p&sr
OBS Chief
When my wife heard all about my cross-country trips by rail, she decided that she'd like to try it too. But for getting started, she wanted a trip that would not involve any tight connections or multiple consecutive overnights on the move. We decided that a trip to Seattle would be just right... one overnight on the train each way, and a hotel in Seattle.
February of 2006 we were ready to go. Using a three-day weekend, we didn't even need any time off work. On Friday evening, we drove to our home station of Martinez, California, stopping for dinner at a nice restaurant on the way. That night we caught the northbound Coast Starlight. The trip was pleasant and smooth, sleeping in Coach as is my custom. We brought along the Amtrak Blankets I had purchased previously (from the trip my daughter and I took to Boston the year before).
Daybreak was on the approach to Dunsmuir, so we could enjoy climbing the Canyon of the Upper Sacramento River by daylight... also Mount Shasta, of course, (thanks to the train being a bit late) which was dramatic on a clear winter morning. The train follows a route pretty high up on the base of the mountain, much higher than any roads in that area, giving great views of extensive landscapes below... cinder cones, lava flows, grasslands, and forested hills. After a remote passage through thick forests in the volcanic country north-east of Mt. Shasta, we emerged onto the grasslands near Dorris just before passing through a tunnel into Oregon. At Klamath Falls we could step out and walk around in the snow, always a novelty for us from coastal California. Again a very scenic and remote forested route to Chemult, including a dramatic rocky canyon. The descent from the Cascades into Eugene was also beautiful, my first time by rail (since a bus by-pass was in effect on my previous northbound trip). Through the Willamette Valley we got occasional views of the Snowy Peaks of the Cascades, and just north of the Columbia River there were fine views of Mt. Hood. We especially enjoyed following the shores of Puget Sound, from just north of Olympia until Tacoma, and going under the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge. (We look forward to seeing the rest of Puget Sound on some future trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC.) Then through forested suburbs to the end of the line in Seattle.
We took a taxi to our hotel (Best Western Pioneer Square) because of the late hour, and had a pleasant night's rest (Saturday night). The next morning we enjoyed the views of the Olympic Mountains from our room, and a good buffet breakfast downstairs. We walked back to the Amtrak Station, following the tracks of the waterfront streetcar (not currently in operation). We enjoyed a second breakfast in the snack bar on board the Train.
Approaching Tacoma on the way south, we got good views of Mt. Rainier, and from near Centralia we got a brief glimpse of Mt. St. Helens. At a scenic point overlooking the Columbia River, we parked for several hours while the BNSF & UP worked out details of our passage, and watched lots of barge traffic and private boats going by, and eventually several long freight trains that were said to have been in our way. Once we got moving again the rest of the trip was smooth.
We had time for a 30-second walk-through of the Station in Portland, but did not want to be more than a quick run from the Train at any time, knowing they would not give much warning before departure. Willamette Valley was scenic and by this time familiar. Evening came while climbing the Cascades (Sunday night), and we had a nice meal in the Dining Car, with Strawberry Cheesecake and imported Beer for dessert.
On Monday morning we approached Sacramento, again with some delays because the train needed to change crews because of the other delays. They were able to coast onto a siding (near a road, so a new crew could find us) in their last permissible 30 seconds of operation, so we did not quite end up blocking the mainline for everybody else. [The northbound trip also involved a crew change, this time Amtrak carried a UP Crew from Klamath Falls to a freight train stopped in a remote place many miles north of there, then stopped while those crews exchanged places. I don't think access by road would have worked for them there.]
From Sacramento on, we were back on home territory. As planned, we rode right through our destination of Martinez and continued on through Emeryville and Oakland (with great views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge across the Bay), to San Jose. Between Oakland and Newark we took the route near the Bayshore, which I had never done southbound before. [Other southbound runs on the CS had always gone inland through Hayward, along the route of the Capital Corridor.]
At San Jose we walked around the historic station and had lunch at the snack bar there. Then we returned to Martinez (and our waiting car) on one of the Corridor Trains. Dinner in a favorite restaurant on the way home (Monday evening).
So that was our introduction to over-night rail travel for two. We counted it a big success, and began planning for longer adventures to come.
February of 2006 we were ready to go. Using a three-day weekend, we didn't even need any time off work. On Friday evening, we drove to our home station of Martinez, California, stopping for dinner at a nice restaurant on the way. That night we caught the northbound Coast Starlight. The trip was pleasant and smooth, sleeping in Coach as is my custom. We brought along the Amtrak Blankets I had purchased previously (from the trip my daughter and I took to Boston the year before).
Daybreak was on the approach to Dunsmuir, so we could enjoy climbing the Canyon of the Upper Sacramento River by daylight... also Mount Shasta, of course, (thanks to the train being a bit late) which was dramatic on a clear winter morning. The train follows a route pretty high up on the base of the mountain, much higher than any roads in that area, giving great views of extensive landscapes below... cinder cones, lava flows, grasslands, and forested hills. After a remote passage through thick forests in the volcanic country north-east of Mt. Shasta, we emerged onto the grasslands near Dorris just before passing through a tunnel into Oregon. At Klamath Falls we could step out and walk around in the snow, always a novelty for us from coastal California. Again a very scenic and remote forested route to Chemult, including a dramatic rocky canyon. The descent from the Cascades into Eugene was also beautiful, my first time by rail (since a bus by-pass was in effect on my previous northbound trip). Through the Willamette Valley we got occasional views of the Snowy Peaks of the Cascades, and just north of the Columbia River there were fine views of Mt. Hood. We especially enjoyed following the shores of Puget Sound, from just north of Olympia until Tacoma, and going under the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge. (We look forward to seeing the rest of Puget Sound on some future trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC.) Then through forested suburbs to the end of the line in Seattle.
We took a taxi to our hotel (Best Western Pioneer Square) because of the late hour, and had a pleasant night's rest (Saturday night). The next morning we enjoyed the views of the Olympic Mountains from our room, and a good buffet breakfast downstairs. We walked back to the Amtrak Station, following the tracks of the waterfront streetcar (not currently in operation). We enjoyed a second breakfast in the snack bar on board the Train.
Approaching Tacoma on the way south, we got good views of Mt. Rainier, and from near Centralia we got a brief glimpse of Mt. St. Helens. At a scenic point overlooking the Columbia River, we parked for several hours while the BNSF & UP worked out details of our passage, and watched lots of barge traffic and private boats going by, and eventually several long freight trains that were said to have been in our way. Once we got moving again the rest of the trip was smooth.
We had time for a 30-second walk-through of the Station in Portland, but did not want to be more than a quick run from the Train at any time, knowing they would not give much warning before departure. Willamette Valley was scenic and by this time familiar. Evening came while climbing the Cascades (Sunday night), and we had a nice meal in the Dining Car, with Strawberry Cheesecake and imported Beer for dessert.
On Monday morning we approached Sacramento, again with some delays because the train needed to change crews because of the other delays. They were able to coast onto a siding (near a road, so a new crew could find us) in their last permissible 30 seconds of operation, so we did not quite end up blocking the mainline for everybody else. [The northbound trip also involved a crew change, this time Amtrak carried a UP Crew from Klamath Falls to a freight train stopped in a remote place many miles north of there, then stopped while those crews exchanged places. I don't think access by road would have worked for them there.]
From Sacramento on, we were back on home territory. As planned, we rode right through our destination of Martinez and continued on through Emeryville and Oakland (with great views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge across the Bay), to San Jose. Between Oakland and Newark we took the route near the Bayshore, which I had never done southbound before. [Other southbound runs on the CS had always gone inland through Hayward, along the route of the Capital Corridor.]
At San Jose we walked around the historic station and had lunch at the snack bar there. Then we returned to Martinez (and our waiting car) on one of the Corridor Trains. Dinner in a favorite restaurant on the way home (Monday evening).
So that was our introduction to over-night rail travel for two. We counted it a big success, and began planning for longer adventures to come.
