Stretch/Smoke Stop List

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

brianpmcdonnell17

Conductor
Joined
Mar 5, 2016
Messages
1,560
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Blue Water/Wolverine:

Battle Creek, MI*

California Zephyr:

Sacramento, CA

Reno, NV

Winnemucca, NV

Salt Lake City, UT

Grand Junction, CO

Glenwood Springs, CO

Fraser-Winter Park, CO

Denver, CO

Omaha, NE

Ottumwa, IA

Galesburg, IL

Capitol Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Pittsburgh, PA

Cumberland, MD

Cardinal:

Indianapolis, IN

Cincinnati, OH

Huntington, WV

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Cascades:

Portland, OR*

Seattle, WA*

City of New Orleans:

Jackson, MS*

Greenwood, MS*

Memphis, TN*

Carbondale, IL*

Champaign/Urbana, IL*

Coast Starlight:

Santa Barbara, CA

San Luis Obispo, CA

Salinas, CA

San Jose, CA (no smoking)

Oakland, CA

Sacramento, CA

Klamath Falls, OR

Eugene, OR

Portland, OR

Crescent:

Meridian, MS*

Birmingham, AL*

Atlanta, GA

Greenville, SC

Charlotte, NC

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Empire Builder:

Wishram, WA (Portland branch only)*

Pasco, WA (Portland branch only)*

Wenatchee, WA (Seattle branch only)

Spokane, WA

Whitefish, MT

Shelby, MT

Havre, MT

Williston, ND

Minot, ND*

St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN

Winona, MN

Milwaukee, WI (no smoking)

Heartland Flyer:

Ardmore, OK*

Lake Shore Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Buffalo/Depew, NY

Rochester, NY

Syracuse, NY

Albany/Rensselaer, NY

Springfield, MA (Boston branch only)

Maple Leaf

Niagara Falls, ON (Westbound only)*

Niagara Falls, NY (Eastbound only)*

Buffalo/Depew, NY*

Rochester, NY*

Syracuse, NY*

Utica, NY*

Albany/Rensselaer, NY*

Missouri River Runner:

Jefferson City, MO*

Northeast Regional #65/66/67:

Richmond, VA*

Washington, DC*

Baltimore, MD*

Wilmington, DE*

Philadelphia, PA*

New York, NY (no smoking on platform)

New Haven, CT

Providence, RI*

Pennsylvanian:

Harrisburg, PA

Philadelphia, PA

Silver Meteor:

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Florence, SC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Silver Star:

Tampa, FL

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Columbia, SC

Raleigh, NC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Southwest Chief:

Kingman, AZ*

Flagstaff, AZ*

Gallup, NM*

Albuquerque, NM*

Raton, NM*

La Junta, CO*

Kansas City, MO*

Fort Madison, IA*

Sunset Limited:

Houston, TX*

San Antonio, TX*

Alpine, TX*

El Paso, TX*

Tucson, AZ*

Texas Eagle

Austin, TX*

Temple, TX*

Fort Worth, TX*

Dallas, TX*

Longview, TX*

Texarkana, AR/TX*

Little Rock, AR*

St. Louis, MO*

Springfield, IL*

Note: These are the stretch stops on the trips I have been on, but they may vary slightly by trip. I excluded stops which I have been able to get out at but were clearly not normal stretch stops. If you have information on the trains I have yet to ride or revisions to the trains I have posted please contribute.

Other members' contributions marked with a *.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Ziv
California Zephyr:

Sacramento, CA

Reno, NV

Salt Lake City, UT

Grand Junction, CO

Glenwood Springs, CO

Fraser-Winter Park, CO

Denver, CO

Omaha, NE

Ottumwa, IA

Galesburg, IL

Capitol Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Pittsburgh, PA

Cumberland, MD

Cardinal:

Indianapolis, IN

Cincinnati, OH

Huntington, WV

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Coast Starlight:

San Luis Obispo, CA

Salinas, CA

San Jose, CA (no smoking)

Oakland, CA

Sacramento, CA

Klamath Falls, OR

Eugene, OR

Portland, OR

Crescent (I have never ridden south of Atlanta):

Atlanta, GA

Charlotte, NC

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Empire Builder (I have never ridden the Portland branch):

Wenatchee, WA

Spokane, WA

Whitefish, MT

Shelby, MT

Havre, MT

Williston, ND

Minot, ND

Grand Forks, ND

St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN

Winona, MN

Milwaukee, WI (no smoking)

Lake Shore Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Buffalo/Depew, NY

Rochester, NY

Syracuse, NY

Albany/Rensselaer, NY

Springfield, MA (Boston branch only)

Northeast Regional #66 (I have never ridden south of Washington):

New York, NY

New Haven, CT

Pennsylvanian:

Harrisburg, PA

Philadelphia, PA

Silver Meteor:

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Florence, SC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Silver Star:

Tampa, FL

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Raleigh, NC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Note: These are the stretch stops on the trips I have been on, but they may vary slightly by trip. I excluded stops which I have been able to get out at but were clearly not normal stretch stops. If you have information on the trains I have yet to ride or revisions to the trains I have posted please contribute.
One subtraction you should make is the Zephyr stop at Winterpark-Fraser. I have never been able to get off there for a fresh-air Marlboro Light, and I have traveled through there at 12 or 13 times.
 
I guess smokers just abstain between Boston and Washington? New York could be tricky, unless you know how to get street side.
 
California Zephyr:

Sacramento, CA

Reno, NV

Salt Lake City, UT

Grand Junction, CO

Glenwood Springs, CO

Fraser-Winter Park, CO

Denver, CO

Omaha, NE

Ottumwa, IA

Galesburg, IL

Capitol Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Pittsburgh, PA

Cumberland, MD

Cardinal:

Indianapolis, IN

Cincinnati, OH

Huntington, WV

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Coast Starlight:

San Luis Obispo, CA

Salinas, CA

San Jose, CA (no smoking)

Oakland, CA

Sacramento, CA

Klamath Falls, OR

Eugene, OR

Portland, OR

Crescent (I have never ridden south of Atlanta):

Atlanta, GA

Charlotte, NC

Charlottesville, VA

Washington, DC

Empire Builder (I have never ridden the Portland branch):

Wenatchee, WA

Spokane, WA

Whitefish, MT

Shelby, MT

Havre, MT

Williston, ND

Minot, ND

Grand Forks, ND

St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN

Winona, MN

Milwaukee, WI (no smoking)

Lake Shore Limited:

Toledo, OH

Cleveland, OH

Buffalo/Depew, NY

Rochester, NY

Syracuse, NY

Albany/Rensselaer, NY

Springfield, MA (Boston branch only)

Northeast Regional #66 (I have never ridden south of Washington):

New York, NY

New Haven, CT

Pennsylvanian:

Harrisburg, PA

Philadelphia, PA

Silver Meteor:

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Florence, SC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Silver Star:

Tampa, FL

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Savannah, GA

Raleigh, NC

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Note: These are the stretch stops on the trips I have been on, but they may vary slightly by trip. I excluded stops which I have been able to get out at but were clearly not normal stretch stops. If you have information on the trains I have yet to ride or revisions to the trains I have posted please contribute.
One subtraction you should make is the Zephyr stop at Winterpark-Fraser. I have never been able to get off there for a fresh-air Marlboro Light, and I have traveled through there at 12 or 13 times.
YMMV. I have been ridden the CZ numerous times and have never known it not to be a smoke break.
 
As of last week I was told by the Conductors that Cumberland is no longer a stretch/smoke stop for the CL. This was the case both east and west bound.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As of last week I was told by the Conductors that Cumberland is no longer a stretch/smoke stop for the CL. This was the case both east and west bound.
The last time I rode was eastbound on January 6th. We were about two hours late and Cumberland was a stretch stop, although very brief. In the past I remember the stop being longer. It is possible it is now crew discretion as to whether passengers are let out or not.
 
Two Cascades trains in each direction have a stretch/smoke stop. Trains 500 and 505 between Seattle and Eugene have a stretch/smoke stop in Portland, and trains 517 and 518 between Vancouver, BC, and Portland have a stretch/smoke stop in Seattle.
 
Smoke and stretch at those stops. Fresh air,

I doubt it.
Depending on where you are you can get far enough away from the smokers.

I'm a non smoker and I usually do find these to be refreshing and useful just to get out of the train and literally get fresh air and depending on the time of day, sunshine. I found getting water bottles at Albany to be useful and the general store at Grand Junction, CO useful.
 
As of last week I was told by the Conductors that Cumberland is no longer a stretch/smoke stop for the CL. This was the case both east and west bound.
The last time I rode was eastbound on January 6th. We were about two hours late and Cumberland was a stretch stop, although very brief. In the past I remember the stop being longer. It is possible it is now crew discretion as to whether passengers are let out or not.
Because the stop can be a double spot situation, there is usually little time to let people off for a smoke. If the train eastbound is on time or early there is a chance, but one time I got off in sleeper up front and then waited until they spotted the coach on the rear and hopped on there. But when they only spot for the coach, everyone had to move to the coach past the SSL to get off and that left really no time for any smoking or stretching. They may now have decided to do away with these hassles and just keep non transcients on the train.
 
Thank you to the OP for maintaining a master list. Thank you to members for your additional contributions. In order to attempt to maintain a "clean" and informative thread, we have removed the posts that have suggested additions after the OP has added them to his master list.
 
As of last week I was told by the Conductors that Cumberland is no longer a stretch/smoke stop for the CL. This was the case both east and west bound.
The last time I rode was eastbound on January 6th. We were about two hours late and Cumberland was a stretch stop, although very brief. In the past I remember the stop being longer. It is possible it is now crew discretion as to whether passengers are let out or not.
That's the problem with a list like this. ALL fresh air stops are based upon scheduled dwell. Anything outside of that is at crew discretion. By the same token, any stop that have a significant dwell can be made into a fresh air stop at the discretion of the crew. An example is around the major holidays, when freight traffic is low. Plenty of stops became fresh air stops.

The funny thing is New York is listed under 66 and you're not allowed to smoke on the platform.
 
The Lake Shore Limited smoke stops listed above are correct, since I rode that train once from New York back home to Chicago. In fact, I recall one of the conductors on that trip clearly announced that South Bend was NOT a smoking stop, and he said it in a funny N-O-T way. I think I once heard from someone else that Meridian, MS is supposedly a smoke stop on the Crescent, south of Atlanta. Birmingham supposedly was one too, but I don't know if it'll still be called as one now that this station was just renovated. Maybe someone else could update about the smoke stop status, of Birmingham?

Jefferson City has been sometimes called as a smoke stop for Missouri River Runner trains, but I don't know if it's always called as one. Ditto with Battle Creek, for Michigan service trains. And for the City of New Orleans(hadn't ridden in forever, though):

Champaign-Urbana(dunno if this one has changed)

Carbondale(if you're up late at night)

Memphis

Greenwood(this is a crew change point)

Jackson

If there are any errors I made with where the CONO smoke stops are nowadays, feel free to correct.
 
The Lake Shore Limited smoke stops listed above are correct, since I rode that train once from New York back home to Chicago. In fact, I recall one of the conductors on that trip clearly announced that South Bend was NOT a smoking stop, and he said it in a funny N-O-T way. I think I once heard from someone else that Meridian, MS is supposedly a smoke stop on the Crescent, south of Atlanta. Birmingham supposedly was one too, but I don't know if it'll still be called as one now that this station was just renovated. Maybe someone else could update about the smoke stop status, of Birmingham?

Jefferson City has been sometimes called as a smoke stop for Missouri River Runner trains, but I don't know if it's always called as one. Ditto with Battle Creek, for Michigan service trains. And for the City of New Orleans(hadn't ridden in forever, though):

Champaign-Urbana(dunno if this one has changed)

Carbondale(if you're up late at night)

Memphis

Greenwood(this is a crew change point)

Jackson

If there are any errors I made with where the CONO smoke stops are nowadays, feel free to correct.
I have edited the post to reflect your information. While I have never been on that segment of the Crescent, I doubt Birmingham's status as a stretch stop has changed with the new station as the platform itself is still the same.
 
Ardmore, OK, is the lone smoke stop for the Heartland Flyer.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
 
Maple Leaf

Niagara Falls, ON (Northbound)

Niagara Falls, NY (Southbound)
Do you know if there are any others? I would think Albany-Rensselaer would be a stretch stop as well, if not Syracuse, Rochester, and/or Buffalo-Depew.
This is correct and sometimes you can also get off in Utica if on time!
 
Back
Top