Travelogue of Van den Bossche Peter

Message-Id: <199611081752.SAA24542@vnet3.vub.ac.be>
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 18:50:19 +0100
To: amtrak@sc.liberty.com
From: pvdbos@vnet3.vub.ac.be (Van den Bossche Peter)
Subject: helo

I am pleased to join this list. Please allow me this message to present
myself and my previous involvements with American railroading.
I am an electrical engineer from Belgium and have always been a keen
railroad fan. Trains have been my favourite means of travel, and for that
reason I have used them on most of my trips to America too! I have the
chance to be able to combine business trips with some fun travel too, so I
take the opportunity to go a bit round the country!

My first visit to the USA dates back to February 1994. I had to attend a
business meeting in Orlando, Florida. The meeting was scheduled in a hotel
inside the airport for ease of travel. But I chose to travel in style: fly
from Brussels to New York, and the next morning board the "Silver Star" to
Orlando. The heritage roomette was quite different from an European
sleeping car. The fact that you sleep with your feet in the direction of
travel was a nice surprise; you actually sleep better on a train this way.
The train was delayed for 2 hours due to a snow storm in New Jersey, but
otherwise this first Amtrak ride was a nice experience.
After the meeting, I took the "Sunset Limited" to New Orleans. The
Superliner coach seat was more ample than most business class airline
seats! There was a good atmosphere on the train, most people (including
myself) actually travelling to the Big Easy to attend the Mardi Gras! A few
more serious-looking transcontinental travellers completed the patronage on
this well-loaded train.
The Mardi gras atmosphere still reigned on the "City of New Orleans" to
Chicago. The older consist still offered confortable coach accomodation;
the dome cars were particularly impressive.
From Chicago I took the "Capitol Limited" to Washington DC. At that time,
it was still operated with Heritage equipment; I lived once again in a
roomette.
Finally, a Northeast Corridor train took me back to New York.

These experiences with American trains being very positive, I chose the
same way of transport for a conference in Anaheim, California, in december
1994. Fly once again to New York, there the (still with thru sleepers)
"Broadway Limited" (roomette) to Chicago, further the "Desert Wind"
(economy bedroom) to Los Angeles and finally a "San Diegan" to Anaheim.
I used, of course, a USA railpass which proves good value for aliens to use
Amtrak. Sleeping car supplements are extra, but in appraising their value
one should take into account that all meals are included! Then they become
cheap compared to Europe. For example, the supplement (on top of a
first-class ticket) for a single sleeping room on a premier overnight
service in Europe (such as Brussels-Vienna, a distance of about 800 miles)
amounts to nearly $200; you get as meals only a small tray breakfast with
it!. If you share the room with two, supplement (per person) is about
halved, the same room can also be used by three passengers holding
second-class tickets and paying a supplement of about $70. If you are
travelling alone and opt for a shared room, you may be put in with a
stranger, which is also not the case in US.
After  the conference, I used an extra day in Anaheim to travel to San
Diego and back, and then further north to San Francisco using the "Coast
Starlight". I spend a few days there, and went on north to Seattle using
the same train (perhaps even the same consist!).
From Seattle, back east on the "Empire Builder". This was a real fun train,
loaded with young Seattleites going to ski in Montana. The buffet car was
the heart of the action. When the train reached Spokane, all beer had gone,
and on the short stretch thru Idaho all hard liquor went the same way! Most
of those people got off at Whitefish, but I stayed on the train until
Essex, Montana, where I spend a magnificent two days in the famous Izaak
Walton Inn. I found out that morning that long walks out in the cold with
snowshoes were a good way to get rid of my hangover!
After two days at Essex I was ready to catch the morning "Empire Builder"
to Chicago. The train arrived five hours late however. This gave me the
opportunity to enjoy a hearthy and healthy breakfast at the Inn, but made
me afraid of getting my connection at Chicago, where I had two hours or so
to change on the "Lake Shore Limited". The train managed however to
gradually regain its schedule and arrived in Chicago only half an hour
late! I did the stretch Essex-Chicago in an economy bedroom; for some
reason the supplement I had to pay for this was higher than for the stretch
Chicago-Los Angeles, even if the latter includes two nights on the train.
For my last leg from Chicago to New York I took the slumbercoach
experience. These coaches are very efficiently laid out as to utilisation
of space, but may be less advised for claustrophobics! I had a nice sleep
on it anyhow.

The following two trips I made to US (in August and October 1995) were done
by car. I like to drive in the US too (in rural areas, on small roads, not
in  the big cities and their traffic jams of course), and I noticed the
ubiquity of (freight) railroads: nearly every small town has its railroad
connection, which seems, looking to the "shine" on the rails, reasonably
used. A pity many of this places cannot be reached by train, except perhaps
by an experienced 'hobo'...

My next trip to North America will be early 1997 (Jan-Feb). I will combine
a business meeting in the San Francisco area with meeting friends in
Montreal, Canada, all by train...  My plan will clock me up another 9500
miles. This is my (provisional) schedule:
- fly to Chicago, then "Southwest Chief" to Los Angeles
- on arrival in LA, bus to Bakersfield, and  "San Joaquin" to Emeryville
- after the work has been done, "Coast Starlight" to Seattle, and the next
day the "Mt Baker Int'l" to Vancouver
- "Canadian" to Winnipeg, and the next day "Hudson Bay" to Churchill,
Manitoba. (Going there in February to challenge the artic seems madness,
but the 1000-mile train ride is certainly worth it)
- Churchill back to Winnipeg, and on with "Canadian" to Toronto
- Next day to Montreal, and on to Quebec-city
- From Quebec-city by bus to Jonquiere, and there train to Montreal