The Coast Starlight

The Coast Starlight is the Amtrak train that runs the length of the West Coast with endpoints in Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA. This past October as I was searching for flights from the Bay Area to Seattle for the winter holidays, I was FLOORED by the $375 and up round trip fares the airlines were quoting. I have become accustomed to the under $200 (and will still complain about them) flights I could book in years past.

On a whim, I checked out the Amtrak site to see how much a train ticket would cost. Round trip, $216. This was something I could manage and also have the opportunity to travel on the famed Coast Starlight train. The name has such a romantic feel to it and the idea of not having to fight through airport security lines and the Southwest Airlines middle seat sold me on the idea. The ticket was purchased.

Luckily, before I boarded the train, I didn't read this unflattering article about the route in the Chronicle. I arrived at the train station at 8:15PM. With no security check and a baggage check line of one person, I was ready to go by 8:25PM. Being used to the airport two hour rule, I was sitting there a bit agog at the ease it was to get checked in.I was scheduled to board the train in Emeryville, CA at 10:15PM on Friday December 21st, 2007. Since we actually boarded at 10:40PM, I'll say that falls within the margin of error and that we were essentially on time.

Why did I mention the date of my ride? December 21st is the vernal equinox and the shortest day of the year. Idiot me books a train ride on one of the most beautiful rides in the nation and I saw a lot of night time sky. Oh well.

I didn't book a sleeper car, but there really was no need. The seats in the coach class were spacious and laid back nearly horizontal while also providing both leg AND foot rests. Unlike the trains on the East Coast, The Coast Starlight (as well as many of Amtrak's long distance trains) use the Superliner cars. They are two story with the lower part being dedicated to bathrooms and other features and the second story for passengers. It was great to be up high and watch the scenery go by.

I immediately got comfortable and fell asleep. As I slept, the train worked it's way through Sacramento, Chico, Redding and across the California/Oregon border. I awoke to snow on the ground and the beautiful southern Oregon scenery. We stopped in Klamath Falls and then worked our way over the Cascades into Eugene, OR. We arrived into Eugene within an hour of our scheduled time. Because Amtrak assigns its passengers to cars based on each persons destination, over half of the passengers in my car left the train in Eugene. Few got on and for the rest of the trip to Seattle, only 50% of the seats in my car were occupied. Unfortunately, the weather was overcast and cloudy so there weren't many vistas to be seen and then by the time we arrived into Portland, it was dark. I arrived in Seattle at 9:15PM the following evening, only a half hour after the train was scheduled to arrive.

Six days later, I again boarded the Coast Starlight was my southbound trip. The thought of another 20+ hours was daunting. I think next time, I will take the train up and fly back down. That seems to be a good compromise. On the train this time were 100+ Canadian teenagers on their way to Los Angeles. The trip had a much more "hyper" feel to it. However, this time, I got to see the beautiful views as the train traveled right along Puget Sound as well as San Francisco Bay as it pulled into Emeryville. These short glimpses made the long boring parts worth enduring.

I got off and thought, "probably not again", but as I sit here a week after the trip, I certainly romanticize the good parts. Being able to stretch out. Sitting in the viewing car and reading a good book on comfortable seats. (By the way, I read the majority of Richard Russo's new book "The Bridge of Sighs") Perhaps, I'll try riding across the country in one of the other famous Amtrak rail trips. The Empire Builder links Seattle to Chicago across the Montana and North Dakota (we all know my fascination with the latter) or the The California Zephyr which starts in the Bay Area and ends in Chicago. Amtrak, check it out!