How is Wifi on Zephyr

[internet on Zephyr]

Is it available? If not, was you able to use data through the rockies? We have ATT btw.

 

[ehbowen]

Rode it last September. No wi-fi, and very little cellular data through the Rockies except when passing through larger towns such as Glenwood Springs.

With that said...if you can obsess over cellular data coverage with that magnificent scenery outside of your picture window, you really do need to have your head examined!

 

[Lonestar648]

There will be no Cell coverage in many of the canyons, and where very limited cell coverage appears, it is low grade data service. Like said above, the major towns will have something, I agree, who cares about data coverage when you get to view the beauty outside the windows. I know about the coverage since I had data project in Colorado. The pattern of the cell signals is elongated in an attempt to cover I-70 as best as possible, but with canyons and tunnels, coverage is intermittent. Leaving Denver the track doesn't follow I-70 until near Glenwood Springs.

 

[BoulderCO]

The above posts are correct. Don't expect anything like continuous cell coverage - especially with ATT. Verizon is better in the Colorado mountains, but far from complete. Turn your phone/iPad OFF and enjoy the ride ;>)

 

[RSG]

The California Zephyr is one of the few long distance routes where Wi-Fi is not available (save for a few trials and/or rogue car attendants) and likely may never be, at least until satellite broadband is installed. Even then, there will be many spotty areas, particularly around the aforementioned tunnels.

Heading eastbound, Verizon is the universal best choice for data coverage, but remains spotty. Consistent data coverage breaks up around the Colorado-Nebraska border (and AT&T disappears completely) and isn't consistent again until well into Iowa. AT&T's service isn't consistently restored until entry into Illinois. This has both positive and negative aspects. At least one of the annoying things you won't consistently have to put up with from your fellow passengers is cell phone overuse.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The California Zephyr is one of the few long distance routes where Wi-Fi is not available (save for a few trials and/or rogue car attendants) and likely may never be, at least until satellite broadband is installed.

In my experience most long distance routes do not have WiFi available. Even in those rare cases where WiFi does exist (PPC on CS) I found it to be impractical and unwieldy. Does satellite broadband even exist in commercial form? The company I work for supports many remote sites but none of them use satellite for anything network related. Every once in a blue moon someone will mention investigating a satellite service but it never seems to get past the RFQ stage.

 

[KmH]

Amtrak long distance routes without Amtrak Connect WiFi:
Empire Builder
California Zephyr
Southwest Chief
Sunset Limited
Texas Eagle

A few sleeper car attendants provide a WiFi router they set up in Romette #1.

The Coast Starlight has WiFi in the PPC car.
Of course that WiFi is not available to Coach passengers and sleeper passengers have to be in the PPC car to use it.

 

[GPS on Zephyr]

Thanks guys.

How about an old fashioned GPS like Garmin? Would like to see the route if possible.

 

[Lonestar648]

I always take my old garmin 265w to attach to my window with an ac adapter plugged in to my power strip. Never had a problem.

 

[trainman74]

How about an old fashioned GPS like Garmin? Would like to see the route if possible.

I've used Garmin automobile GPS models (Nuvi) on trains in the past. They work fine for seeing where you are; only big issue is that if there's a nearby road paralleling the train tracks, they will usually "snap" your location to the road.

 

[tomfuller]

In the early morning hours of 6/1 we were stopped about 9 miles west of the Nebraska - Colorado border. A truck driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel and dumped his load of cattle feed on the tracks.

Lucky the engineer stopped before hitting the truck or load. We got started again about 5.5 hours behind schedule. We got a new crew in Otis CO since our crew from Lincoln NE timed out.

My Magellan GPS worked fine, but most people could not get cell service. By the time we got to Winnemucca NV, we were a full 7 hours behind after we waited for a couple of freights

 

[JayPea]

I still use my Magellan RoadMate GPS unit when I travel. It too will give my location as the nearby road if one is close but I figure that if I'm not intelligent enough to know whether I'm on a train or driving down a road I have no business being out in public. :lol:

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

I use an old iPhone for speed, and with the app I have (speedtracker with the purchased add-ons) I can track an entire trip, with speed and location data, it's great

 

[TinCan782]

Thanks guys.

How about an old fashioned GPS like Garmin? Would like to see the route if possible.

I use a Garmin GPSMap 64s with a remote antenna hanging in the room window. The other antenna is for my scanner. Actually, I create point-to-point routes with each station as a point in the route. At a glance I can see the next station and how far away. The GPS just follows along and is set so it doesn't snap to highways and roads.

That was nice of the post upload to rotate the images from their correct orientation!

 

[Garmin on Zephyr]

Thanks a lot guys. Time to break out the neglected Garmin.

I use an old iPhone for speed, and with the app I have (speedtracker with the purchased add-ons) I can track an entire trip, with speed and location data, it's great

Would it require data or would it just use the satellite signals along with a locally stored map?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Thanks a lot guys. Time to break out the neglected Garmin.

I use an old iPhone for speed, and with the app I have (speedtracker with the purchased add-ons) I can track an entire trip, with speed and location data, it's great

Would it require data or would it just use the satellite signals along with a locally stored map?

Depends on how old the phone is. The original iPhone didn't even have GPS receiver. The next few iPhones after that cannot download any new software so even if they had GPS if you didn't already install the software it's too late now. However, assuming you had an iPhone with GPS and with the necessary software you would not need data for it to record the GPS coordinates. You could save the trip and then match it up to a visual map later.

 

[ehbowen]

Thanks a lot guys. Time to break out the neglected Garmin.

I use an old iPhone for speed, and with the app I have (speedtracker with the purchased add-ons) I can track an entire trip, with speed and location data, it's great

Would it require data or would it just use the satellite signals along with a locally stored map?

What you need to look for is a GPS/Navigation app with "offline maps". They take up a lot of space, usually 2-3 GB, but you then have all the data on your phone. Your phone can pick up the location from GPS anywhere it has a strong signal, but it can't show your location in context unless it has map data. Normally you can download that online via Google Maps or similar, but if you're going through Ruby Canyon or otherwise back-of-beyond you need to have the map data already stored.

I use Mireo "Genius Maps" on my Android. I'm sure there are better apps out there, but the price for this one is reasonable and map updates are free.

 

[TinCan782]

Thanks a lot guys. Time to break out the neglected Garmin.

I use an old iPhone for speed, and with the app I have (speedtracker with the purchased add-ons) I can track an entire trip, with speed and location data, it's great

Would it require data or would it just use the satellite signals along with a locally stored map?

What you need to look for is a GPS/Navigation app with "offline maps". They take up a lot of space, usually 2-3 GB, but you then have all the data on your phone. Your phone can pick up the location from GPS anywhere it has a strong signal, but it can't show your location in context unless it has map data. Normally you can download that online via Google Maps or similar, but if you're going through Ruby Canyon or otherwise back-of-beyond you need to have the map data already stored.

I use Mireo "Genius Maps" on my Android. I'm sure there are better apps out there, but the price for this one is reasonable and map updates are free.

I use and like "US Topo Maps" on my Android. It too has the capability to download maps to cover areas where you have no cell coverage. Its not limited to topo maps...you can select Open Street Map, several topos and satellite views. BTW, Google maps has "Offline Maps" which will allow you to also use their map in areas with no coverage.

 

[Maps of Zehpyr]

Thanks, guys. Great suggestions.

My old phone has a lot of storage but can't run anything anymore and the phone I am using now is running low on storage. I loaded it with free maps from the Maps.Me app. Doesn't contain a lot of details or topology information but at least it doesn't take a lot of space. Google Maps is better but would take more space

I will check out the suggestions of Mireo Genius and US Topo.