Across the USA (and back)

[Manny T]

Very enjoyable and well written trip report JP. For some reason, while reading it I had thoughts of the French Revolution, the guillotine, the Reign of Terror, and Mme. Defarge. Could it be the knitting lady? It couldn't be Amtrak!

 

[Bob Dylan]

"All's well that ends well!"

Nice trip Jeff, did Knitting Lady have time to finish whatever she was knitting?

 

[FormerOBS]

Thanks, Jay!

I wonder how much trouble it would be for Knitting Lady to knit a gag for herself.

Tom

(No. I didn't say that. Some unscrupulous imposter snuck into my house and commandeered my computer!)

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Thanks, Jay!

I wonder how much trouble it would be for Knitting Lady to knit a gag for herself.

Tom

(No. I didn't say that. Some unscrupulous imposter snuck into my house and commandeered my computer!)

She should have appreciated all the extra time she had to work on her knitting. h34r:

 

[Railroad Bill]

Enjoyed your train stories and so hope we get back to the West next year for some train rides. Been a while since we were on the CS.

 

[PaulM]

Waiting to board the sleeper I saw a first: A young man boarding a sleeper with a bicycle. Efrem was our attendant, very good and efficient. And a flagrant flouter of rules: all day coffee and ice available. :lol:

Which was the flagrant flouter? The bike or all day coffee and ice?

If it was a folding bike, it was perfectly legitimate? As for the rest, when I boarded the eastbound California Zephyr in Denver around 6:00PM a couple of days ago, there was coffee, ice, and juice available. A violation or a change in policy back to better customer service?

 

[JayPea]

The flagrant flouter was the car attendant. Said tongue in cheek because most SCA's now shut down the coffee in the afternoon and almost all have the ice in their rooms but is available on request. I am glad he had ice and coffee available all day; I wish more SCA's could or would do this. I understand it's hard to convey sarcasm on a forum like this, which is what I was trying to do.

As for the bicyclist, if his bike was a folding one, he didn't bother with the folding part. He wheeled it right on the train. I didn't see him after he boarded; he wasn't in our car. I don't know how he stored it. At any rate it was no concern of mine nor did it bother me in the least.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

JayPea,

I finally caught up with the rest of your trip report (I was on a short trip myself the past few days and not always around a computer). I loved this report--you have described the different trains and the differing countryside beautifully, and I really felt like I was there!

The description of Knitting Lady was funny--I have seen people knitting on the train, and I don't know how they do it. And being able to knit on a moving train and complain at the same time takes real coordination!

You and your uncle seem like such positive people that you would find good in all the trains you took. But, looking back on your trip, is there one that stands out as a favorite?

 

[JayPea]

You and your uncle seem like such positive people that you would find good in all the trains you took. But, looking back on your trip, is there one that stands out as a favorite?

Oh, good! We have somebody else fooled! :lol: Believe me, if the trip had been a disaster, I would have reported on that too. But it wasn't. The downer of course was being on the SL when it hit a trespasser, causing us to lose 3 hours and 20 minutes. But the overall effect was to be late into Los Angeles about an hour, which got us there at 6:30 AM: better than it getting in on time or early, like at 4:30 AM. So even the worst part had as far as I'm concerned a positive for us. Not so, of course, for the family and friends of the man killed. And while I thought the service was good to great, there are some that wouldn't think so, saying it's nothing to brag about when Amtrak employees are simply doing their job. But without exception, all of the employees we encountered were pleasant, enthusiastic, and were happy to be of service. I have had some that were none of the three. I guess it's the state of affairs these days that I almost hesitated even doing this trip report because of some AU'ers who cast doubt upon any bit of good news about Amtrak trips, going so far as to question people who have them. h34r: I think some people are not happy unless they are not happy. In fact I had to wonder which AU'er Knitting Lady was. :lol:

As for which train I liked best, I'd have to say it was the California Zephyr. The SCA, Johnny, and the LSA, Joyce, and our server, Michael, treated us and the rest of the passengers like best of friends. It was easy to see they really cared about customer service and about their job. Johnny was a throwback, keeing coffee on all day and having a basket of candy available, not to mention juice and fresh fruit all day. And chocolate mints on our beds after he had made them up for the night. And you can't beat the scenery on the CZ, especially through the Sierra Nevadas and and the canyons and mountains of Colorado. I liked the Cardinal and Sunset LImited, too, as I had never been on the Cardinal nor the New Orleans-San Antonio leg of the SL. It's always great to be able to cross routes of my Amtrak bucket list!