Passenger Trains > On the Coast Starlight

Just wanted to post a trip report for the second long distance Amtrak trip for my son and I.  Last time was the Southwest Chief from LA to CHI back in 2014, this time it was the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle on 8/27/16.  We mainly wanted to see the scenery from the train since we had just been to Seattle recently, but there were still a couple of things there that we didn’t get to do last time so what the heck... 

Took Uber to LA Union Station and walked to the Metropolitan Lounge.  Nice waiting room, but the food choices were a bit sparse (just some muffins) and a few drinks.  Helpful staffer, though, keeping things in order and answering questions.  Took the redcap to the platform (just for the nostalgia). After we dropped our baggage in the luggage rack and in our bedroom, we went out and took a few documentary photos of the locomotive.  Of course, after we got back on board I realized I had dropped my lens cap, so we had to go back on the platform which made the kid worry the train would leave without us.   

We were greeted by our sleeping car attendant who essentially just confirmed our tickets and told us how to get to our room.  In comparison to our trip on the Chief, when our attendant was Jay, and who knew my son’s name and introduced himself as we arrived, this was a little more distant.  While she was friendly and reasonably personable, our attendant didn’t give us her name at any point (not a big deal, but a difference).  When I first boarded I got confused about which way our room was facing (probably the winding staircase, haha).   I thought we were facing away from the ocean side and sought to change rooms, asking the attendants if the train was sold out.   We had booked rather late so only A bedrooms (least desirable) were available when we booked, and that was still the case at this point.  The attendant in the first car offered his A, but only if we were neat (he laughed).  But then but the kid said, “Let’s just keep the room we have” so that’s what we did.  Good thing, because I then realized we were indeed on the correct side of the train (it was the next car that was “backwards”).  For the kid, the truncated size of the A stateroom was not a problem.  For me it was a little more annoying.  The single seat seemed more uncomfortable than our last trip in a D stateroom, but the bench was no different and faced forward.  Nowhere for me to stand and change once beds were down.  Coming out of the bathroom almost meant going out into the hall, especially when the kid kept insisting on keeping our cabin door open.  Luckily no awkward “Excuse me, ma’am” moments in that regard. 

The train left right on time.  We ventured to the parlor car after a few minutes, where they were already serving drinks.  A little early for alcohol, but I went ahead and tried the Mt. Shasta black cherry cocktail concoction.  This was apparently the bartender’s first try at this drink so she asked me to let her know how it was.  I told her if I was passed out on the couch in a few minutes she made it right.  Actually, it was refreshing, and I relaxed in the parlor car while gazing out into the unfortunate backyards of the San Fernando Valley.  If I had a nickel for every blue tarp… 

We chose a 12:30 lunch time, which put us in the dining car at about Santa Barbara (I had the spare ribs, which were quite good).  So there was a nice view, but the couple seated across from us was really nice too, so we had a nice chat while not trying to appear indifferent as we simultaneously looked out the window to see the sights.  My son and I were particularly interested in seeing Jalama Beach as we crossed the trestle there, since we always see the train go by when we visit that campground.  It seems so remote out there, and to watch the train go off into the distance made us want to someday be on the train, so here we were.   My sister in law lives in San Luis Obispo.  So when the train stopped there she was on the platform with her dog and some homemade chocolate chip cookies for us (yum).  It was nice to be able to spend a few minutes there hanging out before we continued on.  The southbound Starlight met us there, with 3 private cars on the back.  

After this point, there was no more “Coast” on the Starlight, but the scenery was still outstanding.  There was stuff past SLO that I really didn’t know about, like a mountain that looked like it had a huge pyramid on top, vast rolling hills with no cities for as far as you could see--and taking this all in seated in a plush parlour car rotating chair was a rare treat.   On this trip most of the people I spoke with at lunch and dinner were riding the train just because it was different, not because it was a necessity or because of the areas that were only served by trains.  The one couple we first had lunch with was worried that Amtrak might be killed at some near point in the future and they wanted to get a ride in while they still could.  I doubt more and more that this will ever happen, though.   

Some other trip notes in no particular order: The food was pretty good.  I found the crab cakes to be delicious and had them twice.  Spare ribs were good and I had a burger for lunch the second day.  Just fine, though once again someone at the table ordered the veggie burger at the same time.  I made sure I got the right burger this time, my experience on the Chief having educated me.  Woe unto me if I should eat something that healthy!  The others at our tables ordered the steak and the chicken, and no complaints from anyone.  Service was straightforward and competent.  The dining car was never full, which surprised me since the sleepers were said to be nearly full.  On the Chief it was always full.  But, there was no Parlour Car on the Chief, so that probably reduced some of the load.   The menu in the Parlour Car was limited, and since there was no kids menu I did not have a meal there except one breakfast.  That turned out to be the right meal for us, and I had a chorizo burrito that really did hit the spot.  Service in that car was good too (though she wasn’t able to convince me to have the Bloody Marys she was stirring up).  The sleeping car attendant found us and asked if we wanted our room made up in the meantime, which I thought was good service. 

There was a business car on our trip (blue fabric upholstery if you’re wondering).  They only sold about 3 rows.  It was empty.  It would not be a bad way to travel for several hours (even overnight if you have no trouble sleeping).  I’ll probably book this car when I go to SLO if I don’t use another option.   

We had our radio scanner on most of the trip.  I really find it quite handy because it gives us a behind the scenes look at what is going on.  On the P.A. they did announce the reasons for the various stops on sidings, which I thought was good PR, but we were privy to a few details they did not announce, like a small grass fire that got near the tracks but did not disrupt our trip, the possible presence of fallen limbs near the track, a UP pop-quiz inspection, etc.  Also enlightening to hear an engineer on one leg of the trip say “Highball!” after every talking UP detector squawked out, “No defect..etc” often followed by a conductor saying the same thing.  It seemed like they were enjoying their jobs. 

The scenery only got better the second day, with the forests and mountains as we crossed into Oregon at dawn.  We looked back at Mt. Shasta in the distance, the only regret being that we had to pass it during darkness.  Lake Klamath was much larger than I realized, but there are no falls in Klamath Falls I am told.  Spent some time in the observation lounge, and even got some snacks in the cafe downstairs.  Lots of room to sit.  Got a bit of a taste as to how the coach class folks managed since I think the diner car prices are typically too high to justify a meal for most people.  We did not go into the coach cars however.  Jumped off the train for a quick inspection of the Portland Station, which had some old school charm.  Crossed the Columbia River and on into Washington.  Enjoyed seeing the southern reaches of Puget Sound at sunset and Mt. Ranier as well.  Upon arrival at Seattle, we exited the train and were not allowed to go to the front of the train to see how dirty the locomotives got after the trip, so we just took Uber to our hotel room.  The Seattle station seemed well kept and bright.  I am not a fan of all the LED lighting (just not “warm” enough) but I understand the cost savings.   

Spent a couple nice days in Seattle with good weather to see our selected sights, and on the last day we took the light rail from Seattle to SeaTac airport.  We boarded at Westlake Mall, which had an elevator to get us down to the ticketing level (almost).  Silly layout for a light rail that seems to focus on getting people to the airport, at least at that station.  Due to the lack of elevator planning, we still had to schlep luggage down some stairs after the elevator let us off, then got in a short line to buy tickets from a human instead of following signs to ticket machines that typically make a fool out of me.  Turned out we can’t buy a single ticket from a human, so we went to the machine after all and I girded my loins for the humiliation I was sure to follow.  The machines were Intuitive enough compared to Los Angeles light rail (TAP card) but the elevators to the platform were back the other way from the machines.  Thank God for wheeled luggage.  Clientele on the train aside from commuters was borderline “iffy” with a couple of questionable and/or intoxicated passengers.  The kid didn’t mind, but I’d rather pay 5 times the $4.50 we spent for rail tix and Uber our way to the airport. We flew home in 2½ hours on Delta--fine if time is your measuring stick.  Still, the 30 minute line at security puts quite a dent in your ability to relax, especially when halfway through the line the kid needs a bathroom break.  Fortunately, we were on one of the few undersold flights I have been on in recent years, so we had a whole row to ourselves.  That was helpful since at 6 foot 4 my personal space is constantly impinged by seatbacks, armrests, other passengers’ knees, and of course the confines of an “A” bedroom. 

All in all, this was a great trip.  I’m no accountant, but it seems that this route (at least) should be profitable, as it attracted a lot of riders that just wanted to ride a train.  I think the scenery alone will keep ridership high, and the service (at least for us) won’t chase people away and dissuade them from riding.  Before my ride on the Chief a couple years ago I was a railfan on one hand and an Amtrak skeptic on the other (just thought it was a bit of an extravagant use of tax dollars), but the unique experiences to be had on a train are really winning me over compared to the “unique” (and unpleasant) experiences on a plane.  Whenever I tell people about my trip, the response is uniformly “That would be cool.”  It’s really like a cruise on land, something I recommend trying more than once.  Thanks for reading and thanks to TO users for the intel I was able to gather to make for a successful trip.  

Andre 

Photo 1:  Ready for departure
Photo 2:  Bedroom A configuration (wide angle distorts it a bit)
Photo 3:  Parlor Car interior



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/16 17:59 by Heymon.

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Photo 4:  Enjoying the scenery
Photo 5:  More scenery
Photo 6:  Portland Station

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Photo 7:  Portland Station passenger side.  Good looking building.
Photo 8:  Seattle Station from above.  
Photo 9:  Seattle Link station.   

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Great trip report!

Nice recap and photos.Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you for Sharing your trip!
I always enjoy the Coast Starlight.
It makes me ready to go for another train trip.
Thank you for the advice about the business class car!

picture 3 is between Simi Valley and Strathern
picture 4 is at Jalama Beach
picture 5 is at Sudden

"the kid"?
SR

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> "the kid"?
> SR

Yeah, "the woman" was away on business so it was just the 2 of us. 

Very nice trip report!  I have yet to the take the Coast Starlight south of Sacramento, where I transfer to-and-from the California Zephyr, but it's on the list of things to do sometime in the future.

Heymon Wrote:
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> We boarded at Westlake Mall, which had an elevator to get us down to the ticketing level (almost).
> Silly layout for a light rail that seems to focus on getting people to the airport, at least at that station.

That's due to the fact that the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, including Westlake Station, was built in the late 1980's, and from when it opened in 1990 until 2009, it was for buses only.  Hence the layout of the Downtown underground stations, as when the Tunnel was built, it had yet to be decided just how rail-based mass transit was to be built in the Seattle area (Sound Transit, which operates the light rail system, hadn't even been created at that point in time).  However, the Tunnel had been built with rail track pre-installed, which then had to be redone when it was decided to route the new light rail system through the Transit Tunnel.  The Transit Tunnel consists of 4 underground stations (from south to north: International District/Chinatown [one block east of King Street Station], Pioneer Square, University Street, and Westlake Stations) and 1 station (Convention Place) located in a open cut just beyond the north entrance to the Tunnel (it's here where buses can access the Express Lanes of Interstate 5).  However, the light rail system only uses the four underground stations of the Tunnel, as it diverges underground in a generally-eastward direction towards the much-more-recently opened Capitol Hill Station (it then turns north to the University of Washington Station [both of these are also underground, and opened earlier this year]).

In the future, the Tunnel will become light-rail-only, after the line to the Eastside (using the space currently occupied by the I-90 Express Lanes) opens.  Also, Convention Place Station is set to be permanently closed and the block of valuable Downtown real estate it currently occupies will be used for new construction.

It's also worth noting that from 1990 until the Tunnel temporarily closed in 2005 for work to convert it for bus-and-light-rail use, the buses ran via overhead trolley wires in the Tunnel (like on many surface streets in and around the Downtown core), but after Sound Transit's Link Light Rail began service in 2009 (including using the Tunnel), said buses switched to running on diesel in the Tunnel.  (Said conversion work was completed in 2 years time and the Tunnel reopened for buses in 2007.)  When the Tunnel initially opened in 1990, unique hybrid-power (also known as "dual-mode") buses, which could run both on diesel and on trolley lines, were ordered, and were used on the routes which used the Tunnel, including suburban-to-downtown routes which crossed Lake Washington from the Eastside suburbs such as Bellevue.  The buses would run on diesel as far as the southern entrance to the Tunnel, just south of the International District/Chinatown Station, where the bus driver would stop the bus, turn off the diesel motor, step out and walk to the back of the bus, raise the trolley pole, step back on, and then the bus would continue its journey through the Tunnel.  (The buses coming from the Eastside would exit the Express Lanes of Interstate 90 directly into the southern entrance of the Tunnel [and still do today, but obviously without having to stop to change power modes].)  These "dual-mode" buses became unnecessary when the trolley wires in the Tunnel were removed to make room for the catenary wires for the light rail system.

For more info on the Tunnel, see the following page on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Seattle_Transit_Tunnel  (At the bottom of said page, there are links to the pages for the different current-and-future segments of Sound Transit's Link Light Rail system.)

Ted,

Thanks for the great info.  I think my lament was more that if one has any bulky luggage you could not get down to the station via elevator inside the mall.  Taking the elevator down put us at the top of some stairs, and I didn't see a ramp close by.  There must have been one for wheelchairs and such, but I didn't notice it.  I suppose once a person got used to the layout there it would be no problem, but as a first timer I was slightly annoyed.  The price was right, but I would've spent another $20 for door to door Uber in this case.  If there was traffic, I think the Link would be the better bet, though.  

Andre

Heymon Wrote:
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> BoilingMan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
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> > "the kid"?
> > SR
>
> Yeah, "the woman" was away on business so it was
> just the 2 of us.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Heymon, You really warmed my heart with that remark......I have one too......a Woman, she prefers I call her "woman" to using her name, and has always loved it when I refer to her as "the woman".  We have 3 kids, one a boy (now 36), and we still, as always refer to him lovingly as "the boy".   AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA