More than one member of a train’s on board crew has told me that the key to the job is flexibility … being able to cope with unexpected and unusual occurrences. An Amtrak car attendant on one of my train trips put it quite succinctly: “If you can’t roll with the punches, you’d better find…
One of the reasons I enjoy traveling on Amtrak is the opportunity to meet and briefly get to know some very interesting and entertaining people. You have time for that on the train. I boarded the Coast Starlight Wednesday morning in Davis, California, and spent quite a few of the next 14 hours relaxing in…
Instead of continuing on up to New York on the Crescent, I’ve scheduled a four-hour layover in Washington for two reasons. I want time for a lunch with two old friends and, since I’ve never had the chance to ride it before today, I want to complete the first half of my journey on Amtrak’s…
(Written en route in Arizona, posted in New Orleans) It’s quite an experience to sit for a couple of hours in the Los Angeles Union Station … as I did this past Sunday, waiting to board the Sunset Limited. People! All types, all sizes, all colors, in a constant stream… coming from trains, rushing to…