Stupid Amtrak Tricks

[Zazu]

This is my favorite subject ever on SGT! Where is Zazu? He loves trains! I bet he has taken a few trips on some, and not just the DL or WDW ones.;) Maybe Zazu has some stories to share about trains and train trups. Oh Zaaaaazuuuuuuu!!!! Regale us with stories of trains!Yeah, I could do that. Moved it here as it seemed the most likely forum.

:amtrak:

Travelling on the Chief one evening, I was headed downstairs to the lounge so I could read while SWMBO slept.

For those not familiar with Superliner equipment, there are two floors. The upper floor is full length and has doors to permit passage to adjacent cars. The lower floor is only the center of the car, so a stairwell is needed in each car. These stairways make two sharp corners -- they aren't a straight shot.

As I headed down the stairs, an elderly gentleman followed me. (Note: "Elderly" means 20 years older than I am at any given moment.) Something told me to walk slowly so he would be right behind me. I still don't know why, but I'm glad I did.

He didn't make it around the first corner.

Instead, he tripped and fell on top of me. I was halfway expecting it, so was able to catch him and let him down easy. Now he was laying in the middle third of the stairway, head lower, and showing no signs of any effort to get up.

Fortunately, I wasn't the only person on the train who was hearing voices in his head, as before I could decide what to do about this, the Onboard Chief of Services (head of Amtrak staff, not the Conductor) stuck his head around the corner to see what was going on.

"I'll grab his head, you grab his feet, and we'll put him in a booth down here," I suggested.

"Good idea, thanks!" he replied, and we did so, seating him (right side up) in one of the lounge booths downstairs.

At this point I got my drink and sat at a far table to watch the fun. It soon became evident that he was both drunk and married. The former because he had trouble sitting up and speaking at the same time; the latter because she showed up at the Chief's insistence and she was Not Happy.

She got even more Not Happy when the Chief put both of them and their luggage off at the next stop, which was in Nowhere, Kansas, about 1:30 am. She wasn't saying anything, but I could tell from the look on her face that as soon as he sobered up, he was going to need another drink!


Amtrak not only sells wine and beer on board, they also let you bring on your own supply of alcohol if you have a bedroom. They really don't care if you get roaring drunk as long as you're quiet, keep the booze in your room, and don't create Code Vs. Of course, fail one of these points, and you'll be standing on the next station's platform wondering what hit you.

And with "City Hall" in Washington, I suspect very few complaints get back to Amtrak staff.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Moved from another thread to this one!! I was posting about the southern route from L.A. to Orlando that I was trying to book, and was told that a major portion of the trip would be by bus, unless I went through Chicago, to Washingto, then down to Orlando. Was told the track was not working, or out.

The track was repaired promptly. Then after it was fixed, Congress gave CSX Transportation money to rebuild. Amtrak just never started running passenger trains again. It's a matter of no small dispute, presently working its way through the courts.

It makes no sense that they wouldn't run passenger trains over that route. I am sure a lot of people would pay a reasonable fare! I know from travelling by train in Alaska, that if you have the time, it is a great way to go! I sure as heck wouldn't mind the cost. The southern route would seem to be a better paying one also, as passegers going on vacation would want to have a direct route, rather than going through Chicago.

Good story on the drunk, I didn't know they would do that!! I can imigine them trying to find alternate transportation! I also make the assumption that if you are put off, you forfeit the fare?

[mechurchlady]

1998 september and I took the orlando to DC to chicago to LA route. The food was greate but screw any disable service. rude bitchy and caused me to fall. witch claimed it was my fault because of flip flops, hrmph. she came up behind me in between cars and distracted me. could not wait for me to cross over. I love amtrak but I do not like begging to have the bed made, for a promised newspaper, for disabled services, or the rude staff i met. most staff were very nice but got got the witch from the slums of hades.

someday maybe someone can transfer my 1998 footage to digital and online. where are they? my trip was fine until that fall in new mexico, it hurt and was very big bruises.

sorry if not too coherent but am ill from food and sorry if not cohesive.

hugs
laurie

[CMGUY89]

Uggh I was on a regional train between Philly and NYC and there was this woman literally SCREAMING into her cell phone. For some reason they didn't offer a quiet car on that train which I would have very quickly moved to. But knowing some SG on Amtrak they would sit in the quiet car and talk on their phone.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

The trips I have had on trains has always been very plesent, of course I don't count the D.C. Metro as a train, and that was for work anyway. The one I remember most was of course, the Alaska one, Nice thing about that was if there was an SG, you could just throw him or her off and let them deal with the wildlife!!! The conductor left the top door open so you could get a good photo shot without the window being in the way!! Of course, like any moving public transportation, when you are walking around you have to be carefull of your footing! DW learned the trick of carrying a cup of tea on a moving train!

I have taken the San Diego to L.A. a couple of times, and upgraded to the business section, that was nice as I could set and actually read the paper and have a cup of coffee, instead of fighting traffic!!

I have taken a few other train rides, but mostly they were just point to point tourist kinds of rides!!

[Belgarion42]

In October of last year, my wife & I took the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Chemult, OR and back. We really enjoyed the whole trip, and we're looking forward to it again.

But since this thread is Stupid Amtrak Tricks, I will share the one biggie. Ont he way back down, we were going through central California. A truck driver in a lettuce-picker had crossed the train tracks and was waiting to go through the intersection just on the other side (instead of waiting to cross until it was clear for him to proceed all the way through the intersection. This meant that the back 10 feet or so of the truck was in *our* way.

The conductor tried to stop and/or get him to clear the tracks (hit the horn, emergency brake, etc.) but it didn't work. We nailed the back portion of his truck. Destroyed both the back of the truck and the front engine. So we waited out in the middle of nowhere for 3 1/2 hours for the investigation to complete and for us to get a new conductor (for obvious reasons, ours was very shaken up and couldn't continue). Then we limped the rest of the way down to LA with one engine (and a couple brief power outages). We got home 4 hours late. (Going up we were only 12 minutes late and if it weren't for that moron--who has almost certainly lost his job as a result--probably would have been about the same coming back.)

The staff was good about trying to keep us as comfortable as possible. Not that it stopped some people (including one guy who thought he knew *everything* and felt compelled to share it with everyone in earshot) from complaining. But I was very impressed.

I have pictures of some of the damage, btw (to the truck, sadly none of the engine).

[ktulu]

My favorite train experience was riding the Musashino Line from Tokyo Station to Maihama station. It was even fun on the return trip aboard the Japanese "sardine train" :D:

Nothing like seeing familiar buildings coming into view in an unfamiliar place!

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Wow!, That guy is lucky he didn't loose more that just the rear of the truck!!
Every once in a while, you see a story of some moron SG that graduates to "Darwin Award" status by going around a lowered rail crossing an meeting up with a fast moving, thousands of tons of train to his piddley little vehicle!

WE were thinking of taking that train all the way up the coast, San diego to L.A., switch trains and continue up to Vancouver. Did you have get a berth?

[Notatourist]

If the US treated rail service 1/4 of the way it is treated in Japan we would have a real working rail system.

I love Japan Rail.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

If the US treated rail service 1/4 of the way it is treated in Japan we would have a real working rail system.

I love Japan Rail.

Very true, I was stationed there for two years in the 70's, the first thing they teach you is how to take the trains and read the kanji signs for the right train! (and how to order beer!!) They have the mass transit thing perfected!!

The only weird part is that I remember that they used to have school kids jumping in front of them if they messed up on a test! Not all the time but I remember it seemd to happen about once ever couple of weeks! They take grades very seriously!!

[Princess Susi]

In October of last year, my wife & I took the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Chemult, OR and back. We really enjoyed the whole trip, and we're looking forward to it again.

That is the one we want to take. I have heard that the Starlight is a beaut of a train and the meals are great. They also have a wine and cheese social in the afternoons? Yes? That is a trip I want to make and not to go anywhere, just to take the train up and back! How far up does that train go? I would like to take it to Tillamook and stay over there a night. Or having a brother in Sisters, we could take it up to where he could come pick us up. He could drive out to the coast and get us for a couple days and then back down on the train! We could even take the Zephyr to the Bay Area and get the Starlight and take the whole trip by train! Coooooool.....:)
sues

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... :D: I love the sound of a train in the morning and daytime, and at night!

[Cheshire Figment]

Several times we went from Washington to New York (and once to CT) by train. We never did steerage, but used either Business class, Metroliner, or even Acela. One thing that was very convenient. My office was directly across the street from the East side of Union Station. I would load the suitcases in the morning on the way to work. Pick up Judy at her office, drive back, drop her off (with the luggage) in front of Union Station, and then go back to my office building to park. Then meet her in the station. When we got back we would just cross the street, go into the building, downstairs to the garage, and then home.

Also, we took the AutoTrain several times. First time was steerage (bad choice). The we did two round trips with sleepers. Then we found the real smart thing to do was drive down and take the AutoTrain home. Of course living about 20 miles from the Lorton Station helped.

[mechurchlady]

best part of my trip was the food. I got meals with mine. Going into DC and my train was the last one heading west other than locals. I had to be on that train, fly west or stay over night in DC.

I was setting there checking the time as we got stuck for over 3 hours. I was supposed to get in before lunch time but I got the train west and a free lunch with all the trimmings. Now to find my videos and get them transfer.

[Big Wallaby]

Note on the Coast Starlight: You got onto it only 12 minutes late? Wow, what happened? Used to be the Northbound would get into Portland anywhere from 4 to 12 hours late. If you were really lucky you might get on it going south on time.

Now my favorite is the Cascades train. Talgo set, same as used by Eurostar. Very nice.

[Randy B]

Wow!, That guy is lucky he didn't loose more that just the rear of the truck!!
Every once in a while, you see a story of some moron SG that graduates to "Darwin Award" status by going around a lowered rail crossing an meeting up with a fast moving, thousands of tons of train to his piddley little vehicle!


Always remember, when two objects try to occupy the same space at the same time, the one with higher mass will win. Truck and train, train wins. Truck and car, truck wins. Car and motorcycle, Car wins. And continue all the way down to ECV vs child. It makes no difference which object has the right-of-way. That only comes into effect AFTER the dispute is settled and the vultures...err lawyers have flocked. ;)

(present company excluded from the "flock" of course)

Randy

[Theme Park Where]

I toured Europe in a musical show many years ago. One of my responsibilities was to travel ahead of the cast and prepare the venue. I was in Denmark with the cast when I got my "marching orders" to return to Belgium to set up our last Europe show. They had booked us on the train. We ended up in beautiful private berths, with breakfast served in the morning and our own personal valet. I suspect our cast manager didn't know what he was purchasing when he bought the tickets, but I certainly wasn't going to complain!

A few weeks earlier, on our holiday break, I had been visiting a friend and his family in Poland. We had to meet up with the cast in Copenhagen after the break. We ended up on a series of trains and ferries, in steerage, for about 2 days as we made our way across Poland. By the time we got to the coast, and our ferry, we were silly from exhaustion. There were by that time about five or six of us from the show, the others having caught up with us in their own travels to Copenhagen. We ended up in a seating berth with a young Polish couple. Being giddy, we began doing tongue twisters from our own languages (we had a couple of us from the US, the polish guy, a guy from Mexico, a young Swiss lady, and a young man from Japan in our group by that time). It became a contest of, "oh yeah, well can you say THIS?!" Eventually, the young couple got tired of us and stormed out of the berth.

Getting TO Poland from Germany at the beginning of the holiday break was an even bigger adventure. We got on the train at 10pm in Germany, and found that it was packed with Russian and Polish students returning home for Christmas. All of the seats were booked. My friend spoke Polish but I didn't. He managed to find a pair of seats where the confirmed passenger wasn't getting on until Berlin, a few stops later. He secured them for us. We reached Berlin in the middle of the night, and my friend went to see if the couple were getting on, forcing us to vacate the seats. He had been chatting with the others in the berth, and I think he was annoying the older lady sitting next to him. Another couple poked their heads into the berth and asked something in Polish. The woman answered and the lady sat in my friend's seat. When he came back, he told me in English that the couple hadn't shown up, said something in Polish to the older lady, then explained that he was giving up his seat to the other lady and would go stand in the aisle with the dozens of other Polish and Russian students who were standing shoulder to shoulder on the overcrowded train. That left me as the only non-language speaker in the berth when we crossed the border into Poland. Although communism had recently fallen in that region, it was still a tense situation going over the border, and the train fell silent when we stopped for the passport check. It was kind of scary not knowing what was going on. Apparently there were no problems, and we were on our way shortly. We arrived in Warsaw early morning and our train to my friend's town didn't leave until later in the evening, and being without any Polish money, we ended up sitting on the floor of the train station, in December, with all the Russian and Polish students, waiting for the train. We had packed a lunch, but had no dinner and didn't want to leave the station to find any. It was a long day! Luckily, the next train wasn't nearly as full, and we easily found seats. My friend chatted with our berthmates, while I stretched out on the opposite bench and fell asleep. I woke up to find him asleep on the other bench, and us alone in the berth. I began to worry about recognizing the name of his town in Polish if he didn't wake up before we got there! Fortunately, he did wake up in time to get me up, and we ended up at his parent's house at 2am!

I've done a few cross-country train trips in the US, but none as memorable as my Polish rendetion of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (um, without the planes or automobiles!)

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

DW has travelled all across europe, and keeps telling me that the trains here and there cannot be comparied. ( I think she is trying to tell me something..Wonder what it is!!)hehe

[Whazzup]

That was an interesting story, Theme Park Where. What an adventure that must have been! :)

[Princess Susi]

best part of my trip was the food. I got meals with mine. Going into DC and my train was the last one heading west other than locals. I had to be on that train, fly west or stay over night in DC.

I was setting there checking the time as we got stuck for over 3 hours. I was supposed to get in before lunch time but I got the train west and a free lunch with all the trimmings. Now to find my videos and get them transfer.

I agree the food was great, at least all the trips we have taken. I am going to cross my fingers that it stays the same.

That was a great story, Theme Park Where! What a true adventure! When we go to Europe to visit Ralph's side of the family in Hungary and Germany, I want to travel by train.
susi

[Belgarion42]

WE were thinking of taking that train all the way up the coast, San diego to L.A., switch trains and continue up to Vancouver. Did you have get a berth?

We did. It was the "Superliner Roomette", which is pretty small when the bunk is folded down, but there's plenty of room for two people otherwise. We got to see in the "Family Bedroom" which is nice and considerably larger, but more than we could afford.


That is the one we want to take. I have heard that the Starlight is a beaut of a train and the meals are great. They also have a wine and cheese social in the afternoons? Yes? That is a trip I want to make and not to go anywhere, just to take the train up and back! How far up does that train go? I would like to take it to Tillamook and stay over there a night. Or having a brother in Sisters, we could take it up to where he could come pick us up. He could drive out to the coast and get us for a couple days and then back down on the train! We could even take the Zephyr to the Bay Area and get the Starlight and take the whole trip by train! Coooooool.....:)


The meals are very good. One of the best parts of having a room (aside from privacy and a reasonably comfortable place to sleep) is that you can order anything off the menu for each meal (only one entree, this isn't a cruise) no matter the cost and it's included in the price of the room, so you don't pay extra! I had an $18 dinner one night just because I could. :)

The train goes all the way up to Seattle. (You can see more info about it here: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321841&ssid=137). If you have a brother in Sisters (for some reason that strikes me funny) you can take it to Chemult. That's about an hour and 45 minutes south of Sisters (87 miles). The next stop after Chemult is Eugene, but that's a half an hour farther away. (You can take bus service from Chemult to someplace closer, but if he's willing to pick you up that would be easier and more convenient for you.)



Note on the Coast Starlight: You got onto it only 12 minutes late? Wow, what happened? Used to be the Northbound would get into Portland anywhere from 4 to 12 hours late. If you were really lucky you might get on it going south on time.

We were almost stunned with the promptness (it's been nicknamed the "Coast Starlate" for a reason). Apparently, service has been improving over the last 2 or 3 years. It was late coming in going south by almost an hour, but we'd made up nearly all of that time pre-collision.


One note for anyone considering this trip: the train is nice and comfortable, the food is good, and the people were (by and large) very polite. However, the train is showing it's age, so don't expect pristine.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

One note for anyone considering this trip: the train is nice and comfortable, the food is good, and the people were (by and large) very polite. However, the train is showing it's age, so don't expect pristine.

Thats nice to know. Didn't realize that it had a reputation for being late. I was looking at the various on line schedules that they have, and was trying to get one that connect to Vancover, so we could get on the Trans Canadian rail for a trip across Canada, but found out that it stops, and you have to take a buss across the border into Canada. (darn!!)

[felinefan]

You mean they fixed the southern route from L.A. to Orlando via New Orleans, yet on the Amtrak site it still says the trackage between N.O. and Orlando is out from Katrina???? What gives?

As for the lettuce truck, yeah, chances are that jerk lost his job. For those of you who are interested, there's a website for Operation Lifesaver, www.oli.org , and frankly I think if they have all these PSAs, they should show them more--I haven't seen any train safety PSAs on T.V. in ages. People have to be reminded about safety. I thought it was interesting on the site that they have the stats on deaths, incidents (not "accidents',) trespassing deaths, etc. broken down by state, that except in two areas, Texas has the highest incidence of train vs. vehicle/pedestrian incidents. California ranks third in all but two; on one, it ranks second, the other first.

I agree, America's train system needs work, and they have to quit whining about how much it's going to cost. Everything costs money, peeps, get over it! I'm sure that those who protest the cost are afraid it'll mean less in their pockets from the porkbarrel.

[Big Wallaby]

One note for anyone considering this trip: the train is nice and comfortable, the food is good, and the people were (by and large) very polite. However, the train is showing it's age, so don't expect pristine.When I took the Coast Starlight, I would always ditch my seat for the Sightseeing car, where I would spend the entire trip, unless I went to the back window to view the tracks appearing behind us.

[Rob562]

Always remember, when two objects try to occupy the same space at the same time, the one with higher mass will win. Truck and train, train wins. Truck and car, truck wins. Car and motorcycle, Car wins. And continue all the way down to ECV vs child. It makes no difference which object has the right-of-way. That only comes into effect AFTER the dispute is settled and the vultures...err lawyers have flocked. ;)

I seem to recall reading an Irma Bombeck book about her travels ("When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home") that pretty much described the traffic laws in some country as pretty much following those laws of physics. If a car and a bicycle are coming opposite each other on a one-lane road, the bicycle has to disappear off the road, or be run down.

-Rob

[Randy B]

I seem to recall reading an Irma Bombeck book about her travels ("When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home") that pretty much described the traffic laws in some country as pretty much following those laws of physics. If a car and a bicycle are coming opposite each other on a one-lane road, the bicycle has to disappear off the road, or be run down.

-Rob

I wish someone would teach the local college students around here the rules of physics. It's amazing how many of them believe that if they step into the road right infront of a moving vehicle the vehicle will magically stop before touching them. And with the prevalence of ipods and cell phones they are coming into conflict with larger and larger vehicles. A recent dispute for space time location between a pedestrian and a bus has been a mess of stupidity. The pedestrian was crossing the street in a no-crossing area, with music plugged into ears at a high volume, without looking, and when the bus couldn't stop in time the driver was the one obviously at fault. :eek: So now they are instituting all kinds of rules and regulations for busses so that inattentive and oblivious pedestrians won't be in danger from those mean old busses. Of course one solution that was quickly rejected was the elimination of busses in the core campus area. Those same oblivious students can not be bothered to walk more than 10 feet from a building to catch a bus to get the 4 blocks to their dorm or next class. :rolleyes:

Randy

[hobie16]

I wish someone would teach the local college students around here the rules of physics. It's amazing how many of them believe that if they step into the road right in front of a moving vehicle the vehicle will magically stop before touching them.
Same thing on Front Street in Lahaina. The tourists seem to think the other tourists will slam to a stop when they stop the curb in the middle of the block. And, as the evening wears on, the drivers and the jay walkers are probably both drunk. Luckily for both sides, the traffic is so bad the vehicles aren't going faster than 10 mph.