Boston to San Francisco

[ukjack]

Hi All

My wife and I will be travelling from Boston to Chicago via ALBANY-RENSSELAER, NY then onwards to Seattle and San Francisco.

We have sleeper cabins for all the trip, except the first part ie Boston to Albany where we have coach.

Question is will we have checked luggage all the way, trip starts at Boston south station on 13th August.

thank you in anticipation, and for your previous help.

uk jack

 

[greatcats]

Yes, 449 from Boston to Albany has a baggage car. I hope your trip goes well. While the sleeper from Boston is currently operating from New York and might not return to Boston, the ride west of Springfield you should find quite enjoyable. Let us know.

 

[the_traveler]

Once you check your bags in BOS, you do not have to deal with them until you arrive in SF. They will be transferred for you.

Remember to carry on in a separate bag anything you may needed route - like clothes and medication. You will not have access to the bags you have checked.

 

[Pooh2]

We Emeryville CA to Boston last year, most of the route in sleepers. Because we purchased sleepers, we were given business class seats on the train from Albany to Boston. So check out and ask about the business class car. We were the only passengers in the business class car! Have a great trip!

 

[BCL]

Well, if you're going all the way to San Francisco proper, the last transportation segment from Emeryville to San Francisco will be via bus, and obviously that won't be a sleeper. As long as you have chosen the "SFC" (Greyhound bus depot really) station code, you should be able to have your checked-in baggage handled by Amtrak all the way to your destination. If you selected another bus stop in San Francisco, you can check in baggage to Emeryville, but would need to pick up there and then transfer it to your bus driver.

Also, the Amtrak lingo for sleeper accommodations is "room". You might get a few puzzled looks if you ask "where is my cabin?" Is that a common railroad expression from your area? I've heard it used to describe cruise ship accommodations.

 

[Eric S]

Also, the Amtrak lingo for sleeper accommodations is "room". You might get a few puzzled looks if you ask "where is my cabin?" Is that a common railroad expression from your area? I've heard it used to describe cruise ship accommodations.

For what it's worth, VIA Rail uses "cabin" to describe their sleeping accommodations.

 

[ukjack]

Hi All

uk jack here, forgot to say we will be staying in Seattle for 2 days then re boarding to SFO and we have thruway coach seats to

transbay temporary terminal, which is 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

Thank you for your advice and I hope to post a trip report later.

ukjack

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

Same, we walked twenty feet, then kept going to BOS, when going from CHI-BOS, should be an Amfleet 2 (I think) business/café car.

 

[BCL]

Hi All

uk jack here, forgot to say we will be staying in Seattle for 2 days then re boarding to SFO and we have thruway coach seats to

transbay temporary terminal, which is 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

Thank you for your advice and I hope to post a trip report later.

ukjack

OK. That clarifies quite a bit.

I can talk about the Seattle boarding procedure for the Coast Starlight. There will be two lines leading to two booths (between gates 3/4) where Amtrak conductors will accept your ticket and subsequently hand you a slip informing you which car you are assigned. I've only ridden coach, so I only knew that I took this slip to an attendant in front of my assigned car, and he assigned a seat. This may be different for sleepers. You can see the booths in this photo, just a bit to the left.

The Temporary Transbay Terminal is the facility being used while the new Transbay Terminal is being built. Amtrak is expected to move its bus stop there once it's open. It is mostly used by AC Transit for (mostly commuter) buses crossing the Bay Bridge from Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville. The east end of the Transbay Terminal is where Greyhound has a permanent bus depot, which has baggage service. You'll need to display your ticket to enter the building. Amtrak moved its SFC bus stop from the San Francisco Ferry Building to this depot last year. The station building looked pretty nice from the street, but it looked in disrepair from the waterfront side. The interior was utilitarian. However, it was a rather nice place to step off the bus, and the Ferry Building is an excellent place get something to eat or maybe just coffee (Peet's of Blue Bottle).

When you get off the Coast Starlight in Emeryville, the connecting bus will be waiting at the front of the station building in a bus area. Make sure that you get on the right bus, as they sometimes use multiple buses if there are enough passengers. If the train is late, the bus will wait.

 

[jis]

Same, we walked twenty feet, then kept going to BOS, when going from CHI-BOS, should be an Amfleet 2 (I think) business/café car.

here are no Amfleet II business/cafe cars. There are only Amfleet II Coaches and Diner-Lites. That is it. I think the orphaned Boston section has an Amfleet I Club-Dinette, possibly borrowed from the Empire Service pool.

 

[Woodcut60]

@BCL: What a nice photo! Thanks, brings back memories from my 2014 trip arriving on the Coast Starlight and departing on the Empire Builder. Accoustically speaking, the waiting area at King Street Station is a disaster with a lot of echo and it is quite impossible to hear the announcements. Same goes for the Amtrak Station in Savannah, GA.

 

[BCL]

@BCL: What a nice photo! Thanks, brings back memories from my 2014 trip arriving on the Coast Starlight and departing on the Empire Builder. Accoustically speaking, the waiting area at King Street Station is a disaster with a lot of echo and it is quite impossible to hear the announcements. Same goes for the Amtrak Station in Savannah, GA.

I can't take credit for it. It was uploaded to Wikipedia. Looks nice though, even if it's not a modern building with acoustical dampening.