muralist0221
Active Member
Had ridden the original California Zephyr (CB&Q, D&RGW, WP) with its five dome cars in.1961. This was a delightful experience.
Made reservations for Amtrak's version in February, but had concerns. The Zephyr has been beset by mother nature problems including walls of snow in winter, forest fires recently, flooding three years ago and errant trucks whose drivers needed to go back to truck driving school. Didn't know what to expect.
The train arrived in Osceola, Iowa 15 minutes late, but arrived in Emoryville 50 minutes ahead of schedule. The return trip was 5 minutes early. In Denver they now wash the windows by hand using long mops and squeegies. The Westbound train had three sleepers and three coaches. It was sold out for months. The Eastbound consist had two sleepers and two coaches with two private cars pulling up the rear. Apparently, the head end power can only handle 10 cars. This contributes to the high revenue loss for this train and missed opportunities.
On-board service was the best I've ever seen on Amtrak. Both sleeping car attendants bent over backwards for the sleeper customers. One violated the rules opening the dutch door, so photographers could stick camcorders and digital cameras out the windows to capture the beauty of Colorado. On some Amtrak trains sleeping car attendants are conspicuous in their absence.
The food was good, but the dining car was jammed on each leg. The dining car staff was overworked. A group of blue grass musicians were hearded for a gig and rehearsed in the lounge car to the delight of passengers.
Still don't understand why overpriced sleeping car space on long haul trains is always sold out while you can fly for half the price. Think about it, Mitt Romney!
Made reservations for Amtrak's version in February, but had concerns. The Zephyr has been beset by mother nature problems including walls of snow in winter, forest fires recently, flooding three years ago and errant trucks whose drivers needed to go back to truck driving school. Didn't know what to expect.
The train arrived in Osceola, Iowa 15 minutes late, but arrived in Emoryville 50 minutes ahead of schedule. The return trip was 5 minutes early. In Denver they now wash the windows by hand using long mops and squeegies. The Westbound train had three sleepers and three coaches. It was sold out for months. The Eastbound consist had two sleepers and two coaches with two private cars pulling up the rear. Apparently, the head end power can only handle 10 cars. This contributes to the high revenue loss for this train and missed opportunities.
On-board service was the best I've ever seen on Amtrak. Both sleeping car attendants bent over backwards for the sleeper customers. One violated the rules opening the dutch door, so photographers could stick camcorders and digital cameras out the windows to capture the beauty of Colorado. On some Amtrak trains sleeping car attendants are conspicuous in their absence.
The food was good, but the dining car was jammed on each leg. The dining car staff was overworked. A group of blue grass musicians were hearded for a gig and rehearsed in the lounge car to the delight of passengers.
Still don't understand why overpriced sleeping car space on long haul trains is always sold out while you can fly for half the price. Think about it, Mitt Romney!
