I agree.The Southwest Chief is over hyped. On my trip I loved the historic market at Albuquerque, and our engineer was so thoughtful. He saw herds of animals peacefully grazing.He blew his whistle so they would scatter and run. It was an amazing site. Everyone on the train was grateful for the sightings. I loved that we stopped in Raton,CO where female Buffalo soldier Cathay Williams lived for a short period of time. There's a historic marker honoring her. The desert and seeing storms form in the distance is also beautiful. Plastic meal ware? They said they were ramping up service with real plates ,monogrammed silverware, fresh flowers and food quality better than before idiot appointed by 45 destroyed Amtrak and its dining car service. Why was this not on the Southwest Chief???
That guy who liked the old trains better? He has selective memory, and everything from our youth is somehow fresher and more fun. I also rode trains in the 1950s and 1960s, but true, never the Chief. My trips were up and down the Pacific coast. It was fun, but looking back I remember some not-so-fun parts too. The toilets emptied directly onto the tracks. Ugh! Southern Pacific, at least, appeared to consider passenger service as an inconvenience. On one trip south, through the southern San Joaquin Valley and over the Tehachapi Pass, there was no air conditioning or fans working, and the windows couldn’t be opened. There weren’t even shades or curtains to keep the hot desert sun out. There were no trains that went all the way from LA to Seattle, like now. First train was from LA, over the Cajon Pass, through Mojave, over the Tehachapi, through Bakersfield, and north to Oakland. The second train went from Oakland to Seattle. For passengers going from LA all the way to the Pacific NW, the train unloaded them in Martinez (either around 6pm or 6am, depending on whether you were taking the northbound Shasta Daylight or Cascades Night Train), and passengers had to wait for their train coming from Oakland. Thing is, Martinez did NOT have an open passenger station. There were no chairs or benches, no restrooms, no shade, no cover from rain, no water… people just had to stand around, surrounded by luggage, until the train showed up. I was once one of those waiting in the early morning hours before sun was even near the horizon, one light dimly lighting a concrete platform, standing for over an hour. Ah, the “good old days”.
Thanks I’m planning a trip with my viewers
I agree.The Southwest Chief is over hyped.
On my trip I loved the historic market at Albuquerque, and our engineer was so thoughtful. He saw herds of animals peacefully grazing.He blew his whistle so they would scatter and run. It was an amazing site. Everyone on the train was grateful for the sightings.
I loved that we stopped in Raton,CO where female Buffalo soldier Cathay Williams lived for a short period of time. There's a historic marker honoring her.
The desert and seeing storms form in the distance is also beautiful.
Plastic meal ware? They said they were ramping up service with real plates ,monogrammed silverware, fresh flowers and food quality better than before idiot appointed by 45 destroyed Amtrak and its dining car service.
Why was this not on the Southwest Chief???
That guy who liked the old trains better? He has selective memory, and everything from our youth is somehow fresher and more fun.
I also rode trains in the 1950s and 1960s, but true, never the Chief. My trips were up and down the Pacific coast. It was fun, but looking back I remember some not-so-fun parts too.
The toilets emptied directly onto the tracks. Ugh!
Southern Pacific, at least, appeared to consider passenger service as an inconvenience. On one trip south, through the southern San Joaquin Valley and over the Tehachapi Pass, there was no air conditioning or fans working, and the windows couldn’t be opened. There weren’t even shades or curtains to keep the hot desert sun out.
There were no trains that went all the way from LA to Seattle, like now. First train was from LA, over the Cajon Pass, through Mojave, over the Tehachapi, through Bakersfield, and north to Oakland. The second train went from Oakland to Seattle. For passengers going from LA all the way to the Pacific NW, the train unloaded them in Martinez (either around 6pm or 6am, depending on whether you were taking the northbound Shasta Daylight or Cascades Night Train), and passengers had to wait for their train coming from Oakland. Thing is, Martinez did NOT have an open passenger station. There were no chairs or benches, no restrooms, no shade, no cover from rain, no water… people just had to stand around, surrounded by luggage, until the train showed up. I was once one of those waiting in the early morning hours before sun was even near the horizon, one light dimly lighting a concrete platform, standing for over an hour. Ah, the “good old days”.