Tuesday, October 23, 2012





The bad:



Monday, October 15, 2012

Your Chamber, Sir.

Accommodations are pretty snug.  The sleeper cabin measures six feet long and three feet high.  It's not claustrophobic though, because if the upper bunk is kept folded, there is plenty of headroom.  It's definitely designed for the thinner generation of the 70's: I thought there was a nice (thoughtfully carpeted so you stuff wouldn't fall off) end table where I kept my wallet and stuff at night.  Turns out they were the steps to enable the more spry member of your party to vault himself into the top bunk.  

Everything is built solid.  Metal and glass abound.  Ergonomics are a buzzword of the future.  It's kept up well, but there are the usual problems of stuff that is getting old.  Speakers don't work and lights don't always come on.  It's not always a bad thing though.  There is supposed to be a closet in the room, but it is only a few inches wide and not very practical.  The closet is missing in many rooms, and that provides the perfect space for a suitcase or bag. Biggest problem quelle horreur! is that there is only one power outlet and..  and..  NO WI-FI.   You would think that's a problem considering the two-day aspect of the trip, but time moves pretty quickly.

Overall it's comfortable.  During the day.  At night, no.  The two seats in the cabin lay flat, and a mattress that is stored on the upper bunk is put on top.  The seats don't meet all the way, and the mattress is thin, so you will wake up with a backache right about the spot where there is no support.  What is a gentle rocking during the day becomes violent shaking at night.  Also expect a cherry "Rise and shine!" from your cabin attendant no later that 7:30 AM.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Pt.2: All Aboard!

The first thing I noticed about train travel is  a comparative lack of security.  There were no guards at the doors, my bags were never searched and no one ever asked me for ID.  If you had a valid ticket, you were good to go.   In fact, they didn't have any problem with non-passengers waiting in the lounge or coming out to the train with you.

Part of this reflects good sense.  What are you going to do with the train now, Mr. Terrorist?  Move it back and forth after the passengers have jumped out the windows and doors?  The other part is that they intentionally cultivate a "family atmosphere", in fact, the train to Dallas was 45 minutes late while they kicked off some kids for smoking weed.  Cause trouble, and they stop the train.  I took sensible precautions, but I never worried about leaving my stuff unattended at any time.

The bad about this casualness is that it's very confusing at times to figure out what is going on.  Sometimes they scan your ticket at the door, sometimes in your room, and sometimes in the lounge.  Train 20 to Chicago won't necessarily have a big "20" on the nose.  Like any other mode of mass transport, the speakers don't work very well; of course I was next to the lady (my grandmother did the exact same thing) who was loudly reading the ingredients off of a Chicken McNugget  sauce packet while I was straining to hear which door I was supposed to assemble at.  I just acted like one of those cleaning robots that trundles along until it hits a wall:  Asked the first Amtrak employee I saw which way to go and went that way until I saw another Amtrak employee.  I repeated the process until I was firmly in my seat.

Next: amenities.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Chris Starts Training






Next:  Train Inspection