When something goes wrong with one of Amtrak’s long distance trains, problems can snowball and, before you know it, things get ugly. Such was the case several nights ago when Amtrak’s Train #1, the fabled Sunset Limited, was heading for Los Angeles but stalled about seven miles from Tucson, Arizona. Actual facts are hard…
I don’t know why, but I always seem to get a Russian taxi driver in Los Angeles. This time, en route from my airport hotel to the magnificent railway station in downtown LA, was no exception. My taxi driver did not command a feeing of confidence. He was a fragile old man who spoke almost…
Our just-completed 12-day junket included three separate train rides. The first, aboard Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, originated in Los Angeles with an early evening departure and concluded the next morning around 5:00 at Flagstaff, Arizona. This lucky fellow is the Amtrak engineer about to climb up into the head end of Train # 4 that will…
My wife and I will be off on a 12-day trip next week … with some train travel in the mix, of course. After flying to Los Angeles, we’ll take Amtrak’s Southwest Chief to Flagstaff, AZ, and drive from there for a visit to the Grand Canyon. For years I have been hearing stories about…