Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
A favorite mode of transport for skiers is to take a train to and from their ski destinations. Sandpoint, Idaho–a popular ski resort–does have a train stop but not a train station. As such it has no baggage checking facilities, which means that if you travel to and from Sandpoint you’re restricted to two carry-on bags and your purse and/or laptop or briefcase.
Doesn’t matter if you’re skiing and have skis. Doesn’t matter if you’re taking the train all the way to Florida for a two week holiday. No, Amtrak does not have baggage checking facilities at their stop at Sandpoint, so you have to restrict your baggage for your entire journey because of it.
Perhaps they’ve outsourced their baggage handling to Indonesia, as a way of plumping up their quarterly revenue. I’ve heard that they’re outsourcing the entire province of British Columbia, which is only about 50 miles away. Maybe it’s a northwest thing.
Come to think of it, with software job loss at 20 percent for 2003-2004 alone, maybe I can get a job checking baggage.