Train to the Bay
I was on various trains most of today. I took lots of photos, and posted them to my Mastodon account throughout the day, so I am not going to include them here because I need to get some sleep tonight because tomorrow is a regular (i.e. starts at 0530) work day, albeit only a half-day before I go for my annual physical.
When I got up this morning I checked with Amtrak, and my train was on time out of Winnemucca. Lisa drove me into Reno and dropped me off at the Amtrak station. I was there early enough to check my large piece of luggage, which was convenient. The train arrived early, but what I did not know was that they were still serving breakfast. (Amtrak has started serving dinner in the dining car to coach passengers again, at least on the California Zephyr.) I only learned that they were serving when they announced that breakfast was over. Had I known, I could have got in just before we left Reno.
It had been snowing over Donner, but not as heavily as I expected. There were some wonderful views, including a gorgeous rainbow over Donner Lake. But unlike the heavy snow in the Cascades that has forced the cancellation of the Coast Starlight, our train trip today was routine. Indeed, we got to Roseville so far ahead of schedule that we had to wait there for twenty minutes because we're not allowed to leave ahead of schedule. (Stops west of Sacramento are "drop off only," meaning the train stops only to drop off passengers and can leave ahead of schedule.)
I did have lunch in the diner: $25 for any of the lunch entrees. I had the Angus burger, as I normally do. The price includes beverages and desert. And you can't beat the views out the windows.
We arrived in Emeryville around thirty minutes early. In years past, this means I could have taken an earlier Capitol Corridor train to San Jose, but they've reduced the number of afternoon trains, so I had a 2 1/2 hour layover at Emeryville before I could continue my trip. That did give me plenty of time to go up and over the railroad tracks (there is a bridge accessed by elevators) to the Emeryville Public Market, a food hall, where I had a nice lamb curry and was thus well fed. I got back to the station with exactly one hour to wait for my train to San Jose.
The ride to San Jose was uneventful. At San Jose Diridon station, I walked over to the light rail platform and took the next train heading my way (in this case to Karina station). My Clipper card value is still on the card, so that's good. There was a slight delay because the train I boarded went out of service for the night at Civic Center station (that's the stop just before the maintenance yard), but on that stretch of line the trains are frequent, so it was only about a five minute wait for the next train taking us the remaining three stops to where my hotel is.
I moved into my hotel room and got all of the computers running (my personal computer and the two work machines, since I'm working tomorrow morning). That took a little while persuading them all to recognize the hotel wi-fi, but I got it going. I then called Lisa and let her know I was here and everything was okay.
That's the condensed version of the trip. For all that it took about twelve hours from my departure from Reno to my arrival at the hotel, I think I'm happier having taken the train than any of the other alternatives. I would not wanted to drive (there were chain controls over Donner Summit on I-80) and flying is annoying. The one direct flight is only an hour, but the trip has been known to take as much as eight, including all of the time spent in airports. Besides, Southwest only has that one direct flight each way every day, with the other trips requiring going to Las Vegas, Burbank, or even Phoenix. I'm sure I'll end up flying in the future, but in this case, I let the train take the strain.
When I got up this morning I checked with Amtrak, and my train was on time out of Winnemucca. Lisa drove me into Reno and dropped me off at the Amtrak station. I was there early enough to check my large piece of luggage, which was convenient. The train arrived early, but what I did not know was that they were still serving breakfast. (Amtrak has started serving dinner in the dining car to coach passengers again, at least on the California Zephyr.) I only learned that they were serving when they announced that breakfast was over. Had I known, I could have got in just before we left Reno.
It had been snowing over Donner, but not as heavily as I expected. There were some wonderful views, including a gorgeous rainbow over Donner Lake. But unlike the heavy snow in the Cascades that has forced the cancellation of the Coast Starlight, our train trip today was routine. Indeed, we got to Roseville so far ahead of schedule that we had to wait there for twenty minutes because we're not allowed to leave ahead of schedule. (Stops west of Sacramento are "drop off only," meaning the train stops only to drop off passengers and can leave ahead of schedule.)
I did have lunch in the diner: $25 for any of the lunch entrees. I had the Angus burger, as I normally do. The price includes beverages and desert. And you can't beat the views out the windows.
We arrived in Emeryville around thirty minutes early. In years past, this means I could have taken an earlier Capitol Corridor train to San Jose, but they've reduced the number of afternoon trains, so I had a 2 1/2 hour layover at Emeryville before I could continue my trip. That did give me plenty of time to go up and over the railroad tracks (there is a bridge accessed by elevators) to the Emeryville Public Market, a food hall, where I had a nice lamb curry and was thus well fed. I got back to the station with exactly one hour to wait for my train to San Jose.
The ride to San Jose was uneventful. At San Jose Diridon station, I walked over to the light rail platform and took the next train heading my way (in this case to Karina station). My Clipper card value is still on the card, so that's good. There was a slight delay because the train I boarded went out of service for the night at Civic Center station (that's the stop just before the maintenance yard), but on that stretch of line the trains are frequent, so it was only about a five minute wait for the next train taking us the remaining three stops to where my hotel is.
I moved into my hotel room and got all of the computers running (my personal computer and the two work machines, since I'm working tomorrow morning). That took a little while persuading them all to recognize the hotel wi-fi, but I got it going. I then called Lisa and let her know I was here and everything was okay.
That's the condensed version of the trip. For all that it took about twelve hours from my departure from Reno to my arrival at the hotel, I think I'm happier having taken the train than any of the other alternatives. I would not wanted to drive (there were chain controls over Donner Summit on I-80) and flying is annoying. The one direct flight is only an hour, but the trip has been known to take as much as eight, including all of the time spent in airports. Besides, Southwest only has that one direct flight each way every day, with the other trips requiring going to Las Vegas, Burbank, or even Phoenix. I'm sure I'll end up flying in the future, but in this case, I let the train take the strain.