SWC-Capitol Run-Through

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IIRC the Chief usually has three engines on it (due to the Mountain passes out west) while the Capitol only has two. The power is usually cut from the train when it's yarded, and the engines go down for service, diesel shops will send back whatever's ready to go, which might not necessarily be the engines from the eastbound trip.
 
battalion51 said:
IIRC the Chief usually has three engines on it (due to the Mountain passes out west) while the Capitol only has two. The power is usually cut from the train when it's yarded, and the engines go down for service, diesel shops will send back whatever's ready to go, which might not necessarily be the engines from the eastbound trip.
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Bat51,

The Capital stays in the station when it becomes 3 they have a yard crew take the Power off then tack on 3's Power. For futher refernce 29's Power when it comes in ususally goes to either 30 or 5.
 
In response to AmtrakFan, the Sunset Limited did the same thing when it went to Miami. Miami wasn't a Superliner facility, yet the Sunset would run-through New Orleans without servicing and go into Miami to get worked on. I figure Was-LA would be about the same distance as Mia-LA, so I'm just applying the Sunset operation to Was-LA. Remember, a run-through could save Amtrak a WHOLE set of equipment! It is extremely important to use equipment as efficiently as possible given the current capacity issues. Could I write to Amtrak about this idea? Who would I email? Thanks.
 
Ben said:
In response to AmtrakFan, the Sunset Limited did the same thing when it went to Miami. Miami wasn't a Superliner facility, yet the Sunset would run-through New Orleans without servicing and go into Miami to get worked on. I figure Was-LA would be about the same distance as Mia-LA, so I'm just applying the Sunset operation to Was-LA. Remember, a run-through could save Amtrak a WHOLE set of equipment! It is extremely important to use equipment as efficiently as possible given the current capacity issues. Could I write to Amtrak about this idea? Who would I email? Thanks.
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True, but you neglect to mention the fact that the Sunset Limited operation to Miami was discontinued a very short time later, in part because of this very issue.
 
according to the 1978 amtrak timetable, which i have, passengers were allowed to stay overnight on the coach in new orleans provided they were 1) through passengers going from west of new orleans heading east on the next mornings crescent, or 2) boarding in new orleans. it says that passengers would be allowed to stay on board once they have paid the "appropriate accomodation charge", whatever that was.
 
i noticed that there is an overnight layover in san antonio for the sunset limited/texas eagle. eastbound it arrives in the evening and leaves in the morning. westbound it sits there for about 5 hours. can passengers leave the train during this time? why such a delay eastbound?

i was thinking of how i could get a free nights accomodation in coach on this train even if i was getting off in san antonio. I could get a ticket but have the destination the next stop down the line (san marcos?), say i buy a ticket tucson-san marcos, but intending to get off in san antonio. Early am say 7 or so, i would simply get off the train.
 
MontanaJim said:
why such a delay eastbound?
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Because the Sunset Limited is scheduled through San Antonio at night, and the Texas Eagle departs in the morning. The through cars can't go anywhere without a train.
 
MontanaJim said:
according to the 1978 amtrak timetable, which i have, passengers were allowed to stay overnight on the coach in new orleans provided they were 1) through passengers going from west of new orleans heading east on the next mornings crescent, or 2) boarding in new orleans. it says that passengers would be allowed to stay on board once they have paid the "appropriate accomodation charge", whatever that was.
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Are you sure that was for coach passengers and not sleeper? Or was it for both?
 
Amtrak used to offer a through sleeper between the Crescent and the Sunset. I wasn't aware of a through coach, but that doesn't mean one didn't operate. It just means I haven't heard of it.

Unfortunately, all of my old Amtrak timetables are in storage at my old house right now, so checking isn't convenient.
 
rmadisonwi said:
Amtrak used to offer a through sleeper between the Crescent and the Sunset. I wasn't aware of a through coach, but that doesn't mean one didn't operate. It just means I haven't heard of it.
Unfortunately, all of my old Amtrak timetables are in storage at my old house right now, so checking isn't convenient.
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As I look at my old Timetables as of the 1974 one I look at there was only 1 Sleeper from LAX to NOL/NYP so no Coach.
 
I checked some 1978,etc timetables at home last night and it was strictly a sleeper coast to coast via New Orleans.

Through sleepers between the Crescent(and other trains, pre-Amtrak) and the Sunset Lmited(and other trains, pre-Amtrak) over-nighting in New Orleans is a long historical tradition, but sort of on again and off again through the years.

But I have never heard of it being coach on that route. It is possible Montana Jim was using the word "coach" in a broad generic sense(like a "coach yard ") and did not mean what we usually mean more specifically as a coach.

Aside from what Amtrak has done at times with the TE and SL in San Antonio, the idea of allowing coach passengers such privildge is very rare indeed. In pre-Amtrak times I can think of one only one case of a kind of set out arrangement which involved coaches . This was on the Union Pacific(formerly a very GOOD operator of passenger trains) which had a through coach(and sleeper) from Omaha to LA which was used on a set out basis for the inconvenient arrival and departure times in Omaha.

And that is it, in my memory, every other kind of "staying in your car" whether a set-out arrangment, or spending the night in the same car in the same city, etc , etc has involved sleepers to my knowledge.

Come to think about it, though, in fairly recent history at one time the SL was due to arrive LA westbound at some ungodly hour, about 5 a.m. or something and I think the question arose whether all passengers, coach as well as sleeper, could stay on board for awhile. Problem was , it was so seldom on time anyway the point was almost moot.
 
my mistake in word ussage. I meant "train" not coach. And yes, it was only for sleeper passengers.

what does everyone think of my plan to buy a ticket to san marcos (not san antonio) from tuscon with the intention of getting off in san antonio. this way i can sleep on the train in coach for no extra charge! ill detrain about 7 am before the texas eagle leaves.
 
Maybe I'm stubborn, I don't know, but I STILL like the run-through idea. If the Sunset could run LA-Miami without servicing, a LA-Washington train can too; it's the same distance! It could save a set of equipment, which could be used to add another frequency on the Sunset or make the Cardinal run with Superliner equipment again. The only adjustments I would make to make this a smoother operation would be to make the eastbound Capitol Limited leave Chicago at 7 instead of 5:35 to better ensure an on-time departure. Then the westbound Southwest Chief would depart Chicago maybe around 2 to give it more time in LA to get repaired. Crews would stay onboard in Chicago, just like with the Sunset in New Orleans so that theft wouldn't be an issue.
 
Tom said:
Crews would stay onboard in Chicago, just like with the Sunset in New Orleans so that theft wouldn't be an issue.
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Crews don't stay on board the Sunset at NOL, at least when it was running through to Orlando pre hurricane. The on board service crew changes at NOL, with one crew working ORL - NOL, the other working NOL - LAX.
 
Tom said:
Either way, that doesn't really change anything.
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I wasn't suggesting that it did change things or that a run through in Chicago wouldn't work. I was simply trying to provide the correct info on the Sunset Limited crews. :)
 
AlanB said:
Tom said:
Crews would stay onboard in Chicago, just like with the Sunset in New Orleans so that theft wouldn't be an issue.
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Crews don't stay on board the Sunset at NOL, at least when it was running through to Orlando pre hurricane. The on board service crew changes at NOL, with one crew working ORL - NOL, the other working NOL - LAX.
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Alan, we've been through this before. Almost all the jobs are LAX based all the way to Sanford., they work 7 on/9 off. There are a few swing jobs, like a NOL based Dining Car job that works NOL-JAX-SAS-NOL, but the vast majority of jobs get on in LA, and stay with the equipment for the whole thing (except for servicing in SFA).
 
battalion51 said:
Almost all the jobs are LAX based all the way to Sanford., they work 7 on/9 off. There are a few swing jobs, like a NOL based Dining Car job that works NOL-JAX-SAS-NOL, but the vast majority of jobs get on in LA, and stay with the equipment for the whole thing (except for servicing in SFA).
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I was also under the impression that this is how the OBS jobs work on the Sunset (Los Angeles all the way through to Orlando/Sanford). I had the same sleeper and dining attendants for the length of the LAX-ORL trip I took a few years ago. The only thing I noticed was that we had a third waiter in the dining room between SAS and LAX. He said he was a part of the Texas Eagle and only worked SAS-LAX to handle the increased number of pax served because of the addition of the Eagle's through cars on the rear of the train.
 
There are no longer NOL OBS employees working on the Sunset Limited. The last time a food specialist could bid on the NOL-SFD-SAS-NOL was in March 2003 according to the job abolishment board in the crew base. There are from time to time NOL employees on the extraboard called to fill a blanked job due to enroute illness, termination, etc.

NOL crews only work 58/59 and LAX hold all jobs on the Sunset, except the TA and SA assigned to 420/421. However, I must note that I did take notice in the run-through crew base in CHI that that Texas Eagle SA job expired June 2005 with all 20/21 diner employees ending in Austin or FTW. I can't remember which one it is right now. :blink: Of course, the TA in the 420/421 sleeper go from CHI to LAX and back.
 
Seattle section (coaches, sleepers, dining car) crew are Seattle-based.

Portland section (coaches, sleeper, lounge car LSA) crew, plus the upper-level lounge car attendant (CHI-WFH) are Chicago-based.
 
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