texline
Service Attendant
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2016
- Messages
- 127
My wife and I are now retired and enjoying Amtrak. We had the opportunity to try a multi segment trip and made reservations early in October.
We used the Amtrak app and it easy to get our reservation. A week prior to our trip, I took one more look at our tickets and saw a "segment cancelled" warning. I found the 763 was cancelled. I called and a very nice lady said the reservation system changes Thanksgiving week and the computer just knocked us out, the train is still running. She fixed it with no problem and my understanding was just a software glitch.
The day came. I had been reading a lot of posts here about the Surfliner and thought I had a clue. My wife had finally come to understand riding Amtrak is "you get there when you get there" and she was good with that. Never the less she wanted to get to the Irvine station very early. The Irvine station is a real fine transit terminal and on our arrival found it wasn't crowded.
The 763 was coming in. The announcement came over "business class was the last car, all other require reservations. Only Amtrak tickets. Board any car and take a seat".
We hoped on and climbed the stairs to find a line of people passengers looking for seats. The worst case of seat hogs I had ever seen. A lot of college age students. You would ask if they would move their stuff only to be ignored. Others were sleeping across two seats. The attendant would ask them to move stuff and she was ignored. We found a couple of seats not too far apart towards the front. Meanwhile the arguments continued. The attendant was telling a group to move from family seating. A lady just pitched a fit and refused to move. The attendant recited the rules over and over but it didn't help. The PA was now chanting "one ticket, one seat" followed by "get your bags off the floor and use the overhead storage". The poor attendant at one point looked at the roof and was taking deep breaths uttering something. Why they couldn't just assign seats, I will never understand. The ride was smooth and we enjoyed the view.
We arrived at LAX on time and had a chance to really look around Union Station. Most have been a beauty back in the day. The station wasn't as crowded as we had experienced on other trips.
The Coast Starlight was being backed in and we were excited to see the Parlor Car was still on. We waited and boarded 1430. We were greeted by our SCA Gino. Turns out he is my new best friend.
After we stowed our luggage, I came out on the platform to look over the cars. Gino was just waiting for passengers and noticed my curiosity. He asked if I had a question. I told him I just recently retired and was now getting a chance to really get into trains. I said that I really was very new to it and my questions were pretty lame. He said he loved trains and didn't mind at all. I decided I should just limit myself and not distract this man. So I asked about the superliners and he told me a few things and said he would show me more. It was amazing for me. He took me to the transitional sleeper and showed me it. He showed me why the stairway to the baggage car no longer works. He showed me the different rooms and would pull things apart to really explain how things worked. Through out the trip we exchanged information. He was curious about my work. I got the better end of it I think. This guy was a hard worker, totally dedicated to service. Through the trip, Gino was on top of it. Best SCA we ever had. My wife just enjoyed the view.
Next was the Parlor Car. I had read so much about it. It was very cool. Gino had explained about the theater being closed down, the doors and windows were not in compliance but it was fun to look at and imagine. The seats and decor were great. We met William. This guy was squared away. He ran the entire car and was a tremendous multi tasker. He kept everything well organized. We spent a lot of time here. It was very pleasant.
We had a chance to go back through business class. Maybe a dozen people. The observation car had me counting my blessings as it was packed to the limit. We didn't venture further
We had lunch in the PPC and it was ok. We had sandwiches. Not many eating in there. We had dinner in the diner and the steak was actually very good. The folks we ate with were also pleased with the quality of their selections. The drinks were good. No complaints. We did see a ton of room service going on. Explains why we didn't see a lot of people dining. Coach passengers could opt for a boxed meal.
The ride was excellent. Very few delays. Wonderful ocean views. Rain started up but actually made for even more scenic views.
I think the rainbow over the train must have been good luck. Periodically Gino would stop and enlighten me with more information. He has worked plenty of routes and has seen a bunch. The conductor was apparently working an insane work schedule and the crew said she was really doing a tremendous job. I guess she also had to deal with things in coach. Apparently very crowded and some behaving badly.
Gino was saying how nice it was to have an added sleeper and coach and to have them full. He has been on the CS for 7 years and told me the good things he was seeing. I also heard from other staff about things they wish Amtrak would support. I get the impression that they want to give better customer experiences. This was just an exceptional crew based on our limited experience.
The train made great time into Oakland. My wife was so pleased with the ride. I thought the SWC might have been a deal killer for her but she really loved the CS and was ready for more. The people we rode with were great and the crew exceptional.
I want to give the Surfliner another chance as Thanksgiving week was probably an exception. Overall though the trip went exceptional well. Time to plan for the next adventure!
We used the Amtrak app and it easy to get our reservation. A week prior to our trip, I took one more look at our tickets and saw a "segment cancelled" warning. I found the 763 was cancelled. I called and a very nice lady said the reservation system changes Thanksgiving week and the computer just knocked us out, the train is still running. She fixed it with no problem and my understanding was just a software glitch.
The day came. I had been reading a lot of posts here about the Surfliner and thought I had a clue. My wife had finally come to understand riding Amtrak is "you get there when you get there" and she was good with that. Never the less she wanted to get to the Irvine station very early. The Irvine station is a real fine transit terminal and on our arrival found it wasn't crowded.
The 763 was coming in. The announcement came over "business class was the last car, all other require reservations. Only Amtrak tickets. Board any car and take a seat".
We hoped on and climbed the stairs to find a line of people passengers looking for seats. The worst case of seat hogs I had ever seen. A lot of college age students. You would ask if they would move their stuff only to be ignored. Others were sleeping across two seats. The attendant would ask them to move stuff and she was ignored. We found a couple of seats not too far apart towards the front. Meanwhile the arguments continued. The attendant was telling a group to move from family seating. A lady just pitched a fit and refused to move. The attendant recited the rules over and over but it didn't help. The PA was now chanting "one ticket, one seat" followed by "get your bags off the floor and use the overhead storage". The poor attendant at one point looked at the roof and was taking deep breaths uttering something. Why they couldn't just assign seats, I will never understand. The ride was smooth and we enjoyed the view.
We arrived at LAX on time and had a chance to really look around Union Station. Most have been a beauty back in the day. The station wasn't as crowded as we had experienced on other trips.
The Coast Starlight was being backed in and we were excited to see the Parlor Car was still on. We waited and boarded 1430. We were greeted by our SCA Gino. Turns out he is my new best friend.
After we stowed our luggage, I came out on the platform to look over the cars. Gino was just waiting for passengers and noticed my curiosity. He asked if I had a question. I told him I just recently retired and was now getting a chance to really get into trains. I said that I really was very new to it and my questions were pretty lame. He said he loved trains and didn't mind at all. I decided I should just limit myself and not distract this man. So I asked about the superliners and he told me a few things and said he would show me more. It was amazing for me. He took me to the transitional sleeper and showed me it. He showed me why the stairway to the baggage car no longer works. He showed me the different rooms and would pull things apart to really explain how things worked. Through out the trip we exchanged information. He was curious about my work. I got the better end of it I think. This guy was a hard worker, totally dedicated to service. Through the trip, Gino was on top of it. Best SCA we ever had. My wife just enjoyed the view.
Next was the Parlor Car. I had read so much about it. It was very cool. Gino had explained about the theater being closed down, the doors and windows were not in compliance but it was fun to look at and imagine. The seats and decor were great. We met William. This guy was squared away. He ran the entire car and was a tremendous multi tasker. He kept everything well organized. We spent a lot of time here. It was very pleasant.
We had a chance to go back through business class. Maybe a dozen people. The observation car had me counting my blessings as it was packed to the limit. We didn't venture further
We had lunch in the PPC and it was ok. We had sandwiches. Not many eating in there. We had dinner in the diner and the steak was actually very good. The folks we ate with were also pleased with the quality of their selections. The drinks were good. No complaints. We did see a ton of room service going on. Explains why we didn't see a lot of people dining. Coach passengers could opt for a boxed meal.
The ride was excellent. Very few delays. Wonderful ocean views. Rain started up but actually made for even more scenic views.
I think the rainbow over the train must have been good luck. Periodically Gino would stop and enlighten me with more information. He has worked plenty of routes and has seen a bunch. The conductor was apparently working an insane work schedule and the crew said she was really doing a tremendous job. I guess she also had to deal with things in coach. Apparently very crowded and some behaving badly.
Gino was saying how nice it was to have an added sleeper and coach and to have them full. He has been on the CS for 7 years and told me the good things he was seeing. I also heard from other staff about things they wish Amtrak would support. I get the impression that they want to give better customer experiences. This was just an exceptional crew based on our limited experience.
The train made great time into Oakland. My wife was so pleased with the ride. I thought the SWC might have been a deal killer for her but she really loved the CS and was ready for more. The people we rode with were great and the crew exceptional.
I want to give the Surfliner another chance as Thanksgiving week was probably an exception. Overall though the trip went exceptional well. Time to plan for the next adventure!
