13Aug11: The Maple Leaf (Rail Day 1)

We left Ithaca by van in the morning (Saturday) and drove to the Syracuse Amtrak station. The first rail leg of our journey was Amtrak's Maple Leaf from Syracuse, NY to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since this was a day trip we traveled coach on the Maple Leaf. In Toronto we were to have a two and a half hour layover before boarding the VIA Rail’s Canadian for Vancouver, B.C.

We left Syracuse around 1 pm, pretty much on time, headed west, and got about five miles. Then we stopped. There seemed to be a problem with a track switch. The train backed back into the Syracuse station and we sat there for nearly an hour until the switch was repaired.

Once we got going again there was freight congestion between Syracuse and Rochester. Every time we met an east-bound freight the Maple Leaf pulled into a siding and waiting for the freight to pass. By the time we got to Rochester we were over an hour behind schedule. West of Rochester we managed, somehow, not to lose any more time. Until we got to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

When we got to Canadian customs in Niagara Falls we were over two and a half hours behind schedule, and worried that we would not make our connection with the Canadian, which would not be running again until the following Tuesday. We didn't think the Maple Leaf could make up enough time to get us to Toronto before 10 pm. The train crew speculated that because the train was so late customs would go back to the more streamline system they had been using up until a few months ago and not take everyone off the train. No such luck. In fact Carol and I were chosen for a random luggage search.

While our luggage was emptied out and searched, including laptops and cell phone directories, our traveling companions, Marc and Phyllis, found a VIA Rail agent and asked about our chances of making our connection. No chance if we stayed on the Maple Leaf. Our only chance, and a slim one at that, was to hire a taxi to Toronto. It turns out that the VIA Rail people knew that we were on the Maple Leaf and needed to get to Toronto for the Canadian. They also knew the Maple Leaf was too late for us to make it and contacted Amtrak before we reached Buffalo and asked Amtrak to get us off the train in Buffalo and put us in a taxi to Toronto.  Amtrak refused to do so. Because Amtrak refused to do so we had to pay for the taxi out of our own pockets. With tip it was $US 210.

The taxi driver was very nice and skillful. And fast. At times we were going in excess of 130 Km/hr. Carol kept her eyes closed for much of this ride.  We got us to the Toronto station with less than ten minutes to spare. A VIA ticket agent was there waiting for us with our tickets. Fortunately the Canadian was not at the platform yet, so we had a short time to catch our breath. As it turns out the Maple Leaf did not get to Toronto until after 10:30 that evening.

13Aug11: The Canadian: Day 1 (Rail Day 1)

The second leg of our journey was aboard the Canadian, which took us all the way across Canada, from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, B.C. In Vancouver we were to get on the bus segment of Amtrak's the Cascades to Portland, Oregon, after about a one and three-quarters hour layover.

When the Canadian was finally at the platform the first thing VIA did was load about 150 YMCA kids into the coaches. Then they started loading the sleeper cars. We finally pulled out of the station around 11 pm, about an hour late. On this train we had a double bedroom. This accommodation has two single beds, one over the other. The upper berth slides up into the ceiling when not in use and the lower one folds up into the wall, leaving room for two reclining chairs. The upper berth has about 30 inches between the mattress and the ceiling, so you can barely sit upright. Since the beds go across the width of the car you can see out the window from the upper bed. You are looking down at the ground, but at least you can see something and tell if it is day or night. There is also a private toilet for the room in a small, very small, compartment off the main room. The shower at one end of the car and is shared by everyone in the car. I didn't find this to be a problem since I generally get up around 5 am and there was no competition for the shower at that time. Later risers often had to wait for a turn in the shower.  Our travel companions Marc and Phyllis had the adjoining double bedroom.  Carol had requested this so that during the day the car attendant could open the wall between the two rooms, giving the four of us one big room allowing us to chat or play cards and enjoy the scenery together.. But when we boarded we discovered there had been a bit of miscommunication about the adjoining rooms and discovered the beds were down and the wall was folded away so the four of us were essentially sleeping in one room.  While we found this amusing it was not at all what we had intended.  The car attendant fixed this while we went to the observation car for complimentary champagne. We took our champagne up into the dome of the observation car to try and see the aurora borealis, which was supposed to come that far south that night. Unfortunately between the full moon and the light pollution from Toronto we didn't see a thing and eventually went to bed.  When we returned to our rooms each couple had a private room for the night as intended.

14Aug11: The Canadian: Day 2 (Rail Day 2)

Our ticket price included meals and these were really good. They seemed to be mostly prepared on board and the menu changed every day. Meals were served in a well appointed dining car on real china and glassware with a fresh flower on each table. Dining staff were efficient, courteous, and friendly.  In addition there were snacks, coffee, tea, juice, water and fresh fruit available at all times in the lounge car.  The only thing we had to pay for was any beer or wine we wanted.  Headed west across the Laurentian Plateau. Boreal forest, also known as taiga, on either hand. Beautiful landscape with hundreds of lakes and rocky, wooded hills covered with birch trees, various conifers, and lichens. To our disappointment, though, no wildlife. We soon found out that the Canadian had the lowest priority on the line. We pulled into a siding and waited for every east-bound freight. By the time we reached Winnipeg, Manitoba, the next morning we were four hours behind schedule.

15Aug11: The Canadian: Day 3 (Rail Day 3)

We scheduled to have a four hour layover in Winnipeg, but because we were so far behind schedule it was shortened to about forty-five minutes. Not really enough time to see any of the city. We were able to take a short walk to stretch our legs and enjoy the nice weather, and visit the statue of Gandhi on the grounds where a Human Rights museum is being built. The four of us were concerned about missing the train and headed back to the station a little earlier than we needed to. We spent what felt like a very long time in the station's boarding lounge waiting for them to finish servicing the train and allow us to re-board.

After we left Winnipeg we spent the day rolling through the plains of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, again stopping and waiting for east-bound freights. We saw some horses and cattle, but still no wildlife. That night around Saskatoon I watched a thunderstorm come in from the west, the mountains just visible in the distance.

16Aug11: The Canadian: Day 4 (Rail Day 4)

At dawn we were just coming into Edmonton, Alberta. Shortly thereafter we entered the Canadian Rockies. Unbelievably beautiful. The track mostly follows rivers with the mountains rising on either hand. Still no wildlife for most of us. Marc saw a couple of bighorn sheep through his binoculars, but that was pretty much it. There was a short stop in Jasper, Alberta where we got out and wandered around town for an hour or so. After Jasper we continued on the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies and crossed the continental divide at Yellowhead Pass. Throughout the entire trip on the Canadian we continued to wait for the east-bound traffic.

17Aug11: The Canadian: Day 5 (Rail Day 5)

The western slope of the Canadian Rockies was traversed at night, so we didn't see any of that. You would have to take the east-bound Canadian, train number 2, in order to see those mountains. Arrived in Vancouver shortly after 10:30 in the morning, less than an hour behind schedule. This cut our layover down to about an hour.

17Aug11: The Cascades (Rail Day 5)

The third leg of our journey was aboard Amtrak's the Cascades. This leg was by bus from Vancouver to Seattle, Washington, then by train from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. We stayed in Portland for four days before taking Amtrak's Coast Starlight to Emeryville, California, to get the California Zephyr.

The bus left Vancouver about half an hour late, but there were enough passengers that they split it into two buses. One bus made all the scheduled stops and the other, which we were on, was express to Seattle with no stops except customs. We made good time on the highway. US customs was a breeze, just a glance at our passports and the bags through the x-ray scanner. As we approached Seattle we could see Mount Rainier in the distance. We actually got to Seattle about 45 minutes early, which meant we had about a three hour layover before the train portion of the Cascades left for Portland.

The train left Seattle pretty much on time. The Cascades was another day train for us, so again we traveled coach. The entire time we had the beautiful Cascade Mountains to the east of us, our left-hand side as we headed south. We steadily lost time on the way to Portland. Approaching Portland we saw Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood. This train has convenient monitors situated in each car showing the next stop and expected arrival times.  Based on the information on those monitors we are called our Portland friends, Ed and Sally, to let them know that we would be arriving a little later.  However we arrived in Portland around 9:00 pm, right on time, in spite of the fact that the monitor still indicated that we would not arrive there for at least 10 more minutes.  Lucky for us Ed and Sally showed up promptly anyway.

22Aug11: The Coast Starlight: Day 1 (Rail Day 6)

The fourth leg of our journey, and the first leg of our return trip home, was aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight. This is an overnight train from Portland, Oregon to Emeryville, California. In Emeryville we were to have a 55 minute layover before leaving on the California Zephyr for Chicago, Illinois.  We missed Marc and Phyllis!

The Coast Starlight left Portland at about 2:50 in the afternoon, 15 minutes behind schedule. This train was an overnight train for us, so we had a roomette. The cars on the Coast Starlight were double-deck Superliners. Most of the compartments were on the upper deck, with a few on the lower deck with the shower and toilets. Our roomette was on the upper deck. This consisted of two seats facing each other which converted into a lower berth at night, and an upper berth which folded down from the ceiling. The beds are against the side of the car, instead of perpendicular to it as the ones on the Canadian were. The upper berth is not for the claustrophobic as there is less than 24 inches between the mattress and the ceiling so you cannot sit upright. You also cannot see out of any window.  Carol tried it and quickly asked me to switch with her!  The toilet and shower were both shared by the entire car. There is a curtain over the doorway to the roomette for some privacy and a sliding door that can be closed for more privacy, though we found it too hot to close it. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our meals were included in the ticket price. When we made our reservations it looked like meals were not included. The meals were OK, mostly pre-prepared and microwaved, but not up to the standards we were used to on VIA Rail.   We were disappointed to learn that the fresh fruit, yogurt, crackers and other  snacks that were always available on VIA Rail were not available on Amtrak.

During the afternoon and evening we traveled through southern Oregon with the Coastal Range to the west and the Cascades to the east, into the Klamath Mountains by nightfall. Still did not see any wildlife.

23Aug11: The Coast Starlight: Day 2 (Rail Day 7)

The trip through the Coastal Range of mountains was beautiful, though any sign of wildlife still escaped us.  As we approached San Francisco we saw the mothball fleet of Navy ships at anchor. Mostly supply ships, but it did look like there was one Iowa-class battleship there. I looked it up later and it was not only an Iowa-class battleship, it was the USS Iowa, BB61. We got to Emeryville, California at little after 8:30 in the morning, about twenty minutes behind schedule.

23Aug11: The California Zephyr: Day 1 (Rail Day 7)

The fifth leg of our journey was on the California Zephyr from Emeryville, California, just outside San Francisco, to Chicago, Illinois. We were supposed to get to Chicago around 3 in the afternoon and were to stay a night in a hotel and catch the Lake Shore Limited to Rochester, New York at 9:30 the next evening.

On the California Zephyr we again had a roomette, identical to the one we had on the Coast Starlight since this train also consisted of Superliners. One thing we figured out was that if we left the upper bed down during the day that gave us a shelf on which to put our luggage. We just had to watch out when getting up from our seats, so as not to bang our heads.   Carol insists that her head is *still* sore from all the times she forgot.  Our meals were again included and were on par with what we were served on the Coast Starlight. Unfortunately the menu did not change, we were offered the same thing every day.

We left Emeryville a little after 9 in the morning, right about on time, and saw the mothball fleet again on our way out. We headed east across California and by early afternoon were in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Sierra Nevadas seemed steeper and more rugged than the Canadian Rockies. There were more tunnels and bridges than on the Canadian line. One amazing view was of the American River more in its valley more than 2,000 feet below the train. By early evening we reached Reno, Nevada and the high desert.

Even though we had to wait for every west-bound freight we got to Reno, Nevada before 4:45 pm, only about half an hour behind schedule.

During all this our car attendant quit in the early evening, before we even got to Elko, Nevada.  All the passengers in our car noticed that he was not doing a good job. One of the other passengers spoke to the conductor about him and it turned out he had not been doing his job at all for some time, but union rules kept them from taking swift action. The attendants from the other sleeper cars took over our car as well as their own and had us well taken care of until we got to Denver and a new attendant came on board for our car. Kudos to Bob and Jim! Especially Jim who worked for something like 20 hours straight to get our car in proper condition.

24Aug11: The California Zephyr: Day 2 (Rail Day 8)

In the early hours of the morning we crossed into Utah and during the day passed from the high desert plains into the Wasatch Mountains. Randy saw three antelopes in the Wasatch Mountains, and Carol got a quick glimpse of one of them.  This was our first real wildlife sighting on the trip. In the afternoon we crossed into Colorado and began to climb the western slope of the Colorado Rockies. As we worked our way up we climbed along one side of a valley, turned 180 degrees around the head of the valley, climbed along the other side, then switched back and climbed higher along that side, and then crossed across the head of the valley again. We could look down and see all three legs of the switchback to where it started on the valley floor, now probably 1000 feet below. Very different from the Canadian Rockies. The railroad clings to the side of the mountain rather than staying in the river valleys. Lots of trestles, bridges, and tunnels. We cross the continental divide in the Moffat Tunnel, a 6.25 mile long tunnel that took us nearly 15 minutes to get through. Before the tunnel was opened the line had to work its way over Rollins Pass, which was an additional 170 miles. After Moffat Tunnel we went through a series of smaller tunnels with steep valleys and mountains to the north between them, until we came out of the last tunnel where there was suddenly a vast plain stretched out far below us with Denver, Colorado in the distance. Shortly after leaving the tunnel we saw a few deer along the track.  Carol spotted a rabbit as well.

We spent a long time going up hill behind a freight which didn't have the motive power to go any faster than 17 mph, so we only went 17 mph. This was in addition to waiting on sidings for every west-bound freight coming through. It was almost a 9:45 pm when we got to Denver, about two and a half hours behind schedule. In Denver the new attendant came on board for our car, which was a welcome relief for Bob and Jim.

25Aug11: The California Zephyr: Day 3 (Rail Day 9)

During the night we crossed into Nebraska. We arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska around 6:30 in the morning, three hours overdue. From there the California Zephyr normally goes to Omaha, Nebraska, however the Missouri River is still flooded and the line through Omaha currently has a temporary levee built across it, so pretty much all traffic is routed over a single river crossing south of Omaha. Of course this meant we had more freight traffic to wait for before we could proceed east. Shortly after we left Lincoln one of the dining car crew became ill and we had to stop so that she could be taken by ambulance to a hospital. The two ambulances that arrived were from Greenwood and Ashland, Nebraska. We were all concerned that she, I think her name was Cheri or Sherry, was being sent all alone to a hospital hundreds of miles from home. One of the other dining car crew, Mildred (one of two Mildreds working in the dining car) got off the train and stayed with her. That made us feel a little better and we all hope that Cheri (or Sherry) is doing well and home with her family by now. This meant that the dining car was now down two people. Bob and Jim and the new attendant Miguel pitched right in, waiting and busing tables.

When we reached the Missouri River we could see flooding on either hand. Acres and acres of land covered with water with occasional groups of trees and farm buildings standing in the flood. One section of track would have been under water if it hadn't been for the sandbags pile along both sides.

Because of the limited crossings for the Missouri the traffic was very congested. By the time we got to Burlington, Iowa we were almost 10 hours behind schedule. We should have been there at 10:30 in the morning, but didn't get there until almost 9 pm. Then things got bad. We got to within about 15 miles of Galesburg, Illinois and stopped. First there were four west-bound freights we had to wait for. They passed and we moved a mile or so. Then there were a couple of more freights we had to wait for. They passed and we moved a little more. Then there were more freights we had to wait for. At this point it had been 6 hours since we stopped west of Galesburg and we had advanced a total of 5 miles. The last freight we were waiting for either had the locomotive die or the operating crew had their clock run out, which meant they had to stop and wait for a new crew or for their clock to reset in eight hours. By the time that train cleared our operating crew had run out of time and we had to wait another 45 minutes for a new crew. All told we spent 8 hours in one five mile stretch just a few miles east of Galesburg.

None of this information was easy to come by. The conductor had stopped telling the passengers anything at this point. He wasn't telling the crew much either. Yet again it was Jim, whose full name I believe is James Carson, who stepped into the breach. Jim pried information from whatever source he could and passed it on to the passengers. He also convinced the conductor to resume letting us know what was going on. It was really James Carson who held that train together and I hope he will get some recognition from Amtrak for that.

Once the new operating crew was on board BNSF seemed to realize that the California Zephyr had been held up enough and the west-bound freights wait for us to pass. We were so far behind schedule that we had to be served an unplanned dinner. Sleeping car passengers had a choice of one the three least popular entrees (that's what they had left). Coach passengers were served chicken stew which we can only assume was made from what was left.