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  1. M

    Delays on #6 - California Zephyr - Bus, etc (also, vacating Roomette Midtrip)

    and if you have kids or ask nice, he'll even leave your bed set up all day; for napping....
  2. M

    Delays on #6 - California Zephyr - Bus, etc (also, vacating Roomette Midtrip)

    I cannot speak authoritatively to this. I heard a rumor that the fix was to put passengers first a train to somewhere along the line, THEN on a bus to Reno. Probably rated a 9.5 on the suck-o-meter. But fwiw it would be worse if you were on the bus heading home at the end of the extra-long...
  3. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Oh, I've had some doozie airplane trips; they all stunk worse than the 17 hour late Amtrak debacle we one year with river flooding, broken locomotive, and crews timing out in the middle of nowhere. And often even the long drive home from the train station can be plenty frustrating indeed, with...
  4. M

    Amtrak employees need an attitude adjustment

    I am consistently surprised by the cheerfulness and helpfulness of the vast majority of staff. Not at all what I would expect given the conditions and politics. Sure, I have seen a couple dining/snack staff meltdowns, and a few indifferent or overly cynical attendants over the years. But...
  5. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Yuppers. the westbound #5 trip encountered flash floods, and ended up 20+ hours late. When that happens, they eventually turn it around mid-route and bus everyone in/out beyond that point. That #6 train started in Reno, with passengers that bused up from Emeryville etc. That same train then...
  6. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Thanks. Yes, I should have clarified, I misspoke in my OP. The first sleeper was empty except for staff. The other two had a handful of empty berths. And what was notable was there was almost no wait list for meals. Ordinarily there is a substantial wait list to work through for every meal...
  7. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Yeah, death by a thousand cuts. I have to confess I have mixed feelings about the private coaches. We had to drop one off at Denver once, and it added like 30 or more minutes to our stop, if memory serves. I love seeing them, and riding in one was on my bucket list. But there has got to be a...
  8. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Specifically #6 of 7/11/19 that was turned around to start in Reno, and then hit a pedestrian in Denver. And #5 of 7/19/19 that was comparatively uneventful, albeit still 4 hours late.
  9. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Last week. We've traveled June or July for nine years and this is the first time it wasn't packed.
  10. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    Yeah, it's been an awful month in July too, and we traveled right in the middle of it.
  11. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    That's good to know. We value our annual trip on the Zephyr, and are feeling a little paranoid about the future at the moment. I still wonder why the sleepers weren't sold out. We've been on several years and it's always been maxed. This was the case both ways this year.
  12. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    That's cool, maybe it was just my trip. fwiw there was a third sleeper car, but my son said it was just used by staff?
  13. M

    favorite scenery on Amtrak usually passed through night,that you saw day due hours long train delay?

    The stations at Omaha. It's fun to imagine what is was like: two grand stations across from each other, maybe a dozen or so active tracks between, and an elevated pedestrian walkway across the yards connecting the two stations. Must have been a heck of a sight at full activity. And the...
  14. M

    Fewer sleepers on California Zephyr?

    This year we noted there were only two sleeper cars instead of three, and they were not fully booked. We wondered if this is due to a natural decline in demand, or a reaction to efforts by Amtrak itself to suppress demand. Obviously, this slashes sleeper ridership by at least a third, as well...
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