Seaboard92
Engineer
Well as most of you here know I had a job interview in Portland, OR so I could escape the charters life. So I had to make a trip to Portland in order to go to "Orientation" which is more like an interview then anything else. When I was about to book my flight to Portland I decided I should price Amtrak for a laugh.
Turns out the day I picked was a day the Empire Builder was in its lowest roomette bucket about three weeks out from the trip. So I logged into rail agent (for travel agencies) and made my reservation. My initial plan was to fly to Chicago, meet up with a friend then ride. But I waited too long waiting for him to pull the trigger all of the decent flights to Chicago were booked up and way too expensive for this trip.
So I then priced the Lake Shore Limited and it too was in the lowest bucket for a roomette. So I booked that, then my flights to New York. And my flight home from Portland. So all I had to do was wait.
2/24: Problems, Problems, and more Problems
So the day before my trip on the 23rd I checked in for my American Airlines trip, printed out all of my tickets, and packed. Every trip I say I'll do better then packing at the last minute. That hasn't happened yet.
So I wake up at four am for a six am flight across town. It's really strange that I've used the Columbia airport now twice in two months time and never in 23 years of living here. So my dad drives me to the airport and we need to stop and get gas near the airport. No biggie till we go to turn the car back on and it won't start.
We were lucky we had a person at a nearby pump who jumped us off. Time to boarding was now 20 minutes. The new problem the car wouldn't go above 25 mph without violently shaking. So we poked at 25 down the interstate for five miles to get me to the airport. I rapidly cleared security which is an advantage to a small airport.
And walked right on to my first flight operated by Piedmont Airlines on an E145 jet to go to Charlotte. The pilot said our flight time was a whopping twelve minutes. We spent more time taxiing at the airport then in the actual air.
I got off of my plane on the Tarmac at Charlotte and made a fairly tight connection to my next flight an American Airlines A319 for New York LGA. We started taxiing on time and returned to the gate. We had a problem with the flight computer which made us three hours late.
It was a very smooth flight however I was not impressed with American and their gate agents being extra stringent on everything. Either way we made it to LGA by noon so that worked out.
I boarded the wrong bus at LGA and ended up at Harlem 125th street. My plan was to go to Woodside then go out to the Atlantic Ocean. So I took Metro North to NYG because I thought riding the Lake Shore it would be cool to at least arrive in its historic terminal.
From Grand Central I then walked to Times Square where my favorite NY restaurant has a location: Juniors. I sat at the bar to avoid an hour wait and right as I was paying I got this fun phone call. "We are calling to inform you that your train has been cancelled with no alternative transportation provided." So I finished paying then took off for an A train to Penn Station where I made a bee line for the ticket office.
At the ticket office I learned it wasn't a problem with my first train but with the Empire Builder so I begged the agent to rebook me. Which he did at no extra charge onto the California Zephyr and Coast Starlight in sleeper. Unfortunately I wouldn't make my interview with Alaska Airlines with the starlight. So I decided I would take the train to the Bay Area then fly.
With all of the troubles I had been having this day I decided I wasn't going to leave the Club Acela at this point because I didn't want another mishap. My friend from Kingston Tyler came in on an Empire Service to hang out for a few minutes. I honestly think we only managed to have fifteen minutes before my train started to board.
We all walked from the Club Acela down to the Lake Shore Limited and I stowed my stuff in my room. Luckily I managed to get a Hudson Side room which I considered a very good sign for the day. Before we left I walked up to the locomotive for a photo op before I settled into my room.
The train left exactly on time with 2 coaches, 2 sleepers, a baggage car, and a diner lite. I was feeling a bit tired before long so I made my top bunk down so I could have my seats on the bottom and a bunk to sleep in or relax in. I didn't doze off surprisingly as we went up America's Rhine. We made great time headed north towards Albany.
We arrived early into Albany where the train combines with the Boston section. I enjoyed watching the two trains combining and I walked into he station for a minute to get a photo of the Albany skyline. After we departed Albany I went to the diner lite for my meal where I was sat at a table by myself. They were not taking reservations for the diner either.
The food in the diner honestly wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Reading here you might think it's a tragedy but it wasn't bad. The chef/food specialist tried really hard to make things good. He warmed the dinner rolls up with some sort of drizzle over them. They tasted fantastic. I could have eaten ten of them.
The beef dish I forget the actual name was actually great. It tasted good, was very tender, and all around a great presentation. I have no complaints. I then went back to my room in 4911 and worked on my novel some. Before unwinding some more with Roller Coaster Tycoon II.
I went to sleep somewhere west of Utica and woke up as we were approaching Cleveland. I honestly love traveling by rail at night looking at the far off lights. I stepped off for a fresh air stop at Cleveland for a little bit of ice cold air before Reboarding. I fell back asleep and woke up again approaching Toledo. Again I took advantage of the fresh air stop to get some air.
2/25: the day of connections
Afterwards I relaxed in my room and watched the sunrise over the Ohio Fields. My favorite hour to be on a train is really just before sunrise as everything is waking up for the day. I've always enjoyed that especially on 98 in northern Virginia and doing it in Toledo suburbs was good enough.
I went to the diner lite for breakfast around seven am and again I didn't think it was that bad. I had the French toast for breakfast while not as good as the normal diner French toast wasn't awful. I then went back to my room to relax as we crossed Indiana.
I honestly struggle with the thought sometimes that people can be happy living in a place that's so flat. Where I live in SC we have rolling hills so it's not completely flat.
We departed Elkhart on time where I got to look at an engine that at one time I worked on the restoration of. Unfortunately due to a hyper railfan that restoration tanked. Before south bend my attendant came in and dropped off sheets asking me to do my own.
I didn't get around to putting sheets on the bed till the Illinois border because I love the industrial scenes of the rust belt in northwest Indiana. I then packed up what little stuff I was carrying and got ready to detrain.
We arrived in Chicago a few minutes early to which the LSA said, "go buy a lottery ticket. It's not everyday were on time." I then when turning around to listen to her day that bumped into someone.
I then went to the lounge for a few minutes to store my bags before walking up to my favorite train photography spot to watch my friends commuter train arrive. Which was rapidly followed by the northbound Hiawatha led by a charger. I did not get photos however because cold weather killed my camera battery.
I then walked back to Union Station and met up with Keiwoon and we walked to the White Palace on Roosevelt Road. We spent the entire layover basically at lunch and catching up. It was really nice to catch up. I stood outside the lounge with him till it was time to board my train the California Zephyr for Sacramento.
I settled into my room on the crew dorm 0540 because that's the only space they had available when I was at New York penn. I sat in my room till we left and I saw Kei on the Roosevelt road bridge. Then I went down to the Sightseer Lounge for the Chicago suburbs. It was enjoyable but rather dull because no one was really talking which I found strange. Generally every time I ride in a SSL people are always chatting and talking.
None the less we arrived into Galesburg early where we had a fresh air stop. I photographed the steam engine for a friend and a BNSF passenger train in the station. While we were headed west at Cameron Junction where the Southwest Chief diverges for the Santa Fe Main I saw a BNSF mixed train. One passenger car, one freight car, and one locomotive.
At about that point I met a nice couple going to Glenwood Springs and talked till we crossed Ol Man River. At the point I was feeling famished so I went to the diner for dinner. Again we weren't taking dinner reservations which I'm not accustomed too. I was sat with a British couple traveling ultimately to San Fransisco with a stop over in Denver.
The British couple said something I found very funny. "Only in America do you have 25 hours in the day." They were referring to all of the time zones going west on their trip. I had the steak which was very enjoyable. I photographed the steam engine at Ottumwa before relaxing in my room. I attempted to make phone calls to my friends in Portland because my initial place to spend the night cancelled on me.
Due to the blizzard forcing me now to arrive into Portland at 1115 at night Tom decided it was too late for me to come in. So I called my friend and ex Julia who kindly offered me her fold out sofa. To be honest I was kinda surprised that her boyfriend whom I don't see eye to eye with was ok with it. That phone call was interrupted multiple times by crappy cell service in Iowa.
After that I called my best friend Malcolm who was so kind he offered me some southwest miles so I could fly from OAK to PDX. Without that I would have been paying three hundred additional dollars.
I stepped off the train in the snow at Omaha for a few minutes before turning down for the night.
2/26 beauty and boredom
I awoke to us speeding over the amber waves of grain in eastern Colorado as we sped towards Denver. As we negotiated the railyards of Denver I got dressed because we were early and I figured I had an hour to explore Denver.
We arrived and they let us off which ended up being a mistake. As there was a crew miscommunication but oh well. I started my hour long rush tour of the area by the train station. Which really was about ten minutes till I decided I was too cold and wanted back on board. I walked all of a block
When I arrived back at the train they had all the doors shut because they were removing the locomotives due to mechanical issues. So I stood on the platform and talked to a really lovely person traveling to Sacramento. After about thirty minutes they let us back on where I went to the lounge car to get a seat with my new friend.
Once power was restored the diner reopened for service and I went there for a breakfast. I was worried I would miss the good scenery because of being in the diner but we ended up leaving 45 minutes behind. For breakfast I had the pancakes which was lovely. It's been so long since I've had pancakes because my dad hasn't made them in forever which used to be a Sunday tradition.
After breakfast I went back to the lounge. The train wasn't that full with only two sleepers and two coaches so there was no problem being in the lounge all day. The first bit after leaving was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was snow covered and beautiful. At winter park they allowed us off for a fresh air break which I took advantage of.
After winter park the Sunnyside of the mountain was dry and red, the shady side was covered in snow. We slowly kept crossing and I would see a house what looked like miles away from a road or a town. Which made me think how do these people get supplies and how often. Some looked so far from civilization I thought they might have to get gas everytime they go somewhere.
With the stops being so far apart time wise I have to say it kinda got a bit boring. The sightseer wasn't really full of people talking or doing anything so just endless scenery. Which is good but at the same time talking to people helps me enjoy what I see more.
After awhile I went to lunch in the diner also without a reservation and sat with two people from North Carolina who boarded in Denver. I had a hamburger as we entered some fairly narrow canyons. The food was good and afterwards I went back to the lounge.
When we departed Glenwood Springs we only had about thirty people on board between sleepers and coach. I still spent the rest of the day struggling to stay awake as I hadn't really gotten a full nights sleep but I managed to power thru it. When we reached the stop at Grand Junction the conductor told us we could all visit the store in the station.
To which everyone did except for me who took a platform hike. I had dinner eventually as the sun set over Utah and had dinner with a railfan from Galesburg, and a couple from the Netherlands. They didn't speak a lot of English but were fluent in German. So I helped them order in the dining car using German because I'm fluent.
It was an enjoyable dinner with a fairly good steak. After that I went to my room made a quick phone call and turned down for the night.
2/27 Donner Pass and Sacramento
Well I had intended to wake up for the fresh air stop at Salt Lake City but I slept thru that. When I woke up I noticed we were coming into Winnemucca about twenty minutes early. So I walked the platform in the snow at whatever time it was. And because I couldn't sleep I watched the sunrise from the empty sightseer lounge. Which was amazing across the desert.
I went to the diner for a quick breakfast before Reno and donner pass around seven AM and had another batch of pancakes before returning to the sightseer. I took a walk at Reno to the head end and back before settling in for Donner Pass. I was surprised to hear historical announcements in the car.
Turns out there is a trails and rails program which was very informative. I spent a lot of time just admiring the beautiful Sierras. Eventually I struck up a conversation with a retired Norfolk Southern engineer and dispatcher whom I had lunch with as well.
It was really quite enjoyable talking to someone again. We enjoyed the ride west over the grade. I went to lunch on the west side of the grade with them. Again I had the burger because when you are a picky eater amtraks menu isn't that great.
After Roseville I went back to my room and made sure it was ready for me to leave at Sacramento. I had my stuff packed and ready to leave. Shortly after that we arrived into Sacramento thirty minutes early.
Part two coming.
Turns out the day I picked was a day the Empire Builder was in its lowest roomette bucket about three weeks out from the trip. So I logged into rail agent (for travel agencies) and made my reservation. My initial plan was to fly to Chicago, meet up with a friend then ride. But I waited too long waiting for him to pull the trigger all of the decent flights to Chicago were booked up and way too expensive for this trip.
So I then priced the Lake Shore Limited and it too was in the lowest bucket for a roomette. So I booked that, then my flights to New York. And my flight home from Portland. So all I had to do was wait.
2/24: Problems, Problems, and more Problems
So the day before my trip on the 23rd I checked in for my American Airlines trip, printed out all of my tickets, and packed. Every trip I say I'll do better then packing at the last minute. That hasn't happened yet.
So I wake up at four am for a six am flight across town. It's really strange that I've used the Columbia airport now twice in two months time and never in 23 years of living here. So my dad drives me to the airport and we need to stop and get gas near the airport. No biggie till we go to turn the car back on and it won't start.
We were lucky we had a person at a nearby pump who jumped us off. Time to boarding was now 20 minutes. The new problem the car wouldn't go above 25 mph without violently shaking. So we poked at 25 down the interstate for five miles to get me to the airport. I rapidly cleared security which is an advantage to a small airport.
And walked right on to my first flight operated by Piedmont Airlines on an E145 jet to go to Charlotte. The pilot said our flight time was a whopping twelve minutes. We spent more time taxiing at the airport then in the actual air.
I got off of my plane on the Tarmac at Charlotte and made a fairly tight connection to my next flight an American Airlines A319 for New York LGA. We started taxiing on time and returned to the gate. We had a problem with the flight computer which made us three hours late.
It was a very smooth flight however I was not impressed with American and their gate agents being extra stringent on everything. Either way we made it to LGA by noon so that worked out.
I boarded the wrong bus at LGA and ended up at Harlem 125th street. My plan was to go to Woodside then go out to the Atlantic Ocean. So I took Metro North to NYG because I thought riding the Lake Shore it would be cool to at least arrive in its historic terminal.
From Grand Central I then walked to Times Square where my favorite NY restaurant has a location: Juniors. I sat at the bar to avoid an hour wait and right as I was paying I got this fun phone call. "We are calling to inform you that your train has been cancelled with no alternative transportation provided." So I finished paying then took off for an A train to Penn Station where I made a bee line for the ticket office.
At the ticket office I learned it wasn't a problem with my first train but with the Empire Builder so I begged the agent to rebook me. Which he did at no extra charge onto the California Zephyr and Coast Starlight in sleeper. Unfortunately I wouldn't make my interview with Alaska Airlines with the starlight. So I decided I would take the train to the Bay Area then fly.
With all of the troubles I had been having this day I decided I wasn't going to leave the Club Acela at this point because I didn't want another mishap. My friend from Kingston Tyler came in on an Empire Service to hang out for a few minutes. I honestly think we only managed to have fifteen minutes before my train started to board.
We all walked from the Club Acela down to the Lake Shore Limited and I stowed my stuff in my room. Luckily I managed to get a Hudson Side room which I considered a very good sign for the day. Before we left I walked up to the locomotive for a photo op before I settled into my room.
The train left exactly on time with 2 coaches, 2 sleepers, a baggage car, and a diner lite. I was feeling a bit tired before long so I made my top bunk down so I could have my seats on the bottom and a bunk to sleep in or relax in. I didn't doze off surprisingly as we went up America's Rhine. We made great time headed north towards Albany.
We arrived early into Albany where the train combines with the Boston section. I enjoyed watching the two trains combining and I walked into he station for a minute to get a photo of the Albany skyline. After we departed Albany I went to the diner lite for my meal where I was sat at a table by myself. They were not taking reservations for the diner either.
The food in the diner honestly wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Reading here you might think it's a tragedy but it wasn't bad. The chef/food specialist tried really hard to make things good. He warmed the dinner rolls up with some sort of drizzle over them. They tasted fantastic. I could have eaten ten of them.
The beef dish I forget the actual name was actually great. It tasted good, was very tender, and all around a great presentation. I have no complaints. I then went back to my room in 4911 and worked on my novel some. Before unwinding some more with Roller Coaster Tycoon II.
I went to sleep somewhere west of Utica and woke up as we were approaching Cleveland. I honestly love traveling by rail at night looking at the far off lights. I stepped off for a fresh air stop at Cleveland for a little bit of ice cold air before Reboarding. I fell back asleep and woke up again approaching Toledo. Again I took advantage of the fresh air stop to get some air.
2/25: the day of connections
Afterwards I relaxed in my room and watched the sunrise over the Ohio Fields. My favorite hour to be on a train is really just before sunrise as everything is waking up for the day. I've always enjoyed that especially on 98 in northern Virginia and doing it in Toledo suburbs was good enough.
I went to the diner lite for breakfast around seven am and again I didn't think it was that bad. I had the French toast for breakfast while not as good as the normal diner French toast wasn't awful. I then went back to my room to relax as we crossed Indiana.
I honestly struggle with the thought sometimes that people can be happy living in a place that's so flat. Where I live in SC we have rolling hills so it's not completely flat.
We departed Elkhart on time where I got to look at an engine that at one time I worked on the restoration of. Unfortunately due to a hyper railfan that restoration tanked. Before south bend my attendant came in and dropped off sheets asking me to do my own.
I didn't get around to putting sheets on the bed till the Illinois border because I love the industrial scenes of the rust belt in northwest Indiana. I then packed up what little stuff I was carrying and got ready to detrain.
We arrived in Chicago a few minutes early to which the LSA said, "go buy a lottery ticket. It's not everyday were on time." I then when turning around to listen to her day that bumped into someone.
I then went to the lounge for a few minutes to store my bags before walking up to my favorite train photography spot to watch my friends commuter train arrive. Which was rapidly followed by the northbound Hiawatha led by a charger. I did not get photos however because cold weather killed my camera battery.
I then walked back to Union Station and met up with Keiwoon and we walked to the White Palace on Roosevelt Road. We spent the entire layover basically at lunch and catching up. It was really nice to catch up. I stood outside the lounge with him till it was time to board my train the California Zephyr for Sacramento.
I settled into my room on the crew dorm 0540 because that's the only space they had available when I was at New York penn. I sat in my room till we left and I saw Kei on the Roosevelt road bridge. Then I went down to the Sightseer Lounge for the Chicago suburbs. It was enjoyable but rather dull because no one was really talking which I found strange. Generally every time I ride in a SSL people are always chatting and talking.
None the less we arrived into Galesburg early where we had a fresh air stop. I photographed the steam engine for a friend and a BNSF passenger train in the station. While we were headed west at Cameron Junction where the Southwest Chief diverges for the Santa Fe Main I saw a BNSF mixed train. One passenger car, one freight car, and one locomotive.
At about that point I met a nice couple going to Glenwood Springs and talked till we crossed Ol Man River. At the point I was feeling famished so I went to the diner for dinner. Again we weren't taking dinner reservations which I'm not accustomed too. I was sat with a British couple traveling ultimately to San Fransisco with a stop over in Denver.
The British couple said something I found very funny. "Only in America do you have 25 hours in the day." They were referring to all of the time zones going west on their trip. I had the steak which was very enjoyable. I photographed the steam engine at Ottumwa before relaxing in my room. I attempted to make phone calls to my friends in Portland because my initial place to spend the night cancelled on me.
Due to the blizzard forcing me now to arrive into Portland at 1115 at night Tom decided it was too late for me to come in. So I called my friend and ex Julia who kindly offered me her fold out sofa. To be honest I was kinda surprised that her boyfriend whom I don't see eye to eye with was ok with it. That phone call was interrupted multiple times by crappy cell service in Iowa.
After that I called my best friend Malcolm who was so kind he offered me some southwest miles so I could fly from OAK to PDX. Without that I would have been paying three hundred additional dollars.
I stepped off the train in the snow at Omaha for a few minutes before turning down for the night.
2/26 beauty and boredom
I awoke to us speeding over the amber waves of grain in eastern Colorado as we sped towards Denver. As we negotiated the railyards of Denver I got dressed because we were early and I figured I had an hour to explore Denver.
We arrived and they let us off which ended up being a mistake. As there was a crew miscommunication but oh well. I started my hour long rush tour of the area by the train station. Which really was about ten minutes till I decided I was too cold and wanted back on board. I walked all of a block
When I arrived back at the train they had all the doors shut because they were removing the locomotives due to mechanical issues. So I stood on the platform and talked to a really lovely person traveling to Sacramento. After about thirty minutes they let us back on where I went to the lounge car to get a seat with my new friend.
Once power was restored the diner reopened for service and I went there for a breakfast. I was worried I would miss the good scenery because of being in the diner but we ended up leaving 45 minutes behind. For breakfast I had the pancakes which was lovely. It's been so long since I've had pancakes because my dad hasn't made them in forever which used to be a Sunday tradition.
After breakfast I went back to the lounge. The train wasn't that full with only two sleepers and two coaches so there was no problem being in the lounge all day. The first bit after leaving was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was snow covered and beautiful. At winter park they allowed us off for a fresh air break which I took advantage of.
After winter park the Sunnyside of the mountain was dry and red, the shady side was covered in snow. We slowly kept crossing and I would see a house what looked like miles away from a road or a town. Which made me think how do these people get supplies and how often. Some looked so far from civilization I thought they might have to get gas everytime they go somewhere.
With the stops being so far apart time wise I have to say it kinda got a bit boring. The sightseer wasn't really full of people talking or doing anything so just endless scenery. Which is good but at the same time talking to people helps me enjoy what I see more.
After awhile I went to lunch in the diner also without a reservation and sat with two people from North Carolina who boarded in Denver. I had a hamburger as we entered some fairly narrow canyons. The food was good and afterwards I went back to the lounge.
When we departed Glenwood Springs we only had about thirty people on board between sleepers and coach. I still spent the rest of the day struggling to stay awake as I hadn't really gotten a full nights sleep but I managed to power thru it. When we reached the stop at Grand Junction the conductor told us we could all visit the store in the station.
To which everyone did except for me who took a platform hike. I had dinner eventually as the sun set over Utah and had dinner with a railfan from Galesburg, and a couple from the Netherlands. They didn't speak a lot of English but were fluent in German. So I helped them order in the dining car using German because I'm fluent.
It was an enjoyable dinner with a fairly good steak. After that I went to my room made a quick phone call and turned down for the night.
2/27 Donner Pass and Sacramento
Well I had intended to wake up for the fresh air stop at Salt Lake City but I slept thru that. When I woke up I noticed we were coming into Winnemucca about twenty minutes early. So I walked the platform in the snow at whatever time it was. And because I couldn't sleep I watched the sunrise from the empty sightseer lounge. Which was amazing across the desert.
I went to the diner for a quick breakfast before Reno and donner pass around seven AM and had another batch of pancakes before returning to the sightseer. I took a walk at Reno to the head end and back before settling in for Donner Pass. I was surprised to hear historical announcements in the car.
Turns out there is a trails and rails program which was very informative. I spent a lot of time just admiring the beautiful Sierras. Eventually I struck up a conversation with a retired Norfolk Southern engineer and dispatcher whom I had lunch with as well.
It was really quite enjoyable talking to someone again. We enjoyed the ride west over the grade. I went to lunch on the west side of the grade with them. Again I had the burger because when you are a picky eater amtraks menu isn't that great.
After Roseville I went back to my room and made sure it was ready for me to leave at Sacramento. I had my stuff packed and ready to leave. Shortly after that we arrived into Sacramento thirty minutes early.
Part two coming.