A Man of Experience Says Bring Back the Pullmans

This is in regards to Bill Stall’s article about Amtrak (Opinion, Feb. 23).

He does not know what comfort is in travel. I’m nearly 88 and I have really traveled. The only good way was in Pullman cars. The railroads in those days ran on time. Amtrak does not.

In 1918-1919, while in the Army, I had a three-week furlough and left Washington, D.C., on the Pennsy to Chicago and took the Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Returning to Washington, D.C., I took the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Salt Lake and the Union Pacific and Chicago North Western and Baltimore and Ohio to Washington. Then I was discharged from the Army.

So I took the B&O; to Chicago and C&NW;, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific to Los Angeles. That made three transcontinental trips in 30 days. I had Pullman on all three trips. I had had other trips on the Pennsy and New York Central--all Pullman. The windows were clean, we had comfortable seats and beds, and a very smooth ride. And all the trains ran on schedule.

Amtrak, on the other hand, has dirty windows, and a very rough ride. You can hardly walk steadily on Amtrak. I rode Amtrak in 1980 on the Southwest Limited from Los Angeles to Chicago. We were only 2 1/2 hours late in arriving there, and had to rush to catch our train on the Michigan Central to Detroit. Only half of our baggage was transferred in Chicago. The Michigan Central arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule. That part of the ride was smooth, compared with the trip from Los Angeles to Chicago.

I used to fire locomotives on the New York Central and the Southern Pacific, and those big steam engines rode real smoothly. I tried to get sleeping accommodations on Amtrak and was told that all space was taken. You had to make reservations two to three months ahead, so I had to sit up. That is no way to travel in comfort.

Bring back the Pullman cars, and railroad travel will catch on again.

Oh yes, even during World War I I traveled on troop trains. They were better than Amtrak.

RIVAN F. FRAZEE

Lomita