SUMMER 1997 AMTRAK TRAVELOGUE
                        PART VI - THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF

by Carol Larsen
   ka9hfa@itol.com

SUNDAY, JULY 6, 1997

Two P42 engines pulled the Southwest Chief into the station right on time at
9:15 PM.  The rail buff men had the whole thing down to a science, telling
me exactly where the 0430 car would stop.  They wished me a good trip as  I
was greeted by sleeper attendant Harold Richardson and boarded the car.   One
of them called to me that I should be sure to wave from upstairs in my  room.
My room was on that side, so I did just that as the train departed.   When
they saw me, they waved back, making me feel as though I had more  friends
seeing me off.  After my aunt and Bruce in Oceanside, I hadn't expected  any
further well-wishers.

Again the sleepers were at the end of the train.  I had previously been
accustomed to their being at the head of the train behind the dorm car.
This configuration meant I wouldn't have far to walk into the station  when I
detrained in Chicago.  As I settled into my room, I found my meal  voucher
and also a Southwest Chief toiletries kit in a clear plastic case.  It
contained lotion, shampoo, travel toothbrush, and toothpaste, all  imprinted
with "Southwest Chief" and the Amtrak logo.  The car was a Superliner I
sleeper.  It's no longer possible to determine from the outside whether  the
equipment is Superliner I or II, as the stripes on all the cars I've  seen
are now repainted in the Phase IV color scheme (two narrow red stripes  over
a wide blue stripe instead of equally wide red, white, and blue  stripes).
As to the meal voucher, this is the only route I found on this trip that
uses this voucher, which you must show in the diner in addition to  signing
your meal check if you're a First Class passenger.  It seems to be a  quicker
way for the diner staff to ascertain who signs and who pays.

I had never been in room 10 on any other trip and thought it might be  noisy,
being by the door into the next car.  I normally prefer one of the lower
number rooms as being closer to the beverage center and the stairs.
However, when my aunt's change of plans caused my change of plans and  train
reservations at a late date, I was lucky to get a room on that train at  all
and not be stuck on the lower level.  This room was even on the side of  the
train that I prefer.  I didn't find it noisy at all, maybe because the  door
outside my room didn't lead to the diner.  The passengers from the last
sleeping car were the only ones to come through that door.

As soon as the conductor took my ticket, I headed to the diner to check  on
the availability of the cheese and fruit buffet that I had read about on  the
Amtrak list server.  The diner had taken on a relaxing atmosphere with
dimmed lights.  Not only was the buffet still set up, but there was more
than I had hoped for, having passed the dinner hour to which my stomach  had
become accustomed over the past several weeks.  A few people were still
sitting in the booths, partaking of the crackers, several types of  cheese,
melon slices, grapes, strawberries, and finger sandwiches.  There was a
choice of white wine or cola, although there may have been other  beverages
earlier.  I filled a plate and chose the wine, since the hour was late  and
it wouldn't matter that the wine might make me feel sleepy.  When I  finally
left, I checked on the movie showing in the lounge car; it didn't look  that
interesting and I was tired by then.

Back in the sleeper, Harold opened my bed, verified that I had found my  meal
voucher, and informed me that fresh coffee and juices would be available  at
the beverage center in the car in the morning.  By now I was anxious to  curl
up under the covers, but sat up watching scenery until noting our  on-time
stop, 11:22 PM at Victorville, CA.

MONDAY, JULY 7, 1997

I awoke at 4:55 AM with daylight just beginning to break over the  forests of
western Arizona.  I rolled over and the next thing I knew it was 6:10  AM.
Languishing in comfort, I finally decided when a newspaper came under  the
door that I had better be up and doing.  We had stopped at Flagstaff, on
time to the minute at 6:38 AM, even after some concern with red flags  and
lights, heard on my radio during the night.

I knew we would be losing an hour when we crossed from Mountain Standard
Time in Arizona to Mountain Daylight Time in New Mexico sometime this
morning, but I hadn't remembered how soon that would happen.  By the  time I
headed for the diner at 7:50, I realized it was really 8:50 AM!  That  was
poor planning on my part.  I shouldn't have stopped to make notes for  this
report before breakfast.  One advantage was that Barbara, the dining car
steward, seated me immediately in Lisa's section, as most of the other
people had already eaten.

I enjoyed the Western Omelette served with home fries (they were out of
grits), sausage, orange juice, biscuits, and coffee.  I don't usually  like
hash browns or home fries, which have a tendency to be greasy, but these
were particularly good.  Seated at my table were a mother and young son
Mikey from Manitowoc, WI, which isn't far from where I live.  They had  been
vacationing in California.  Her other son, age 13, was sleeping through  the
breakfast hour.  I overheard interesting talk about trains coming from a
table across the aisle.  I thought perhaps I might have a chance to sit  with
those people sometime during the trip.

Not wanting to miss any of the available Southwest Chief souvenirs, I
thought I should check on them early in the trip.  The attendant, Bruce
Anderson, said the coffee mugs came in black or white.  I took the last
white one and also selected a ceramic Southwest Chief trivet.  I then
returned to the upper level to observe scenery.

At Gallup, NM, a Native American guide boarded the train to do a  commentary
between there and Albuquerque on the history and tribes of the region.   The
last time I rode the Southwest Chief, the guide was a man with a slight
Native American inflection.  This time the guide was a girl from the  Laguna
tribe, who spoke without an inflection.  I didn't see her when she  boarded
and she was stationed on the lower level of the lounge car, so I didn't  see
if she was in costume or street clothes.  Her commentary was interesting  and
that was the important part.  Toward the end of her time on board, she
showed two videos on their culture, the last one being on pottery  making.

By then, Barbara was announcing lunch.  What, food again already?  The
morning had flown by, partly due to the time change.  I really prefer
traveling from east to west where I gain an hour each day.  I thought I
would wait to eat until after our stop at Albuquerque.  We arrived there
early at 12:45 instead of 12:59.  I remember running early on my last  trip
on the Southwest Chief, too.  Since we couldn't leave Albuquerque until
1:24, I had plenty of time for photos, browsing at tables set up by the
locals to sell Native American jewelry and crafts, and jotting down the
details of the consist:

P42    37
P42    62
P40    840
MHC    1517
MHC    1452
MHC    1509
MHC    1448
MHC    1556
MHC    1512
MHC    1542
Baggage car  1165
Transition Sleeper  39016
Coach  34058
Coach  34132
Coach  34046
Coach  31520
Sightseer Lounge  33038
Diner  38008
Sleeper  32016
Sleeper  32067

Since it had been three years since I last rode the Southwest Chief, I
thought a new depot might have been built at Albuquerque, a stop which  is
both for service and crew change.  Not so.  I've seen pictures of it,  but
never saw the original station building which was destroyed by fire and  torn
down in early 1994.  This was just a few months before my first trip  through
there.  As it is, the only facilities for passengers at the platform are  the
food service trucks and a pay phone.  However, no new depot could ever  fully
replace the historic charm of an older depot, if well-maintained.

By 1:15 PM I was seated in the diner at Lisa's table again, and again
without having to wait.  I selected the LaPlata salad with sliced  chicken,
cherry tomatoes, black olives, green peppers, and mixed greens, with  iced
tea to drink.  I was joined briefly by Ralph, a constitutional law  professor
from Kalamazoo, MI where he teaches at Western Michigan University.  He  was
having only dessert, his favorite banana cake, but he left the delicious
looking nutty frosting behind.

Bob Sine, the Chief of Onboard Services, came through, introducing  himself
and inquiring how everyone's trip was going.  He asked me if Harold was
taking good care of me.  This was only Harold's second week as an  attendant.
I never would have suspected that he was new at the job.  Bob was glad  to
hear that and asked if there had been coffee ready in the morning.  I
assured him that there had been coffee and juices, which he was also  glad to
hear.

Back in my room, I heard Bob make a PA announcement that we would be  delayed
slightly because a red flag was down for a track crew.  I'm sure  passengers
who don't monitor rail frequencies appreciate knowing the nature of  delays,
but this information is seldom announced.  He also announced that there
would be abbreviated serving times in the lower level of the lounge car.
Josie, the regular attendant, had strained her back and had to leave the
train.  Bruce Anderson was only filling in for her part of the time.  A
replacement attendant was on his way to join the train that evening.

The track crew delay didn't last long.  By then, Barbara announced she  would
be coming through the train taking dinner reservations.  I chose 7:00  PM, my
usual eating time at home.  I didn't want to chose a later time when  they
might be out of some items.  However, sometimes they call the  reservations
earlier; I didn't want to have to eat any sooner than necessary.

After that, I returned to the Sightseer Lounge where I could photograph  the
train going through the horseshoe curve and also the former LaCastenada
Harvey House at Las Vegas, NM.  It's no longer mentioned in the route  guide,
but is still there.  What a shame that it hasn't been restored for a  museum,
hotel, or some other useful purpose, as it's quite an impressive  structure.
We were still on time despite the track crew delay.

Bob Sine came through the lounge car, still meeting and greeting.  He  saw me
writing notes for this report and, teasing me, offered to give me some  of
his paperwork, too.  No thanks!  I overheard him telling some other  people
that he had been with Amtrak for 23 years.  He's very tall, with grey  hair
and a goatee, so makes an imposing figure as the Chief.  In fact, if he  was
much taller, he would have to duck when going through the doorways.  I
secretly thought that Bob and his crew could be called "Bob Sine and the
Sine Waves."  Perhaps only electronics experts and my fellow Ham radio
operators will understand that.  I must have been getting goofy toward  the
end of my trip!

Maybe it was all the food that I can't bring myself to cut back on.  At  home
I never eat that much and almost never eat desserts except for special
occasions.  Riding Amtrak is a special occasion, right?  Right!  Bruce
announced Happy Hour in the lower level.  I would have liked to have a
margarita and chips, but was still rather stuffed from lunch, with  dinner
less than three hours away.

Sometime between 6:00-7:00 PM we crossed the state line into Colorado.   I
remembered from a previous trip that living on the north side of the  tracks
in that area was an older lady who always waved at the train.  If it was  the
time of year when it would be dark, she then waved with a flashlight.  I
asked Bob if he recalled hearing about this lady.  He mentioned the
flashlight before I came to that part, so I knew he did, but he didn't
remember where she lived.  I was sitting on the north side of the lounge  car
until 7:00, when I had to leave for dinner.  We were at Trinidad, CO by  that
time, and I hadn't seen anyone waving.

At dinner I was seated in Lisa's section again, this time with Art and
Phyllis from Bolo, IL.  Art is a minister and they were returning from a
religious conference in California.  We were joined by Allison, a girl  from
Las Vegas who had been seated with them at breakfast.  She was going to
visit her parents in New Jersey to inform them of her recent engagement.   We
had a very enjoyable visit, with conversation on a variety of topics
including weddings and trains.  Even after Allison finished eating and  left,
Phyllis, Art, and I continued to linger over dessert (that banana cake)  and
coffee until 8:50 PM.

On my way back to the sleeper, Bob stopped me and said he heard that I  was a
railroad person.  I verified that he didn't think I worked for a  railroad.
On some of my previous trips, I though a few crew members suspected I  was an
Amtrak "plant."  I don't know if it's the way I look, act, that I  frequently
come equipped with a full complement of paper work, or what.  Bob must  have
overheard part of my table conversation.  When I told him that I hadn't  seen
the lady waving, he said it had been five years since he was last on  this
route, but he was sure she was still there.  He told me to ask the woman
conductor where it was that she lived, but I didn't see that conductor
again.

I asked Bob what flick was showing that night, since I had heard some  people
earlier saying it would be shown both at 7:00 and 9:00.  It was "The
Associate" with Whoopi Goldberg and he was about to go rewind it.  That  was
a good one I wouldn't want to miss, even though it might be 10:30 or so
before it ended.  One of my friends and I had talked about renting it  last
winter when it was coming out in the video.

When I entered the lounge car a little after 9:00, the first showing was
just ending, with no seats available close to the monitors.  At the end  of
the movie, almost everyone left the lounge, so I was able to move to an
ideal location before the next group of watchers arrived.  It was almost
9:30 before Bob had the movie ready to go again.  Worse still, we soon
crossed into Kansas and Central Daylight Time, losing another hour.
Consequently, it was midnight before the movie ended.  Bob was sitting  in
the diner with some other personnel when I cut through on my way to my
sleeper.  He asked if I would recommend the movie and said he would have  to
rent it sometime, since he never has time to watch it on the train.

TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1997

I had intended to go to bed early in order to have an early breakfast,
spaced adequately before lunch around noon, due to our 3:15 PM arrival  time
in Chicago.  However, I sat up watching our 12:36 stop in Dodge City, KS  and
arose around 6:30 AM.  During the night, we traveled through heavy rain,
thunder, and lightning.  It didn't really disturb my sleep, but at one  point
I heard talk on my radio about having the conductor listen to the  weather
bureau report for any mention of tornadoes.  "Kansas-tornadoes-Wizard of
Oz!" ran through my mind.  I must have been tired to fall back to sleep
after that!

It was still gloomy and raining when we arrived early into Kansas City,  MO,
a service stop, at 6:55 AM.  This would not be a good time for walking  the
platform.  I was seated in the diner by 7:10 in Peggy Lyon's section.   This
time I ordered the Grand Canyon combination: two pancakes, an egg,  sausage,
with a grapes garnish, along with my orange juice and coffee.  What did  I
say about cutting back on food?  I also chose a side order of grits to  make
up for having missed them the day before.  I never eat grits at home,  only
on the train or when traveling in the south--part of absorbing local  color.
I was joined by a girl from Los Angeles who was going to visit family in
Detroit.  We were stopped in Kansas City until the scheduled 7:38  departure,
which was during most of the meal.  By now, it seemed strange to be  eating
on a motionless train.

It was cool in the diner, so after breakfast I went back to my room to  get
my jacket.  Harold had made my bed, but the pillows looked so good  propped
up on the seats that I decided a nap was in order.  It was still gloomy  out
and I had eaten way too much.  When the sky began to clear, I called a  halt
to the nap.

On my radio, I heard talk about kids deliberately stopping up two of the
toilets in one of the coaches.  Obviously the attendants weren't very  happy
about that.  That was also about the time that Barbara announced lunch  would
begin at 11:30, due to the early arrival in Chicago.  How was I going to  eat
again in two hours?  Perhaps I could postpone going in until noon.

Enjoying my own little space, I stayed in my room until around 11:00,  when I
thought I had better at least walk to the lounge car for exercise.   While
there, I cashed in my free beverage coupon that Harold had left the
afternoon before.  On the Empire Builder, George had given us coupons  for
non-alcoholic beverages.  This one was good for any beverage, alcoholic  or
not, but I took a Diet Pepsi to bring along on the Hiawatha.  The new  lower
level attendant was Michael.

Before lunch, I had noticed we were behind schedule at a couple of  stops.  I
heard that another crew member, I think it was a trainee, had become ill  and
was taken from the train by ambulance.  That made two down on this trip.

I proceeded to the diner shortly after noon and was seated in Peggy's
section again.  I was joined by Drew, a high school senior from Wichita,  KS
who was moving to Boston to live with his father.  He was a personable  young
man and a good conversationalist.  His father owns a restaurant and Drew
plans to become a chef.  I really wasn't hungry but settled on the Great
American Burger and iced tea.  Drew ordered the same.  I normally avoid
ordering burgers, which I can have anytime, anywhere.  There was a  problem
with the dishwasher in the diner, so our meal had to be served on foam
plates with plastic glasses and utensils.  Otherwise, we always have  Amtrak
china and good quality tableware in the diners on all routes.  The  burger
was exceptionally delicious and was accompanied with tomato, lettuce,  and
sliced onion, plus potato salad.  I even managed to find room for a dish  of
vanilla ice cream, but passed on having chocolate or fruit topping.

Upon finishing lunch, I waddled through the door into the Sightseer  Lounge
car for one last time, flopping into the closest seat.  The man in the  next
seat looked at my notebook and asked if I was writing an article for
publication.  Lenzie Hedrick, a AAA Travel escort from Ohio, puts  together
tours including rail travel, which he and his wife escort.  I explained  that
I thought my report would appear in TrainWeb.

Lenzie told me that I would be able to use the Metropolitan Lounge in
Chicago while waiting for the Hiawatha, even though I wasn't continuing  my
travels as a First Class Passenger.  I thought we had decided otherwise  on
the Amtrak list server, but said I would have to give it a try so I  could
report back.  By the time our conversation ended, I was interested in a  tour
he's planning for next year, although it probably won't fit into my
calendar.

Back in the sleeper, I began packing up my "toys."  The third piece of
baggage, the Eddie Bauer tote, was in use again by now.  The toiletries  kit
and the Southwest Chief souvenir items I purchased wouldn't fit in  anyplace
else, so I had put my change of clothing into the tote bag with them.   When
I don't otherwise need to use the extra tote, I normally keep my change  of
clothing in a large zip-lock bag inside the zipper compartment on the  front
of my suitcase.  After I board a train, I slip the zip-lock bag out of  the
suitcase and bring it to my room.  When I wear that outfit on the second  day
of the trip, I put the first outfit in the zip-lock bag and slip it back
into the suitcase.

Zip-lock bags are great for travel.  I pack all my blouses and other  tops
and miscellaneous items in zip-lock bags to put in my suitcase.  With  two or
three folded tops to each bag, I press the air out and zip the bag shut.
The tops can't shift in the bag, so stay wrinkle-free in the suitcase  even
if the bag shifts inside the case.  All these bags go in and out of my
suitcase easily; I only have to fold and unfold the items I want.   Smaller
zip-lock bags keep socks, lingerie, and miscellaneous loose items from  being
misplaced.

Harold came through the car, picking up refuse and offering to take  baggage
downstairs in preparation for our arrival in Chicago.  Then Bob came
through, shaking hands, telling everyone personally that he was glad to  have
had them aboard, and to come again soon.  By then, we had more than made  up
the lost time, thanks to schedule padding.  When we went into the wye  and
began backing toward the station at 2:55, I thought I might make the  less
crowded 3:15 PM Hiawatha instead of the 5:08.  I hadn't entertained any  idea
that this might be possible, since we were due in at 3:15 when that  Hiawatha
would be leaving.  Of course, I would still have to wait in Milwaukee  for my
ride.

We had to wait for some other train traffic, so by the time we actually
stopped in the station, it was exactly 3:15.  I said good-bye to Lenzie  and
his wife, who were standing with me in the lower foyer.  Harold lifted  my
suitcase to the platform, and shook my hand in parting.  Stacking my  totes
on the suitcase, I wheeled off down the platform, into the station, and  then
to the Metropolitan Lounge.
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Copyright 1997 by Carol Larsen