Southwest Chief

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Jater

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First time rail person and new to the boards (stalking the boards for a few months now). I will be planning a trip this upcoming May from Chicago to Flagstaff ultimately on too Las Vegas via rental car and I have a few questions. The trip will consists of a roomette round trip with myself and sister as we are not fans of flying. The two questions I have are these..

1st. Is May peak traveling for the Chief??

2nd I keep reading different articles online how rough the tracks are through Kansas down to Albuquerque. Is it safe??

3rd I myself get what only can be described as vertigo like symptoms when in higher altitudes.. Is this route high altitude when crossing Raton Pass going into NM and AZ??

Thanks for everything I know everyone probably gets tired of answering questions from new people all the time.
 
Welcome! :hi: Instead of just lurking, why not consider joining? It's free!

On to your questions:

  1. Not really. Peak is more like June, July and August.
  2. It may be rough in spots, but I have been on many highways that are rougher!
  3. I don't suffer from vertigo, but I can tell you that unless somebody tells you the altitude, you would not know it. Remember that if you're on the upper level, you'll be 10-15 feet off the ground. You're not going that way but Denver is known as "The Mile High City", but it is not on a cliff. If you look east, all you'll see are flat plains! :excl:

The best advice to give you is to sit back and relax!
 
We have done this route and I heard the same thing about the tracks. Yes a little rough but nothing major. Wouldn't worry about it.
 
I can't really answer your question about rough tracks in Kansas since I always seem to fall asleep after Lamar and wake up in Topeka, eastbound that is.
 
Thanks everyone for the info.. The admins have granted me access so I am no longer a guest ;) I am absolutely loving the idea of the train trip more than Vegas itself, I just feel like its going to be a nice trip to relax and enjoy the ride.
 
The track isn't violently rough or anything. I do have to sleep on my stomach instead of my side, though, since I tend to rock back and forth a bit if I lay on my side. It helps to leave the blankets tucked in. :)

The Raton Tunnel is at 7588 feet, but nowhere along that trip are you looking down. My boyfriend has serious vertigo issues and can't do heights, but he doesn't have any issues on the trip. The train doesn't go over high bridge or gorges. You're on flat, level-ish ground the entire time. You climb the mountains, but it's not like you're looking over the edge. Does that help?
 
This is the Glorieta Pass. I took this during our recent trip. That little bit of squeaking you hear is normal.

It should give you a good idea of what to expect if you have an upper level roomette. That's where you get the best views. :)

 
Peak season is summer months expecially when the Boy Scouts all head for Raton, NM.

The Raton Pass is a relatively low altitude pass with a very gradual ascent that actually begins in Western Kansas, thens drops only a thousand feet or so into Raton, NM. In fact your destination of Flagstaff and Raton NM have similar altitudes of 7000'. Since the BNSF downgraded the track in Kansas to 60 MPH (at one time they whizzed through at 90), you will hardly think you are moving, that is, if you are awake.

Enjoy the trip....this route though Raton Pass is on the "endangered species": list.
 
The Southwest Chief is my favorite Amtrak ride. The tracks are not so rough that you would notice it, and in fact, I kind of like the gentle rocking to help me get off to sleep. The scenery is great and every time I have been on it, the car attendants were superb and the food ranged from good to very good. We are heading out to Arizona in Feb. and for the first time we are not taking the SWC, but instead are taking the Texas Eagle. We're hoping for an interesting change of scenery....but we are taking the SWC back. My advice would be not to worry, sit back, relax and enjoy the only really civilized way to travel anymore.
 
I'm very prone to motion sickness, so I was also worried about motion sickness on that well-known stretch of track. Not only did I not get sick, I didn't even notice it. I must have slept through the whole thing.
 
Jater said:
First time rail person and new to the boards (stalking the boards for a few months now). I will be planning a trip this upcoming May from Chicago to Flagstaff ultimately on too Las Vegas via rental car and I have a few questions. The trip will consists of a roomette round trip with myself and sister as we are not fans of flying. The two questions I have are these..

1st. Is May peak traveling for the Chief??

2nd I keep reading different articles online how rough the tracks are through Kansas down to Albuquerque. Is it safe??

3rd I myself get what only can be described as vertigo like symptoms when in higher altitudes.. Is this route high altitude when crossing Raton Pass going into NM and AZ??

Thanks for everything I know everyone probably gets tired of answering questions from new people all the time.
Click to expand...
May is before the "peak season"

"Rough track" is a relative thing - yeah it will be bouncing and swinging more than the shinkasen in Japan, but never had a problem with track or with high altitude. (Planes much worse)

Wish you a good trip.
 
Of course I will defer to our resident track expert George Harris, but if I understand him correctly railroad track can get extremely rough before it ever becomes "unsafe". That the SWC makes it on schedule and without incident over that line on a regular basis would seem to speak for itself.
 
So that is what it is called!? When I first saw the outline of the left side, I thought it was a wrecked train car from days gone by... ;-)

lthanlon said:
Sorcha said:
This is the Glorieta Pass. I took this during our recent trip. That little bit of squeaking you hear is normal.

It should give you a good idea of what to expect if you have an upper level roomette. That's where you get the best views. :)

http://youtu.be/0vx7CSGl81w
Click to expand...
Glad you got the House of Tomorrow in your video! I always enjoying seeing that building.
Click to expand...
 
And don't forget: no matter what happens, you can't fall screaming from 50,000 feet on an Amtrak train!
 
I've been on a few LD trains and to this day my family and I agree that the Capital Limited had the roughest tracks. I really enjoyed the SWC when I rode it in '09. Took it from KCY to LAUS. The crews were great and the scenery much better than what I ever thought it would be. Also, parts of the route the SWC gets up to 90mph.
 
lthanlon said:
Glad you got the House of Tomorrow in your video! I always enjoy seeing that building.
Click to expand...
Me too! Whenever we get to this stretch, I take tons of pictures. I'd love to see the inside someday.
 
We did the entire SWC round trip last month and enjoyed it. A bit of bouncing as others have said.

But a very good train trip-especially in the Raton area.

Have fun.
 
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Once again thanks all for the warm welcome and the great info that everyone has contributed. The way I see it I will be sleeping in my roomette by time we reach the plains of Kansas so even if it gets a bit bumpy I probably wont even know it happened.
 
IIRC the tracks that were too rough to be safe had their speed limit reduced.

For those who prefer to live life on the edge, may I suggest the Durango & Silverton route?

3908.1291906863.jpg
 
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