ljohn2030
Train Attendant
I had the pleasure of riding Amtrak from Reno, NV to Harrisburg, PA via California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, and The Pennsylvanian during a recent trip back East to see family. We recently had a child, and she hasn't had all of her vaccinations - so airports were out. Driving 20+ hours with her in a carseat - also not an option. A sleeper car on the train with meals delivered to our room was the best option, adn worked out very very well. Overall, it was a fantastic trip. There may be too many details to write a formal travelogue, but I will do my best.
First leg: Zephyr from Reno to Chicago
First off - Roland (our sleeper car attendant) was outstanding! From the beginning, was super helpful, and made every effort to ensure we were comfortable and taken care of. He made every meal a production, from the tablecloth (hand towel), to multiple courses (salad, then main course, then dessert). Overall, this part of the trip was smooth-sailing, at least until we hit Denver. First we had sun kinks, then freight traffic, and ended up 4 hours delayed. This included 45 minutes near Glenwood Springs, where we were allowed to detrain. One clearly in-shape woman, took the opportunity to run the length of the train and back for the full 45 minutes! Impressive. Roland challenged her to a race, but didn't quite happen. All the meals were fantastic. One bad thing was that the vacuum pump on our sleeper broke during the second day - so we had to go to other cars to use the bathroom. Not too much of a problem, and I found out that the other cars had a wider selection of juice (bonus!). We pulled into Chicago, and they held the Capital Limited so that we, and other passengers, could make our connection. It was at least a 20 minute delay for them, but much appreciated.
Second leg: Capital Limited from Chicago to Pittsburgh
The second leg started at about 7 PM, and ended the next morning at 5 AM. Unless you are riding the Limited from Washington D.C. to Chicago, you are going to have a painful boarding time. Pittsburgh is either midnight to board, or 5 AM to leave. Anyway - the SCA (Larry) was a shadow of Roland. He did bring our dinner to our room, but after taking our order, basically handed the food through the door and said "take this". That was it until we saw him the next morning. He did help with the luggage, but a minimal tip. Compared to the Zephyr, the Limited is a punishing ride. I am not sure if it was the driving to get back on time, or the quality of the rails - but we were slammed all over the place. The sleeper cars were updated compared to the Zephyr, but the springs on the upper bunk made constant noise.
Third leg: Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg
After a few hours of layover in the Pittsburgh Terminal, we were ready to complete this trip and finally be home. One caveat about the Pittsburgh terminal - the coffee machine is free. Yes - it is basically brown-water, but you can't beat the price. The "English Toffee" is the most drinkable. The "Hot Chocolate" is actually just warm water. But I digress.... After double-decker trains the single-level Pennsylvanian was a speedster! It felt like we were going so much faster. We were in Business class, which includes free drinks. It is also about 60 degrees. Since it was July, we were not dressed, but somehow survived. One bonus is that the Railfan window was easily accessed from the Business class car. We were ahead of schedule until we were literally 3 miles from the station, and then freight traffic slowed us to 1 mph.
Fourth Leg: Pennsylvanian from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh
After a great visit, it was time to head home. Well, we brought sweaters for the ride. We were comfortable until someone complained, and they turned the AC off, in August! ***?!? After sweating it out for about an hour, a woman with a baby finally convinced the conductor to turn it back on, and we were alright again. The Food in the Pennsylvanian is actually quite good. Gotta love the Horseshoe curve! We then settled in for a wait for 5-6 hours until the Capitol Limited arrived at midnight. More free "coffee", and the crowd began to grow.
Fifth Leg: Capitol Limted from Pittsburgh to Chicago
Well, the Limited finally arrived at 1 AM. Boarding was a bit frantic, but we made it to our sleeper car. There was a mix-up, and some other passengers were sent to our sleeper room. Carlos, our SCA, was on the case! "This is not your car!", "This is not your room!" - goodness gracious, you would think they were trying to smuggle contraband, but they were escorted off the train and to their proper room. The mistake was another SCA who sent them the wrong way. Carlos is the Man! It is one thing to receive excellent service, but another for an employee to jump into action to make things right. He also had lots of announcements the next morning, from when the coffee was ready, to the delays, so there was no confusion or anxiety. Truly excellent.
SIxth Leg: Zephyr from Chicago to Reno
At first, the Metropolitan lounge was mostly empty, and I thought that the stories of an over-crowded dungeon were unfounded! I was so naive. Put a few hundred sleeper passengers together in a small cramped room with not enough seats, and then the chips run out? - goodness gracious! And I think that Amtrak has been operating for some time now, but boarding was a complete fiasco. Is it so hard to board one sleeper car at a time? That was the sleepers! - Coach must have been an all-out melee! Anyway - this must improve. Some communication between the train and the Metro/Union station staff would have been great. Should I have tried the Legacy lounge? - Maybe in retrospect. To avoid the horde? - absolutely!
Last leg was very good - back to smooth sailing on the Zephyr, and only 1 hour delayed. Jason was our SCA. He was adequate - he did bring us our meals, but in a bag. I know that he was running through 3 cars, but it could have been done better. No help with the luggage, and clearly stated to NOT call him at night, or when he was eating. I have to admit that I smiled a bit when one of the other sleeper passengers would lay on their call button at 6:15 every morning! The train was completely booked the entire trip. Dotty (?), the coach attendant, made an announcement last night that she found some "substances legal in Colorado" in the bathroom, and when she found out who it was - they would be put off the train. Maybe sharing could have been an option? - Kidding! You could hear the exasperation in her voice. She is excellent also.
Overall a great trip. To anyone going on a long-distance trip; take a power strip, duct tape (hold the plug in place), screwdriver (to force open the vents), GPS (using your phone will burn your data), and I am not sure what else. The Zephyr was hot both trips, so plan to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt for comfort. I will absolutely ride Amtrak again, and recommend it to everyone. It is an adventure. I would much rather my adventure be seeing awesome vistas and stunningly beautiful scenery before dashing from one train to another, than being packed into another airliner/airport.
Thank you for reading/listening!
First leg: Zephyr from Reno to Chicago
First off - Roland (our sleeper car attendant) was outstanding! From the beginning, was super helpful, and made every effort to ensure we were comfortable and taken care of. He made every meal a production, from the tablecloth (hand towel), to multiple courses (salad, then main course, then dessert). Overall, this part of the trip was smooth-sailing, at least until we hit Denver. First we had sun kinks, then freight traffic, and ended up 4 hours delayed. This included 45 minutes near Glenwood Springs, where we were allowed to detrain. One clearly in-shape woman, took the opportunity to run the length of the train and back for the full 45 minutes! Impressive. Roland challenged her to a race, but didn't quite happen. All the meals were fantastic. One bad thing was that the vacuum pump on our sleeper broke during the second day - so we had to go to other cars to use the bathroom. Not too much of a problem, and I found out that the other cars had a wider selection of juice (bonus!). We pulled into Chicago, and they held the Capital Limited so that we, and other passengers, could make our connection. It was at least a 20 minute delay for them, but much appreciated.
Second leg: Capital Limited from Chicago to Pittsburgh
The second leg started at about 7 PM, and ended the next morning at 5 AM. Unless you are riding the Limited from Washington D.C. to Chicago, you are going to have a painful boarding time. Pittsburgh is either midnight to board, or 5 AM to leave. Anyway - the SCA (Larry) was a shadow of Roland. He did bring our dinner to our room, but after taking our order, basically handed the food through the door and said "take this". That was it until we saw him the next morning. He did help with the luggage, but a minimal tip. Compared to the Zephyr, the Limited is a punishing ride. I am not sure if it was the driving to get back on time, or the quality of the rails - but we were slammed all over the place. The sleeper cars were updated compared to the Zephyr, but the springs on the upper bunk made constant noise.
Third leg: Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg
After a few hours of layover in the Pittsburgh Terminal, we were ready to complete this trip and finally be home. One caveat about the Pittsburgh terminal - the coffee machine is free. Yes - it is basically brown-water, but you can't beat the price. The "English Toffee" is the most drinkable. The "Hot Chocolate" is actually just warm water. But I digress.... After double-decker trains the single-level Pennsylvanian was a speedster! It felt like we were going so much faster. We were in Business class, which includes free drinks. It is also about 60 degrees. Since it was July, we were not dressed, but somehow survived. One bonus is that the Railfan window was easily accessed from the Business class car. We were ahead of schedule until we were literally 3 miles from the station, and then freight traffic slowed us to 1 mph.
Fourth Leg: Pennsylvanian from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh
After a great visit, it was time to head home. Well, we brought sweaters for the ride. We were comfortable until someone complained, and they turned the AC off, in August! ***?!? After sweating it out for about an hour, a woman with a baby finally convinced the conductor to turn it back on, and we were alright again. The Food in the Pennsylvanian is actually quite good. Gotta love the Horseshoe curve! We then settled in for a wait for 5-6 hours until the Capitol Limited arrived at midnight. More free "coffee", and the crowd began to grow.
Fifth Leg: Capitol Limted from Pittsburgh to Chicago
Well, the Limited finally arrived at 1 AM. Boarding was a bit frantic, but we made it to our sleeper car. There was a mix-up, and some other passengers were sent to our sleeper room. Carlos, our SCA, was on the case! "This is not your car!", "This is not your room!" - goodness gracious, you would think they were trying to smuggle contraband, but they were escorted off the train and to their proper room. The mistake was another SCA who sent them the wrong way. Carlos is the Man! It is one thing to receive excellent service, but another for an employee to jump into action to make things right. He also had lots of announcements the next morning, from when the coffee was ready, to the delays, so there was no confusion or anxiety. Truly excellent.
SIxth Leg: Zephyr from Chicago to Reno
At first, the Metropolitan lounge was mostly empty, and I thought that the stories of an over-crowded dungeon were unfounded! I was so naive. Put a few hundred sleeper passengers together in a small cramped room with not enough seats, and then the chips run out? - goodness gracious! And I think that Amtrak has been operating for some time now, but boarding was a complete fiasco. Is it so hard to board one sleeper car at a time? That was the sleepers! - Coach must have been an all-out melee! Anyway - this must improve. Some communication between the train and the Metro/Union station staff would have been great. Should I have tried the Legacy lounge? - Maybe in retrospect. To avoid the horde? - absolutely!
Last leg was very good - back to smooth sailing on the Zephyr, and only 1 hour delayed. Jason was our SCA. He was adequate - he did bring us our meals, but in a bag. I know that he was running through 3 cars, but it could have been done better. No help with the luggage, and clearly stated to NOT call him at night, or when he was eating. I have to admit that I smiled a bit when one of the other sleeper passengers would lay on their call button at 6:15 every morning! The train was completely booked the entire trip. Dotty (?), the coach attendant, made an announcement last night that she found some "substances legal in Colorado" in the bathroom, and when she found out who it was - they would be put off the train. Maybe sharing could have been an option? - Kidding! You could hear the exasperation in her voice. She is excellent also.
Overall a great trip. To anyone going on a long-distance trip; take a power strip, duct tape (hold the plug in place), screwdriver (to force open the vents), GPS (using your phone will burn your data), and I am not sure what else. The Zephyr was hot both trips, so plan to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt for comfort. I will absolutely ride Amtrak again, and recommend it to everyone. It is an adventure. I would much rather my adventure be seeing awesome vistas and stunningly beautiful scenery before dashing from one train to another, than being packed into another airliner/airport.
Thank you for reading/listening!
