Ever change trains in the middle of the night?

I recall once getting off the LONE STAR in the wee hours at Emporia, KS. Tried to sleep on the depot seats. Finally the westbound SOUTHWEST LIMITED (now SOUTHWEST CHIEF) came and I headed west only to wake a few hours later to the sight of the snow-capped Spanish Peaks near Trinidad, CO.

Other than San Antonio I cannot recall another change like that I've made.

Twin Star Rocket said:

I recall once getting off the LONE STAR in the wee hours at Emporia, KS. Tried to sleep on the depot seats. Finally the westbound SOUTHWEST LIMITED (now SOUTHWEST CHIEF) came and I headed west only to wake a few hours later to the sight of the snow-capped Spanish Peaks near Trinidad, CO.

Other than San Antonio I cannot recall another change like that I've made.

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Well this would happen nightly if the HF were extended to Newton/Wichita depending on where the SWC would be running by then.

I would have made a switch from the southbound TE to the northbound TE in Poplar Bluff at 0 dark 30, but flooding down the line discontinued the TE that day! So I had to change my plans!

I made a circle trip from Denver once that involved a very early morning transfer in Ogden: RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR to Salt Lake City, connecting van ride to Ogden, a several hour layover late at night in Ogden, and then SAN FRANCISCO ZEPHYR back to Denver. That was in 1975.

I regularly used to change at Du Quoin, Ill. from the IC's Chickasaw to the Louisiane. The Chickasaw ran through to Memphis but carried no Pullman. The Louisiane came from Chicago with a Pullman. The change would be about 2:00am. You would step off the Chickasaw and see the headlight of the Louisiane up the track, and it would come roaring in a few minutes later. Soon I would be snug in my lower berth. But the change reminded me of the opening scene in the original In the Head of the Night movie.

My first trip on the Pioneer, which was then a Salt Lake City - Seattle train with cross platform transfer at Ogden from the San Francisco Zephyr, involved said transfer at Ogden in the middle of the night AFAIR. The through cars through cars from Chicago came much later.

I also once did a transfer in the middle of a very very cold night from the Desert Wind from a Salt Lake City Coach to a Coach in the California Zephyr at Salt lake City, even though there were through coaches by then. But there was no seat available in the through coach LAX - CHI.

I changed trains from SEPTA at Trenton to Amtrak regional. Does that count?

Under the current timetable, it is possible to transfer from 29 to 48 at CLE during the early AM hours. I wonder if anyone reading these forums has ever actually done that...

Prior to Amtrak when private railroads were running many more trains, I often changed trains late at night. When I was in High School I used to plan circle trips so I could ride as many trains as possible since the handwriting was on the wall that many trains would be discontinued. One of my favorite places to change trains in the late night/early morning was Howe, OK, which was a junction of the Kansas City Southern's Kansas City to Louisiana line and Rock Island's Choctow Route from Memphis to Tucumcari. In the mid 1960s both railroad's had 4 passenger trains stopping in Howe. There was a decent connection between KCS's Flying Crow and Rock Island's Cherokee either direction for both trains in the late night/early morning hour. Now the Rock Island tracks are abandoned.

World traveller said:

I regularly used to change at Du Quoin, Ill. from the IC's Chickasaw to the Louisiane. The Chickasaw ran through to Memphis but carried no Pullman. The Louisiane came from Chicago with a Pullman. The change would be about 2:00am. You would step off the Chickasaw and see the headlight of the Louisiane up the track, and it would come roaring in a few minutes later. Soon I would be snug in my lower berth. But the change reminded me of the opening scene in the original In the Head of the Night movie.

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An alternative: Take the connection for the Panama Limited / Seminole and get in the Memphis drop off Pullman at Carbondale. This got you into a sleeper at about 9:30. This train had a St. Louis - New Orleans Pullman that went into the Panama, but if you were in that you would have to get off at Memphis at about 2:00am.

My father and mother did this once in the late 50's on a trip to the company office in St. Louis. Northbound they waited for the train in Memphis and got on the NO - St.L Pullman. I went with my grandfather to pick them up the morning they got back. Got a grand tour of the bedroom. My first look at the inside of a 10-6.

Only twice have I made a wee hours change of trains - one was in the mid-1980's getting off #1 westbound way past midnight in San Antonio, waiting till dawn, and departing northbound on the Texas Eagle. The other was a few years before that when I roade Amtrak's northbound Crescent to Salisbury, NC, got off around 2:00am, and spent the rest of the night in the train station waiting for a Southern Railway steam excursion train departing Salisbury at 7:00am.

Additionally - I have a number of wee hours changes involving trains & buses..... off the Champion and on to a Trailways Bus departing at 1:30am in Hamlet, NC in the late 1970's comes to mind...... getting off the northbound City of New Orleans and catching the connecting van to St. Louis does as well.

George Harris said:

World traveller said:

I regularly used to change at Du Quoin, Ill. from the IC's Chickasaw to the Louisiane. The Chickasaw ran through to Memphis but carried no Pullman. The Louisiane came from Chicago with a Pullman. The change would be about 2:00am. You would step off the Chickasaw and see the headlight of the Louisiane up the track, and it would come roaring in a few minutes later. Soon I would be snug in my lower berth. But the change reminded me of the opening scene in the original In the Head of the Night movie.

Click to expand...

An alternative: Take the connection for the Panama Limited / Seminole and get in the Memphis drop off Pullman at Carbondale. This got you into a sleeper at about 9:30. This train had a St. Louis - New Orleans Pullman that went into the Panama, but if you were in that you would have to get off at Memphis at about 2:00am.

My father and mother did this once in the late 50's on a trip to the company office in St. Louis. Northbound they waited for the train in Memphis and got on the NO - St.L Pullman. I went with my grandfather to pick them up the morning they got back. Got a grand tour of the bedroom. My first look at the inside of a 10-6.

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I was only going to Memphis, and changing in Du Quoin was preferable to getting off in Memphis at 2:00am, even though it always made a short night. Northbound, I could take the Panama Pullman to St. Louis at more conventional hours.

I once did the LRK turnaround on the TE. Arrived in LRK on the northbound train just before midnight and departed LRK on the southbound train at 3 AM.

Ive done the Middle of the Nght Transfer from the Sunset Ltd.#1(NOL-SAS) to the Texas Eagle#22 (SAS-AUS)several times in SAS! Under the Old Schedule the Layover was 4-5 Hours, Now it would be more like 7-8 Hours! :angry:

Also did the transfer from Train to Bus in KCY when making the KCY to OKC Connection for the Heartland Flyer ( before the Jefferson Bus Line connections from KCY-OKC was Terminated) was 7-8 Hours if one had taken the River Runner from STL-KCY, and 1-2 Hours if you rode the SWC from CHI-KCY.!

Of course in the Old Days there were Many more Trains and the Locals, Milk Runs and Mail Trains seemed to All involve Catching/Changing in the Middle of the Night! But who cared, it was a Train!

I have transferred in the middle of the night at NYP from the eastbound Cardinal, which is supposed to arrive at about 10PM (mine got in at 1:30AM) to Northeast Regional train 66 to Boston, which departs at 2:40AM. This was not an Amtrak-approved connection, however.

NYP at 2AM is a very interesting place, with the majority of the station being completely deserted.

Yeah, we did the middle of the night switch in PDX, last winter from the Portland side to the Seattle side of the same train. A surreal experience, to be sure I will always remember the quiet, dark platform and the majestic EB...

Any middle-of-night changes you guys can think of today that dosen't make you backtrack? I know of the TE/SL but there's through cars. Anything else? I know Greyhound has plenty and it's actually not that bad 'cause you can't sleep well on a bus anyway.

The transfers between the Capitol Limited and Pennsylvanian in Pittsburgh are at somewhat unconventional hours - detraining #30 at 4:30AM or so going east and boarding #29 at midnight heading west. For the time being at least, these lack through cars. The timing of the eastbound transfer may also get better if/when the Capitol Limited is shifted to a later departure from Chicago.

Amtrak will also allow a 5AM connection in Toledo from #29 to #49 if one tries to book Washington, DC to Bryan, OH.

I didn't look into Thruway connections too deeply, but I did find that booking Detroit, MI to Erie, PA incurs a layover from 10:30PM to 3:20AM in Toledo.

TCRT said:

The transfers between the Capitol Limited and Pennsylvanian in Pittsburgh are at somewhat unconventional hours - detraining #30 at 4:30AM or so going east and boarding #29 at midnight heading west. For the time being at least, these lack through cars. The timing of the eastbound transfer may also get better if/when the Capitol Limited is shifted to a later departure from Chicago.

Amtrak will also allow a 5AM connection in Toledo from #29 to #49 if one tries to book Washington, DC to Bryan, OH.

I didn't look into Thruway connections too deeply, but I did find that booking Detroit, MI to Erie, PA incurs a layover from 10:30PM to 3:20AM in Toledo.

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Well, I guess that counts. I've done tat one actuallty, can't believe I didn't think about it. And, nah, Thruway dosent really count.

I bet 29 to 48 would be allowed in CLE too. NJCoastExpress and I did that on a mileage run once.

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jis said:

I bet 29 to 48 would be allowed in CLE too. NJCoastExpress and I did that on a mileage run once.

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I've changed in ELY from 29 to 48 before.

Did a RKV - ELY - NYP - WAS loop last year.

Was very happy I changed in ELY instead of CLE in the middle of the night!