Booking question Chicago - Worcester MA

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yes, the Lake Shore Limited runs as 2 separate trains on paper only from CHI-ALB, where one chunk then heads to NYP, the other to BOS. The second option has you in a sleeper car from CHI-ALB that runs to New York and changing to a sleeper car the runs to Boston (and Worcester) at Albany. It's cheaper because of something to do with the demand curve. There are people here who get that more than I do.
 
You can book the lower price room. You would possibly have to move to a different room in a different car in ALB where the train splits. The room you are booking from CHI-ALB is in a car that will end up in New York. For ALB-WOR you would need to be in a car on the portion that ends in Boston.
 
Last edited:
Out of Chicago, it is always good to check room prices in both "trains". I've switched rooms (on my way to or from Boston) several times. Eastbound, the easiest way is before arriving in Albany, politely ask the car attendant if your new room is empty, and sometimes they will let you move just before the train pulls in. That way you don't have to take all your stuff off and back on. But even if you do, it's not a problem. If you get off in Albany often they will let you get right back on before they start breaking up the train. Otherwise you might have to take all your stuff up to the station (not a bad place) and wait for the general boarding call. BTW, the Albany station has a very nice cafe and snack station that can top you up before heading out on the last leg of the trip. I *think* you might get a meal of some sort between Albany and WOR but not sure.
 
I *think* you might get a meal of some sort between Albany and WOR but not sure.
I believe they serve dinner but it is out of the cafe car. On my trips I passed up the meal between ALB and WOR as we planned to eat dinner with my kids on arrival in WOR so I haven't partaken of it, but I assume it is the usual cafe car fare which you get for "free", similar to lunch on 449 which I did partake of.

Be aware that due to the construction of a second platform at WOR things are somewhat disruptive and sometimes require a long walk between the temporary platform and the station building.

Worcester station improvements
 
This same phenomenon on pricing occurs when pricing the Sunset Ltd vs the Texas Eagle on the route LAX to San Antonio.
 
Thanks for the information about the Worcester station. I did not know about the construction. First timer in Worcester, going for the breweries and then back home on Monday lol... Just for a little labor day trip. Glad they leave at 930pm in Chicago. Do they leave this late in Chicago to give the crew time to rest before heading back? assuming it is a New York crew that runs those trains.
 
The primary reason the LSL leaves Chicago so late is that, before everything sold out every night, it would serve as a "clean up" train to help passengers who missed the Capitol Limited earlier in the evening due to blown connections from the Western transcons. Someone else would need to speak to crewing.
 
Thanks for the information about the Worcester station. I did not know about the construction. First timer in Worcester, going for the breweries and then back home on Monday lol... Just for a little labor day trip. Glad they leave at 930pm in Chicago. Do they leave this late in Chicago to give the crew time to rest before heading back? assuming it is a New York crew that runs those trains.

If you are into baseball you might be able to take in a WooSox game (AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) Polar Park is only a 15 minute walk from the station.
 
Don't know if this has changed, but the last time I did this (NYC sleeper from Chicago, coach to Boston due to a bad ordered BOS sleeper) you may not be able to switch between cars at Albany. The train was split and the BOS section went through the station first, then the NYC section.

Our sleeper attendant had us switch at Schenectady. The other sleeper did not, and almost got left behind at Albany. We had to back up to get them.
 
Don't know if this has changed, but the last time I did this (NYC sleeper from Chicago, coach to Boston due to a bad ordered BOS sleeper) you may not be able to switch between cars at Albany. The train was split and the BOS section went through the station first, then the NYC section.

Our sleeper attendant had us switch at Schenectady. The other sleeper did not, and almost got left behind at Albany. We had to back up to get them.
That sounds weird. Every time I've taken the LSL east-bound, the train pulled into Albany, everyone destined for Albany or elsewhere who wanted to get off did so, then they closed the doors and split the train. The Boston section pulled forward, then backed into a different track (on the other side of the platform), the New York engine backed in and coupled to the NY section (the back end of the train) and the attendants re-opened all the doors. The people who had gotten off got back on, as did all of the passengers waiting in Albany for either Boston or NY, and then the trains left. The split took about 15-20 minutes.

Last time I did this was just about a year ago. There were no through roomettes from CHI to BOS, so I was in an NYP sleeper to ALB and had to switch cars. They told me when I arrived I had about 5 minutes to walk ahead to the BOS sleeper, or I could wait until after the split was complete. Since ALB has high-level platforms, the weather was beautiful and it was easier to switch cars on the platform (more room to maneuver) there than to walk through the train, I had no problem dragging my big wheelie duffel bag about 6 car lengths in the time allowed. I put my bag in my new roomette and then went outside to watch the split. I could have stayed in my new room or gone upstairs at the station for a snack or something but I wasn't hungry. We had over an hour in ALB before the train left, so there was no rush.

I didn't even consider switching at SYR or after, and didn't ask if it was possible. Syracuse is only a quick stop.

The do feed you "dinner" after the train leaves Albany, but it isn't anything to look forward to, usually. One time, when there was no Boston sleeper for some reason, they put me in a NYP sleeper CHI<->ALB (both ways) and in Business Class on the ALB<->BOS section. Westbound, the lunch was a fairly decent sandwich, but eastbound, the "dinner" was a salad fresh from the freezer, mostly iceberg lettuce with quite a bit of iceberg still in it. Fortunately, my plan was to take the Red Line from South Station to Alewife where I would meet some friends for dinner at Jasper White's Summer Shack across the street. After watching the Red Tail hawks in the parking lot for a while and having a fantastic sea food dinner, they gave me a ride home. So I didn't care about the frozen lettuce!
 
Last edited:
That sounds weird. Every time I've taken the LSL east-bound, the train pulled into Albany, everyone destined for Albany or elsewhere who wanted to get off did so, then they closed the doors and split the train. The Boston section pulled forward, then backed into a different track (on the other side of the platform), the New York engine backed in and coupled to the NY section (the back end of the train) and the attendants re-opened all the doors. The people who had gotten off got back on, as did all of the passengers waiting in Albany for either Boston or NY, and then the trains left. The split took about 15-20 minutes.
That has been my experience also.
 
When I saw 48 at Rensselaer on Saturday, the train pulled in on the track nearest the station and was split, with the Boston section pulling ahead on the same track. The New York cars were left well behind, though still on the platform, as the Boston section pulled up to the main station area. After the Boston section pulled out, an engine backed onto the front of the New York section. I didn't wait to see if it pulled forward at that point. But at least on this day, they seemed to have done away with using two tracks for the Lake Shore. The result of this setup was that, after the split, which occurred promptly upon arrival, there would have been a very long walk from the New York sleepers to the Boston sleeper.
 
Back
Top