Compare Emeryville and Sacramento Stations

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frugalist

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We have a trip coming up in July where we will be connecting from the westbound California Zephyr to the northbound Coast Starlight. Right now our reservations call for us to transfer at Emeryville, with a scheduled 6 hour layover. We are now considering the possibility of changing that so that we transfer in Sacramento with a 10 hour layover.

We would appreciate a comparison of not only the two stations involved, but their surrounding neighborhoods. What is there to do during our layover (let's assume we don't have time to take the bus into San Francisco and must stay in the Emeryville area)? What about restaurants? Is the area safe to walk in? Is the station safe to wait in late at night (close to a midnight departure from Sacramento, if the CS is on time)? Which stop would you choose as a transfer point, and why?

Thanks to all for your input.
 
I chose Sacramento as my transfer point in the same situation. The California State Railroad Museum is nearby as is historic old Sacramento (all within walking distance). There are quite a number of restaurants in Old Sacramento, from Subway to sit down. I would say its safe, and I had no issues.
 
Last August, I did a cross country trip and took the CZ to SAC and then the CS up to SEA. The CZ was about an hour late into SAC and the CS was about 20 minutes late into SAC. There was a group of about 7 of us that were doing the same thing. I went with 2 others to the CA State Rail Museum, which is a must see, but it closed at 5pm. The SAC station is not air conditioned, and it was very warm. The museum was very comfortable. Old Sacramento is a block away from the station and I walked around for a while (the other 2 folks went drinking). I got hot and bored and went back to the station. The bench seats were not very comfortable, so I sat with the other 4 folks that I had met on the CZ. They were all over 80 years old and were even more tired than I was. It was a very long layover. When the sun went down, it cooled off, but I did not want to walk by myself in the dark. I was too tired to read, so I just hung out. The 2 people that went drinking came back and took naps on the benches and when they woke up they were very stiff.

If I had to do it over, I would have rented a motel room closeby, which I believe someone on this board did, and relaxed.

From what I understand, and I may be wrong, is that Amtrak guarantees the connection at SAC.
 
pennyk said:
From what I understand, and I may be wrong, is that Amtrak guarantees the connection at SAC.
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It used to be that SAC was the only guaranteed connection and the only bookable connection with AGR at least. Now AGR will book you via either EMY or SAC without question. I believe that EMY is also considered a guaranteed connection, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
 
:hi: Since Ive gotten off/caught trains in both stations have to say that Emeryville has a nice new Bus/Train Station, there is a Subway across from the front entrance, a shopping center towards the water, a couple of pricey hotels close by and some new condos. This is where the Oakland Bay Bridge runs to San Francisco with emphasis on the word OAKLAND, there's no there there as Gertrude Stein said!

Id say go with Sacramento, as others have said the Rail Museum, Old sacramento etc. are pretty nice, the station is basically in need of a serious update as pennyk said, its a dump! Nice trip, go with Sacramento! ;)
 
I've gotten off and on at EMY a number of times, but only passed through the SAC station. SAC has a much more relaxed feeling to it. For that reason alone, not to mention comparing what the surrounding areas have to offer, I'd choose SAC for my layover.
 
NorthCoastHiawatha said:
I chose Sacramento as my transfer point in the same situation. The California State Railroad Museum is nearby as is historic old Sacramento (all within walking distance). There are quite a number of restaurants in Old Sacramento, from Subway to sit down. I would say its safe, and I had no issues.
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Sacramento is a MUCH nicer layover. We spent the day in Sacramento as part of our recent rail vacation out west. You can literally spend hours in the rail museum, Old Sacramento is very nice with some great eating spots. We ate a restaurant on the Sacramento river which was excellent...I think it's the Rio City Cafe.
 
In early Feb I will arrive in SAC on the CZ at about 2:15PM and leave on the CS at 2:15AM - a 12 hour layover.

Seems like I should be able to get some AGR points in that 12 hours. Suggestions??
 
RRrich said:
In early Feb I will arrive in SAC on the CZ at about 2:15PM and leave on the CS at 2:15AM - a 12 hour layover.

Seems like I should be able to get some AGR points in that 12 hours. Suggestions??
Click to expand...
:hi: You could ride a Cap Corridor train to one one of the towns East of sacramento, return. Also you could buy a Coach ticket to Davis, Martinez, Richmond or Emeryville, then catch the CS from there !(these stops are Discharge only, not sure if this one works?)

Doesnt look like the San Joaquin connections work to/from Sacramento but it might could be done, check the Schedules??

On the whole after a long trip on the Zephyr think youd be better off taking a break in either Sacramento/Martinez or Emeryville, then catch the CS! Other threrads have discussed the advantages of SAC vs. EMY, Id prefer SAC myself, more to do, safer too at night!
 
SAC by all means. Station has a sort of old time feeling. Lots of near by things to do. Also a mall within walking range and state capital too. We did a lay over the other way SEA to SAC to the CZ. Kind of nice to stroll Old Saramento early in the morning.
 
FYI - I think my very first post on this forum (as a guest) was on this topic when I was planning my cross country trip. The overwhelming response was to layover in SAC. I was so impressed with the prompt and thoughtful responses that I received, that I joined the forum and am now "addicted."
 
jimhudson said:
RRrich said:
In early Feb I will arrive in SAC on the CZ at about 2:15PM and leave on the CS at 2:15AM - a 12 hour layover.

Seems like I should be able to get some AGR points in that 12 hours. Suggestions??
Click to expand...
:hi: You could ride a Cap Corridor train to one one of the towns East of sacramento, return. Also you could buy a Coach ticket to Davis, Martinez, Richmond or Emeryville, then catch the CS from there !(these stops are Discharge only, not sure if this one works?)

Doesnt look like the San Joaquin connections work to/from Sacramento but it might could be done, check the Schedules??

On the whole after a long trip on the Zephyr think youd be better off taking a break in either Sacramento/Martinez or Emeryville, then catch the CS! Other threrads have discussed the advantages of SAC vs. EMY, Id prefer SAC myself, more to do, safer too at night!
Click to expand...
YES Jim, that's perzactly what I want!!

I;ll get into SAC at about 2:15PM, wander around, eat dinner then catch the 9:10 PM Cap Corr to OKJ (11:08PM) get on the CS in OKJ at 11:42 and go to bed.

Any discounts on the Cap Corr??
 
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jimhudson said:
Doesnt look like the San Joaquin connections work to/from Sacramento but it might could be done, check the Schedules??
Click to expand...
With the later running if the CS, it is much more likely that a SJ run could be done, The last SJ runs directly to SAC (and was a guaranteed connection to the CS at midnight)! I'd almost say (without looking at the schedules) that you could do a CC run to MTZ, an SJ run to somewhere and then catch that SJ to SAC!
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