J
Jeff T
Guest
Do they serve breakfast on the Sunset Limited's departure from New Orleans?
The westbound California Zephyr leaving at 8AM out of DEN seems reasonably well planned for lots of daylight viewing, but the eastbound Empire Builder leaving SEA/PDX just before 5PM seems to be wasting a lot of scenic beauty under the cover of nightfall.It seems to me the west of CHI LD trains I ride originate when they do to optimally place the train relative to nice scenery on the route. on day 2 &/or 3 of the route, with meals falling where they may in the schedule.
or the "use Chicago as a stacked east/west transfer hub" criteria:Sunset Limited departing New Orleans (9AM)
Coast Starlight departing Seattle (9AM)
Coast Starlight departing Los Angeles (10AM)
California Zephyr departing Emeryville (9AM)
This leaves us with only two left, both regarding the Sunset Limited at LAX.Texas Eagle departing Chicago (2PM)
California Zephyr departing Chicago (2PM)
Southwest Chief departing Chicago (3PM)
The 10 PM departure is almost certainly to try and allow a transfer from the Coast Starlight if possible. The CS gets in LAX at 9:00 PM, and the connection, if I remember correctly, is at least often allowed as a guaranteed transfer.Sunset Limited departing Los Angeles (10PM)
Sunset Limited arriving at Los Angeles (5:30AM)
It's not one meal. It's closer to a dozen meals. Served to thousands of passengers. Meals that on paper cost Amtrak a net loss of twenty or thirty dollars to stock, prepare, and serve. Per person, per day. In a company that has the unusual task of begging an adversarial government for continued funding and a long history of being micromanaged at the Food and Beverage level. By moving train schedules an hour or two in this or that direction they could potentially be saving millions of dollars per month on a line item that receives an exceptional amount of attention by the people who fund Amtrak.Out of the considerations Amtrak gives to scheduling, I'd be surprised if a large portion of any scheduler's mindset is "how can we avoid serving one meal."
Feel free to imagine whatever you want but so far you've provided no specific argument that precludes meal service as a determining factor. Rather than openly accepting that our theories are inclusive of each other, you simply went down my list of examples casually trading one assumption for another in an arbitrary fashion. A theory or premise is not logically disqualified by the mere existence of a competing theory or premise. Our personal biases shape our perspectives and influence our assumptions, but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to dictate our conclusions.Especially for the long-distance trains, I'd imagine the timing is significantly more impacted by "how can we time the trains to allow most people to transfer between them in a single direction of travel" and "how can we have a decent calling time at the origin/destination" than it is "how can we serve the least amount of meals on board."
You sure find a lot of things to get upset about.It's not one meal. It's closer to a dozen meals. Served to thousands of passengers. Meals that on paper cost Amtrak a net loss of twenty or thirty dollars to stock, prepare, and serve. Per person, per day. In a company that has the unusual task of begging an adversarial government for continued funding and a long history of being micromanaged at the Food and Beverage level. By moving train schedules an hour or two in this or that direction they could potentially be saving millions of dollars per month on a line item that receives an exceptional amount of attention by the people who fund Amtrak.Out of the considerations Amtrak gives to scheduling, I'd be surprised if a large portion of any scheduler's mindset is "how can we avoid serving one meal."
Feel free to imagine whatever you want but so far you've provided no specific argument that precludes meal service as a determining factor. Rather than openly accepting that our theories are inclusive of each other, you simply went down my list of examples casually trading one assumption for another in an arbitrary fashion. A theory or premise is not logically disqualified by the mere existence of a competing theory or premise. Our personal biases shape our perspectives and influence our assumptions, but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to dictate our conclusions.Especially for the long-distance trains, I'd imagine the timing is significantly more impacted by "how can we time the trains to allow most people to transfer between them in a single direction of travel" and "how can we have a decent calling time at the origin/destination" than it is "how can we serve the least amount of meals on board."
For most of these, if you adjust the schedule to include the meal right after departure, then you'd be cutting out the meal just prior to arrival. For example, if you have the Southwest Chief leave Chicago at 12:00 to allow for lunch on day 1, then you have a scheduled arrival in Los Angeles of 5:15 AM, which is too early for breakfast on day 3. If the northbound Coast Starlight leaves Los Angeles early enough for breakfast, then it arrives in Seattle too early for dinner. And so on.Sunset Limited departing New Orleans (9AM)
Sunset Limited arriving at Los Angeles (5:30AM)
Coast Starlight departing Seattle (9AM)
Coast Starlight departing Los Angeles (10AM)
California Zephyr departing Emeryville (9AM)
Texas Eagle departing Chicago (2PM)
California Zephyr departing Chicago (2PM)
Southwest Chief departing Chicago (3PM)
Sunset Limited departing Los Angeles (10PM)
I'm in the camp that thinks Amtrak dining is nothing special, so why would I be upset at having less of their bland precooked pantry food to waste? This is merely an observation attempting to explain an opaque decision making process. If you wish to critique the merits of my position be my guest. If you're just here to attack the messenger then feel free to run along.You sure find a lot of things to get upset about.
That's a good point to consider. I'll have to take a deeper dive later but this does sound like a legitimate disqualifier.For most of these, if you adjust the schedule to include the meal right after departure, then you'd be cutting out the meal just prior to arrival. For example, if you have the Southwest Chief leave Chicago at 12:00 to allow for lunch on day 1, then you have a scheduled arrival in Los Angeles of 5:15 AM, which is too early for breakfast on day 3. If the northbound Coast Starlight leaves Los Angeles early enough for breakfast, then it arrives in Seattle too early for dinner. And so on.Coast Starlight departing Los Angeles (10AM)
Southwest Chief departing Chicago (3PM)
I do not agree. I had the dinner this fall and was not overly impressed.The cold boxed dinner served out of PDX to sleeper passengers is (IMO) one of the best meals served on Amtrak!
I guess it depends on the menu rotation. I would prefer a side salad, grilled to order salmon and baked potato vs. any cold boxed entree. Ha.The cold boxed dinner served out of PDX to sleeper passengers is (IMO) one of the best meals served on Amtrak!
Yep, "..Nothing could be finer than Breakfast in the Diner.." as the Crescent crosses the Causeway across the Lake heading for Mississippi as the Sun comes up!It has been several years since I took the Crescent out of New Orleans at 7am and can't remember if they served breakfast. I am thinking they did but not sure. Thanks.
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