This segment of the trip started out somewhat normally...Except I found out while I was in Chicago that I was almost completely out of funds (which explains the lack of pictures for this segment of the journey). Not a nice thing, and if I wanted to eat, I'd need to pay with a credit card for the entire trip...Not such a desirable option, given my experiences of using a credit card onboard the train... With this in mind, I decided that upgrading to a sleeper would provide for a much more enjoyable trip...and one that paid a lot of my on-board expenses all in one swipe. Of course, there's certainly a story behind this upgrade!
Almost immediately after boarding the train I decided to seek out a conductor who would be able to let me know what the upgrade costs. Problem was, the train crew was changing out in Milwaukee...so none of them could help me out. I found this out after walking into the transition sleeper and intruding on one of the dining car staff. Must admit, she was more than helpful, but I must note this: Only walk into the dorm car when escorted by a member of the staff!
After Milwaukee, I decided to wait in my coach seat and hope that enough people saw the Conductor and pointed him my direction. Sure enough, he did drop by, but that's where the differences between upgrading on this train and upgrading on the California Zephyr started happening. The conductor on the C.Z. took me to the lounge in the Transition sleeper and we mulled over the details, costs, and filling out the forms. The conductor on the Empire Builder decided to leave me in my Coach Seat, but take my credit card, and my drivers license and then leave. He came back what seemed to be an awfully long time later and said that there was a room open, but only to Whitefish. At the cost he gave me I pondered whether to take it or not...I decided I would. He then went back to his office and filled out the form and then came back and asked me why the name on the credit card and the name on the drivers license didn't match! The Conductor failed to realize that my drivers license put my surname on the line above my given names...And he did this right in front of all the other passengers in the coach car! Must admit, this guy was not as professional, or helpful, or tactful as the conductor on the C.Z... Which leads me to ask...Who the heck do you go to on the train when the conductor is being a prick? This is one of the topics I've included in my complaint letter to Amtrak. Anyhow, I did get my upgrade, room 11 in the one Sleeper car bound for Seattle. (there are two on this train, but one of them is going to Portland.)
5:08pm, Wednesday, January 14, 1998
I'm now currently in my upgraded room, however, I'm finding out that there are a few drawbacks...The electrical outlet in the Superliner I Standard Bedroom doesn't take transformer block plugins...the electrical outlet is recessed by a large bit of padding around the controls on the other side of the room, and thus, I'm running off of battery power when I should really be on AC...I suppose that's definitely one of the differences between the Superliner II sleepers and the Superliner I sleepers...Other than the gawdy earthtones, and the closed in closet, there's not much difference. But the curtain on the entrance is much better with the full velcro and the full sized curtain as opposed to the double curtain on the Superliner II...
I've also only got this room until Whitefish Montana. After that, it's back to Coach for the rest of the night and morning into Seattle. Whether the room, bed, shower, and the four meals I'll be able to eat before giving up the room will make the $141 dollars worth it, I'm not sure. Right now, I'm liking what I've got...Being on the lower level of the sleeper certainly is quite interesting, and I'll have to make sure that I close the curtains when I retire for the night.
One definite thing that I've noticed early on is the smoking policy...obviously this car has been smoked in in the past, as witnessed by the melted piece of rubberized plastic around the ash tray...
St. Paul - Minneapolis, Minnesota
It's at this point that I decide to go upstairs and view how nice a night it is...And a rather nice lady decided to let me know where we actually were as we approached the city where they would be getting off. She gave me a little bit of company...mainly just to let me know what all the features are, plus a little background on the twin cities. Apparently Amtrak in their wisdom decided to plant the train station in neither city center...I suppose to make it easier, but IMHO, they should've planted it in one of the city centres and actually follow the convention that they've got going in a lot of other cities...City Centre stops all the way through...
8:00pm, Past Winona Wisconsin
After gorging myself on the food in the dining car, I'm back in my room which I've begun to notice a few shall we say...flaws? in the car...Number one, there's a lot of vibrations downstairs...so many that it's becoming rather hazardous to try and touch type...fingers bounce up and down on the keys...plus there's a rather annoying buzz coming up from the floor. This was earlier, and I've not noticed it recently, but it is there.
8:23pm
Just had a wonderful conversation with a senior citizen (female) who had a peek at my laptop which started this rather interesting discussion about computers, and whether or not she should bother with getting on the Internet...Of course, there's a lot of senior citizens online talking to each other and to their grandkids...I certainly made her aware of that, and she may give it a try later on... she also mentioned that she's headed down to Portland to catch up with the Coast Starlight, and I checked whether or not she's going to be in a sleeper, and apparently she will be! I let her know what improvements have been made with the Superliner II sleepers that are in service on the west coast line...things like the upgraded color scheme (which, IMHO is FAR superior to the earth tones in the Superliner I equipment), and the different closet. She seemed pleasantly surprised to hear this news, and I can't say I blame her either.
10:05am, Thursday January 15, 1998
Now I'm really beginning to feel that I should've stayed in coach...Let me elaborate a touch...
Last night, rooms 11 and 13 were (and still are actually) without heat. Something must have shorted out somewhere, because there's no heat coming from both the upper vents and the lower vents. The young lady (about my age) said that her daughter was bundled up INSIDE the room, and her face was getting cold, along with the ears. Spoke to the chief as I couldn't find the car attendant, and they checked breakers and so forth, found nothing and then moved us upstairs to rooms 9 and 10. I'm now writing this from room 9. While the heat is okay now, it's only because of the fact that the seats are pulled apart. During the night I ended up waking up a few times to adjust blankets and so forth to keep warm. Thankfully I have that Souvenir Amtrak blanket I bought on the Coast Starlight. And, after coming back from breakfast, leaving the curtain open to signify that the seats could be made up, found that the bed was still in it's original condition. (of course, after reading this after getting back, I realized I should've pulled the attendant button.) Frustrated by the lack of heat, I decided to do it myself...folded up the mattress and sheets, pulled down the upper bunk and tossed it up there, put the upper bunk back up, and then moved the seats apart.
Then, during breakfast, the chief advised us that there was a bridge that was being worked on, and they (they probably being Burlington Northern Santa Fe) said the bridge was originally supposed to be fixed around 10am today. They then moved the time back to 4pm, which would be okay, but if they delay it another time, Amtrak would move all of us from the Westbound Empire Builder from Havre, Montana to Whitefish, Montana. At Whitefish, we'd be boarding the eastbound Empire Builder and turning that train around and taking that train back to Seattle. I'd assume that the Eastbound Empire Builder Passengers would be doing the reverse of what we're doing and taking this train back to Chicago. Of course, as you already know, I'm upgraded to a Standard Sleeper until Whitefish. This means that effectively, my upgrade, if this bus thing goes through, ends completely at Havre Montana...Far earlier than I would like, as I want 4 meals out of this upgrade fee, not three (late dinner? or what?) Plus the fact I'd be bunched up with the "peons" from Coach, stripping all of the people who bought first class accomodations down to Coach class on the bus. Needless to say, coach on a bus is nothing like coach on a train. Sadly, I really can't bitch too much about this, as these things unfortunately happen. I just hope they reward the passengers in sleepers a bit for the inconvenience.
AND then, there's the Shower. Not sure if any of you have noticed this travelling on a Superliner I Sleeper, the shower downstairs doesn't have any means to adjust the temperature...So you're stuck with what it gives you, and apparently it gives you 100°F or 38°C water. Now, I'm not entirely sure whether my skin doesn't like taking 100 degrees or not, but it seemed to be far hotter than that. On the Superliner II Sleeper, the shower can adjust, although not much, but enough to bring the temperature down enough that you don't end up scalding yourself. After feeling how my face survived that shower, I'm begining to think that the water is more than 100°.
Wolf Point, Montana.
Small Montana town...But the major event here was the fact that we needed to pull a guy off the train and put him on an Ambulance. Apparently he had an epileptic seizure, and we needed to stay long enough for him to be taken off the train. This trip is definitely providing for some very interesting experiences...
Glasgow, Montana.
And will wonders never cease? Just one station after we put a guy onto an Ambulance, and now we're putting another guy into a police cruiser! While I was having lunch, we've got at least 6 to 10 police officers and sherriffs briskly moving through the train searching for a guy...And when they finally did take him off, there were definitely some concerns as to why he was taken away...a few guys who were friends with the epiliptic guy were talking to the guy and didn't see anything wrong...Big bonus here was that he was booked to Seattle, and that he was in a sleeper! Maybe there was hope for a sleeper through to Seattle for me? I still wonder every now and then why the guy was taken off...From what everyone who talked with him said that he was a polite guy who didn't bother anyone...Oh well.
9:41pm, Whitefish Montana.
Well, they did do the bus thing, and I'm going to be here for quite some time. However, I've gotta bring you up to date on a few things that happened after my main battery died (and, because of the fact that the power receptacle is recessed in the Superliner I sleepers, I can't plug in my laptop...Right now, I'm plugged into the power in the Whitefish Depot. Thankfully, they decided to take all the people who are in the sleepers across to Havre on the first bus which was waiting in Havre for us. Another three would be required for the rest of the people coming from Coach. On our trip over, we watched a couple movies (My best friends wedding and Michael. Not bad movies, but I kinda wished they'd have turned off the blower...all the air circulation kinda cut down the ability to hear the movie. But, the bus trip did end soon enough (after about five-six hours)...I've also managed to make a friend here, name is Aarene Storms, and quite a nice person to spend some of this time with. She's pursuaded me to take a tour of Whitefish while we're stuck here, and I figure I may as well take her up on it. See ya! I'm off to give my regards to Whitefish.
9:16am, Nowheresville Montana.
Wow...quite a few notes for this morning's update. Where to begin?
Last night, we spent a good deal of time in the Whitefish station, waiting for the entire complement of people to arrive from the Havre transfer point. Apparently the weather worsened between the time that the first bus came over and by the time the third bus came around, the weather was quite bad...The fourth bus didn't make it until after 2am... Of course, we can't leave without all the crew and passengers! One nice thing Amtrak did for us (considering the circumstances, it'd be expected) was provide us with sandwiches, and beverages. I had a BBQ Chicken Sandwich (not much else on it though, except for a little barbeque sauce), a couple of Oatmeal cookies, and a bottle of Orange Juice. Then, after all was said and done, they said we could move into the train, which was parked in a siding quite some distance away. The original plans said that we'd be bussed from the station down to the train, but those who wanted could walk (provided they promise they wouldn't trip). Not wanting to wait for a bus, and then the ensuing confusion, I decided to pack up and walk. A very hefty walk for someone like myself, hauling a backpack, a laptop computer (which weighs around 7 pounds, plus the 3-4 pounds of extras), and my roller suitcase. If the ground was hard packed throughout the entire trip, it wouldn't have been so bad, but because there's lots of snow, I ended up having to carry the suitcase as well. By the time I reached the train, one of the conductors exclaimed "What? They're walking you guys down here now?!?" I replied "Those who wanted to walk could..." and his response to that was "man, they've gotta tell us these things!" Not surprising, and considering the extreme circumstances, I can believe the response. Anyhow, walked up to the sleeping car where I was supposed to be (the engines were on the other end, and the transition sleeper was sitting at the back of the train...more on the consist a little later), and Ward was standing at the door. He too was a little surprised at my arrival, and then tossed out the step and invited me up. He then said my bed was all set up in room 14 on the lower floor. He also made mention that we'd settle up on the upgrade later on (I was due to move back to Coach at Whitefish). I replied that after what we've been through, I'd say they owed me this...So far, we've not mentioned it.
After settling in for the night, I decided to try and calculate what time we'd be arriving into Seattle. Provided we left Whitefish at 3:30am, and then ran on schedule, and there weren't any more delays, we'd be getting into Seattle around 4pm. Unfortunately, it appears that this schedule was tossed out the window before I had a good chance to wake up. Around 6:15, we stopped for no real apparent reason and I decided to get up and investigate. What happened was this: The trainmen (Conductors and Engineers) "went dead". Apparently they were on the job for the entire time we were sitting in the siding at Whitefish, and by the time we got a decent amount of distance, they went dead, and we had to wait for a replacement crew. We didn't even make it out of Montana! 6:30 rolled around and a lot of us decided to go for breakfast. Just after we finished breakfast, the train finally started rolling. I didn't get a chance to check the time and make note of when, but we were rolling and all of us cheered and started clapping.
I went for a shower, and noted that it took an awfully long time for the hot water to come out, but at least when it did, it wasn't too hot. Unlike the showers in the other train, the hot water didn't scald me. I certainly enjoyed this shower!
Once done there, I moved into the sightseer lounge so I could actually find power for the laptop and charge my laptop batteries and then move back to my room once we hit Spokane...Aarene's dad had a roll of duct tape which I used to tape down the power cord for my laptop...Note to anyone who uses a laptop computer...Look near the center of each car and you're bound to find a power receptacle...and also carry a roll of duct tape...Conductors and other passengers will appreciate that you're not trying to trip them up on your power cord...It'll also give you some calm when you know that someone's not going to rip the power cord out of your computer, either damaging the cord, the AC adapter, or the laptop itself... y'know, one nice thing about all these delays means we're travelling through Washington State and Idaho during the daytime. Originally we were going to be travelling through the good scenery during the night. The sightseer lounge on this train is part of the Superliner II series, which means the different layout of the cafe downstairs, and the much brighter color scheme upstairs.
10:15am, Friday, January 16, 1998. Sandpoint Idaho.
Considering we were supposed to be in Seattle by 9:10am, we're obviously running just a tad late...:-) We also passed over a rather large lake on a bridge which wasn't very visible...Looked almost like we were flying over the water...I've done this a few times and each time I start thinking that we might fall over or something like that...Fear not though as many many trains have done this route before...
Noon. Spokane, Washington
Spokane is scheduled to be the point where we're to break the train into two sections and send it to Portland, Oregon and Seattle. Of course, this is supposed to happen sometime around midnight, but the fact that this is happening around noon indicates just how late we're going to be getting into Seattle. But, breaking up the train is turning out to be an interesting experience...not only does the train get broken, but the entire compliment of engines has to as well. Three engines lead this train, two are to take the 5 cars at the rear to Seattle and one is to take 4 to Portland.
(Note: here was the original end to the file. I decided to spend a lot more time doing other things, and I only came back to finish off this file on the 28th of March...)
What had to happen at Spokane was certainly interesting. The consist of engines was laid out such that the front engine was fine as it was positioned. The second engine was facing backwards, and the third engine was facing forward. Problem was, the third engine didn't have a cow-catcher/snowplow on the front end and couldn't act as the lead engine. The second one did, but it was facing the wrong direction. So, pull the entire consist of engines apart, and take the second engine down to the freight yards and find a wye or a turntable to turn the engine around so it and the third engine could pull the last 5 cars to Seattle. The Portland section took the lead locomotive and took off within half an hour. (after unloading all the Seattle bound mail) Unfortunately, the second engine spent a very long time in getting turned around (I've heard that trying to manoever anything through a freight yard without prior plans is a nightmare...)...Meanwhile, the third engine was hooked up to the remainder of the train to provide power and so on to the consist...I suppose it could've pulled us to Seattle, but without the protection of the cow catcher, it's not such a wise idea. Eventually (probably another half hour or so...), two frieght trains passed by us, and then our engine finally showed up and hooked itself up to the front of our 5 car train. Also, it was an experience and a half seeing the people loading mail destined for Seattle in the transistion sleeper car's lounge...when the people in Seattle put the train together they didn't anticipate the need for a mail car...there was a coach baggage car, but that car went to Portland! So, the only place left for baggage/mail was the lounge in the Transistion Sleeper!
Also one other note about the entire process of breaking a train up...you'll see the guys disconnecting cables, and making sure the train uncouples properly...However, they seem to always miss a connection...However, as I found out, it's for good reason. The Airbrake hose is pulled apart by the train uncoupling because of the massive air pressure built up inside the hose. When the train pulls apart you'll hear a very loud bang and if you're looking you'll see the hose split apart quite violently...It's no wonder none of the employees are very close by...I wouldn't want to get hit by one of those things!
We did leave Spokane eventually, but at this point we were around 12 hours delayed...Certainly did feel good to be moving again!
Now, the train was split so that the Sightseer Lounge car went to Portland...So what were we to use for a lounge car? The Diner! Aarene and I decided to spend a bit of time there viewing the landscapes around eastern Washington...I believe they did have to kick us out so they could do some cleaning and scrounge up some lunch for us. I suppose this massive delay means that we get extra food...more bang for the buck, so to speak. Once lunch was finished we hung around the diner some more until they kicked us out again...we were allowed back in later on, after we finished our station stop in Wenatchee. They decided to set out a platter or two of cookies and a few 1 litre boxes of apple and orange juice...Something for us to consider as supper, but considering that the train was now finished in terms of food supply (Imagine that...a train trip to and from Spokane and it's already out of food!), they couldn't feed us a full sitdown dinner. A couple other people (Tim and Dave) decided to join Aarene and myself and we all played cards...From what it looks like from the scores of the game, I think I won...but then, if memory serves, higher means that we lost. I can't remember. Anyhow, after we arrived at Edmonds, they decided to change crews yet again, because the crew that took us from nowheresville Montana was about to go dead...So, for the remainder of the trip from Edmonds into Seattle, we've got yet another crew!
A little while after departing from Edmonds, the crew kicked us out of the dining car again, and at this point I went down to my sleeper to do some more reading and to get myself all packed up again. The young lady across from me and I talked a while and after a little bit she realized that she was so out of cash that she didn't have anything to give Ward as a tip! I suppose some people believe that if they upgrade to a sleeper, or reserve space on the sleepers that everything is paid for, including tips! Certainly some misunderstandings there, as she kind of wondered why some of the dining car staff treated her so poorly the second time...Anyway, both of us were out of dollars for tips, but I didn't know whether I should just tell him that he did an excellent job, but not back it up with any dollars? In the end, I'm sad to say I just left the train and walked away. I do feel somewhat guilty at this...If I ever see him again, I'll be sure to double my tip to him... I also said my goodbyes to Aarene and her Dad, as well as another older gentleman (senior citizen, almost looked like he was a farmer for the bulk of his life...but then, he never married...Hmm...) before walking into the train station to meet Wally.
To all of the crew of the Empire Builder that day, especially Cynthia...you did an admirable job given the circumstances...Not the easiest of jobs trying to deal with a few hundred people who were cranky and upset at being delayed that long. I too suffered, but thankfully it was only sightseeing in Seattle. I definitely did plan this trip right leaving more than enough time between connections so that I could afford these massive delays and not feel pinched for time...I can't say the same for a lot of the other passengers though. With luck, the passengers most affected will be compensated adequately...These things happen, and those who plan with these types of delays are the most wise.
This ends this segment of my travelogue...To continue on with my journey home, here's the next segment of my travelogue.
Consist BEFORE Havre, MT
837 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
800 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
814 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
1561 - Boxcar (checked baggage most likely)
1726 - US Mail Car
39014 - Transition Sleeper
32035 - Superliner I Sleeper
38031 - Dining Car (Superliner I)
34002 - Superliner I Coach
31540 - Superliner I Coach (Smoking)
33023 - Sightseer Lounge/Cafe Car (Superliner I)
34053 - Superliner I Coach
31026 - Superliner I Coach (Baggage)
32003 - Superliner I Sleeper
?? - Boxcar dropped off in Milwaukee.
Consist AFTER Whitefish, MT.
816 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
807 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
810 - P40 Genesis Locomotive
32071 - Superliner II Sleeper (Arizona)
31028 - Superliner I Coach (Baggage)
34006 - Superliner I Coach
33032 - Sightseer Lounge/Cafe Car (Superliner II)
31523 - Superliner I Coach (Smoking)
34020 - Superliner I Coach
38028 - Dining Car (Superliner I)
32047 - Superliner I Sleeper
39036 - Transition Sleeper
Consist that went to Portland (In order):
816 - 32071 - 31028 - 34006 - 33032.
Consist that went to Seattle (In order):
807 - 810 - 31523 - 34020 - 38028 - 32047 - 39036
(the transition sleeper was facing backwards...that is, it had a low level entrance at the back end of the train)