Taking a series of trains, buses and fun facts about them

1. Civic Center, San Francisco to MacArthur, Oakland

Fun fact: BART uses the broad gauge, same as Indian Railways (another train system I know super well)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_ft_6_in_gauge_railway

EDIT: adding prices as a record. This was $4.80

#Trains #Transit #BART #BayArea #SanFrancisco #Oakland

2. MacArthur BART station has a bunch of free shuttle buses. The one I use most is the EmeryGoRound, primarily to the Amtrak station in Emeryville.

Fun fact: the Hollis route runs from 5:45am to 9:20pm on weekdays, every 15 min

EDIT: adding prices as a record. This was $0

Not everyone knows this but you can ride your bike and check it in on many of the long distance trains. They check in the bicycle on bike racks at the front of the train.

Not every train or stop has this, but the major ones along the west coast do (California Zephyr, Coast Starlight). When I was going to Reno a lot (long story) I used to take my bike on BART, cycle from West Oakland to Emeryville, check it in on the train, get out in Reno and cycle away.

Of course you’ve got to figure out an easy luggage situation (something easily detached) but I only ever had a small bag with me so it was fine.

I just saw a bunch of people checking their bikes. They’re taking the train to Santa Barbara with their bikes. It’s a $20 one way add-on

Bike policy here: https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

#BikeTooter #Cycling #Amtrak

Bring Your Bike on Amtrak

How to bring your bicycle with you on your next Amtrak journey.

Amtrak

3. Coast Starlight to Los Angeles

Fun fact: This train will travel through some of the most beautiful areas of the Pacific coast, and at least one rocket launch base

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base

EDIT: adding prices as a record. This usually costs $48-120 depending on when you book it. I got it as part of my rail pass

#Trains #Amtrak #California #CoastStarlight

Announcement: please wear shoes on the train. If you come to the cafe with no shoes, we will not serve you
There’s someone on the train with laptop and multi screen setup. You def can’t do that in a plane. In economy class.

Somewhere in central California

#California #Amtrak #Trains #CoastStarlight

I brought my own kettle and tea bags (am out of my good tea leaves or I’d have brought that too!)

The other indispensable travel accessory for me: a portable bidet. With pressure control. (Way better than using a water bottle)

I just can’t with toilet paper

Where am I going? That’s a good question.

London, actually. But I’m taking a series of trains (and later planes. Eventually)

Golden hour somewhere around Lompoc.

4. Union station to Downtown LA on the LA Metro D line

Fun fact: LA metro was just selling T-shirts with the slogan ‘Ride the D’. It was sold out very quickly

EDIT: adding prices as a record. This was $1.75

#LosAngeles #LAmetro #Transit

5. Bus no 4 from downtown LA to the fashion district

This was $1.75

Fun fact: if you take another bus or train within 2 hours on LA metro, the transfer is free. So going there and coming back can cost just $1.75

#Bus #Transit #LosAngeles

Union Station, Los Angeles. Guess where I’m going next?

#Trains #Amtrak #Transit #LosAngeles

I haven’t been in a single automobile this week.

I might break that spell when I get to Atlanta in a few days, although I do plan to ride a lot of MARTA

#Transit #Trains #Atlanta

6. Riding the Southwest Chief to New Mexico (what a name)

It’s sunset soon but I’m pretty sure I’ll wake up to some incredible desert views. I’ve never been south or southwest

The cost of riding this train in coach is usually $78ish between LA and Albuquerque, with highest prices around 200+ if you book super late. But I’m riding it as part of my rail pass

Edit: forgot my Southwest Chief fun fact. This route (which runs LA to Chicago) is pretty much the modern version of the Super Chief. There used to be a San Francisco Chief that did San Francisco to Chicago, between 1954 and 1971

#Transit #Trains #LosAngeles #Amtrak #SouthwestChief

Multiple announcements about the importance of wearing shoes on the train..

#Transit #Trains #LosAngeles #Amtrak #SouthwestChief

Conductor was explaining communal seating in the dining car. Apparently this really shocks people who’ve never ridden the train before.

#Transit #Trains #LosAngeles #Amtrak #SouthwestChief

I recently found a spreadsheet of my train rides around India in 2005

With prices and dates. I used to go on 40-60 day trips! (Stopping several days in each place..)

Will be fun to take screenshots and share that part of my train life

I’m in Arizona!

Looked at ‘notable people’ for Kingman, AZ:

- a serial killer
- Timothy McVeigh & friends

(Closes tab..)

I’ve got my Aeropress, but frankly on a train I don’t always want to deal with the whole process.

I have emergency drip coffee bags of good coffee. They seem much more popular in Asia (most Asian specialty coffee places in Taiwan, Singapore, Seoul will carry a variety of these. And in fact I got these from a Korean coffee shop in LA)

#Amtrak #SouthwestChief #Trains #Transit #Arizona #Flagstaff #Coffee

I’ll know that I’ve reached a new phase in life when I start traveling with one of these in addition to my travel kettle

It would be so nice to have my good tea leaves with me and one of these

Passengers in the sleeper cars get all meals included, coach passengers can opt in for meals.

I’m a fan of their breakfasts, I think it’s a nice way to start the day and it’s pretty good (diner quality omelets)

(I generally like breakfast and dinner on the train. I don’t love the sandwich / melts / burgers for lunch. They have other dishes at breakfast and dinner)

#Food #Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

There’s a little child who’s really into trains and they’ve been letting her make announcements all night and morning

Could have been me!

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

There’s a couple of their honeymoon.

Everyone’s congratulating them. An Amtrak employee’s family is on board with his kids and they’re expecting another child.

This is why I like train travel. Proper cutlery, views, observation lounges, rolling into city centers, no TSA

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

The dining car attendant is showing photos of his family to the newly weds.

He calls his wife (who he married 40 years ago) his beautiful best friend

Awwww

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

We’ve been stuck outside Winslow, AZ for two hours

Freight trains take precedence here especially on the west coast (Amtrak doesn’t own the tracks here)

Major delays occur on US trains primarily because of this, I would say

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

I’m sitting with some Amish people. They seem to have a telephone (landline style) inside a black leather bag. I’m so curious about how that works

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

Crossed state lines into New Mexico!

Two new states for me in a day (one day I’ll get out in AZ properly)

#Amtrak #Trains #SouthwestChief

@skinnylatte Amish phone phreaks!

@mattblaze @skinnylatte If you ever REALLY want to gert stuck in Winslow, AZ, book a room at the La Posada Hotel!!

Probably one of the nicest hotels I've stayed at. If you pick the right time it was only slightly more than the crappy hotels along the freeway, but basically 4 star... even has a modern art museum upstairs.

https://www.laposada.org/

La Posada | Winslow, AZ

Experience La Posada, a historic hotel by Mary Colter. Enjoy Southwestern cuisine & elegant spaces on historic Route 66 in Arizona. Book your stay today!

@ai6yr @skinnylatte Second that recomendation. Also good restaurant. One of the original "Harvey House" hotels built along the Santa Fe railroad.

@ai6yr

I had no idea. But winslow has many surprises. A Vietnamese restaurant i think.

@mattblaze @skinnylatte

@tomjennings @mattblaze @skinnylatte I have road tripped up that way a few times (plus took Amtrak)

My photo along the way there...

@ai6yr @tomjennings @mattblaze @skinnylatte Let me guess: You did NOT take that with Kodak film.

@ai6yr @mattblaze @skinnylatte

It looks wonderful!

Trying to get an idea of prices, I attempted to use their online booking system. But I wasn't able to figure it out. Maybe it's not compatible with Firefox

There's an online menu for the restaurant. Sounds amazing! And I think Adrianna will be amazed also at how cheap

Looks like they also rent RV sites! Mentioned in the booking system. Although I don't see any RVs on the satellite view (maybe it was the hot season)

@skinnylatte they are likely Mennonites! I met a family of them on the same train (decades ago from your travel), and they're a pleasant, but quiet bunch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites
Mennonites - Wikipedia

@vandorb12 @skinnylatte and friendly! When I took that train I was pleasantly surprised at how
friendlier passengers were (compared to air travel) and how many conversations started in the panoramic car
@skinnylatte Isn't Amtrak, by law, supposed to get priority? I've always understood it was a condition of federal subsidies. You get the money, you let us go first. (Obviously, that doesn't happen...)
@julie by law, but in practice.. the freight companies own west coast tracks
@julie @skinnylatte yes, they are. But they don’t. It’s a serious point of contention here in Chicago as commuter trains are CONSTANTLY delayed or skip stops altogether due to “freight train interference” as they like to call it. It’s one of the reasons I refuse to take public trans into the office when I have to go. That and the dude masturbating in the corner.
@julie @skinnylatte last time I took an Amtrak, the Capitol 30 Limited Chicago to DC, we were delayed in the middle of nowhere Indiana for 9 hours waiting for the freight train crew to come back on and move their train, we were stuck with nowhere to even switch tracks and go around. Had the same thing happen from Detroit back to Chicago too- that time 3 hours. It’s a huge problem EVERYWHERE.
@WXQ4987 @julie @skinnylatte Except on the northeast corridor (DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston), where Amtrak doesn't have to share tracks. Everywhere else, you risk random multi-hour delays, so you can't take the train unless long delays won't be an issue for you.
@WXQ4987 @julie @skinnylatte Fun fact: there are legal limits on how long a train crew can work in a day. When they reach that limit they will stop the train and get out, regardless of where the train is at that point in time. And if it's blocking a single track line in a spot that's miles from any paved road? Well that's their employer's problem, not theirs.
@skinnylatte it’s this way all through Arizona. If only the train managers knew it would be 3 hours or more at least you would have had a chance to walk around downtown. I hope it’s at least a little scenic there.

@skinnylatte it's so bad i don't even think of the train as delayed until it hits 7 or 8 hours for a trip...

i _have_ had the impression this has gotten a bit better on at least the zephyr. my last 3 or 4 trips it's actually left denver _on time_, which shocks me every time.

@skinnylatte like The Eagles song
@Ashedryden @skinnylatte I thought The Eagles made the place up until just now. Literally had never heard of it outside of the song..
@Andres4NY I think they have a statue of the Eagles there or a plaque or something @skinnylatte

@skinnylatte Winslow Arizona! I've heard of it because of The Eagles song "Take it Easy". (But its mention there is the only thing I know about it.)

In such cases, do you (or the train staff) generally know how long you'll have to wait?

(The vande bharat trains we were discussing the other day apparently have priority over everything else BTW.)

@amenonsen they have absolutely no idea. I guess 1-3 is normal, but at the high end delays can be 8 or more hours sometimes
Why Passenger Trains Suck in Canada - VIA Rail

YouTube
@skinnylatte now this is how to travel across that gigantic country, lovely! 🚋
@skinnylatte My wife and I once made a cup of tea with our travel kettle while we were waiting around at Schipol Airport.

@skinnylatte Ah, true enlightenment!

I need to get some of these. 🍵

@skinnylatte (I should probably blog post about this.) after spending a month traveling with a Tuareg family in Mali in 2005, I became obsessed with the 3 cups of tea ritual and have been searching for and refining a travel tea kit ever since. Transporting the glass cups safely is tricky, and a sorting a good, liquid fueled stove setup have been the hardest parts. Right now I’m using the small trangia stove because it’s so reliable and easy to use in any weather. I still want something smaller.
@skinnylatte wait, you got Berlin coffee from a Korean coffee shop in LA? :O
@jer yep!

@skinnylatte I mean I'm not entirely surprised to see The Barn being sold over there, but still a little bit maybe.

Enjoy it! (the coffee and the trip)

@skinnylatte I'm going to need more information about this portable kettle
@middleclasstool heh, there are tons of generic ones that all work the same. They’re all Chinese, in the shape of a water bottle. You just plug it in and it boils water very rapidly. They even have all kinds of portable tea sets (like water bottles with a bottom that’s for tea leaves, ones with detachable tea cups..) Chinese people take our travel hot water and tea super seriously
@skinnylatte hello from AZ time! I am told the current weather is warmer than usual. Stay cool!
@skinnylatte drip coffee bags are so good! I really should get some for emergencies. Aeropress is terrific but a bit cumbersome in process and not always practical.
@skinnylatte I can smell this picture, and it smells beautiful
@skinnylatte I regret not taking notes when I travelled around. You think you'll always remember...and then, a lot of details get overwritten by new ones. It IS fun to look back at adventures.
@skinnylatte That's a great run (LA to ABQ)... although bring a blanket if it's cold between LA and ABQ, nearly froze to death there once except a kindly old grandmother shared a corner of her blanket with me, lol. No heat!

@skinnylatte I hope the train goes past Macarthur Park

🎵Someone left their shoes off in the train 🎶