South West Chief consist and Sleeper Car Location

[TheOp]

I am planning to take the SWC from Chicago to LA Union Station. I love trains and especially Amtrak. I will be reserving a roomette like I always do for my Amtrak LD trips. When I took the CZ from Chicago to San Fransisco few years back, my sleeper car was at rear of the train. It was pretty quite and hardly heard any horn or engine noise.

I've seen some Youtube videos of SWC and noticed the sleepers are always just two cars (baggage and crew units) from the locos or worse right behind the helper locomotive. The sleepers being close to the locos seem to be a deal breaker for me as I don't want deal with the engine and horn noises. I am not paying the extra $500 for rommette so I can sleep with my ear plugs. Does anyone know if SWC always puts the sleepers in the front? Or, is the decision left to whoever is assembling the consist on the day of departure?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I believe that is the normal consist for the SWC.

 

[SarahZ]

They're in the front. I'm the lightest sleeper on the planet, and the horn didn't keep me awake during any of my trips between Chicago and Albuquerque.

It does help to book the sleeper closest to the diner, though.

 

[printman2000]

Horn is hardly noticeable. Never heard of it being a "deal breaker" for anyone.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

I don't recall hearing any horns when I had roomettes on SWC round trip ABQ~LAX. And they were near the front of the train.

 

[KmH]

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/32610-line-numbersconsist-listings/

Southwest Chief

5 sets

LAX pool

----|---- —— Heritage Baggage

0340|0440 —— Superliner Dorm/Sleeper

0331|0431 —— Superliner Sleeper

0330|0430 —— Superliner Sleeper

----|---- —— Superliner Diner

----|---- —— Superliner Lounge

0311|0411 —— Superliner Coach *

0312|0412 —— Superliner Coach

0313|0413 —— Superliner Coach (seasonal)

 

[glomor]

I'm in 431 and I hear the whistle from time to time off in the distance. It's a warm and comforting sound.

 

[ehbowen]

I slept soundly enough without ear plugs last March on the SW Chief (as well as the CONO and the Sunset Limited, all of which trains had their sleepers at the front). However, if you think the horn noise might bother you, bring a pair of earplugs. It'd be a shame to lose the benefit of a $500 roomette just because you were unwilling to purchase a $1.99 pair of disposable earplugs (that you probably won't even need...).

 

[SarahZ]

I slept soundly enough without ear plugs last March on the SW Chief (as well as the CONO and the Sunset Limited, all of which trains had their sleepers at the front). However, if you think the horn noise might bother you, bring a pair of earplugs. It'd be a shame to lose the benefit of a $500 roomette just because you were unwilling to purchase a $1.99 pair of disposable earplugs (that you probably won't even need...).

Agreed. I always wear some, not so much for the horn noise as noise from people walking back and forth in the hallway. Sometimes people board and detrain during the night, people get up to use the bathroom, and conductors and crew members walk back and forth from the dorm.

Most people are pretty good about speaking softly, but there are occasions when it's simply impossible (like when the conductor's radio goes off or a mother is trying to get her child to COME HERE RIGHT NOW). The earplugs also help block noise from the PA in the hallway. The crew starts making announcements around 6:30, if memory serves correctly. That's way too early for this night owl.

 

[Medic981]

My trip on the SWC several years ago in a sleeper was memorable. My first LD train trip. I was in the car 0431 and remember that the train horn sounded no louder than the trains a mile distant that travel through where I live.

 

[printman2000]

I am not certain of this, but think the the horn may only blow forward of the train and not towards the rear.

 

[George K]

My trips on The City of New Orleans sleepers have been in the sleeper which is one car removed from the locomotive. There are many unprotected crossings along the route, and the horn blows incessantly. I've invested in some cheap earplugs which work wonderfully (Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah!). I am also a light sleeper. I hear nothing.

And yes, it's nice having the sleeper close to the diner (unlike the Portland sleeper on the Empire Builder!).

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

I am planning to take the SWC from Chicago to LA Union Station. I love trains and especially Amtrak. I will be reserving a roomette like I always do for my Amtrak LD trips. When I took the CZ from Chicago to San Fransisco few years back, my sleeper car was at rear of the train. It was pretty quite and hardly heard any horn or engine noise.

I've seen some Youtube videos of SWC and noticed the sleepers are always just two cars (baggage and crew units) from the locos or worse right behind the helper locomotive. The sleepers being close to the locos seem to be a deal breaker for me as I don't want deal with the engine and horn noises. I am not paying the extra $500 for rommette so I can sleep with my ear plugs. Does anyone know if SWC always puts the sleepers in the front? Or, is the decision left to whoever is assembling the consist on the day of departure?

unless you have my Texas Eagle driver, who thinks the horn button is a chair, you should not worry, very good soundproofing.

 

[ehbowen]

I used to live near a railroad crossing. I didn't mind and soon got used to the regulation long-long-short-long blasts; I slept right through them. But there was one engineer who used to sound a continuous three-minute long blast all the way through our residential neighborhood...usually about two in the morning. May the bird of paradise fly up his nose....

 

[Alex]

Lake shore limited, Empire builder, Coast Starlight, and California Zephyr all had similar order. After the loco's came baggage, crew/transitional sleeper, then two or three sleepers depending on demand and viewliner vs superliner and after that the rest of the train. On the GE P42's, the horn does face forward (all 5 trumpets on the k5la face the front of the train) and every train I was on i was in the sleeper right next to the crew car (as close as a paying rider could be to the locomotive) and i could hear the horn off in the distance while falling asleep or waking up, but never loud enough to wake me up. I found the rhythmic sounds of the train and the rocking motion of the train helped me sleep better than ever, i don't think a horn in my roomette would have woken me.

 

[Lonestar648]

I just traveled on a couple trains this month where there were just two cars between our sleeper and the engine. First few minutes I heard the horn, but quickly my mind just ignored it, At night, I really do not remember hearing the horn. We slept fine, except for a couple rough switches that woke us from the rough rocking, but the horn was never an issue.