Smoking

[Moe]

Anyone ride the Texas Eagle lately? Just wondering how many smoking stops are along the way.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Have you checked the timetable? I would surmise that any stop which shows a separate arrival time and departure time would be a smoking stop.

Possibly also some of the smaller statiions if it arrives ten or 15 minutes early. Probably varies per trip, things like is it running on time or running late, in which case they would try to reduce station dwell tiimes.

 

[Anthony]

Just a thought - the Coast Starlight, which has been non-smoking for years, has designated smoking stops at places such as Santa Barbara, which do not have separate arrival and departure times, yet usually tend to be about ten to fifteen minutes. Moe - you might call Amtrak (1-800-872-7245) and ask an agent which stops are designated as such.

 

[smoker]

I will be going on the Sunset Limited from Louisiana to California and I am wondering about the smoking stops. Thanks for the info to call Amtrak. I was under the impression that the conductor just allowed smoke breaks at his choosing.

 

[Anthony]

I will be going on the Sunset Limited from Louisiana to California and I am wondering about the smoking stops. Thanks for the info to call Amtrak. I was under the impression that the conductor just allowed smoke breaks at his choosing.

Well, you're right, he does allow smoking stops based on the on-time performance of the train (e.g., if the train is late, he may cut out time at certain stops to help with the timeliness), however, certain stops are always a bit longer because of extra passengers, baggage, etc., and the conductors all tend to pick these stops for smoking purposes. So, I have a feeling that an Amtrak agent would be able to fill you in on which stops these might be, even if there is no "official" designation for smoking purposes.