San Antonio extended stop...

[Dominick]

I will be on the Texas Eagle eastbound from Tuscon to Boston early August. I read in the schedule there is an extended delay in the very early morning hours while the train is switched around/serviced. I will be in a bedroom. Will I have to get up and change cars? If not, will the air conditioning continue to operate during all this switching? Just want to "be prepared", "The best surprise is no surprise"

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Will I have to get up and change cars?

Depends on the train number you booked. Passengers booked into 421 or 422 will be located in through cars that allow you remain on board (assuming everything is on time).

If not, will the air conditioning continue to operate during all this switching?

In my experience the HVAC system will cut out during active switching.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I will be on the Texas Eagle eastbound from Tuscon to Boston early August. I read in the schedule there is an extended delay in the very early morning hours while the train is switched around/serviced. I will be in a bedroom. Will I have to get up and change cars? If not, will the air conditioning continue to operate during all this switching? Just want to "be prepared", "The best surprise is no surprise"

If you are booked on #422 you won't have to change cars when the Cutout Coach and Sleeper are switched to the Texas Eagle upon arrival into SAS.

The power will be off briefly during the switching but once it is complete it will be restarted. The emergency lighting does come on when this happens.

Some people sleep through the Switching but you'll probably feel and hear the noise generated during the many movements Switching so you should be awake before leaving SAS.

If you're booked on Train #2, the Sunset Ltd. which runs between LAX and NOL, you WILL have to Detrain and switch to the Texas Eagle #422 Sleeper .

The Sunset Amshak in SAS is small,crowded and brightly lit, not a pleasant place to be @ 600am in the morning.

The Eagle leaves for CHI @ 700am and Breakfast will be served in the Diner(CCC) after leaving SAS with Last Call @ Austin for Sleeper Passengers.

 

[Maglev]

As long as you are ticketed on through train 422, you will not have to change rooms. When I rode the Eagle, I mostly slept through the stop in San Antonio. The air conditioning and power seemed to stay on, although they might have gone off briefly during un-coupling and re-coupling.

 

[bratkinson]

As mentioned above, if your ticket shows train #422, you'll likely sleep right though the time your sleeper car and adjacent coach are removed from the back of the train (#2) and added to the Texas Eagle (#22). As of a 6 weeks ago when I was in the train #422 sleeper from LAX to CHI, the sleeper will end up directly in front of the diner, either 2nd or 3rd car from the front of the train. During switching, electric power from the locomotive is disconnected the the batteries in the car take over. The lights may stay on or be in 'dim' mode if the car hasn't been upgraded, the A/C will stop, and the toilets won't flush. Water in the sink should work fine. (How do I know this? I was using the toilet when the power was dropped and the A/C cut out, but the lights stayed on!) Once the outbound Texas Eagle is fully assembled (the two cars from LA switched in), the power will come back on and everything will be completely normal once again. It's typically about 20-25 minutes in 'battery mode' before everything is back to normal.

 

[Dominick]

A very big THANK YOU to all who took the time to reply and all the information. I am so grateful to you all. I see now, when booking, I should try to book on the Texas Eagle out of Tuscon to avoid switching trains. I asked about the AC because it will be August and HOT! and I know the train windows don't open and I get almost a panic/claustrophobic when confined in hot, tight places, but if I know in advance.......

Q.#2. I will be traveling with my cousin on the Lake Shore Limited out of Chicago. Bill will be going on to Boston and I will be heading to New York Penn Station. We will be sharing the sleeper from Tuscon to finish. What happens to Bill at the switching point in upstate New York? The sleeper ticket is mine and my cousin Bill is the "add-on" I know at this point Bill WILL have to disembark and board another train, but will he then go to coach class or????????

Q.#3 When I book tickets, will I have to do this thru Amtrak or is this something I can still do online?

Again, THANKS! to all of you who have this knowledge and are willing to share. DOMINICK.

 

[ehbowen]

For the trip between Chicago and New York /Boston, my suggestion is that you purchase a through sleeper ticket for one passenger on the Lake Shore Limited between Chicago and NYC. Then, have Bill purchase an "Open Sleeper" ticket from Chicago to Albany and link it to your own sleeper reservation as well as a coach or business class ticket from Albany to Boston (make sure you get the dates right!). Open sleeper is an old-fashioned paper ticket (last I checked) and cannot be booked online; you'll either have to call an agent or go to a staffed station. Many agents are unfamiliar with this process and may try to tell you different; if so then either ask for a supervisor or else hang up and try again.

Edit To Add: Here's my own tale of woe when using an Open Sleeper ticket for a friend.

 

[bratkinson]

I just tried a Tucson to New York booking in Amtrak.com and it offers 2 routes...Train #2 (Sunset Ltd) to New Orleans, then #20 (Crescent) to New York after spending a night in a hotel in New Orleans. Same day connection not possible. The other routing, Train #422 (Texas Eagle) connecting to #48 (Lakeshore Ltd) to New York has same day connection in Chicago...up to 7 hour layover to do some sight seeing, subway/elevated riding, or simply strolling around downtown and enjoying some great Chicago food. So it basically comes down to a 'short night' in New Orleans (9:40 PM arrival, 7:00 AM departure) (or spend an extra night and enjoy New Orleans), or same day connection in Chicago. Either way, the Amtrak computer will put you in the correct car so you don't have to be woken up to switch cars or rooms at San Antonio in the wee hours of the night.

As far as your cousin going to Boston and you to New York, for the Chicago route, I'd suggest you both go to New York, then he takes an Acela or regional train to Boston if arrival is on a weekday (11:00 PM arrival or 12:26 AM). Why shouldn't he enjoy one of the most scenic rides in the East...the Hudson River. If you arrive at Albany on the weekend, all that's needed is a separate ticket Albany to Boston, which, on Sunday, will be a bus during August due to CSX tie replacement work on the route (Sun through Thurs). I don't think there'd be any pricing advantage of 2 people in the sleeper CHI-NYP vs 1 person + Open Sleeper to ALB. Or, if there is, it's quite minimal. On Friday and Saturday trains (#448 from ALB), it will be coach or business class seating. BC is roomier seating plus free non-alcoholic beverages in the lounge car, which 1/2 of which is the business class seats.

Going via New Orleans, the Crescent has a 1:46 PM scheduled arrival at New York Penn Station. There's numerous trains to Boston from there that arrive at Boston at a reasonable time. The trip along the coast line, especially beyond New Haven, has numerous views of the Atlantic Ocean and its many inlets, tidal flats, and seaside towns.

As for booking it through Amtrak.com, except for an 'open sleeper' ticket, it should be easy to book as two separate reservations: TUS-NYP for 2 and a separate one for ALB-BOS or NYP-BOS for your cousin. If you decide to go the open sleeper route, you'll have to call the 1-800 number to make the reservation.

One last thing...AMSNAG. AMSNAG allows you to look at different options over a 30 day period. This close to departure, the prices have already started 'going up' (supply and demand, just like the airlines) and vary from $1300 to over $2000, depending on which date you want to travel. Being able to see in advance and compare makes choosing the best/lowest cost date that fits your schedule a breeze. You'll still have to book the trip on Amtrak.com, though. Click on the link that follows and enter: TUS NYP 08/01/19 30 then choose the #2/20 or the #422/48 options to see the pricing choices. It also offers other round-about routings as well.

http://biketrain.x10.mx/amsnag2.0/amSnag.php

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Dominick]

Again, THANKS!! for taking the time to write and sharing valuable information. Never realized it could get so complicated so quickly. It's going to take a bit of "Due Diligence" for my feeble mind to sort it all out but I'll keep at it.

Q. I am familiar with "Amsnag, Biketrain"...What I find so odd is when I enter TUS to NYP for 30 days, 8/1/19 it returns dates that the train doesn't run.......????
I have to sit with a calendar and look at trains on 8/1...8/3....8/5...8/8...8/10, etc., yet Amsnag shows a train for each and every day......8/1...8/2...8/3...etc........
And a very big THANKS for the explanation of "Open Sleeper Ticket" ......I was clueless......and so strange in the longer explanation post that Amtrak Ticketing Personnel themselves don't know or deliberately try to deny its existence?? sell you more expensive ticket??? All very odd.

 

[Rasputin]

I don't know if you are aware of this or not but the Texas Eagle/Sunset runs from Tucson only three days a week. It is not a daily train.

Also the eastbound Crescent's on-time performance in recent months has been very poor so be aware that the advertised arrival time in New York is not likely to happen. It didn't used to be that way.

 

[me_little_me]

I don't know if you are aware of this or not but the Texas Eagle/Sunset runs from Tucson only three days a week. It is not a daily train.

Also the eastbound Crescent's on-time performance in recent months has been very poor so be aware that the advertised arrival time in New York is not likely to happen. It didn't used to be that way.

My experience has been that even though the Crescent ran late for most of its run, we often arrived on time or early in NYP because of built-in extra time and gaining a lot of time on the NEC even when being 2 hours behind in NC. I think they did that just to claim they arrived "on time" when those going to cities before the NEC did not experience that "on-time" arrival - not even close.
I do have to note that the Carolinian apparently started a "test" (according to the train staff, it had just begun) on our trip northbound earlier this month. It picked up passengers in DC which it (like the Crescent) never did. It was a mess. Instead of leaving 5 minutes late, we left 45 minutes late as they let off all those going to DC then waited for 20 minutes before letting new passengers dribble in. If the Crescent follows that policy of picking up passengers in the NEC as it heads north, its performance will be even worse.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Picked up passengers in DC...It was a mess. Instead of leaving 5 minutes late, we left 45 minutes late as they let off all those going to DC then waited for 20 minutes before letting new passengers dribble in.

Picking up more passengers is not the root of the issue. Passenger railroads do this in a blink of an eye all over the world, even at major stations. The issue is that Amtrak some sort of problem with allowing passengers onto the platform so they can board their train in a timely fashion.

 

[me_little_me]

Picking up more passengers is not the root of the issue. Passenger railroads do this in a blink of an eye all over the world, even at major stations. The issue is that Amtrak some sort of problem with allowing passengers onto the platform so they can board their train in a timely fashion.

Yes. But the problem is that Amtrak knows this but acts stupidly anyway.