North America by Train

3 week circle trip with main stops in Toronto & W. Lafayette Indiana Read more

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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 13
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 2:00 PM
☀️ 59 °F
Altitude: 597 ft
United States Lafayette 40.41912, -86.88773240°25’9” N 86°53’16” W
Fri Oct 14, 2:00 pm: Downtown Lafayette
October 14, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
After lunch we wandered around downtown Lafayette for a bit. Very little looked familiar. Even Julie's flower shop had moved to a new location.

Then Russell went for a bike ride while I worked on getting caught up on this blog. He rode by our old house, which still looks like it is in pretty good shape. The mailbox is new. I guess the mailman got tired of walking all the way up to the porch to deliver the mail.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 13
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 7:00 PM
⛅ 61 °F
Altitude: 620 ft
United States Happy Hollow 40.431991, -86.90063540°25’55” N 86°54’2” W
Fri Oct 14, 7:00 pm: Dinner at Home
October 14, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
After a long day of sightseeing (us) and grinding through academia (Patricia & Stuart) we returned to the house for a dinner of leftovers from Bistro 501 (the portions were HUGE) augmented with a few more dishes.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 14
Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 48 °F
Altitude: 571 ft
United States Wabash River 40.41901, -86.89186340°25’8” N 86°53’31” W
Sat Oct 15, 12:00 pm: Farmers Market
October 15, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F
The next morning we were up at the crack of noon to head down to the farmer's market. Patricia had a monster dinner planned for this evening, so we had several rounds of shopping to do.

Russell had a wee bit of trouble parking. Curbs are not meant for wheels!

After lunch we headed to a nice place in Lafayette. One of many new nice restaurants downtown.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 14
Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 3:30 PM
☀️ 55 °F
Altitude: 528 ft
United States Wabash River 40.421667, -86.89833340°25’18” N 86°53’54” W
Sat Oct 15, 3:30 pm: Chinatown
October 15, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
While W. Lafayette does not have a real Chinatown, it turns out that they now have a really good Chinese market. It's not as big as the ones in the Bay Area, but it is really well stocked for its size.

No statues though.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 14
Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 8:00 PM
⛅ 48 °F
Altitude: 620 ft
United States Happy Hollow 40.432055, -86.90054640°25’55” N 86°54’2” W
Sat Oct 15, 8:00 pm: Meatball dinner
October 15, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F
Patricia organized an amazing dinner that was so reminiscent of ones we would have 30 years ago. Not only did she invite all the old familiar faces (or at least those who are still in town) she gave them all cooking assignments, just like we used to do.

Everyone had a different meatball recipe to make (well, Julie somehow ended up with two recipes) and we all got to taste test different meatballs. They were all so yummy it was hard to pick a favorite.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 15
Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 2:00 PM
☀️ 64 °F
Altitude: 853 ft
United States Long Branch 39.951667, -86.26166739°57’6” N 86°15’42” W
Sun Oct 16, 2:00 pm: Zionsville
October 16, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
The next day, we headed down to Zionsville which is an extremely quaint small town/suburb of Indianapolis, and we ate lunch. I got biscuits and gravy which I guess is the midwest/southern version of poutine. It's really hard to get good biscuits and gravy in California, so I was glad to get a chance on my last brunch day out here.

After brunch, Russell headed over to the Zionsville wine store that evidently had a great selection. So he stocked up Patricia and Stuart's wine cellar with about six cases of wine. We need to make sure they have enough until our next visit out and who knows when that will be!

The drive there and back was through lovely country roads. I think we caught the peak fall colors for this area. It's not as striking as the Adirondacks, but still it was very pretty.

We also passed some absolutely huge buildings going up. They are evidently fulfillment centers for Amazon (and other online retailers?).Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 15
Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 9:00 PM
⛅ 50 °F
Altitude: 600 ft
United States Happy Hollow 40.431667, -86.940°25’54” N 86°54’0” W
Sun Oct 16, 9:00 pm: Last Supper
October 16, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F
After a bit more shopping, we headed home to finish up some of the leftovers from last night. We also did our best to make a dent in the wine supply Russell had laid in. Fortunately for our livers, we barely scratched the surface.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 11:30 AM
⛅ 41 °F
Altitude: 620 ft
United States Happy Hollow 40.432048, -86.9005340°25’55” N 86°54’2” W
Mon Oct 17, 11:30 am: Leaving Lafayette
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 41 °F
Patricia and Stuart had early morning meetings, so Russell and I took our own sweet time getting up and packed. We both tested for COVID (negative!) just to make sure we weren't asymptomatic spreaders right before we got on public transportation.

I kept forgetting that we gain an hour traveling to Chicago (Central Time) so I kept thinking we needed to leave much earlier than we actually did. Once I finally got that through my head, we went off for one last lunch at Bistro Market.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 12:30 PM
⛅ 41 °F
Altitude: 705 ft
United States Myers Ditch 40.613333, -86.98540°36’48” N 86°59’6” W
Mon Oct 17, 12:30 pm: Chicago Bound
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 41 °F
Leg 9: W. Lafayette -> Chicago by car

The drive to Chicago was pretty at first and then a little frantic as Russell was trying to be both driver and director of windmill photography. Then, as we got closer to Chicago, there were SO MANY TRUCKS. Then, at one point, we got trapped behind a construction convoy. I still don't know how or why, but in the end, it only wasted about 5 minutes and we had plenty of time to spare.

So in the end, it all worked out fine. We filled the rental car up with gas on the outskirts of Chicago and had very little trouble getting to the train station. Russell dropped me off with plenty of time to spare. I sat in the lounge for about half an hour before the boarding process began.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 3:00 PM
☁️ 43 °F
Altitude: 659 ft
United States Chicago Union Station 41.88, -87.63833341°52’48” N 87°38’18” W
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Mon Oct 17, 3:00 pm: Allllll Aboard!
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
Leg 10:: Chicago -> Portland

Boarding was a bit of a snafu, but no big deal really. We just had to walk the length of the train because we were originally told to board in the front, but we are actually in the last car.

This train needs two engines to get over the Rocky Mountains, but it only needs one engine to pull it through the state of Washington. So in Spokane, the train splits into two. So the sleeper cars end up being the first and the last cars on the train, with the dining car up near the front sleeper cars. Since our car is the last one on the train, it has the window you can look out of to see where we have been. That window was amazingly clean when we left the Chicago station, but I don't know how long that will last.

I am an old hand at train travel now, so I was unpacked and all settled in no time at all. Because I expect this route to be chilly, I'm wearing my boots as "train shoes".

We left Chicago a couple minutes late, but we should be able to make that up without too much trouble.Read more
Traveler New train shoes?
10/19/22Reply
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 4:45 PM
⛅ 43 °F
Altitude: 558 ft
United States Milwaukee River 43.026667, -87.9143°1’36” N 87°54’36” W
Mon Oct 17, 4:45 pm: Milwaukee
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 43 °F
The last two times I was in this station, I was stopping or starting from here, so it feels a little weird to just be traveling through.

We are running 10 minutes late and we are less than 2 hours into our 46 hour trip, so that does not bode well at all.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 6:00 PM
⛅ 37 °F
Altitude: 823 ft
United States Mill Pond 43.34, -89.01166743°20’24” N 89°0’42” W
Mon Oct 17, 6:00 pm: Columbus
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 37 °F
We had a brief stop in Columbus, WI. Which is not to be confused with Columbus, OH. Or Columbus, IN. Or Columbus, NY. Does EVERY state have a Columbus in it???
Are there more "Columbus"s or "Springfield"s? [David Meyer]
11/2/22Reply
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 6:30 PM
⛅ 36 °F
Altitude: 892 ft
United States The Dells 43.625, -89.77666743°37’30” N 89°46’36” W
Mon Oct 17, 6:30 pm: Dinner
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 36 °F
For dinner I had the steak. It's just so hard to not order that, because you know it's going to be good. They have a coconut encrusted shrimp appetizer that is also a safe choice.
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 16
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 8:00 PM
⛅ 32 °F
Altitude: 764 ft
United States Rockland 43.903333, -90.91333343°54’12” N 90°54’48” W
Mon Oct 17, 8:00 pm: Ready for bed
October 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 32 °F
After dinner, I had the attendant make up the bed. Since this room is designed for 2 people, there are two sets of bedding, so I used both blankets. And I added a wool shawl I had brought with me as well. It is going to be cold tonight.

It's a little early to go to sleep, but I have time for a nightcap and I have TV shows downloaded so I am good to go. I got the bottle of whiskey when we went through the duty free shop at the Toronto airport. I don't think I am going to show how low the bottle is when I get off the train after 3 nights.Read more
TravelerWell there is always a lot of spillage on a train.
10/19/22Reply
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Day 17
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 8:00 AM
🌙 23 °F
Altitude: 1,460 ft
United States Tunbridge 48.365, -100.13666748°21’54” N 100°8’12” W
Tue Oct 18, 8:00 am: Sunrise breakfast
October 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 23 °F
As I slept, we went through the rest of Wisconsin and all of Minnesota. When I woke up at sunrise, we were in Rugby, ND and my phone said it was 14 deg outside. I felt pretty warm and toasty in my room, so that was nice.

After I got up and dressed, I made the long trek up to the front of the train to the dining car for a French Toast breakfast.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 17
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 9:00 AM
☀️ 25 °F
Altitude: 1,614 ft
United States Minot 48.235, -101.348°14’6” N 101°18’0” W
Tue Oct 19, 9:00 am: Minot, ND
October 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °F
Shortly after I got back from breakfast, they announced that the next stop was Minot, ND and we would be there for about 45 minutes. It was 23 deg in the town, which made for a brisk walk, in more ways than one.

Minot appears to be a very tiny town with a huge courthouse building.

They stressed that we all needed to be back on the platform at 9:45 for a 9:50 departure. To get to the town from the station, you need to cross these train tracks. Just at 9:40, this really large freight train came through and cut off some of the returning passengers. It took less than 5 minutes to pass, but it was an anxiety inducing 5 minutes. And then we didn't even leave until after 10.

Shortly after we left Minot, we got delayed for a broken down freight train. Which gave me a great opportunity to take a shower when the train wasn't moving. Once again, the shower drained directly onto the train tracks. Which means there is this circle of cold air at the bottom of the shower.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 17
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 12:30 PM
☀️ 54 °F
Altitude: 1,880 ft
United States Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site 48.003333, -104.04833348°0’12” N 104°2’54” W
Tue Oct 18, 12:30 pm: Lunch
October 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
I met a couple who got stranded on the wrong side of that freight train at Minot and they confirmed that they were quite worried for those 5 minutes. I'm glad I was on the station side of that train and not the town side.

This train in particular I have just met very nice people at all the meals. That wasn't exactly my experience on the Southwest Chief, but I guess it is just the luck of the draw.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 17
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 5:10 PM
⛅ 68 °F
Altitude: 2,470 ft
United States A and B Trailer Court Number One 48.553333, -109.67548°33’12” N 109°40’30” W
1
Tue Oct 18, 5:00 pm: Havre, MT
October 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
We stopped for another rest break in Havre, MT and it was 72 deg outside, which was like a 45 deg swing from Minot in the morning. We didn't have long at this station, so we couldn't go far from the train.

Most of the scenery didn't make for impressive photos, but there was this one weird cloud formation I tried to capture. It was just a blob of a cloud in the sky that was half red. It was hours before sunset, so I don't really know what formed that.Read more
Looks like part of a rainbow. [David Meyer]
11/2/22Reply
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 17
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 6:30 PM
🌙 66 °F
Altitude: 3,140 ft
United States McIntyre Reservoir 48.468333, -111.32333348°28’6” N 111°19’24” W
1
Tue Oct 18, 6:30 pm: Sunset dinner
October 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 66 °F
I headed into dinner at just about sunset. The Rocky Mountains can be seen in the distance, but we will pass through them in the dark.

This time I decided to try the vegetarian pasta for dinner and this thing they called a "Mexican Souffle" for appetizer. The pasta was good, but I don't think I will try that souffle thing in the future.

The train splits into two pieces at Spokane around 3 in the morning. I really doubt I will get up to see that, but you never know. In the morning, we won't have a dining car, so I guess we get some sort of continental breakfast in our rooms.Read more
I'm having Bolognese tonight! [Frances]
10/19/22Reply
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 5:30 AM
🌙 39 °F
Altitude: 1,936 ft
United States Havermale Island 47.656667, -117.41547°39’24” N 117°24’54” W
Weds Oct 19, 5:30 am: Spokane, WA
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 39 °F
Right before I went to bed, we got stuck behind a broken down freight train again. It wasn't clear how long we waited there. Once we got going, they tried to make up time by going as fast as possible, but they also had to pull aside fairly often so as to not obstruct other trains that were still on schedule. So the night was a mixture of very rocky (because they were driving this train like they stole it) and very still (as we waited on sidings for other trains to go by).

So that meant we arrived in Spokane about 2.5 hours late. Which is actually a good thing because we got there around 5:30, instead of 3 am. Well, it was good for me, because I was up and could go watch the process of splitting the train into two pieces (one going to Seattle, one going to Portland). Not so good for the folks who were scheduled to get on the train at 3 am and got the added bonus of waiting in the station in the middle of the night for their train.

Before they separated the train, they boarded the Seattle bound passengers on their part. They also loaded up on water. There was a whole forklift full of calcium chloride that I finally figured out they used as a deicing agent for the puddles on the platform that came from the water hoses.Read more
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 5:45 AM
🌙 39 °F
Altitude: 1,936 ft
United States Havermale Island 47.656667, -117.41547°39’24” N 117°24’54” W
Weds Oct 19, 5:45 am: Train separation
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 39 °F
The process to decouple the trains works as follows:
1. Manually disconnect the first engine and drive it off.
2. Manually disconnect power and water from two cars in the middle of the train.
3. Manually disconnect the mechanical coupling in the middle of the train.
4. Drive the new, shorter train off.

Except in our case, for some reason they needed to swap the two engines. So after steps 1 & 2, they had to manually disconnect the second engine and drive it off, back the first engine up and reconnect it to the first train car (baggage car). Then proceed with steps 3 & 4.

For most of the hour or so we were in the station, the back half of the train (my half) had no power connection which means no flushing toilets and no air flow. Good thing I was out on the platform and didn't care.Read more
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North America by Train Sarah McCabe
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 6:00 AM
🌙 39 °F
Altitude: 1,936 ft
United States Havermale Island 47.656667, -117.41547°39’24” N 117°24’54” W
2
Weds Oct 19, 6:00 am: New engine
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 39 °F
Once the front half of the train had driven off, they had to add a new exterior door to the front of the new train so that passengers wouldn't try to walk from the lounge car into the engine.

Then they backed our engine into place. Which involved having a rear spotter on the ground radioing to the engineer.

Which reminds me of the infamous story of Joe using a very young Paul as a spotter as Joe backed the car up to a picnic table. I did not personally witness this event (I may not have even been born yet) but it has been part of our family lore as long as I can recall. The dialog goes something like this:

Joe: Paul, I'm going to back up. Tell me when I get close.
Paul: 10 feet! 8 feet! 7 feet!
Joe: Goddammit! Don't keep shouting! Just tell me when I get close!
Paul: [silence]
Paul: [silence]
Paul: [silence]
Paul: 'bout an inch!
*THUNK*
Paul: You hit it!

Anyway, this spotter monolog went more like: " 30 ... 20 ... 10 ... 5 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1. ..." [gentle clang]. It's almost like this wasn't their first rodeo.

At this point, I didn't hang around to watch them reconnect the power and water, because I didn't want to take any risk of being left behind. So I headed back to my room. Shortly after I got there, the air flow turned on and sure enough we were on our way soon after that.Read more
TravelerVery cool train pictures
10/19/22Reply
So he just threw it up there and it stuck?! [David Meyer]
11/2/22Reply
Sarah McCabeHah! No, there was someone on the inside who grabbed it and secured it after he lifted it up.
11/3/22Reply
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7:30 AM
☀️ 37 °F
Altitude: 1,883 ft
United States Sprague Lake 47.27, -118.05833347°16’12” N 118°3’30” W
Weds Oct 19, 7:30 am: Sunrise
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 37 °F
After all that excitement, it was impossible to go back to sleep. As I was getting dressed (which involves a bit of flexibility in such a confined space we were passing a lake so I got to see the sun rise over the lake.Read more
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 9:00 AM
☀️ 43 °F
Altitude: 574 ft
United States Eltopia 46.455, -119.01666746°27’18” N 119°1’0” W
Weds Oct 19, 9:00 am: Breakfast
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F
Since the dining car disappeared with the other half of our train, we got our choice of the breakfast offerings in the Snack Car. It wasn't as yummy (or as nicely presented) as the dining car experience, but it was filling.

I am going to miss lunch today, as we change trains in Portland, but seriously, I could stand to miss a few meals on this trip.Read more
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Day 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 9:15 AM
☀️ 46 °F
Altitude: 351 ft
United States Pasco 46.236667, -119.08666746°14’12” N 119°5’12” W
Weds Oct 19, 9:15 am: Pasco, WA
October 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F
Pasco was our last "fresh air break" before Portland, which means it's our last chance to get off the train and walk around. I kind of forgot that until we had been in the station a while, so I only had time for a quick picture taking sprint around the platform.

Russell and I went to Pasco many years ago by car, not by train. There is a winery near there that we really liked back then. They have lost some of their allure now, so I can't see us coming back by train, but if we did, we could bring more wine back than we could on the plane, that's for sure

We are still running about 2.5 hours late, but our connection time was 3 hours in Portland, so I don't expect there to be any issues catching our next train.Read more
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