P
panamaclipper
Guest
Seattle departure March 16, 2004:
I ended up with plenty of spare time Tuesday before leaving Seattle. On Monday I had taken the ferry and driven to the Olympic Peninsula and the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. It's about an hour away from Seattle and well worth the visit. It reminds me of New England seaport villages with its big gingerbread houses and brick and stone Victorian buildings along the waterfront. They have several good restaurants there so I ate lunch at a diner overlooking the harbor. It seemed to mainly be for locals.
The town is also full of bed and breakfasts and I've stayed there in the past. Well worth a visit if you only have time for one trip out of Seattle.
On Tuesday morning I checked out of the hotel in downtown Seattle and went to Pike Market to buy some goodies for the train ride and eat breakfast. There are tons of bakeries and produce shops and ethnic food stores down there and it's easy to fill a bag with stuff. I ended up with some pastry and two small bottles of Washington State wine to take on my trip.
I had rented a car from Thrifty because their downtown location is only about four blocks from the King Street Station. I got the car back about 3:30 and they gave me a free lift with my bags to the station. I would have walked but I didn't want to drag my wheeled case and stuff through the center of town.
The old train station - which I think opened in 09 - has definitely seen much better days. At some point in the late 50s and early 60s they "modernized" the old classical architecture building with acres of laminate, ceiling tiles and butt ugly furniture. Both the outside and inside give a whole new meaning to Seattle's "grunge" movement.
Fortunately, they are in the early stage of a multi million redo of the station. They are ripping out a lot of the old additions and exposing the original heavily decorated plaster walls and ceilings. Above that acoustical tile drop ceiling in the main lobby is a huge 45-foot tall chamber with balconies and such overlooking the waiting area. When the updated the station in 1963 they just walled all that off. They are working to restore the original look both inside and outside, but it will be done in phases over the next few years. But at least they have started. The second phase of redevelopment is supposed to contain a Metropolitan Lounge for first-class Amtrak passengers.
Outside on the platforms there were two of the Cascades train sets and a double-deck commuter train.
Number 8 the Empire Builder pulled up about 4:10 with two p42s, a baggage car, transition dorm, sleeper, diner and two coaches. We pick up the observation lounge, another sleeper and at least one more coach late tonight in Spokane. We left Seattle spot on at 4:45.
The sleeping car was almost full and I was not able to upgrade to a deluxe. But since I was traveling alone I really didn't need the room. I was in room three of the SL2 sleeper. The seat covers, curtains and carpet looked "newer" and the room was in overall good repair. Unlike some compartments I've ridden in, everything worked.
Sleeping car attendant Doris McCarthy runs a tight ship and seems to have thought of everything. She had water in all the rooms along with an explainer handout that covered most FAQs. Since I'm pretty low maintenance, I left her to deal with the newbies. The toilets and shower room were all tarted up with flowers and deodorizers and were spotless. She had non-stop coffee and juice and ice and twice on stops she bought local newspapers and put them in our cabins.
There were a lot of high school kids on spring break who were acting like they had never gone anywhere before. Sure, I get excited by train rides, but they were giddy and kept running from one end of the train to the other to check everything out. I'm betting the new will wear off pretty quick.
I signed up for a 7 p.m. dinner and spent the next hour our so watching the coastline north of Seattle unfold outside the window. This was quite a treat - I had expected the route to just head east from Seattle. But we followed right along the high tide mark to Edmonds and Everett before taking a right toward the mountains.
As it was getting dark about 6:30 I could see the mountains topped with low clouds outside the window as we pass through a town the sign said was Gold Bar.
It's a shame this part of the trip through the mountains is at night. The light from the car windows was enough to see lots of snow still on the ground once we got higher.
I see from my route guide that we are going through the town of Leavenworth, but it will be dark by then. Leavenworth bills itself as the little Switzerland of the Northwest and the entire town is created to look like a Swiss ski village. It's smack in the middle of the mountains and is a great place to spend a night while sightseeing.
The dining car was only about a third full for the 7 p.m. seating. The waitress couldn't have been nicer. She had a great personality and was friendly and helpful to everyone. She said she previously had been a train supervisor but was now working in the Empire Builder diner and on the Coast Starlight sometimes. The other three people at my table - a young 20s couple and a middle aged businessman - weren't the talking types. So we had a polite and quiet dinner.
They did a great job with the steak, baked potato and salad. And she nuked the apple pie and put a dollop of whipped cream on it. A very good meal with first-class service.
The car was outfitted in the brown, beige and orange décor. Looked like parts of the diner seat covers had recently been replaced. I was sitting against the bulkhead under the ventilation grill, and I could hear what sounded like a bad bearing on some air handler. It wasn't loud, but I wouldn't want to listen to that all day.
By the time we got to Wenatchee we were about 10 minutes late. Then they added to the time off the schedule with a bunch of backing up and waiting that burned up about 45 minutes. Most of the time we spent sitting next to a freight. So we both must have been waiting for the tracks to clear.
I watched a DVD and worked on this trip report a bit before knocking off for the nite.
When I woke up once in Spokane, we were running about 45.
By the next morning in Montana it had stretched to an hour. I got up early showered and was in the diner by 5:30 to get an early view of what is supposed to be the prettiest part of the trip. I had French Toast for breakfast and chatted with a couple from Milwaukee. The diner was pretty empty at that time of the morning but the scenery was nice as the sun came up. And we had to wait on a siding for two freights which put us further behind. We were going through the 7-mile Flathead Tunnel about the time I got back to my bedroom.
By the time we got to Whitefish the train was still about 45 min late. I got off and walked along the platform and into the station. There was a large group of spring breakers boarding the train in Whitefish, so there was a big mob around the entrance to the coaches.
The train had grown in Spokane to include the baggage car, transition dorm, my sleeper, the diner, two coaches, the lounge obs, a coach, a coach-baggage, a sleeper and an express freight car.
I went to the obs car for the ride through the Glacier Park area. It was wonderful, with periods of sun followed by snow showers. We took on another group of students on break in Essex, and crossed the divide about 10:15. It was amazing the way the landscape changes then from mountains and evergreens to plateaus of dry grass. And much less snow. Back in Glacier there had been three to four feet on the ground but here there was just a trace.
The little towns like Cutbank and Shelby and Browning looked pretty bleak. I've read that this area got its legs from oil and gas business back before World War 2. But these days it looks like mostly farm and ranch.
I had a hamburger for lunch in the diner. The same waitress plus some more friendly tablemates - a lady from Milwaukee I'd met in the obs car taking photos, a nice woman from Pennsylvania out of coach and a railfan also from Pennsylvania wearing a BNSF T shirt. We had a good chat and our friendly waitress from last night kept everyone in a good mood. The crew on this train is the best I've every seen on rail - and I'm including rides I took in the mid-70s right after Amtrak took over. They are great and if every train had a crew like this Amtrak would be knee deep in passengers.
We rolled into Havre and I got off to take some photos of the train and the big Great Northern steam engine on display next to the station. My sleeping car attendant, Doris, went into the station to visit with the folks there, so I was pretty comfortable that I wouldn't be left behind as long as she was inside. I was surprised to see so many border patrol - about a half dozen. When we pulled out of Havre we were only 30 min. behind. We seem to be making up time out here on the flatlands.
And I've never seen so much snow. Snow, snow, snow. I'm from Texas, and the only snow I see is on the TV screen. In MT and ND all there was to see was snow feet deep and frozen lakes and streams. And in the middle of it all were dozens and dozens of forlorn looking Canada geese walking around looking for a bite to eat.
Between Williston and Minot we passed the site of the recent derail and wreck. What I didn't know from reading the paper was that many of the units wrecked were auto carriers. They had scraped an area along the track to park rows and rows of BMWs, Volvos, and other high-dollar cars they were salvaging. Most had some damage but some looked okay. Then at one end of the site was an actual PILE of autos I guess they were trying to sort out. Most of them looked totaled.
I had chicken for dinner, visited with a man from Minnesota who was taking his son and son's friend home after skiing in Montana and then went back to my compartment to watch a DVD. I got about half way through the movie before I fell asleep.
The next morning on Thursday I woke up near St. Cloud, MN. It has snowed heavy in the night and all the trees and landscape were weighed down. It was pretty but I was glad I wasn't out trying to get around in it.
I cleaned up and went to breakfast before we pulled into St. Paul. I say "St. Paul" but of course it's out in an industrial district between the two cities. I agree that it would be better to move the stop to the old station in downtown St. Paul. We had about 30 min while they serviced the train but there isn't much to see here. I walked the length of the train until it got to misting heavily and I decided to get back aboard. I was fascinated by all the snow and ice that had accumulated on the train during the night. Now that we were stopped, big chunks were falling off.
We took on what had to be 50 or 60 people in St. Paul - almost all of them in coach. We were running about 30 min late when we pulled into the station and left at about 7:50 a.m., only about 10 min behind schedule. In pseudo St. Paul we picked up two more express cars and three semi trailers on the back.
For miles and miles outside of St. Paul we ran along the river which still had large sections of ice. I was happy to see many bald eagles. About four or five that I caught sight of either flying or sitting in the trees along the bank.
We lost more time outside of Wisconsin Dells because a disabled CP freight on the tracks. We had to wait for another track to clear so we could go around. The crew on this leg is much more forthcoming about status, making public announcements explaining every delay and giving estimates of how long. Back in Montana when we were sitting around waiting on freights no one said a word. I enjoy hearing the status reports but I'm sure some crews think it's too much info for the passengers.
We were about an hour off schedule pulling into Wisconsin Dells where I had a chicken sandwich for lunch. It was the last seating in the diner so things were pretty empty. The crew was looking forward to spending the night in Chicago before heading back to Seattle.
By the time we got to Milwaukee it was threatening to snow. We were about 35 minutes behind at that point. A lot of passengers got off there, as there is only one more stop - Glenview - before Chicago.
I jumped off for a quick walk along the platform. I thought the station in Milwaukee looked pretty grim - what I saw from the platform, anyway. All gloomy concrete architecture from the 1960s. It was so dark in the platform area that I didn't even try to take a photo.
Leaving town we went though an entire district of half demolished and falling down industrial buildings that looked like they were from the 1800s and early 1900s. It was really depressing what with the gray skies and snow on everything. While snow can dress up mountains and rivers it can't do much to improve the looks of urban decay. I try and imagine what the place must have looked like in say the 1920s when it was alive with activity.
The closer we get to Chicago, the worse the weather looks. It's only mid afternoon but very gray and foggy with visibility of may be quarter to half mile. I can feel the cold through the compartment window.
We passed the westbound Empire Builder at 3:14 west of Glenview. Both trains were really hauling so there wasn't a lot of see. There have been so many red CP freights on the run today that it was surprising to see the blue nose of the P42 engine roaring toward my window and then gone.
Most of my train trips into Chicago I have approached from the north. But this time we came in on that side track that goes under the station next to the lower level lounge area.
We stopped first to unhook the express cars, and we ground to a halt on the platform at 4:10 on March 18.
I went into the station which was of course mobbed around rush hour. Getting to the street there was a long line of cabs and it only took about 10 minutes to get to the hotel. I had picked a hotel on Adams Street about half way between the station and Michigan Avenue.
When I stepped out of the cab at the hotel a sign in the next block said it was 44 degrees. While it isn't snowing yet, "snow showers" - a chance anyway - are in the forecast.
I grabbed a deep dish pizza at a bar I've been to many times a few blocks away from the hotel.
My plan tomorrow is to go to the Art Institute and maybe do some shopping before catching the Texas Eagle in the afternoon.
I'll file a second report about that overnight trip when I get to Dallas.
I ended up with plenty of spare time Tuesday before leaving Seattle. On Monday I had taken the ferry and driven to the Olympic Peninsula and the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. It's about an hour away from Seattle and well worth the visit. It reminds me of New England seaport villages with its big gingerbread houses and brick and stone Victorian buildings along the waterfront. They have several good restaurants there so I ate lunch at a diner overlooking the harbor. It seemed to mainly be for locals.
The town is also full of bed and breakfasts and I've stayed there in the past. Well worth a visit if you only have time for one trip out of Seattle.
On Tuesday morning I checked out of the hotel in downtown Seattle and went to Pike Market to buy some goodies for the train ride and eat breakfast. There are tons of bakeries and produce shops and ethnic food stores down there and it's easy to fill a bag with stuff. I ended up with some pastry and two small bottles of Washington State wine to take on my trip.
I had rented a car from Thrifty because their downtown location is only about four blocks from the King Street Station. I got the car back about 3:30 and they gave me a free lift with my bags to the station. I would have walked but I didn't want to drag my wheeled case and stuff through the center of town.
The old train station - which I think opened in 09 - has definitely seen much better days. At some point in the late 50s and early 60s they "modernized" the old classical architecture building with acres of laminate, ceiling tiles and butt ugly furniture. Both the outside and inside give a whole new meaning to Seattle's "grunge" movement.
Fortunately, they are in the early stage of a multi million redo of the station. They are ripping out a lot of the old additions and exposing the original heavily decorated plaster walls and ceilings. Above that acoustical tile drop ceiling in the main lobby is a huge 45-foot tall chamber with balconies and such overlooking the waiting area. When the updated the station in 1963 they just walled all that off. They are working to restore the original look both inside and outside, but it will be done in phases over the next few years. But at least they have started. The second phase of redevelopment is supposed to contain a Metropolitan Lounge for first-class Amtrak passengers.
Outside on the platforms there were two of the Cascades train sets and a double-deck commuter train.
Number 8 the Empire Builder pulled up about 4:10 with two p42s, a baggage car, transition dorm, sleeper, diner and two coaches. We pick up the observation lounge, another sleeper and at least one more coach late tonight in Spokane. We left Seattle spot on at 4:45.
The sleeping car was almost full and I was not able to upgrade to a deluxe. But since I was traveling alone I really didn't need the room. I was in room three of the SL2 sleeper. The seat covers, curtains and carpet looked "newer" and the room was in overall good repair. Unlike some compartments I've ridden in, everything worked.
Sleeping car attendant Doris McCarthy runs a tight ship and seems to have thought of everything. She had water in all the rooms along with an explainer handout that covered most FAQs. Since I'm pretty low maintenance, I left her to deal with the newbies. The toilets and shower room were all tarted up with flowers and deodorizers and were spotless. She had non-stop coffee and juice and ice and twice on stops she bought local newspapers and put them in our cabins.
There were a lot of high school kids on spring break who were acting like they had never gone anywhere before. Sure, I get excited by train rides, but they were giddy and kept running from one end of the train to the other to check everything out. I'm betting the new will wear off pretty quick.
I signed up for a 7 p.m. dinner and spent the next hour our so watching the coastline north of Seattle unfold outside the window. This was quite a treat - I had expected the route to just head east from Seattle. But we followed right along the high tide mark to Edmonds and Everett before taking a right toward the mountains.
As it was getting dark about 6:30 I could see the mountains topped with low clouds outside the window as we pass through a town the sign said was Gold Bar.
It's a shame this part of the trip through the mountains is at night. The light from the car windows was enough to see lots of snow still on the ground once we got higher.
I see from my route guide that we are going through the town of Leavenworth, but it will be dark by then. Leavenworth bills itself as the little Switzerland of the Northwest and the entire town is created to look like a Swiss ski village. It's smack in the middle of the mountains and is a great place to spend a night while sightseeing.
The dining car was only about a third full for the 7 p.m. seating. The waitress couldn't have been nicer. She had a great personality and was friendly and helpful to everyone. She said she previously had been a train supervisor but was now working in the Empire Builder diner and on the Coast Starlight sometimes. The other three people at my table - a young 20s couple and a middle aged businessman - weren't the talking types. So we had a polite and quiet dinner.
They did a great job with the steak, baked potato and salad. And she nuked the apple pie and put a dollop of whipped cream on it. A very good meal with first-class service.
The car was outfitted in the brown, beige and orange décor. Looked like parts of the diner seat covers had recently been replaced. I was sitting against the bulkhead under the ventilation grill, and I could hear what sounded like a bad bearing on some air handler. It wasn't loud, but I wouldn't want to listen to that all day.
By the time we got to Wenatchee we were about 10 minutes late. Then they added to the time off the schedule with a bunch of backing up and waiting that burned up about 45 minutes. Most of the time we spent sitting next to a freight. So we both must have been waiting for the tracks to clear.
I watched a DVD and worked on this trip report a bit before knocking off for the nite.
When I woke up once in Spokane, we were running about 45.
By the next morning in Montana it had stretched to an hour. I got up early showered and was in the diner by 5:30 to get an early view of what is supposed to be the prettiest part of the trip. I had French Toast for breakfast and chatted with a couple from Milwaukee. The diner was pretty empty at that time of the morning but the scenery was nice as the sun came up. And we had to wait on a siding for two freights which put us further behind. We were going through the 7-mile Flathead Tunnel about the time I got back to my bedroom.
By the time we got to Whitefish the train was still about 45 min late. I got off and walked along the platform and into the station. There was a large group of spring breakers boarding the train in Whitefish, so there was a big mob around the entrance to the coaches.
The train had grown in Spokane to include the baggage car, transition dorm, my sleeper, the diner, two coaches, the lounge obs, a coach, a coach-baggage, a sleeper and an express freight car.
I went to the obs car for the ride through the Glacier Park area. It was wonderful, with periods of sun followed by snow showers. We took on another group of students on break in Essex, and crossed the divide about 10:15. It was amazing the way the landscape changes then from mountains and evergreens to plateaus of dry grass. And much less snow. Back in Glacier there had been three to four feet on the ground but here there was just a trace.
The little towns like Cutbank and Shelby and Browning looked pretty bleak. I've read that this area got its legs from oil and gas business back before World War 2. But these days it looks like mostly farm and ranch.
I had a hamburger for lunch in the diner. The same waitress plus some more friendly tablemates - a lady from Milwaukee I'd met in the obs car taking photos, a nice woman from Pennsylvania out of coach and a railfan also from Pennsylvania wearing a BNSF T shirt. We had a good chat and our friendly waitress from last night kept everyone in a good mood. The crew on this train is the best I've every seen on rail - and I'm including rides I took in the mid-70s right after Amtrak took over. They are great and if every train had a crew like this Amtrak would be knee deep in passengers.
We rolled into Havre and I got off to take some photos of the train and the big Great Northern steam engine on display next to the station. My sleeping car attendant, Doris, went into the station to visit with the folks there, so I was pretty comfortable that I wouldn't be left behind as long as she was inside. I was surprised to see so many border patrol - about a half dozen. When we pulled out of Havre we were only 30 min. behind. We seem to be making up time out here on the flatlands.
And I've never seen so much snow. Snow, snow, snow. I'm from Texas, and the only snow I see is on the TV screen. In MT and ND all there was to see was snow feet deep and frozen lakes and streams. And in the middle of it all were dozens and dozens of forlorn looking Canada geese walking around looking for a bite to eat.
Between Williston and Minot we passed the site of the recent derail and wreck. What I didn't know from reading the paper was that many of the units wrecked were auto carriers. They had scraped an area along the track to park rows and rows of BMWs, Volvos, and other high-dollar cars they were salvaging. Most had some damage but some looked okay. Then at one end of the site was an actual PILE of autos I guess they were trying to sort out. Most of them looked totaled.
I had chicken for dinner, visited with a man from Minnesota who was taking his son and son's friend home after skiing in Montana and then went back to my compartment to watch a DVD. I got about half way through the movie before I fell asleep.
The next morning on Thursday I woke up near St. Cloud, MN. It has snowed heavy in the night and all the trees and landscape were weighed down. It was pretty but I was glad I wasn't out trying to get around in it.
I cleaned up and went to breakfast before we pulled into St. Paul. I say "St. Paul" but of course it's out in an industrial district between the two cities. I agree that it would be better to move the stop to the old station in downtown St. Paul. We had about 30 min while they serviced the train but there isn't much to see here. I walked the length of the train until it got to misting heavily and I decided to get back aboard. I was fascinated by all the snow and ice that had accumulated on the train during the night. Now that we were stopped, big chunks were falling off.
We took on what had to be 50 or 60 people in St. Paul - almost all of them in coach. We were running about 30 min late when we pulled into the station and left at about 7:50 a.m., only about 10 min behind schedule. In pseudo St. Paul we picked up two more express cars and three semi trailers on the back.
For miles and miles outside of St. Paul we ran along the river which still had large sections of ice. I was happy to see many bald eagles. About four or five that I caught sight of either flying or sitting in the trees along the bank.
We lost more time outside of Wisconsin Dells because a disabled CP freight on the tracks. We had to wait for another track to clear so we could go around. The crew on this leg is much more forthcoming about status, making public announcements explaining every delay and giving estimates of how long. Back in Montana when we were sitting around waiting on freights no one said a word. I enjoy hearing the status reports but I'm sure some crews think it's too much info for the passengers.
We were about an hour off schedule pulling into Wisconsin Dells where I had a chicken sandwich for lunch. It was the last seating in the diner so things were pretty empty. The crew was looking forward to spending the night in Chicago before heading back to Seattle.
By the time we got to Milwaukee it was threatening to snow. We were about 35 minutes behind at that point. A lot of passengers got off there, as there is only one more stop - Glenview - before Chicago.
I jumped off for a quick walk along the platform. I thought the station in Milwaukee looked pretty grim - what I saw from the platform, anyway. All gloomy concrete architecture from the 1960s. It was so dark in the platform area that I didn't even try to take a photo.
Leaving town we went though an entire district of half demolished and falling down industrial buildings that looked like they were from the 1800s and early 1900s. It was really depressing what with the gray skies and snow on everything. While snow can dress up mountains and rivers it can't do much to improve the looks of urban decay. I try and imagine what the place must have looked like in say the 1920s when it was alive with activity.
The closer we get to Chicago, the worse the weather looks. It's only mid afternoon but very gray and foggy with visibility of may be quarter to half mile. I can feel the cold through the compartment window.
We passed the westbound Empire Builder at 3:14 west of Glenview. Both trains were really hauling so there wasn't a lot of see. There have been so many red CP freights on the run today that it was surprising to see the blue nose of the P42 engine roaring toward my window and then gone.
Most of my train trips into Chicago I have approached from the north. But this time we came in on that side track that goes under the station next to the lower level lounge area.
We stopped first to unhook the express cars, and we ground to a halt on the platform at 4:10 on March 18.
I went into the station which was of course mobbed around rush hour. Getting to the street there was a long line of cabs and it only took about 10 minutes to get to the hotel. I had picked a hotel on Adams Street about half way between the station and Michigan Avenue.
When I stepped out of the cab at the hotel a sign in the next block said it was 44 degrees. While it isn't snowing yet, "snow showers" - a chance anyway - are in the forecast.
I grabbed a deep dish pizza at a bar I've been to many times a few blocks away from the hotel.
My plan tomorrow is to go to the Art Institute and maybe do some shopping before catching the Texas Eagle in the afternoon.
I'll file a second report about that overnight trip when I get to Dallas.
I'm glad that you had a good crew for your trip. It always makes things nicer. 
