West by the Chief

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G

gricer

Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
3
Fellow travellers,

I am a small-time gricer from India, living in Lawrence, KS, and a newbie here.

I am setting out on a fortnight-long trip of the west from Lawrence in 3 Southwest Chief later this month. Could someone tell me what the interesting railway curios I should be looking for are? I will be taking the Chief till Los Angeles, then continue to Berkeley/Emeryville. I am undecided whether I should travel along the coast or the San Joaquins valley. From Emeryville, I am travelling in 6 Calif. Zephyr to Chicago, catching 3 Chief or 303 Ann Rutledge to get back to Lawrence.

Another important question: is it okay to sweet-talk railway personnel? :) I have taken the Amtrak only once before, between San Diego and Los Angeles on a P. Surfliner, but I found the driver and the conductor rather stoic, so to speak.

Thanks a bunch.

Manoj.
 
I've only ridden on the SW Chief between Albuquerque and LA. It's a nice ride through the New Mexico and Arizona's vast desert type landscape. I hear the Raton Pass quite nice just before you get to Albuquerque. You definetly should take the Coast Starlight from LA to Emeryville. You'll see some of the most spectacular scenery of the Pacific Coast. Also that train is one of Amtrak's finest routes. If you go through the valley, all you see is farms, and you'll have to ride a bus from LA to Bakersfield. The California Zethyr is no disappointment either I hear.

Just note if you take the CZ all the way back to Chicago, then Ann Rutledge will only get you as far as Kansas City. (you probably knew that) Plus you'd have to spend the night in Chicago. Another option is to detrain at Galesburg, IL, and wait for the SW Chief to take you to KC/Lawrence. That way you wouldn't have to overnight in Chicago. (unless of course you want to).

Chris
 
I've rode between LA and Las Vegas, NM several times. So far the most scenic ride is between Las Vegas, NM and Lamy, NM (Glorieta area). The name of the place is Apache Canyon. There's a curve that you can see the entire consist of train. In the canyon, there's a track riding on the edge of cliff into the creekbed on the south side (left). Arizonia and New Mexico border offers the colorful cliff (in Navajo Nation).

If you are a train history buff, there's several semapores that are still in working condition between Lamy and Las Vegas (maybe further since I've never rode on).

I strongly recommend you to ride on Coast Starlight. That's my favorite route so far. You will see the Pacific Ocean and Santa Barbara.

You can sweet talk to attendants if they're in the mood. One sleeper attendant that I've rode on loves telling jokes to the passengers.
 
AmtrakFan said:
Chris,I would strongly advise against having a short layover in Galesburg. 6 has a habit of running very late at least 3-5 Hours. I live along 3,4,5/6 route out of Chicago and 6 is worse of them.
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The connection time in Galesburg is 6 hours. If you don't make it, just stay on till Chicago.
 
saxman66 said:
AmtrakFan said:
Chris,I would strongly advise against having a short layover in Galesburg.  6 has a habit of running very late at least 3-5 Hours.   I live along 3,4,5/6 route out of Chicago and 6 is worse of them.
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The connection time in Galesburg is 6 hours. If you don't make it, just stay on till Chicago.
Click to expand...
Is it a guarantee connection?
 
Aloha

You are planing three of the best routes in the country. You havent mentioned what your layover plans are. These will affect the decision's.

If you would like to see pictures of these trains see my gallery's

Just like everyone else some are more friendly than others. Sleeping car attendents and the diner crew are the best.
 
I would recommend taking the chief back to Lawrence from chicago. If at all possible, you should plan to layover in LA, San Francisco area, and Chicago. All a great cities. Even one day in each will give you a chance to see some great sights.

The Ann Rutledge is a day train using coaches that have less legroom then most. Even in business class. Also, there is no dining car. Only a snack car. Except for seeing the St. Louis Arch, there is no great scenery along this route.

The Chief also does not have the greatest scenery, but you have the double deck superliners, a dining car, and a lounge car. There is more legroom on this train. If you have plans that include St. Louis, you could take the Texas Eagle from chicago to St. Louis, stay a day in St. Louis, and then contiune west to Kansas City the next day. This would give you time to see the Arch. The Texas Eagle also has superliner equipment with a diner and lounge, which makes it the best way to ride between Chicago and St. Louis.

Good luck. If you have more questions about the schedule, please feel free to ask.
 
Hello everyone.

Thanks a lot for the replies. My first stop --- for two days --- is Santa Fe, NM, and ABQ. Another two days around the Grand Canyon, incl a trip on the GC Railway from WMJ. One day in LAX, then catch 12 Starlight to EMY. Three or four days there; then catch 6 Zephyr to Chicago, with a day or two in the Rocky Mtn Nat. Park. I am planning a day's layover at Chicago, but if I run out of the fortnight-long pass, I'll catch 3 Chief from Galesburg itself. Or if I have two days at Chicago, I might catch 7/8 Empire Builder for a return trip. Is the route from CHI to Milwaukee along the lake shore?

I haven't planned the trip much beyond LAX. The journey from San Francisco will depend on how much time I am left with.

Manoj.
 
The route from Chicago to Milwaukee is inland, and doesn't really get close to the lake at any point on the route (though you will cross a couple of rivers). If you are only going to Milwaukee (for a quick out-and-back trip), you will not be able to ride the Empire Builder, as that is a receive-only stop westbound (from Chicago) and discharge-only eastbound (to Chicago). Instead, you would ride one of the frequent Hiawatha trains (numbered 329 through 342) on the route. They run about every two or three hours, have a quick turn in Milwaukee, and then head back to Chicago.

If you plan on traveling further west than Milwaukee, you could ride the Empire Builder, but note that you would have to spend the night somewhere before catching the eastbound Empire Builder the next day. Also, note that the Empire Builder does not connect with either the Zephyr or the Chief, so you'd have to spend the night in Chicago before and after riding the Empire Builder.
 
If you plan on traveling further west than Milwaukee, you could ride the Empire Builder, but note that you would have to spend the night somewhere before catching the eastbound Empire Builder the next day. Also, note that the Empire Builder does not connect with either the Zephyr or the Chief, so you'd have to spend the night in Chicago before and after riding the Empire Builder.
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Thanks. I think I'll drop idea of catching the Empire Builder, and instead take the Texas Eagle to St. Louis, if I have time.

How does one find out which railway company owns a particular line the Amtrak train is running, say between Topeka and Santa Fe?

Manoj
 
gricer said:
How does one find out which railway company owns a particular line the Amtrak train is running, say between Topeka and Santa Fe?
Manoj
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If you have Amtrak's current timetable, then it's listed at the beginning of each section of the timetable. The west, east, mid-west, Pacific northwest, and the California Corridor.
 
Steve4031 said:
The Ann Rutledge is a day train using coaches that have less legroom then most. Even in business class. Also, there is no dining car. Only a snack car. Except for seeing the St. Louis Arch, there is no great scenery along this route.
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I would agree with you that the Chief has much better accomidations than the Ann Rutledge. In addition, the Chief takes about half the time to go from Chicago to KC as the Ann Rutledge.

However, the scenery between St. Louis and Jefferson City (especially around Hermann) is quite nice as the route parallels the Missouri River. Granted, it doesn't compare with the scenery in other parts of the country, but for the midwest, it is actually quite nice.
 
When are you getting on the #3 Southwest Chief?? I'm getting on July 16 in KC going all the way to LA. Was hoping to compare notes on your travels. David
 

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