Trip Report: Februray 9 - 14, 2001
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
A Cultural Tour of the Pacifc Northwest
February 10, 2001 Eugene to Portland
 |
Dr. Anthony Stakis, Sylvia Blishak,
and Ted Blishak, in the corner booth
of the Talgo Bistro Car between
Eugene and Portland. |
The Cascades, Talgo Train No. 552, is not listed in the October 2000 national timetable, but is scheduled to depart Eugene at 9:30 AM and arrive in Portland at 12:05 PM. We arrived at trainside at 9:15 AM, after a short walk from the Eugene Hilton. Business Class Car No. 2 was ready for boarding, with its door open, but no train personnel were in evidence. We three were the only passengers in this car, so we had the sensation of being in private varnish.
The single-level Talgo equipment consists of a baggage car, two business class cars, a dining car, a snack car, another business class car used for regular coach passengers, and four coaches coaches. Business class has two and one seating, coach has two and two seating and less leg room. When these trains began service , the dining car was staffed and stocked for full service, but as this amenity was under utilized by passengers, Amtrak took off the waiter and eliminated full meals except on the route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. The meal service between Eugene, Portland, and Seattle is limited to counter service in the snack car. You can dine at the counter or in two small booths in the snack car, or you can take your meal to your seat or to a dining car table.
Designed in Spain, the Talgo equipment is quite different in appearance from any other Amtrak trains. It is very attractive, with sliding glass doors between cars and weatherproof vestibules. The food-service car is twenty-first century art-deco, with lots of shiny chrome on the sit-down counter facing the windows and two individual booths. A colorful map of the Pacific Northwest including Puget Sound adorns the ceiling, with tiny star-like lights sprinkled across it. A Talgo technician travels on board each Talgo trip, not because they are any less reliable than Amtrak's other trains, but because the design is so different from other Amtrak designs.
The conductor boarded and collected our tickets and gave each of us vouchers good for $3.00 in the snack car. An announcement was made that our departure would be delayed by a Union Pacific southbound freight train fouling the main line to the north. Just as in Klamath Falls, the Union Pacific dispatches their freight trains here to coincide with the operation of scheduled passenger service. We were finally given the highball at 9:50 AM after the freight passed us by, and we were off for some fast running to Albany, Salem, and Portland, passing through the first snow flurry that we have ever observed in the Willamette Valley. Our stops were brief, and our running was not interrupted again all the way into Portland, where we arrived only about fifteen minutes behind schedule.
Travel Tip: Business Class on the Talgo costs just a few dollars more than Coach Class, but you may find it well worth your while. The extra charge was $10.00 on our trip, but you get a $3.00 off coupon for snack service. There is more spacious seating, complimentary newspapers, and you are conveniently located next to the dining and snack cars. On the Vancouver, BC, service, business class passenger are given preferential treatment when disembarking to go through customs and immigration upon arrival into Canada.
Upon arrival at the beautifully restored Portland Union Station, we were whisked by taxi to the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, which until this year was formerly the Riverside Hotel. I had failed to call ahead for reservations for our favorite restaurant , Jake's Original Crayfish, and they as well as our hotel restaurant were fully booked on this Saturday evening. Our hotel concierege recommended McCormick & Schmidt's for seafood and made a reservation for us at 5:00 PM. After an excellent meal a taxi whisked us to Keller Auditorium, (formerly Civic Auditorium) for a performance of Puccini's "La Boheme" by the Portland Opera Company.
Travel Tip: When arriving into a major city on a Friday or Saturday, if you have plans for an evening performance, it is always best to have your travel agent make advance dinner reservations for you at the time of booking your hotel. Even if the hotel has its own dining room or restaurant, nowadays they are often so highly recommended that you cannot depend on them having a table available for you as a hotel guest when you want to dine, as they are often booked in advance, not only by hotel guests, but by other patrons as well who wish to dine there.
Addendums to the Friday and Saturday reports.
Friday. When we arrived in Eugene two hours behind schedule on the Coast Starlight, passengers connecting to the Empire Builder in Portland were transferred to an Amtrak Thruway bus in Eugene. The bus is able to get to Portland faster than the train and therefore make a connection. While this may seem odd to a European or Japanese traveler, it is not uncommon in the USA where Interstate Highway traffic travels at higher speeds than the typical passenger train.
Saturday. When we arrived in Portland at 12:15 PM, passengers wishing to travel on to Seattle were required to change trains. It was explained that this was required for the convenience of the trainset equipment schedulers. The two trains were spotted on adjacent tracks, but not across the platform, therefore passengers were required to disembark, walk to the end of the train, crossover behind the train, and walk down the adjacent platform to reboard. The reason for this was not explained.
Travel Tip: There is one through Talgo train from Eugene to Seattle, leaving Eugene at 5:45 AM, arriving in Seattle at 12:15 PM. Although it is an inconvenient departure time, there is a distinct advantage in not having to change trains en route. The Coast Starlight, of course, is a through train, but its schedule cannot be depended upon.
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