trainfanmom
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2009
- Messages
- 83
My son and I are back from our multi-train, cross-country trip. I just wanted to thank you all again for your help in planning. The trip could not have been more perfect
Train 1, CS LA-> Portland. We had left a day early to give us an extra day in Portland to visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum and it worked for the best. Left LA on time and were very happy to see we had a Parlour Car in the consist. We lost some time overnight due to the removal of two private cars and some near misses with a pedestrian and a car (two different times). There were also storms overnight that left us with a blanket of beautiful fresh snow in No. CA/So. OR. The delay meant we had an amazing view of Mt. Shasta in the morning. Another mudslide caused them to end the train in Portland but since that was our destination it did not affect us. And since we were in no hurry, the 3-hour delay just meant more time to enjoy the train
My son loved the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum and we were there from opening to closing. He was thrilled when the volunteers allowed him to go up in the cab of the 4449 engine. I think that made the whole trip for him. We also watched the CS come in on Sunday and realized the consist that day included a second dining car in place of the Parlour Car (we did a silent woo hoo, since that would have been our train if we did not move our trip up a day earlier).
Train 2, EB Portland -> Chicago. We were a little late leaving Portland since they were waiting on a late CS. At first I was a bit disappointed to lose some of the daylight time viewing the Columbia River Gorge but since it was a full moon, we still had an amazing view after dark. The delay also put us in prime viewing time when going through Glacier National Park the next morning (fog had lifted by the time we got there). We still arrived in Chicago a little early.
Train 3, SWC Chicago -> LA. Another great trip. Ran right on time up until the last evening when a freight train in front of us had mechanical issues so we had to sit for 3 hours waiting for it to be fixed and the tracks cleared. Still worked out for us because we were able to sleep in a bit the next morning since we would not be arriving as early.
We had great car attendants on all three trains. For those that love to discuss the ice issue, our EB attendant did have ice available all the time in his car. For the other two trips, my son just went to the Parlour Car or Lounge Car to get us a cup of ice when we needed it.
We were able to get our Coast Starlight mugs, so they are still available.
I think my only complaint on Amtrak’s part for the entire trip was that they did not wash the EB train in Portland so we went all the way to Chicago with dirty windows (railfan window and lounge car windows were especially bad – which was very disappointing).
But if that is the only thing that I can come up with to complain about, then I’m happy.
Oh, and maybe that we missed all the new menus by a day. Our car attendant said that the SWC was supposed to start the new menu on our train but they did not have the supplies for the new menu in Chicago so we still had the old one
Overall it was a great adventure and we are already checking out which routes to take next time!
Train 1, CS LA-> Portland. We had left a day early to give us an extra day in Portland to visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum and it worked for the best. Left LA on time and were very happy to see we had a Parlour Car in the consist. We lost some time overnight due to the removal of two private cars and some near misses with a pedestrian and a car (two different times). There were also storms overnight that left us with a blanket of beautiful fresh snow in No. CA/So. OR. The delay meant we had an amazing view of Mt. Shasta in the morning. Another mudslide caused them to end the train in Portland but since that was our destination it did not affect us. And since we were in no hurry, the 3-hour delay just meant more time to enjoy the train
My son loved the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum and we were there from opening to closing. He was thrilled when the volunteers allowed him to go up in the cab of the 4449 engine. I think that made the whole trip for him. We also watched the CS come in on Sunday and realized the consist that day included a second dining car in place of the Parlour Car (we did a silent woo hoo, since that would have been our train if we did not move our trip up a day earlier).
Train 2, EB Portland -> Chicago. We were a little late leaving Portland since they were waiting on a late CS. At first I was a bit disappointed to lose some of the daylight time viewing the Columbia River Gorge but since it was a full moon, we still had an amazing view after dark. The delay also put us in prime viewing time when going through Glacier National Park the next morning (fog had lifted by the time we got there). We still arrived in Chicago a little early.
Train 3, SWC Chicago -> LA. Another great trip. Ran right on time up until the last evening when a freight train in front of us had mechanical issues so we had to sit for 3 hours waiting for it to be fixed and the tracks cleared. Still worked out for us because we were able to sleep in a bit the next morning since we would not be arriving as early.
We had great car attendants on all three trains. For those that love to discuss the ice issue, our EB attendant did have ice available all the time in his car. For the other two trips, my son just went to the Parlour Car or Lounge Car to get us a cup of ice when we needed it.
We were able to get our Coast Starlight mugs, so they are still available.
I think my only complaint on Amtrak’s part for the entire trip was that they did not wash the EB train in Portland so we went all the way to Chicago with dirty windows (railfan window and lounge car windows were especially bad – which was very disappointing).
But if that is the only thing that I can come up with to complain about, then I’m happy.
Oh, and maybe that we missed all the new menus by a day. Our car attendant said that the SWC was supposed to start the new menu on our train but they did not have the supplies for the new menu in Chicago so we still had the old one
Overall it was a great adventure and we are already checking out which routes to take next time!