Texas Eagle Consists

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Bob Dylan

50+ Year Amtrak Rider
AU Supporting Member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
26,335
Location
Austin Texas
Now that the Texas Eagle has gone on the Tri-Weekly Schedules,Amtrak has reduced the number of cars in the Consists to 4!!( continuing to be pulled with one P-42)

1) Revenue Sleeper ( including the Crew)
2) CCC/Diner/Lounge( the Sightseer Lounge is removed) with the 2 LSAs operating the Diner and Cafe in the CCC
3) Coach/Bag
4) Coach

Wondering how the Consists are on the other LD Trains???
 
Wonder what this does to sleeper passengers continuing west of San Antonio.
Good Question!
I'm not positive but possibly they will have to move to #1s Sleeper?

Or they will still Switch the Revenue Sleeper from #21/#421 to #1 since there is a Sleeper and Coach kept @ the SA Station for #421/#422 Days??
 
Impossible to carry in three days the number of passengers traveling many of 7 day weeks. By decimating the revenue flow, how can Amtrak do anything but shut down in 2021? The number of seats and rooms for sale seems to be reduced regularly. The experience has been changed from a trip you looked forward to, into a trip one almost dreads. My heart aches to see US passenger rail fade away like this.
 
Impossible to carry in three days the number of passengers traveling many of 7 day weeks. By decimating the revenue flow, how can Amtrak do anything but shut down in 2021? The number of seats and rooms for sale seems to be reduced regularly. The experience has been changed from a trip you looked forward to, into a trip one almost dreads. My heart aches to see US passenger rail fade away like this.

This era's tri-weekly program is actually more vicious than last time. Here's a sample consist when they were trying.

Amtrak Train #35, Desert Wind
Amtrak Train #25, Pioneer
Denver , Colorado
Friday, January 3, 1997

Train #35/25 arrived approximately 9:15 am, 30 minutes late


Type Car # Line # Comments Name
------------- -------- -------- --------------- --------
P32 513 Chi-LA
P32 515 Chi-LA
F40 384 Chi-LA

F40 380 Den-Sea
F40 361 Den-Sea
Mail 1524 Den-Sea

1) Mail 1468 Chi-Sea, to #25
2) Mail 1453 Chi-Den
3) Mail 1463 Chi-LA
4) Baggage 1183 Chi-LA
5) Dorm (SL II) 39004 3500 Chi-LA
6) Sleeper 32058 3531 Chi-LA
7) Sleeper 32056 3532 Chi-LA
8) Diner 38010 Chi-LA
9) Lounge 33006 Chi-LA
10) Coach-Smoker 31525 3510 Chi-LA
11) Coach 34094 3511 Chi-LA
12) Coach 34028 3512 Chi-LA
13) Coach-baggage 31029 3513 Chi-LA
14) Sleeper (SL II 32074 3532 Chi-Den
15) Sleeper (SL II 32092 2536 Chi-Sea Mississippi
16) Sleeper 32011 2535 Chi-Sea
17) Diner 38001 Chi-Sea
18) Coach 34070 2514 Chi-Sea
19) Coach-baggage 31036 2515 Chi-Sea
Coach-Snack bar 35007 2516 Den-Sea
Coach 34047 2517 Den-Sea, not open
Dorm (SL II) 39015 2510 Den-Sea

While these trains weren't very long west of Denver they in Amtrak's mind only supplemented the trains that are now threatened. There was a lot more space offered in total.
 
This era's tri-weekly program is actually more vicious than last time. Here's a sample consist when they were trying.

Amtrak Train #35, Desert Wind
Amtrak Train #25, Pioneer
Denver , Colorado
Friday, January 3, 1997

Train #35/25 arrived approximately 9:15 am, 30 minutes late


Type Car # Line # Comments Name
------------- -------- -------- --------------- --------
P32 513 Chi-LA
P32 515 Chi-LA
F40 384 Chi-LA

F40 380 Den-Sea
F40 361 Den-Sea
Mail 1524 Den-Sea

1) Mail 1468 Chi-Sea, to #25
2) Mail 1453 Chi-Den
3) Mail 1463 Chi-LA
4) Baggage 1183 Chi-LA
5) Dorm (SL II) 39004 3500 Chi-LA
6) Sleeper 32058 3531 Chi-LA
7) Sleeper 32056 3532 Chi-LA
8) Diner 38010 Chi-LA
9) Lounge 33006 Chi-LA
10) Coach-Smoker 31525 3510 Chi-LA
11) Coach 34094 3511 Chi-LA
12) Coach 34028 3512 Chi-LA
13) Coach-baggage 31029 3513 Chi-LA
14) Sleeper (SL II 32074 3532 Chi-Den
15) Sleeper (SL II 32092 2536 Chi-Sea Mississippi
16) Sleeper 32011 2535 Chi-Sea
17) Diner 38001 Chi-Sea
18) Coach 34070 2514 Chi-Sea
19) Coach-baggage 31036 2515 Chi-Sea
Coach-Snack bar 35007 2516 Den-Sea
Coach 34047 2517 Den-Sea, not open
Dorm (SL II) 39015 2510 Den-Sea

While these trains weren't very long west of Denver they in Amtrak's mind only supplemented the trains that are now threatened. There was a lot more space offered in total.
Did the Zephyr run on the alternate days, providing 6/week service between Chicago and Denver?
 
Did the Zephyr run on the alternate days, providing 6/week service between Chicago and Denver?
I had to look it up because in that era they drove us crazy with various combinations. At the date of this check, Trains 5/6 ran 4x weekly and Trains 35/36 covered CHI<>SLC<LAX> 3x weekly. Trains 7/27/8/28 ran daily as did Trains 3/4.

Less than daily long-distance trains aren't a terrible problem when they are an exception or when they are in a schedule with a daily train on the same route (as on the pre-Amtrak Chicago<>Florida service). They quickly become destructive when affecting/afflicting a network. That is why I consider this current set-up worse than the 90's. As a retail customer and as a tour operator I've found myself booking an alternative mode when a train would have been an enjoyable part of the trip.
 
Today's #30 only carried four Superliner cars: a sleeper car, a Cafe Car, and two coaches. I couldn't see well enough in the dark to guarantee it, but I think there was a Baggage car in front as well. Somewhere in Indiana, they had to ask a couple of passengers including me if they didn't mind moving to different seats because Amtrak had sold the crew rooms and put the crew in regular seats.
 
Wonder what they are doing with the departing passengers?
Probably some combination of cramped charter buses and shoulder shrugging refunds. If Amtrak was a private company instead of a quasi-governmental entity they'd be running buses nearly everywhere outside of a few commuter corridors and the odd "experiential" rail segment. I casually mentioned something like this years before Anderson ever showed up and his tenure only confirmed my suspicions. I'm not anti-bus per se, but even with today's heavily downgraded service the charter bus version is still much worse. I think Amtrak needs to do a better job of chartering buses that look and feel more like their mainline product with fewer downgrades and policy lapses.
 
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Today's #30 only carried four Superliner cars: a sleeper car, a Cafe Car, and two coaches. I couldn't see well enough in the dark to guarantee it, but I think there was a Baggage car in front as well. Somewhere in Indiana, they had to ask a couple of passengers including me if they didn't mind moving to different seats because Amtrak had sold the crew rooms and put the crew in regular seats.
No baggage car. One of the coaches is a coach/baggage, with the downstairs seating replaced with a baggage compartment, reducing seating capacity that much more. Very sad. Try making a reservation on short notice.
 
Amtrak management really must not like the Tx Eagle, Capital or Crescent. the rest of the network trains appear to have normal consists at least as far as winter is concerned.

What I find fascinating is the SWC hasn't been reduced at all. I still shake my head at what Anderson tried to do to what I consider Amtrak’s most viable network train (ridership and speed wise).
 
When the TE was daily, on the three days that the Sleeper went on to LA, the full sleeper was 421. On the other days the full sleeper was 21. During the daily operation there was the Transition dorm sleeper that was the 21 sleeper with 8 Roomettes available for revenue sale when the main sleeper was 421. I expect the crew now uses some of the revenue rooms in the 421 sleeper.
 
When the TE was daily, on the three days that the Sleeper went on to LA, the full sleeper was 421. On the other days the full sleeper was 21. During the daily operation there was the Transition dorm sleeper that was the 21 sleeper with 8 Roomettes available for revenue sale when the main sleeper was 421. I expect the crew now uses some of the revenue rooms in the 421 sleeper.
Exactly. The only true 21/22 revenue car now is the coach/baggage car. The 421/422 sleeper and coach are still being switched and connecting to the SL.
 
If the Eagle comes back, I see it running three days direct to LA and the SL eliminated. This would speed up the dwell time is San Antonio. Amtrak might run a daytime coach to from NOL. If the SL remains, the TE is eliminated.
 
If the Eagle comes back, I see it running three days direct to LA and the SL eliminated. This would speed up the dwell time is San Antonio. Amtrak might run a daytime coach to from NOL. If the SL remains, the TE is eliminated.
This has always made sense to me - the continuous train part. I've often wondered why it wasn't the "focus" train over the Sunset. Similarly a daytime New Orleans - San Antonio trains with cross-platform transfer to the Eagle makes perfect sense. All it would really take is switching the westbound NOL departure to a schedule similar to the eastbound from SAS. The Eagle is one of my favorite Amtrak trains and we've taken it to/from the west coast several times, in addition to several trips to Texas points.
 
If the Eagle comes back, I see it running three days direct to LA and the SL eliminated. This would speed up the dwell time is San Antonio. Amtrak might run a daytime coach to from NOL. If the SL remains, the TE is eliminated.
That was the original plan under Boardman, a Daily CHI- LAX Eagle with a stub Train from SAS- NOL.

UP wanted a Fortune for the Trains and as the story goes, an Amtrak Exec refused to negotiate,Blowing the Deal!!
 
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