dspacekd
Train Attendant
(pictures at the end)
This was my first ever LD trip on Amtrak and my first ever trip with Amtrak since I was a little kid. I'd recently moved to Tucson AZ with my parents and I had a desire to go back to Rhode Island and see people and places which I missed. I've flown so much it's sickening so I wanted to finally see what the allure of Amtrak was all about. It was certainly expensive, but my dad and I decided to go for it. We booked Roomettes all the way (with the exception of 1 family bedroom on #4 which was cheaper than the Roomette).
We left on May 11th from FLG at 5:05 a.m. (I was happy that the train was on-time). I was in absolute awe at the GE Genesis engine #66 as it pulled in. It was a magnificent machine to say the very least. I actually find it to be very beautiful in appearance (this is coming from someone who thinks boxy Volvos and old Saabs look nice, lol). I also thought it was odd that the engine # was 66 and the train was the Southwest Chief which travels along route 66. We even had the same engine # 66 for the return trip on train #3 on the SWC, how odd is that? Anyhow, we boarded car #430 and was greeted by a very tired looking car attendant (whom I assume just woke). He was from Argentina and was very nice. We managed to talk to him a lot during the trip while he was free. He spoke a lot of what it was like to work for Amtrak and how he'd spend his retirement.
We had breakfast at 6:30 after leaving FLG and we were treated to a lovely omlette and orange juice to drink. Nina served us in the dining car and she was AMAZING! Lots of personality and a real nice person. We had a Family Bedroom on this portion of the trip to CHI. At first I thought it was a novel idea, but after spending the night in one I wouldn't do it again. It was the noisiest and bumpiest part of the car I think. I was literally thrown across the bed at night while in Kansas! The room was a little dirty with some crumbs and stains, but nothing too bad. The closet rattled a lot, but it was silent if we left it open so that's what we did. We didn't spend too much time in the room, but rather in the viewing car most all of the day.
While in the viewing car during the late morning, afternoon, and into the evening hours there was a group of singers on the train who I heard were very famous (five or so number 1 hits) and they traveled the world. They were joking and singing the whole time. It was really a fun and lively atmosphere with them on the train. Here's a few videos I took...
"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqcEpNNIlKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRJQZ9NL_GU
We went to bed that night after a nice fish dinner (I think it was Talapia). During dinner my father and I sat with a nice older couple who were on a tour to Branson MO. They bought my dad's wine at dinner too! It took some time to adjust to sleeping on the train, but after the first night in the Family Bedroom it's no problem for me to sleep on a train now. I actually slept better when the train was moving and going fast than at any other time. On this portion of the trip with hit a high speed of 92 MPH according to my GPS.
We arrived into CHI the next day pretty much on-time I think. We then went to the Metropolitan Lounge and left our bags. I noticed the lounge was pretty nice, but it really needs to be expanded and modernized. It was slightly dirty and there wasn't enough room at times for everyone. The people working the lounge were fantastic however. They even changed our tickets twice for us with no charge! Good AMTRAK people made up for any "shortcomings" that we encountered.
We then headed for the famous pizza place that everyone here raves about (Giordanos). I hated it! It wasn't thin crust or like New England pizza at all. I'm just not into Chicago style pizza I guess. I didn't like the atmosphere there either. It was too new. I like greasy old pizza places I guess!
We got back to the Metropolitan Lounge around 7:00 and eventually boarded the LSL #48 at 8:45 that evening. We were in the College View car. We had some wine and cheese (I had the apple cider however) and met a really nice couple who went to the same places in Egypt and North Africa that we had been to. We even found out that they were on a cruise ship in the Red Sea that was shot by pirates who tried to take over the ship. It was quite a story! Anyhow the dining car attendants on the LSL were top notch. They even went out of their way to turn the little bottles of wine and sparkling cider just right so that they were facing straight at you. Everything was very properly and orderly done with them. They seemed like they belonged in a fine restaurant.
Our car attendant on this train to ALB was Ainsley. He was a younger guy who was quick on his feet and spoke quickly, but to the point. He was very very nice and made sure we were well taken care of. He even let us use to Roomette across the hall from ours because it wouldn't be occupied! I found that I liked sleeping on the top bed no matter what room we were in. I also like the upper windows on the Viewliners, but disliked the toilet in the room if you're with someone else. I really missed being able to sit in the viewing car, I wish they had one on these trains, but I understand the height limitations and such.
I slept very wells on this train. I awoke the next morning and showered (I noticed the water pressure was better on the Superliners, but it was still good enough). I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. I think the food was better on the SWC Superliner too, but the eggs were still not too bad. We had to pull over on the side a few times before getting into ALB. We were told it was for track work and passing trains. Our longest stop was for 20 minutes. We were soon moving again and even reached a top speed of 94 MPH according to my GPS!!! I had a nice pizza for lunch and enjoyed it much more than the pizza in Chicago. We got into ALB about 45 minutes late and headed to ALB airport for our car rental.
*** WARNING *** the taxi company in ALB is a RIPOFF. It cost us $36.50 to get to the airport. He had no meter. He said it was more expensive because of the traffic, but there was no traffic.
Anyhow, it was May 17th and time to leave Rhode Island and drive back to ALB. We dropped our rental off at ALB and took another RIPOFF taxi back to the Amtrak station. The trip on the way back wasn't much better at $34.00, but he had a meter. His boss told us before we got in the cab at the airport that there was a car on fire along the way, but we saw no car fire.
We got to the station and the train was running a little late. We boarded the train and noticed Ainsley was working the route again, however he wasn't our car attendant. I had a dinner of Ravioli. It was a very large serving and I could barely finish it! After dinner I went back to the Roomette with my dad and watched about 4 episodes of M*A*S*H and then fell asleep. I didn't wake once during the night. I really liked sleeping on the train! We arrived into CHI pretty much on-time.
We checked out bags in at the Metropolitan Lounge and went out and explored Chicago again. It was great, but I still think Boston is the best city in the USA, hehe! We got back to the station and noticed that they were filming a movie and I heard Johnny Depp was there too. They had all these old trains in the station and all this movie equipment. It was pretty cool to see.
Our train #3 the SWC was exactly on-time! The lead engine was #66 AGAIN!! COOL!! This time we were in car #331 in Roomette #6. Our car attendant was Henry. He was a very nice man. Very friendly too, just like most all other Amtrak employees we met. He did this great "ALL ABOARD" voice at many of the stops to tell people to get back on the train. I talked to a guy a little older than me on this trip which was neat. We had a lot in common. He even had dinner with my dad and I the second evening. I loved meeting people on the train! I liked the cafe car attendant on this train. She was a real gem. When there was no more bottled Ice Tea she offered to make me her own special version. It was a kind gesture. It was amazing to cross the Mississippi River the first night! However the most beautiful part of the trip for me was seeing the Antelope running alongside the train in Colorado and also crossing into Arizona later that evening. It felt good to be back in my new home which I've grown to love a lot.
I have to say one thing about Amtrak in conclusion. The employees are what truly made this a great trip on Amtrak for us. They went out of their way to make us comfortable and they could seemingly turn coal into gold. Thank you Amtrak. My dad and I were so impressed that we'll be taking the Sunset Limited from our home here in Tucson out to Los Angeles and then connecting to the Surfliner to go to some beaches this summer before our trip to Europe! Again, thank you Amtrak. I miss you already
Here are the pictures I promised...
This was my first ever LD trip on Amtrak and my first ever trip with Amtrak since I was a little kid. I'd recently moved to Tucson AZ with my parents and I had a desire to go back to Rhode Island and see people and places which I missed. I've flown so much it's sickening so I wanted to finally see what the allure of Amtrak was all about. It was certainly expensive, but my dad and I decided to go for it. We booked Roomettes all the way (with the exception of 1 family bedroom on #4 which was cheaper than the Roomette).
We left on May 11th from FLG at 5:05 a.m. (I was happy that the train was on-time). I was in absolute awe at the GE Genesis engine #66 as it pulled in. It was a magnificent machine to say the very least. I actually find it to be very beautiful in appearance (this is coming from someone who thinks boxy Volvos and old Saabs look nice, lol). I also thought it was odd that the engine # was 66 and the train was the Southwest Chief which travels along route 66. We even had the same engine # 66 for the return trip on train #3 on the SWC, how odd is that? Anyhow, we boarded car #430 and was greeted by a very tired looking car attendant (whom I assume just woke). He was from Argentina and was very nice. We managed to talk to him a lot during the trip while he was free. He spoke a lot of what it was like to work for Amtrak and how he'd spend his retirement.
We had breakfast at 6:30 after leaving FLG and we were treated to a lovely omlette and orange juice to drink. Nina served us in the dining car and she was AMAZING! Lots of personality and a real nice person. We had a Family Bedroom on this portion of the trip to CHI. At first I thought it was a novel idea, but after spending the night in one I wouldn't do it again. It was the noisiest and bumpiest part of the car I think. I was literally thrown across the bed at night while in Kansas! The room was a little dirty with some crumbs and stains, but nothing too bad. The closet rattled a lot, but it was silent if we left it open so that's what we did. We didn't spend too much time in the room, but rather in the viewing car most all of the day.
While in the viewing car during the late morning, afternoon, and into the evening hours there was a group of singers on the train who I heard were very famous (five or so number 1 hits) and they traveled the world. They were joking and singing the whole time. It was really a fun and lively atmosphere with them on the train. Here's a few videos I took...
"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqcEpNNIlKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRJQZ9NL_GU
We went to bed that night after a nice fish dinner (I think it was Talapia). During dinner my father and I sat with a nice older couple who were on a tour to Branson MO. They bought my dad's wine at dinner too! It took some time to adjust to sleeping on the train, but after the first night in the Family Bedroom it's no problem for me to sleep on a train now. I actually slept better when the train was moving and going fast than at any other time. On this portion of the trip with hit a high speed of 92 MPH according to my GPS.
We arrived into CHI the next day pretty much on-time I think. We then went to the Metropolitan Lounge and left our bags. I noticed the lounge was pretty nice, but it really needs to be expanded and modernized. It was slightly dirty and there wasn't enough room at times for everyone. The people working the lounge were fantastic however. They even changed our tickets twice for us with no charge! Good AMTRAK people made up for any "shortcomings" that we encountered.
We then headed for the famous pizza place that everyone here raves about (Giordanos). I hated it! It wasn't thin crust or like New England pizza at all. I'm just not into Chicago style pizza I guess. I didn't like the atmosphere there either. It was too new. I like greasy old pizza places I guess!
We got back to the Metropolitan Lounge around 7:00 and eventually boarded the LSL #48 at 8:45 that evening. We were in the College View car. We had some wine and cheese (I had the apple cider however) and met a really nice couple who went to the same places in Egypt and North Africa that we had been to. We even found out that they were on a cruise ship in the Red Sea that was shot by pirates who tried to take over the ship. It was quite a story! Anyhow the dining car attendants on the LSL were top notch. They even went out of their way to turn the little bottles of wine and sparkling cider just right so that they were facing straight at you. Everything was very properly and orderly done with them. They seemed like they belonged in a fine restaurant.
Our car attendant on this train to ALB was Ainsley. He was a younger guy who was quick on his feet and spoke quickly, but to the point. He was very very nice and made sure we were well taken care of. He even let us use to Roomette across the hall from ours because it wouldn't be occupied! I found that I liked sleeping on the top bed no matter what room we were in. I also like the upper windows on the Viewliners, but disliked the toilet in the room if you're with someone else. I really missed being able to sit in the viewing car, I wish they had one on these trains, but I understand the height limitations and such.
I slept very wells on this train. I awoke the next morning and showered (I noticed the water pressure was better on the Superliners, but it was still good enough). I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. I think the food was better on the SWC Superliner too, but the eggs were still not too bad. We had to pull over on the side a few times before getting into ALB. We were told it was for track work and passing trains. Our longest stop was for 20 minutes. We were soon moving again and even reached a top speed of 94 MPH according to my GPS!!! I had a nice pizza for lunch and enjoyed it much more than the pizza in Chicago. We got into ALB about 45 minutes late and headed to ALB airport for our car rental.
*** WARNING *** the taxi company in ALB is a RIPOFF. It cost us $36.50 to get to the airport. He had no meter. He said it was more expensive because of the traffic, but there was no traffic.
Anyhow, it was May 17th and time to leave Rhode Island and drive back to ALB. We dropped our rental off at ALB and took another RIPOFF taxi back to the Amtrak station. The trip on the way back wasn't much better at $34.00, but he had a meter. His boss told us before we got in the cab at the airport that there was a car on fire along the way, but we saw no car fire.
We got to the station and the train was running a little late. We boarded the train and noticed Ainsley was working the route again, however he wasn't our car attendant. I had a dinner of Ravioli. It was a very large serving and I could barely finish it! After dinner I went back to the Roomette with my dad and watched about 4 episodes of M*A*S*H and then fell asleep. I didn't wake once during the night. I really liked sleeping on the train! We arrived into CHI pretty much on-time.
We checked out bags in at the Metropolitan Lounge and went out and explored Chicago again. It was great, but I still think Boston is the best city in the USA, hehe! We got back to the station and noticed that they were filming a movie and I heard Johnny Depp was there too. They had all these old trains in the station and all this movie equipment. It was pretty cool to see.
Our train #3 the SWC was exactly on-time! The lead engine was #66 AGAIN!! COOL!! This time we were in car #331 in Roomette #6. Our car attendant was Henry. He was a very nice man. Very friendly too, just like most all other Amtrak employees we met. He did this great "ALL ABOARD" voice at many of the stops to tell people to get back on the train. I talked to a guy a little older than me on this trip which was neat. We had a lot in common. He even had dinner with my dad and I the second evening. I loved meeting people on the train! I liked the cafe car attendant on this train. She was a real gem. When there was no more bottled Ice Tea she offered to make me her own special version. It was a kind gesture. It was amazing to cross the Mississippi River the first night! However the most beautiful part of the trip for me was seeing the Antelope running alongside the train in Colorado and also crossing into Arizona later that evening. It felt good to be back in my new home which I've grown to love a lot.
I have to say one thing about Amtrak in conclusion. The employees are what truly made this a great trip on Amtrak for us. They went out of their way to make us comfortable and they could seemingly turn coal into gold. Thank you Amtrak. My dad and I were so impressed that we'll be taking the Sunset Limited from our home here in Tucson out to Los Angeles and then connecting to the Surfliner to go to some beaches this summer before our trip to Europe! Again, thank you Amtrak. I miss you already
Here are the pictures I promised...
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