My best pre-Amtrak train experiences were on the Western Pacific. I saw instances of W.P. bending over backwards to help passengers. On one trip in the 1960's from Oakland to Salt Lake City, the dispatcher turned the head-block signal red at Doyle, Calif. The engineer approached the signal very slowly and kept the train moving as long as he could, hoping it would clear before he had to stop. The fireman got off and went to the trackside dispatcher phone. As soon as he finished talking on the phone, the signal cleared. The fireman walked back and told the conductor that a passenger had missed the train at Portola and the Portola agent was driving the passenger in a car to meet the train at Doyle! Shortly, a car appeared on the lonely highway with the late passenger and we were off to Herlong again. This made a great impression on me.

On another occasion, I was riding the Zephyr from Salt Lake City to Oakland at holiday time and it became rather late. The Zephyrette came through the train asking for phone numbers to call. When the train stopped in Portola (I think it was), she gave the list to the agent. Then the W.P. railroad people telephoned all of the phone numbers to tell the passengers' relatives that the train was late and told them what time the train would arrive in Pleasanton, Fremont, and Oakland!