 |
Let's Have A Gay Old Time!
Author: Harvey Fierstein
Date: 06-15-2022 - 12:10
Here's a tale of woe from a passenger who rode the eastbound California Zephyr that departed Emeryville on June 11th:
...there were many "never againers" on this train and let me give you some background.
I boarded in Denver at 7am instead of 7pm the night before. After departure, the dining car made an announcement that since the kitchen downstairs no longer had working air conditioning, they would not be offering ANY food service in the diner and you MUST take your food back to your room and could NOT eat in the diner. Actually the upstairs was very comfortable, but not downstairs apparently.
What they decided to do was offer an employee -erved buffet but the execution was terrible. They had all the passengers in 2 1/2 sleepers line up in the hall that stretched all the way to the 0632 (last) sleeper and one-by-one come forward. Once at the front of the line, an employee from the diner served 2 pieces of bacon or one sausage patty, or an egg/cheese/sausage breakfast sandwich. You were told to grab your own utensils and go back to your rooms. You can imagine this was a nightmare as its a very thin hallway and add to that people on both sides carrying food it was VERY tight. People were spilling into rooms, bathrooms, stairs, etc.
The worst part by FAR was what happened with food the rest of the trip. It was announced at 12pm that there would be NO service of ANY kind until Lincoln, Nebraska. No lunch. This was after 4pm. This meant after 730am, there was no food service all day. When we arrived in Lincoln, Amtrak ordered 80 Jimmy Johns sandwiches onboard. Being incredibly hungry at this point, I looked forward to some food.
AMTK didn't manage to get the food out until closer to 5 but....wait for it....it wasnt a full sandwich. Not even half. In Amtraks infinite cheap wisdom, they cut the 12 inch sandwich into 4ths. Yes, 4ths, 3 inches. And gave that to every passenger in the sleepers one-by-one with no seconds offered. The best part? This was the LAST meal served. Coach got the stew, but that was it. No food at all the rest of the way arriving CHI at 3am.
For those keeping track, thats 1 3-inch long sub in 19+ hours on a train.
The air conditioning was out in BOTH engines and for those following it was over 100+ degrees all the way cross NE, CO and Iowa. The engineers were miserable.
Despite open sleepers from people bailing, Amtrak wouldnt sell them to anyone on board. Rooms were empty and remained empty despite pleas from guests to buy-up regardless of price with a 3am arrival into Chicago.
My sleeper REEKED of sewage. I cant imagine how full the tanks were but add sewage to the heat, and you get the idea of what it smelled like.
This wasnt Amtraks best look, and I hope it doesnt keep going downhill. Delay-wise BNSF ran us without losing more than 1 hour all the way from DEN to CHI. I will say our sleeping car attendant was terrific and was doing his best.
...there were many "never againers" on this train and let me give you some background.
I boarded in Denver at 7am instead of 7pm the night before. After departure, the dining car made an announcement that since the kitchen downstairs no longer had working air conditioning, they would not be offering ANY food service in the diner and you MUST take your food back to your room and could NOT eat in the diner. Actually the upstairs was very comfortable, but not downstairs apparently.
What they decided to do was offer an employee -erved buffet but the execution was terrible. They had all the passengers in 2 1/2 sleepers line up in the hall that stretched all the way to the 0632 (last) sleeper and one-by-one come forward. Once at the front of the line, an employee from the diner served 2 pieces of bacon or one sausage patty, or an egg/cheese/sausage breakfast sandwich. You were told to grab your own utensils and go back to your rooms. You can imagine this was a nightmare as its a very thin hallway and add to that people on both sides carrying food it was VERY tight. People were spilling into rooms, bathrooms, stairs, etc.
The worst part by FAR was what happened with food the rest of the trip. It was announced at 12pm that there would be NO service of ANY kind until Lincoln, Nebraska. No lunch. This was after 4pm. This meant after 730am, there was no food service all day. When we arrived in Lincoln, Amtrak ordered 80 Jimmy Johns sandwiches onboard. Being incredibly hungry at this point, I looked forward to some food.
AMTK didn't manage to get the food out until closer to 5 but....wait for it....it wasnt a full sandwich. Not even half. In Amtraks infinite cheap wisdom, they cut the 12 inch sandwich into 4ths. Yes, 4ths, 3 inches. And gave that to every passenger in the sleepers one-by-one with no seconds offered. The best part? This was the LAST meal served. Coach got the stew, but that was it. No food at all the rest of the way arriving CHI at 3am.
For those keeping track, thats 1 3-inch long sub in 19+ hours on a train.
The air conditioning was out in BOTH engines and for those following it was over 100+ degrees all the way cross NE, CO and Iowa. The engineers were miserable.
Despite open sleepers from people bailing, Amtrak wouldnt sell them to anyone on board. Rooms were empty and remained empty despite pleas from guests to buy-up regardless of price with a 3am arrival into Chicago.
My sleeper REEKED of sewage. I cant imagine how full the tanks were but add sewage to the heat, and you get the idea of what it smelled like.
This wasnt Amtraks best look, and I hope it doesnt keep going downhill. Delay-wise BNSF ran us without losing more than 1 hour all the way from DEN to CHI. I will say our sleeping car attendant was terrific and was doing his best.
| Subject | Written By | Date/Time (PST) |
|---|---|---|
 What's Important and What's Not
|
Rudi Toot Toot | 06-14-2022 - 00:43 |
|
The Village People Would Be Impressed
|
Ub Iwerks | 06-15-2022 - 09:51 |
|
Re: The Village People Would Be Impressed
|
LOLOLOLOLOLOL | 06-15-2022 - 11:10 |
|
Let's Have A Gay Old Time! |
Harvey Fierstein | 06-15-2022 - 12:10 |
|
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
|
06-17-2022 - 10:30 | |
|
I support UP's LGBTQ efforts
|
Let's Get Brandon To Quit | 06-17-2022 - 16:10 |
|
Re: I support UP's LGBTQ efforts
|
/// | 06-18-2022 - 09:50 |