A different WTW- Amtrak from El Paso to Montana

[realbtl]

So I wasn't sure about this but it seems like there are enough "journey not the destination" folks here that I Thought I'd throw this out there. It's a trip report but, since it wasn't in the camper, I thought I'd put it here. DD, feel free to move or delete this if you want.

Since flying has become such a PITA and, now that I’m retired, time is much less an issue, I decided to try Amtrak. I had to go to El Paso TX to finish up the last of my late aunt’s affairs and planned a return by train from El Paso to San Antonio to Chicago and back to Whitefish MT, about 30 mi from home. What follows is a travel journal for anyone considering Amtrak.
May 4, 2011- Because I don’t like surprises plus I had some extra time I decided to drop by the EP station to make sure my tickets were OK, etc. What I found out was that service was cancelled somewhere between San Antonio and Dallas due to flooding. They had been calling me at home but had not left a message and I forgot to give them my cell.
The folks in ticketing could not have been more helpful (this was the first of several pleasant surprises compared with flying). They were able to rebook me from EP to LA to Portland to Whitefish. Because I had booked so early they honored these rates rather than charging me the much higher rates for such short notice. This change was fine by me as I had been looking at the CA coast/Shasta/OR/Columbia Gorge route as a fun future trip if I was happy with this my first experience with Amtrak.

 

[realbtl]

May 5, 2011- I didn’t want to haul my bag around while checking the rental car at the airport and taking a taxi to the station so I swung by to leave it. The attendants recognized me and were happy to hold my bag for me for a couple of hours. Try that at the airport with a carry on. After a final excellent Mexican lunch and a Baskins-Robbins for desert I dropped the car and took a $20 taxi ride from the airport to the station.
The station is an old one, brick with bell tower, tile floors, beautiful detail work. I’m sure my grandfather was in here coming up to EP for cattle business in the 20s and 30s. I was in it a couple of times up to about 1956 when we used to train from CA to visit my mom’s family.
It’s now 4:30 PM and I’m sitting in my room watching the NM desert roll by, waiting for my 6:00 dinner call.

 

[realbtl]

May 6, 2011- Very good dinner last night, veggie lasagna with iceberg free salad. Breakfast was rather pedestrian. I slept reasonably well, though there is a vibration from train movement. It was cool laying in bed watching the sky darken over the NM hills as we rolled along. Bed quality was very similar to my ATC cabover which I find just right.
Rolled into LA 45 min early. The station is another gorgeous structure. Because I’m traveling sleeper (1st class) there was a separate lounge with beverages and a cart to the train. This also gets me free meals. Because I wasn’t sure what to expect I got the deluxe sleeper which has a lot of space, comparable to my ATC Cougar. Next leg has the economy sleeper so we’ll see how that goes. Pic 1, Bed on Texas Eagle, #2 view from bed, #3&4 LA Union Station.

 

[realbtl]

12:30 PM, Oxnard- So I expected to see very poor neighborhoods and industrial areas- oh and strip clubs, which I didn’t expect but makes sense (at least 6 from one side of the train through LA). But what really surprised me were the number of new residential developments backed right up to the tracks. Not my choice for a new home.
The Coast Starlight has more amenities that the Texas Eagle, very nice 1st class lounge and what looks like an upscale restaurant. Unfortunately seating is limited and by reservation so if you are in the front of the trail like I am and they start taking reservations from the middle you end up in the dining car. The attendant promised me he would start up here for dinner. The upside of being the 1st sleeper in the first car is that there is very little traffic in the aisle past my door.
Somewhere near Salinas (sorry, I couldn’t help myself, actually just out of San Luis Obispo)- For about 3 hours north from the Venture area the tracks run along the ocean, from about 1/4 mile to “boy i hope this doesn’t collapse now” right along the cliff tops. I highly recommend this section.
Lunch as we were passing through Santa Barbara, good fresh ham and cheese sandwich. Watched the ocean for about 1 hour then took a nap on the sofa in the room, stretched out in the sunshine. This really is quite nice. Made dinner reservations for 7:00 in the fancy diner so now I’ll just kick back and watch the scenery go by. If you like driving down the highway just to see the country you will like the train, plus you can nap will rolling along.
Well the parlor car food is a winner, about 1 step up from the dining car. Plus the lounge section is much nicer that on the Eagle, big swivel chairs and quiet. The lounge on the Eagle seemed to attract families with small children.
This will be the longest leg of the trip, left LA at 10:30 AM and due into Portland about 3:30 PM tomorrow. So far the train is running about 1 hour behind schedule due to being stopped earlier at one of the stations for a medical emergency. Sun is going down as we are heading into San Jose. So far I am enjoying the hell out of the trip.

 

[realbtl]

May 7, 2011- I think the trick to getting a good night’s sleep on the train is to be very tired, no problems last night. Went to the Parlor Car for coffee at 6:15 AM just in time for Mt. Shasta. Being in the mountains again makes me want to be back home though I’m looking forward to running up Oregon and the Columbia Gorge. Pic 1 Mt. Shasta 6:00 AM, #2&3 Klamath Lake.

 

[realbtl]

6:00 PM- Train was able to make up the late running and we arrived in Portland on time at 3:40. Another nice thing about sleeper service is that they have separate waiting lounges and boarding at some stations including Portland. Running along the Columbia now right on the water’s edge and it is spectacular. Because the dining car is on the Seattle portion of the train that joins in Spokane for the final run to Chicago, we were served a very tasty box dinner, choices of beef, shrimp and chicken.
Because of my late re-booking I’m in the economy sleeper. This is about 40” wide x 75” long with 2 facing seats, no bathroom or sink in room. If you were young and limber you could have 2 persons in one of these units as there is a top bunk. I’m very comfortable alone in this unit and would do it again as they are much less expensive. Pic 1&2 Columbia River, #3 Dinner beside the river, 4&5 Columbia River.

 

[realbtl]

May 8, 2011- Home again with no problems. watched the sunset over the Columbia from bed then up at 5:30 to look for wildlife on the way in from Libby MT, no luck. Got into Whitefish about 10 minutes early. My only worry on the whole trip was that the LA-Portland train is known to be late and, if too late, you can end up being bussed from Central OR to Spokane to join the train at about midnight.
This has been a great trip, I wish I would have tried it before. The phrase that kept coming up for me was “What a civilized way to travel”.
Cool things I saw from the train:
Coming up the CA coast right beside the ocean.
Climbing out of San Luis Obispo I saw a hawk struggling to carry off a squirrel.
Mt. Shasta at sunrise.
The geese and other water birds on Klamath Lake.
Two elk grazing beside the tracks in the Columbia Gorge.
The entire run along the Columbia River.

Final Thoughts- If you are not in a hurry and are going to a place served by Amtrak, this is the way to go. Due to weird flight times it usually takes me 12 hours to get from El Paso back to Kalispell, and I end up tired and cranky. I find the train very relaxing. It is definitely an “enjoy the journey” way to travel.

 

[Barko1]

Cool trip! I nearly took the Amtrak from El Paso to Bloomington, IL a couple weeks ago but ended up taking the motorcycle. Took 2 1/2 days including a 9 hour layover in San Antonio where they said there would be times without power but you could stay on board. I'll have to try some other time, thanks for the write up.

 

[SunMan]

12:30 PM, Oxnard- So I expected to see very poor neighborhoods and industrial areas- oh and strip clubs, which I didn’t expect but makes sense (at least 6 from one side of the train through LA). But what really surprised me were the number of new residential developments backed right up to the tracks.


Oxnard, not just another pretty name! There are actually quite a few hidden gems here, the beaches and harbor to name just a couple. Glad you got a peek at some of the coastline, north of SB is pretty much still untouched California. Fun report, gotta love trains.

 

[Ted]

Fantastic trip report, Realbtl. What a great way to travel. I'm glad you posted this.

 

[camelracer]

I enjoyed that report. Amtrak is a great way to travel if you have the time.
I took the Coast Starlight from SF to Seattle a couple of years ago and enjoyed the relaxing ride and scenery. The food was good and they had a wine and cheese tasting each afternoon. The only downside was the upper bunk in the economy sleeper. It was like sleeping in an MRI machine.

 

[ski3pin]

realblt, what a great report on a different way to travel! We just enjoyed the heck out of it and appreciate you posted this. We've always thought about the train and your information really helps!

 

[LT Traveler]

Great report, thanks! I love the idea of trains and have loved the travel I've done on them in Europe. Might be fun to plan a train trip some time.

 

[realbtl]

Thanks for all of the nice responses folks. Yes, it is indeed a great way to travel if you are flexible and can roll with changes. Like I mentioned, I had to make last minute changes due to flooding in the mid-west and might have had a long bus ride and midnight boarding in Spokane.

A website I found very informative is trainweb.com. I recommend this to anyone considering Amtrak. They have journals for all of the routes and you will read some horror stories.