HIN-ESM June-July 2013 Planning

[ns4eva]

Planning to take a return trip back west to see Glacier National Park this summer. First time I had gone was in the summer of 2009 and you all were a valuable source of knowledge then as I predict you will be this time. Last time I took the Crescent from LYH-WAS, the Capital Limited from WAS-CHI, and the Empire Builder from CHI-ESM. This time I want to depart from a station closest to home. Last time I didn't because I had read about connection issues with the Cardinal and it's lack of being ontime. That concern is a big one I would like to straighten out before going forward with reservations.

Here's the plan, leave HIN (Hinton, WV) end of June and arrive ESM (Essex, MT). The trip will consist of roomettes round trip. Stay at the Izaak Walton several days and start back around beginning of July. This time though instead of just me and my wife (was my fiancée last time) I have talked my mother and father into going as well. This will be their first time out of the Eastern Time zone and only their second Amtrak venture (last one was LYH-TPA in December 2008).

Now, I have seen what seems to be a pattern, granted I could be mistaken since I'm not an Amtrak veteran, but it seems the Empire Builder has ontime issues around June most years. Granted that seems to be because of flooding in the midwest, etc., but is this common? I would hate to be on a return trip on the EB and running late and be stuck in CHI for a couple days and then be stuck with most likely coach accommodations, or worse, being bused back to WV.

Would we most likely be more successful in making connections by just doing the LYH-WAS-CHI-ESM trip again?

Any information would be appreciated.

 

[the_traveler]

First, if for some reason you are "mis-connected" in CHI, it is Amtrak's responsibility, and the hotel stay would be paid by Amtrak. It is also very likely that since you're going to HIN, you may be re routed to WAS on the CL and then transferred to the Cardinal! :excl:

Are your parents and/or your wife (and you too) members of Amtrak Guests Rewards (AGR)? If not join! And if you are already an AGR member, you can refer the others, and earn 500 additional AGR points for your account per referral! :excl: (Just be sure this referral and sign up is done within 90 days of the Amtrak travel - not before.)

 

[ns4eva]

First, if for some reason you are "mis-connected" in CHI, it is Amtrak's responsibility, and the hotel stay would be paid by Amtrak. It is also very likely that since you're going to HIN, you may be re routed to WAS on the CL and then transferred to the Cardinal! :excl:

Thanks for the reply! I was aware that Amtrak would put you up for the time you were stranded at a connection point. I wouldn't care a lot if I did miss a connection on the return; it's just the fact that the chances of having roomette accommodations would be slim on the train they did get you on. My mother would be miserable in coach class for more than several hours. I could do coach class, but not so sure about at night.

I didn't even think about rerouting on the CL. That would work, though; then again we would most likely be stuck with coach class.

Granted, on any route, their is always a chance of running late. It's just the reputation I have heard the Cardinal has and the on time performance in June I have seen from the EB that has me most concerned.

 

[ns4eva]

I went ahead and booked the trip (HIN-ESM) for a departure from HIN on June 26th and will be arriving back to HIN July 5th. I see that on the westbound venture the connection time between #51 and #7 will be 4hr 10min, though the connection time on the eastbound #8 to #50 will only be 1hr 50min.

I feel fairly comfortable with the connection from #51 to #7 as I believe it would be something major to throw off the time that much. Now, with 1hr 50min between #8 and #50, would this be cause for much concern during summer months? Granted during the winter the northern states have some harsh weather to affect it, however despite the chances of flood disruptions on the EB, what are the chances of a missed connection between the #8 and #50?

Thanks!

 

[jb64]

Based on http://www.amtrakdelays.onlineschedulingsoftware.com/cgi-bin/train.cgi #8 has had an average delay of 82 minutes over the last month. I believe last summer, the delays were much worse. I will have the same connection in a couple of weeks, but my connection is to the Cap instead of the Card since I figured that the connection would likely be missed and they would send me on the Cap anyway.

I'll be at ESM in two weeks for the first time, looking forward to it. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[MikefromCrete]

HIN-ESM. That's got to be the most obscure set of station codes ever used in a topic header.

 

[Notelvis]

I'm not up to date on the current policy for making a change to your reservations, but if possible I would consider planning an overnight layover in Chicago. That way you can enjoy the ride on #8 without having to worry about making your connection...... and there is enough to do in the Chicago area it would be squeezing a bonus night out of your vacation.