Even/Odd Roomette siding on Cardinal #51; also Thurmond?

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jshell

jshell

Train Attendant
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Sep 16, 2013
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I found this thread when looking for any mentions of Thurmond WV, that goes into best side for views and such on the Cardinal. But that thread is from the 2013/2014 and about train #50 (eastbound). I'm heading Westbound in May and am really looking forward to seeing the Gorge and I'd love to be able to see those old buildings in Thurmond.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/55608-the-cardinal-train-50/

First - if there's no one getting on/off at a flag stop like Thurmond, does the train slow down / stop / or make any announcements? I just want to have the camera(s) ready. I imagine cell phone service (AT&T) is poor to non-existant so I can't count on following progress on my iPhone.

Second - any consensus on which side the even/odd roomettes are on? I'm currently booked in #2. It seems like the ordering is fairly arbitrary. The thread mentioned above seemed to indicate that the odd number cars are preferred on the Eastbound 50. Does that still apply to the Westbound 51? Since there's no domed lounge car on the Cardinal at this time of year, it seems most people say that best view is from the room. Worth trying to change the room number? I usually just roll with what I get since I spend most of my time in the lounge, but this is a funny little train that is new to me.

(Semi-related - any consistency to where the sleeping car is located when going Westbound? Having the Railfan window on this route would be awesome).
 
Scroll down to the Viewliner sleeper for the layout of the sleeper car.

Odd numbered Roomettes are on one side, even number on the other side.

Which end of the sleeper car is hooked up to the diner/lounge car will determine which side even/odd sleepers are on.

I believe the vestibule/bedrooms end is most likely to be hooked to the diner/lounge car on the Cardinal.

The Cardinal has a baggage car hooked up behind the sleeper car so there is no passenger accessible 'railfan' window on the Cardinal.

The baggage car is on the end of the 'consist' to keep the sleeper car from wagging back and forth.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/32610-line-numbersconsist-listings/
 
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I believe the sleeper is always on the rear of the Cardinal, and the vestibule must always be next to the table portion of the lounge/diner. Thus westbound the even number rooms will be on the gorge side, eastbound it's the odd number rooms.
 
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51 is the train number. 01 is the car number. 5101

Your reservation (e-ticket) should also show a roomette number 001 to 012.

On the CZ May 1 I have roomette #008 in car 0531. 05 is the westbound CZ

On my return trip I have roomette 014 in car 0631. 06 is the eastbound CZ.
 
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the_traveler said:
I believe the sleeper is always on the rear of the Cardinal, and the vestibule must always be next to the table portion of the lounge/diner. Thus westbound the even number rooms will be on the gorge side, eastbound it's the odd number rooms.
Click to expand...
Since the Cardinal's consist is different, it doesn't participate in the swapping with the LSL and doesn't need the sleepers on the rear, so it runs the "old" way: power, bag, sleeper...

Here's a picture I took of it last month, if you look closely the sleeper is oriented with the vestibule adjoining the baggage car.

ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1428489039.003199.jpg
 
I guess they changed. Everytime that I rode the Cardinal, the sleeper was on the back and the H-Room and vestibule was against the table section of the lounge/diner.
 
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As I thought - doesn't seem terribly consistent. I found a handful of YouTube videos of the Cardinal over the past couple of years, trying to pay attention to 51 specifically, and saw it arranged both ways.

Terrific picture, by the way!
 
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Nice picture, but that's one pathetic looking long-distance train. That must surely be the champion if you measured

a train by ratio of available baggage space to available seating capacity.
 
The vestibule of the sleeper is always to the front of the train (but I will visually check in cvs today for you :)), thus even numbered roomettes are on the left. Traveling west the river is on the left - the track is in the middle of the gorge alongside the river.
 
Rode 50 from CHI to NYP about 2 weeks ago. There was 1 sleeper behind the baggage car hooked up with room H facing the baggage car. We were in room 6 and it was on the left of the train. The diner lite was behind the sleeper with 3 coaches behind that. If 51 is set up the same way, your room should be on the left side to see the white water New river and Thurmond. We did not stop in Thurmond but we went through there fairly slow.

Our room was not on the side to see the river, so we went to the diner lite when we got to the gorge. But, we were about an hour plus late which put us in the gorge during cleaning time for the diner lite. They made everyone leave. We asked if we could sit back in coach on the side facing the river and they said ok. It won't affect you in a roomette but coach seats were assigned on our train. We were able to see the nice scenery in the gorge. From out temporary coach seats. We had a very nice time on the Cardinal. Enjoy.
 
#51 040815.JPG

Yep, vestibule, i.e. door/steps, to the front of the train today. Cafe behind this sleeper + 3 coaches. 5101 will be the 2nd of 2 sleepers. There has been speculation of a 2nd sleeper added in May based on number of bedrooms available certain days. The orientation of the car will be the same as this one
 
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Excellent, thank you! That makes things a lot more clear. Hopefully the layout will stay about the same in time for my trip. But even if not, I'll still enjoy it. :)
 
KmH said:
51 is the train number. 01 is the car number. 5101

Your reservation (e-ticket) should also show a roomette number 001 to 012.

On the CZ May 1 I have roomette #008 in car 0531. 05 is the westbound CZ

On my return trip I have roomette 014 in car 0631. 06 is the eastbound CZ.
Click to expand...
On the CZ, roomette #8 is on the upper level of the sleeping car just aft of the diner. Roomette #14 is on the lower level of that same sleeping car just aft of the diner. No way of telling in advance on the CZ whether your rooms will be on left side or right side of the train -- those cars can -- and are -- orientable in either direction on the CZ.
 
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