Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
I promised you guys I would write a trip report for this, and I've finally gotten around to it. This is my first trip report, so I'll try it out and see how things go.
On this trip, I would ride Greyhound from Reno to Sacramento, Amtrak California's San Joaquin to Merced, stay overnight in Merced, then ride YARTS to Yosemite and back. I would stay another night in Merced, ride the San Joaquin's Comet consist to Oakland, ride some AC Transit in Oakland, stay overnight in Richmond, then ride AC Transit to San Francisco, deal with personal matters, and return to Reno on Greyhound.
It would take four days, and three nights, involving two Greyhound buses, two Amtrak California trains, and various transit and interurban buses, trolleys, etc.
DAY 1
Greyhound Lines Reno-Sacramento
Schedule 8311 Reno-San Francisco
MCI D4505 Intercity Cruiser II #86555 (2013, Pembina)
Cummins ISX12 with Allison B500 and Jake Brake
American Seating Premier LS-1 x 50
Seat 9-10
Driver named Ken
Departure: 1:00 PM (actual 1:20 PM)
Arrival: 3:40 PM (on-time)
On the day of departure, I was bound to leave Reno on Greyhound Lines Schedule 8311 to Sacramento, the bus would continue to San Francisco. I could not drive to the bus terminal due to lack of safe parking in Reno, vandals all over the place, and I couldn't get a ride from someone else, so I had to ride the transit bus. Oh, Reno transit sucks! I departed nearly two hours before my Greyhound departure due to the exceptionally slow Reno transit buses, and I still had to walk a few blocks to the station. Reno really needs to work on this.
After finally arriving at Greyhound Reno, I took a peek at the buses, and saw the same X3-45 I had seen two days ago, plus two of the normal D4505's. The X3-45 is mainly a Northeast bus and I've never seen one here before, but #86222 sat there resting this time. Of the D4505's, there was #86555 and #UT86398, both of which I had seen before. The UT buses run often to Salt Lake City and Denver, so they are commonly seen in Reno. But #86555 would be my bus to Sacramento, and the driver was inspecting it, he didn't mind when I took photos of the buses.
I knew what to expect, the D4505's I had taken until that point had good legroom and reasonable seating comfort. Not the best Greyhound but not the worst. This time I knew I wanted to sit on the left side for scenery. Boarding was delayed until 1:00 PM, and departure was delayed until 1:20 PM, because of a misplaced senior passenger. The driver, an African-American named Ken, did his long announcement standing facing the passengers, rarely seen on any mode of transport. His son was also on the bus, about 5 years old, right in the shotgun seat (3-4).
I sat in the first open pair on the left, Seats 9-10, which unfortunately had reduced legroom. I was pleased to find that these seats had footrests, never seen a D4505 with footrests. Again, the Cummins ISX12 engine was surprisingly quiet, and the HVAC sound masked the engine. Acceleration was slow but we held good speed all the way. I thought the reduced legroom wasn't so bad with a footrest, but 30 minutes into the trip, I noticed a sharp hip pain, and then found out that the seat was sagging down. Damn it, this is the type of "new bus" that everyone complains about! This ain't no regular D4505, it's a BAD D4505. By an hour into the ride, I wanted to hop on that bus or stand. Unfortunately, neither was an option.
Good thing is, the driver's son played something with a friendly passenger at the front, and that got me through the ride. Out D4505 pulled on-time into Sacramento at 3:40 PM, and I undertook the walk to the Amtrak station, which was doable with police patrols on bikes.
(continued)
On this trip, I would ride Greyhound from Reno to Sacramento, Amtrak California's San Joaquin to Merced, stay overnight in Merced, then ride YARTS to Yosemite and back. I would stay another night in Merced, ride the San Joaquin's Comet consist to Oakland, ride some AC Transit in Oakland, stay overnight in Richmond, then ride AC Transit to San Francisco, deal with personal matters, and return to Reno on Greyhound.
It would take four days, and three nights, involving two Greyhound buses, two Amtrak California trains, and various transit and interurban buses, trolleys, etc.
DAY 1
Greyhound Lines Reno-Sacramento
Schedule 8311 Reno-San Francisco
MCI D4505 Intercity Cruiser II #86555 (2013, Pembina)
Cummins ISX12 with Allison B500 and Jake Brake
American Seating Premier LS-1 x 50
Seat 9-10
Driver named Ken
Departure: 1:00 PM (actual 1:20 PM)
Arrival: 3:40 PM (on-time)
On the day of departure, I was bound to leave Reno on Greyhound Lines Schedule 8311 to Sacramento, the bus would continue to San Francisco. I could not drive to the bus terminal due to lack of safe parking in Reno, vandals all over the place, and I couldn't get a ride from someone else, so I had to ride the transit bus. Oh, Reno transit sucks! I departed nearly two hours before my Greyhound departure due to the exceptionally slow Reno transit buses, and I still had to walk a few blocks to the station. Reno really needs to work on this.
After finally arriving at Greyhound Reno, I took a peek at the buses, and saw the same X3-45 I had seen two days ago, plus two of the normal D4505's. The X3-45 is mainly a Northeast bus and I've never seen one here before, but #86222 sat there resting this time. Of the D4505's, there was #86555 and #UT86398, both of which I had seen before. The UT buses run often to Salt Lake City and Denver, so they are commonly seen in Reno. But #86555 would be my bus to Sacramento, and the driver was inspecting it, he didn't mind when I took photos of the buses.
I knew what to expect, the D4505's I had taken until that point had good legroom and reasonable seating comfort. Not the best Greyhound but not the worst. This time I knew I wanted to sit on the left side for scenery. Boarding was delayed until 1:00 PM, and departure was delayed until 1:20 PM, because of a misplaced senior passenger. The driver, an African-American named Ken, did his long announcement standing facing the passengers, rarely seen on any mode of transport. His son was also on the bus, about 5 years old, right in the shotgun seat (3-4).
I sat in the first open pair on the left, Seats 9-10, which unfortunately had reduced legroom. I was pleased to find that these seats had footrests, never seen a D4505 with footrests. Again, the Cummins ISX12 engine was surprisingly quiet, and the HVAC sound masked the engine. Acceleration was slow but we held good speed all the way. I thought the reduced legroom wasn't so bad with a footrest, but 30 minutes into the trip, I noticed a sharp hip pain, and then found out that the seat was sagging down. Damn it, this is the type of "new bus" that everyone complains about! This ain't no regular D4505, it's a BAD D4505. By an hour into the ride, I wanted to hop on that bus or stand. Unfortunately, neither was an option.
Good thing is, the driver's son played something with a friendly passenger at the front, and that got me through the ride. Out D4505 pulled on-time into Sacramento at 3:40 PM, and I undertook the walk to the Amtrak station, which was doable with police patrols on bikes.
(continued)
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