debmep
Train Attendant
We left GRR on time for our 4 hour ride to Chicago. The station is GRR was crazy busy because the ticket keosk was not working. People without printed tickets had to check in with the conductor & show ID, then she handled more paperwork once everyone was on board. I believe that anyone without a printed ticket had to stop in Chiago at a ticket window. GRR is not a staffed station. I had printed off our tickets last month, so we were all set. The train ride to CHI was uneventful & we arrived 45 minutes behind schedule.
Once we arrived in CHI we checked in at the Metropolitan Lounge, stored our luggage and headed out into town. We had to stop at the closest Fannie Mays Candy Store which was 3 blocks from Union Station. I use to work at a Fannie Mays years ago, so we picked out our own 1/2lb assortment for the train trip. Our second stop in CHI was the French Market a few more blocks away. We walked around deciding what to purchase for lunch. We ended up with take-out Middle Eastern Food which we carried back to the Metropolitan Lounge. It was sunny and in the 70's in CHI that day. The lounge was filling up by this time. We had about 2 hours before it would be time for us to board the SWC. Spent the time reading free newspapers, The New York Times was a treat. It was soon time to be escorted to our train. We had a pretty big group of people including a special-needs person with a big golden/lab mix service dog.
We found our sleeping car without any problem but the door was locked. There were about 25 of us that ended up waiting 10minutes (I timed it) for our SCA to open the door. "Pinky" finally arrived and we were allowed to board after she checked us in. We found our #2 roomette and settled in. The train was soon on its way. Our destination was ABQ for the weekend. Pinky stayed busy for 2 hours setting the car up. We never got an introduction to the roomette, we met her at the coffee pot. It was over an hour before the coffee was ready. Pinky said she was known for her coffee blends, and it was flavored with something, Pinky was not overly attentive to her passengers. The car seemed to be mostly senior citizens and it seemed like a lot of calls to Pinky went unanswered. I know that I called twice to have our bed put down that evening, she never responded. Finally around 10PM, she made a trip thru the car and I caught her attention. We slept OK the first night. I had the upper berth and my only issue was that the bed was so hard. I didnt mind the climb or the crawl into bed. A window would have been nice but gosh there isnt much padding. I was impressed with the pillows. They were about 1/2 size of a normal pillow but pretty comfortable.
We both woke up at 6AM and it was still dark out. We got coffee and both sat on the lower bed to watch the sun come up. Bkft started at 6:30, so we ate early. After bkft we sat in the observation car for about 30 minutes but it was freezing in there. There were 3 people from coach sleeping on the floor of the car, so that was a bit strange. We returned to our roomette and people were up moving around. Our roomette hadnt been made up yet, a grandmother and granddaughter next to us said they been calling for Pinky but so far she had not arrived. The coffee pot was empty. We really wanted to sit in our seats, so the granddaugher from next door helped us fold up the top bed and rearrange the lower seats. Pinky finally arrived in the car at 8:15 to make coffee, I heard many people requesting her service to fold up beds etc. Soon after that the dining steward came thru to get lunch reservations.
We didnt make much time for some reason. There was a scheduled crew change in Las Animas which took 30 minutes. We started seeing wildlife around La Junta. Lots of prairie dogs sticking their heads out. The moutains were also visable out in the distance. We also began to see antelope. By Trinidad we were 45 minutes behind schedule. We arrived in Abq 70 minutes behind schedule. This was our stop so we disembarked, and said our Thanks to Pinky. Her tip reflected her lack of services.
I havent talked about our meals yet, so let me say that on this part of our trip the food was excellent. We both had the steak at our meal the first evening. Breakfast was French Toast for husband, the continental for me. Too much food for me, I ate the oatmeal (which was actually good) and gave the fruit, and biscuit to hubby. I left the yogurt at the table. Lunch: I had the hamburg, hubby had a cold sandwich. We noticed that most people did not leave any tips. We always tipped but most did not. We enjoyed meeting our table mates, we got along with all of them.
I will continue to post as a reply, 2nd installment later today.
Once we arrived in CHI we checked in at the Metropolitan Lounge, stored our luggage and headed out into town. We had to stop at the closest Fannie Mays Candy Store which was 3 blocks from Union Station. I use to work at a Fannie Mays years ago, so we picked out our own 1/2lb assortment for the train trip. Our second stop in CHI was the French Market a few more blocks away. We walked around deciding what to purchase for lunch. We ended up with take-out Middle Eastern Food which we carried back to the Metropolitan Lounge. It was sunny and in the 70's in CHI that day. The lounge was filling up by this time. We had about 2 hours before it would be time for us to board the SWC. Spent the time reading free newspapers, The New York Times was a treat. It was soon time to be escorted to our train. We had a pretty big group of people including a special-needs person with a big golden/lab mix service dog.
We found our sleeping car without any problem but the door was locked. There were about 25 of us that ended up waiting 10minutes (I timed it) for our SCA to open the door. "Pinky" finally arrived and we were allowed to board after she checked us in. We found our #2 roomette and settled in. The train was soon on its way. Our destination was ABQ for the weekend. Pinky stayed busy for 2 hours setting the car up. We never got an introduction to the roomette, we met her at the coffee pot. It was over an hour before the coffee was ready. Pinky said she was known for her coffee blends, and it was flavored with something, Pinky was not overly attentive to her passengers. The car seemed to be mostly senior citizens and it seemed like a lot of calls to Pinky went unanswered. I know that I called twice to have our bed put down that evening, she never responded. Finally around 10PM, she made a trip thru the car and I caught her attention. We slept OK the first night. I had the upper berth and my only issue was that the bed was so hard. I didnt mind the climb or the crawl into bed. A window would have been nice but gosh there isnt much padding. I was impressed with the pillows. They were about 1/2 size of a normal pillow but pretty comfortable.
We both woke up at 6AM and it was still dark out. We got coffee and both sat on the lower bed to watch the sun come up. Bkft started at 6:30, so we ate early. After bkft we sat in the observation car for about 30 minutes but it was freezing in there. There were 3 people from coach sleeping on the floor of the car, so that was a bit strange. We returned to our roomette and people were up moving around. Our roomette hadnt been made up yet, a grandmother and granddaughter next to us said they been calling for Pinky but so far she had not arrived. The coffee pot was empty. We really wanted to sit in our seats, so the granddaugher from next door helped us fold up the top bed and rearrange the lower seats. Pinky finally arrived in the car at 8:15 to make coffee, I heard many people requesting her service to fold up beds etc. Soon after that the dining steward came thru to get lunch reservations.
We didnt make much time for some reason. There was a scheduled crew change in Las Animas which took 30 minutes. We started seeing wildlife around La Junta. Lots of prairie dogs sticking their heads out. The moutains were also visable out in the distance. We also began to see antelope. By Trinidad we were 45 minutes behind schedule. We arrived in Abq 70 minutes behind schedule. This was our stop so we disembarked, and said our Thanks to Pinky. Her tip reflected her lack of services.
I havent talked about our meals yet, so let me say that on this part of our trip the food was excellent. We both had the steak at our meal the first evening. Breakfast was French Toast for husband, the continental for me. Too much food for me, I ate the oatmeal (which was actually good) and gave the fruit, and biscuit to hubby. I left the yogurt at the table. Lunch: I had the hamburg, hubby had a cold sandwich. We noticed that most people did not leave any tips. We always tipped but most did not. We enjoyed meeting our table mates, we got along with all of them.
I will continue to post as a reply, 2nd installment later today.