Klamath Falls to Portland
Wednesday, May 12, 2004. Up at 5am, I am checking the Amtrak Train Status web site for the Coast Starlight, Train 14. "It left Dunsmuir two minutes behind schedule, expected to arrive on time into Klamath Falls at 815am." Instead of going back to bed, we prepare breakfast and make last minute preparations for the first leg of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian portion of our journey -- two nights in Portland at the Downtown Residence Inn. My birthday gift to Sylvia this winter was a membership in the Portland Art Museum. We are going to view the temporary exhibit of Impressionist paintings from the Rau private collection from Germany which has never been shown to the public before.
Most of the recent snow has melted from 6000 foot Stukel Mountain behind our home. The temperature is below freezing, but the skies are blue and the air is crystal clear -- a perfect spring day in the Klamath Basin . Arriving at the Klamath Falls Amtrak Station, we find the lead agent, Brian Lewis, conversing with two of Klamath Fall's finest, who are waiting to assist in the involuntary disembarkation of an obstreperous passenger. We learn that, as we expected, they will not need our assistance, so we chat with the Amtrak fireman who we find admiring our nearly perfect 1995 Buick Roadmaster. I try to avert my eyes from the ding someone recently put into the left rear door.
Soon after the lengthy Coast Starlight pulls in, a happy couple vacates Room E in the 1431 car. "It's a wonderful room," they assure us. We have coffee and juice while our attendent makes up the room. Richard is in attendance in the Pacific Parlour Car, where he presents an excellent narrative of wetlands in general, and the Pacific Flyway in particular, as we speed along the eastern shore of Klamath Lake , observing white pelicans, egrets, and even the occasional bald eagle. I had not realized that President Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for the initiation of the National Wildlife Refuge system as a result of the Bureau of Reclamation's filling in of the marshlands in the Klamath Basin.
Mt. McLoughlin , Mt. Scott , and Mt. Thielsen , dormant volcanoes of the Pacific Rim Ring of Fire, are clearly etched against the morning blue sky. All are covered in a brilliant white, although Thielsen is too steep at the summit to catch and hold much snow. We have walked to the summit of Scott, on an easy trail maintained by the National Park Service at Crater Lake . We attempted McLoughlin, but did not feel comfortable traversing the huge boulders on the trail. Ted and his brother George attempted Thielsen a few years ago, but sensibly turned back when the trail steepened in excess of 45 degrees. (Not too long afterwards, an off duty Crater Lake National Park ranger plummeted to her death when she stumbled and could not arrest her fall down that "trail".)
Everything is going smoothly, just like train riding used to be before Railroads vs. Amtrak. I spoke too soon. Halfway down the summit, before reaching Oak Ridge , we come to a halt in a beautiful wooded area. The conductor is on the ground, pacing back and forth. We are due in Eugene at 1244pm, but lunch is called at noon while we are still parked. We meet an interesting couple from Pasadena as we enjoy our meal, completely free from any bouncing or swaying. After lunch we repair to our Deluxe Bedroom, change into our pajamas and settle down to read the Oregonian in our private cabin in the mountains. It is nearly two hours before we begin rolling again, after three UP freight trains have struggled uphill past the Coast Starlight as she cooled her heels.
Passengers hoping to make the connection in Portland with the Empire Builder are told that they will be kept on the train and will be accommodated on arrival in Portland. At first we thought this meant that the Empire Builder would be held, but this was not to be. These passengers would not find out until their arrival in Portland that they would be put up in a Portland hotel and somehow be re-accommodated on the next day's Empire Builder. Some passengers were more than a little upset, as they had plans to keep, such as weddings and family reunions. I really don't understand why Amtrak even tries to offer a connection in Portland with only 1 hour and 5 minutes between trains and the Union Pacific in charge of dispatching. I will never voluntarily book my clients on this connection, although occasionally one will insist that he take this chance.
The delay is only getting worse, so we are glad that there are good magazines and a Scrabble board in the Pacific Parlour Car. This keeps us occupied as we sit in the Eugene station waiting for another southbound UP freight to pass. Richard hosts an excellent Wine Tasting in the Parlour Car at 3pm. He is knowledgeable in many areas, including wine, and can spin interesting tales to the delight of the First Class passengers. Today, another innovation -- coach passengers are invited to join the wine tasting for a small fee of $8.00 per person.
We especially enjoy a Washington State Merlot today. Richard offers to open a bottle to let it "breath" before serving it to us a dinner. Yes, we are having dinner on the train tonight - an unexpected bonus and it's on Amtrak! The first call is at 5pm, and as we enter the dining car to join two passengers already seated, Richard follows us in with our Merlot and two glasses, pops the cork and pours. Our dinner companions ask, "Do you have your own private "valet" who follows you around the train in case you need anything?" No, this is just an example of outstanding Coast Starlight service, especially if you ride the train so often that the crew remembers you.
This wine was a bargain at $14.00 a bottle, as Richard reports it has been seen on restaurant menus for up to $28.00.
TRAVEL TIP: If you purchase your dinner wine in the Parlour Car, the attendant can deliver it to you in the dining car and it will usually cost less than ordering from the very limited dining car wine list. Parlour Car wine is not on the dining car menu, so you many more choices are available to you.
The "ride" is very smooth during dinner, as after passing a northbound UP freight in a siding, our train is halted by the dispatcher and forced to back up and pull in behind the stalled freight, awaiting the passage of two more southbound freights. A comment overheard on board, "You can't spell STUPID without putting UP in the middle." Remember, the motto of the Union Pacific once used to be "We Can Handle It", but those big red letters which used to be emblazoned across their freight cars have all been painted over. To give a idea of how UP can no longer handle it, they were not able to meet the requirements of their highly sought after contract with UPS to carry package express coast to coast. As a result, UP is now paying trucking firms to carry the UPS coast to coast business. Their excuse, not enough engineers, locomotives, or track capacity. This a result of laying off workers, retiring or not maintaining locomotives, and ripping up "redundant" trackage.
We doze off after dinner and are awakened by our car attendent as we are approaching Portland Union Station at 745pm, more than a four-hour delay on what was scheduled to be a 7 hour and 15 minute trip traversing 320 miles. (Our average portal to portal speed today, 28.5 mph.) The Red Caps have long gone home, so we all had to schlep our own bags to the station. It was not possible to reserve the complimentary van from the Residence Inn to meet us as we had no idea what time we would eventually arrive. But there is always a taxi line at Portland, and it was just a short ride to the Inn on the shores of the Willamette River.
Tomorrow, the Portland Art Museum ....
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