San Antonio Station

[Kramerica]

On Monday January 21 2008 I was in San Antonio. It was my first time there and I was staying at the new Holiday Inn Express just down the street from the Amtrak station. After a good meal and some drinks on the Riverwalk, I walked back to the hotel, around 10:30 PM. Of course I had to stop at the station. When I got there, there were three cars sitting. The northernmost car was (I think) a private car, with (I think) the name Verde Canyon on it. It was a single-level. Then a Superliner Sleeper and a Superliner Coach. What were these cars doing there with no engine?

While I was at the station, a northbound train arrived. I presume the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. Great sight to see.

The area around the station is interesting. The nice downtown area ends abruptly at the I-37 freeway. After that it is kinda sketchy. But there are improvements being made. There were a couple sports bars, of course Sunset Station, and the new Holiday Inn Express. I'm thinking this area is improving quite a bit and will be very nice in about five years. But anyway, I'd recommend that Holiday Inn Express for anyone staying in San Antonio and especially if you're arriving by train. The station is two blocks away, and the Riverwalk is an easy 10 minute walk.

 

[printman2000]

On Monday January 21 2008 I was in San Antonio. It was my first time there and I was staying at the new Holiday Inn Express just down the street from the Amtrak station. After a good meal and some drinks on the Riverwalk, I walked back to the hotel, around 10:30 PM. Of course I had to stop at the station. When I got there, there were three cars sitting. The northernmost car was (I think) a private car, with (I think) the name Verde Canyon on it. It was a single-level. Then a Superliner Sleeper and a Superliner Coach. What were these cars doing there with no engine?

I would assume these are the through cars between the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle. They exchange a sleeper and coach to extend the Texas Eagle on to Los Angeles. The private car was just a tag along, I'm sure.

So, they were either wating for the Sunset to pick them up and take them to Los Angeles or waiting for the Texas Eagle to take them to Chicago.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

On Monday January 21 2008 I was in San Antonio. It was my first time there and I was staying at the new Holiday Inn Express just down the street from the Amtrak station. After a good meal and some drinks on the Riverwalk, I walked back to the hotel, around 10:30 PM. Of course I had to stop at the station. When I got there, there were three cars sitting. The northernmost car was (I think) a private car, with (I think) the name Verde Canyon on it. It was a single-level. Then a Superliner Sleeper and a Superliner Coach. What were these cars doing there with no engine?

I would assume these are the through cars between the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle. They exchange a sleeper and coach to extend the Texas Eagle on to Los Angeles. The private car was just a tag along, I'm sure.

So, they were either wating for the Sunset to pick them up and take them to Los Angeles or waiting for the Texas Eagle to take them to Chicago.

Wouldn't they have an engine on to continue HEP and help pull the additional weight to LAX?

 

[printman2000]

Wouldn't they have an engine on to continue HEP and help pull the additional weight to LAX?

No. They plug them into "shore" power to provide power and no additional loco's are needed to pull them. In fact, the Eagle on uses one loco most of the time.

 

[Rosemary]

We're going to SAS in a couple of weeks. Never been there. We're staying at the Hyatt Place Riverwalk. How far is that from Amtrak? We arrive at 10:25 pm, should we walk?

 

[jr6607]

We're going to SAS in a couple of weeks. Never been there. We're staying at the Hyatt Place Riverwalk. How far is that from Amtrak? We arrive at 10:25 pm, should we walk?

I would not advise walking at that time of night. Other than on the Riverwalk, they somewhat roll up the sidewalks at dusk. The hotel is less than a mile from the station, but you don't want to chance encountering some of the strange folks who do hang around in that area. Good area for panhandling. I live in Corpus Christi 140 south.

 

[had8ley]

Wouldn't they have an engine on to continue HEP and help pull the additional weight to LAX?

No. They plug them into "shore" power to provide power and no additional loco's are needed to pull them. In fact, the Eagle on uses one loco most of the time.

The Sunset always leaves New Orleans with two units~ more than enough power to pull 10 cars into LAX. Now, when they hauled loaded beer cars out of St. Louis to LAX that was a different story. We had three days accumulation of beer cars (about 15) on #1 out of San Antonio several years ago before Amtrak finally figured out it was prudent to let the freight railroads handle freight.

Just the switching of the Eagle cars onto us, then the beer and air testing took over an hour. Talk about run in on a hogback!