Day 5 - 24 hours-ish on a train

I’ve travelled overnight by train in the US before, getting on at midnight in Flagstaff, Arizona and alighting in LA at about 9 the next morning. Amtrak runs a bunch of trains to just about anywhere you want to go, or close enough that you can get there.

 
This trip I elected to take the 9.40am Coach Starlight from Seattle to Emeryville, with a bus transfer to San Francisco, which normally takes approximately 24 hours. The train continues along the Pacific Coast right down to LA, adding another night and getting in at 5am.

Sadly, my train was delayed, so the bonus of the large “Sightseer Lounge” with its large windows from floor to ceiling, skylights and comfy sideway-facing chairs missed some of the more scenic parts of the journey as the sun had set before we got there but for the 7 hours I sat in the lounge there was plenty to make me smile - covered bridges (think Bridges of Madison County), railway bridges, picturesque mountain ranges, mirror-like lakes, farming fields, river boats, houseboats, pine trees, palm trees, and urban life of all shapes and sizes.

I took lots of snacks on the train to avoid paying a fortune for breakfasts, lunch and dinner, however the food was affordable and the coffee, while barely stomach-able, staved off the worst of a caffeine withdrawal headache.

I had a nice seat partner, a young fellow from New York state here to visit his brother.  I didn’t talk much to him during the trip but got chatting as we waited to pull into our destination station and then as we waited for the bus. Also chatted to a nice Manchurian gentleman on the bus and a San Francisco resident who has been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - starting in Mexico and she finished in Seattle to return home for a medical appointment.

Couldn’t sleep much but the beauty was that the Lions game started at 11.35pm my time, so I could keep up with the score as signal kicked in and out.  I even managed to watch the replay from 5am - Kayo works in the US (but wouldn’t work in Spain for the grand final).

Some of the pros and cons of the train - pro - you can just sit back and relax as someone does all the work to get you there. I read an entire book, started another, watched a few tv programs I had downloaded, texted the family - you could knit, do crosswords - it’s pretty smooth so not too jolty.

Con - the toilet are not ideal. Small, cramped and while staff try to keep them clean, some people still piss on the floor, the seat, the hand bowl - you get my drift.

Pro - the staff are all lovely, don’t mind a chat and have fun guessing the accent.

Con - there’s a quiet time and if passengers get on after the announcement they don’t know the expectation so they get on and make a lot of noise and chat instead of removing themselves to a lounge to talk among themselves or on the phone.
 
Pro - even though we departed late, generally they can make up time. Unless they get stuck behind a slower train which we did so we arrived three hours later than scheduled.  We departed late because they were waiting for equipment to arrive. The equipment was the train! The equipment was late due to people “walking on the tracks. Don’t walk on the tracks, folks, please!”

Pro - you can get out at some stations and have a stretch and a smoke if you need. It’s nice to get some fresh air after being couped up inside.

Con - unless you fork out for a sleeper car, it’s not easy to sleep. The seats recline further than a plane, you have plenty of legroom and a footrest but unless you’re average height, that isn’t helpful.

Anyways, got into town with the bus and then had a longish walk uphill to my hotel to drop off luggage - but more about that tomorrow!