Need Help and advice

[oldgrumpy42]

First time train rider. We just received a call from Amtrak about the detour for the CZ from 9/14 to 9/23. Our travel date is 9/17 & 18 West bound. Should we just take the detour and enjoy the ride or is it worthwhile to go south to LA and take the SC, assuming we can get on?

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Well if you're not getting off at one of the bypassed stations, what does it matter?

 

[whistler]

First time train rider. We just received a call from Amtrak about the detour for the CZ from 9/14 to 9/23. Our travel date is 9/17 & 18 West bound. Should we just take the detour and enjoy the ride or is it worthwhile to go south to LA and take the SC, assuming we can get on?

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?...mp;#entry182578

Here is a link to a earlier discussion which has a link to maps of the detour.

If it is the same detour.

Sounds like a unique chance to me.

 

[catblue]

Amtrak just called and the California Zephyr Wyoming Detour will be taking place on my travel dates in September.

Wondering what I will be missing scenic wise by not going the regular route through Utah to Denver CO? What of interest should I be looking for on the detour?

Has anyone been on the detour?

 

[Everydaymatters]

I'd take the detour if I had the choice. You can always take the regular route another time, but this might be your only chance to see some different scenery.

 

[Bob Dylan]

First time train rider. We just received a call from Amtrak about the detour for the CZ from 9/14 to 9/23. Our travel date is 9/17 & 18 West bound. Should we just take the detour and enjoy the ride or is it worthwhile to go south to LA and take the SC, assuming we can get on?

Go for the detour,its a unique chance for mileage from the old days and as the the_traveler(lost somewhere in West Texas on #422)says any train ride is a good train ride long as Im on it!Enjoy the journey,wish I could take it !!

 

[ruudkeulers]

First time train rider. We just received a call from Amtrak about the detour for the CZ from 9/14 to 9/23. Our travel date is 9/17 & 18 West bound. Should we just take the detour and enjoy the ride or is it worthwhile to go south to LA and take the SC, assuming we can get on?

Go for the detour,its a unique chance for mileage from the old days and as the the_traveler(lost somewhere in West Texas on #422)says any train ride is a good train ride long as Im on it!Enjoy the journey,wish I could take it !!

There has been a long discussion on the subject on this forum when the detour was announced: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?...=wyoming+detour

IIRC both pros & cons were discussed there.

Ruud

 

[rrdude]

I'd add my two cents and say "go for it anyways". It' not quite a scenic as the route thru Glenwood Canyon, but it's a great ride non the less........

 

[AKA]

Amtrak just called and the California Zephyr Wyoming Detour will be taking place on my travel dates in September.Wondering what I will be missing scenic wise by not going the regular route through Utah to Denver CO? What of interest should I be looking for on the detour?

Has anyone been on the detour?

Look for Pronghorn Antelope. Not hard to spot, some will come right up to the fences near the train.

 

[Guest_George Harris_*]

I rode it once in late 1971 when it was the way the train went. It is not as scenic, but it does have a character all its own. You will meet lots of freight trains. If things go well, you will still get to Denver on the scheduled arrival time applicible to the normal route. While the 90 mph passenger train speed limit of the past, still in place when I was on it in 1971, is now gone, you will be doing many miles at a steady 70 mph, freight traffic permitting. A lot fo the freights will be running at this speed, as well.

I had always heard of the huge western cattle ranges, and my major surprise was how little livestock I saw.

This is the most historic western route. It is part of the original transcontinental railroad, although with considerable improvement in track and quite a few alignment improvements. It is also the only part of any of these routes still operating under its orinal corporate name - Union Pacific.

 

[sunchaser]

First time train rider. We just received a call from Amtrak about the detour for the CZ from 9/14 to 9/23. Our travel date is 9/17 & 18 West bound. Should we just take the detour and enjoy the ride or is it worthwhile to go south to LA and take the SC, assuming we can get on?

These route maps may help you decide.

If you scroll down on this page, you can look at both the regular route & the wyoming detour.

Many people like to take the detour because it is not the usual route. As long as it doesn't affect your destination, I say go for it!

 

[AlanB]

I rode it once in late 1971 when it was the way the train went. It is not as scenic, but it does have a character all its own. You will meet lots of freight trains. If things go well, you will still get to Denver on the scheduled arrival time applicible to the normal route. While the 90 mph passenger train speed limit of the past, still in place when I was on it in 1971, is now gone, you will be doing many miles at a steady 70 mph, freight traffic permitting. A lot fo the freights will be running at this speed, as well.

When I rode the detour route a few years back, we got into Salt Lake almost 3 hours early. On the return, I believe that we were about 2 hours late into Salt Lake, although I was asleep at the time but that was how late were had been prior to my turning in. We still got into Denver early, simply because the detour route has no stops and higher overall average speeds since you're not winding through the mountains.

 

[catblue]

Thanks for the links. I knew it had been discussed a while back but didn't remember the name of the topic it was under. I was hoping someone had taken the detour and would elaborate on the difference in the two routes. Sorry if this is repetitive.

This is a bit off topic but is there a date that the menu changes for the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr? Maybe there is a link for that too?

 

[Trainmans daughter]

We were on the detour last month (eastbound) and we loved it. The wide open spaces are a real contrast to the canyons on the regular route, so you get an entirely different perspective of America. The green prairies, the isolated ranches, the elk herds, the interesting rock formations, the mountains in the distance, the aged wooden snow fences, and the fantastic light-show Mother Nature provided for us (via a gorgeous lightening storm) made our trip that much richer. Just sit back and drink it all in. (Drink in a nice glass of wine while you're at it!). Enjoy!!

 

[Guest_pebbleworm_*]

It's a nice route- look for pronghorn antelope, bison and elk, and also a faster route. This weekend I got into Salt Lake City early enough to actually see the lake, rode through Echo canyon in the evening, and got to walk around the city for a few hours. Amtrak has enough 30 mph crawls through mountains- you can enjoy something different!

 

[p&sr]

I was hoping someone had taken the detour and would elaborate on the difference in the two routes.

I've been there, and found it very beautiful. Not the deep rocky canyons of the regular route, but a dramatic and varied sampling of the Wild West.

 

[catblue]

Either way I am excited about riding!!

Thanks for the replies.

The Amtrak person that called did say the trains have been running on time lately.

 

[sunchaser]

Thanks for the links. I knew it had been discussed a while back but didn't remember the name of the topic it was under. I was hoping someone had taken the detour and would elaborate on the difference in the two routes. Sorry if this is repetitive.
This is a bit off topic but is there a date that the menu changes for the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr? Maybe there is a link for that too?

There is no date attached, but you can find the menus here (scroll down)

These were posted IIRC in May or June this year.

 

[catblue]

Thanks. I had read that the menus would change after the summer season but did not know when the summer season ends.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I definately think the scenery is better through the Rockies but you can get that almost any day, when something like trackwork is not happening. The other mileage is more rare and you should take advantage of it, perhaps riding the usual route some later time.

I am of the opinion that no scenery is "bad" scenery any more than any train is a "bad" train.

There is a ton of history connected to this route. It was a pre-Amtrak part of some routes from Chicago and St. Louis to the west coast. I will spare you the railroading operating details, unless you really want them. Suffice it to say as George Harris already has that the Union Pacific was the carrier through the area we are talking about. There were other lines involved in other parts of the longer routes.

Anyway, at one time there were lots of really beautiful yellow streamliners flashing through this territory. Names like City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of St. Louis. Other names like Portland Rose, San Francisco Overland, etc. Uniquely beautiful. And fast.

Having "family names", like "city of" " was not unusual in the days before Amtrak. there were "flocks" of Chiefs, Eagles,Rockets, etc, names like that.

There was a time when the City of San Francisco was widely advertised as the "fastest thing on wheels between CHI and SF" and the advertising was true, it was the fastest train to be sure. And this was before the interstate highway system, making it even more true.

There was a time in 1952 when the City of San Francisco was stranded about two days in the snow in the Sierras. That pops up on this board from time to time.

In later years all those trains with similar names began being combined for economy reasons out of Chicago. Durng that time the nick name "City of Everywere" became banded around a lot.