, it’s enormous, and so decrepit it’s like parking next to a haunted house. They should just demolish it, if they’re not going to restore it. During the Omaha smoke stop, Jay made up my bed and I went to bed (lower bunk). I slept pretty well but was less comfortable than on the upper berth of the Viewliner.

In the morning, woke up early and had some coffee and read the paper. Had breakfast (tomato and mushroom omlette, good job). We stopped in Denver for a while, to service the train I guess. The train stops right by the Colorado Rockies baseball stadium.

After Denver I got a seat in the Sightseer Lounge to admire the scenery as we climbed into the Rockies. The lounge filled up pretty well but there were seats available for those who came late. My sleeper neighbors, a woman and her elderly mother, held my seat when I got up to take pictures from the other side of the train. Nice people.

There is so much beautiful scenery during that part of the trip, and a lot of what comes later, it is almost too much to take in. After a while you just sit there and gape. We saw some antelope and elk and deer, but it’s mostly the beautiful mountains and conifer forests and rock formations. I took a couple hundred pictures and, some even came out nice. It was cool to see the Union Pacific trains chugging up those lonnnnng curves. As we got to the Moffett Tunnel I really felt I was breathing harder, from the elevation. That’s a real thing, isn’t it?

We had a nice stop in Fraser-Winter Park and got off for fresh mountain air. They kicked everybody out of the lounge so they could give a bunch of school kids a ride to the next station at Granby.

Coming down the Rockies it’s still darn scenic and more pictures were taken. The canyons, and the Colorado River, were quite spectacular. Some of the rafters decided it would be fun to display their backsides to the train and they were not spectacular. Whatever, guys. The lounge applauded.

For a while along here there was some narration about what we were seeing. It was a good job but I am glad it didn’t continue through the whole section. For an hour or so they opened a little “shop” in the sightseer lounge and sold Amtrak-themed souvenirs.

At dinner I sat with some financial planners headed for a convention in Salt Lake City. We were really enjoying our conversation and stayed until we had to let other people sit for dinner. I had the oven fried chicken, which was good enough, kind of a small portion actually. I eat too much anyway.

While we were in SLC Jay made up my bed while I looked around on the platform. I took a pill, hooked up my CPAP and drifted off to sleep…

Around 1:30AM there was a chime or gong repeatedly sounding in my compartment. My CPAP device was going on and off, beeping, and not working right. I pulled off the mask, and fell soundly back to sleep. I woke up at 5:30AM and looked out the window. We weren’t moving. All around, a layer of snow covered the desert.

 

[Shanghai]

Good report. I'm anxious for the remainder.

I travelled the CZ but only to Denver a couple of years ago.

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

Thanks for your report, I like the way you are kind natured about small portions, and lethargic employees... I am already wondering if by your "part 2" report, your patience wears out!

Cheers,

Ed

 

[reefgeek]

Thank you. I was impatient a lot, I was glad I had a book and an IPod. But it's part of travel. As my wife said, at least when train engines stop they don't fall out of the sky!

 

Part 2

We weren’t moving because both engines were broken down. There was later some talk that we had hit a cow, too. There were backup lights, running on battery I suppose. Nothing else would work in the car, no electric at the outlets. My cell phone had discharged itself looking for nonexistent service all night. Water still flowed from the bathroom taps and shower. A couple enterprising folks took showers right away. Wish I had. Train staff soon closed them off.

Outside the window there was nothing to see, not a road or building. The GPS (thanks AU!) revealed us to be in Eastern Nevada. Train staff seemed to have little information to give about our situation. It was clear that there wasn’t going to be anything served in the dining car. There was no coffee, but plenty of bottled water and juice, and Jay the SCA soon brought us some packaged Danishes or sweet rolls. That was basically it for food all day. Much later there were pretzels and potato chips and water in the lounge car. I don’t know why they couldn’t serve something from the dining car, like sandwiches. There’s probably a regulation against it since they don’t have power for sanitation or something. It was a long day and those of us with a couple granola bars (or some scotch…) were glad we brought them.

We heard that UP was sending an engine to pull us somewhere to be moved to busses. There wasn’t too much other info. Jay saw my scanner (thanks again AU!) and asked me to tell him if I picked up any info. I soon heard the UP engine had left SLC and was on its way. That took hours and hours, by the way. I had been wondering why I brought the scanner, not much interesting on there, until we broke down. Then it was great. I don’t think I have the frequencies all programmed right, but I still picked up plenty of traffic. The GPS was a revelation and I will never go on long-distance ground transport without one again!

The toilets started to fill up and get disgusting, nothing you haven’t seen in a porta potty but unnerving to some of the passengers. After five hours the batteries ran out and there were no lights, which meant that with the door closed in the bathroom it was pitch dark! Hard to aim, except I happened to bring my Eddie Bauer headlamp, what a lucky break! Didn’t help the others, though. Water flowed the whole time, it must be a gravity or air power system.

I want to say a few words in praise of my fellow passengers, sleeper and coach, who took the whole thing in stride and good humor, with none of the bad temper one so often sees in planes and airports. Train pax rock! Of course we were just relaxing and watching the snow melt in the desert.

There were two people on the train using supplementary oxygen, and after five hours that gave out. One person was in our car and his wife thought he might die. Amtrak employees had an oxygen tank onboard, but said they couldn’t open it, it was for emergencies! Some hours later, here comes a big rescue truck-type ambulance over the chaparral. It was from Wendover, Nevada, right on the border with Utah. One of the personnel told me they had driven 50 miles, half of that over dirt roads. When the driver got in position at the back of the train, he jumped out and yelled, “Whoopee, I didn’t get stuck!” The Amtrak personnel and ambulance crew worked to first get an oxygen tank onto the train and then to get the sick passengers off in a kind of sling chair. It wasn’t easy; there was a good drop from the car door, a very high roadbed, and then a trip through the low bushes. While they were doing that, a white (UP?) 4WD arrived with some fresh Amtrak crew and some food and bottled water. I don’t know who got that.

I’m a little foggy on when the UP engine arrived. I think it was around 1:30PM. They had to get it onto our track and then there was a long process (heard on the scanner) while they tested the engine’s ability to work the brakes on the rest of the train. More than an hour. We were then pulled at 40-50MPH to Elko. Part of the time we were on the wrong (Eastbound) track and had to go slowly. There was a lot of talk about track warrants. The scenery was still very nice, but still no HEP so no lights or toilets. They kept the doors between the cars open. One wild thing—when you go through a tunnel on a train without lighting, it is pitchy black, you can’t see your hand. I’m glad there weren’t many tunnels.

After we got to Elko, Nevada, it was another hour or more getting us up to the short platform and getting everybody off! We were put directly on busses that were waiting. Initially there was going to be a scheme where different busses went to Sacramento, Emeryville, etc., but they scrapped that and just stuck everyone on a bus. There was a bag lunch on every seat, and I have to say that was a welcome sandwich by that time, along with soda and chips. The bus was very nice as those things go, with a bathroom and comfortable seats. But, alas, a bus. We really hauled bus from there, zooming along route 80. After a while there was some grumpiness and strange behavior from people on the busses. One old guy next to me disassembled the bracelet of his Rolex and the pieces all fell on the floor. An old lady was getting up to check her bag in the carrier every few minutes; she must have checked it 20 times. We got to Reno and stopped at the Amtrak station. There were opportunities to visit vending machines, and actual toilets, as well as a convenience store in the vicinity. People were now reshuffled by their locations, we got new bus drivers, and off we went. I saw several people from the train get cabs and decamp to hotels. One man was very agitated in Reno. I think he got in a cab.

All this time there had been no information from Amtrak, no update, no statement of their plans for us.

Back on the bus with our next driver, he was a funny old guy from Hawaii, drove like a rally champion. We had a stop soon for fast food at our expense, Taco Loco or Carl’s Jr. At this point a lot of the train staff were on our bus (including my SCA Jay and the dining car staff) They looked terrible, those poor folks. Worn to the bone.

At Truckee the bus driver had to stop to put chains on the bus for Donner Pass. I kid you not. As we went up the pass there were lines of trucks either without chains or putting them on. It started to snow. Soon there was snow on the road and the driver was slaloming between the slow trucks. I shut my eyes and reflected on the kind of life I had lived.

After we got over the pass there was a rest stop with vending machines. The driver joked about “Is everyone onboard?” But one poor guy almost got left behind and had to run after the bus waving his arms. Maybe others were left behind, I don’t know.

When we got to Sacramento it was maybe 2 or 3 AM and we had to switch to a new bus, which was maybe a bit more comfortable than the last. That driver insisted on giving a travelogue of the sights as we approached Emeryville and then went over the bridge to San Francisco. Not welcome. She was a good one though, when we got to our destination she called for cabs and did not leave until the last passenger (me!) got a cab.

I got to my brothers’ apartment in the Sunset ($27 cab ride) about 4:30 AM, just about 12 hours late.

Amtrak offered me the choice of $132 (for the unused sleeper portion) plus a $200 credit or just a $500 credit. I took the $500 credit of course. I hafta take the Southwest Chief next!

 

[jb64]

That is quite a trip report. I hope your SWC trip runs a little smoother. Nice to know that Amtrak took care of you, though, both getting you there safely and compensating you.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Excellent Report and Attitude! Glad Amtrak offered the $500 Voucher, much better than a Credit! Youll like the SWC also, it's a Great Train! Now that you have experienced a Cross Country Train Journey you can truely understand how when Things go Wrong on a Train they Usually are So Much Better than on an Airplane! :lol:

 

[Compuwriter]

What a great piece of writing. I felt we were there with you. But frankly, I am a bit glad we skipped that trip.

 

[JayPea]

I enjoyed your report AND enjoyed your great attitude throughout the whole ordeal. Both were top-notch IMHO!

 

[reefgeek]

I'm going to add a few pics of railfan interest. I don't think anyone wants to see my 500 pictures shot through the observation car plastic!

Stopping in Galesburg, Ill. So far so good!

Winter Park Co. station

Station in Glenwood Springs Co.

What I saw when I got up after the train broke down:

Out the railfan window:

The ambulance:

Getting the sick passenger off the train:

And into the ambulance:

Crew vehicle offloading:

Being towed by a UP freight engine:

 

[had8ley]

I'm going to add a few pics of railfan interest. I don't think anyone wants to see my 500 pictures shot through the observation car plastic!

Great report. Told like a true trooper. I just hope that we don't see too much of this this summer.

 

[Rail Freak]

Glenwood Springs shot????

 

[Ryan]

Great report, great pictures!

 

[reefgeek]

Glenwood Springs shot????

What, the spelling?

 

[Railroad Bill]

Enjoyed reading your trip reports. Glad the first leg was a great experience.

Sorry the last leg was such a bummer

But hey! Amtrak is always a new adventure

And its always better than flying...... :help:

 

[henryj]

I enjoyed reading both reports on this disasterous trip. The worst I have ever experienced was this same train. I boarded in SLC and it was already almost 6 hours late. Got into SFO about 1am. I have often thought about what I would do in your circumstances. After reading both these reports and those of others of recent vintage I believe I would just abandon Amtrak and rent a car to finish my trip if I could find any civilization of any kind. I always travel light and take my one or two bags with me in the train so there would be no problem waiting for checked bags.

 

[reefgeek]

I enjoyed reading both reports on this disasterous trip. The worst I have ever experienced was this same train. I boarded in SLC and it was already almost 6 hours late. Got into SFO about 1am. I have often thought about what I would do in your circumstances. After reading both these reports and those of others of recent vintage I believe I would just abandon Amtrak and rent a car to finish my trip if I could find any civilization of any kind. I always travel light and take my one or two bags with me in the train so there would be no problem waiting for checked bags.

There was no chance to go anywhere but the bus in Elko. There were certainly passengers bailing out in Reno, although I think you would have to wait until morning for a rental car agency. I think a lot of us were tired-dazed by the time we got to Reno.

 

[Delilah Delso]

i was on that ride..i was with the girl with the two month old baby..it was quite a experience. my first time and that happened bt i wouldnt have tlked to a bunch of great pepl if that didnt happen. I think it could of been handled better but they did there best. jst need some training i think jst in case it happens again and pepl wont frreak out as much.

 

[reefgeek]

i was on that ride..i was with the girl with the two month old baby..it was quite a experience. my first time and that happened bt i wouldnt have tlked to a bunch of great pepl if that didnt happen. I think it could of been handled better but they did there best. jst need some training i think jst in case it happens again and pepl wont frreak out as much.

Please pass my compliments along to your baby. The child handled the whole fiasco with a great deal of poise and grace, and a minimum of fussing.

 

[user 1215]

I enjoyed reading both reports on this disasterous trip. The worst I have ever experienced was this same train. I boarded in SLC and it was already almost 6 hours late. Got into SFO about 1am. I have often thought about what I would do in your circumstances. After reading both these reports and those of others of recent vintage I believe I would just abandon Amtrak and rent a car to finish my trip if I could find any civilization of any kind. I always travel light and take my one or two bags with me in the train so there would be no problem waiting for checked bags.

There was no chance to go anywhere but the bus in Elko. There were certainly passengers bailing out in Reno, although I think you would have to wait until morning for a rental car agency. I think a lot of us were tired-dazed by the time we got to Reno.

How many folks hit the Casinos in Reno? Or did most folks not particularly feel lucky on this trip?