Just like when she traveled here there was another freight train derailment that closed the tracks for a few days. This time the derailment was in Idaho and she didn't have to take a bus part of the way. However people traveling between Spokane, Washington and Whitefish had to take buses in order to catch the train again in Whitefish.
That "service disruption" made it hard to tell when the train would leave Whitefish as Amtrak had no estimate as late as the night before. Calling the 1-800-USA-RAIL number meant waiting on the phone for a live person for over a half hour as automated "Julie" couldn't handle a "service interruption".
The morning of departure I got the phone number of the Whitefish train depot and talked to a person in a matter of minutes. He claimed the train would leave on time.
Uh, huh.
We had no choice but be at the train station before the 7:46 am departure. It was an early morning for both of us. Tammy wasn't too thrilled when I turned the room light on to help her wake up. Bright! She pulled the covers over her head.
Amtrak didn't back the train into the station until after the buses arrived. That meant everyone tried to get on the train at the same time.
Because Tammy was going to a train station with no luggage service I carried her luggage and placed it in her train car for her. Tammy's fractured shoulder is still healing.
Even though the station agent had told me the train would leave on time, the train didn't leave until almost 10 am, well over an hour late. I was the only person outside waiting for the train to leave when it did. While everyone was on the train ready to go, the train had to wait for the luggage for the people who had been bussed. The luggage eventually arrived in a rental truck. The people weren't moving too fast in transferring the luggage from the truck to the train if you ask me.
Tammy got two seats to herself and in a car with electrical outlet so she could plug in her phone and laptop computer. This being Montana and western North Dakota cell phone service is spotty. Tammy's calls to me from these areas would often break up.
While there were plenty of people on the train Tammy was able to have two seats to herself the entire journey. Two seats makes for more room for a person to lay down and sleep. Unfortunately a nearby seat was squeaky and made noise as the train moved. And it appears the young man in the seats behind her had some foul smelling gas. He was on the train the entire time Tammy was on the train. Tammy said she had to hold her nose a few times, especially after he ate some food. He didn't always make noise so sometimes Tammy was caught by surprise. Who knows... maybe he is a vegan or vegetarian into eating beans.
North Dakota had a major winter storm going on when the train went through that state. Parts of the state were closed down during the storm and Minot got 8 to 10 inches of snow.
Tammy never got to the Red Wing train station until two hours late. Then she had to drive 40+ miles home in a rain/snow mixture.
Oh! The joys of traveling in the Winter and on the train.
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