California Zephyr: SLC-MTZ

Dateline: Sunday December 23, 12pm
Location: Benicia

We made it in last night only about 2 hours behind schedule. There was a "police action" on the tracks outside of Suisun that stopped us dead in the tracks for about 30-45 minutes, and before that we were held up in Soda Springs, high in the Sierra Nevadas just below Donner Lake, for about an hour while a freight train was put back together ahead of us.

The service was pretty lousy on this final leg of the trip. Apparently the good people of Amtrak did not stock the dining or lounge cars, nor staff the dining car, to match the number of passengers. Our 8:30 breakfast was served at 10:30am (around Wendover, Nevada I think), and our 2:30pm lunch was served at 4:30pm, around Colfax, CA. At any rate, once the staff finally explained adequately what was going on, the irate passengers took pity on them and relented in their complaining and short tempers. By mid-afternoon most of the ruckus had settled down and we were mollified, having accepted our mediocre lot. All that was left at lunch were turkey burgers and salads, all that was left at dinner was turkey and risotto (canned rice and tomatoes).

If anyone from Amtrak management is reading this blog (reasonably unlikely, I know), take note: You have failed the good citizens and rail passengers of the US. This last leg represented a complete and total disregard for passenger service and customer satisfaction, if not basic safety. You had ample warning that the train would be full, and plenty of opportunities to re-stock the cars between Salt Lake and the coast. This was a pathetic, almost laughable example of bureaucratic mis-management. Worse still, you hung your downtrodden, underpaid attendants and train crew out to dry, giving them nothing to work with and no way to satisfy their passengers.

Dateline: Friday December 21 11pm
Location: Salt Lake City Amtrak

We spent the day at Ali & Eric's house in SLC, and had a delightful dinner with Eric's parents Michael and Mary Lou in Ogden where Alex was quite the showman.

We took a taxi over to the Amtrak station and now we're waiting for the Zephyr with a large, lively crowd.