One Last Hurrah

[GusTrain]

We only joined AGR 3 years ago, but we have managed to ride on the Empire Builder (x2!), the California Zephyr, the City of New Orleans, the Southwest Chief (x2!), part of the Lakeshore Limited, and the Coast Starlight (x2!). !! We just love riding the train

We have enough points for 3 zones in a roomette each way & we would like to start from Portland, OR and our 2 "have to" stops for a few days each are Orlando, FL & Birmingham, AL.

I'd like to try as many untried routes as possible-especially the Sunset Limited. Is there an overnight in NOL and LAX both directions? It would be nice to take the CZ one more time also...

Thanks for any ideas!!

 

[blondninja]

You could go out on the coast starlight the same day you arrive in LA and then overnight in Emeryville to take the CZ the next day.

 

[tricia]

You'll need to check Amtrak's website to see which routes come up between whatever station pairs you'd like to try out. AGR will only allow you to book the itineraries that the Amtrak website shows.

You'll need to have an overnight in NOL between any of the trains that stop there--no same-day connections are doable.

You can make a same-day connection in LA between the CS and SL/TE, in either direction--but need to remember that the SL runs only three days/week.

Connecting between SWC and CS in LA requires an overnight if you're heading south and east, but same-day connection is doable heading west and north.

CZ and CS can make a same-day connection near San Francisco, either direction. From CZ to CS requires a rather long wait, though. And for CS to CZ AGR will want to book the transfer at SAC--it's worth buying a coach ticket to ride one stop further on the CS to get off in Davis, a nice town to walk around in, with good breakfast options, while you're waiting for the CZ.

Hope this helps. I, too, am planning to book a "last hurrah" cross-country AGR trip before the rules change--which is why all these connection possibilities are at the tip of my fingers here today.

 

[tomfuller]

Since you've been on the CS (all the way?), try the CS to Martinez and then the San Joaquin to Bakersfield and the connecting bus to LAX. You'll have over 3 hours in Los Angeles before you get on the Sunset Limited to New Orleans.

Spend the night in New Orleans and then pay for coach tickets to Birmingham on the Crescent.

To get to Orlando from Birmingham you'll probably have to go by way of Washington DC.

Coming back home there is a guaranteed connection from the SW Chief to the CS in Los Angeles in the morning. I did the SWC to LAX from Galesburg just so I would not have a many hour wait in Sacramento.

 

[GusTrain]

Thanks everyone! So much fun planning to do!

 

[benale]

One last hurrah for me. I made quite a few point runs during Double days accumulating 450 points for just under $12 R/T. I ended up with just shy of 19,000 points with the points I had before, including a 2000 point bonus using Hertz last summer. With the 10 percent bonus buying points I purchased 1000 plus 100 to get me over 20,000 for a two zone roomette. Planning is always part of the experience. How to maximize. I'm flying from BWI to LA on Southwest in early March. Most fares were in the neighborhood of $200.but one fare was $129,so I grabbed it. With airlines that fare could be gone within hours.

After a few days visiting friends in SoCal, I wanted to find the longest way back East to Fort Lauderdale. I'll visit my mother and then use Spirit or Southwest to fly back to BWI. I wanted to use the Texas Eagle and The Cardinal. Both are three day a week trains, but I found a day they coincided. So..overnight coach from LA to El Paso. That I could handle. Then ELP to FTL in a roomette. Four nights in a sleeper, five days on the train including a Thruway bus from Charlottesville to Richmond.. This will probably be the last big one for years. 20,000 points now. If I wanted to make the same trip after Jxanuary 24th it would be 53,000 points for the trains i am using.

We took a big trip using 40,000 points last June. I was anticipating many 100 point Double day runs in the next two years to build up my points. alas, in August I found out about the new AGR system. That put an end to that plan. Figure I'd build up as many points as I could during Double days to reach 20,000 and indeed do "one last hurrah"

Anybody else doing anything similar?

 

[Railroad Bill]

Sounds like a great trip to finish out the old zone AGR system. We are awaiting news about the whereabouts of next year's Gathering to use some of our "old system" points. Already have trips to Fla in Jan and Denver in April under the "old system" as well. Of course, we will miss all the Toledo Shuffles from the past...NOT

 

[GusTrain]

Any opinions on the Sunset Limited?

Is that a special route for anyone?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Any opinions on the Sunset Limited?

Is that a special route for anyone?

Since the Sunset Ltd. was my first LD train ride and I have so many trips on it throughout the years, it's special to me.

There are LD routes with better Scenery, (ie the Zephyr and Starlight),but the swamps, mountains and Desert are a nice contrast and two terminal Cities of the route, New Orleans and Los Angeles, are special places.

The real negatives are the calling times( NOL 10pmish,the SAS Layovers @1200am-245am and 450am-645am,and LAX @ 530am( often 430am!!).

If you've ridden the other Western LD Trains, it's a nice experience IMHO!

 

[GusTrain]

Thank you!!