A First For Capitol Limited (low bucket Family BR)

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niemi24s

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Feb 11, 2015
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...with a low bucket $251 Family Bedroom for the first time that I've noticed in the years I've been making up fare bucket charts for the LD trains. Prior to this, the Family Bedroom upcharge had always been a constant high bucket, presently $612.

The $251 is now offered on 26 Nov 2017 from WAS to CHI. Don't know if there may be others, and this may simply be a spasm in Arrow.
 
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While on the subject of buckets, here's an update of the 22 Oct '17 bucket chart - including estimates of those fares not seen:

6 Nov 17 Fare Buckets.jpg

As a close approximation, Coach fares above saver fares increase geometrically while sleeper upcharges increase arithmetically.
 
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Here one that fits right in the middle of the chart.

CHI-WAS 5/18 BR up-charge was $464 per our tickets. . Medium bucket. I would guess that low bucket is only available( in the NE and mid Atlantic) in the slow winter months.
 
Your $464 is sort of in the middle but it had disappeared by the time I looked on AmSnag. But while looking, I spotted a $520 Family Bedroom which is a good fit into the second-highest bucket but it went away after a few minutes. I've a feeling your $464 was a spasm in Arrow and you just happened to catch and book it! Here's why I think so: Arithmetic progressions based on known high and low bucket values for any sleeper are usually off by less than 1% of the known three central buckets. The $520 I spotted was only $2 off the estimated $522 value, or was only off by 0.4%. In contrast, your $464 was off the central (and closest) estimated value of $432 $430 by $32 $34 or was off by 7.4% 8% - that's why I'm thinking it was a spasm in Arrow.

But if nothing else, it was a lot better than all the $612 prices seen just now during my check of the CL in both directions for 11 months out. It was the only price seen except for the $251 (still there on 26 Nov) and the fleeting $520 offered sometime during May.

I wonder if anybody ever booked an Arrow spasm that was below the low bucket?
 
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A re-check this morning of Family Bedroom upcharges on the Capitol Limited revealed two that were less than the customary high bucket of $612 for the remainder of this calendar year:

• $251 on 26 Nov 2017, WAS to CHI

• $520 on 23 Dec 2017, CHI to WAS
Nothing but a vast sea of $612 Family Bedrooms next year. Fare bucket chart above revised to show the confirmed $520 FB upcharge and its affect (effect?) on the bucket below.
 
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BTW - I just booked a Cardinal Bedroom (with two passengers) for a total rail fare of $478 from Manassas, VA to Chicago. Is this some kind of a new ultra low fare on the Cardinal. It shows up on a few dates in January, February and March of 2018. I don't recall seeing any bedroom options under $700 total (two passengers) for some time.
 
If by "ultra low" you mean below the low bucket, that's not likely. You'd have to create a bucket chart for the Cardinal based on your endpoints to see for sure, but suspect your fare was for the low bucket BR upcharge.
 
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