Sky Pilot
Train Attendant
So .. I have to go from Virginia to Denver on business in a few weeks. And within reason, my company will pay for train travel if it costs the same as a plane/hotel. Thus, I'm thinking of going from NPN/RVR to WAS to CHI to DEN and getting a sleeper. Looks promising on Amsnag but there are a couple of things holding me back. I did a forum search but didn't really find any answers to the following questions.
1) I read that the station at DEN has relocated temorarily while the historic one (Union Station) is re-furbished into a multi-modal transportation center. The concern I have is checked baggage. It's bad enough that NPN doesn't have checked baggage despite being a staffed station, which is why I'm looking at going from RVR. From what I can tell, DEN has half as many trains as NPN -- one CZ per day in each direction -- so does it offer baggage services. I know the web-site and timetable indicate such but I want to make sure that this is still true at the temporary station.
2) I laugh when I see a "will ___ meal be seved if I board/disembark at ____ station" question as if Americans in general couldn't afford to miss a few meals (including yours truly) :giggle: but here goes. With a 7:15AM arrival on #5 at DEN, is it reasonable to expect to eat breakfast?
3) Anyone have a rough idea what an upgrade from roomette to sleeper would cost: I read the Amtrak service manual and for the life of me can't follow the math other than the minimum is $50.
4) Anyone know if rental cars are reasonably available at DEN?
5) If I do this, I'd fly home or alternatively, fly there and take the train home. Having never ridden this route (my Amtrak experience is limited to the NEC, a sleeper on the CS from LAUS to SEA, and day use of a sleeper on the Silver Star from RVR to NYP) is there an advantage to going westbound versus eastbound? This time of year I don't think I'll have much daylight to see alot so I'm guessing most of what I see will be limited to Illinois/Iowa anyway since #6 leaves at 7:10PM but I thought I'd ask.
6) Apart from the schedule constraint of not running 7 days a week, it looks like the Cardinal is more expensive than the CL. From reading the forum it appears the basic tradeoff is more train-time and better scenery versus a more direct routing and better service and a full-fledged diner car. Anything I'm missing?
Appreciate anyone's input. If I can make this work in my mind, I'm inclined to give it a shot. One benefit this time of year is it seems like the train is less likely to be adversely affected by snowstorms than airports. This time last year I had to go to a meeting (public hearing) in western NE via Denver Int'l on a Monday evening. I was scheduled to fly on Sunday evening but after I got to the airport the flight was canceled due to snow in ATL. Flew the next morning from Va. to CVG but that flight was so delayed that I missed the connection to DEN and thus would miss the meeting. So I wound up flying back home from CVG that same afternoon. Not a pleasant experience and my client wasn't thrilled either.
Blue skies ..
Edited: Added a question I forgot.
1) I read that the station at DEN has relocated temorarily while the historic one (Union Station) is re-furbished into a multi-modal transportation center. The concern I have is checked baggage. It's bad enough that NPN doesn't have checked baggage despite being a staffed station, which is why I'm looking at going from RVR. From what I can tell, DEN has half as many trains as NPN -- one CZ per day in each direction -- so does it offer baggage services. I know the web-site and timetable indicate such but I want to make sure that this is still true at the temporary station.
2) I laugh when I see a "will ___ meal be seved if I board/disembark at ____ station" question as if Americans in general couldn't afford to miss a few meals (including yours truly) :giggle: but here goes. With a 7:15AM arrival on #5 at DEN, is it reasonable to expect to eat breakfast?
3) Anyone have a rough idea what an upgrade from roomette to sleeper would cost: I read the Amtrak service manual and for the life of me can't follow the math other than the minimum is $50.
4) Anyone know if rental cars are reasonably available at DEN?
5) If I do this, I'd fly home or alternatively, fly there and take the train home. Having never ridden this route (my Amtrak experience is limited to the NEC, a sleeper on the CS from LAUS to SEA, and day use of a sleeper on the Silver Star from RVR to NYP) is there an advantage to going westbound versus eastbound? This time of year I don't think I'll have much daylight to see alot so I'm guessing most of what I see will be limited to Illinois/Iowa anyway since #6 leaves at 7:10PM but I thought I'd ask.
6) Apart from the schedule constraint of not running 7 days a week, it looks like the Cardinal is more expensive than the CL. From reading the forum it appears the basic tradeoff is more train-time and better scenery versus a more direct routing and better service and a full-fledged diner car. Anything I'm missing?
Appreciate anyone's input. If I can make this work in my mind, I'm inclined to give it a shot. One benefit this time of year is it seems like the train is less likely to be adversely affected by snowstorms than airports. This time last year I had to go to a meeting (public hearing) in western NE via Denver Int'l on a Monday evening. I was scheduled to fly on Sunday evening but after I got to the airport the flight was canceled due to snow in ATL. Flew the next morning from Va. to CVG but that flight was so delayed that I missed the connection to DEN and thus would miss the meeting. So I wound up flying back home from CVG that same afternoon. Not a pleasant experience and my client wasn't thrilled either.
Blue skies ..
Edited: Added a question I forgot.
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