Empire Builder to Seattle; Coast Starlight to Los Angels

A Western USA Amtrak Adventure, Rails, Rivers, and Roads.

Rail Travelogue by Carl Morrison, Carl@Trainweb.com, with help from Don "Preacher" Roe.

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Empire Builder approaching Seattle, Washington.

Washington State Ferry pulls out
Edmonds, WA.

Coming into the Seattle Station, the Empire Builder passes under the edge of the Seahawk's field.
	View from our Silver Cloud - Stadium Hotel in Seattle, WA.

	Beautifully appointed room at the Silver Cloud.
	The Silver Cloud provides free shuttle service to many points in Seattle, so we took it to Pikes Market.

We had lunch here, in Pikes Market.	They have 2 or 3 levels where you can eat. We chose the 2nd floor with Puget Sound View.
There are always strolling minstrels at Pikes.	Of course a visit to the wild fish market is a must.


	Don and Yours Truly addressing a flight of Washington Wines on Post Alley.

View westward from our Silver Cloud room, past the Skyway to the harbor and beyond. (Right) The Pyramid Alehouse, just below our room, was a great place for supper.
City view toward Downtown Seattle and the needle.	View westward the morning we left on the Coast Starlight.

The Station is actually within walking distance from the Silver Cloud, but with luggage like this, we opted for the free shuttle. Do, however, make your shuttle reservation the night before since many guests board Amtrak trains from this hotel.	Always glad to see a Parlour Car in our Coast Starlight consist, we boarded for our sleeping room.
This renovated Parlour Car now has electrical outlets at each table for day use. They also serve a different menu than the Dining Car, which is much less hectic than the Diner.	Travel Agents sell the Coast Starlight trips because of the Parlour Car, and anyone taking a CS trip on a train without one is sorely disappointed.

I heard on an earlier trip that the Parlour Car now has a revenue goal of $3,600 per round trip, and I understand they are making the revenue goal.

Scenes from the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Portland:

	Tacoma
(Right) Museum of Glass.

Portland Train Station:

	Amtrak Talgo Commuter Train in Portland Station
Coast Starlight during crew change at Portland. (Right) Neon direction in Portland Station.

Each Parlour Car how has this paint scheme and a name. (Right and Below) Everything looked and felt normal as we left Portland.
	Morrison Bridge

Immediately after the locomotive passed under Morrison Bridge, we came to an emergency stop from our 10 to 20 mph speed. Someone said, "We hit a homeless guy who was sitting in a chair too close to the track." The conductor announced, "We've stopped because there was some rubbish on the track. Do not open the lower windows or look out of the train." Hmmm, interesting use of terms! We saw ambulance and firetruck arrive forward of the Parlour Car. I walked through the train until I saw someone in their room looking down and asked if I could see through their window. Mr. Fiske came on the PA and announced that "someone was trespassing on RR property and we should be underway soon." (A more politically correct statement, I believe.) These are the two pictures I took:

You can see the long-haired man sitting in the alledged chair between 2 paramedics.	He stood and was walked to an ambulance, and we were on our way.
More pleasant sights southward. (Right) View from our Parlour Car as we passed the Northbound Coast Starlight.

	Joy, my car attendant, in Sacramento.
Yours Truly at Sacramento	Mr. Guenzler, SAC Station Manager, talked about the shortage of staff he was having, and mentioned that this was his day off.

Delta King on the Sacramento River from our Coast Starlight on the I Street Bridge.	A portion of the mothball fleet near Martinez.
More of the mothball fleet.

	Car haulers. Two tiers for SUVs, 3 levels for sedans.
	Sea-going automobile ship.

No.1258 and Southern Pacific consist makes a nice display at Martinez.
	Martinez Station with Amtrak California train.

The Coast Starlight lower-level theatre now has a large screen and surround sound, and one movie they've gotten permission to show. (Right and Below) Smoke from fires in California.
	True meaning of 'oil field.'

Questa Grade and the horseshoe curve just north of San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo vineyards.	Don contemplating a vending machine purchase in San Luis Obispo vineyards.

Hmmm, my 43rd anniversary.

Sand dunes south of San Luis Obispo.

We continued to Los Angeles with stops at Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, and Van Nuys. Arrival time in LA is 9 pm and we were near that. The rest of our journey was the short ride to Fullerton on the Surfliner. A great trip and I must get back to the Izaak Walton Inn for some more exploring of Glacier National Park some day.

[ Top of this Page | Our Stay at the Izaak Walton Inn, Essex, Montana | Getting to Essex | Other Rail Stories by Carl | TrainWeb.com ]

Empire Builder from Essex, Montana, to Portland, Oregon, and Coast Starlight from Portland to Los Angeles.

A Western USA Amtrak Adventure, Rails, Rivers, and Roads.