I just completed a four-leg Empire Builder-Cascades trip: EB #7, Spokane-Seattle and Cascades #507, Seattle-Eugene, on 6-18, and Cascades #504, Eugene-Portland and EB #28, Portland to Spokane.
Spokane to Seattle on EB #7, pt. 1
Part 1 of my journey began with a bit of good news. I had called Amtrak's phone #, knowing that with the flooding situation in the Midwest, the EB into Spokane had been delayed somewhat for the last week or so, and I wanted to find its status. I was told by Barb, a very friendly, helpful Amtrak agent, that the estimed TOA for the EB into Spokane would be 3:34 AM, nearly 2 hours late. No biggie. My connection south out of Seattle wasn't scheduled to leave until 2:20 PM, and I also knew that the EB had padded its schedule between Everett and Edmonds, and again between Edmonds and Seattle, so I had no worries there. I arrived at the Spokane station to find that somewhere the EB had gained an hour or so back and was now due in at 2:40 AM (scheduled time is 1:40 AM). The ticket agent, whom I've dealt with before, is a very pleasant, helpful man, and would periodically update me as to the exact location of the train. #7 arrived in Spokane at 2:45 AM. About 3:15 AM, we were ready to board. The train was pretty much full; I couldn't find an empty seat in the car I boarded on and had to go to the next car to find a good window seat on the left side of the train. That car was full, too; I think I had the only empty seat next to me in that car as well. The coach was one that had been refurbished; it had an outlet at every seat. This was to my advantage, as I like to videotape my trips, and this way I didn't have to use up my battery, as I've been too cheap to buy another one. :lol:
45 minutes after the EB's arrival into Spokane, we departed, 1 hour and 15 minutes late. I knew I still had plenty of time to make my Seattle connection, so no worries there. Besides, the sun was beginning to rise, as the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten considerably, and there was a gorgeous, orange full moon. It was a beautiful day. And, by leaving late, I was able to see virtually the entire Spokane-Seattle trip in at least some daylight; most of the time it's completely dark until Wenatchee on the Columbia River. Not that the scenery between Spokane and Wenatchee is much to write home to Mother about, but it does have its moments. There's a big horseshoe curve between the stops at Ephrata and Wenatchee; not as scenic perhaps as the one in Pennsylvania, but it was still exciting to be able to see it in daylight.It was a a good day; no annoying cell phone calls carried on as loudly and obnoxiously as possible and no crying, out of control infants.
We pulled into Wenatchee, still about an hour and fifteen minutes late, and as we did so, I made my way to breakfast. Seated at my table were two delightful elderly ladies, who were sisters, from Bellingham, and a young man who had ridden coach (on one train or another), all the way from Syracuse, New York. He was a recent U of W grad on his way to his summer job in Oregon working in the Umpqua National forest. The dining crew was very friendly, and service was good, though by then, they were out of many things. No French toast, no bacon, and no biscuits. So I had to settle for a soggy croissant instead. It's Amtrak, not a five-star restaurant, so no problems there.
One of the ladies didn't get the juice she ordered, but didn't make a fuss about it.
Breakfast over, and the train now beginning its ride through the Cascades, I made my way back to my seat to find I now had a neighbor in the seat next to me, Look up the word curmudgeon in the dictionary and this gentleman's picture would be there; I don't think he uttered a word or cracked a smile for the length of his trip from Wenatchee to Everett. He was part of a group of 10 that had gotten on in Wenatchee and was headed to a casino somewhere near Everett. We had part of another large group in our car, too; a church group of 16 from Indiana were all headed to an Alaskan cruise.
The weather turned gloomy as we entered the mountains, fog prevailed over some of the run. And with the unusually cold and long winter, there was still snow in the mountains. We had a couple of volunteers from the Rails and Trails program provide interesting nuggets of info between Wenatchee and Edmonds. When we got to our station stop in Everett, we lost most of our car; I was then able to move over to the right side to be able to videotape scenes as the train rolled along Puget Sound. Also in Everett, we had a young man get on the wrong train; he was supposed to get on the Cascades #513. Since the EB arrived in Everett at about the same time #513 was supposed to, to an inexperienced rider the confusion was understandable.
It was at this point, with the padding in the schedule, we began to make up time. Even though it was a cloudy, windy, chilly day, there was lots of activity on the beach along Puget Sound (not to mention all sorts of wildlife). We made up some time by the time we got to Edmonds, at which point we also said good-bye to our Rails and Trails volunteers. The trip into Seattle was uneventful; we made up more time and eventually pulled into Seattle at 11:00 AM, just 40 minutes behind schedule. The staff was professional if not particularly pleasant; if the conductor had entered a personality contest with a cigar store Indian, I'd put my money on the Indian. They did their jobs, weren't rude and nasty, and that's all that mattered. Before I end part 1, I just want to put out a shout to BNSF. Even though we were behind schedule, only one time did we get held up for a freight train. The UP could learn a thing or two about being a good host!!!
Spokane to Seattle on EB #7, pt. 1
Part 1 of my journey began with a bit of good news. I had called Amtrak's phone #, knowing that with the flooding situation in the Midwest, the EB into Spokane had been delayed somewhat for the last week or so, and I wanted to find its status. I was told by Barb, a very friendly, helpful Amtrak agent, that the estimed TOA for the EB into Spokane would be 3:34 AM, nearly 2 hours late. No biggie. My connection south out of Seattle wasn't scheduled to leave until 2:20 PM, and I also knew that the EB had padded its schedule between Everett and Edmonds, and again between Edmonds and Seattle, so I had no worries there. I arrived at the Spokane station to find that somewhere the EB had gained an hour or so back and was now due in at 2:40 AM (scheduled time is 1:40 AM). The ticket agent, whom I've dealt with before, is a very pleasant, helpful man, and would periodically update me as to the exact location of the train. #7 arrived in Spokane at 2:45 AM. About 3:15 AM, we were ready to board. The train was pretty much full; I couldn't find an empty seat in the car I boarded on and had to go to the next car to find a good window seat on the left side of the train. That car was full, too; I think I had the only empty seat next to me in that car as well. The coach was one that had been refurbished; it had an outlet at every seat. This was to my advantage, as I like to videotape my trips, and this way I didn't have to use up my battery, as I've been too cheap to buy another one. :lol:
45 minutes after the EB's arrival into Spokane, we departed, 1 hour and 15 minutes late. I knew I still had plenty of time to make my Seattle connection, so no worries there. Besides, the sun was beginning to rise, as the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten considerably, and there was a gorgeous, orange full moon. It was a beautiful day. And, by leaving late, I was able to see virtually the entire Spokane-Seattle trip in at least some daylight; most of the time it's completely dark until Wenatchee on the Columbia River. Not that the scenery between Spokane and Wenatchee is much to write home to Mother about, but it does have its moments. There's a big horseshoe curve between the stops at Ephrata and Wenatchee; not as scenic perhaps as the one in Pennsylvania, but it was still exciting to be able to see it in daylight.It was a a good day; no annoying cell phone calls carried on as loudly and obnoxiously as possible and no crying, out of control infants.
We pulled into Wenatchee, still about an hour and fifteen minutes late, and as we did so, I made my way to breakfast. Seated at my table were two delightful elderly ladies, who were sisters, from Bellingham, and a young man who had ridden coach (on one train or another), all the way from Syracuse, New York. He was a recent U of W grad on his way to his summer job in Oregon working in the Umpqua National forest. The dining crew was very friendly, and service was good, though by then, they were out of many things. No French toast, no bacon, and no biscuits. So I had to settle for a soggy croissant instead. It's Amtrak, not a five-star restaurant, so no problems there.
One of the ladies didn't get the juice she ordered, but didn't make a fuss about it.Breakfast over, and the train now beginning its ride through the Cascades, I made my way back to my seat to find I now had a neighbor in the seat next to me, Look up the word curmudgeon in the dictionary and this gentleman's picture would be there; I don't think he uttered a word or cracked a smile for the length of his trip from Wenatchee to Everett. He was part of a group of 10 that had gotten on in Wenatchee and was headed to a casino somewhere near Everett. We had part of another large group in our car, too; a church group of 16 from Indiana were all headed to an Alaskan cruise.
The weather turned gloomy as we entered the mountains, fog prevailed over some of the run. And with the unusually cold and long winter, there was still snow in the mountains. We had a couple of volunteers from the Rails and Trails program provide interesting nuggets of info between Wenatchee and Edmonds. When we got to our station stop in Everett, we lost most of our car; I was then able to move over to the right side to be able to videotape scenes as the train rolled along Puget Sound. Also in Everett, we had a young man get on the wrong train; he was supposed to get on the Cascades #513. Since the EB arrived in Everett at about the same time #513 was supposed to, to an inexperienced rider the confusion was understandable.
It was at this point, with the padding in the schedule, we began to make up time. Even though it was a cloudy, windy, chilly day, there was lots of activity on the beach along Puget Sound (not to mention all sorts of wildlife). We made up some time by the time we got to Edmonds, at which point we also said good-bye to our Rails and Trails volunteers. The trip into Seattle was uneventful; we made up more time and eventually pulled into Seattle at 11:00 AM, just 40 minutes behind schedule. The staff was professional if not particularly pleasant; if the conductor had entered a personality contest with a cigar store Indian, I'd put my money on the Indian. They did their jobs, weren't rude and nasty, and that's all that mattered. Before I end part 1, I just want to put out a shout to BNSF. Even though we were behind schedule, only one time did we get held up for a freight train. The UP could learn a thing or two about being a good host!!!
to be continued.......
