A couple years ago we visited the West Coast and took the train to get there. I've traveled on the train before and it has been fun. This trip was interesting to say the least.
We left Omaha, NE at around 3 AM. We were on the road for about 45 minutes when the train pulls over. We doze in our seats for a couple hours when I realize that we haven't moved for quite some time. Two hours later we are finally moving and daylight is making an appearance.
Over breakfast in the "snack bar car" we began speaking with the attendant. It turns out that we had stopped for 3 and 1/2 hours because someone had passed away. The county coroner and police were called, the ambulance made an appearance and then they had to remove the body from the train. This took quite some time.
We are sorry for their loss but now we are behind our schedule by 3.5 hours. We hit Denver and that's when we discovered that the usual route to Reno, Nevada is under construction. We have to swing WAY north into Montana and Wyoming. The train tracks we are using are property of Burlington Northern Freight Rails. This means that the freight trains get priority. At one point we have to stop as there is a freight train moving on the rails that we need to use. All of this distance and the rails we have to use puts us behind by another hour. We finally reach Reno, Nevada 4.5 hours behind schedule. Thank goodness that my brother checked to find out if we were running on time.
Yes, that was an interesting trip but it's not over yet. We still have to get home.
We left Reno after a wonderful family reunion. It was sad leaving my brother and his family. However, we do have to get home at some time.
The main track back to Nebraska was still under construction so we head north along the freight lines once again. Did I mention that it's not the smoothest ride in the world.
While traveling through Wyoming we met a nice old lady. She is the crux of the next part of the story. The restrooms are on the bottom portion of the train. To get down or up from the rest rooms you have to navigate a twisty, turning stair well. This nice old lady was coming up the stair well when the train hit a good bump. The nice old lady fell and broke her hip.
Wyoming is a large state with many small towns and few hospitals. We were literally several hundred miles away form the nearest hospital. The train does have a trained emergency technician just for instances like what developed.
First they stopped the train, in the middle of no where, and then closed down the car, not allowing passengers to move from one car to the next. This caused a problem for the mildly hysterical, mentally challenged passenger whose parents were just beyond our car. The technician immobilized the nice old lady and then we got moving again but at a slower pace. About an hour and a half after she was injured we pulled into a decent sized town and were met by the local emergency fire paramedics.
The next problem arises. Remember the twisty stairs? The nice old lady is on one of the wooden/plastic back boards that will not allow an injured person to move. This means that they can't get her down the stairs and out the door. What do we do now?
We pop out the emergency window and move her out the window and lower her to the paramedics that life-flighted her to the closest hospital. The next step is to put the window back in place which was another hassle. After all we can't move with an open window. All of this commotion puts us behind by, guess what, 4.5 hours.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. We arrive in Nebraska late but safe, yay!
Want to hear the kicker? About a week later I was chosen for a survey of my latest trip on Amtrak. Boy, did I give the survey person an earful. We spoke for a half hour. The question comes up, "would you take another trip on Amtrak?" Not on your life. I really do like the train rides but I didn't like all the time that was spent getting from one place to the other. If it was a MUCH shorter trip? Maybe!
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