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TRAINS & TRAVEL WITH JIM LOOMIS

Coast Starlight

Life on board | Memorable Moments

Remembering the Parlour Cars.

ByJim Loomis 07/21/202207/21/2022

About 30 years ago, I had been to a high school reunion in Connecticut and had stopped to visit my brother who lives near Galesburg, Illinois.  I booked the California Zephyr from Galesburg to Davis, California, where I spent the night and caught the southbound Coast Starlight from there down to L.A. the next day,…

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Dealing with the Late Train Issue.
All Posts | Amtrak Delays

Dealing with the Late Train Issue.

ByJim Loomis 02/26/201903/02/2019

Veteran rail travelers know from personal experience that Amtrak’s long-distance trains often run late— sometimes very late—and rather than take a chance on making a connection, we’ll stay overnight and continue on our way the next day. The fact is, it’s risky to take an Amtrak schedule at face value and assume any given long-distance…

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To Connect or Not To Connect?
All Posts | Railroading

To Connect or Not To Connect?

ByJim Loomis 07/25/201807/27/2018

There’s almost no end to things that can go wrong on a railroad. Locomotives break down; boulders tumble down rocky slopes and block the tracks; several cars on freight train slip off the rails; an earthen embankment gives way and six feet of mud covers the tracks; heat kinks twist the rails out of alignment;…

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Train 11/14: Is Ridership Slipping?
All Posts | Amtrak

Train 11/14: Is Ridership Slipping?

ByJim Loomis 05/10/201805/12/2018

I was the only sleeping car passenger on the platform when the southbound Coast Starlight arrived in Davis, California, spot on time at 6:50 yesterday morning.   The door of the 31 car banged open and the car attendant, a feisty woman clearly approaching retirement age, called out, “Mr. Loomis?” I clambered aboard and, as…

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