Left Chicago on the Empire Builder, heading for Portland, Oregon. Really enjoyed the train but it is not the healthiest of pastimes - three full meals a day and no exercise at all for over three days!

It's also not the most reliable mode of transport. So it attracts people who aren't on tight agendas and have time on their hands. That might account for the fact that, whilst many will see me as getting on in years, I felt pretty young compared to most of my fellow passengers (except for a group of Amish people, who don't like to fly on religious grounds). It certainly attracts the septo and octogenarians. Incidentally, I did find it a bit ironic that elderly passengers seemed to favour using up the viewing car seats to take their afternoon naps. Coming through after lunch, the viewing car seemed more like a dormatory.

One might infer from the older profile of the passengers that they need extra guidance and information but Amtrak seem to take this to extremes. Announcement were plentiful and accompanied by copious instructions about do's and don't for passengers. Popular announcements included the following (I did make a couple up - see if you can identify them):

• Shoes must always be warn while walking throught the train. Use a 'wide gate' when walking and hold on to the luggage rails.
• Always wait at the entrance to the dining car to be seated.
• Courtesy must be shown to staff at all times.
• Proper attire must always be worn when using public areas.
• Small notes should be used when making cafe car purchases to speed up service delivery.
• Gratuities are not included in meal bills or for any services provided but are welcomed and are at passenger discretion
• When using station stops for smoking breaks, passengers must not be more 25 feet away from the train so that they can reboard when the engine hoots twice. The train will not wait for passengers who do not respond quickly to the train's hooter to reboard.
• Passengers are requested to ensure that they are always wearing their dentures when taking meals in the dining car.
• Passengers should wait to be approached in their compartments by the dining car attendant to make dinner reservations, they should not come to the dining car to do so.
• On-board wife swapping is only permitted in the state of Oregon and during the hours of darkness.
• Refuse must not be flushed down the toilets
• Passengers cannot hold seats for other passengers in the viewing car, as this is a popular seating area and much in demand.
• Passengers are asked to leave the toilets in a clean and tidy state as a courtesy to fellow passengers.

I mentioned reliability. The train broke down for two hours on Wednesday afternoon. Not a major problem but did mean that it was dark by the time we got to Glacier National Park, which was disappointing as it is probably the most spectacular part of the journey. Further delays were caused by the fact that freight trains are the bread and butter of AMTRAK and so take precidents over passenger trains.

It was interesting that I treated all of this with amusement, rather than the irritation that would have been my normal reaction in the past. One of the benefits of no longer being under time and work pressures. It was great to have some quiet and reflection time, while watching the world go by crossing this huge country. Long train journeys are not to everyone's taste but I loved it.

Cheers for now.