Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Empire Builder

Miles and Miles of Miles and Miles...


****Again, a special thanks to Irene Rabinowitz for posting this to our blog while we continue or journey sans information superhighway.  (Note from Irene:  If you want to check out my blog from my recent trip to Israel, go to www.irenerab.blogspot.com/ )

Information on the Empire Builder...



Amtrak web site pages on the Empire builder: Amtrak's Empire Builder be sure and check the Route guide and latest schedule PDF's also located on this page.

Here is a little history and details about the train itself.(courtesy of Wikpedia)

The original Empire Builder was inaugurated by the Great Northern on June 11, 1929. The train was named in honor of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, who reorganized several failing railroads into the Great Northern Railway and extended the line to the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century (Hill's nickname was "The Empire Builder"). The service was altered to carry additional passengers during World War II. After the war, new streamlined, diesel-powered trains were placed into service. This postwar service began on February 23, 1947. The train was fully re-equipped again in 1951.
The schedule of the route was optimized to allow riders views of the passing Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountain landscapes of Glacier National Park, a park that was established through the decisive lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. After it was re-equipped in the 1950s passengers viewed the route through its three dome coaches and one full-length "Great Dome" car for first class passengers.
Since its inception service has run from Chicago to Spokane, and split into Seattle and Portland sections (except during the Amtrak era between 1971 and 1981, when there was no Portland section). Prior to 1971, the Chicago to St. Paul leg of the train's route was operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad via its mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin.The Spokane-Portland section of the train was historically operated by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.
After 1971 Amtrak assumed operation of the train and shifted the Chicago to St. Paul leg to the Milwaukee Road mainline route through Milwaukee.
In fiscal year 2007, the Empire Builder carried over a half million passengers, maintaining its status as the most popular long-distance train in Amtrak's national system. Through the first six months of fiscal year 2008, the train is nearly 9 percent ahead of its ridership from the previous year.

The present-day Empire Builder uses Amtrak's double-deck Superliner equipment. The Empire Builder was the first train to receive this equipment in 1979. In Summer, 2005 the train was "re-launched" with newly-refurbished equipment. A typical 2005 train would consist of (destination noted after the Spokane split):
  • Two GE P42 "Genesis" Locomotives
  • Baggage car (Seattle)
  • Transitional Crew Sleeper (Seattle)
  • Sleeper (Seattle)
  • Sleeper (Seattle)
  • Diner (Seattle)
  • Coach (Seattle)
  • Coach (Seattle)
  • Sightseer Lounge/CafĂ© (Portland)
  • Coach/Baggage (Portland)
  • Coach (Portland)
  • Sleeper (Portland)
  • Coach (Chicago - St Paul) - This car is train number 807/808.
Out of two engines, one of the P42's takes the first 7 coaches to Seattle. The other P42 engine takes the last four cars to Portland. The last coach of the train (train 807/808) travels 418 miles between Chicago & St. Paul, it is kept at a siding in St. Paul overnight until the eastbound train comes in the morning. Train 807/808 is then reattached, and heads back to Chicago.
This is one of the last two Amtrak routes to feature dining car food that is actually prepared in the kitchen on the lower level of the dining car (The other being Auto Train). Food on all other Amtrak routes is prepared prior to departure and is heated in convection ovens onboard.

If you'd really like to know more about the Empire Builder's History check out these two links:
http://www.gngoat.org/stories_reports.htm

http://www.gnrhs.org/75th_anniversary.htm



Arrived in Chicago Tuesday, December 29, 9:55am only 30 minutes late. Bob's sister, Barbara, and her husband, Buddy, met us on the platform at Union Station. After 'Hi's', hugs and handshakes, we started heading toward the baggage claim area when Bob handed his sister a container of  his homemade hermit cookies explaining he thought they would enjoy the 'Real McCoy' hermit cookies using the same recipe he had given Barbara and his other sister, Maureen during their last visit in October. There are Sheepish looks from Barbara and Buddy as they both started laughing. A little concerned, Bob Asked, “What's so funny?” Barb then handed Bob a 'bag of goodies' containing, you guessed it, hermit cookies!!! Not only was their intuitions in sync, but their thoughtfulness for each other was refreshing to see. Barb and Bud also stuffed the bag with such necessities as various chocolate delights, a compact first aid kit, laundry detergent and gum. You would have thought the Red Cross was visiting the troops... Everything we needed but a pair of nylons! What an unexpected, thoughtful and much appreciated treat! So, with hermit cookies, chocolate treats and travel necessities in tow, we headed over to retrieve our checked baggage and find a locker to store everything in while we enjoyed lunch. At $4 an hour the locker was tough to swallow but, a lot more convenient than trying to lug our four rolling bags around Chicago for 4 hours.



We enjoyed a very fun lunch with Barbara, Buddy and their son, Eric in the Sears Tower where Eric works. We did a little last minute shopping at Walgreens to buy Gary a shaver, since, as many of you will recall, he left his in Provincetown and while there we took the time to get our H1N1 shots since they won't be available to us on the Outer Cape until after we return.

Christmas at the Sears Tower (now named the Willis Tower)


Returning to Union Station with an hour to spare. We recovered our baggage, swapped out a change of clothes and re-checked our bags at Amtrak baggage for the next leg of our trip. Then, we made our way to the Amtrak First Class Lounge. It was standing room only and the WiFi was broken. Grrrr, but they did have a dial-up terminal if we'd like to sign-up. Politely we said, “No thanks... life is just too short for that!” with no place to sit, we orbited for about 10 minutes until our train was called.

Redcaps pointed us to the Empire Builder on track 10. With three engines and thirteen cars, each a double-deck 'Superliner', The train was enormous stretching into the distance and out of site. “We are in carriage 731, compartment A” as each Car Attendant pointed us toward the front of the train, and says, “Your car is up near the engines ...” which appeared to be just over the horizon. Trekking for what seemed days we finally reach car 731. No car attendant around, we climbed aboard and noted the hotel-like signage identifying numbered rooms below and lettered rooms above. We double checked our ticket and noted we were in a lettered room, compartment A. Ascending the spiral steps (Bob is mortified there isn't an elevator. I make a mental note that he may be expressing unrealistic expectations... Next, he'll be complaining the en-suite Jacuzzi is too small...).Winding our way down the hall, we find Compartment 'A', Our newest home.

The Empire builder at a rest stop in Williston Montana.


Wow! What a difference between this 'Standard Bedroom' and the 'Roomette' we occupied on the Lake Shore Limited. You could fit two of those into this compartment. Here the upper berth lowers from the ceiling and stretches 2/3rd of the way across the entire car, reminiscent of compartments popular on European trains. The lower berth opens to the size of a double bed and along the opposite wall there is a combination shower and toilet stall. The cabin-side of that space is fitted with a reasonably sized sink and upper and lower cabinets. Completing the room is an alcove with a single seat adjacent to the wall-sized picture window so you can sit and read, work on your Blog or gaze at the passing scenery.

Our accommodation on the Empire builder: Empire Builder Bedroom


Settling into our new space we meet our super pleasant, and attentive car attendant, Sally, who welcomes us and shows us how all the gadgets in the compartment work excusing herself, she quickly returns with two bottles of Champagne. She certainly knows how to get our attention!

2:55pm, the “All Aboard” sounds and we hear the accompanying two blasts on the horn from the engineer signaling we are on our way. We still needed time to settle in and as we headed past Milwaukee, the dining car attendant stopped by our compartment to take our reservation for a 6:45 dinner. With just enough time for a nap we plug in the MP3 players and both quickly nodded off.

Shaken by the announcement, “Last call for compartment 'A' 6:45 reservation for dinner for 2”, we jump into our clothes and sachet down the hall with dispatch...

We were seated at a booth with two college kids. He was a computer software tester and she was
a Sophmore attending Minnesota Collage of Art. It had been quite some time since Bob and I had to strain to make an effort to hold a conversation with table guests but it was abundantly clear these two had other things on their mind. Look Bob a squirrel! We hope they have a very happy life together... Nonetheless, on the numerous occasions when we found ourselves staring out of the dining car window because of the many lulls in the conversation, we discovered Minnesota at night is beautiful with clear, dark skies against snow covered fields.

After dinner we retired to our compartment and enjoyed the views as La Crosse, Winona, and Red Wing glided by. There was a long layover in Minneapolis/St Paul while equipment was switched and supplies loaded. We ogled at the clean, bright and crystal clear prosperity of the Twin Cities until we climbed into our berths and fell fast asleep. In our dreams we could imagine Minnesota by night and when we awoke in the morning we would be further along on our journey and a new day awaiting us for more great experiences. Ahead lay stunning, exciting, and interesting North Dakota!


We awakened to, “Last call for breakfast, last call”. Bob decides to sleep in and I headed for the dining car and had a decent breakfast of home-made corned beef and hash, biscuits, great coffee and interesting conversation with a fellow Lake Shore Limited Survivor. “Were you in the car that had no heat” he asked? I didn't have the heart to tell him we were in a compartment. “It was so cold I had to sleep in that cafe car that was never open”, I was freezing in that coach”. On our way to breakfast Tuesday morning I recalled seeing him sprawled over one of the tables in the mystery cafe car. So I cheerfully confided, “No we had plenty of heat, too much heat in fact, but our toilet was broken.”

“Broken?” he asked,”When you started or during the trip?”


“No”, I confided, “After we had used it...” His face screwed into an odorous contortion.


Nodding our heads in acknowledgment, convinced we had each suffered equally grievous Amtrak Calamities, we were now com padres, bosom strangers on a train forever joined by dissimilar events from a common foe. Over another cup of coffee we continued our conversation as to how The Lake Shore Limited had not fared well over the last few administrations but, like two bums who had just found a twenty dollar bill laying in the street, we agreed life was significantly better today. That is also one of the interesting things about riding the trains, there is always someone around to share a story, a calamity or an adventure. In fact, you never REALLY want a trip to go perfectly otherwise there is no glue to hold together a conversation with a fellow traveler. I mean, it would not have worked with our Lake Shore Limited comrade to have confided we had plenty of heat, perfect toilet, lights were working fine, slept great and the food was yummy. We would have had class warfare right then and there over the corned beef! When traveling it is calamity which makes us all truly equal. Adversity is the democracy of adventure.


This must be North Dakota!?

The view of North Dakota...well, Words fail... It starts out flat, gets flatter then, it gets really flat, does that for a while longer, then, there is about 15 minutes of the 'Badlands' after that the terrain spends a couple of hours being flat again. Finally, just as you thought you saw a hill in the distance, you realize it was just the middle of the highway. People from the Dakota's, especially the Native Americans, are very proud of their states. For them what we see as stark and featureless holds a great heritage and beauty.

North Dakota from the passing window: 

Fortunately, there is Montana to break the monotony . You've seen those lovely ads of the 'Big Sky State' with gorgeous mountains in the background? The train doesn't get to that portion until around 10:00... at night! Until then, Montana makes North Dakota look like the Smoky Mountains! Power lines come across the horizon and disappear over the opposite horizon with no topography whatsoever to interrupt their march. Houses sitting deserted and forgotten in vast fields with no indication of what dreams died there. Small towns of corrugated everything where the only signs of social life are the red neon signs of the bar and the glowing 'BPOE' sign of the Elks club. Then there are the nameless places with a few houses and a grain elevator rusting by the side of the tracks. The big sky cover these vast sections of land so totally lonely and desolate.


 

Montana from our compartment window.


After dinner and at about 10:00 pm the rails begin to twist their way up the East side of the Rocky Mountains. As the train climbs its way up the slopes we catch a glimpse here and there of the trees and rock lit by the locomotive's headlight. According to our car attendant we miss seeing the Rockies in daylight but will catch views of the Cascades early tomorrow morning. Needless to say missing the Rockies is a great disappointment, but we hope for better luck tomorrow.

With a wake-up call for 5:30am we grab an early breakfast then, go back to our compartment to pack. In the graying light we begin to make out the jagged shapes of the cascades and they are spectacular.  We revel in this first view of something vertical as we descend into the Seattle area. Coming in along the bay we even catch views of Mt Rainier without the usually cloud cover. We arrive about 30 minutes late, gather our baggage and catch a cab to our B&B. Ready to explore a new city.


We hope you read yesterday's posting about the strange relationship between the railroad companies and Amtrak because there is no better example of it than here on the Burlington Northern's tracks between Minnesota and Washington State. Freight does not care how bad the track bed is and this track bed is terrible! We have been slammed, pitched, jostled, collided and traumatized non-stop all day and it is too bad because this is a great train with a great crew whose job is made all the harder because of the physical abuse of the working these rails. Our car Attendant told us no one makes it too retirement on this line because their bodies just wear out from the abuse.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Lake Shore Limited

A couple of notes to our readers....

***** We arrived in Chicago to find the Amtrak 1st class wireless system was down. So we transferred the file via cell phone to Irene Rabinowitz, whose very successful BLOG about her travels to Israel is now online... Thank you Irene!


Pictures and other material will be added in Seattle...


1.Earlier posting are available from the menu on the right side of your Blog screen beginning with “Loading the Coal”. If you haven't already done so it is best to begin with that Posting since it contains the details of our trip.

2.We knew this in advance, but there is NO WiFi on Amtrak. We were hoping to find WiFi Hot Spots along the way but so far, no luck. With that in mind Postings will be made on Tuesday, Dec 29 when we get to Chicago then again two days later When we arrive in Seattle... Unless we get lucky. Posting from Seattle forward will be announced once we arrive in Seattle

3.We love comments but can not reply until we arrive someplace where there is a WiFi signal and time.


And now the Lake Shore Limited...

For the Amtrak Official guide and timetable for the Lake Shore limited, Follow these links: Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited Page  Be sure to see the Route guide PDF as well as the latest timetable PDF also located on this page.







Cliff, our Red Cap called at 11:30 as promised and delivered us directly to our carriage (4920 for the detail oriented). “Excuse me, pardon, let us by please” as he deftly moves us ahead of those poor souls queued up for Coach... How droll life must be for them. It is so sad seeing them all lined-up like that but makes us realize the very important role those of us in the Bourgeoisie play as an example to the less fortunate. However, I'm going to write to the President of the railroad company and suggest they put up a screen so we don't have to see them shivering and hungry as we proceed to our First Class accommodations.


Yeah, right... maybe that's the way it was many years ago but today Cliff is a very pleasant, very short, very round man, with rosy cheeks full of good cheer and great advice such as, “Be sure and check when you get to Chicago to see if the Empire Builder was able to get through.” Get through??? What's it doing, crossing the border from the Russian Front? No, he meant SNOW and lots of it! Gulp! Images of the Donner party flash before me...And with little more than a shift of his copious hips he drops our bag off the cart as he crams our tip into his pocket advising, “See the Attendant inside the car...” and is gone in a twinkle.



Our 'First Class Cabin' has only slightly less room than the handicap stall in a public restroom! Clark, our very pleasant but slightly harried Porter, bustles by, “Hi Guys, that your Room?” We show him our ticket. “Yep, that's you, I'll be right back...” and he disappears down the car. A few minutes later he's back, “Sorry for the delay, the train came in full last night from Chicago and we didn't have time to completely clean it. Here's some material about the trip today, the dining car doesn't join us until Albany but there's lunch for you in the Cafe Car.” and he's off to the next cabin where we hear, “Hi, I'm Clark your Porter, I haven't had time to make your berth yet...”



Not encouraging, but our car is clean and well stocked with water, soap, towels, empty trash containers, fresh bed linens, etc. I learned on a previous cross country train that if you want good service, tip the Porter, now called 'Car Attendant', in advance. So we gave him a fiver and settled into our 'cozy' compartment (the terms our Provincetown real estate friends Mona, Sue and Ruth would use in describing such a demure use of space). While it may not be large we do indeed have the advantage of location, location, location with the promise of both water and mountains views and the constantly changing views of New England in winter.


A little explanation less you think we are disappointed with our humble abode: For this first segment we are in an 'economy 'roomette'. It has two berths, one lower, which converts to seating during the day and one upper which pulls down and makes the space sort of 'two story'. On one side of the compartment is a combination compact sink above and toilet below. On the other side of the compartment is an area to hang clothes. There is a table which kinda 'pops' out of the window sill and a voluminous attic storage area which, while roomy, will not accept anything thicker than a pizza box, unless the upper berth is pulled down into the 'sleep position' in which case you can store a transatlantic steamer trunk if you can wrestle it onto the upper berth and give it a good shove. Finally, The compartment door slides open and shut and has a lock which can only be activated from within the cabin.This is true of all the rooms on all the trains. There is no external keyhole, so do not fall out of the upper berth and knock yourself out or have the misfortune to die in your compartment. Cutting you out of your compartment will cause quiet a mess, will delay the train and will thoroughly upset the railroad company. You've been warned!

Here is a link to the Amtrak description of a Viewliner standard roomette:Viewliner Standard Roomette


We're moving! Slowly we leave South Station as my last, desperate attempt to upload an earlier post disappears into microvoid. Did I happen to mention that there is NO WiFi on the train? Suddenly I'm beginning to feel like Ernie Pyle (Ah-Ha that will send you scurrying to Google...).



The suburbs begin to slowly click by, Newton, Framingham, as we pick up speed and head for Worcester. Did Clark say something about lunch? Like landlubbers with no sea legs we make our way up two cars for lunch in the Cafe Car. Explaining that we are from the sleeping car we are whisked to a waiting acre of Formica where the Cafe Attendant spreads a sheet of material similar in oh so many ways to linen, but not linen or any other kind of fabric. It is just amazing what they can do with paper these days. We were both so impressed we are thinking of using the material for sheets at Four Gables.


Anyway, choice for lunch was apple and brie on a baguette or chicken Marseille with rice and vegetables. Hmmm, could we hear the menu again, it all went by so fast. Seems on this 'consist' (train talk for a 'train') there is no Dining car but we are told we will hook up with one once we connect with the NYC portion of the Lake Shore Limited. So lunch is kind of like the old meals on airplanes where it was made ahead in some vast kitchen and kept warm until served. It wasn't bad... maybe a 4 on a scale of 10 but much better than expected, however, the desert was nothing short of spectacular, definitely and 11 out of 10! Something called a chocolate avalanche with a warm, buttery caramel sauce which was to die for... and with what I'm sure it did to my glycemic index, that is entirely possible. Wow, was it good!


Worcester now behind us we stagger (We're getting better) back to our compartment... Our cozy phone booth away from home...


Wall art along the tracks in Worcester



We are starting into the Western part of Massachusetts now, Springfield is just ahead then Pittsfield as we climb through the Berkshires, which today looks for all the world like the set of 'White Christmas'. The scene outside our window is fantastic as the snow swirls outside the train like a tornado of white while we recline in the warm, quiet, comfort of our room with a view out of our window which would give Norman Rockwell inspiration. The train's rhythm becomes hypnotic as we settle in for a good read, some tunes on the MP3 and perhaps, me thinks, a nap.


Trackside snow scene between Worcester and Pittsfield


We arrive in Albany around 5:30pm and have to wait to join with the New York City consist around 7:15 (you'll remember that is train talk for 'train'). Jockeying back and forth on the tracks we are finally all coupled up so we now have the complete, 12 car Lake Shore Limited and are finally heading West out of Albany bound for Buffalo...


A fine snow is falling outside our window and around 8:00p Bob and I head down 10 coaches, cafe cars and bar cars skating through snow which is seeping in through the space between the cars like dust through the closed windows of a house on a country road. We keep moving forward like climbers on a horizontal mountain till we reach the dining car. A lovely place with all the charm and character of a prison dining hall. The staff is pleasant and seat us immediately with 'Curt' from Kalamazoo Michigan, a substitute teacher on his way home from a holiday in NYC. Within about 5 minutes we discover we know a mutual acquaintance and enjoy dinner with a new friend. Dinner was creative and good. I had trout with rice and mixed vegetables, a 6 on a scale of 10. Bob had a baked half chicken which he gave a 5 out of 10. Again, the meals are mass prepared and brought on-board in hot boxes. The Trout fresh from the pan would have been outstanding. Desert was a cup of Hagen Daz. Boring in comparison to the lunch desert.


Settling in after dinner we watch New York State go by with views of drifts and blowing snow as we pass through the 'lake effect' region near Buffalo. By 11:00 we are both in our berths and ready for a good sleep. Well kinda... Bob sleeps fine on a train but I am a very light sleeper and depend on ear plugs and a sleeping pill to make sure I get a good nights sleep both of which are safely packed away in the baggage car unavailable to me until tomorrow..Oooops.


Outside of the North East Corridor Amtrak does not own the tracks it runs on. The original railroad companies still own the tracks. For example, on this leg of our journey the tracks we use are owned by Metro-North, CSX and the Norfolk-Southern Railroads. This agreements was made in the 1960's as part of a deal to get the railroads out of the hugely unprofitable passenger business. On these lines it is all about freight (you've no doubt seen the ads about how CSX can move one ton of freight 440 miles on one gallon of fuel) so for that reason The Lake Shore Limited often has to go onto a siding to allow higher priority freight to pass by. This can make the exact arrival time of the Lake Shore Limited a little unpredictable.


Around 4:20am I am aware of  bright lights leaking in around the curtains. I peak out and am startled by what appears to be the Mother Ship from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' hovering just outside my window. Wondering if I was yet again about to be abducted by Aliens (third time this month!)I grabbed my trusty Palm-Pre and fired up Google maps, switched to the satellite view and the cursor showed I was sitting right next to The Cleveland Brown's Stadium. I took this as an omen that we must be getting close to Cleveland. I'm very perceptive and tuned in that way.


Close encounters or football in slumber?


We left our compartment around 7:00am to make the long march to the dining car for breakfast. Going from car to car had become a lot more precarious overnight as that seeping snow, mentioned above, had grown into sizable drifts and solid ice . The cast of characters in the coach sections en route to the dining car looked worse than the bar scene in the Star War movie as they looked like they were trying to contort themselves into their seats assuming there was some odd position that would afford them comfort. From the gaping, open contorted mouths of some to one young man who was completely turned around in his seat with his head stuck in the crack of the seat to the woman who obviously used too much hairspray and after a night of trying to sleep looked like Phyllis Diller on crack.


The Dining car looked a little more cheery in the morning light and we found a waiting table and were joined by Ed, a retired dairy farmer from Utica, NY traveling West with his wife to Colorado to visit their son and grand children. We enjoyed a nice breakfast of omelets, bacon, potatoes, turkey sausage, biscuits and croissants. The dining car is the place where you get the opportunity for 'random socialization' in that you share a table with whomever is there. Suddenly, you are thrust into a social situation with a total stranger and the results are always interesting. While our dinner partner, Curt, was only three degrees of separation from a close mutual friend who is the Maestro for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Ed, our breakfast partner, was able to make us smarter about the life of a dairy farmer and the trend toward corporate dairy buying of all the small farms, like his, and forcing him out of business. His wife had wanted him to go into farming for their four boys, but now the boys had all moved away and the farm was gone. As we finished our breakfast he asked if we had ever heard of the Gideons. We both nodded yes and he presented us with a Gideon Bible. A simple act of generosity between total strangers which bonded us to this unassuming gentleman and enriched our trip immensely.


Someone left the Baggage car door open so everyone's baggage was buried in snow.



We are not far out of Chicago now and it is time to sum up The Lake Shore Limited. It is Definitely not the same train I used to take in the 80's as a regular part of my job as a lobbyist for the Upjohn Company. The staff is exhausted, the equipment is worn out and the trains are packed and the food is not nearly as good as it was then. However, you can still be entertained, share interesting experiences and relax in your own compartment to watch the Northern edge of the North East corridor go gliding by. This train, like so many parts of the region we have just passed through, has been ignored and forgotten. However, as the crowds on this train still attest, it is still the best and only convenient way for many people to move around in these states or this region of the country.



All in all I'd give The Lake Shore Limited a 5 out of 10. Not recommended for someone's first, long-distance train adventure, but certainly a worthwhile trip for the experienced train buff.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Oh My God, its Here!

12/27/09: Pack, shop, rip cd's; load MP3 Players, 1 hour on the phone with Quickbook's tech support (don't ask!), gotta make cookies, eat the rest of the left overs, anybody need a quart of 1% Milk? Pack more, read the Amtrak baggage rules, unpack...send out email blast....Drink a very large cup of Sleepy Time tea...ZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZZZZ.

12/28/09: 5:30am ALARM, ALARM, ALARM!!!!! Jump out of bed, shower, shave, dress, forwards the phones, turn down the heat, lock the doors, We're outta here! Pick up our friend, Austin who is driving us to the 'T' Station in Kingston.  Take a deep breath... Relax.

"Hmmm, Bob, did you happen to pick up my electric shaver???"
"Nope".

"I 've been wanting one of those new, fancy electric shavers Now looks like I get to buy one!"
Bob is not impressed. Austin is laughing...

Do you remember the movie "Home Alone" when the alarm goes off late and the family (minus Kevin) rushes around like crazy to make it to the airport? Wasn't at all like that. We stopped at Exit 6 to gas-up and have an exquisite and very healthy breakfast at 'Burger King' I threw out the coffee. How can they make coffee taste that bad? I discovered many years ago that the French will not tolerate bad coffee calling it "pisse de cheval" (for a translation :Translation by Yahoo Babelfish Software just cut and paste the phrase).

Ok, Gassed, fed and watered we are over the 'bridge' by 8:00am and arrived at the 'T' station by 8:15. Time to spare for farewell pictures and grateful hugs and board the commuter 'T' by 8:37... We're on our way!

BTW in our last Posting we kind of beat-up on the non-existent ticket booth at the Kingston 'T' station. Today it was OPEN, so we stand corrected... It isn't open on Fridays... but other times it might be.

Now this is really cool, 'T' arrives at South Station and we step off the train and walk right into Amtrak baggage handling. Friendly, fast, efficient and with none of the paramilitary attitude at the airports. What a refreshing change! Baggage checked we walk into the train room and are immediately greeted by a 'Red cap' (yes, they really wear red caps) named Cliff who takes our carry-on luggage and shows us to the Acella First Class Lounge. The hostess, Patti, greets us and tells us she will call us just before our train leaves. free wireless, coffee, pastry, TV, CLEAN rest rooms... NICE!

but, I gotta admit to me there is an electricity to a Great Terminal's Train Room which screams of exotic travel.  People coming and going, greeting and departing friends and family, students texting, business people on laptops, most everyone using the ubiquitous MP3 players, mysterious people drinking coffee behind a newspaper, grand people eating pastry. It is, to me, the very essence of a great trip.No matter where it is anyplace in the world it is magic and I do love it so...

Woops, here's Cliff ready to take us to our carriage. More later...Stay tuned.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Are we Crazy?

We don't think we are, but ours is a minority opinion. More than one person has asked why we are taking this trip in January, when the trip is so much more spectacular and the weather better in summer. Agreed, but there are a few factors which seriously affect our decisions:


  1. In the summer we are busy taking care of all those tourist who are NOT on a train and have come to Cape Cod for their vacation... God love 'em!
  2. The crowds are smaller and quieter on the trains this time of year.
  3. January is the ONLY time during the year when we can close the business.
  4. But the real reason is this: 
(December 19-20, 2009 Blizzard)



And this




and this






Snow is beautiful, IF somebody else gets to clean it up and we don't have to be concerned about people falling, electricity failing, heat going off, potential of fire from a misplaced candle... You get the picture.

We would prefer to enjoy our snow this way:

So while we may not be crazy, we do not want to be in Provincetown during the worst part of Nor'easter season and this year promises to be a walla-pa-looza!

We will probably see a LOT of snow ( yep, the locomotive is buried in snow!)





 But with a snow blower like this do we look worried?






 And if all else fails, there are my brothers from the Union...



 So let somebody else worry about the Nor'easters and the snow... You can find us in the Bar Car!






Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Getting it right...

One challenge in preparing for this kind of trip, actually any kind of trip from Provincetown, is getting to and from the starting point. Provincetown is not really convenient to anyplace except Truro so there is always the hassle of how do we get to the Terminal. Driving isn't a great idea since we would have to pay for long-term parking for 20 days. Last time we did that we returned to find a snow plow had backed into our car. We'd like to avoid that.

So, we did some investigating and found there is 'T' commuter Rail service from Plymouth and Kingston to South Station in Boston and that is where the first leg of our adventure begins. Friday we had a change in our plans for the day and decided to try the commuter rail to Boston. Details were straight forward on the MBTA web site. MBTA Commuter Rail System. The Kingston/Plymouth line was well described and the timetable was convenient. Kingston/Plymouth Old Colony Line Timetable

The drive from P'Town to Exit 8 on Rte 3 took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The street map on the MBTA is correct but the road to the train station was not as clearly marked as we would have liked and we got way-lost.  But folks in Plymouth were very helpful in pointing us in the right direction and we found the station with 15 minutes to spare. We didn't tell them we were from Provincetown. Blush...


Train station found, we grabbed a parking spot and paid the $4.00 parking fee (stuff the money in a slot for your numbered space). Long term parking would need special arrangements or small money!


Well, that shouldn't be a problem...



Problem! The famous 'Coffee T and The'...shut and seems to have been shut for a while...a long while. Hmm, there was that 'Vining Tire' place on the sign. But we've already paid for parking and we have 12 minutes till the train leaves. So, Gary stands in the parking space looking cold and menacing and Bob races off to find Vining Tire. Just for the record Vining Tire DOES NOT SELL 'T' tickets and they don't seem to be aware  the MBTA thinks they do. Anyway, the signs is wrong. It doesn't seem that it would be too hard to have a new sign printed that says "Purchase tickets on the train"... It's not a very big sign and wouldn't cost much, but maybe I'm being to critical. NOT!




Other than the lonely nature and shuttered look of the place, the Kingston 'T' station gets a LOT of traffic. The station parking lot was full. The train was right on time and 45 minutes later we were in South Station, no traffic, no parking hassle, no problem. We may never drive to Boston ever again!

A train trip is made up of segments 'The Lake Shore Limited' is one segment and 'The Empire Builder' is another. We had reserved all of our segments on-line at the Amtrak webSite, but we needed to pick-up the tickets in person. It does take a while so it was a good thing we did this ahead of time. There is a ticket for your basic fare, 'the AmeriPass' then,  for each of us there is a separate ticket for the rooms on each segment. The room on each segment has to be checked and double checked. The Ticket Agents gave us LOTS of warnings about making sure you give the Conductors the right tickets for each segment. "The Conductors don't even look at the tickets, they just punch them and stick them in their pockets." OHhhhh, that's good to know...  "So, if he takes the wrong ticket, somewhere along the way you won't have a ticket for a room and then things get very complicated." Got it! Read the ticket you give to the conductor and make sure it is the right one otherwise somewhere down the track you'll be sleeping in 'Steerage'!

Taking the 'T' to Boston was a great discovery. It made the day so much more pleasant than driving. Getting the extra details and having the tickets taken care of was one major concern we no longer have to worry about.

Now all we have to do is find someone to take us to Kingston on the 28th and pick us up at the end of our trip. Hope we got it right... Ohh, Bob who owes us money or a favor????

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Loading the coal...


This is about an adventure... Not the adventure of a lifetime, hopefully we're going to have a few more chances for that, this is an adventure of discovery.
My partner, Bob and I leave December 28th for a 3 week cross-country train trip. So many friends have expressed their desire to take such a trip that we are going to attempt to take you with us. Sharing it all...The good, the bad and the ugly. But mostly the beauty of what this country is like from the window of a train.

We leave Boston on Monday, December 28th on the Lake Shore Limited, which is the overnight train to Chicago. We'll spend a few hours in Chicago having lunch with Bob's sister, Barbara and her husband Buddy then, at 2:00pm we board the Empire Builder for a two day excursion across the mid-west and mountain states. We'll spend New Years in Seattle, then head toward San Francisco on the Coast Starlight. Three days in San Francisco with our very best friend, Dirk then we continue to Los Angeles again on the Coast Starlight. We spend a night in a hotel in LA, then board the Sunset Limited for the return trip across the Southwestern US. We'll spend a couple of nights with our friend Ron in Palm Springs then re-board the Sunset Limited for a few hours run to Tucson. In Tucson we'll get off the train, rent a car and spend 5 days exploring from Tucson to Phoenix all the way up to the Grand Canyon then back to Tucson. On January 14 we re-board the Sunset Limited for the 36 hour run to New Orleans. We'll spend two nights in New Orleans then board the Southern Crescent for the overnight run to New York City. After what promises to be a not-very-exciting night in New York, we'll board a train to Boston and return to Provincetown on Tuesday, January 19th exhausted, exhilarated but far more enlightened about the beauty of these united States.


As we go along we will share with you the detail map of the route and the PDF of the Amtrak route description. Amtrak's Empire Builder  and the Empire Builder Route Guide PDF

We hope you will join us. Yes, there will be pictures and maybe even video.