California Zephyr, Denver to Chicago.

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The California Zephyr will be 7 hours late and will arrive about 2:30 a.m., 

said the recorded message when we called 1-800-Amtrak to see when it would arrive.  We had enjoyed a big breakfast in Denver, with friend Larry, after staying at his home in Aurora, CO.  The joke of the time in Denver was, "What's that cologne you are wearing?" which the customer behind Larry asked during our breakfast.  It seems the cologne reminded this person of his Grandmother's house!  Larry remembered that his cologne was 'Woodlands by Body Works.'  We visited a quilt store for Sue and picked up Bob at the Denver airport about 1:30 p.m.  Bob had flown from Chicago to Denver to ride the California Zephyr back to Chicago with us in 1st Class for his first ever train ride on Amtrak  We returned to Larry's place and spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting on his porch reminiscing about the years we'd known each other.  That evening we had dinner at the Texas Road house restaurant (home office in Lousiville, KY).  

We took naps before our late departure to the train station and received a call from our daughter, Carla, in California that her boy friend had given her an engagement ring that day!

At the Denver Train Station, we entered, told agent Guy we needed help to our sleeper and took our seats.  He said to sit on the first bench, which was completely full, so we sat in the second bench and told him we'd be there when he was ready to take us to the sleeper car.  Waiting passengers said they had heard that the train had hit a truck on the tracks.  Finally the California Zephyr arrived and I asked departing passengers what had caused the long delay.  One related that the train was 2 1/2 hours late picking them up in Davis, California, that the train had hit a car and killed a woman which resulted in further delays.  Another passenger said the train had hit an SUV with a mother and baby and killed them both and they had to wait for the coroner to arrive.  In addition to this, the train crew had to search the area for other victims because there was older children's clothes in the vehicle.  This lady and her husband were on an Elderhostel trip studying trains, including the Pike's Peak cog train.

Left on the Platform

Guy told us to wait, that he had to make 3 trips to take out passengers who needed help, so we waited as we were told.  We waited with an 85 year old passenger and her accompanying daughter.  Finally, when all other passengers were out of the station, we walked outside to the tram stop and saw Guy coming back with station employees and other materials in the seats of the tram.  We started to get on the tram, but an employee said the TRAIN HAD LEFT!  We were overwhelmed!  I quickly ran to the corner of the station where I could see where the train had been earlier, and sure enough, it had left!  A second agent arranged for ovenight accommodations at a Best Western and for Best Western's van to pick us up and take us to the hotel.  That was the end of the conversation until Bob asked for money for food for the following day and we 3 were each  given $15.  We didn't have the heart to call Larry  at 3 a.m., so we waited until the next morning to call him.  The 85 year old lady and her very angry daughter disappeared, after shouting sentences including "I'm suing Amtrak,"  and did not accompany us to the hotel.  We had remained calm (against our urge to shout the same things).

[Word to the wise train traveler:  Always include an extra day in your layovers so that if your train is extremely late, you can shorten a layover by a day and still meet your other travel reservations.]

June 24, 2003, A day of planned train travel, but with no train.

We slept well after agreeing to meet in the lobby 7 hours later, at 10 a.m. for breakfast.  We were now in Denver without any reservation to leave town.  I called Amtrak and reserved a 'standard room' since there were no Deluxe rooms like we had reserved.  I suggested that if a handicapped room came available, we'd take that since it had a bathroom in the room.  Bob had negotiated a late checkout of 5 pm at the hotel, since our train wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:30 if it was on time today.

Stretching our friendship thin, we called Larry asking, "Guess where we are."  Sue suggested we see the movie, "Hollywood Homicide" with Harrison Ford.  Afterwards we had lunch at "Gunther Toody's" a 50s style hamburger place at 301 W. 104th Ave., Northglenn, CO (303) 453-1956.  It was fun.   I called the Denver station again and they had found a 'special' room for Sue and me, I presumed this was a handicapped room, which it turned out to be.

We got back to the hotel about 4:30 and learned that the train was not due in until 8:15, so we further negotiated for a van ride back to the train station and to stay in our room until 6:30.  This gave us time to type some more of this travelogue and/or nap.

The van ride got us and our luggage back to the Denver Station about 7 and we got tickets reissued from the different ticket agents than yesterday.  Both were very helpful and assured us we'd get on the train this time.  I asked for the employee's name who had released the train when we were still in the station last night and was told it was 'Guy.'  I also mentioned that I'd like to give Amtrak my version of what had transpired yesterday and was given Amtrak's Customer Service address.  In fact, when the train did arrive, we were the first load to make it to the train.  Bob made a wise decision to go onboard with the able-bodied passengers and hold the train until we arrived if need be...we'd spent enough time in Denver for one trip!

7:10 p.m. on the Denver station clock looks a lot better than 3:00 a.m.!

Sign inside Denver Station.

Agent Bill even told Debbie Caldwell, our 19-year veteran sleeper car attendant, about our previous night's disappointment and to treat us well, which she did.  Sue could not navigate the stairs nor the 3 cars to get to the diner, so Bob and I went to the diner for dinner soon after we left the station.  Debbie took Sue's order and delivered it to her in the room.  She also made up our bunk beds when we pushed the call button.  In the diner, Simona was our waitress and we had a leisurely dinner since we were the last in the diner.  Lester Petersen was the Conductor and he was passing through the diner so I asked him about channels to listen to railroad chatter and what the real story was about the 8-hr. delay of the previous night's California Zephyr, and finally to mention that we and Bob  would be getting off in Naperville rather than Chicago (where Bob's wife would pick us up and take us to their new home in Huntley.)  All Lester would tell me was that there had been flash flood warnings and that a car had been hit by the train.  He did tell a fellow employee about passengers getting off the train to help which had become somewhat of a problem.  As we returned to our sleeper, the last one in the passenger portion of our train (except for the 4 mail cars), I pointed out to Bob the older Superliner I car as compared to our Superliner II car.  The attendant in the Superliner I car said the final sleeper was a Superliner III car, I was unable to confirm this and in fact other Amtrak employees on the train doubted the existance of a Superliner III car.

The Consist of this evening's California Zephyr was the lead engine (could not get the number). Second engine 169, mail/baggage car, Transition car 34081, coaches 39012, 34081, 34047, and 31519, Sightseeing car 33019, Diner 38010, Sleeper Cars 32064, 32070, and 32113 plus 4 mail cars.

June 25, 2003, "What the heck am I doin' in Omaha?"

"What the heck am I doin' in Omaha?" is a well-advertised line from the movie, "About Schmidt," spoken by Jack Nicholson's character. that came to mind as the Calkfornia Zephyr slowed about 6:30 a.m.   We had spent a night of 'rockin' and a rollin' across Colorado and Nebraska getting short naps through the night hours since we had left Denver.
 
Omaha, according to the CA Zephyr Route Guide, "was a Missouri River crossing for westbound pioneers.  President Gerald Ford, Henry Fonda, Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando and Malcom X were born here.  Boys Town, a refuge for homeless and under-privileged children, is west of town.

In the 20-minute stop in Omaha, I took the opportunity and used the calm in our car to shave and shower in the nearby shower.  We were on the move eastbound when I passed Bob's room to pick him up for breakfast in the diner.  Sue stayed in the darkened room to try and add a few more winks.

After breakfast with a Filipino couple who were traveling the USA via train, Bob and I found good Observation Car seats and watched the overcast and rainy countryside slide by while having good conversation.  


It became dryer as time went by heading east.  I enjoyed conversation with a fellow returning to Chicago from Denver. He was riding in coach for a little more than $100.  Debbie got Sue's order and came to the diner and got it for her.

	Proud Iowa small town still maintains a nice station.
Caboose from the Burlington Route	Country Roads lead me home.

Upon leaving the observation car, we had to pass through the diner and in the crew section of the diner Bill Francik asked about my 'TrainWeb.com' shirt.  I told him about it, giving him a business card, then talked with him about Amtrak.  He has been working for them for 19.5 years.  His home base is Chicago.  He chose to work on the California Zephyr because his work schedule is 6 days on and a week off as a train attendant.  He was in charge of coach car passengers on this trip, yet I saw him helping in the diner and making beds for Debbie.  He said many attendants are on the 'Extra Board' after a trip is complete and they must wait for all others on the board to be assigned a trip before they get another assignment.  He said he recently worked in the training department training summer employees.  They receive 5 days in the yards learning things aboard the cars, then go on 3 familiarization trips.  The sleeper cars are built in Barre, Vermont.  There are 44 beds per sleeper car to make up.

This California Zephyr has a smoking lounge on the first floor of one coach car...I could smell smoke when I entered that car on the second floor.  If there is no such smoking lounge, as on the California Zephyr we were on from Sacramento to Denver, they announce "Huff and Puff" stops.  This train had no such stops so not much time was spent at the stops.  We prefer the Coast Starlight where the whole train is non-smoking.






   

We arrived in Naperville, Illinois about an hour late and were met my Bob's wife, Kay, and went to their new home in Huntley, IL, where we spent the night before boarding The Cardinal in Chicago for Charleston, WV.

CHICAGO is the crossroad of American manufacturing and distribution, and is an important hub of the nation's rail roads.  The Sears Tower (seen in the next segment of this travelogue) dominates the massive skyline along with the "Gold Coast" high rises along Lake Michigan.  As the train backs into Chicago's Union Station, it parallels the Chicago River on the left, its flow reversed in an engineering triumph.  And another engineering triumph is the modern Amtrak yards and maintenance facility, which is the home of the California Zephyr.  The train ends its 2,422-mile run in historic Union Station.  Built in 1926, the station serves over 40 Amtrak trains and 160 commuter trains each weekday.