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  1. Eric in East County

    California Zephyr first time rider

    If your train enters a new time zone during a meal, the dining car will close using the old time zone's schedule.
  2. Eric in East County

    California Zephyr first time rider

    This is how we judge that we're still able to go on long-distance train trips. We had no problems getting our carry-on items up the stairs last month so we're confidence we can do so again next year.
  3. Eric in East County

    Booking with points on Southwest Chief?

    Before you brought this to our attention, we never really gave much thought to thru fares. (We also used our AGR points to pay for our connecting trains to LA and to Chicago so that obviously saved us some money.) Over time, we’ve accumulated what is for us a substantial number of points which...
  4. Eric in East County

    Booking with points on Southwest Chief?

    We have no idea what the thru fare would have been and don't particularly care. Our main concern was to have a bedroom reservation in the 330 car from Chicago to LA and only by dealing with a live agent could that be accomplished with any degree of certainty. If by using our AGR points we...
  5. Eric in East County

    Booking with points on Southwest Chief?

    zephry17, We’d actually run this idea passed you in a different thread earlier this year. You opined that, in theory, it should work, provided we dealt with a live agent. Again, this was the first time we attempted it and weren’t sure if we could pull it off. Much our delight, the AGR woman who...
  6. Eric in East County

    Booking with points on Southwest Chief?

    This morning, we called Amtrak Guest Rewards and, working with an agent, booked a bedroom from Chicago to LA on SWC 3 using a combination of AGR points and cash. We used points to pay for the bedroom from Chicago to Fort Madison. We used our AGR card to pay for the bedroom from Fort Madison to...
  7. Eric in East County

    Pontiac IL to Fort Worth TX round trip on the Texas Eagle

    If you make your reservations early enough, it might be possible to book the two roomettes on-line and then call to speak to an agent and arrange to have the roomettes you were assigned on-line to be changed so that they are across from each other. The key will be making the reservations early...
  8. Eric in East County

    Eric & Pat’s September 2024 Trip Report: San Diego - Toledo - San Diego

    There is one postscript that needs to be added to our September trip report to make it complete. On our return trip on SWC No. 3, when we packed up just before arriving in Los Angeles, I somehow managed to leave my new Slim Duck scanner antenna behind in our bedroom. It was in a clear plastic...
  9. Eric in East County

    Pontiac IL to Fort Worth TX round trip on the Texas Eagle

    Thank you so much for your Texas Eagle trip report. (It appears that you made this trip for the experience of the train ride itself and not specifically to visit Fort Worth.) We particularly liked the fact that you posted updates at regular intervals. (We looked forward to each new post to learn...
  10. Eric in East County

    Pontiac IL to Fort Worth TX round trip on the Texas Eagle

    We’ve never ridden on the Texas Eagle. In order to better follow this trip report, we just rewatched Jeb Brooks’ YouTube video of his trip on the T.E. so that we can better appreciate what all you’ll be seeing and the stations you’ll be stopping at. Eric & Pat
  11. Eric in East County

    Checked Baggage (luggage) discussion

    On our trip last month, my three carry-on bags (a rolling laptop case, a camera bag which also had my scanner and GPS device, plus a canvas carry-on bag with clothing, toilet kit, gaffer's tape, etc. came to a total weight of 50 lbs. for all three items.
  12. Eric in East County

    New train (40-41 Floridian) between Miami and Chicago via Washington DC

    Just this afternoon, we received another update to our reservation for a passage from Toledo to Chicago next May. Our reservation was originally for Capitol Limited No. 29. Then yesterday, we received an update saying that we would now be on Floridian No. 40 with same departure and arrival times...
  13. Eric in East County

    Amtrak Timetables

    When we travel, we always have several paper copies of our e-tickets scattered among our carry-on bags. We also have paper copies of the timetables of the trains we will be on. Paper copies can be referred to at any time and aren’t subject to being lost in cyber space should some event occur...
  14. Eric in East County

    Eric & Pat’s September 2024 Trip Report: San Diego - Toledo - San Diego

    Pinky was our SCA in 1999 on the very first trip we ever took on the SWC. Back then, we were still new at the game and, for the return trip on No. 3, had arranged to fly from Cleveland to Chicago, where we planned to catch No. 3. Our flight ended up being cancelled due to problems with the...
  15. Eric in East County

    New train (40-41 Floridian) between Miami and Chicago via Washington DC

    On second thought, we will keep our Floridian No. 40 ticket for the time being to see how this train performs. Lake Shore Limited No. 49 has always been our train of last resort if something happened to Capitol Limited No. 29 that prevented it from connecting with SWC No. 3 in Chicago. If we...
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