The Great Train Trip

It’s been referred to with numerous titles, depending on who it is you are talking to: Thelma & Louise on Rails, Amtrak will Never be the Same Trip, Seattle Here We Come, Let it Snow Excursion. “The Great Train Trip” seems to be how the travelers refer to it most of the time.

It began when, in September, 1994, I idly thought that I would like to see snow that winter, and didn’t want to drive in it or fly in it. Then a newspaper advertisement announced an Amtrak special that was too good to pass up. I checked with my two traveling buddies to see if they could go. Lilah was, so the plotting began.

Lilah can be credited with thrashing out a schedule, with the help of a travel agency, that maximized traveling time, and a few days in Seattle, where they have a mutual friend, Hal.

Travel began February 2 from Austin to Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited in economy bedroom sleeping compartments. It’s a wonder we didn’t get thrown off the train before we hit El Paso! Overheard humming “Chattanooga Choo Choo” as we boarded at Austin, the sleeping car attendant chimed in with all the words! “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound,” was another appropriate song as we were quite often checking schdules, time zones, and lateness of the train, to determine where we were. Departure at 11:30 p.m. was a mere 2 and a half hours late;  most of West Texas slipped by under cover of darkness.

Thursday dawned near Del Rio, Texas. San Antonio newspaper had been slipped under our compartment door, and one could trudge in your jammies to the coffee and juice bar at one end of our car.

A travel game, based on one for children(!), was adapted to keep the travelers alert to objects/scenery outside the train, using Carol’s imagination of what they would see on the trip. 160 items were paired with a line, so a check could be made when that particular thing was sighted. From cactus and roadrunners, beach and surfer, farm animals and silos, to snowstorm, snowplow and ice, interesting things unfolded before their eyes as the miles clickety-clicked under the train wheels.

At night, the car attendant would make down the beds in the sleeping compartments whenever you were ready for it, and made them up into daytime seating while you were at breakfast the next morning. Toilets and showers were located on the lower level of sleeping car, so they were very handy.

Meals in the dining car were included with the sleeping compartments. Travelers were seated to fill tables, so visiting and getting acquainted with new people was part of the charm. Passengers quickly adapted to the “siding technique” of traversing busy, narrow aisles!

We did get in trouble with one of the crew we dubbed “The Slipper Police” when we were caught going from car to car with only our Isotoner slippers on. Seems hard soled shoes were required, to ensure the sliding parts of the area between trains didn’t catch one’s soft slippers.

We crossed into New Mexico about Happy Hour. Two time zones had been crossed so evening came quickly. The Snack Bar in the lounge car had sandwiches, pizza, yogurt, danish rolls, etc., along with all sorts of drinks. One volatile alcoholic concoction was called “Censored on the Beach.” Good thing we weren’t driving.

Continental breakfast was served to bedrooms Friday morning, as the Dining Car did not have time to open before arrival at Los Angeles. Chilly rain was falling at the beautiful art deco station. Boarded the Coast Starlight, coach seating, and headed north. Beautiful coastal scenery for a good part of the day, followed by the rolling hills and valleys of Northern California.

Travelers opened their eyes Saturday to a spectacular snowscape crowned by a crescent moon, near the Oregon line. Breathtaking scenery all day; tunnels, mountains, valleys, snow! A covered bridge in Oregon was a delightful sight. Had to wait for drawbridge to lower in Portland, Oregon. Arrived in Seattle only 30 minutes late, friend Hal zooming up on his cart as we stepped from the train.

Next three and a half days were spent visiting Hal, sightseeing Seattle area, visiting Pike Place market, broiling fresh salmon, stopping at espresso stands every day for afternoon coffee fix, and making up to Hal’s two cats. After a rare snowfall, the sun came out, and an even more rare event occurred--it was clear enough to see Mt. Ranier. It is often obscured by clouds, even if it’s clear in Renton/Seattle.

Hal treated us to a day trip up to Stevens Pass, a ski resort with very frigid temperatures and ice and snow crunching underfoot. It was a vivid contrast with the relatively moderate weather in Seattle.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9, the trip hit the rails again at 4 p.m. on the Empire Builder, economy bedroom once more. Climbed through Eastern Washington; scrap of Idaho, and Western Montana mountains in what appeared to be a downright blizzard, from what we could see in the darkness, as lights from the train illuminated a bit of the scenery.

Thursday arrived near Whitefish, Montana, with frozen snowy rivers, snow-covered trees and landscape. “Great Falls Tribune” was delivered by our car steward Erwin. Only a few steps to fresh-brewed coffee and orange juice, nearly the best part of the trip. Looking out the window at folks waiting at the station to pick up passengers was startling--they were bundled up so much they resembled rotund penguins.

First of several frozen water and sewer line episodes occurred around Cut Bank, Montana. When this happened, the train would stop, and crews would crawl under the train and thaw out the lines with heat blowers. The process would take 2 to 2 and a half hours each time. Travelers only had to sit back, warm and comfy, and the snack bar was always open. If meals were delayed, they were made available as soon as possible, no matter how late the hour.

Very cold across the top of the nation; lots of snowed-in little towns with high banks of snow along streets, driveways, and walks. Ice-covered rivers, lakes, sometimes the only indication it was a waterway was navigational markers sticking up through the ice and snow. Our car steward was a font of information on all things about the train, weather, and scenery, always ready to answer our queries. He reported the strange looking structures dotting a large lake were ice-fishing cabins.

St. Paul, Minnesota was approaching by Friday morning breakfast--sewer lines frozen again. Car attendant reported minus 20 degrees. “USA Today” was the newspaper of the day. A bald eagle was spotted flying alongside the train near Red Wing, Minnesota.

Arriving in Chicago two hours late, we were nervous about missing our connection on the Texas Eagle, but were reassured that late trains were a constant, and connecting trains would wait. What a concept! Trudging to the station, we had time to notice the condition of the outside of the train we had just arrived on--dirty snow and ice encrusted, dirt and debris all over, with icicles hanging everywhere! It certainly looked like it had had a rough road across the frozen north.

We had not even cleared Chicago on the Texas Eagle when equipment problems stalled us out. We were in coach seating this leg of the trip (just one night) and were in the last car on the train. Turned out the problem was with the car just in front of us. Only solution? They had to get rid of that car. How to do that? They moved everyone from that car to other cars for the time being; unhooked from our car, and chugged away to a place where they could leave it, and come back for us.

Think about this for a bit. From what we could see out the windows, we were in a distinctly bad-looking part of Chicago. One train car, alone. I queried our car attendant: “This car DOES lock securely?” He assured us it did, and that he was in radio contact with the rest of our train, and could call authorities if we had any trouble. It was a tense couple of hours before we saw our train chug-chugging backwards toward us, to hook up again and get on our way.

We awoke Saturday in a foggy national forest near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Train really rocked and rolled all day as they tried to make up time. Arrived very late at Austin, 2:30 a.m., Sunday morning. Friends were nevertheless waiting to whisk we travelers home. Lilah had more travel Sunday, flying on home to Reedville, Virginia..

Consensus of opinion was that it IS the way to see the country--just don’t expect to get anywhere very fast! Several delightful observations I had not expected--since we were not following highways for the most part, we saw scenery we would not otherwise see; and there was not the roadside trash common along highways. No worrying about flat tires, traffic, stress of negotiating city freeways, or strain of driving long hours. One’s entire attention could be focused on the passing scenery. I hope to take more excursions on Amtrak.