When you think about travel the first thing that pops in to most peoples minds is flying on an Airplane. The ease of flying anywhere in the world made it accessible to almost anyone who could afford the ticket to see the wonders this world has to offer.
We have all taken a Road Trip at some point in time. The call of the open road. Buying Doritos and Mt. Dew at every gas station. Driving as long as you could just to get there in an impressive enough time to brag to everyone when you get home.
“I drove from Portland to Las Vegas in 14 1/2 Hours. Tsk Tsk Google maps says it takes 15 1/2 hours.”
Then there is the form of travel that has been around a few centuries now. The worlds first steam-powered passenger railroad was the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825. Trains are the original form of mass transit. With the huge amount of weight that steam powered engines could pull it was just natural that the world embrace the new technology and get people from point A to point B.
Change is always a good thing but sometimes its important to return to the origin, the beginning of it all. I had the great fortune to do just that over the weekend. Let me explain…
I will make this quick so we can get to the good stuff.
I proposed to my girlfriend while in Edinburgh Castle. She accepted to my amazement. I was supposed to have a good amount of time before said marriage was to happen. Life happened instead and the wedding date suddenly was moved to the next coming summer. My lovely fiancee wants to get married on a ship so we are getting married on a ship (I know pretty cool right!). Now I have to try and figure out how to get everyone up there in a timely and cost effective manner. Thus comes my brilliant idea of taking the train!
Now time-warp to this past weekend….
We arrive at the Klamath Falls Oregon Amtrak Train Station (KFS) about an hour earlier then the train is due to arrive. We check a few bags and wait for the train to arrive. I have been on a couple of trains (www.skunktrain.com/) before but never a true passenger train such as this. The sound of the Horn in the distance kind of made my heart beat a little faster. My sleepiness dissolving away to leave an excited 43 year old man who feels almost 8 waiting for the train to come around the corner. Where is it? I can hear it squeaking and clunking along the tracks. There is the horn again and its close enough to feel it in your chest. Moments later the Lead engine comes around the corner. Its Blue, Red and Grey colors worn like a prideful flag. AMTRAK in big white letters across the front of the engine.
The train pulls into the station and executes a text book stop positioning all of the cars next to a pathway across the tracks. Honestly I am not sure if it was textbook or not but I was impressed. Boarding the train was simple enough except for the fact that we had a few extra bags with us. The stairs to the top were narrow and steep. I wouldn’t recommend them to someone who has bad knees. We had purchased regular Coach seats on the way up and Business class on the way back.
Our seats were at the front of the last car on the train. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to my seat because it a lot wider then an airplane seat(6 or more inches wider). The seat was comfortable and was able to recline an incredible amount. Plenty of other comforts are included as well. Power points to charge your phones or plug in your video player.
A conductor came through the car wearing his Conductor hat and I swear to you handlebar mustache. He checked our tickets and gave us a little info on the layout of the train. Two cars up is the observation car and 5 cars up is the dining car. The rest of the train forward is off limits without a proper ticket.
So the long trip north is about to begin. In an almost unnoticeable move forward the train begins to leave the station. Just like in the movies you see the terrain outside the window move by like a scrolling video game. We are heading to Auburn Washington for the annual Veterans day Parade. It was a good excuse to try out the train before committing an entire wedding party to a 10 hour train ride. We sit and enjoy the gentle rocking of the train and listen to the squeaks and squeals as we roll along. After 30 minutes the early morning rise is starting to take effect. I nod off for a quick power nap. 30 minutes later I awake fully refreshed and ready to explore the train.
What a pleasure it is to just get up and walk about the train without squeezing around people and waiting for the drink cart to pass you so you can use the bathroom like an airplane. I walked from car to car until I got to the observation car. What a cool car. the windows are large and the seats are comfortable. they have booth style tables and lounge style chairs facing the window to watch the scenery go by. What a great way to see the country. The seats in this area are first come first serve. Whenever I would walk through there I always noticed seats available.
Helpful tip of the day for train travel. If they call a meal time and you want to eat then be sure to not wait. They closed the breakfast service down before 9am. Seriously! 9am! well the snack car was just fine. I cannot emphasize enough that you realize the prices on the train for food and beverages is high. I recommend carrying a backpack with snacks and drinks. Stop at Subway on your way to the station.
Over the next several hours we watched a movie, played cards, had great conversations while watching the scenery go by, got destroyed at Farkle, and explored as much as we could.We stopped at several other stations. My phone had a signal for most of the trip up except for an hour or so in the middle of nowhere Oregon.
Once we arrived at the station in Tacoma I called an Uber Ride and we went to the hotel. the ride was great and the hotel was Meh, but that’s not what I am here to tell you about. So now back to the train!
Sunday morning we get up and head back to the train. Now this leg of the trip is in Business Class. The difference is….
In Business Class, you’ll enjoy a fully refundable ticket if canceled prior to departure, 25% point bonus for Amtrak Guest Rewards members, seating in a dedicated car, an invitation to the wine & cheese party in Pacific Parlour Car, free AmtrakConnect Wi-Fi, two bottles of water, a $6 onboard food coupon and access to the Metropolitan Lounge in Los Angeles and Portland.
First off the car was far less crowded and the seats seemed more comfortable. We sat down in our assigned seats and a conductor brought two bottles of water and our vouchers over. He explained the differences in Business class and then moved on down the car. It was already worth the extra $32.00 per person to go business class. The WiFi was a little slow but it worked. Whenever we had a question the car conductor was right there to answer it.
The trip back to Klamath Falls was 12 hours due to longer waits on the tracks for freight trains. I honestly didn’t notice. I really didn’t want it to end so soon. It was such a pleasurable ride that we decided it was well worth the extra day of travel to take the train then to drive or fly if we are on the west coast.
Soooooo I would say its safe to say that the train ride was a success. The wedding party can ride the train and have a great time while doing it. No stress about time or driving or running from airline gates and dealing with the TSA. Just show up and jump on. How brilliant is that. In my opinion Travel just became a lot more interesting with the inclusion of trains. I think that travel in all its forms has a great sense of adventure and excitement to it. Its even more exciting when you discover a new form of travel that you enjoy.
I am taking the train to Disneyland next time!
moonlight tours 