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Yarrow - I found Jeanette to be "surly" during our first encounter. However, I quickly came to see that her approach was absolutely needed in order to maintain a certain degree of order. It's a thrill for me to mention her and have someone know exactly who I'm talking about!

We rode the EB in late August. Plastic was used the entire trip. The food was less-than-memorable, maybe even bad. I think my expectations might have been too high; however, we were not the only ones who were less than satisfied. We heard a number of people complaining about the food. I...

OK, I have to jump in and might get beat up over this comment. I am female, married, and recently traveled with husband across country. I found service on Empire Builder to be wonderful and appreciated the ability to interact with staff. All interactions were appropriate. Here's my comment...

I'm back from my trip! Thanks to all of you here on this board who helped me in so many ways in preparation for my first trip on a train, taking the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago. We were fortunate that the EB was running the entire distance. I called Amtrak the day before we left...

JayPea - No, you didn't confuse me. It makes perfect sense. What other site do you use to track train arrivals/departures?

JayPea - how can you tell that SEA-MSP is running? I go to the Amtrak website and seem to get many messages about 'service disruptions', making it appear like everything has come to complete stop. Your information makes me feel better! But, I'd also like the MSP-CHI leg to be running.

I'm confused by something. If I go on the Amtrak web site and look at the progress of trains 7 and 8, I am getting departure and arrival times. Would they continue to show these arrival times if buses were being used? It's odd, because the times are consistent with the train schedule. On the...

One more question - how long would Amtrak use buses vs. developing a rerouting plan using the train?

To All My Train Planning Friends....You've seen me on this board during the last few months, eagerly planning my first train trip on the Empire Builder. I'm now trying to make contingency plans based on this information. Here are my questions (based on fact I really don't want to ride bus from...

I'm prepared for whatever delays might come our way! Any other special insight you can give? (oh, what about meals when you have such a delay? I'm always ready to eat!)

That's sort of what I wanted...someplace to just spend some time alone (well, with my husband..but we can sit without talking and be happy!)

nr272 - what could you see during those hours? I have planned my trip during full moon because I've heard that in really isolated areas, the moon illuminates the countryside. Is that true? That's one reason I was intrigued by the possibility of staying up at night..... What about lighting...

I'm leaving for my Empire Builder trip this week and have several Rails and Trails related questions. How do we know when the program will be held? Is it announced in advance? Is it announced on the train? Where are these generally held on the train? Do a lot of riders take advantage of...

I'm interested in knowing what happens in these two cars. Specifically, what happens in lounge/sightsee-er car after the sun goes down? Do people just gather? Do they leave interior lights on? OR, do they turn lights off? If I went to sightsee-er car at say, 3 a.m., what would I find? Same...

Rail Rookie - Your hotel tipping practice seems comparable to mine, and that's why I was asking this question re: train tipping. I don't bring notes from home for hotel tipping. However, I do always use a piece of hotel stationery and write a note. I often use the note not only to thank the...

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I'm set for tipping!

I need some help in knowing the appropriate time to provide gratuity/tip the train attendent. In hotels, I always leave something the morning after the evening. In many hotels, you don't see the housekeeping staff in the evenings, so mornings are the appropriate time to provide the gratuity...

Hello there everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, and I see lots of new posts from people who are taking first train trips. I also see that you all are helping them out with all their questions. This has been a great group to help me prepare. My trip on Empire Builder is week after...

Yarrow - thanks for those suggestions. Let me tell you what I'm doing right now. I know I've been putting many posts on this board about the train trip, but we will also be spending some time in the eastern part of the Washington. My husband has always wanted to see the Palouse Hills and that...

Thanks for the suggestions. We went to the Sacramento Museum last year. We didn't even know it was there until we were in Sacramento. The original plan was to visit the museum for about 2 hours. We ended up being there 7 hours! It was wonderful.