Passenger Trains > WSJ takes the Zephyr, and likes it

Dawn Gilbertson, the travel reporter for the Wall Street Journal recently took the Zephyr from Chicago to Oakland CA. Overall, she liked the trip, but had problems with some aspects.  It's a fair and balanced article, I think.

Liked:
Her comfortable, single person roomette
Most of the food, esp the flatiron steak
Her fellow passengers in the lounge
All passengers have access to the dining car
Scenery on the later part of the trip

Disliked:
No private shower
Loud horns all night
Rough track for much of the route
Poor temp control in the rooms


https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/53-hours-and-no-wi-fi-why-i-loved-amtraks-slow-train-to-san-francisco-aab03909?mod=wsjhp_columnists_pos_3

Nice....  Of course, its from someone who knows how to relax, and its obviously a cruise, albeit a cruise that actually gets you somewhere.

The service still suffers from trying to be a cruise for LD travellers, and transportation for short distance travellers. 

Yes, but somehone VIA manages to perform that balancing act on imany of its trains.  

pdt Wrote:
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> Nice....  Of course, its from someone who knows
> how to relax, and its obviously a cruise, albeit a
> cruise that actually gets you somewhere.
>
> The service still suffers from trying to be a
> cruise for LD travellers, and transportation for
> short distance travellers. 

PAYWALL

Chessie1963 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, but somehone VIA manages to perform that
> balancing act on imany of its trains.  
>
> pdt Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice....  Of course, its from someone who
> knows
> > how to relax, and its obviously a cruise, albeit
> a
> > cruise that actually gets you somewhere.
> >
> > The service still suffers from trying to be a
> > cruise for LD travellers, and transportation
> for
> > short distance travellers. 

Via runs what, two LD trains over 750 miles? (Using Amtrak’s definition of LD.) Pretty easy to do with just two trains a day.

Posted from iPhone

Paywall=Lame! ☆Someone should be the Coolest Cat in town and copy and paste it here! Just a thought... 😉

Tom Loftus
Omaha, NE

MSN has scraped it. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/53-hours-and-no-wi-fi-why-i-loved-amtrak-s-slow-train-to-san-francisco/ar-AA1Rexn0

Tom Clavel
Odessa WA
Not a professional, I just like trains

Chessie1963 Wrote:
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> Yes, but somehone VIA manages to perform that
> balancing act on imany of its trains.  

That's just a manufactured idea - "balancing act."

When I rode the LD trains more frequently about 15 years ago, Amtrak was managed better, so it was simply fine. That's why a train has coach, sleeping car, dining car, and lounge car, right?

On an Amtrak #6 trip, I mingled with sleeper car and coach passengers with varying destinations just fine. I was going to Omaha on a sleeper, she was going to Elko for a Cowboy Poetry Festival on coach, another woman (who invited me for a game of chess) was going to Winnemucca, a self-proclaimed "flat earther" was going to Grand Jct. (sleeper), and a political operative was going to Denver (on coach).

All that and the Amtrak staff on board did their jobs well, from the sleeper car attendant, dining car staff, to all the conductors - SO WE BALANCED OURSELVES.

FYI, I had a very interesting conversation with the flat-earther, and the political operative answered my tough cynical questions with specific examples to turn conspiracies --> facts. Try THAT on social media and try to stay in one piece mentally.

Anyway, if you claim that VIA is better managed than Amtrak of late, sure, that makes sense. No "balancing act" narrative nonsense, which you didn't need to reply to. :-)
 

tomowa Wrote:
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> Tom Clavel
> Odessa WA
> Not a professional, I just like trains

Thanks for the link. I can relate to many of the author's experiences on the California Zephyr, the memorable social interactions, the sceneries, and even the flat iron steak. But my rides occurred pre-COVID.

About 300 comments on the article.  Perhaps half are of the "I did it and liked it" or "that sounds like a trip I'd like to take". And the other half are a mix of "Amtrak is a filthy mess" and "Chinese trains are better".