Amtrak's California Zephyr: From SLC to Emeryville
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- Опубліковано 19 жов 2024
- I had an amazing time riding Amtrak's California Zephyr last month, and I've got a lot of thoughts to share!
Rio Grande Plan website:
www.RioGrandePlanSaltLakeCity.org
Juckins.net - the site that collects Amtrak arrival and departure data:
juckins.net/am...
The Carbon Footprint Calculator site I used to annoy my little sister:
ei.lehigh.edu/...
(There are many more detailed calculators out there, but this one is quick and easy)
Music:
Vital Whales, by Unicorn Heads:
• Vital Whales
Creek Whistle, by Steve Adams:
• Creek Whistle
Hitchcock would have... by Chris Zabriskie:
• Hitchcock Would Have F...
All video clips are my own, and are free to use in your own projects. Be safe out there, and leave a comment below if you have taken Amtrak long-distance and how it went!
What an awesome video. It's amazing that the train there ran relatively on schedule. Sucks about the ride home and the train hitting a passenger. Yikes!
You've got one of the most soothing voices I've ever heard. I kid you not, just after you mentioned hearing the train's horn as you were falling asleep I heard a train horn in the distance.
I enjoyed traveling on the zephyr. I lived in No Cal for almost 50 years and have driven on I80 many times from the Bay Area to SLC. Taking the train provided views that I had never seen! Excellent food! Friendly crew! Comfortable accommodations.
Train travel is soooooo superior to cars or planes. Once people realize it can be luxurious, and it’s way cheaper to make it so the more we alll use it, there’s no going back! If we could just reclaim separate passenger rail in spaces they existed 80 years ago… 🎉
Another great video!! My brother and I are thinking of taking the Zephyr to Chicago for the adventure. He would be coming from Emeryville and I would hop on early in the morning in SLC. Should be a fun grand adventure, wish I was doing it from the Rio Grande Depot but I am sure I will one day. You mentioned the Rio Grande Plan Supporters event, I was unable to attend that or other meetings, but with finishing my masters degree in systems engineering here at the end of the month I am hoping to get more involved in pushing our officials to improve our transit here in the city. The preservation and upgrading of the Depot is paramount to that goal. I think we need another event to promote this and should get state and local officials to attend. Its time we get better transit and and better trains here in Salt Lake City and the USA.
I wish you and your brother safe (and timely!) travels on your adventure! Despite my painful verdict for the population at large, I highly recommend this trip for adventurers and anyone willing to try something new.
As for the next Rio Grande Plan supporters event, we are working closely with the city planning staff to hold a public event when they kickoff the feasibility study. Hopefully that will happen sometime this autumn, but whenever it happens, it is very important that the city takes the lead.
@@CSLenhart we are really excited to do the trip! Should be a great adventure.
Cannot wait to see the kickoff for the study, again please let all of us know what we can do to continue to support this awesome project. I was thinking more about the plan itself and combined with the Main Street car free zone. Imagine having a car free zone all the way to main street up Broadway. Food for thought.
@FrederickJenny It is a beautiful vision. I mentioned it to the Mayor this morning as part of her Green Loop initiative (also a good idea). We'll see if anything comes of it.
@@CSLenhart her sustainable transportation views along with her vision of a future SLC is why she has my vote. Thanks for keeping us informed. Please keep up the great work!
I hope the future Amtrak equipment is bilevel. I just took it on Monday when they had the temporary adjusted schedule that made Utah a day stop
I love bilevel equipment. Hopefully Amtrak can find a way.
How was your trip?
@@CSLenhart, what is so great about bi-level equipment? (This is an honest question. My only experience with train travel has been on light rail.)
@sambishop1667 From an engineering point of view, they are far more efficient. The original Santa Fe Hi-Level cars we lauded for "carrying 130 more people [per train] while weighing 110 tons less" than a conventional streamliner of the day:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-level
From a comfort point of view, it's like having a larger car vs a small one. More space, less claustrophobic, more amenities.
Maybe I'll have to make a video on this too....
@@CSLenhart Only an hour late both ways :D
It actually looks like the Amtrak LD fleet replacements will be bilevel as well, with Amtrak seeking an ADA waiver that would allow them to only have one or two elevators in a whole coupled set instead of having an elevator in each carriage.
That would be great! I would definitely prefer a bilevel option.
Hopefully there'll be gangways on each level.
Great vlog. Makes me want to go take the train!
Never took the Zephyr (yet) but I've enjoyed the Coast Starlight many times between WA State and California.
I took Amtrak from Washington D.C. to Chicago then to SLC. I absolutely loved the trip. The SLC station really does suck and needs to be overhauled.
I've done that same trip in reverse! A landslide in Colorado delayed the train so much that I missed my connection with the Capitol Limited. Thankfully, Amtrak put me up in a hotel that night, and I got to spend an unplanned day exploring Chicago. Good memories!
And yes, Salt Lake City’s train station needs a complete overhaul. That is what this channel is all about!
@@CSLenhart My tip was more fortunate. We only had to wait for exhaust from another train to clear out of a tunnel in the mountain for like 20:min.
I have been trying to keep up with your other videos and your ideas for the Rio Grande. I like and support the plan. Please keep it going. Thank you!
I took the Zephyr from Salt Lake to Denver in July. The train was two hours late getting to SLC due to a freight derailment in Nevada and had to reroute around it, then lost an hour going through Colorado arriving 3 hours late in Denver. On the trip back the train was an hour early, but of course had to wait until 8 AM before it could leave the station. We then lost another hour in Colorado arriving back in SLC around midnight. With the delays, and the middle of the night arrival and departure hours in SLC, I would absolutely do it again and would recommend.
Masochism on display
I think I am also going to miss the Superliners. I'm excited to see what they procure for the next generation of their Sleeper fleet, though. I have a feeling that the East Coast sleeper routes that terminate in New York Penn will get them first though, like the Silver Services. I'm sure Amtrak will squeeze as much use out of the Superliners as possible on the longer distance routes in the West that terminate in Chicago
I would like it if the train station in SLC was more developed. Being from a Mormon family and traveling from Utah to the West Coast may I suggest a route from SLC to St. George and onto Las Vegas and the West Coast
I totally agree - and we're working on it! Check out some of my other videos on The Rio Grande Plan!
I am seriously considering a trip on the Zephyr to Denver to visit the Micro Center there. Will probably board at the Provo Station since that is closer to me and my bud bro who will be going with me. We’ll need that to be able to bring our purchases back with us. Considering maybe flying there and taking the train back? Alternatively another two friends of ours who live in Missouri have offered to play host to us at their Micro Center, in which case we probably would have to fly there or transfer trains or they’d have to drive a long way to pick us up directly from Chicago Union Station. Either way we would have to take the train back at least in order to be able to bring our purchases back with us.
@NikitaWolf1776 Sounds like a fun trip! Heading west from Denver is one of the most popular/scenic sections of passenger rail in America, so book early. Also be aware that Provo has no checked baggage service, so you'll need to use the luggage shelves.
@@CSLenhart Actually, looking at the map. if we decide to take our other friends up on their offer, we'd probably get off at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. That's close enough for them to come get us much more easily. Also apparently the big reason why Oakland is no longer the western terminus is because it's much harder to turn the trains around there.
Amtrak's survey about proposed changes to ADA requirements for their new rail cars suggest they are looking at bilevel semi-permanently coupled trainsets for LD.
The family bedroom is actually a tight fit for 2 adults and two children.
Damn, didnt expect all the death.
Yea, don't plan times UNTIL you arrive. lol
With BART in actual danger of shutting down (or at least seriously cutting back service) due to low ridership (and low farebox revenues) due to post pandemic increases of people working from home, I doubt that second transbay tunnel will ever happen, since the main reason for would be theoretical overcrowding on BART, which simply isn't happening. Nor should the money be spent on such now that the lower ridership has made overcrowding a non-issue.
😂
So you're just going to casually ignore the fact that Oakland has an awesome new Amtrak station at Jack London to further your narrative?
Come on, dude. this is just dishonest. I understand that your channel is mostly about advocacy and that some lack of objectivity is to be expected, but this is just silly. We can all see the Oakland Jack London station in your own maps in this very video!
@TohaBgood2 I wish I had had the chance to see the Jack London Square station, but the California Zephyr doesn't go that far!
I suppose a quick and easy fix would be to extend the California Zephyr south to San Jose, which has an awesome station, too. This wouldn't solve the issue with a lack of checked luggage at BART stations (Jack London station doesn't have a BART connection either), but it would open a different connection to CalTrain.
It's too bad the Amtrak maintenance yard is located where it is. A more strategic location could solve a whole host of issues.