It was one of those nights in the southwestern desert country where the air is thin and pure and the stars seem so close you could touch them. We had finished our dinner and were just walking around waiting for nothing, just enjoying the time in Alpine, Texas. And then the Amtrak train pulled into town. We know about the train and its stop in Alpine from our time years ago of renting a room in the hotel right across from the train station and every train that came through on its way from the west coast to the east coast blasted their horn to no end. The night passed slowly.
But here was an opportunity with the Amtrak train sitting right there with its big diesel engines idling just as we approached the station while meandering around. Had the train not been 5 hours late getting to Alpine we would have missed this chance to talk with the crew. Trains have always been of interest to me, but in a different way from most. My yearnings were for a ride in the locomotive up front with the people running this huge beast. Alpine must be a crew change town as the existing crew was apparently conducting their shift change information with the crew coming on board to take the train to its next crew change station. I don't ever expect to get to accompany the crew in the locomotive but that is okay as I think the thought of the experience in my mind is better than the memory created by the actual trip.
It was here that I learned that train crews, unlike cross country truck drivers, do not run the whole trip from coast to coast. They apparently run in one direction for some amount of miles and then operate a different train back in the direction from which they came. Works for trains, probably wouldn't work for trucks.
Anyway, we chatted with the crew until it was time for them to take off and then they revved the diesel engines and yes, blasted on their horn as they pulled off into the night.
We probably won't ever ride a modern train, not in the locomotive and probably not even in a passenger car. But the next best thing occurred when a family member and her son were adventuresome enough to take the train from Portland, Oregon to Holland, Michigan--in the dead of winter no less.
Here is her account, so descriptive that it may satisfy your desire to ride the rails.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
We left home around 3:15 in the afternoon for the drive from Sherwood, Oregon to downtown Portland, driving all the way through a rather heavy snowstorm. It was the first snow of the winter and it was also a rare snowstorm; the flakes coming down were heavy, wet, and sticking. At the Amtrak station, we went inside with all our baggage for the two-day trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, found a bench to park ourselves while we waited for the departure of our train scheduled for a 4:45 PM. The station was not warm, but we were prepared with our winter clothing, not only for the trip, but for our Michigan destination too.
We purchased tickets with sleeping arrangements, and, by plan, the sleeping car was the last car of the train which consisted of several regular passenger cars, an observation car, and a dining car. I could only presume that the sleeping car was always at the end of the train, which was nice-as it was the farthest from the loud whistle of the engine! Once on the railcar, we went up a stairway to the second level to find our room. The bedroom consisted of a couch on one side, chair on the other, with a small folding table in between. There was a small toilet/shower much like you'd have in a small travel trailer, along with a small sink/mirror, and shelf above the chair to stow 2 bags. We found that was plenty of room for the two of us. Naturally, we each had preferences on seating as one rode facing the direction of travel and the other backwards to the direction of travel. I didn't mind facing backwards, plus the couch which faced to the rear of the train was more comfortable. Soon after leaving the station, our room attendant came by to let us know he'd be dropping off supper in a short while. Not a hardy meal, but nevertheless a salad, bread and cheese, and a dessert. Then, after dinner, all we had to do was to push the call button when we were ready for him to turn down the bed making our living room into a bedroom. Since Jean-Claude's food is always pureed, I was glad to have packed plenty of extra instant oatmeal, his favorite backup meal. By the time we'd finished supper and unpacked everything that needed unpacking during train travel, it was time to have our couch converted into a double bed. I was a bit wary of climbing up to the bunk above, so we both slept in the double bed that first night. New noises, a moving train, stops at the stations along the way, plus basic anxiety from our first train travel ,mixed with curiosity of what was outside the window made for many awakenings. On the whole trip there were 38 station stops so we were awakened often. The night seemed long.
We woke up Wednesday morning right at daybreak, got dressed, then headed to the dining car for breakfast. When in our bedroom, we could leave our masks off, but anywhere else on the train, masks were required. We walked through 2 coach cars, the observation car, then 2 more coach cars, then arrived at the dining car. Usually, anyone on the train could reserve a table to eat in the dining car, but to accommodate social distancing requirements Amtrak limited service to sleeper car passengers only. The coach passengers could purchase their food from the snack car, below the observation car. Meals were all pre-made heat and serve microwave food, and quite tasty---just nothing to write home about. No linen napkins and meeting interesting people while you dined. Every other booth was blocked off, and masks had to stay on unless you were actively eating or drinking. I had an egg sandwich, and JC had oatmeal. Coffee was great, strong, good flavor. We stopped at the observation car for about a half an hour on our way back to the room and enjoyed seeing the east end of Glacier National Park.
When we got back to the room, the bed had been turned back into the couch and new towels laid out on the sink. The rest of our free time was spent reading, watching movies that we'd downloaded onto a laptop, but much of the time was spent by enjoying the scenery as we watched the constantly changing view out the window. The mountains were behind us now, having passed through the Rockies while we were sleeping and now we are in the seemingly endless plains of eastern Montana, starkly beautiful in mid-winter. It was quite relaxing and calming for the both of us.
Back to the dining car for lunch, steadying ourselves as we walked through the cars. By now we are getting our 'train legs' for sure, as it was a bit tricky at first. Jean-Claude liked being in charge of the toe-kick feature to open the doors in passing from one car to the next. Luckily there are handrails in between the cars, as that's where we experienced the most 'sway' of the moving train.
Lunch was a burger and fries for me and pasta primavera for Jean-Claude. Our waiter showed me where I could plug in the immersion blender to mix up his food, so that was handy, right next to our table.
We opted out of the observation car this time and went straight back to the room. JC promptly took a nap on the couch and I dozed in the chair. Last night's lack of sleep finally caught up to us, and the nap felt great. For the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed the travel by relaxing and dozing in short spells. So, with all this leisure time we gladly took another walk to the Dining car around 6:00 PM. I can't remember what I had, but I know that JC had the same pasta dish again.
Throughout the day we'd been hearing announcements about the Amtrak rules for keeping one’s mask on at all times, and for the most part we saw all but a few of the coach passengers complying. It was the same 3 or 4 people who wanted to skirt around the rules that everyone else was following. Naturally, they had time to see if it was another passenger or an employee coming into the car and adjusted (or not) their mask accordingly. Who would want to get tossed off the train in this uninhabited countryside?
We watched a Winnie the Pooh movie from bed, then it was time to brush teeth and call it a day. I got JC all tucked in down below, then climbed up to the bunk. I'm sure it was quite a sight to see, as there was only about 2.5 feet between the mattress and the ceiling, with a sort of race car net to keep you from falling out. Even though I was awakened a few times to readjust covers for JC which I did by hanging down from above (thankful the netting was there) and turning off the bathroom light which I could do from the bunk, reaching the switch with my foot. It never took long to adjust to the environment, and I must say we both got a better sleep this second night on the road.
Thursday, February 28, 2021
I was able to put both beds back where they belonged, so we could move about the room to get dressed and then strike out for the dining car for breakfast. We were now in Minnesota, having just left St. Paul.
Back in our room it was time to pack up our suitcases and get ready to get off the train as we neared Chicago. We were both more than ready to be set loose, but our journey was not over yet.
We arrived in Chicago's Union Station right on time, around 3:30 PM. By the time we got off the train, walked inside and found the Food Court, it was about 4:00 PM. We made a stop at the gift shop where JC bought a tee shirt with an Amtrak train on the front. I found food for the both of us, then we walked to the general waiting room for all the trains passing through and stopping at Union Station. It was a busy place as there were 6 trains that left before ours. The people watching was terrific, and the time passed quickly. Just before our train was going to board, a whole contingent of Amish people flooded the waiting room -I'm guessing at least 45 people. Finally, we boarded the train to Holland at 6:20. We were in a small car with just one other couple and sat 2 rows behind them. The ride to Holland went by smoothly, and before we knew it, we were gathering all our bags to step off the train. We got off quickly and then spotted Dad, waving to us. One last walk to their car where Mom was waiting in the warm car and we were glad to be done with our long train ride! One short 25-minute car ride to Hudsonville and we called the whole thing a success.
We collected our thoughts on the whole trip, concluding that we probably would not want to take this trip again, but I'm sure glad to have done it. One side note, it took me a good 2 days to lose the feeling that I was still on a moving train---just like when you get off a boat and feel like the ground is still moving!
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