scoostraw
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2010
- Messages
- 46
So I had booked Amtrak's California Zephyr round-trip from Chicago to Roseville, CA to visit my brother and his family. My departure date was Tuesday August 8, 2023. With today's Amtrak, the bar with me is set pretty low as far as expectations go. My main concerns were that the train would actually run - and that the AC worked. Oh and that my return on #6 would not be so late arriving into Chicago that I would be unable to make the last Metra departure to Harvard, IL where I had parked my vehicle. (Many thanks BTW to a fellow TO member here who lives in Harvard for helping me with making this all much easier. You know who you are!)
At Chicago Union Station, this was my first time in the new Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge, and it was fine. The gate dragons were actually nice as well - in fact the one who was making announcements was very entertaining (although she was not trying to be). I had some snacks and a couple of drinks. The only thing I found lacking was there were no paper towels in the restroom (and no blow dryer either). Basics..
#5 had departed Chicago very late 4 days in a row, so I was waiting for what I thought would be the inevitable delayed departure.announcement. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when the boarding announcement was made at about 1:40pm. I was in the 32 sleeper, so it was a long walk to the head end to board. The conductor scanned the QR code on my printed ticket and pointed me forward. My car attendant (Kathy) was on the platform greeting and directing her passengers. I went straight to my roomette and had barely settled in when we were on the move. Departure was on the advertised at precisely 2PM.
Going through the Chicago commuter district at speed is always exhilarating. My car was a Superliner 1, and I noticed immediately that there was not a single rattle or vibration. The ride was quiet and rock solid. So I didn't need Ross Rowland's patented Amtrak room silencing kit, although this may be due to the fact that I was in a roomette and not a bedroom. IMO these cars have a ton of life left in them. They have good bones and just need a solid refresh and possible rebuild.
So has Amtrak de-tuned the K5LA horns on their locomotives? They do not sound at all like they used to. Instead of a pleasant chord, the horns essentially screech now. I do remember reading somewhere that it had been determined that a de-tuned horn, while not as pleasing to the ear, is more attention-getting. Is that why the change was made? I'm curious if anybody knows the story behind this.
Discussed previously on here was the experience of a recent CZ rider a month or so ago who reported a serious septic odor problem in their sleeper car on their trip, and the offending car was #32006. I laughed when I noticed that 32006 was the 31 sleeper on my train, which I passed through to get to the diner. It didn't smell horrible, but it really didn't smell all that great either.
Speaking of the diner, Amtrak has definitely done a good job with the food. I had heard good things about the Flat Iron Steak, and so that's what I had for dinner. It was so good that I ended up having it for each dinner on both legs of my trip. Mealtimes were a highlight of each day. Every time I ride, the Superliner dining car design always puzzles me. I sort of see why they made them the way they did, but in practice it is often cumbersome. Passengers must pass directly through the galley to access the lounge car. Conflict with the dining car staff is inevitable. At one point an announcement was actually made regarding this - asking passengers to be careful.
It was Kathy's birthday and many of us helped her enjoy celebrating it. She worked hard and tended to everyone's needs for the entire trip. She made announcements regarding making up rooms for the night (and then again in the morning to convert them back to daytime configuration). And the AC definitely kept my sleeper car very comfortable - if anything it was a tad on the cold side. I told Kathy that she had the coolest sleeper and that she was the coolest car attendant.
The train did very well with timekeeping, and we departed Denver on time. However that is where things began to unravel.
On the climb up the hill through the tunnel district, there was an abrupt stop. It was not an emergency application, but my gut told me that it was not engineer initiated. I was right. It was a PTC penalty application. The crew could find no reason for it. So they went through their procedure to recover, and we were underway again briefly before the same thing happened again. At this point the crew's concern was that it would happen again while in Moffat Tunnel. So they moved the train slowly to a location where there was cell phone service and stopped again so they could contact Amtrak tech support for advice. I could not hear this discussion of course, but after some time it was decided to get back on the move and there were no further incidents. Time lost - approximately 1 hour.
I had never ridden through Glenwood Canyon before, and all I can say is you have to see it in person to appreciate it. The majesty of the land is awe inspiring. It is spoiled only by the humans encountered in or near the river. For those not familiar, one nickname for this stretch is "Moon River". Amtrak even makes an announcement ahead of time for passengers that may not be aware of this "tradition". I found the behavior unimpressive, unimaginative, stupid and pointless. But unfortunately that is how I regard the things most people do these days.
The next chunk of lost time came later that evening. Several days previously, #5 had a power issue and one of the locomotives had to be set out. The train I was on was the lucky one assigned to pick up this unit from a siding somewhere near Green River, Utah. This was at night. What they did was pull the entire train into the siding - then cut off both units so they could add the sidelined locomotive as the 3rd unit. They tied down hand brakes on the entire train before making the cut - leaving the train with no HEP during the move. It was inconvenient but the crew did a good job. Time lost - about 1 hour.
In the morning I noticed additional time had been lost overnight. I headed to breakfast @6am, since that's when they began serving the day before. When I got to the diner I could see the staff all sitting in booths, so I hesitated. Someone walked up behind me so I turned and said "Are you headed to the diner?". His reply was "Sure am. I'm the cook!". Turns out they were starting @6:30am on this day, so I went back to my roomette and returned for breakfast at 6:30.
Another timekeeping hit came at Grand Junction, CO. Our train was unable to enter the station because #6 was occupying the platform. It had been there for hours. Sadly, a passenger waiting to board #6 had collapsed and died on the platform. So the train had been held while the police, detectives, coroner etc. conducted their investigation. The decision was made for #5 to pass the station and then back into the platform in order to make the station stop. Time lost - about 1 hour.
I was stymied again at the diner for lunch! I went at noon, but was told they would not be serving lunch "until after Reno" (about 1:15). Not a huge deal, but no announcement was made regarding this. You had to go to the diner to find this out.
The rest of the lost time was incurred over Donner Pass due to slow orders and track work. Arrival in Roseville was at 5:50pm - about 5 hours late. But this was far better than a few days prior when it arrived 16 hours late. Kathy was on duty for me to detrain. She received a nice tip and a thank you for her excellent service.
(See the post following for the return trip)
