Amtrak sleeping room allocation

[allan the brit]

Hi

My wife and I are making a trip to the USA from here in England in November and will be travelling on 3 of Amtraks over night trains.

We have made our reservations and on receiving our confirmation invoice were allocated room and car numbers for each train.

My question is this can we establish where our sleeping roomette will be on the train (upper or lower level) and can we work out our actual position in the trains consist (Front Middle or Rear) from this information ?

The exact details are as follows

Starlight Coast LAX - SEA ROOM 002 CAR 1430

Empire Builder SEA - CHI ROOM 002 CAR 830

California Zephyr CHI - EMY ROOM 002 CAR 531

Also is the weather likley to cause any delays (especially on the Empire Builder in Mid November)

any help would be greatlly appreciated

Allan

 

[MrFSS]

If you have 02 on each leg of the trip, you will be upstairs.

Here is a car layout diagram.

On all those trains the sleeping cars are between the engines and the dining car.

There is no way to tell, until you board, which side of the train your room will face as the cars can be positioned with an end either forward or rearward.

 

[allan the brit]

If you have 02 on each leg of the trip, you will be upstairs.
Here is a car layout diagram.

On all those trains the sleeping cars are between the engines and the dining car.

There is no way to tell, until you board, which side of the train your room will face as the cars can be positioned with an end either forward or rearward.

Thanks for your very prompt and informative reply just what we wanted to know now I only have to worry about the weather

allan

 

[zephyr17]

HiMy wife and I are making a trip to the USA from here in England in November and will be travelling on 3 of Amtraks over night trains.

We have made our reservations and on receiving our confirmation invoice were allocated room and car numbers for each train.

My question is this can we establish where our sleeping roomette will be on the train (upper or lower level) and can we work out our actual position in the trains consist (Front Middle or Rear) from this information ?

The exact details are as follows

Starlight Coast LAX - SEA ROOM 002 CAR 1430

Empire Builder SEA - CHI ROOM 002 CAR 830

California Zephyr CHI - EMY ROOM 002 CAR 531

Also is the weather likley to cause any delays (especially on the Empire Builder in Mid November)

any help would be greatlly appreciated

Allan

In all cases, yours will be sleeper closest to the diner (or Pacific Parlour Car on the Starlight). It will be close to the middle of the consist, and the sleepers are on the forward part of the train. If the train is running 2 sleepers, the consist will be as follows

Engines

Baggage car

Transition-Dorm

"31" sleeper ("32" on the CZ)

"30" sleeper ("31" on the CZ) YOU ARE HERE

(Pacific Parlour Car on the Starlight)

Diner

Other than the Empire Builder:

Sightseer Lounge

Coaches

Empire Builder

Seattle Coaches

After consolidation of Portland section (train 28) in Spokane, WA

Sightseer Lounge

Portland Coaches

Portland Sleeper (2830)

 

[allan the brit]

HiMy wife and I are making a trip to the USA from here in England in November and will be travelling on 3 of Amtraks over night trains.

We have made our reservations and on receiving our confirmation invoice were allocated room and car numbers for each train.

My question is this can we establish where our sleeping roomette will be on the train (upper or lower level) and can we work out our actual position in the trains consist (Front Middle or Rear) from this information ?

The exact details are as follows

Starlight Coast LAX - SEA ROOM 002 CAR 1430

Empire Builder SEA - CHI ROOM 002 CAR 830

California Zephyr CHI - EMY ROOM 002 CAR 531

Also is the weather likley to cause any delays (especially on the Empire Builder in Mid November)

any help would be greatlly appreciated

Allan

In all cases, yours will be sleeper closest to the diner (or Pacific Parlour Car on the Starlight). It will be close to the middle of the consist, and the sleepers are on the forward part of the train. If the train is running 2 sleepers, the consist will be as follows

Engines

Baggage car

Transition-Dorm

"31" sleeper ("32" on the CZ)

"30" sleeper ("31" on the CZ) YOU ARE HERE

(Pacific Parlour Car on the Starlight)

Diner

Other than the Empire Builder:

Sightseer Lounge

Coaches

Empire Builder

Seattle Coaches

After consolidation of Portland section (train 28) in Spokane, WA

Sightseer Lounge

Portland Coaches

Portland Sleeper (2830)

Hell you boys are good in the USA with your responses thanks a lot cant - wait to meet you all

allan

 

[MrFSS]

The weather in November for the EB won't be as bad as it can be in Dec - Feb. You shouldn't have any problems. That far north it will get dark pretty early so not as much scenery as in mid-summer.

 

[saxman]

The good part is that you'll be taking all those routes in the correct direction to see all the good scenery during the day. You'll see the Pacific Coast north of LAX. You'll see the Cascades the next morning north of Klamath Falls, OR. On the Empire Builder you'll see Glacier National Park the following morning after departing Seattle. After Minneapolis, you'll see the almost frozen Mississippi River and perhaps catch bald eagles flying above. Back west on the Zephyr, you'll catch the Rockies after leaving Denver in the morning, and cross the Sierra Nevada's after Reno. Even if the train is running a little late, you're still likely to see the good parts during the daytime because you hit all those points in the morning. Going the other direction, you risk missing the good stuff if the train is late, because most of it will be in the evening and could very well be dark.

 

[allan the brit]

The good part is that you'll be taking all those routes in the correct direction to see all the good scenery during the day. You'll see the Pacific Coast north of LAX. You'll see the Cascades the next morning north of Klamath Falls, OR. On the Empire Builder you'll see Glacier National Park the following morning after departing Seattle. After Minneapolis, you'll see the almost frozen Mississippi River and perhaps catch bald eagles flying above. Back west on the Zephyr, you'll catch the Rockies after leaving Denver in the morning, and cross the Sierra Nevada's after Reno. Even if the train is running a little late, you're still likely to see the good parts during the daytime because you hit all those points in the morning. Going the other direction, you risk missing the good stuff if the train is late, because most of it will be in the evening and could very well be dark.

Again- thanks to all who have taken the trouble to reply - when you know nothin` any info is a gem

thanks allan

 

[sunchaser]

Welcome to the board!

I can tell you some info about two of the trains you will be taking, according to the sections we have traveled.

You are going to enjoy the Coast Starlight. The Pacific Parlor Car is a great place to eat, watch the scenery, visit with people or enjoy the wine tasting. We spent quite a bit of time in there.

As you travel through northern California, hopefully you will be able to see Castle Crags & Mount Shasta in daylight.

Castle Crags will be on your left going north after Dunsmuir.

Mount Shasta is a beautiful mountain, whether seen in summer or winter. Even in moonlight.

The scenery is beautiful in Oregon. Lots of trees, mountains, lakes, rivers. Washington state is quite beautiful as well.

On the California Zephyr, after Denver, there is Glenwood Springs. They boast having the largest outdoor Hot Springs Pool in the world. It will be on the other side of the Colorado River. You will not be able to see the pool, but you can see the Pool/spa buildings from the train. If you want to see pictures of the pool, go to hotspringspool.com. We went there last October, had a good time.

You will follow the river for a while, then you will head north to Salt Lake City.

It usually arrives around 10:20 at night, so when it departs it will be around midnight when you pass the Great Salt Lake. You will still be able to see it, even in the dark.

In the morning, there will be two stops, Winnemucca, & Reno.

After that, you will steadily climb in altitude, and reach Donner Pass/Donner Lake, which is also beautiful in winter.

You will also go through Truckee, which is very close to Lake Tahoe. You should arrive in Sacramento in early afternoon. Enjoy your trip! Make sure you have signed up for Amtrak Guest Rewards on amtrak.com!

 

[caravanman]

Sadly, us foreigners are not eligible for guest rewards.. shame as I have clocked up too many amtrak miles to count.. might try to count up tonight though, if there are no sheep to count... zzzzz

Ed

 

[rrdude]

Sadly, us foreigners are not eligible for guest rewards.. shame as I have clocked up too many amtrak miles to count.. might try to count up tonight though, if there are no sheep to count... zzzzz
Ed

Use an American address, rack up the points anyway. Who cares? It's not like the money you spend on Amtrak is any different than if you live in the states.

I believe AGR, and other loyalty programs limit their membership to one country simply to make their fulfillment and legal obligations that much easier for them. Only one set of "rules" and follow and/or enforce. (works both ways)

 

[KurtisB]

You will follow the river for a while, then you will head north to Salt Lake City.

A "while" is an understatement, my friend.

In fact, Allan, you'll be seeing the Colorado River for at least 3-5 hours on either side of the train.

I swear that it seems the Colorado can not make up it's mind which side of the train to be on....! Ahem, I mean that not only do you follow the river for hours, but the tracks also cross it countless times.

Kurtis