California Zephyr consist

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happy2meetu

Train Attendant
Joined
Apr 19, 2016
Messages
26
Location
Cincinnati, OH
I know this has been asked before but it seems to change. Wife and I are riding round trip from Chi to SLC the last week of April. We are hoping the sleepers are on the rear of the train to avoid some engine noise. Thanks for the help.
 
Yep, the CZ is still put together in it's 'winter/low season' consist with the being the 3rd & 4th cars behind the locos.

It's more likey they would need to add a coach car in low season than a sleeper car in low season.

But the consist is usually changed back later this month to the spring/summer/fall high season consist with the sleepers on the tail end of the consist.
 
Why do they change the consist order on a seasonal basis?
I think it is because in the winter season there is heavier demand for coach seats between the Bay Area/Sacramento and Reno, when auto travel across Donner Pass can be treacherous. Thus there have been times when an additional set-out coach has been added as far as Reno. It can be dropped and added much easier at the end of the train, and operationally it's best to have all the coaches grouped together.
 
Why do they change the consist order on a seasonal basis?
I think it is because in the winter season there is heavier demand for coach seats between the Bay Area/Sacramento and Reno, when auto travel across Donner Pass can be treacherous. Thus there have been times when an additional set-out coach has been added as far as Reno. It can be dropped and added much easier at the end of the train, and operationally it's best to have all the coaches grouped together.
Yep.

It's more likely they would need to add a coach car rather than a sleeper car over the winter/low season months.

So the coach cars get put in the consist after the other cars.

I think they have, on occasion, had heavier demand for coach seats between Chicago and Denver too over winter/low season.
 
As nearly as I can tell, the Chicago IL camera of this live streaming website,,, http://www.railstream.net/ ...is located in the vicinity of the junction of W. 16th St. and S. Clinton St. If so, I think it's in a good position to show the arrivals and departures of the CZ and SWC in addition to whatever trains use the bridge over the Chicago River just East of this location (the three trains to Michigan, the LSL and CL the CONO?). If somebody here was a member it would be a good way to get up-to-date info on some consists, rather than just months and years old anecdotal recollections. Here's a sample found on YouTube:


The only other camera that covers an Amtrak train is, I think, the one in Cresson PA that shows the Pennsylvanian.

This website... http://www.railserve.com/RailCams/ ...may have cameras showing other Amtrak trains.
 
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And there is a city camera in Truckee, Calif on the web (search for "tahoetopia") on which can be viewed the daily arrivals of both westbound and eastbound CZ.
 
Why do they change the consist order on a seasonal basis?
I think it is because in the winter season there is heavier demand for coach seats between the Bay Area/Sacramento and Reno, when auto travel across Donner Pass can be treacherous. Thus there have been times when an additional set-out coach has been added as far as Reno. It can be dropped and added much easier at the end of the train, and operationally it's best to have all the coaches grouped together.
It's more likely they would need to add a coach car rather than a sleeper car over the winter/low season months. So the coach cars get put in the consist after the other cars. I think they have, on occasion, had heavier demand for coach seats between Chicago and Denver too over winter/low season.
Okay, so what is gained by changing it in the summer then?
 
In high season they are more likely to need to occasionally add a sleeper car.

In the past they sometimes added a sleeper just from CHI to DEN. Unhooked from the consist in DEN. Then added it to the end of the #6 later that day for a return to CHI.

However the last couple of years an added extra sleeper stayed on the consist for the entire route.
 
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