A very nice rail trip report. I'm quite sure I've ridden with LSA Charlie before as well. She's a real star for Amtrak.
My wife and I have now been on the EB, the CZ, The Canadian, and the SWC. I have also ridden The Cardinal from NYP to IND, plus many short run trains in the Midwest. All we need is the Sunset Limited and the CS and we’ll have many of the LD train routes completed.
For those who may not know...
EB = Empire Builder Chicago - Seattle/Portland
CZ = California Zephry Chicago - Emeryville (Oakland)
SWC = Southwest Chief Chicago - Los Angeles
CS = Coast Starlight Seattle - Los Angeles
Sunset Limited New Orleans - Los Angeles
On my recent trip aboard the California Zephyr, a couple of foamers mentioned that Amtrak is considering reviving the Pioneer (Salt Lake - Boise - Portland - Seattle)