Sunrise in North Dakota, outside Fargo, a few minutes ago. Running 6 hours late. A foreign student from South Korea on the train is highly amused that we can't run trains on time in this country.
The daytime Powell's customers are folks who are free during the day... The evening customers tend to be professionals and students.
The path to Powells I described brought you through Portland's "Pearl District", once a rough warehousing area now under re-development with condos. It is a part of Portland's plan to make the city center vital. Streetcars, light rail, bike lanes and pedistrian plazas. The city needed to replace the combined storm/sewer lines so this has been the perfect time for major re-development from an engineering and financial standpoint. The going price/sq foot for those condos is stunning!
Every time the Amtrac budget is up I fear that they will pull your route. In most areas of the world passenger trains are a vital part of the transportation network. Not in the US I wish they were important enough to run on time. Have you ever taken the route from Calgery to Vancouver? It was suspended for a time. The ride through the Rockies is stunning!