Flagstaff station

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Linda

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We are catching Amtrak in Flagstaff c. 4:40 am.

We are taking a shuttle van up to the station from Phoenix. So, we will arrive many hours before the train.

If we are in Flagstaff from 11 pm (earliest) or 2:20 am (latest), where can we hang out/what can we do?

Would it be smarter to rent a car (one way) and leave it at the station?
 
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The station normally opens at 3:15 am, unless it has been kept open for a late westbound. I have suggested trying the lobby of the nearby Hotel Monte Vista, but I can't promise that would work.
 
I was just speaking to another local resident about your question and my answer and she said the atmosphere created by the clientele there make that an undesirable option.
 
When I was there, I rented a car (Hertz at the Amtrak station) and was able to

return the car there and place the keys in their drop box. I arrived about one

hour prior to departure time and waited in the Amtrak lounge.
 
Dick - are you talking about renting from Hertz in FLG? :huh: OP needs to return in FLG, and it's hard to wait in the "Amtrak lounge" in FLG - when there isn't one in FLG!
 
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Thanks, everyone. Did the resident mean the atmosphere at the Monte Vista is not so good? I was sort of thinking of heading over there myself.

Someone at the shuttle company said getting a cab to Denny's was another option. (Maybe cabs hang out there waiting for folks like us?)

I like trains, if there are lots of them going by, I could be happy hanging out on the platform (are there benches to sit on)?

We are taking the train to St. Louis. Where will we see the best scenery along the way? Do we go through Las Vegas, NM?
 
Dave,

I rented the car at the Hertz counter in the Amtrak station and returned it to the same place.

The cars were parked in a lot at the station. Very convenient. The Hertz employee waited

at the station until the train arrived and there were three of us on the train who rented cars.

When I returned the car, the counter was unattended and I placed the car keys in a drop box.
 
I was just confused when you said you waited in the "Amtrak lounge".

Linda, the Flagstaff station is on the BNSF trans-con - one of the busiest lines in the US! I would expect to see at least 2-3 (if not more) trains per hour! :)
 
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Years ago, when we stayed in a motel in Flagstaff, it seemed like a train went by every 10 minutes!!

I am very interested in Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe, so this is an exciting trip for me!
 
Years ago, when we stayed in a motel in Flagstaff, it seemed like a train went by every 10 minutes!!

I am very interested in Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe, so this is an exciting trip for me!
Since you are interested in Fred Harvey, have you read Appetite for America?

http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-America-Business-Civilizing-West--One-ebook/dp/B0036S4A7M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406644533&sr=1-1&keywords=appetite+for+america

And too bad you go through Dodge City at 12:27am, as that was a big Fred Harvey place, partially restored. CJ
 
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Linda - My friend seemed to indicate that the bar crowd around the Monte Vista is not so great. I don't know if the hotel is agreeable to having people sit in the lobby at late hours, but may be able to check that out for you next time I go downtown. If you arrived Flagstaff, say, at 11pm, you might want to go to Denny's, which is the only 24 hour restaurant and about a mile and a half from downtown, out by the Interstate. If you arrived around 2 am, that would not be worth your time, so yes, there are benches out on the platform, but the station would probably be locked until around 3:15am and there would not be any facilities out there. Freight trains are frequent, with several in each direction per hour and I can hear them from my home, about four miles east of the station.

Yes, the train will go through Las Vegas, NM. This is the most interesting part of your trip. Keep your eyes open through northern New Mexico, as you may know this train is likely to be rerouted in 2016 through Amarillo. I like the narrow canyon east of Lamy. No wonder BNSF stopped using it as a freight line, but it has its own character. Other than passing the other Amtrak train headed in the opposite direction, you will have this section of the railroad all to yourselves. The area kind of has the feel of a third world country. ( I suggest driving the back roads of northern New Mexico, too! ) If you have more questions, please ask.
 
Yes, Carolyn, I have read everything I can find on Fred Harvey! Years ago, I organized a 2-day seminar on Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe in Phoenix. We invited a few elderly Harvey Girls and had speakers talk on everything and anything related to the subject.

I will have to go back to Dodge City on another trip...
 
Greatcats, no need to checkout the bar scene, the shuttle co. says we will be at the station at 1:30, so I don't mind hanging out on the platform, I will have a fantastic time. (Not sure my husband will enjoy it the same way I will!)

When we stayed at the La Posada, I chose the room that faced the tracks.

I want to see the great scenery (when should I be sleeping on this trip?).

Is the old Montezuma Hotel in Las Vegas (Armand Hammer college I think it is now) visible from the train? THAT's one place I'm anxious to see inside of.

I envy you that you have worked as a NPS volunteer. I am dying to do that.
 
Hi Linda - When I have gotten up in the middle of the night to board the eastbound train from Flagstaff or Williams, I stay up for breakfast at 6:30, then go back to bed until Albuquerque. From there on stay up until it gets dark in Colorado. I like standing in the rear of the train looking out the back of the coach east of Trinidad toward La Junta, out on the Plains looking at the receding Rockies. There is the old hotel at Las Vegas, which is not in operation, next to the station, the future of which was questionable last time I asked. The station there itself is designated an intermodal facility, with the office of a local bus and taxi service, and is in excellent condition. It is too bad that it may not be used as a train station. I like the station at Lamy, the setting of which looks like something out of the wild west. It is not in the best of repair on the outside, but is cozy on the inside.

What I do as a volunteer these days is to be a " roving interpreter " out on the Lava Flow Train at Sunset Crater Volcano NM. I have a great time out there, meeting cool people from all over. I have also been a volunteer at Hawaii Volcanoes, but here at Arizona they let me do exactly what I like doing, usually two days per week.
 
What's at the back of the train, some kind of lounge car? Are you saying not to eat dinner until after the sun goes down?

What about our stuff, is it ok to leave it unattended while we are in the back, gawking?

Is there wi-fi on the train?

Do they give you a route guide/timetable on the train or at the station?

What's good to eat, last time I ate on the train, I was a little dismayed. (Fred Harvey is not overseeing the dining operations, alas.)

:-(
 
Hi Linda - Usually the coaches are on the back of this train, unless there is a private car back there. The lounge car is in the middle of the train behind the diner. I assume you are in a sleeper. I would not be too concerned about your belongings, but I would conceal valuables or keep them on your person. No Wifi, with no cell signal in some locations. I don't think they hand out route guides anymore on the trains, but I think you can still download them off the Amtrak website. Timetables usually available at the station, but these days I would print those out beforehand. The food has been a subject of much discussion. I prefer good cuisine, and have been less than thrilled with some of my meals recently, and it also depends on who is doing the cooking. The salads are a poor excuse for a tossed salad - iceberg, with one or two cherry tomatoes and the vegetables are usually blah. I dislike that corn and pepper combination, especially when they put it in an omelette. Having said that, the breakfast are usually good and tasty, the lunches usually acceptable. Most of the steaks with mushroom sauce for dinner have been very good and the maui maui fish I have had mixed results with - sometimes tasty and sometimes blah and dry. I have not eaten in an Amtrak diner since February, so am not sure what some of the selections are these days. The Lamb Shank was being well received and the chicken pretty good. Maybe I am being a pain in the neck, fussy, retired citizen, but I take a dim view of wine being served in a plastic cup. The menu gives glowing descriptions of wine combinations with the menu, which is basically diner food as others have mentioned, making it sound like a high class place, which it isn't anymore. Fairly decent dining, yes, but not high class, which maybe isn't called for, but I have been disgusted with their stupid nickel and dime cuts and told them the last diner I was on in Feb. on the SWC looks like a cheap coffee shop. Having said all this, if things go reasonably well, it is still an interesting ride and a great way to cross our country.
 
The back of the train is just that - the back of the train. But many of us like to stand at and look out "the railfan window" - the window in the door to the next car except there's no next car! So you have a great view down the tracks! :)
 
Thanks for all that info. I will print my own route guide/timetable.

No, we are not in a sleeper!! But if I were, I would like a compartment like the one in North By Northwest...

:)

OH! When we get to St. Louis, we need to get to the Holiday Inn at the Ballpark (or is it a Hyatt). It looks walkable (between train station and the Arch), does anyone know?
 
Hop on the Metro Link Light Rail right outside the Intermodel Station ( Amtrak/Greyhound/MetroLink) and rise East Bound towards the River to the Busch Stadium Stop!

The Metro Link Light Rail runs from the St Louis Airport on the West clear to Scott AFB in Illinois, some 26+ Miles, buy a Day Pass, its a great way to sight see and tour the St Louis Area!Day Passes are available and the first stop to the West of the Intermodal Station I'd the Old Union Station which is now a Hotel, a Failing Mall ( there is a Food Court) but worth a look!
 
Well Linda, you probably have already heard this Fred Harvey joke but I'm repeating it on the slim chance you haven't (and because it's always been my favorite). I heard this about 40 years ago on one of my trips to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon from one of the employees of the El Tovar lodge.

How the Grand Canyon was created: forget what you've heard about the river carving it. Fred Harvey found the scenery in the area conducive to tourist trade and built facilities there. One day he accidentally dropped a nickel on the ground. He ordered his employees to dig until they found it.
 
Great info from everyone, thank you. A day pass is an excellent idea!

One more thing comes to mind. The Chief is frequently late, no? We have about one hour between arrival in Kansas City and catching the River Runner.

If the Chief is late getting in, and we miss our next train, what happens to us? It's a long hike across Kansas...
 
Until recent months the Southwest Chief had a pretty good on time record, but it has not been doing so well lately, although I have noted that some Chicago arrivals have been close to on time recently. I can't say how long they will hold that morning train to St. Louis if you are late. If not, you might be spending the day in Kansas City, not a bad place, I'm sure, but I hope your plans don't get tampered with. The other version of the Fred Harvey joke I used to tell on my bus tours was about John Hance,a miner and one of the earliest hoteliers of Grand Canyon, long before the railroad arrived. The New Hance Trail, a rough backpacker trail is named after him, and the remains of the foundation of his small hotel can be seen, although they are unmarked, on the south side of Desert View Drive down in a gully descending Buggeln Hill. Mr. Hance was known to be hospitable, but a teller of tall tales. He would tell his guests with a straight face, who arrived by stagecoach from Flagstaff, that he dug the Grand Canyon himself, but could not recall where he put all of the dirt!
 
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