ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
You'd think Amtrak would at least attempt to keep the jobs in America... I realize that the State of Washington actually decided who built what and when, but still...According to one person I know that was involved in these things before their placement in service, every time Amtrak wanted changes to the basic Spanish design, they got a visit from the Spanish ambassador to the US with reminders of "international relations issues from various State Department types.If Taglo ever started running things OTHER than the cascades service I would stop riding Amtrak. A Talgo sleeper? I can only imagine the literal rattling of the cage.
Oh, and that trainset is a rattling metal deathtrap. Lightweight power, lightweight cars, and.. GLASS for vestibules? Wow...
My fondest memory of a Cascades service was a LSA in the bistro car who bragged on and on about how wonderful the trains were and how happy she was to have been involved in some sort of planning to keep them, about how she didn't have to smell bathroom anymore and this younger SA with her worked the coffee machine with this look of "Not this story again"
I soon returned to my bathroom-smelling BC seat... I made note of it, not because I am opposed to bathroom smell (I mean, all trains have the smell to some degree) but the fact that this LSA made a point to say they did not smell like bathrooms thanks to "the superior upkeep and venthilation systems" just got me...