Amtrak Trip Report by Randell Hansen

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AMTRAK TRIP REPORT

From New York to LA is A Ok!

By Randell Hansen

For Friends of Amtrak

edited by Craig S. O'Connell

May, 1999

We left New York's Penn Station on the Silver Meteor at 7:05 pm on May 21st. For dinner I had the veggie platter which was good. I also enjoyed socializing with the other passengers. It was hard to get to sleep because of the way the seats on the amfleet cars are built. I only got six hours of sleep. During the middle of the night I was twisting and turning.

When daylight came, we were on schedule asthe train made its way through South Carolina and Georgia. We saw alot of green trees. We arrived atJacksonville on-time at 12:10 pm where we detrained. We had a 10 hour layover until we got on the Sunset

Limited for Los Angeles.

During our layover we took a bus from the station to downtown Jacksonville where we went to the Jacksonville Landing. After five hours of being in the killing heat, we went back to the station where it was cool. My friend stayed inside and read while I took pictures of passing by freight trains.

Around 10:pm, I saw the Sunset Limited back into the station. We boarded the train and went to our sleeper where the beds were already made. Then we got a good night's sleep.

The next morning I had raisin bran, hashbrowns, and orange juice for breakfast. The crew in the dining car were nice and courteous. During the morning I took advantage of the scenery of the gulf coast and the swamps from the Sightseer Lounge Car. For lunch we both had burgers and pepsi. Mmm, mmm!

We arrived into New Orleans about 1/2 hour late but we pulled out in time. The scenery from the top of the towering Huey Long bridge was staggering. We enjoyed seeing the greens and swamps of Louisiana. For dinner I had the BBQ ribs with mashed potatoes&green beans and pepsi. The ribs were the best I've ever had. After dinner we headed towards the parlour car, which was Mardi Grass themed. That's also where other first class passengers hung out. There they were either playing cards or socializing while having drinks and deserts. We had chocolate sundae's and pepsi. I asked the parlour car attendant, George, about how long has Amtrak had a parlour car on the Sunset Limited. He replied that the car is actually coming off and that it's only used during certain times of the year and when special events, such as conventions are around. He did say that he is trying to convince Amtrak that that car will make the money. My friend and I certainly believe so because we felt special and eager to ride first class again. During the night two movies were being shown, Mighty Joe Young and Star Trek:Insurrection. I watched most of Mighty Joe Young and Star Trek. After that I went to sleep.

The next morning when I woke up, we were going through the deserts of Texas. I also socialized with other passengers in the Sightseer Lounge Car who were on the Texas Eagle. It only meant that we had already pulled out of San Antonio and that the train was actually running on schedule. I enojoyed looking at the mountains, canyons, and even the Rio Grande river past Del Rio. For lunch we had the burger and pepsi again. We continued to roll along through Texas. We arrived into El Paso an hour late and pulled out at 5:15 pm. For dinner I had the prime rib with mashed potatoes and a pepsi. It was okay, but I've

had better.

The next moring when we woke up, the train was going through Southern California. Because of our arrival status, we had already passed the Salton Sea and Palm Springs where the wind-mills were nearby. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see those again. The train was only 40 minutes late into LA. I was impressed, compared to arriving in LA four hours late.

On Saturday May 29, we did an excursion to San Diego on the San Diegans. We left LA at 6:10 am. We had custom class where we got complimentary food. We only had coffee and danish treats. The train set consisted of an F59, a Superliner coach(for custom class), a sightseer lounge car, and those Amtrak California cars. The view of the Pacific Ocean was beautiful. We arrived into San Diego 15 minutes early. Later that day when we were getting ready to head back to LA, we had to wait two hours

until the train arrived at the station because of mechanical problems and track inspections. When I saw the train pull in, I realized that it was the same exact set we were on this morning. Even the lounge car attendant, Cory, was still working as hard as he was that morning. This time we rode in the Amtrak California cars. They were nicely illuminated, the restroom was bigger, and the car seemed roomier.

We left LA on the Southwest Chief on the night of May 31st. After leaving the station, we backed in to hook up about a dozen

freight cars. We also had a sleeper for this trip. Our sleeper was nicer in terms of color of the seats and carpeting and felt more comfortable. For dinner that night, I had the hot open turkey w/mashed potatoes&veggies and a pepsi. The food was delicious and the dining car crew were also excellent. Also the sunset over downtown LA was nice. During that night I watched the Waterboy in the Sightseer Lounge car where I hung out until midnight. I only got six hours of sleep because the ride was very bumpy.

When I woke up we were approaching New Mexico. Until Albuquerque a Navajo guide showed the many navajo lands, red mesa's, trees, lava beds, and even extinct volcanoes. We were making excellent time on this train too. For dinner I had steak, pepsi, and a salad with thousand island dressing. It was delicious. While we were going through the southeastern part of

Colorado, we kept starring at the sunset. Beautiful! We arrived at La Junta 1/2 hour early. I had time to call home to my parents and say how great everything was.

The next day we continued to roll along until we were held up in Iowa to wait for a Burlington Northern Freight train to pass and some barges to pass through the bridge. We arrived into the Chicago yard 1/2 hour late, and it took another 20 minutes to unhook the freight cars and back into the station. We had a two and a half hour layover in Union Station until we got on the Lake Shore limited.

We left a few minutes late and we also had to wait for the freight cars to be hooked up. For dinner I had salmon w/baked potato, veggie's and a pepsi. Yum! Again, I had trouble sleeping in these seats. I hung out in the lounge car the next day while I listened to music on my friend's cd player. While I went to get a pizza and soda, I was talking to the passenger I ate dinner with the night before and he said that this train seems like it's being run by a different company compared to the California Zephyr. The train was rolling along at top speed in upstate New York. We had a 20 minute layover in Albany while they changed the engines and separated the New York and the Boston bound cars. Eventually, we arrived right on-time in New York at 3:15 pm.