Amtrak - my favored mode of transportation in the USA. I arrive at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal to catch the ThruWay bus to Emeryville. The first thing I do is go to the counter to check in one of my bags. Shock, horror - there is no checked baggage facility at Whitefish, MT, my final destination on this leg of my journey around the US. What's going on, I ask the guy behind the counter, there has always been checked baggage facilities at Whitefish before. A quick phone call, and he gives me the answer: "They are reconstruction the platform at Whitefish." So, I have to take the bag with me onto the bus and then the train; no big deal.
It is still warm and so must of the passengers wait outside for the train. A few minutes before its scheduled arrival, there is an announcement from one of the station staff: "The Coast Starlight is at Oakland having two private cars attatched to it. Once that's been done, it'll be on its way to Emeryville. It arrives a half hour later. That's not so good, but it's not a major problem either as there's plenty of slack in the schedule. We depart and stop to pick up more passnegers at Richmond, Martinez and Davis before arriving at Sacramento. There seems to be more passengers than there are seats, but it eventually gets sorted and everyone is happy. However, there's a problem. The station staff are trying to replenish the water in the dining car and it's taking forever. From being a half hour behind schedule, we are now over an hour behind. Things can only get better - wrong! We continue to lose time heading up the Sacramento River valley towards Dunsmuir in northern California. There is an upside to this: Mount Shasta will be visible in the day light!
Some of the passengers are a little worried about our connection with the Empire Builder at Portland. I try to reassure them that there is enough slack in the schedule that we should be able to make up the lost time.
As the sun starts to rise, we are heading out of the Sacramento River valley into the broad farmlands of southern Oregon. It is another beautiful day and, as I set up my video camera in the lounge car, I start a conversation with another passenger that keeps going until we get to Portland.
Soon we are rolling into Klamath Falls where the train has a scheduled service stop. This involves getting rid of the trash which has built up on the train; for the conductors and engineer to be replaced and for those who smoke, a chance to catch up on their nicotine intake!
The Coast Starlight at the Klamath Falls Amtrak Depot
From Klamath Falls we head north towards Chemult. The scenery gradually changes from farmland to forest as the train approaches Cascade Summit. Odell Lake can be seen through the occasional gap (three of them) in the trees. The train reaches the high point (literally) on its journey between Los Angeles and Seattle at Cascade Summit and then it's downhill for the next forty miles or so until we reach the floor of the Willamette Valley. On the ride down the hill there are subtle changes in the scenery from the forests high up to the farm land at the bottom. The scar on the side of tracks is still there from the landslide of early 2009 which left mud, rocks and trees piled up for a distance of 1500 feet.
Lookout Point Reservoir comes into view as we roll through the farmlands of northern Oregon but there's still some anxiety among those passengers who are due to connect with the Empire Builder at Portland. One of the conductors comes on the PA and reassures everyone that the connection will be made - guaranteed!
Eugene, Albany and Salem soon pass and I recognise Oregon Falls which means it's time to pack my bags and get ready to detrian at Portland.
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