TRAINS & TRAVEL WITH JIM LOOMIS

Taking Amtrak During a Heatwave: What You Need to Know

Ilima Loomis — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:24:23 +0000

I’m sensitive to heat, so when I heard about an Amtrak train that broke down in a tunnel during a heat wave it sounded like my personal nightmare. And unfortunately, it’s not an isolated incident. A quick spin through online discussion groups found other anecdotes of trains breaking down, losing power, or traveling for hours...

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Is Amtrak Going to Run Out of Sleepers?

Loomis — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 10:37:52 +0000

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? And implausible. But a group of people belonging to a rail passenger advocacy organizations have been patiently gathering information—a tidbit here, a morsel there—which, even if only partially true, is cause for concern. For example . . . In October of 2018, Amtrak had 428 Superliner sleepers in active service and...

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Amtrak Superliners: Old but Still Super.

Loomis — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 09:59:05 +0000

Friends of mine took an overnight train several years ago and had something less than a satisfactory experience in a roomette on an overnight Amtrak train. They have refused to travel by train ever since. I’ll bet a box of donuts that the problem—whatever it was—could have been fixed with a call to the car...

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Amtrak Conductors Are In Charge!

Loomis — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 23:45:56 +0000

In my experience—and that includes thousands of miles on Amtrak long-distance trains—passengers who cause trouble are annoying. It’s rarely a serious problem, but they do show up from time to time. However, Amtrak conductors are very good at spotting a potential troublemaker and getting him to shape up before he becomes a serious problem. Like...

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A Selection of Travel Photos.

Loomis — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 03:29:43 +0000

My failing as a photographer is that I don’t take enough photos. When I come across a scene that strikes me as worthy of preserving with a photo, I pull out my camera and I snap a picture. One picture only. I almost never take more than one shot of a scene. I suppose it’s...

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