The travails of travelling by Amtrak
6-7 July
We chose to return to Flagstaff by a different route to pick up the South West Chief train (No 3) from Chicago to Los Angeles. These were the tickets which we earlier had so much difficulty in purchasing. We were looking forward to a day of “catching-up” with chores and future travel arrangements on our one day in LA.
Whilst this route had four travel stages, there would be less “down” time between them. This would bring its own logistical challenges, together with a concern as to whether we would find time for dinner!
The Grand Canyon Railway from GC Village to Williams.
First, was the heritage Grand Canyon Railway. We learned too late that they would have collected our rucksacks from the hotel. Too bad, as our assigned seats were at the front of the train and we had to retrace our steps. We walked twice the distance, to about level with our accommodation, in the blazing sunshine!
Transfer from Williams to Flagstaff
Stage two consisted of a self-transfer (AKA walking) at Williams from the station to the Holiday Inn Express for the Route 66 Express Bus to Flagstaff. Alighting at the front of the train now provided compensation, as it shortened the walk to the Holiday Inn.
Leaving Lynne with the luggage, Peter went ahead to check out the route. This was only a partially successful mission – yes he found the hotel, but the receptionist said it was not the official bus stop for the Route 66 Express Bus, but it normally parked there. We now took comfort from having dealt with an Amtrak agent to buy the tickets, in that they definitely said we would be picked up at the Holiday Inn.
We walked to the Holiday Inn, arriving about 45 minutes before our pick-up time. There isn’t much to Williams, and Peter was busy making contingency plans in his head as to how to get to Flagstaff in time if the bus left without us….
As advised, the little bus arrived about 15 minutes later. Lynne rushed across to confirm that we were indeed in the right place. A rather aggressive bus driver complained that we should have been at the “other bus stop”. She then drove off to fill up the tank with propane.
The bus departure time came and went, and Peter’s mind went into overdrive. She was in such a bad mood – would she decide to abandon us? We were eventually picked up, with two other passengers already aboard, having got on at the “official” bus stop.
At least we were now settled at the back of a bus and on Stage three to Flagstaff. It was only then that we learned that the train was due to be an hour and 45 minutes late. Aha, this meant we would have time for dinner in Flagstaff – we could cope with a delay!
The wait at Flagstaff
The lady driver and passengers were rather disparaging about the Northern University of Arizona in Flagstaff and it causing Thirsty Thursdays. For us, this meant we were able to find a delightful Italian wine bar where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of delicious wine, with a little food.
The train was being fitted with a replacement engine. The staff in the ticket office laid on coffee, soft drinks and snacks and kept us updated as best they could. Earlier, we passed over having dinner at what was an empty Irish pub. It livened up later, releasing its singing revellers at 2am. We could have joined them, as it increasingly became clear that our departure would be delayed until 2.00am
The little ticket hall began to ressemble a displaced persons’ camp as passengers did their best to settle with whatever they had to make themselves comfortable. Lynne’s yoga mat wasn’t up to the task of softening the hard wooden bench to lie on.
Then as we packed up our stuff to meet the revised departure time of 3.40am, the bad news came that the train engineering crew had run out of work hours. A replacement crew were on the delayed incoming South West Chief (No 4) to Chicago, originally due at Flagstaff at 4.15am, which would then take them to our stationary train about an hour further down the track.
The ticket office then started to fill up with new passengers for the delayed train No. 4, who finished off the drinks and snacks intended for us overnighters! We were vastly relieved that the train hadn’t been cancelled, as we had an early flight the following day from LA Airport and no plan B.
We finally set off from Flagstaff at 6.30am, nine and three quarter hours late and despite the daylight and the offer of breakfast, had our bunks made up to allow us to get some sleep!
The good news was that due to the 4-hour power outage, while a replacement engine was sorted, the dining car had been unable to serve dinner at all (supplying passengers with ‘sub’ sandwiches) and so had sufficient supplies to provide us with a substantial lunch.
Colorado River, downstream Arid Sleeping volcano Snow-capped LA traffic in San Bernardino Pass
We finally arrived in Union Station 10 and 3/4hours behind schedule.
We grabbed our rucksacks from the train and headed to the Bus Plaza, just in time to board the Flyaway Bus to LAX airport, where we picked up a free airport hotel shuttle, arriving shortly after 8pm. Time for a quick snack in a busy bar, before the joy of a large welcoming bed, only tempered by the need to get up before 5am for our flight to Costa Rica!
What a journey and we still have some long and overnight train journeys on Amtrak ahead of us!
