the_traveler
Engineer
Now I started the 2 zone loophole trip from BHM-LAX via PDX!
BHM-WAS #20 Dp 2:44 PM
I was glad to depart BHM. I think it is the ugliest station on Amtrak! And there's nothing around it! (But I admit being downtown on a Sunday didn't help.) At least they plan to build a new combined station soon.
#20 consisted of 2 P42’s (#’s unknown), 1 baggage car (# unknown), 2 Viewliners (Tranquil View and Village View) heritage diner #8531, café/lounge (# unknown) and 4 coaches (#25039, #25076 with the other numbers unknown). Both Viewliners were placed with the bedrooms forward.
Being on an AGR award, I was in Bedroom A of #2011 (The Tranquil View), which was the 1st sleeper behind the baggage car. My SA, Claude, was very helpful.
For the 1st time on this trip, my GPS (Garmin i5) received a signal. I observed a speed of 73 MPH at one time!
Based on everyone’s recommendation, I had the Flat Iron Steak for dinner! I also recommend it! My dinner companions were a 30’ish couple from Columbus, GA on their way back to ATL from NOL and a 60’ish grandmother from NOL on her way to visit her grandchildren in ATL.
It was announced that #20 was on schedule, but that was wrong! Upon arrival into ALX, we were 20 minutes EARLY! Being a “D” stop, we could also depart early, thus arrival into WAS was also early!
More time to spend in the Club Acela!
(Due to time constraints, my traveling companion was to meet me in WAS for the trip west. His train from KIN was 30 minutes late.)
WAS-CHI #29 Dp 4:05 PM
#29 consisted of 2 P42's (#16 and #197), baggage car #1231, transitional sleeper #39006, 2 Superliner sleepers (#32100 and #32075), Diner #37016, Sightseer Lounge #32022 and 3 coaches (#31023, #34106 and #31028). Diner #37016 is one of the new Phase II CCC. Only the diner portion (2/3 of the car) is being used as a diner. The CL still carries a full (and staffed) Sightseer!
Our room was the Family Bedroom. When I made the reservations, the F room was the only bedroom left. In fact the F room was the only room left on the entire train! So I grabbed it! Our SA, Keith was very helpful.
I again had the Flat Iron Steak for dinner, and it was just as good! Our dinner companions were a couple, Phil and Carol (I wish I got their last name - if anyone can help me out - please post). Phil is a retired board member of Amtrak. B&O and NS. He served on the Amtrak board at the time of David Gunn. When Gunn left is when Phil also left.
The following morning, our breakfast companions were a couple from England on a 21 day sightseeing tour of the US. They were part of a group of 30, who were doing a majority of the travel by rail.
During the night, we did not lose any time, and arrival into CI was on time.
A visit to the CHI Metropolitan Lounge shows that it now has 1 computer terminal and also has free WiFi! (I found the terminal VERY slow – but then again I have a high speed cable connection.)
CHI-PDX #27 Dp 2:15 PM
After our 6 hour layover in CHI, where we visited the Sears Tower and Giordano’s (of course ), we boarded #27. This train operated as 3 “trains” to MSP (#7, #27 and #807), then as 2 “trains” (#7 and #27) to SPK and then as separate “trains” to SEA (#7) and PDX (#27). It consisted of 2 p42’s (#112 & #63), baggage car #1206, 3 sleepers (#39038, #32041 and #32017) Diner #38058 and 2 coaches (#34103 and #34111) as “train” #7, Sightseer Lounge #33024, 2 coaches (#31041 and #34138) and 1 sleeper (#32001) as #27 and 1 coach (#34084) as “train” #807. It ran as #7 first, #27 next and #807 last.
Our bedroom was Bedroom A in #32001! (But it was the last bedroom and last room that was available on the whole train!) But it made up for it (somewhat) because we were in the PDX section – which was at the back after MSP – and we had the “railfan’s window” only a few feet from our door! (#32001 ran roomettes first!)
The thing I found interesting about the set-up was the SEA sleepers then the diner then the SEA coaches then the PDX lounge then the PDX coaches then the PDX sleeper! I’m not complaining that I had to walk thru 5 cars too get to the diner, but that if anyone had to place their name on a waiting list (such as for breakfast) they had to pass thru 2 coaches to get to the Lounge to wait! Either that or fiind an empty seat in 1 of the coaches. It would seem logical to put the Lounge behind the Diner!! (But “logic” and “Amtrak” don’t mix! )
Our dinner companions were 2 men from MSP who had a 1 day job in MKE and found it cheaper to take the EB! (Smart guys!)
A strange thing happened at dinner. The choices were the typical choices, but when the server got to the chicken offering, he informed us that the chicken was out! HUH? :huh: It was the 1st meal and the 1st seating out of CHI!
We passed #8/28 in Harlem, MT on Wednesday afternoon. (I didn’t see the other meeting.)
During the “Wine and Cheese Tasting” on the EB (WHICH IS STILL FREE! B) ), I won a bottle of wine by answering a trivia question: What is the eastern most state?
Answer: Alaska!
We were “flying” – I know that’s a bad word - since we had an unscheduled extended stop in Shelby, MT! We arrived into Shelby over 30 minutes EARLY! (I clocked our speed at times over 82 MPH!)
The Browning, MT station was in operation. (It is only in operation during the winter.) The East Glacier station was closed for the winter.
#7 and #27 arrived in SPK on time and each departed for their destinations on schedule, in the middle of the night (after 2 AM). #27 arrived in PDX on time.
PDX-LAX #11 Dp 2:25 PM
After a short layover, my traveling companion “forgot” to board #11 to LAX. (He has friends in PDX and stayed there until I returned to PDX a few days later.) I boarded #11 to get to the Gathering!
#11 consisted of 2 P42’s (#113 and #186), baggage car $1720, transitional sleeper #39022, 3 sleepers (#32033, #32066 & #32007), PPC #39972 (Napa Valley), Diner #38050, Sightseer Lounge #33041 and 3 coaches (#34078, #34504 and #34094).
Departure from PDX was on schedule.
The CS had sleepers set in both directions (both bedrooms first and roomettes first). As an example, my car had roomettes forward – but being in Bedroom E, I was still at the center – while the other cars had the bedrooms forward.
I had dinner in the PPC and being lightly selected for dinner, had no company. I had the Bay Scallops – which I recommend!
During the night, south of EUG, I saw SNOW on the ground! (On October 9!)
Differences I observed between the EB and CS:
• The EB use real plates and mugs, while the CS uses plastic plates and mugs
• The Wine and Cheese Tastings on the EB is free, while on the CS it costs $5 (for sleeping car passengers) or $10 (for coach passengers).
• On the EB, the Tastings were held in the Dining Car, but in the PPC on the CS.
• They were better attended on the EB. (I wonder why?)
• On the CS, they offered bottles of wine for sale, while on the EB I did not see them offer any for sale.
I was very surprised that the meal service in the PPC was so lightly patronized. The 1st night, I would guess there were no more than 10 people served!
Although we were almost 1 hour late departing PRB, we arrived into SLO only 20 minutes late! (We also met #14 in SLO.) However, by the time we reached SBA, we were back to 1 hour late. Sunset was seen over the Pacific beaches around SBA.
#11 arrived into LAX about an hour late.
These segments (BHM-WAS-CHI-PDX-LAX) if paid would have cost $3,630. But instead, I redeemed 30,000 AGR points for a 2 zone bedroom award! This computes to a ¢/point value for this portion alone of 12.1¢/point!
http://picasaweb.google.com/railfan51/BHMLAX#
NEXT: The Gathering and starting back!
BHM-WAS #20 Dp 2:44 PM
I was glad to depart BHM. I think it is the ugliest station on Amtrak! And there's nothing around it! (But I admit being downtown on a Sunday didn't help.) At least they plan to build a new combined station soon.
#20 consisted of 2 P42’s (#’s unknown), 1 baggage car (# unknown), 2 Viewliners (Tranquil View and Village View) heritage diner #8531, café/lounge (# unknown) and 4 coaches (#25039, #25076 with the other numbers unknown). Both Viewliners were placed with the bedrooms forward.
Being on an AGR award, I was in Bedroom A of #2011 (The Tranquil View), which was the 1st sleeper behind the baggage car. My SA, Claude, was very helpful.
For the 1st time on this trip, my GPS (Garmin i5) received a signal. I observed a speed of 73 MPH at one time!
Based on everyone’s recommendation, I had the Flat Iron Steak for dinner! I also recommend it! My dinner companions were a 30’ish couple from Columbus, GA on their way back to ATL from NOL and a 60’ish grandmother from NOL on her way to visit her grandchildren in ATL.
It was announced that #20 was on schedule, but that was wrong! Upon arrival into ALX, we were 20 minutes EARLY! Being a “D” stop, we could also depart early, thus arrival into WAS was also early!
More time to spend in the Club Acela!
(Due to time constraints, my traveling companion was to meet me in WAS for the trip west. His train from KIN was 30 minutes late.)
WAS-CHI #29 Dp 4:05 PM
#29 consisted of 2 P42's (#16 and #197), baggage car #1231, transitional sleeper #39006, 2 Superliner sleepers (#32100 and #32075), Diner #37016, Sightseer Lounge #32022 and 3 coaches (#31023, #34106 and #31028). Diner #37016 is one of the new Phase II CCC. Only the diner portion (2/3 of the car) is being used as a diner. The CL still carries a full (and staffed) Sightseer!
Our room was the Family Bedroom. When I made the reservations, the F room was the only bedroom left. In fact the F room was the only room left on the entire train! So I grabbed it!
Our SA, Keith was very helpful.I again had the Flat Iron Steak for dinner, and it was just as good! Our dinner companions were a couple, Phil and Carol (I wish I got their last name - if anyone can help me out - please post). Phil is a retired board member of Amtrak. B&O and NS. He served on the Amtrak board at the time of David Gunn. When Gunn left is when Phil also left.
The following morning, our breakfast companions were a couple from England on a 21 day sightseeing tour of the US. They were part of a group of 30, who were doing a majority of the travel by rail.
During the night, we did not lose any time, and arrival into CI was on time.
A visit to the CHI Metropolitan Lounge shows that it now has 1 computer terminal and also has free WiFi! (I found the terminal VERY slow – but then again I have a high speed cable connection.)
CHI-PDX #27 Dp 2:15 PM
After our 6 hour layover in CHI, where we visited the Sears Tower and Giordano’s (of course
), we boarded #27. This train operated as 3 “trains” to MSP (#7, #27 and #807), then as 2 “trains” (#7 and #27) to SPK and then as separate “trains” to SEA (#7) and PDX (#27). It consisted of 2 p42’s (#112 & #63), baggage car #1206, 3 sleepers (#39038, #32041 and #32017) Diner #38058 and 2 coaches (#34103 and #34111) as “train” #7, Sightseer Lounge #33024, 2 coaches (#31041 and #34138) and 1 sleeper (#32001) as #27 and 1 coach (#34084) as “train” #807. It ran as #7 first, #27 next and #807 last.Our bedroom was Bedroom A in #32001!
(But it was the last bedroom and last room that was available on the whole train!) But it made up for it (somewhat) because we were in the PDX section – which was at the back after MSP – and we had the “railfan’s window” only a few feet from our door! (#32001 ran roomettes first!)The thing I found interesting about the set-up was the SEA sleepers then the diner then the SEA coaches then the PDX lounge then the PDX coaches then the PDX sleeper! I’m not complaining that I had to walk thru 5 cars too get to the diner, but that if anyone had to place their name on a waiting list (such as for breakfast) they had to pass thru 2 coaches to get to the Lounge to wait! Either that or fiind an empty seat in 1 of the coaches. It would seem logical to put the Lounge behind the Diner!! (But “logic” and “Amtrak” don’t mix!
)Our dinner companions were 2 men from MSP who had a 1 day job in MKE and found it cheaper to take the EB! (Smart guys!)
A strange thing happened at dinner. The choices were the typical choices, but when the server got to the chicken offering, he informed us that the chicken was out! HUH? :huh: It was the 1st meal and the 1st seating out of CHI!
We passed #8/28 in Harlem, MT on Wednesday afternoon. (I didn’t see the other meeting.)
During the “Wine and Cheese Tasting” on the EB (WHICH IS STILL FREE! B) ), I won a bottle of wine by answering a trivia question: What is the eastern most state?
Answer: Alaska!
We were “flying” – I know that’s a bad word - since we had an unscheduled extended stop in Shelby, MT! We arrived into Shelby over 30 minutes EARLY! (I clocked our speed at times over 82 MPH!)
The Browning, MT station was in operation. (It is only in operation during the winter.) The East Glacier station was closed for the winter.
#7 and #27 arrived in SPK on time and each departed for their destinations on schedule, in the middle of the night (after 2 AM). #27 arrived in PDX on time.
PDX-LAX #11 Dp 2:25 PM
After a short layover, my traveling companion “forgot” to board #11 to LAX. (He has friends in PDX and stayed there until I returned to PDX a few days later.) I boarded #11 to get to the Gathering!
#11 consisted of 2 P42’s (#113 and #186), baggage car $1720, transitional sleeper #39022, 3 sleepers (#32033, #32066 & #32007), PPC #39972 (Napa Valley), Diner #38050, Sightseer Lounge #33041 and 3 coaches (#34078, #34504 and #34094).
Departure from PDX was on schedule.
The CS had sleepers set in both directions (both bedrooms first and roomettes first). As an example, my car had roomettes forward – but being in Bedroom E, I was still at the center – while the other cars had the bedrooms forward.
I had dinner in the PPC and being lightly selected for dinner, had no company. I had the Bay Scallops – which I recommend!
During the night, south of EUG, I saw SNOW on the ground! (On October 9!)
Differences I observed between the EB and CS:
• The EB use real plates and mugs, while the CS uses plastic plates and mugs
• The Wine and Cheese Tastings on the EB is free, while on the CS it costs $5 (for sleeping car passengers) or $10 (for coach passengers).
• On the EB, the Tastings were held in the Dining Car, but in the PPC on the CS.
• They were better attended on the EB. (I wonder why?)
• On the CS, they offered bottles of wine for sale, while on the EB I did not see them offer any for sale.
I was very surprised that the meal service in the PPC was so lightly patronized. The 1st night, I would guess there were no more than 10 people served!
Although we were almost 1 hour late departing PRB, we arrived into SLO only 20 minutes late! (We also met #14 in SLO.) However, by the time we reached SBA, we were back to 1 hour late. Sunset was seen over the Pacific beaches around SBA.
#11 arrived into LAX about an hour late.
These segments (BHM-WAS-CHI-PDX-LAX) if paid would have cost $3,630. But instead, I redeemed 30,000 AGR points for a 2 zone bedroom award! This computes to a ¢/point value for this portion alone of 12.1¢/point!
http://picasaweb.google.com/railfan51/BHMLAX#
NEXT: The Gathering and starting back!
