Updated 30DEC1999
Updated 15JAN1999 : All travel information, comment fields below
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| 10JAN2000 04:00 | San Francisco Ferry Building | 09JAN2000 09:00 GMT-8 | Depart on Amtrak coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10JAN2000 04:25 | Emeryville, CA | 09JAN2000 09:25 GMT-8 | Coach arrives at station | Because I ran to the local Hyatt hotel to try to find a battery for my torch (it got left on in my pocket), I cut
it a bit fine with this but got on in plenty of time ... the driver didn't take my ticket, that's all!
| 10JAN2000 04:50 | Emeryville, CA | 09JAN2000 09:50 GMT-8 | California Zephyr #6 departs
| The big thing was waiting there already, and I was assured I didn't need to handle my luggage. I was guided to
the coach-class carriage where they wanted the furthest-bound passengers to go, third from the front. Three more back
was the famous viewing lounge carriage, and a cafe (open until 10pm) downstairs. The next carriage is the dining car
(kitchen downstairs) and behind that, are the sleeper carriages.
| Everything is upstairs, including the only connection between carriages. As soon as you get up there, the first thing you notice is how much like an airliner it feels -- the seats, the overhead stowage, the no-smoking signs, the toilets, even the whole baggage check-in routine and arrival/departures board feels like it -- except that the leg room is triple what you'd expect. The carriage I was in probably had its original 70s decor, although some weren't as old, but the viewing lounge had all that brown moulded-plastic and upholstery you'd expect :-) But don't get me wrong -- this is class, this is luxurious, and it's by far the most relaxing way you'll ever go anywhere! Just riding through the Bay Area was even relaxing ... I suppose this means I got to view the Pacific Ocean from this end. The seats are totally unallocated and all they do is come past, rip off your ticket, and put a little slip of paper with the three-letter code of your destination on the overhead rack. That's meant to keep your seat. 10JAN2000 05:41 | Martinez, CA | (San Joaquin Trains) 09JAN2000 10:41 GMT-8 |
| The conductor / train attendant gave a 5 minute talk on all the stuff you needed to know as a
passenger after this point. This included letting the smokers know there was a very dingy "smokers' room" under one of
the coach cars, into which you couldn't bring any food or drink, and was prohibited to stay beyond 10 minutes despite
the fact it was almost always empty.
| 10JAN2000 06:24 | Davis, CA | 09JAN2000 11:24 GMT-8 |
| The driver came over the PA to tell us the train would be getting really full at Sacramento, and
to clear the seats beside us. Nothing happened. My buddies behind me (the long silver-haired Jack and Tim, the guy
whom someone else reckoned looked like a porn star), were just as confused. So far, it seems the train is full of
yokels and generally USA Country Town people, which are a sort I hadn't encountered up until now.
| This must be the best time of year to go for a trip. The lounge car was nearly empty a lot of times, and you could almost always get a good seat except maybe during the cheesy movies at night. (I said it was like a plane). 10JAN2000 07:05 | Sacramento, CA | 09JAN2000 12:05 GMT-8 |
| Somewhere around here I saw the "Gym Chapel" to the south of the tracks, where you could go pray
and keep fit under the same roof. Typical for this state I guess :-)
| 10JAN2000 07:39 | Roseville, CA | 09JAN2000 12:39 GMT-8 |
| Lunch was being served, and this was gleefully announced in a loud negro accent all over the train
:-)
| Lunch was very nice, also better-prepared than you'd get on a plane. It did cost US$8-$10 and this was typical for all meals in the dining car, not including tip; but I managed to get a much better deal on my ticket than everyone I talked to (US$299 for 15 days, coach class, as far as you like), so I rationalised it that way. But my advice: If you're not bringing your own food (or buying from the stall specially set up by a guy at Reno), bring loads of cash, about $100, or use your credit card (though nobody else will, in this restaurant). 10JAN2000 08:25 | Colfax, CA | 09JAN2000 13:25 GMT-8 |
| The country was apparently very flat, but we were going uphill ... this is the information they
gave us over the commentary system in the lounge car. It was very nice to get this kind of service, all from American
railway club volunteers. (Remember that there are 3 California Zephyr trains in each direction at any one time).
| Unfortunately the PA system only worked in the front half of this carriage, so I missed most of the information because I only had a good seat for photos in the back half; I thought they were going to repeat this performance in the Rocky Mountains the next day, but they must have left the train by then. The PA system in the train had general problems, like being way too quiet when the messages were coming from the driver's compartment if you were sitting in a dodgy carriage. This is the section of the trip with the highest altitude, and IMO the best scenery (not the next day, as I expected). The south view is probably better on both days. There were a lot of tunnels in the steepest areas, and I may have been the only one to notice that the lounge-car TV, which was on a blue-screen, started changing colours during certain moments of travelling underground -- it must have been caused by the train travelling through a certain magnetic band of rock. My first snow for this trip: 14:12 local time. 10JAN2000 10:41 | Truckee, CA | (Lake Tahoe) 09JAN2000 15:41 GMT-8 |
| The commentary folks told us this name is a corruption of the name of a native American who
originally lived here. This was nice and snowy here.
| 10JAN2000 11:46 | Reno, NV | 09JAN2000 16:46 GMT-8 |
| The train wasn't all that full to begin with, but here it got rid of most of its load. All these
Californians wanted to cross the state border to get to the gambling center in Nevada. Shocker. And the guard agreed,
as part of his announcement over the PA, said that the Californian state government required residents to bring home at
least some money (tongue in cheek).
| They let us out for a 10-minute wander around here (pity the snow had gone), and all you could see were neon-lit buildings in the style of Las Vegas. Phoned home. 10JAN2000 12:12 | Sparks, NV | 09JAN2000 17:12 GMT-8 | Arrive
| 10JAN2000 12:24 | Sparks, NV | 09JAN2000 17:24 GMT-8 | Depart
| 10JAN2000 14:54 | Winnemucca, NV | 09JAN2000 19:54 GMT-8
| 10JAN2000 16:57 | Elko, NV | 09JAN2000 21:57 GMT-8 | Leave PST
| 10JAN2000 21:55 | Salt Lake City, UT | 10JAN2000 03:55 GMT-7 | Enter MST | Arrive 10JAN2000 22:35 | Salt Lake City, UT | 10JAN2000 04:35 GMT-7 | Depart
| 10JAN2000 23:28 | Provo, UT | 10JAN2000 05:28 GMT-7
| 11JAN2000 01:31 | Helper, UT | (Price) 10JAN2000 07:31 GMT-7 |
| Woke up bright and early to find everybody asleep. I went to breakfast and even when I came back
they were still snoozing ... many bodies lying awkwardly over two seats, some were almost embryonic and others tried to
form a flat bed with the hypotenuse of their seats and ended up sticking the sum of their opposite two limbs out on the
aisle.
| Some of the young couples were, well, really sweet to see in their own embrace ... there were two kids where the little brother was so cute holding his older sister's face in his hands ... 11JAN2000 02:48 | Green River, UT | 10JAN2000 08:48 GMT-7 |
| Anyway breakfast was held over a snowy desert-scape ... quite an interesting scenario, for me.
Where the landscape was untouched by snow, all you'd see was sand and red rocks; so the snow on top of that was kind of
funny.
| During breakfast I chatted to the same guy I had with lunch yesterday (the staff place you in your seats); Michael's a junior-high school drama teacher, an effeminate guy from New Orleans ... he was a regular on this train trip. 11JAN2000 05:04 | Grand Junction, CO | 10JAN2000 11:04 GMT-7 |
| Had lunch; sat next to Michael, yet again.
| 11JAN2000 06:52 | Glenwood Springs, CO | Aspen 10JAN2000 12:52 GMT-7 |
| The train slowed to "yellow" pace again as it entered this section, like it does for all the
winding, interesting sections. There were heaps of cliff-face peaks to make good use of the ceiling-windows, and where
the ground cut away it would have been a geologist's dream -- I've never seen the layering-and-tilting of rock so
clearly as this.
| I talked a bit to Samantha, a girl returning to Denver from her holidays ... she was writing in her huge diary / journal while sitting in the best seats (even though to her the whole scenery thing was normal by now). Suffice it to say she bases her life on things like Anne of Green Gables; she's always surprised to see reactions from people like me and the Japanese tourist sitting nearby, who had never seen frozen water in a river. One of the best bits that I didn't get the chance to photograph was where the water flowing out the spouts of a shallow dam had frozen white, while still partially gushing out as we watched; then behind the dam, instead of seeing the river continue, was just saw something that looked like a lake of milk! 11JAN2000 10:07 | Granby, CO | (Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park) 10JAN2000 16:06 GMT-7
| 11JAN2000 10:37 | Fraser-Winter Park, CO | 10JAN2000 16:37 GMT-7 |
| Had dinner; this time I dragged Samantha along and this meant we got to sit with two other young
travellers our age (probably the only others on the train). Dinner was really early because they wanted to sort it all
out before Denver.
| 11JAN2000 13:40 | Denver, CO | 10JAN2000 19:40 GMT-7 | Arrive
| Here the train did some funky stuff before we could "detrain", including going backwards, all to
get a mail carriage attached. Then they announced we'd have 90 minutes to stop here so I decided to check out the town.
| I walked straight up the street from Union Station, 17th Street, and it was weird seeing all the same things as San Francisco, eg numbered streets, Market Street, a Marriott Hotel, a Kinko's ... hey cool, I can check my email! ... um, yes so where was I? Oh yes, Denver. Very nice town, from all I saw of it. The Kinko's guy told me to walk west one block and I could catch a free bus shuttle -- at 9pm?! Yes, they have a nice, frequent shuttle service, with low floor, running up and down the mall, the mall which is the entire 16th Street. It felt a bit like an airport tarmac bus, and was very nice to see. In fact the whole of the town was Not Too Shabby. Recommended for further visitation :-) 11JAN2000 14:20 | Denver, CO | 10JAN2000 20:20 GMT-7 | Depart
| Argh, despite that little three-letter slip of paper, a (very nice) adult couple managed to pinch my two seats,
since I had taken all my belongings with me (which was the right thing to do, wasn't it?) So I ended up being allowed
to sleep in the next identical carriage up, which had about three people in it, including the friendly gay train
attendant who did the announcements.
| Yes I know I was cutting it fine returning to the train, but I knew exactly when it was leaving and took the chance to take some photos. 11JAN2000 15:38 | Fort Morgan, CO | (Sterling) 10JAN2000 21:38 GMT-7 | Leave MST
| 11JAN2000 18:03 | McCook, NE | 11JAN2000 01:03 GMT-6 | Enter CST
| 11JAN2000 19:11 | Holdrege, NE | 11JAN2000 02:11 GMT-6
| 11JAN2000 20:01 | Hastings, NE | (Grand Island) 11JAN2000 03:01 GMT-6
| 11JAN2000 21:34 | Lincoln, NE | 11JAN2000 04:34 GMT-6 | Arrive
| 11JAN2000 21:40 | Lincoln, NE | 11JAN2000 04:40 GMT-6 | Depart
| 11JAN2000 23:05 | Omaha, NE | 11JAN2000 06:05 GMT-6 | Arrive
| 11JAN2000 23:30 | Omaha, NE | 11JAN2000 06:30 GMT-6 | Depart
| 12JAN2000 01:18 | Creston, IA | 11JAN2000 08:18 GMT-6
| Well, I woke up around this time, and took my time making it to the Dining Car ... when I got there, I
discovered breakfast stopped being served at 08:30. Damn. I had totally missed the announcements because the carriage I had slept in not
only didn't have any people in there, but also had its PA system stuffed; so I missed all the announcements.
| Nothing much to report about the outside from here, except it was agricultural and green. 12JAN2000 01:53 | Osceola, IA | (Des Moines) 11JAN2000 08:53 GMT-6
| 12JAN2000 03:12 | Ottumwa, IA | 11JAN2000 10:12 GMT-6
| 12JAN2000 03:57 | Mt. Pleasant, IA | 11JAN2000 10:57 GMT-6
| 12JAN2000 04:29 | Burlington, IA | 11JAN2000 11:29 GMT-6
| I ended up having some yummy melted-cheese brunchy snacks in the cafe car beneath the still-empty observation
deck.
| 12JAN2000 05:15 | Galesburg, IL | S. Seminary St. 11JAN2000 12:15 GMT-6
| As I was finally getting some reading of my London novel book done, we crossed the Missisippi. The African
American who served the food made a big deal about looking out the window when we got to it, and announced it to the train.
| 12JAN2000 06:06 | Princeton, IL | 11JAN2000 13:06 GMT-6
| 12JAN2000 07:18 | Naperville, IL | (METRA/BN Line) 11JAN2000 14:18 GMT-6
|
About this time the same guy started to call out last orders for the cafe bar, which was about to close ... "Last chance, everybody
... last chance! Last chance! Last chance ... last chance ... last chance ... ... LAST CHANCE ..." ... wicked :-)
| In fact, the whole timetable was out of whack until zou got to Chicago ... the guy explained to me, that they scheduled everything early and then left some room for Chicago, just for cases like today. You could see the Chicago suburbs outside, ever since the Metra station at Naperville ... (some rare double-decker stock for a change). But despite his claims that it would only be half an hour until Union Station, it took longer than that. But we spent that half an hour reminiscing about cartoon characters, and trying to remember the names of two of them -- later on Elizabeth told me the name was "Mutley" when I had remembered that the same dog that sniggered, and wheezed when it laughed. 12JAN2000 08:40 | Chicago, IL | Union Station 11JAN2000 15:40 GMT-6
|
| 12JAN2000 09:00 | to 12JAN2000 12:00 Chicago, IL | Union Station 11JAN2000 16:00 GMT-6 | to 11JAN2000 19:00 GMT-6 Change trains
| There was a rotten huge queue waiting for the New York / Boston train by the time I got back from Kinko's where
I checked my email. I'll have some stats on Chicago. There was a bit of confusion when I was let through onto the platform and told
"Keep to the right", only to find out that the train on the right was bound for Texas ... well duh, it had double-decker carriages. I
thought so.
|
| 12JAN2000 12:20 | Chicago, IL | Union Station 11JAN2000 19:20 GMT-6 | Lake Shore Limited #48 departs
| 12JAN2000 13:10 | Hammand-Whiting, IN | 11JAN2000 20:10 GMT-6 | Leave CST
| 12JAN2000 13:16 | South Bend, IN | 11JAN2000 21:16 GMT-5 | Enter EST
| 12JAN2000 13:41 | Elkhart, IN | 11JAN2000 21:41 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 14:33 | Waterloo, IN | (Ft. Wayne) 11JAN2000 22:33 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 15:58 | Bryan, OH | 11JAN2000 23:58 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 16:53 | Toledo, OH | 12JAN2000 00:53 GMT-5 | Arrive
| 12JAN2000 17:10 | Toledo, OH | 12JAN2000 01:10 GMT-5 | Depart
| 12JAN2000 17:59 | Sandusky, OH | 12JAN2000 01:59 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 18:34 | Elyria, OH | (Lorain) 12JAN2000 02:34 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 19:25 | Cleveland, OH | (Lakefront Station) 12JAN2000 03:25 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 20:52 | Erle, PA | 12JAN2000 04:52 GMT-5
| 12JAN2000 22:21 | Buffalo-Depew, NY | 12JAN2000 06:21 GMT-5 | Arrive
| 12JAN2000 22:31 | Buffalo-Depew, NY | 12JAN2000 06:31 GMT-5 | Depart
| 12JAN2000 23:41 | Rochester, NY | 12JAN2000 07:41 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 00:59 | Syracuse, NY | 12JAN2000 08:59 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 01:56 | Utica, NY | 12JAN2000 09:56 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 03:13 | Schenectady, NY | 12JAN2000 11:13 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 03:55 | Albany-Rensselaer, NY | 12JAN2000 11:55 GMT-5 | Arrive | Take Thru-Cars 13JAN2000 05:05 | Albany-Rensselaer, NY | 12JAN2000 13:05 GMT-5 | #448 Departs
| 13JAN2000 06:10 | Pittsfield, MA | 12JAN2000 14:10 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 07:24 | Springfield, MA | 12JAN2000 15:24 GMT-5 | Arrive
| 13JAN2000 07:34 | Springfield, MA | 12JAN2000 15:34 GMT-5 | Depart
| 13JAN2000 08:40 | Worcester, MA | 12JAN2000 16:40 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 09:20 | Framingham, MA | 12JAN2000 17:20 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 09:58 | Boston, MA | (Back Bay Station) 12JAN2000 17:58 GMT-5
| 13JAN2000 10:05 | Boston, MA | (South Station) 12JAN2000 18:05 GMT-5
| |
| Boston hotel | |
| Milner Hotel
78 Charles St S Boston, MA 02116 +1 617 426 6220 Check-in 12JAN2000 earliest 14:00 Check-out 14JAN2000 latest 11:00 Reservation 8575 2724R | |
| Boston T station | |
| Boylston
Two stations towards Alewife (west) Red Line from South Station - Amtrak |
| MIT free tours | |
| Leave from 77 Massachusetts Ave, Building 7
Monday to Friday, 10:00 and 14:00 90 Minutes duration, via the chapel, auditorium, student center and library +1 617 253 1000 |
| Sydney AEDT | Location | Local Time | Local Event | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15JAN2000 00:16 | Boston, MA South Station | 14JAN2000 08:16 GMT-5 | NorthEastDirect #99 Departs | |
| 15JAN2000 00:45 | Route 128, MA | 14JAN2000 08:45 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 01:16 | Providence, RI | 14JAN2000 09:16 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 02:16 | New London, CT | 14JAN2000 10:16 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 03:15 | New Haven, CT | 14JAN2000 11:15 GMT-5 | Arrive | |
| 15JAN2000 03:30 | New Haven, CT | 14JAN2000 11:30 GMT-5 | Depart | |
| 15JAN2000 04:14 | Stamford, CT | 14JAN2000 12:14 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 05:09 | New York, NY | 14JAN2000 13:09 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 05:46 | Newark, NJ | 14JAN2000 13:46 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 06:00 | Metropark, NJ | 14JAN2000 14:00 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 06:22 | Trenton, NJ | 14JAN2000 14:22 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 06:57 | Philadelphia, PA | 14JAN2000 14:57 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 07:23 | Wilmington, DE | 14JAN2000 15:23 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 08:12 | Baltimore, MD | 14JAN2000 16:12 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 08:24 | BWI Airport Rail Station, MD | 14JAN2000 16:24 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 08:40 | New Carrollton, MD | 14JAN2000 16:40 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 08:55 | Washington, DC | 14JAN2000 16:55 GMT-5 | ||
| 15JAN2000 09:15 | Washington, DC Union Station Metro Station | 14JAN2000 17:15 GMT-5 | Walk to Metro Station
Catch Red Line towards Glenmont Metro $US1.60 | |
| 15JAN2000 09:25 | Takoma Metro Station | 14JAN2000 17:25 GMT-5 | Change for bus | |
| 15JAN2000 09:34 | Takoma Metro Station | 14JAN2000 17:34 GMT-5 | Catch Bus 54 towards L'Enfant Plaza $US0.25 | |
| 15JAN2000 09:39 | Aspen Street & Georgia Ave | 14JAN2000 17:39 GMT-5 | Walk south to 6711 Georgia Avenue |
| Washington, DC hotel | |
| Motel 6
6711 Georgia Ave Washington, DC 20012 +1 202 722 1600 +1 202 723 3979 fax Check-in 14JAN2000 Check-out 16JAN2000 Reservation 923 432 8760 |