ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
I'm a pretty seasoned Amtrak customer, I often go back and forth from New York to Ohio and through the NEC- but I decided to take a cross country trip to meet some family.
08-29-08
CHI to PDX
I transfered off the Capitol Limited an hour late. The layover is perfect here for some Chicago fun without expense. Stowed my laptop and bags in a locker and explored the city. But this isn't about Chicago, but about the train.
CHI is like a cross between NYP and WAS- it's got the airport feel of WAS and the passenger load of NYP- or it least it felt like that, very crowded, very hot, with a touch of traditional Amtrak discombobulation...
Boarding the train went smooth- though I was upset (to say the least) to see that these Superliners didn't have outlets at every seat like the Superliners on the Capitol Limited route. Waiting for refit. However I am used to that NEC hustle so I was the first on the car and was able to hunt it out...
The EB was pretty crowded after we dropped the 507 car- Labor Day weekend, end of the summer season. I was traveling on a tight budget so no diner food- I packed it all in a backpack. (Hey, on a budget, 30 bucks fed me for the entire trip ALC to PDX and then some snacks in Portland!)
The country was very beautiful- it was a feast for the eyes. Then came trails and rails...
I must admit it was sort of cool to hear these blue hairs explain about the Indian reservations and forts and such- but when the one said 'I have a script, but I;m not going to use it- I think it's important to learn about the modern history'... of... Montana.
Yes that school won the state basketball championship, and that school only has 34 kids grades K-12- that's lovely... *headdesk* "Some of you may have noticed that the ranchers bail their hay in both square bales and the round wheels- you may be wondering why- well it's because some ranchers like to give their cattle a good square meal and some like to give them a well rounded diet." *headdesk x 3* She did get an applause line "Well this is my stop, I get off here- thank you for;--" *celebration*
One of the things I realized soon in was that my standard Pennsylvanian or Capitol Limited survival pack wasn't cutting it.
'Pennsylvanian' Survival Pack:
Laptop and such technology
Bottled water and snacks (bottles small enough to fit under Amtrak sinks)
Blanket
Dry towel
On my way back from Seattle (I spent my last two days of vacation there after a horrible Cascades run) I carried with me:
'Empire Builder' Survival Pack:
Laptop and such technology
Bottled water and snacks
Blanket
Dry towel
Febreeze (for blanket, clothes, and seat)
Axe body spray
Facial astringent
It stretched the limits of coach. Needless to say the first bath I had in Portland was heaven....
The attendants were very nice (except for the one lower café attendant who couldn't make a simple Ramen...). The upper level attendant was very talkative and gave free ice (something the Capitol Limited attendants have varied on- I've paid a quarter a cup for it...) Many stations had Wi-Fi close enough by to check emails and bank balances and such (I am too cheap to buy a 3G plan, so I steal it when I get it.)
Glacier National Park was certainly beautiful, even if there was a lack of glaciers (summer + global warming = you know) but the scenery both before and after the park was fabulous.
The smoking stops were good and long because we were ahead of schedule most of the way- it offered a lot of stretching time.
Facility wise, with the exception of the lack of outlets that proved to be a non-issue so long as I stuck to my NEC roots, this was very nice. Air conditioning was consistent, water pressure was good- toilets were reasonably clean and the floors were kept swept by the attendant. The attendants were very good at trying to make a rotation of short term and long term passengers so we all had plenty of time to ourselves until we got to about West Glacier when the Portland cars filled to capacity.
The Spokane split went smoothly- no big jolts to wake me. My only complaint was the damn lights in the cars that were bright as hell... the attendant tried covering them with seat checks to no avail. When the cars were uncoupled the lights went out and I fell asleep.
The Portland jump was nice, we went fast through the gorge. I enjoyed riding near the front of the observation car- and to my surprise there was no diesel smoke coming- a bonus I enjoyed was being about to get a head-on view for once above the tops of the P-42s.
PDX itself is very nice as well- baggage claim was smooth and we were actually early.
Pictures may come later (I'm no photographer, so bear with me...)
08-29-08
CHI to PDX
I transfered off the Capitol Limited an hour late. The layover is perfect here for some Chicago fun without expense. Stowed my laptop and bags in a locker and explored the city. But this isn't about Chicago, but about the train.
CHI is like a cross between NYP and WAS- it's got the airport feel of WAS and the passenger load of NYP- or it least it felt like that, very crowded, very hot, with a touch of traditional Amtrak discombobulation...
Boarding the train went smooth- though I was upset (to say the least) to see that these Superliners didn't have outlets at every seat like the Superliners on the Capitol Limited route. Waiting for refit. However I am used to that NEC hustle so I was the first on the car and was able to hunt it out...
The EB was pretty crowded after we dropped the 507 car- Labor Day weekend, end of the summer season. I was traveling on a tight budget so no diner food- I packed it all in a backpack. (Hey, on a budget, 30 bucks fed me for the entire trip ALC to PDX and then some snacks in Portland!)
The country was very beautiful- it was a feast for the eyes. Then came trails and rails...
I must admit it was sort of cool to hear these blue hairs explain about the Indian reservations and forts and such- but when the one said 'I have a script, but I;m not going to use it- I think it's important to learn about the modern history'... of... Montana.
Yes that school won the state basketball championship, and that school only has 34 kids grades K-12- that's lovely... *headdesk* "Some of you may have noticed that the ranchers bail their hay in both square bales and the round wheels- you may be wondering why- well it's because some ranchers like to give their cattle a good square meal and some like to give them a well rounded diet." *headdesk x 3* She did get an applause line "Well this is my stop, I get off here- thank you for;--" *celebration*
One of the things I realized soon in was that my standard Pennsylvanian or Capitol Limited survival pack wasn't cutting it.
'Pennsylvanian' Survival Pack:
Laptop and such technology
Bottled water and snacks (bottles small enough to fit under Amtrak sinks)
Blanket
Dry towel
On my way back from Seattle (I spent my last two days of vacation there after a horrible Cascades run) I carried with me:
'Empire Builder' Survival Pack:
Laptop and such technology
Bottled water and snacks
Blanket
Dry towel
Febreeze (for blanket, clothes, and seat)
Axe body spray
Facial astringent
It stretched the limits of coach. Needless to say the first bath I had in Portland was heaven....
The attendants were very nice (except for the one lower café attendant who couldn't make a simple Ramen...). The upper level attendant was very talkative and gave free ice (something the Capitol Limited attendants have varied on- I've paid a quarter a cup for it...) Many stations had Wi-Fi close enough by to check emails and bank balances and such (I am too cheap to buy a 3G plan, so I steal it when I get it.)
Glacier National Park was certainly beautiful, even if there was a lack of glaciers (summer + global warming = you know) but the scenery both before and after the park was fabulous.
The smoking stops were good and long because we were ahead of schedule most of the way- it offered a lot of stretching time.
Facility wise, with the exception of the lack of outlets that proved to be a non-issue so long as I stuck to my NEC roots, this was very nice. Air conditioning was consistent, water pressure was good- toilets were reasonably clean and the floors were kept swept by the attendant. The attendants were very good at trying to make a rotation of short term and long term passengers so we all had plenty of time to ourselves until we got to about West Glacier when the Portland cars filled to capacity.
The Spokane split went smoothly- no big jolts to wake me. My only complaint was the damn lights in the cars that were bright as hell... the attendant tried covering them with seat checks to no avail. When the cars were uncoupled the lights went out and I fell asleep.
The Portland jump was nice, we went fast through the gorge. I enjoyed riding near the front of the observation car- and to my surprise there was no diesel smoke coming- a bonus I enjoyed was being about to get a head-on view for once above the tops of the P-42s.
PDX itself is very nice as well- baggage claim was smooth and we were actually early.
Pictures may come later (I'm no photographer, so bear with me...)
