A question on passenger service levels on UP, NP, and GN in the late '60's

[Anonymous]

I rode the City of Portland on many occasions during the 1960's, as well as the pool trains between Portland & Seattle. The service on the City of Portland was pretty decent, as I remember, and I ate breakfast on one occasion in the dome dining car as we ran along the Columbia River Gorge. An experience I will likely never forget! The last time I rode the COP, was towards the end of private operation, the pending amtrak takeover had already long since been announced, but the UP was still operating the train, and I remember the equipment as being in just really ragged condition, but the service was still decent. I was always a coach rider, and on that last trip the railroad had pretty much removed all the restrictions on access, and I walked the entire train, with the exception of the sleeping cars, they were ahead of the dining cars as I remember and I could not get into them. But I was allowed access to the lounges, and I remember sitting in the lounge car at the rear of the train and watching the sunlight turn into twilight as we rolled across Idaho headed for Portland the next morning. The passing of the private trains was a very sad part of history for me, as I rode the Zephyr east from McCook, NE in 1973, and saw firsthand the awful service , and overcrowded trains
that ruined Amtrak's reputation early on. I have not travelled by train since, but my Dad travels quite a bit, and says the service is very good nowadays. But I think the early experiences with Amtrak for a lot of the traveling public, ruined any chances Amtrak might have had for being successful, but that is a whole 'nother thread! And incidently, the service on those pool trains between Portland & Seattle was never very good as I remember. But the trip only cost about 10 bucks one way. Try to do that nowadays!

[Anonymous]

Rode the ATSF Calif Special DAL-LA in 1967, after TX Chief DAL-CHI in 1966. CS combined with a packed SFChief west of Clovis. Good loads, great service.