©2014 Ted H. Schaar
15. Portland Departure
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Earlier
out
On the way back to Portland, Pam noticed that our tickets indicated the Empire Builder's departure was 1:40 p.m. not 4:20 p.m., as printed on our itinerary. We went straight to Union Station, and the earlier time was confirmed by an Amtrak clerk. She said that the Empire Builder departure time had changed some months earlier. I don't think we were notified, but I might have missed an update or forgot to note it. Portland
depot
Union Station dates to the 1800s but has many 20th-century neon
signs,
including on the four-sided tower clock. Above two of the faces
appear the words, "Union Station" in neon blue; "Go By
Train" in yellow is above the other two.Because we had higher-priced tickets we were able to wait in the Metropolitan Room, which is reserved for sleeping car passengers. Amish
Two Amish couples waited with us. They were dressed the same as the ones we saw in Chicago: neat, plain, rich French blue and the whitest white and blackest black. They appear to smile easily, and the women, in particular, seem friendly and interested in the world. The men, young bucks in their 20s, have classic, bowl-over-the-head haircuts that must be shaped by amateurs; they also wear suspenders and straw hats. If humans were created in the image of god... |
Observation car, rolling out of Portland in the rain.
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