What does the train look like from the inside?

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few pics!



A typical dinning car.


Dining in the train

The following pictures are those of a parlor car from the 1950s. It turns out that the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, according to some staff members, is the most lucrative route for Amtrak. As a result, the company has added a parlor car from the 1950s for first class passengers only.



This movie theater (below) is also from the 1950's (it is located beneath the parlor). I heard an announcer say that passengers could go to the theater to watch a movie. It turns out the invitation was only for first class.




The Arcade, another feature that is only found in the Surfliner


Coach (above)


The observatory (above) where people congregate to watch the scenery go by


Another lounge/dinning area



A typical bathroom (looks much cleaner in this picture)

From Chicago to New York

What an unpleasant ride! The staff was overall unfriendly and inefficient. Having being assigned four cars to take care of, the attendant was clearly overworked, and in no mood to provide a friendly service. As soon as passengers boarded the train in Chicago, he passed timetables. “Ladies and gentlemen, all the questions you got can be answered with the information in that pamphlet. Please read this before you ask me any questions. If I can’t answer a question, there’s a number you can call, or a map online you can check,” he instructed. A map online? Maybe he was riding a different train, but Amtrak doesn’t have Internet. As for the number we could call, that would be a wonderful idea if only we had service for more than segments of the trip. After talking to other passengers, I realized I was not the only one having a difficulty swallowing our attendant’s temperament. “This guy shouldn’t be working here,” one lady complained, “He has no understanding of customer service.”

As if the attitude of our attendant weren’t enough, the air conditioning kept the cars at a gelid temperature. Several people approached the staff to ask whether the AC could be turned down a bit. One of the assistant conductor was kind enough to explain that “these cars are so old that they only have an on and off switch. If it’s on, it’s on, and it gets cold, but I’ll see what I can do.” The previous time someone asked for the temperature to be turned down, our attendant just said, “No! There’s nothing I can do,” and continued walking.

Food and Alcohol on the Train

Several people have asked me what I think about the food on the train. Although most trains—if not all—have a lounge or snack bar, not all trains provide a full dining service. Therefore, I will rate the food and prices according to the venue through which they are served.

The trains with the dining cars provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One has to make reservations for lunch and dinner, though one attendant assured me that one never makes reservations for lunch. Dining dynamics, therefore, vary depending on the train. The dining car features community sitting, meaning the attendants will group strangers at the same table. And while most passengers welcome the excitement of meeting new people, a few others repudiate it by bringing a book to read, carrying an I-pad to send e-mails, or simply remaining quiet during the entire meal.

Breakfast and lunch are rationally priced, with meals costing between $7 and $12. For the price, the food is actually really good, though some passengers have commented that the quality of food vacillates with the party that is in office—“if Republicans are in the White House,” one passenger joked, “we get microwave food. With the Democrats, we get more gourmet.” Dinner seems to me a bit overpriced, with meals costing between fourteen and twenty-two dollars. I do not suggest the steak, which happens to be the most highly priced.

The food in the lounge car is definitely overpriced. A Snickers bar costs two dollars, and a personal microwaved pizza $5.50! If the ride is long, I suggest bringing your own food in a cooler. Amtrak allows the consumption of alcoholic beverages, but you must buy the drinks from the lounge, which can become rather costly. Although it is illegal to bring your own alcohol, many passengers do it anyway. What happens if you get caught? It depends on the conductor—some may throw you out, but most will just take it up. I have come across some passengers who have devised a clever way not to get caught. One gal had bought mini orange juice bottles, and mixed the juice with Vodka. Another guy simply replaced Vodka for water, and drank it straight.

Bottom line: food, for the most part, is overpriced. However, you pay for the experience of dining with others on the train.

Interesting Characters

This is just a quick entry about the interesting people I meet along my trips. On one segment, I spoke to a retired lady who was afraid of clouds. “you see that one right there?” she asked as she pointed to a medium-size cloud in the distance. “See? That’s scary; that’s a big cloud, and it’s too close. I wouldn’t want to be near it on a plane.” At first I thought she was pulling my chain, but as our conversation unfolded, I realized she was entirely serious! Another woman bonded with us because she was afraid of rocks. “I like the rocks to stay down there where I can see them. I just don’t like rocks.” Every time we passed some big rocks, she’d shake her head and look away. These people were perfectly normal—mentally competent, that is—and their fear, though perhaps unfounded, was compelling. “I would never fly; I’ve never even been to the airport. Airports scare me,” the lady afraid of clouds confessed.

As I have mentioned briefly on a previous entry, I saw a woman who had taken off her wig and placed it next to her on a little stand (not a head, but a little red box). She slept comfortably while the wig greeted the passengers who passed by her seat and looked twice before moving on. By now I have been on some crowded trains, and I have even been woken up so that a person could sit next to me. I wonder how one asks the wig lady to move her wig so that another passenger may take a seat.

Other "interesting" people? Two days ago, a mother let her child go to the bathroom barefooted. That's correct; the kid had no shoes or socks, and he simply strolled to the filthy car bathroom. Note to parents: the train isn't the cleanest place...

Border Patrol

Thus far, the US Border Patrol has come on board twice. I know of other times when Border Patrol has chosen to inspect trains in search of undocumented migrants, but to my knowledge, these instances occur mainly in the US-Mexico border, and not so much in the North. The first time I encountered them somewhere between East Glacier National Park and St.Paul/Minneapolis (to be more specific, I think it was somewhere around Fargo). The two officers entered the car, and went around repeating, "We are with the US Border Patrol." They mainly looked at people, and it seemed to me that if the passenger did not look the part, the agents did not bother--in other words, here we had racial profiling at its best.

The second time, Border Patrol boarded the train in Buffalo, and one by one asked the passengers, "Are you a citizen?" If the person said 'yes', the agents moved on; if the person said 'no' the agents asked for documentation. The method seemed inefficient. Why would any person living in the US illegally say, "No, I am not a citizen"? An undocumented migrant could answer 'yes' without fear of lying because the question is vague. One lady who was asked whether she was a citizen responded, "You mean of this country? I better be a citizen!" Sure, this response caused laughter, but it points to the need for officers to ask whether people are citizens of the United States, and not just citizens in general.

Are trains noisy?

This entry is in response to a comment I received from Delores. She asked whether "some trains are more noisy than others" since "they are in the outside world." Though I am not a train expert nor a train engineer, the answer to Delores's question is actually more complicated than a simple yes or no: it depends. We can think of a train on tracks as a car on the road. The "noise" or roughness of the train ride depends on the kind of car, the road, and, of course, the driver. In the same manner, how smooth a train runs depends on the engineer, the rails, and the cars themselves (how old they are, how well-maintained, etc). Unfortunately for train lovers, Amtrak operates cars from the 1970s (a conductor even told me some cars are remodeled from 1920s train cars!). No matter how remodeled, therefore, these cars will manifest some of the usual wear and tear that comes with age.

In addition, Amtrak has had a long history of government neglect. As a matter of fact, the Bush Administration virtually suffocated Amtrak, and often threatened to kill this mode of transportation system. With Obama and Biden, Amtrak has seen a few friends on Capitol Hill: the recent stimulus package allocates eight billion dollars for train transportation in the United States. Why is this significant? With more money, Amtrak can buy better and updated cars, fix and update the rails, and provide an overall improved service for passengers. In the meantime, the older rails and older trains might continue making squeaking sounds when the locomotive curves or goes at faster speeds. Although one might think such noises to be a huge disturbance, however, one quickly learns to ignore them, and pass them as part of the background and ambiance.

Delores, I hope this answers your question. If it doesn't, please ask away, and I will do my best to respond.

The Cascades

The Portland-Seattle route featured a train I had not seen before--the Cascades. With the financial help of Oregon and Washington, Amtrak bought a few of these trains for the Northwestern route in 1998. The term "update" is somewhat of an understatement for the Cascades. The new cars feature leather seats, TV's, classy glass electric doors that separate cars, cleaner and nicer bathrooms, and a lounge/dining area that appears to be taken out of a city restaurant. Because of the dinning area, the Cascades stands somewhat as a hybrid of long-hauls--long distance trains, which have a dinning car-- and commuter trains--which do not have dinning facilities or lounges. Such commodities do make the ride more enjoyable, though I could not help but notice the distance among passengers. In the older Amtrak cars, passengers seem more apt to interact, and start a conversation. In these Cascades cars, passengers remain in their own world. As one passenger observed, "yeah! People are a little cold here. They don't really talk." Usually, people in the lounge car do not hesitate to strike up a conversation, join you at the table, and even share a couple of drinks. In The Cascades, however, people make use of the facilities, but they do not socialize. For example, in one of the couches in the lounge car, a woman read a book while the person sitting next to her listened to music, and at the bar, a guy sat next to an older man, both of whom had a drink, but neither of whom exchanged a single word. I'll leave for the blog the description of what occurred; I'll leave for my thesis the analysis of The Cascades. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the train.

The Coach has all kinds of smells

By now I have traveled enough on trains to not have noticed the motley of smells that sometimes engulf the coach cars. A number of passengers never fail to bring food on board, since it is much cheaper than the food from the dinning car. While this economical decision makes perfect sense, and I would strongly encourage passengers to bring their food, I would expect people would be more conscientious of the smell of their food. There is no need to bring a tuna sandwich, and if you do, then there really exists no reason to eat it in the coach cars instead of the lounge car or observatory.

Then there is basic hygiene. I know some travelers remain on board for two nights, but a general good rule is to shower before heading to the station, and taking an extra pair of socks (and maybe underwear). Dirty socks, the build-up of dead skin cells, and the sweaty bodies definitely do not make the ride a pleasant one, especially at night when people are trying to sleep. It is a good idea to bring baby wipes, cologne or perfume, and other basic hygiene products.

What other smells does one find in the train? Cigarette odor from passengers who just returned from their brief smoke break, gasses from passengers who don’t have the courtesy to head to the bathroom downstairs, and depending on the region of the country, the smell of humidity.

I do not mean to complain. No, no. How could I complain about the subtle smells, especially when compared to some trains in Peru and India. Yet, there’s just something not idyllic about going through gorgeous scenery while smelling less than pleasant odors.

Ride to St. Louis

The train ride to St. Louis promises to be long and full of surprises. As soon as I settle on my seat, my companion and I begin to share stories. Within thirty minutes, she’s explained her work before retirement, her travel plans, and some family stories. A mother puts her baby on the floor so that he can crawl, and my companion looks at me in disbelief, “oh my God. That’s filthy! Would you put your baby on the floor?” We laugh about parenting, make fun about the lady next to us listening to loud music, and drop our jaws when we see a woman who has taken off her wig and placed it next to her seat, on top of a little stand. If this isn't picturesque, I do not know what is.

“Why the train,” I ask her.

“Well, it cost me 22 dollars from Dallas to Shreveport. You can’t beat that. I can’t even fill up my tank for 22 dollars!” It only takes the first few minutes of my ride to make me realize that many others are traveling on Amtrak because, for them, Amtrak is the most inexpensive option. A high school student and I converse for a few minutes, and I find out he makes the inexpensive trip from Shreveport to Little Rock every other week. Towards the end of the night, I meet an eight-month pregnant mother whose only option is the train (doctors do not allow traveling by plane after the third trimester).

I go to bed around 1AM and wake up at 5:30--the seat was rather comfortable and I had plenty of leg room. Surprisingly, my train arrives in St. Louis thirty minutes earlier than planned (at some point, we were about 1.5 hours behind).

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I am now in St. Louis, meandering around downtown. Below are some pictures: