Amtrak In L.A. Times

[WhoozOn1st]

The Travel section of the 6-20-10 Los Angeles Times is dedicated to riding the rails, led by this trip report on a westbound coast-to-coast journey aboard the Lake Shore Limited, Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight:

All aboard: America by Amtrak train

"From New York to Chicago to Seattle to L.A., a 3,582-mile journey on some of America's storied trains, including the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight. From the magnificent to the mundane, it's a fine way to see the country."

Pretty cool, and not sugar-coated: failed toilets and early dining car closure.

Other stories in the section...

The little Shay engines that could

Geared steam locomotives at Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia. High on my to do list!

Private, first class

Chartering private varnish.

Las Vegas train: lock or longshot?

"Passenger trains haven't passed through Las Vegas since 1997, when Amtrak halted its Desert Wind service between L.A. and Salt Lake City. There's been plenty of talk about reviving the line, but until recently, little movement."

From Berlin to Britain

High speed and regional Eurotrains.

 

[pennyk]

Thanks for posting the link to the LA Times article. I enjoyed reading it.

 

[MrEd]

thanks for the links.

Odd comment on private varnish story.

"They are terrible, terrible, people, and I'll bet they've become much worse under the Obama administration. "

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Odd comment on private varnish story.
"They are terrible, terrible, people, and I'll bet they've become much worse under the Obama administration."

Hadn't noticed it before, but you're right: the whole rant is kinda weird, as is the response.

 

[RRrich]

thanks for the links.
Odd comment on private varnish story.

"They are terrible, terrible, people, and I'll bet they've become much worse under the Obama administration. "

Second the thanks for posting the links. Also second the head-scratching at the Private Varnish comments. HUH :huh: ?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm reading through the article and some of it is rather confusing to me. Take this quote...

We found [our sleeper] and climbed the stairs to our upper-level bedroom — like "roomette," an official Amtrak designation. Because it was a two-night journey, we had sprung for this relatively posh accommodation: a chair, table, sofa (which can be turned into an oversized lower berth), an upper berth that folds down, a basin in the room and an annex with a toilet and shower. (Because showering soaks the annex, we used the commodious private shower on the first level.)

A "roomette" with a table, sofa, basin, toilet and shower? Did I read that correctly?

Dorothy, our car attendant, was on the job from the moment we arrived at our sleeper's vestibule door shortly before the 2:15 p.m. departure. She helped with the luggage. She brought mimosas to our room, and she always struck the right balance between friendliness and professionalism...Dorothy once again shone on the last morning of this leg of the journey , when the diner was closed hours before our arrival so the crew could get it packed away, an all too typical practice on Amtrak. She said she could bring us something from the diner. We selected biscuits, butter and honey, to which she added orange wedges (coffee and juice are always available in Amtrak sleepers), then set us up in an adjacent bedroom while she made up ours.

Wow, this sounds rather impressive. How do I get the mimosa service on my next sleeper departure or biscuits and honey when the diner is closed? If only the SCA's were this service-oriented when I rode I might have far more positive things to say about my trips. *shrug*

 

[WhoozOn1st]

I'm reading through the article and some of it is rather confusing to me. Take this quote...

We found [our sleeper] and climbed the stairs to our upper-level bedroom — like "roomette," an official Amtrak designation. Because it was a two-night journey, we had sprung for this relatively posh accommodation: a chair, table, sofa (which can be turned into an oversized lower berth), an upper berth that folds down, a basin in the room and an annex with a toilet and shower. (Because showering soaks the annex, we used the commodious private shower on the first level.)

A "roomette" with a table, sofa, basin, toilet and shower? Did I read that correctly?

The writer is merely distinguishing between Amtrak's names for different accommodations; bedroom, roomette. I agree it could be clearer.

 

[AlanB]

Wow, this sounds rather impressive. How do I get the mimosa service on my next sleeper departure or biscuits and honey when the diner is closed? If only the SCA's were this service-oriented when I rode I might have far more positive things to say about my trips. *shrug*

Ride either the Empire Builder or the Coast Starlight where they give you a split of Champagne upon boarding the sleeper and mix it with some OJ.

Not so sure about the biscuits though.

 

[caravanman]

Great Rail travel edition.. I liked the contrasts with Amtrak in the last link about European trains.. :

"Division is still evident too in Berlin. Despite all the construction since the Wall fell in 1989, there's still much vacant land around the city center. A symbol of the city's renaissance and reunification, however, is the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the central train station completed in 2006. This soaring structure of glass and steel, with a 900-foot-long train shed and three levels of track, handles 1,100 trains a day.

We caught our final ICE train here, one of six nonstops that day to Amsterdam. Hours later, we were in the lounge chatting with a German college student and his Australian girlfriend when the train — just 40 miles outside Amsterdam — suddenly slowed and jerked into a station. An announcement was made in German.

The student interpreted, "They say something is wrong with this train. We have to get off." About 200 or 300 of us got off with our luggage onto a concrete platform. This wasn't unfamiliar. I'd been on Amtrak trains that had died in cornfields or been stuck on sidings for hours. Usually, Amtrak sends motor coaches to gather up passengers, because there's no redundancy in the system.

Not here. Ten minutes later, a Dutch Railways regional train pulled to the stop, threw open its doors and we all piled on. Now that's connectivity and frequency."

Dream on Amtrak!!

Ed