AKA
OBS Chief
4 April 08, board at Cleveland about 1 hour late on the CL west bound to Chicago. Once again assigned seating. This has been the case on all of our CL trips the last year or so. Dont mind this a bit. It seems to put some order to things. This also solves the one pax two seat problem. Crew on the CL is always good. Seems they are trying to make the CL into a class act. Announcements where clear and any stop or delay was reported at once. This part of the trip was mostly uneventful. Got to Chicago about 1/2 hour late. Some coffee and a short walk along the promenade to people watch then back inside. It was a bit cold and off and on rain. A good look at the Great Hall. [ No benches] Then off to seek lunch. And the winner is Kelly's Cajun Grill. Spicy chicken for me and Bourbon chicken for my better half. The rain made the walk to Giordano's to much. While on our way to the waiting area my wife started to moan. No it wasnt the chicken, she spotted the Krispy Kreme store. Onward now fortified with Krispy Kremes we go to meet the Zephyr. Because of the foresite of our parents we are seniors and board first. No assinged seating this time. We are in coach. [ Long story.] We take the seat just after the stairs. This seems to have just a bit more leg room. I did not measure it. It just seems so. With no one behind us we put our one bag on wheels there on the floor, behind our seat. Not the best window however. We did not notice any adverse noise from the stair traffic. This will be our selection from now on if we have the choice. It is nice to not have anyone behind you. Just a bit more solitude in coach. Right out of CUS we start to get announcements everything you ever wanted to know about train travel on the Zephyr.
The idea for this trip was to see some snow in the rockys. This was covered in a topic earlyer on the forum. Well we got our fill. It was gorgeous. Just out of Denver you start to climb into the Rockys. Tip- the lounge car fills while you are in the station in Denver so you have to be quick. This is fine and what the lounge car is there for. Sightseeing. However the idea that you may want read or work on your laptop while going into the Rockys is not a good one in my opinion. The Sightseer is just that, not a work station. [ OK Iam ready for the onslaught from the work station people.] I just had to say it.
The crew was outstanding. The coach attendent was on top of everything. Talking to people helping out with answers. This is the secound time I have seen a coach attendent vacuuming the car in route. Outlets at every seat. Coach # 31008
Got into Fraser-Winter Park about 1/2 hour late. Lost a great many pax there. Skiing looked great a lot of snow. The rest of the Rockys were great. As evening came we did dinner in the diner. Flat iron steak was great and done to order just right. A good book on tape and we were ready for a nights rest. Up to this point I have not said anything about children. Theres the good and the bad. This trip it was fair . Some noise from kids but not whailing infants. The night was uneventful. I did not wake untill Winnemucca NV. I am OK with a coach seat for sleeping.
Got to Sparks and put on two PV cars. Took over a hour to do so. Good old UP. One car SF dome SANTA FE PLAZA and RIO GRANDE - ROYAL GORGE. Pulled into RENO and they boared the two PV's. Looked like show people for want of a better term. We detrained in RENO and had about 2 hours as the east bound Zephyr was on time. Got to look around a little. Cold and windy. Now to answer my own question of a while back on the forum. There is no short term storage in RENO. No big deal this time as we only had one bag and only a short time.
The east bound part of this story will have to wait a little while. But as a teaser, there is a boulder involved.
This route speaks for it self. I did not feel the need to discribe every turn. This truly is the most scenic route on AMTRAK
The idea for this trip was to see some snow in the rockys. This was covered in a topic earlyer on the forum. Well we got our fill. It was gorgeous. Just out of Denver you start to climb into the Rockys. Tip- the lounge car fills while you are in the station in Denver so you have to be quick. This is fine and what the lounge car is there for. Sightseeing. However the idea that you may want read or work on your laptop while going into the Rockys is not a good one in my opinion. The Sightseer is just that, not a work station. [ OK Iam ready for the onslaught from the work station people.] I just had to say it.
The crew was outstanding. The coach attendent was on top of everything. Talking to people helping out with answers. This is the secound time I have seen a coach attendent vacuuming the car in route. Outlets at every seat. Coach # 31008
Got into Fraser-Winter Park about 1/2 hour late. Lost a great many pax there. Skiing looked great a lot of snow. The rest of the Rockys were great. As evening came we did dinner in the diner. Flat iron steak was great and done to order just right. A good book on tape and we were ready for a nights rest. Up to this point I have not said anything about children. Theres the good and the bad. This trip it was fair . Some noise from kids but not whailing infants. The night was uneventful. I did not wake untill Winnemucca NV. I am OK with a coach seat for sleeping.
Got to Sparks and put on two PV cars. Took over a hour to do so. Good old UP. One car SF dome SANTA FE PLAZA and RIO GRANDE - ROYAL GORGE. Pulled into RENO and they boared the two PV's. Looked like show people for want of a better term. We detrained in RENO and had about 2 hours as the east bound Zephyr was on time. Got to look around a little. Cold and windy. Now to answer my own question of a while back on the forum. There is no short term storage in RENO. No big deal this time as we only had one bag and only a short time.
The east bound part of this story will have to wait a little while. But as a teaser, there is a boulder involved.
This route speaks for it self. I did not feel the need to discribe every turn. This truly is the most scenic route on AMTRAK
