The administration has threatened to remove the subsidy that enables Amtrak to operate its long distance trains, including two of our favorites, the Zephyr (Oakland-Chicago), and the Coast Starlight (Seattle- Los Angeles). We've ridden both and have wonderful (and not so wonderful) memories of our many trips.
Top: The eastbound Zephyr arriving Glenwood Springs, CO. Bottom: The westbound Zephyr arriving Glenwood Springs.
Because my brother-in-law lives in Glenwood Springs, one of the many stops between Oakland and Chicago, it made sense for us to visit via train. No airline flies into Glenwood Springs, and trips to Denver (4 hours away) or Aspen (one hour) are often diverted because of the unpredictable weather over the Rockies. (Last year we thought we were flying into Aspen but were diverted to Denver. No flights until the morning, so we prowled the airport for nine hours) In theory, the Zephyr takes about twenty-two hours to make the trip, but theory and reality often don't mix. Passengers may be an hour or more late; if you're more than four hours late Amtrak provides a free meal. We've had several of those. Here now are some bits and pieces of memories from our trips on the Zephyr::
1. Santa Claus making a stop in the coach car on a Christmas overnight, wowing our three kids.
2. Waking up on a chilly winter morning, expecting to see Reno at 6 am. When we passed Battle Mountain, Nevada, hundreds of miles from Reno we asked the conductor, "Why?" He said, "When it's below 15 degrees, the train can't go any faster than 10 mph on the frozen steel tracks."
3. Heading west and coming to a dead stop in the middle of Nowhere, Nevada. "Folks," the voice on the PA announced, "The track is out ahead of us, but a crew is on its way to replace it."
4. In the shared tables of the dining car we sat with a farmer and his wife from Kansas. Returning from dropping off their daughter at Stanford, they expressed their amazement at things California. "My," the husband exclaimed, "There was a BMW on every corner!" Knowing that we were from California, he asked, "Do you have one?" Pausing for effect, I said, "No, we have two."
5. Bringing a bucket of KFC and a pitcher of gin and tonics for the long ride in the coach car to Colorado.
6. Looking out of the observation car as we crossed Donner Summit in a blizzard, seeing hundreds of cars stuck in the snow on Hwy #80, passing the gin and tonics around and feeling warm and grateful to be on the train.
7. The thrill of crossing Donner Summit in the winter, passing under ski lift lines, through snow tunnels by Donner Lake.
8. Leaving CO on the Fourth of July and seeing parades in Battle Mountain, Reno, and fireworks along the bay.
9. Sitting in the observation car as lightning strikes hit trees and set them aflame, only to find out later that these strikes set the infamous "Storm King Mountain" fire in 1994, which took the lives of fourteen firefighters.
10. A cold night under not enough blankets. I found an empty roomette. Ushered the wife and three kids onto beds that would have cost us the proverbial arm and a leg and slept warm and peacefully for hours.
11. We were sound asleep in the middle of the night a few miles west of Salt Lake City when Jadyne received a text from Jennifer, who posted first photographs of Isla, our third grandchild, born minutes earlier in England.
Waiting for trains is part of the experience.
The station in Sacramento.
Greg and Sean love trains. When they discovered that the Zephyr was towing several vintage cars back to Chicago they paid a premium to ride in one of the fully-restored private cars. Meals and an open bar were included for the three day ride across the US. We jumped on with them for the ninety minutes between Emeryville and Sacramento and were feted with both breakfast and a Bloody Mary.
Something wrong with that top photo. Not only do the cars go back to the 1940's but racial stereotypes do, too. In the middle are Jadyne's brother Greg and his wife Sean. The Bottom photo is the bar car. And below: The observation car.
When you purchase a sleeper your meals are included. Here's your chef: (the guy who puts your food in the microwave).
Only once did we take the Coast Starlight. Beginning in Seattle, the Coast Starlight travels the western seaboard, offering spectacular views of the Pacific and parts of California not visible from the highways. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? We boarded the Coast Starlight in Oakland and before we got to San Jose, one hour south, we lost one of the two engines. We waited four hours before we could resume our journey, only going half the speed. Other problems ensued. The train was delayed because freight trains have priority so we waited on sidings; the crew had to be replaced because they had been on duty too long; the engine had to be checked out for safety reasons because it had been running too long; the dining room ran out of food and the bar ran out of booze. Our 6 pm arrival time turned into 2 am the next morning, an eight hour delay. The length of time it took us to go from Oakland to LA was about the same as it would have taken someone riding a bicycle. And the views? When we hit the scenic parts of California it was pitch black. Alas, this is the state of affairs on Amtrak.
So what do you do on the train? Play cards, eat, drink, and read. This is one of my favorite photos of an Amtrak passenger, oblivious to the camera.
At the top I mentioned that some of the experiences were "not so wonderful." On January 1, 1988 I asked Jadyne, her brother Greg, and her sister Teeny to stand on the tracks as we boarded the train on our way back to Oakland. Teeny was killed in an avalanche nine days later, and this was the last time we ever saw her, now thirty years ago...
