amtrakwolverine
Engineer
Checked out of the hotel at 11AM and took a cab back to union station. About $8 with a tip. I got the coupon from Betty to try and get into the metro lounge but because it had alans moms name on it combined with 4 large groups expected in the lounge they wouldn´t listen when told passes are transferable. Waiting in the coach area was not bad this time was not crowded. the gate keepers were 2 older ladies who I see from time to time. once time for boarding the assistant conductor lifted tickets from the area between the gates and boarding area. then the head conductor gave us a seat check and we picked our own seats. we departed right at 2:15PM. After the first stop at Glenview the lady came around for dinner reservations. I took the 6:30PM seating. Ran into oldtimer2 who was on his way to the lounge car around 4:50PM.
He explained about how he argued my case to the metro lounge attendant and how this one attendant is set in his ways sort of speak and that if it was anyone else it might have worked. Dinner time came and I was seated with 2 older ladies one who had breast cancer and something with her lungs and has had on and off chemo. it was a interesting bunch. the gentleman who was also seated with us talked about his crazy family etc. it was fun. For dinner I had the half chicken and diet Pepsi and had zero calorie cheese cake for dessert, after which I retreated back to my coach car and watched ghost rider. Tried to get some sleep around 12Am and slept on and off till about 7am when I got up for good.
Went for breakfast and had the RR french toast and coffee.The married couple i was seated with was OK. They used to be in the U.P part of Michigan for a while then were in Ohio for 2 weeks. after a while I ran into Bill H and went to the lounge car for awhile and was joined by Betty who was waiting for the lounge cafe to re-open. When we started to depart willison ND this woman with a bunch fo bags and a child on a leash fell trying to get to the train and even banged on the door but she did not make it we left her behind. I joined oldtimer2 in the lounge car for a while then when they called for lunch we both went to the diner. We were joined by a couple from Iowa who were going to Seattle to visit family for 5 days. 3 of us ordered the steak burger the lady ordered the special which was a sausage in rice stew type thing. for dessert I had a chocolate covered cream puff which was good. After lunch we went our separate ways.
After the train left Glasgow MT it was slow going and stop and go and slow speed for awhile which put us back to a hour down. the coach attendant came by asking for dinner revvys to help out the LSA and all that was left was 5PM or a waiting list so I took 5PM. Dinner time came and I had the 1/2 chicken again with mashed potatoes. They didn´t have BBQ sauce so used A-1 steak sauce instead. After dinner I retreated back to my seat. our top speed has been 80MPH throughout the trip. For a while through MT we followed US-2. We got to Shelby only 46 minutes late so we made up over a hour. When we got to Shelby there was a BNSF freight in front of us going in the direction we came so once everyone was onboard we had to backup and switch tracks to bypass the train so we could continue on our way. however due to slow orders and going slow around a curve next to another freight we were a hour down again by the time we reached browning.
Tried to get some sleep round 9PM and slept on and off till around 5am. Went to the dining car for breakfast around 5:30AM and had the pancakes with bacon. We gained some time and were only 23 minutes late leaving Leavenworth WA.the train made it to Seattle on time and I was greeted by Misty. since I had a couple hours to spare before checking in I went on a points run on the cascades by taking 513 from Sea to Olympia-lacy and back on cascades 506. the return cascades hit 80MPH for awhile. The return cascades was 20 minutes late getting to Olympia late arriving back into SEA were I ran into Misty again waiting on a bus to tour the sights.I used my GPS and found the hotel without issues this time. no problem checking into the courtyard Marriott hotel and that´s where I am now waiting for shanghai to arrive.
He explained about how he argued my case to the metro lounge attendant and how this one attendant is set in his ways sort of speak and that if it was anyone else it might have worked. Dinner time came and I was seated with 2 older ladies one who had breast cancer and something with her lungs and has had on and off chemo. it was a interesting bunch. the gentleman who was also seated with us talked about his crazy family etc. it was fun. For dinner I had the half chicken and diet Pepsi and had zero calorie cheese cake for dessert, after which I retreated back to my coach car and watched ghost rider. Tried to get some sleep around 12Am and slept on and off till about 7am when I got up for good.
Went for breakfast and had the RR french toast and coffee.The married couple i was seated with was OK. They used to be in the U.P part of Michigan for a while then were in Ohio for 2 weeks. after a while I ran into Bill H and went to the lounge car for awhile and was joined by Betty who was waiting for the lounge cafe to re-open. When we started to depart willison ND this woman with a bunch fo bags and a child on a leash fell trying to get to the train and even banged on the door but she did not make it we left her behind. I joined oldtimer2 in the lounge car for a while then when they called for lunch we both went to the diner. We were joined by a couple from Iowa who were going to Seattle to visit family for 5 days. 3 of us ordered the steak burger the lady ordered the special which was a sausage in rice stew type thing. for dessert I had a chocolate covered cream puff which was good. After lunch we went our separate ways.
After the train left Glasgow MT it was slow going and stop and go and slow speed for awhile which put us back to a hour down. the coach attendant came by asking for dinner revvys to help out the LSA and all that was left was 5PM or a waiting list so I took 5PM. Dinner time came and I had the 1/2 chicken again with mashed potatoes. They didn´t have BBQ sauce so used A-1 steak sauce instead. After dinner I retreated back to my seat. our top speed has been 80MPH throughout the trip. For a while through MT we followed US-2. We got to Shelby only 46 minutes late so we made up over a hour. When we got to Shelby there was a BNSF freight in front of us going in the direction we came so once everyone was onboard we had to backup and switch tracks to bypass the train so we could continue on our way. however due to slow orders and going slow around a curve next to another freight we were a hour down again by the time we reached browning.
Tried to get some sleep round 9PM and slept on and off till around 5am. Went to the dining car for breakfast around 5:30AM and had the pancakes with bacon. We gained some time and were only 23 minutes late leaving Leavenworth WA.the train made it to Seattle on time and I was greeted by Misty. since I had a couple hours to spare before checking in I went on a points run on the cascades by taking 513 from Sea to Olympia-lacy and back on cascades 506. the return cascades hit 80MPH for awhile. The return cascades was 20 minutes late getting to Olympia late arriving back into SEA were I ran into Misty again waiting on a bus to tour the sights.I used my GPS and found the hotel without issues this time. no problem checking into the courtyard Marriott hotel and that´s where I am now waiting for shanghai to arrive.
