EB departing PDX, dinner?

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buddy559

Service Attendant
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Oct 20, 2013
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I was looking at the EB info online and I notice it said diner not available between PDX and Spokane, sleeper passengers will be provided a cold boxed meal. Does anyone know what the current offering would be?

Also do they offer the wine and cheese on the departure out of Portland?

I am working on a CS to EB trip and would rather spend a night in Portland and transition there, just wondering what the amenity difference would be, over a Seattle transition. Thanks.
 
buddy559 said:
I found the wine and cheese answer, It looks like they do, but couldn't find any posts on the dinner on the PDX EB departure.
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I've not had the dinner for sleeping car pax, but it is a boxed dinner supplied by a decent restaurant in Portland and has had very good feedback from folks who have had it. Someone took pictures a year or so ago and posted them in a thread here at AU. You might try doing a search for that thread.

I have had the boxed breakfast for sleeping car pax on #27 - unfortunately it was the worst breakfast I've ever had on Amtrak when traveling in a sleeper.
 
The "cold boxed dinner" out of PDX is, in my opinion, one of the best meals I've had on Amtrak!

You have a choice of salmon, and I think beef or turkey sandwiches, with fruit and desert and other things. Because they only load a maximum of 15 meals (for the 15 rooms in the sleeper), you may not get your first choice. (I did not get the salmon in March, but you can't go wrong with any of them!)

You do get a bottle of champagne or sparkling cider upon departure from PDX, but the wine & cheese tasting is the 2nd afternoon between lunch & dinner, in Montana!
 
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buddy559 said:
I was looking at the EB info online and I notice it said diner not available between PDX and Spokane, sleeper passengers will be provided a cold boxed meal. Does anyone know what the current offering would be?

Also do they offer the wine and cheese on the departure out of Portland?

I am working on a CS to EB trip and would rather spend a night in Portland and transition there, just wondering what the amenity difference would be, over a Seattle transition. Thanks.
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If you WANT to spend a night in Portland, I encourage you to do so. It is a beautiful city even in the winter! If you are just looking to transfer from the CS to the EB #28 leaves Portland about an hour after #14's arrival and it is a guaranteed connection. The is always the possibility of a bustitution if #14 is running very late, but I have seen them hold the EB for a few minutes for an across the platform connection, and #14's on time performance is MUCH improved over its days when it was known as the "Starlate".

I am a Trails & Rails guide on the CS SEA/PDX and of the 16 trips I took this last season, #14 was late once. They bussed #28's passengers from Eugene and the bus got there before #14!

I have also had the pleasure in years past to have the boxed dinner they serve on #28 (When #14 WAS very late and we had to the the CASCADES service back to Seattle. (T&R guides are guaranteed meals on trips that occur during meal times) and the salmon was DIVINE!

Enjoy your trip!

David

Seattle
 
Thank you all! (And that photo looks fantastic!)

I am trying to do the transfer from the CS to the EB, and I am trying to decide if I should take the PDX, or SEA transition.

The timing would be perfect for 24 hours in PDX, in at 330pm, out at 4pm the next day. I just wanted to see if there were any amenities I would miss out on doing that. I hope they still do the champagne split for boarding in PDX.

I am curious how this works, Is it just a mini train with just a sleeper, coach, and locomotive, that head to Spokane?

Also how do you get connected to the train? (I have read of people having to walk through 2 coaches to get to the diner, because of how the train was set up.
 
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buddy559 said:
I am curious how this works, Is it just a mini train with just a sleeper, coach, and locomotive, that head to Spokane?

Also how do you get connected to the train? (I have read of people having to walk through 2 coaches to get to the diner, because of how the train was set up.
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The PDX Section is an Engine, SSL, 2 Coaches and the Sleeper; they get tied onto the rear of the SEA Section at Spokane. Therefore if you are in the PDX Sleeper, unless you pick up some Private Cars along the way you will enjoy Railfan Window all the way through, at least until St. Paul where during the Summer a Local Coach is attached to the rear.
 
In Spokane, they just attach the PDX section to the rear of the SEA section. Thus from the PDX sleeper, you will walk thru the 2 PDX coaches, the SSL and the 2 SEA coaches to reach the Dining Car. (There will be 2-3 SEA sleepers, a baggage car and 2 locomotives in front of the Dining Car. )

And yes, the do have the champagne splits if you start in either PDX or SEA. And it is a guaranteed (sometimes a cross platform transfer) connection between the CS and EB in PDX!
 
the_traveler said:
In Spokane, they just attach the PDX section to the rear of the SEA section. Thus from the PDX sleeper, you will walk thru the 2 PDX coaches, the SSL and the 2 SEA coaches to reach the Dining Car. (There will be 2-3 SEA sleepers, a baggage car and 2 locomotives in front of the Dining Car. )

And yes, the do have the champagne splits if you start in either PDX or SEA. And it is a guaranteed (sometimes a cross platform transfer) connection between the CS and EB in PDX!
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That sounds like a mess trying to eat in the diner, but I would rather be on the back of the train, so that is a plus. Don't suppose you could get meals in room on that one very easily?
 
We took the EB from PDX to MSP in August. The roast beef box dinner was good, meat was excellent! Margie has something else, I do not recall what it was, but she kept mooching my roast beef. :mellow:

There was two small bottles of some kind of sparkling wine in the room whan we boarded, and wine cnad cheese tasting was the next afternoon.

Great trip, sit back, relax and enjoy!
 
buddy559 said:
the_traveler said:
In Spokane, they just attach the PDX section to the rear of the SEA section. Thus from the PDX sleeper, you will walk thru the 2 PDX coaches, the SSL and the 2 SEA coaches to reach the Dining Car. (There will be 2-3 SEA sleepers, a baggage car and 2 locomotives in front of the Dining Car. )

And yes, the do have the champagne splits if you start in either PDX or SEA. And it is a guaranteed (sometimes a cross platform transfer) connection between the CS and EB in PDX!
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That sounds like a mess trying to eat in the diner, but I would rather be on the back of the train, so that is a plus. Don't suppose you could get meals in room on that one very easily?
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No more of a problem getting in room meals than on any other LD train. But why not just go to the Dining Car. I do take long trips, but I still welcome the excercise.
 
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The best part of leaving out of PDX is the view from the rear window AKA The Railfan window. I have gotten some real cool videos from that window.
 
Agreed, and winning a bottle of wine during the trivia during the wine and cheese tasting and getting to walk it back to your sleeper through the coaches with everyone in coach looking at you wondering why there is a guy walking holding a bottle of wine like its a normal thing to do on an Amtrak train.

For me I loved the long walk from the rear sleeping to the diner, I would choose it every time. I like having some exercise and its a great price to pay for the rear window, my favorite place on the train, if I'm in coach I wish I could choose the seat next to it every time.
 
I agree with the other posters that compliment the cold boxed dinners out of PDX. This past July the seafood choice was shrimp and it was tasty. Chicken and beef selections were also available. The only negative comment I can make is that the portion size was not sufficient for me. I made a trip to the SSL later on to purchase an additional snack to sustain me for the evening.
 
I 3rd, 4th and 5th the recommendation for that boxed dinner. I am not really of fan of cold dinners, but it was awesome! One of the best meals I've had on amtrak.

And ironically I won a bottle of wine by answering the trivia question about Seinfeld, -a TV show I never watched. But the guys I worked with did, and were constantly making jokes about the superman figurine in every episode(one of them had one in his office). Drank a few toasts to them that evening. :D
 
lionelhoguy said:
The best part of leaving out of PDX is the view from the rear window AKA The Railfan window. I have gotten some real cool videos from that window.
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My next trip on the EB will be via Portland so I can have that experience. I'll take #11 or one of the Cascades down in the AM & spend a few hours in Powell's Books and VooDoo Donuts before heading to the Met Lounge and #28. When I do T&R trips on 11/14 I always like to do the "train walk" portion so I can spend a few minutes gazing out the rear window,
 
the_traveler said:
Because they only load a maximum of 15 meals (for the 15 rooms in the sleeper), you may not get your first choice. (I did not get the salmon in March, but you can't go wrong with any of them!)
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I would hope that they load a few more meals than just 15 on the train. Yes, there are 15 rooms, but they can all hold at least 2 people. The total capacity of the sleeper is 44 people, so if it is filled to capacity, forget about getting your first choice there are going to be a lot of hungry people if they only put on 15 meals. :eek:
 
Two blocks south of Powell's books you will find Ken & Zukes Deli which has better stuff than anything I've ever seen on an Amtrak train.

On 10/4 my wife and I rode the Cascades train from Eugene to PDX arriving at lunchtime. We walked past Powell's to the deli and had to wait 10 minutes for a table.

With the train leaving at 4:45PM, I would get on the train well fed and maybe get something to eat before getting to Pasco.

Ken & Zukes can package some great to-go food as well.
 
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