Leaving Winona

Our trip on the Empire Builder started in Winona. There were six other people besides us that got on at Winona. The train was only at the station for about four minutes, just enough time for people to get on the train and we were off. We immediately went to the Dining Car for our first meal on the train out to Seattle. I had Thyme Roasted Chicken and he had Baked Pork Chop. We both had Cheesecake for dessert. Our attendant made up our sleeper compartment while we ate dinner.

A big treat was that the kids drove to Tinucci's in Newport to watch our train go past. We saw their car headlights and they saw my flashlight in the window of the train. We also recognized the old St. Paul Union Train Depot as we were going through downtown St. Paul. I have fond memories of that depot. The waiting room was as big as a football field. On Sundays after church we would go there for the largest and tastiest smorgasbord ever in a very elegant dining room.

We also recognized the Science Museum of Minnesota and Kowalskis on Grand by Ayd Mill Road. It was close to midnight when we crossed over University Avenue and pulled in to Amtrak Depot at Midway (St. Paul/Minneapolis). After an hour or so service stop there we were on our way again. I had only gotten four hours of sleep the night before but I wasn't tired yet. So I got out my iPod and listened to Orange Blossom Special and Rocky Top until I fell asleep.

AAA Living Features California Zephyr

Today's mail brought my 2011 May/June issue of AAA Living. One of the articles highlights Great Rail Journeys. Of course the Orient Express is featured, but also included is in this issue of AAA Living is Amtrak's California Zephyr.

We rode on California Zephyr twice, the most recent time being about three years ago. The scenery is wonderful and the journey is as delightful as the destination. Find out more about the California Zephyr at Amtrak's website.

The photo is one of many I took while on the California Zephyr in 2008.

Amtrak Website

There's a wealth of information about Amtrak on their website. Of course that's what you would expect, but I figured now would be a good time to put a link to the website and tell you a little bit about what is there. You can find out about all the different routes, look at timetables, plan a trip, view photos and layout of sleeping accommodations, and find out about dining on the train.

Anyway, here's the link.
http://www.amtrak.com

Spend some time looking around the website. There's a whole bunch of information there. Enjoy!

National Train Day

For all you train enthusiasts out there, it's a very special day today! It's National Train Day. It would be wonderful to be riding the rails today, but obviously we couldn't ALL do that today.

You can find more information about National Train Day at http://www.nationaltrainday.com.

If you haven't taken a trip on Amtrak, you're missing an opportunity to relax while all the scenery goes by you. You can even snooze if you want and the train will still keep going to the correct destination.

Amtrak Engines

As usual, we bring lots of stuff with us when we travel and our trip from Seattle to Winona was no different. You just never know if the weather will be hot, cold or rainy, so you have to be ready to dress appropriately. Perhaps that's why two engines were needed. Or it could just be that they have one on the train from Seattle and one for the train coming from Portland that joins the other one in Spokane.

For as large and powerful as they are, when they arrive or depart from a station, they look quite sleek and just glide off down the tracks. In Spokane, when they joined the Seattle and Portland trains, I never felt a bump or heard any noise when they added the Portland train to the Seattle train for our trip back home. I slept right through it all.

Corridors on the Train

Here is the corridor in the other section of the sleeper car. This one is for the roomettes. As you can see, this hallway goes down the center of the car with roomettes opening on either side. These are smaller rooms, basically two seats facing each other. At night, the seats make up into one bed and the other bed lowers from the ceiling.

Corridors on the Train

This is the corridor or hallway for the regular sleeper compartments. You can see the windows on one side and the doors into each sleeper compartment on the other side. Yes it is narrow. Typically if you meet someone coming towards you, you duck back into your sleeper compartment or one person backtracks to the end of the car so that you can both get past each other.

Empire Builder Arriving - Winona

It was quite windy on Saturday, April 16 and a bit chilly, but I did get this video of Amtrak's Empire Builder as it pulled into the station at Winona, Minnesota. Traffic was blocked while it was in the station, but it only stayed for about four minutes, so not too bad for the cars and trucks. There was just enough time for passengers to get on if they were traveling west. There were a lot of students who also got off in Winona. It only took a minute for the train to clear the crossing once the engine started up.

It was windy and so you do hear the wind being somewhat scratchy sounding, so I apologize for that.