Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle discussion

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A

Auberon Quin

Joined
Jul 28, 2021
Messages
7
Location
Wisconsin
I bought the rail pass and am having a great time planning a month long escape from reality.

One of my late September trips is from Taylor (TX) to Seattle via Los Angeles. The Coast Starlight leaves LA at 10:10 am. The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle is scheduled to arrive LA at 5:35 am, but the on time performance is … whimsical. Especially the last couple weeks. The last three arrivals have been 12, 6, and 10 hours late.

Any insight would be appreciated, especially as to the insane delays recently.
 
According to ASMAD, the Sunset has misconnected 16% of the time in the last 3 months (6 out of 37). That is not counting the last 3 when there was no Starlight to connect to. The Starlight was never held.

As to insight, Amtrak is ever subject to delay at the hands of the host railroads and specifically UP has developed a generally poor reputation. PSR isn't helping, and has markedly reduced fluidity on all railroads that adopted it, UP included. Plus this summer has generally screwed up traffic patterns with many detours due to closed lines.

"Insane" delays are neither new nor unusual, unfortunately.

All I can say is always be prepared for misconnects on same day connections from LD trains. For 1 to 14, Amtrak has many alternatives for passengers connecting to 14. In most cases, passengers will be rerouted via San Joaquin/Thruway bus services to "catch up" with the Starlight at Emeryville, Martinez or Sacramento. Amtrak is usually good about rebooking on the next day's Starlight if you have your heart set on riding it LAX-SAC, but if the San Joaquin/Thruway connection would have worked, you'd have to pay for the hotel yourself if you choose to lay over for the Starlight.
 
Given the number and breadth of wildfires out west, I'd avoid planning/booking any same-day connections between LD trains. So, consider spending a night in LAX, SFO, SAC, PDX or SEA when making connections there.

6-7 years ago, I arrived LAX on #3 and shortly thereafter on a train to San Diego. Less than halfway there, we were stopped by wildfires. Since I had planned on leaving on #2 that night, I determined it would be impossible to make San Diego and back in time, especially if more wildfire caused delays came into play. Fortunately, we were at a commuter train station and I caught one back to LAX.
 
Does anyone know why the train status for Texas Eagle leaving Chicago 8/15 show no arrival time in LAX on 8/18. It only says something about train cancellation but not why.
 
I can’t speak to recent delays, but I am from central and East Texas and live near San Francisco, so have made that Texas Eagle and Coast Starlight connection 7 times in the last four years. Made them all…once we got to LA at 9.50a for the 10.10 am but made it.

I’ve had good luck looks like👍
 
I was on #1(18) arriving on Friday, 8/20. We arrived LA at 10:28AM, 4:53 late.
There was an announcement that a San Joaquin bus was being held for about 30 passengers.
No mention was made about the Coast Starlight so I guess there were no SL/CS connections that morning.
 
FrensicPic said:
I was on #1(18) arriving on Friday, 8/20. We arrived LA at 10:28AM, 4:53 late.
There was an announcement that a San Joaquin bus was being held for about 30 passengers.
No mention was made about the Coast Starlight so I guess there were no SL/CS connections that morning.
Click to expand...
All Starlight service south of Klamath Falls annulled until Monday 8/23, so no Starlight to connect to
 
If the Sunset Limited is late into LAX, they will likely put you on the Thruway bus to Bakersfield to take the San Joaquin to Emeryville or Sacramento to catch up with the Coast Starlight. This, of course, is a bummer because you'll miss the best scenery of the CS. Since you're on a rail pass, you can always schedule the following days Coast Starlight and spend the night in SoCal, (at your own expense). You'll guarantee you'll see the full route of the CS then. Even take a trip to San Diego, either on the RailPass or just buy a new ticket to there and back.
 
I’m still researching and trying to find the lowest fare for a vacation the end of February 2024, starting in San Antonio and ending up in Seattle. Probably get a bedroom in both trains and it’s looking like around $2500 at this point for 2 seniors. I figure I have enough time to keep checking once a week or so to try to get a lower fair. Kind of a pain to try to get on at 2:45 in the morning in San Antonio, but I guess that’s one reason to get a bedroom that you could just crash into for a couple hours sleep! We may even get a room in San Antonio that night and try to get a few hours in before we have to get up at 1 to go to the train station, it’s been a while since I’ve pulled an all nighter just hanging out in bars or clubs down on the Riverwalk but that’s an option too! But this discussion of one side of the train or the other, especially on the Coast Starlight, is one I’ll be following and trying to implement to be on the west side of the northbound out of LA. All the info and tricks of the travel trade picking a train car/room number are welcome! There are some great suggestions like Philippe’s restaurant for breakfast in LA and other tips here, appreciate finding this site! Question:booking this far out, are car/room numbers assigned? Can one call to change/inquire sometime in the time up to departure?
 
fordt said:
I’m still researching and trying to find the lowest fare for a vacation the end of February 2024, starting in San Antonio and ending up in Seattle. Probably get a bedroom in both trains and it’s looking like around $2500 at this point for 2 seniors. I figure I have enough time to keep checking once a week or so to try to get a lower fair. Kind of a pain to try to get on at 2:45 in the morning in San Antonio, but I guess that’s one reason to get a bedroom that you could just crash into for a couple hours sleep! We may even get a room in San Antonio that night and try to get a few hours in before we have to get up at 1 to go to the train station, it’s been a while since I’ve pulled an all nighter just hanging out in bars or clubs down on the Riverwalk but that’s an option too! But this discussion of one side of the train or the other, especially on the Coast Starlight, is one I’ll be following and trying to implement to be on the west side of the northbound out of LA. All the info and tricks of the travel trade picking a train car/room number are welcome! There are some great suggestions like Philippe’s restaurant for breakfast in LA and other tips here, appreciate finding this site! Question:booking this far out, are car/room numbers assigned? Can one call to change/inquire sometime in the time up to departure?
Click to expand...
This is really a Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited question, but having ridden those trains exactly once, I'll pretend to be an expert :cool:

We got to San Antonio (on the Eagle) about 9-10 PM, IIRC, and weren't scheduled to leave until about 2:45 AM. I don't know when the SL was due to arrive or whether the combined train would leave SAN immediately after it arrived or would sit there for several hours. I was a little worried about having to sit around outside the station (closed) for several hours if I got off the train to explore, but thought I would be fine and needed to stretch my legs, so I went for a long walk. The River Walk near by was fascinating an beautiful and at that time of night, there were enough people around to not feel dangerous and at the same time the night wasn't horribly hot. One misadventure was that the Alamo was closed and I circumnavigated the block it is on without actually seeing it. (The Davey Crockett/Sam Bowie 1950's movie was very deceptive; it did NOT look like it was in the middle of a city!) Anyway, I got back to the train about 11:30 and there was my sleeper sitting on the siding without an engine. I got back on board and went to my roomette. When I woke up, it was about dawn and we were rolling through Texas somewhere...

The point of the above is that if you can book on the Texas Eagle section (21) vs. the Sunset section (1), maybe they'll let you board when the Eagle arrives in SAN, at about 9-10PM instead of having to wait until the SL arrives at about 2:30 AM.
 
John Santos said:
This is really a Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited question, but having ridden those trains exactly once, I'll pretend to be an expert :cool:

We got to San Antonio (on the Eagle) about 9-10 PM, IIRC, and weren't scheduled to leave until about 2:45 AM. I don't know when the SL was due to arrive or whether the combined train would leave SAN immediately after it arrived or would sit there for several hours. I was a little worried about having to sit around outside the station (closed) for several hours if I got off the train to explore, but thought I would be fine and needed to stretch my legs, so I went for a long walk. The River Walk near by was fascinating an beautiful and at that time of night, there were enough people around to not feel dangerous and at the same time the night wasn't horribly hot. One misadventure was that the Alamo was closed and I circumnavigated the block it is on without actually seeing it. (The Davey Crockett/Sam Bowie 1950's movie was very deceptive; it did NOT look like it was in the middle of a city!) Anyway, I got back to the train about 11:30 and there was my sleeper sitting on the siding without an engine. I got back on board and went to my roomette. When I woke up, it was about dawn and we were rolling through Texas somewhere...

The point of the above is that if you can book on the Texas Eagle section (21) vs. the Sunset section (1), maybe they'll let you board when the Eagle arrives in SAN, at about 9-10PM instead of having to wait until the SL arrives at about 2:30 AM.
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Actually the thru Sleeper ( and Coach ) from #21 are designated as the #421 Cars and are switched to #1 the Sunset Ltd upon its arrival into San Antonio.

Also the Sunset Amtrak Station is Open all night until the
Last Train leaves in the Morning( #22/#422 @ 7 AM/ #2 @ 625AM if on time, which lately is rare, resulting in Bustitutions for #422 Passengers to catch up with #22, either in Ft Worth or Longview!)
 
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John Santos said:
This is really a Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited question, but having ridden those trains exactly once, I'll pretend to be an expert :cool:

We got to San Antonio (on the Eagle) about 9-10 PM, IIRC, and weren't scheduled to leave until about 2:45 AM. I don't know when the SL was due to arrive or whether the combined train would leave SAN immediately after it arrived or would sit there for several hours. I was a little worried about having to sit around outside the station (closed) for several hours if I got off the train to explore, but thought I would be fine and needed to stretch my legs, so I went for a long walk. The River Walk near by was fascinating an beautiful and at that time of night, there were enough people around to not feel dangerous and at the same time the night wasn't horribly hot. One misadventure was that the Alamo was closed and I circumnavigated the block it is on without actually seeing it. (The Davey Crockett/Sam Bowie 1950's movie was very deceptive; it did NOT look like it was in the middle of a city!) Anyway, I got back to the train about 11:30 and there was my sleeper sitting on the siding without an engine. I got back on board and went to my roomette. When I woke up, it was about dawn and we were rolling through Texas somewhere...

The point of the above is that if you can book on the Texas Eagle section (21) vs. the Sunset section (1), maybe they'll let you board when the Eagle arrives in SAN, at about 9-10PM instead of having to wait until the SL arrives at about 2:30 AM.
Click to expand...
😳
This is good info! We’ll see if anyone else chimes in on this great idea!
I just checked with online Amtrak booking and it does give 2 options to get to SEA from SA..the Eagle AND the Limited. I’ll call and see if they let LA passengers with rooms board as early as 9-10! Thanks!

Although you must be a pretty good sleeper to have a train take off with you in it and not wake up!😜
 
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My experiences with this transfer are as follows: First time we did a cross platform transfer to the CS and we left Los Angeles about 45 minutes late. Last time we arrived in Los Angeles hours late and the CS had left about an hour before we got there. They loaded all transferring passengers onto buses bound to Bakersfield. We got on the San Joaquin bound for Martinez. We got to MTZ more than 2 hours ahead of the Coast Starlight which gave me plenty of time to go get a good meal at the Greek restaurant in Martinez.
 
fordt said:
I’m still researching and trying to find the lowest fare for a vacation the end of February 2024, starting in San Antonio and ending up in Seattle. Probably get a bedroom in both trains and it’s looking like around $2500 at this point for 2 seniors. I figure I have enough time to keep checking once a week or so to try to get a lower fair. Kind of a pain to try to get on at 2:45 in the morning in San Antonio, but I guess that’s one reason to get a bedroom that you could just crash into for a couple hours sleep! We may even get a room in San Antonio that night and try to get a few hours in before we have to get up at 1 to go to the train station, it’s been a while since I’ve pulled an all nighter just hanging out in bars or clubs down on the Riverwalk but that’s an option too! But this discussion of one side of the train or the other, especially on the Coast Starlight, is one I’ll be following and trying to implement to be on the west side of the northbound out of LA. All the info and tricks of the travel trade picking a train car/room number are welcome! There are some great suggestions like Philippe’s restaurant for breakfast in LA and other tips here, appreciate finding this site! Question:booking this far out, are car/room numbers assigned? Can one call to change/inquire sometime in the time up to departure?
Click to expand...
If you buy tickets and later see fares drop, you can call and request a refund to the lower fare. If it's within 2 weeks of departure, they may insist on issuing a voucher for future travel rather than refunding to original form of payment. Fare dynamics are unpredictable, but lately it seems that if fares are not being driven up by demand, they may drop 3-4 months prior to departure.

Rooms are assigned when you purchase the tickets. Yes, you can call and ask to be changed to a different available room. It should be possible without increasing to the current fare at the time.
 
Auberon Quin said:
I bought the rail pass and am having a great time planning a month long escape from reality.

One of my late September trips is from Taylor (TX) to Seattle via Los Angeles. The Coast Starlight leaves LA at 10:10 am. The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle is scheduled to arrive LA at 5:35 am, but the on time performance is … whimsical. Especially the last couple weeks. The last three arrivals have been 12, 6, and 10 hours late.

Any insight would be appreciated, especially as to the insane delays recently.
Click to expand...
I've traveled that route many times, as I used to live near Taylor, and I used to ride Amtrak to see my son in the Seattle area. That is a guaranteed connection, and I've never had any trouble at all connecting with the northbound Coast Starlight from the westbound SSL/TE, even with the inbound train 2 hours late. If you miss that connection, they will probably put you on the bus to Bakersfield to catch the northbound San Joachin so you can meet up with the Coast Starlight around Emeryville. Unfortunately, this route takes you away from the awesome California coast scenery, but you get to see the country's largest fruit and vegetable garden, so it's not a total loss.
 
fordt said:
😳
This is good info! We’ll see if anyone else chimes in on this great idea!
I just checked with online Amtrak booking and it does give 2 options to get to SEA from SA..the Eagle AND the Limited. I’ll call and see if they let LA passengers with rooms board as early as 9-10! Thanks!

Although you must be a pretty good sleeper to have a train take off with you in it and not wake up!😜
Click to expand...
I think I MAY have figured out the same route but a more favorable train boarding time!? If I get to San Marcos at train time ≈7pm, that is WAY more favorable than 2:45AM in San Antonio….we’re an hour out from SA and it’s only 30 minutes more to San Marcos. Then we’re in our bedroom at a reasonable hour and taking in the sights all the way to LA! And checking fares a minute ago…it’s cheaper today….
 
fordt said:
I think I MAY have figured out the same route but a more favorable train boarding time!? If I get to San Marcos at train time ≈7pm, that is WAY more favorable than 2:45AM in San Antonio….we’re an hour out from SA and it’s only 30 minutes more to San Marcos. Then we’re in our bedroom at a reasonable hour and taking in the sights all the way to LA! And checking fares a minute ago…it’s cheaper today….
Click to expand...
Good find but keep in mind that #21/#421 is usually Late into San Marcos due to the "Blackhole" between Taylor and Austin.

And there are no Facilities including Safe Long Term Parking(@ the San Marcos "Station",which is a Platform with a Shed over it.

Last call for Dinner in the Diner is Austin, so you may want to eat before boarding, San Marcos has lots of eating places!
 
I researched all that great info yesterday about the SMC station. So yes, we’d be dropped off with all our bags with the possibility of sitting around for however long it would take for the train to arrive, and it could be iffy weather in late February. But I reckon waiting around at 7pm might beat the same in SA at 2am..🤔 Thanks!
 
fordt said:
I researched all that great info yesterday about the SMC station. So yes, we’d be dropped off with all our bags with the possibility of sitting around for however long it would take for the train to arrive, and it could be iffy weather in late February. But I reckon waiting around at 7pm might beat the same in SA at 2am..🤔 Thanks!
Click to expand...
Good plan!👍

Be sure and track #21/#421 between Taylor and Austin, then from Austin to San Marcos before being dropped @ the Station since there is nowhere to wait except outside since the Platform is across from the Intermodel Station which is unstained and not Open @ Night!
 
Does anyone know if the Sunset will ever get its second coach or trans dorm back? I’ve been hesitant to take it in coach ever since they took off the second car (thus virtually guaranteeing you’ll get a seat mate) and the sleeper prices are absurd, since the trans dorm was removed.
 
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NativeSon5859 said:
Does anyone know if the Sunset will ever get its second coach or trans dorm back? I’ve been hesitant to take it in coach ever since they took off the second car (thus virtually guaranteeing you’ll get a seat mate) and the sleeper prices are absurd, since the trans storm was removed.
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Agree, but at least there is a Diner with Traditional Meals and a Sightseer Lounge, as opposed to the Orphan Texas Eaglette.

Since I haven't ridden the Sunset since last Fall, I'm wondering how the Switching of the #421 Cars is done now since a Sleeper and Coach used to be added to the back of the Sunset in San Antonio?

Doesn't that give #1/#2 Two Coaches between LA and SA???
 
Saw this old video and it reminded me of what the Texas Eagle used to look like....................sad. Yes it was a triweekly back then.

 

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