"Railfan Madness, Part II"

...is due to kick off in less than 19 hours, now. I'm tracking the progress of the eastbound Sunset Limited, now leaving El Paso very close to on-time. Bags are packed, folks are ready, we've arranged for a ride...as of my mark we are GO for departure!

*Railfan Madness Part I was in March of 2015. HOS-NOL-CHI-FUL-ANA-LAX-HOS. It let me add the Southwest Chief to my trophy wall, which I had never ridden before. Two more new long distance routes in this trip plan, the Empire Builder (east of Whitefish) and the California Zephyr. At the conclusion of this trip I will have traveled every mile of every (current) Amtrak overnight route west of Chicago, save only SAS-AUS on the Texas Eagle.

ehbowen said:

...is due to kick off in less than 19 hours, now. I'm tracking the progress of the eastbound Sunset Limited, now leaving El Paso very close to on-time. Bags are packed, folks are ready, we've arranged for a ride...as of my mark we are GO for departure!

*Railfan Madness Part I was in March of 2015. HOS-NOL-CHI-FUL-ANA-LAX-HOS. It let me add the Southwest Chief to my trophy wall, which I had never ridden before. Two more new long distance routes in this trip plan, the Empire Builder (east of Whitefish) and the California Zephyr. At the conclusion of this trip I will have traveled every mile of every (current) Amtrak overnight route west of Chicago, save only SAS-AUS on the Texas Eagle.

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It's always nice to be able to add more routes to the trophy list! On my recently completed across-the-country-and-back trip, I was able to add the Cardinal to the list. And after having traveled the New Orleans-San Antonio segment of the SL on this same trip, I can say I have traveled every mile of every current Amtrak overnight route west of Chicago. Now to start on the short routes!

On our way now; just stopping in Lafayette. About 35 minutes down; not too bad. Parents both had the entrée salad for lunch and I had the pork shanks with appetizer salad. Dad had a cup of the Blue Bunny ice cream; everyone left satisfied.

Arrived in New Orleans a few minutes early thanks to padding. Hotel is the Old No. 77 on Tchoupitoulas St near Harrah 's. Plans today are Cafe du Monde and the WWII museum .

Ridin' on the City of New Orleans... Lake Pontchartrain from the western shore

The limited menu dinner was limited to chicken enchiladas, pulled pork or tilapia, but it was well received. Skipping lunch didn't hurt!

Arrival into Chicago was two hours late, but we still had time to pick up some items from CVS. My mom once worked in Chicago and we walked down to La Salle street to see how the city has changed... a lot! She bought a shirt from Ann Taylor and we headed back to the Metropolitan Lounge in time to catch the complimentary veggies and cheese buffet and wine tasting. We were able to skip lunch!

The Empire Builder is especially long today, with an extra coach for St. Paul, another coach being ferried west, and two PVs on the rear. Dinner for us was the steak for Dad and the crab cakes for Mom and myself. We passed Wisconsin Dells during dinner.

Early into Minot, where we waited more than an hour for time. The sign read 41 degrees...cold for us Houstonians! I wish they would turn on the heat....

Thanks for all the photos and updates. How was your boarding procedure from the Metropolitan Lounge?

Left a lot to be desired, frankly. They called us about 45 minutes before departure and told the able-bodied to walk down the corridor and turn left to Track 19. I didn't see the head of the pack leave, so I don't know if a staff member was leading them. They just told us to follow the crowd. But we had two seniors and a lot of luggage, so they put us out in the line for red cap assistance. It was a long line and the red caps seemed overwhelmed. But they did get to us in time and our red cap took our bags all the way to our roomettes, so we were satisfied in the end.

Thanks, that is good information to know. Since I travel alone I try not to have too much luggage and I had heard more people were now requesting redcap service creating the congested situation you mentioned.

Tennessee Traveler said:

Thanks, that is good information to know. Since I travel alone I try not to have too much luggage and I had heard more people were now requesting redcap service creating the congested situation you mentioned.

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A lot of AU's seem to be using red cap service to get ahead of the pack and avoid uncertainties in the new boarding process, not necessarily because they are not able to walk. I suspect the general Chicago sleeper crowd is starting to discover its advantages also.

I of course don't know anything about the economics of red cap service; but the question is, how much of an increase can it handle? Will it need to be rationed?

At the Marriott Courtyard City Center in Portland: Last night on the Empire Builder my mom and I listened to a Trails and Rails presentation while crossing Marias Pass as the sun set. Heard a lot of good information that was new to me, including one anecdote about a train derailment some thirty years ago which spilled a lot of corn beside the track. The railroad didn't do a very good job of cleaning it up, and so it did what corn does when it sits out and gets wet, it fermented...and the grizzly bears found it. They came down to trackside and got drunk as skunks. Grizzly bears apparently have long lives and long memories, because some still come down to the tracks looking for more hooch....

Morning sunrise over the Columbia River today was spectacular. Mom and I spent most of the morning in the Sightseer Lounge drinking in the scenery. The box breakfast was good; croissant filled with ham and cheese, a small cup of yogurt, papaya and pineapple mixed fruit, and a small piece of berry cobbler. We were still spot-on time most of the way and were early into Portland where a redcap helped us with our luggage to the taxi stand and the hotel had a room available for early check-in. Mom and dad promptly took baths and then laid down for an afternoon nap.

Photo is Mount Hood as seen from the westbound Empire Builder.

Nice trip and great pic,t thanks for sharing!

Enjoy the City of Roses!

Shower situation: I took showers aboard the City of New Orleans and in the Portland sleeper of the Empire Builder. Both showers were clean with good water flow and temperature, although I used the old "Navy shower" technique to save water...wet down, turn the water off, soap up, then rinse off. Towels were readily available on both trains, but the CONO had neither shampoo nor even soap ... fortunately I had both in my toiletry bag. The Empire Builder, on the other hand, offered both bars of soap and small packets of shampoo as well as a supply of fresh washcloths and hand and bath towels.

My mom sampled the new showers in the Metropolitan Lounge during our layover in Chicago. There wasn't a wait; she just gave them an ID and they gave her a towel and key card. She reports that the showers were "really nice" with plenty of privacy and room for changing. Toiletries were available although she preferred to use her own. She has only made one other overnight Amtrak trip (HOS-LAX-HOS, ten years ago), so she was favorably impressed with her experience in the Metropolitan Lounge.

Aboard Cascades train 516 from Portland to Vancouver: This morning we had a private auto tour of Portland arranged by Evergreen Escapes. We enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot about the city we wouldn't have known otherwise; it was the first visit to Portland for all three of us. Evergreen bought us lunch at one of Portland's food cart lots; I had a delicious sesame chicken plate with fried rice and carrots at a Japanese cart; Mom also had Japanese while Dad had a big BLT.

We didn't have a chance to check out the Metropolitan Lounge in Portland; they were already boarding business class when we arrived. We were assigned seats 4A, B and C in car #1. The train was within five minutes of schedule all the way up the coast and twenty minutes early into Seattle; we had time to walk the platform and explore the station. We went to dinner as the train pulled out of Seattle but were too late to sample the clam chowder I had been hungering for; they sold the last bowl just before we arrived in the Bistro. We did get a table to enjoy our hot dogs and teriyaki rice bowl, watching the sun set over Puget Sound.

Very enjoyable trip report and lovely photos--thank you for sharing them with us .

What did you think of the Marriott Courtyard City Center?

Mystic River Dragon said:

Very enjoyable trip report and lovely photos--thank you for sharing them with us .

What did you think of the Marriott Courtyard City Center?

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A nice hotel, centrally located, not too far from the station (although too far to walk). Double queen room had plenty of space for the three of us and the restaurant downstairs serves a decent breakfast. There are plenty of other options within walking distance as well, including a food court in the office tower across the street and some of Portland's ubiquitous food carts in the next block. We were tired from the trip and ended up just ordering Domino's for dinner.

Our hotel last night was the Rosedale on Robson in Vancouver. That's a NICE hotel! We booked a two bedroom suite with a separate living room and kitchenette for CAD 324 a night, continental breakfast included. The hotel had a lot of amenities we didn't have time to take advantage of, including a swimming pool. If I return to Vancouver I would definitely stay there again.

Thanks for the information on the hotels--I like Courtyards in general, and had thought of that one if I go to Portland, so am happy to have the feedback. Not sure I will ever get to Vancouver, but you never know, and it is good to have a recommendation for a nice hotel there.

At the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, sipping afternoon tea with my mother: Crossed the channel yesterday on the BC ferry and picked up our rental car here in Victoria. Hertz has treated us well; they picked us up from the bus stop and said they could drop us off at the Clipper dock when we turn the car in on Monday.

The Fairholme Manor, our B & B in Victoria, is very nice. It's just down the street from Government House and we strolled the grounds this morning. We saw a pair of deer grazing peacefully near the flower garden.

I'm just a few miles across the channel from Victoria--and you have caught practically the first day of rain since summer started!

Thanks for all the news and photos!

Aboard the Victoria Clipper, en route to Seattle: We had an absolutely wonderful three days stay in Victoria. Mom and I had high tea at the Fairmont Empress, Dad and I went on the zip line at Sooke, we all toured the Butchart Gardens, and the weather could not have been better. Now we are aboard a fully sold-out Clipper... Toronto is playing the Mariners in Seattle for the only time this season tonight and tomorrow, so every Blue Jays fan on Vancouver Island is on this ferry to watch the game. I'm glad we made reservations well in advance!

Pictures are the inner harbor of Victoria from the deck of the Clipper, our B&B the Fairholme Manor, and the tea room of the Fairmont Empress. Sorry I didn't get a good picture of the spread they served us, but it was too good to leave sit for pictures!

Great pics from a Wonderful area of the World! Thanks for sharing!

Aboard the Coast Starlight southbound from Seattle to Sacramento: Upon arrival in Seattle we were met by our tour guide Stephanie with Evergreen Escapes to begin our half-day tour of Seattle. We saw the small waterfall park in the Pioneer Square area where UPS had its start, visited a couple of wine tasting rooms (Stephanie is a wine specialist) and spent some time and did some shopping at Pike Place Market.

After the tour we were dropped at our hotel, the Marriott Courtyard Pioneer Square. Looking for dinner Mom and I headed two blocks down 2nd to McCoy's Firehouse Bar and Grill. I had breakfast there two years ago and wanted to try it again. The food was good but service was inexcusably slow.

After a good night's sleep we arose and had breakfast at the hotel, then checked out and caught a cab for King Street Station. It took the ticket agent ten full minutes to fill out the luggage tags for our trip back to Houston... he ended up having to staple two tags together to make room for all the transfers.

Departure was on time with Dad and I in the H - room and Mom in roomette 14 of sleeper 1130. Our trip south has been very pleasant and on time all the way; we passed Chemult just a few minutes ago. I had the Angus burger and the folks had the pork shanks for lunch; Mom and I bought tickets for the wine tasting; and dinner was in the Parlour Car...pasta for Dad, chicken breast for Mom, and the lamb shanks for me.

The scenery was spectacular; I've seen some of it before in 2014 but it's Mom's first trip on this route. I also met up with a certain infamous AU poster who uses the sobriquet of "Meat Puppet"; we will be tracing much of the same route tomorrow.

Photos are Lookout Point Lake with the Cascades in the background, Mom on the platform of Portland's Union Station, my lamb shanks dinner, Dad's choice of libation, and a decoration in the window of an infamous AU poster's roomette.