Train Riders' Association of California

As I was riding Regional Transit’s Gold Line train to the Sacramento Valley station we passed a couple of stations where the price of regular unleaded gasoline broke $4.00/gallon. I was glad that I wasn’t going to have anything to do with driving or even rental cars on this weekend trip to Eugene, Oregon. When we arrived at the Sacramento Valley station at 10:25pm I got my tickets from the Quik-Trak machine and walked to get a late night meal at the nearby Denny’s. I arrived back at 11:20 to wait for the Coast Starlight but it was running a bit late. The conductors collected the tickets around 11:40 and gave us seat tickets. At 11:52, the #703 San Joaquins arrived – 22 minutes late. The Coast Starlight arrived at 12:30 am departed at 12:50. The train consisted of 2 sleepers, a Pacific Parlour Car, a Dining Car, the Sightseer Lounge Car, and 3 coaches. I was riding in coach to Eugene and seated next to me was another young gentleman who was going to Redding. When he detrained there, a group of three boarded in our car and one of them got his seat next to mine. According to their seat checks they were going to Vancouver, Washington.

When I awoke after 7:00 we were descending into southern Oregon. I went to the Sightseer Lounge Car #33049 where I got a coffee and cookie for $3.25. The lounge/café car attendant said some of the things that have changed the past couple of years is that Pacific Parlour Car patrons have to pay for wine tasting and customers who bought souvenir coffee mugs (which were sold on most long-distance trains about 10 years ago) have to also pay for their drinks despite being told that they were entitled to free drinks as long as they had those souvenir mugs. The reasons cited were congressional micromanaging.

We arrived in Klamath Falls at 8:05 and it was rainy and cold that morning. We departed on-time 20 minutes later and proceeded north passing by Upper Klamath Lake. We did stop at 8:48 for a southbound UP freight train to pass but it was for only four minutes. At 9:46 we arrived in Chemult where it was still raining and after that we continued to ascend Cascade Summit. I took in the scenery from the Sightseer Lounge as we ascended the mountains to elevations as high as 5,300 feet. The rain turned to snow but that didn’t stop the Coast Starlight. It looked like winter wonderland with the trees covered with snow. It was only a few weeks that the line has been re-opened since a massive mudslide about an hour from Chemult, closed the portion of the route between Klamath Falls and Eugene for over 3.5 months! I was worried of slow orders delaying us but that wasn’t the case this weekend.

We arrived in Eugene at 12:53, less than 10 minutes late, where it was still raining. My first stop was at McKenzie Outfitters to buy a rain jacket. I then walked to a nearby café called “The Beanery” and had a delicious sandwich, cup of chowder, and cup of tea for lunch. I then walked to my motel which was a mile away because I didn’t know the routes nor had the LTD (Lane Transit District) bus schedules. After checking in I walked back to town and went to Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life and rented a bicycle to use for the next 24 hours. Cost was $25. After 4:00 the rain stopped. As for #14, it arrived at its last stop of Seattle at 8:05pm – 40 minutes early!

The weather for the rest of the weekend was mostly sunny – partly cloudy with some rain Saturday night. At one of the places where I got a café mocha, during Saturday morning, I talked with a middle-aged couple who said they were taking the (Cascades) train up to Portland for the day. The husband also told me that it was also their first time in their lives riding the train and gas prices were cited as the main reason for taking it. During my two day stay in Eugene I biked along the river trails, saw the University Campus, got a slice of pizza and beverage at the Saturday Farmer’s market, visited a number of local coffee shops and other eateries, and met a lot of friendly people.

As for the LTD buses, they’re equipped with bike racks which I used once when coming back to town. One of the bus routes called the EmX, uses articulated equipment, similar to the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley. The EmX bus line between Eugene and Springfield offers passengers free rides and is also equipped to handle up to three bicycles onboard. Bicyclists board in the rear car and the buses are have low floors, making them even with the boarding platforms. That really makes carrying a bicycle onboard very convenient compared to Regional Transit’s light-rail cars where you have to lift your bike to get aboard the steep steps. I have to say that I noticed a lot of the LTD buses having strong ridership. For only $2.50 ($1.20 for youths and seniors) you can get an all-day bus pass on the LTD bus system. I also saw the #11 southbound Coast Starlight trains running almost an hour late on Friday and Saturday that weekend. On Friday I saw #11 go by from the Springfield Transit Center and on Saturday I saw #11 from behind Station Square in Eugene which has restaurants.

Sunday, May 25th I left on the #500 Cascades train for Vancouver, Washington. I wanted to see Fort Vancouver Nat’l Historic Site. The train left on-time at 5:30 am and I relaxed in Business Class as they showed “The Harvey Girls” on the way to Portland. Out of all the Amtrak cars in their fleet the Talgo cars used in the Northwest have always been my favorite since my mom and I first rode them from Seattle – Portland nine years ago. Business Class has always seemed inexpensive to me and also really turns into a deal when you’re provided a $3 voucher for use in the Bistro car. We arrived in Portland a few minutes early and left at 8:30. Fifteen minutes later we arrived in Vancouver, Washington where about two dozen people boarded. Since it was raining and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site was about two miles away I took a cab. The driver told me that it’s been a slow morning for him and that I was his second customer of the day since he started at 4:30am! The fare was $6.90 and I gave him $8.00 for taking me right to the entrance of the historic fort. After spending over an hour there between the reconstructed buildings and the visitor center I walked to the C-Tran bus stop off the corner of Evergreen & Broadway. When the #4 bus arrived I paid $2.35 for the fare which included the transfer to Portland’s Tri-Met light-rail train. When the bus arrived at the station the train arrived within minutes. After arriving in downtown Portland I went into the Pioneer Place shopping center to get out of the rain for a moment before walking to a nearby restaurant to get lunch. The rain stopped around noon and I then walked along Burnside Avenue towards Powell’s Books. Along the way I passed a 76 gas station with prices as low as $3.99/regular unleaded and Oregon also has mandatory full service laws. There were also two streets with new light-rail tracks installed. Portland continues to do extensive light-rail expansion with one of the projects going to the Amtrak station, scheduled to be completed by next year.

After getting something to read at Powell’s and a mocha at their café, I walked for about 15 minutes back to the Amtrak station where I waited for the #11 Coast Starlight. At 1:35, the train arrived – 15 minutes early! We departed on-time and I was seated next to someone who was also getting off in Sacramento to transfer to the San Joaquins bus/train for Bakersfield and another bus to Oxnard. It was also a full train and I overheard that the sleepers were sold out. We didn’t run into any freight traffic but had to stop at 3:18 onto a siding for our sister train, #14 to pass. After the northbound Starlight passed at 3:25, three minutes later we reversed to get back on the main track and continued to proceed south at 3:32. By 3:49 we arrived at Salem – only 12 minutes late.

Everything continued to go smoothly on this trip. We maintained our schedule, the crew provided good customer service, the scenery was nice, and the other passengers were happy that the overall trip was going well. Also the food was very good. My dinner reservation was at 5:15, just after when we departed Eugene. I was seated with three people, two women and their father who they said served in WWII. They once lived in northern California and now reside in the northwest. They were riding to Sacramento to transfer to the California Zephyr to go to Reno. They had the steak while I had the salmon. I have always loved the salmon Amtrak serves. Must be the sauce!

We arrived in Klamath Falls at 9:36pm and most of us stepped off to stretch and get some fresh air. Coming across the parking lot must have been about two dozen boy scouts who were taking the train home. They had their seats set aside for them by the train attendant and he said that they rode up with them the day before. When I asked one of them if they went backpacking on wilderness trails he said that they went to the Lava Beds Nat’l Monument. At 10:00 we departed on-time from Klamath Falls and it wasn’t long until I went to sleep.

The next morning I awoke around 5:30 and noticed five minutes later that we went underneath I-80. At 5:43 we arrived in Sacramento. Half-hour later I was on one more train and that was the Gold Line back towards home. When I later checked how the Starlight did for the rest of the day, the Amtrak website reported it arriving in LA Union station at 8:44 pm – 16 minutes early!

Customer service, a reliable schedule, and connectivity to other transportation systems are what are essential to making a rail or transit system work. I’m glad things have improved tremendously on the Coast Starlight the past few years. It was reassuring seeing the Pacific Parlour Car included in the train sets and passengers coming back to the train after past on-time performance difficulties and the devastating mudslide earlier this year. This is also an example of how Amtrak is not just about endpoint to endpoint but also intermediate points and it’s the turnover of passengers between stops that helps make the system efficient and that is best done when the system provides good customer service and has convenient and reliable schedules passengers can count on.