On the whole, I found my last trip good, despite the high winds in Nebraska when coming home (I won’t repeat most, if any, of what I have already posted on that matter).
As usual, I had a bedroom each night (I do not plan to ever again spend a night in a coach; the last time for that was in 1989 when my wife and I went from Memphis to St. Louis–after the sleeper had been discontinued on that route). I have, of course, become quite accustomed to the Superliner bedrooms, and I have some acquaintance with Viewliner bedrooms (I have even spent two nights in a room H in Viewliners, and they have a little more floor space than A or B).
From Salt Lake City to Chicago was good, leaving here an estimated few minutes late (I was already in my berth), and arriving almost half an hour early. Meals in the diner were as I expected–I could wish for more variety, but....
Timekeeping varied.; a few minutes late when arriving in Washington from Chicago; 25 minutes late leaving Charlottesville for Meridian; 27 minutes late arriving in Atlanta (54 minutes late in Gainesville); 41 minutes late arriving in Birmingham; and 1:49 late arriving in Meridian (we we held above Tuscaloosa to meet #20–and when we reached East Tuscaloosa, we had to wait until a car that was sitting on the track was removed); so we were 1:49 late in reaching Meridian. Along the way from Atlanta, we met three run-throughs with UP power on the point.
Going back to Washington, we were delayed here and there–leaving Meridian 55 minutes late, even though a sign in the station about train time indicated that #20 was on time. We kept losing time from there on until I went to sleep (before we reached Atlanta), leaving Birmingham 1:49 late, and Anniston 1:40 late. I woke up a little below Danville, which we left 1:44 late, and arrived in Alexandria 1:13 late (some people who apparently wanted to take the train from Roanoke in Charlottesville thought we were that train, for they were right at #20 when it stopped there).
I went to Wilmington and back from Washington, and the timekeeping was good.
We did well out of Washington until I went to sleep (I just can’t run the train all night ), and we were an hour late in Toledo, and just could not make it up.
Our exit from Chicago was good, and our progress held until after I went to sleep after leaving Ottumwa–another passenger remarked that we going to go through Radar O’Reilly’s home town.
When I woke up about 5:30 Saturday morning, I had no idea as to where we were, until the conductor remarked that we were near Parks, Nebraska, which is about 200 miles east of Denver.
The rest the time-keeping is ancient history which has already reported.
On the way into Chicago Friday, I saw a coal train with some High Top cars–and one marked “for coke loading only.”
Going down to Meridian, I rode in New River (yes, I slept in a river Sunday night of last week); in 1968, I slept from Minneapolis to Milwaukee in a Milwaukee River (Zumbro River?), so now I have slept in two rivers (and stayed dry). The other sleeper was an older Viewliner, which needed some attention here and there. In a Viewliner accessible room, there is enough floor space for my walker, but not so in a bedroom; it was put up over the shower module (it just fit).
I do not really like the newer light switches in the bedrooms (Super and View); they do not project from the wall, and I had to feel around until my finger passed over one. The room light switch does have a glow so it can be found readily. Going north from Meridian, I was in the older car–and I noticed that the shower module comes all the way to the floor, and when the lower berth is ready for occupying, there is no toe room under the module as there is in Superliners. However, the berths are just as comfortable (though you now unwrap and unfold your blanket(s), guessing which way is the long way. Oh, yes, I noticed last fall that Amtrak had obtained newer, plumper pillows. There is a spigot labeled “ice water”–and it was dry.
I did not see any of the distinctly Southern mileposts or whistle posts–they have been replaced by a strip with the miles on it, and a small plate with a “W” on it. (On one trip recently, I saw N&W style whistle posts on the former Southern.
I counted 42 seats in the new diner.
On two or three trips when the UP was rebuilding the SP and thus delaying #6, I watched our ascent of the Gillully Loops below Provo. This past Sunday, I watched our descent, as we came down in broad daylight Sunday morning.
Johnny
How many days did the entire trip take?
MidlandMike How many days did the entire trip take?
Johnny- It looks like you've ridden a lot of Amtrak trains over the years. What would you say are the biggest changes you have seen in your travels?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I would say that the biggest change has been in passenger equipment--Superliners, Viewliners, Acela and other NE corridor cars, and various other day trip trains.
Also, ticketing has changed greatly. When Amtrak came into operation, it relied on the tariff system that had been in effect for many years, and I took advantage of the then-existing tariff for Chicago-California travel (you could buy a Chicago-San Francisco round trip ticket and go directly and back or take a great circle tour via the AT&SF, SP, and Great Northern--plus a Los Angeles-San Diego and back side trip.
Also, unless you needed reserved seating or sleeping, you could buy a ticket and use it on any train before it expired. Now, you need to buy a ticket for a specific day and time for most trains.
There was much variety in diner fare--and now there is little change from train to train. Indeed, after a day's meals on one train, you hardly need to look at the menu found on the next train. I remember my meals between New Orleans and Los Angeles in 1980--the last train with a full diner I rode before the horrible change that came either the next year or the year after. Thankfully, the diner situation has improved since the spring of 1982. I had to pay when served, and the menu was the same in diners on all trains with diners.
I have met with very few unsatisfacory on-board service crews in recent years; perhaps there is better training now--though last fall, as I was coming into Chicago the attendant did not ask if I wanted the two bags I had in my room taken down, but another passenger offered to carry one down for me (I can mange only one now). It is only in the last two years that I have really needed help, so I cannot speak of how it was 46 1/2 years ago.
Thanks Johnny.
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