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ourlouisiana

ourlouisiana

Service Attendant
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
117
Location
SCOTT, LA
This falls into the can't remember category.....

We have reservations on the Crescent in April, we are in 2011 northbound and 1910 southbound.

Is that the second sleeper behind the motive power northbound and the first sleeper southbound ???

This is not our first trip, but..... all the grey (white) hairs suck all the brain cells out.

Thanks for the help.
 
It's hard to say. The first 2 numbers are always the train number, but the last is the position from the dining car. Some trains start with "0" and some start with "1". However with one of the trains "1910", I would say the Crescent begins with "0". So 1910 is next to the diner and 2011 would be 2nd from the diner.
 
ALC_Rail_Writer said:
SO.. LSL car 4910? Thats the car closest to the front?
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Well that depends on just what you mean by closest to the front. If you mean closer than the coaches to the front, then no. If you mean closer than the 4911 and 4912 sleeper, then yes. Remember that the LSL runs with the sleepers on the rear now.
 
I just did this in chat the other night IIRC, but here's a basic primer. First of course, the first two digits (the thousands and hundreds position) represent the train number. If the train number is 3 digits, like trains 448/449, then the lead digit is dropped.

Each class or style of cars gets its own series of numbers, based upon the digit in the 10 position. For example, a typical Amtrak train might follow the following plan. 00-09 coaches, 10-19 sleepers, 20-29 crew dorm, 30-39 dining cars, 40-49 lounge cars, 50-59 baggage cars, and so on and so on. The pattern changes from train to train, so just because the LSL puts sleepers into the 10 category doesn't mean that for example the Auto Train does. The Auto Train puts sleepers into the 40 series. The Capitol puts sleeers into the 01 group

If there is a rhyme or reason, I've never found it. Odds are that it probably has a lot to do with how did the freight RR that ran that particular route number things, but I don't have the old consist numbers from those days to verify.

Yet another oddity that can occur, is one that used to happen on the LSL, and could again if the run through sleeper returns. Since the car number is 4 digits, as I mentioned above, the leading 4 in 448/449 is dropped. So to avoid confusion with the NY bound sleepers which are in the 10 series, the Boston bound sleeper was numbered 20 to keep it seperate. Boston bound coaches are similarly numbered into a different series so as to keep them seperate from the NY coaches.

One thing that does remain constant, is that the lower the number, the closer the sleeper is to the diner and the lower the coaches number the closer to the cafe car. This is true even on trains like the Empire Builder and the LSL. The lower number coaches are still closest to the diner, regardless of which section of the train they are in.
 
AlanB said:
Each class or style of cars gets its own series of numbers, based upon the digit in the 10 position. For example, a typical Amtrak train might follow the following plan. 00-09 coaches, 10-19 sleepers, 20-29 crew dorm, 30-39 dining cars, 40-49 lounge cars, 50-59 baggage cars, and so on and so on. The pattern changes from train to train, so just because the LSL puts sleepers into the 10 category doesn't mean that for example the Auto Train does. The Auto Train puts sleepers into the 40 series. The Capitol puts sleeers into the 01 group
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My tickets for the SWC, CS & EB all end with 30. Am I inturpeting this correctly to mean that these trains use the 30-39 numbers for sleepers instead of dining cars as shown in the "typical" sample shown above, and also that we are right next to the dinner on all 3 trains? I hope I am correct about this; I like eating but don't want to spend my entire trip in the dinner on these trains ! :unsure: ... :lol:
 
Most every train has the sleepers next to the diner. (One exception is the PDX section of the EB. The PDX sleeper is at the rear of the train, while the SEA sleepers are at the front of the train - and next to the diner.) And the lower the number, the closer to the diner.
 
SO Amtrak's policy is confusing enough, now I think I'm really confused !!!

Thanks for the responses, it seems as though we'll be close to the diner one way, and closer to the power on the other.

46 DAYS TO OUR NEXT TRIP.......... 309 DAYS TO RETIREMENT !!!
 
I've seen it mentioned that depending on the train the last number for a sleeper nearest the dinner can be either 1 or 0. Does anyone know which trains start at 0 and which ones start at 1? Thanks!
 
ourlouisiana said:
SO Amtrak's policy is confusing enough, now I think I'm really confused !!!
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My approach when boarding is to walk to the nearest sleeping car, and ask the attendant standing by the door ``Is this car [xxxx, the number of the car on my ticket]?'' If the answer is no, they'll generally politely point you in the right direction.
 
Joel N. Weber II said:
ourlouisiana said:
SO Amtrak's policy is confusing enough, now I think I'm really confused !!!
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My approach when boarding is to walk to the nearest sleeping car, and ask the attendant standing by the door ``Is this car [xxxx, the number of the car on my ticket]?'' If the answer is no, they'll generally politely point you in the right direction.
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How dreadfully simple. :rolleyes:

How hard is it to simply ask an attendant? Works for me.
 
AlanB said:
They're not always right. Some crews actually seem to remember to change the numbers, but other's don't. I've been on the LSL and seen car numbers of 97XX.
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I have seen them not even working. Possibly, the same dude who is responsible for maintaining the coffee pots, is also responsible for the car number displays. :p
 
Walt said:
AlanB said:
They're not always right. Some crews actually seem to remember to change the numbers, but other's don't. I've been on the LSL and seen car numbers of 97XX.
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I have seen them not even working. Possibly, the same dude who is responsible for maintaining the coffee pots, is also responsible for the car number displays. :p
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Could it be since he could not the coffee pot working, and tested, he fell asleep before getting to fix the numbers or anything else. :rolleyes:

Aloha
 
Bierboy said:
AlanB said:
Madbuster said:
Even easier, check the numbers by the door.
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They're not always right. Some crews actually seem to remember to change the numbers, but other's don't. I've been on the LSL and seen car numbers of 97XX.
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That's what I noticed too...unfortunately the numbers aren't always accurate.
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And I was on train 27, and the car said 08xx - almost to the very end of the trip! It got changed I think about 3 hours from the end of the trip! :lol:
 
Just to follow-up on my earlier post, here's a rundown of sleeping car series numbers by train. The series is the last two digits of the car number on your ticket. Where I'm certain, I've also indicated if the lowest number is a 0 or a 1.

1/2 - Sunset Limited - 30's, lowest number is 30.

3/4 - Southwest Chief - 30's, lowest number is 30. Trans/Dorm is 40.

5/6 - California Zephyr - 30's, lowest number is 31.

7/8 - Empire Builder - 30's, lowest number is 30.

11/14 - Coast Starlight - 30's, lowest is 30.

19/20 - Crescent - 10's, lowest number is 10.

21/22 - Texas Eagle - 20's, lowest is 20. Trans/Dorm is 19, a real oddity.

29/30 - Capitol Limited - 00's, lowest is 00.

40/41 - Three Rivers - 00's, lowest is 01.

48/49 - Lake Shore Limited - 10's, lowest is 10. Boston 448/449 sleeper is 20.

50/51 - Cardinal - 00's, lowest is 00.

52/53 - Auto Train - 40's, lowest is 40. One oddity with the AT, is that even numbered sleeper are positioned south of the diner, odd sleepers are positioned north of the diner. Lowest numbers are still closest to the diner regardless.

58/59 - City of New Orleans - 00's, lowest 00.

66/67 - Twilight Shoreliner/Federal - 00's, lowest is 00.

89/90 - Silver Palm - 10's, lowest is 10.

91/92 - Silver Star - 10's, lowest is 10.

97/98 - Silver Meteor - 10's, lowest is 10.
 
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AlanB said:
Just to follow-up on my earlier post, here's a rundown of sleeping car series numbers by train. The series is the last two digits of the car number on your ticket. Where I'm certain, I've also indicated if the lowest number is a 0 or a 1.
1/2 - Sunset Limited - 30's, lowest number is 30.

3/4 - Southwest Chief - 30's, lowest number is 30. Trans/Dorm is 40.

5/6 - California Zephyr - 30's, lowest number is 31.

7/8 - Empire Builder - 30's, lowest number is 30.

11/14 - Coast Starlight - 30's.

19/20 - Crescent - 10's, lowest number is 10.

21/22 - Texas Eagle - 20's, lowest is 20. Trans/Dorm is 19, a real oddity.

29/30 - Capitol Limited - 00's, lowest is 00.

40/41 - Three Rivers - 00's, lowest is 01.

48/49 - Lake Shore Limited - 10's, lowest is 10. Boston 448/449 sleeper is 20.

50/51 - Cardinal - 00's, lowest is 01.

52/53 - Auto Train - 40's, lowest is 40. One oddity with the AT, is that even numbered sleeper are positioned south of the diner, odd sleepers are positioned north of the diner. Lowest numbers are still closest to the diner regardless.

58/59 - City of New Orleans - 00's, lowest 00.

66/67 - Twilight Shoreliner/Federal - 00's, lowest is 00.

89/90 - Silver Palm - 10's, lowest is 10.

91/92 - Silver Star - 10's, lowest is 10.

97/98 - Silver Meteor - 10's, lowest is 10.
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What about CONO?
 
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Alan

I'm booked on 11 this summer in 30, that means it's the lowest number, right? Your list doesn't say.

By the way, this is cool, I've bookmarked it. You should "pin" it somewhere.
 
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