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Yes, you will get Dinner, but since the Departure isn't until 7pm, there's no way to know what time your rez will be until you board, but I'd check with the Person @ the Desk in the Metro Lounge when you check in, perhaps they'll make your Dinner Rez there like they do on the Auto Train.??

If not, ask your attendant when you board trainside, they'll know the procedure the Diner LSA uses.

I also suggest that you use a Red Cap from the Lounge, that way you ride on a Cart from the Backdoor of the Lounge to the Platform instead of walking all the way thru the Station and Tunnel to the Platform
Thank you! Our plan is to go to the lounge, check our bags, and we will inquire about dinner rez when we do that, then head down to Traxx for either apps and a cocktail, or early dinner, depending on what the lounge attendant says. Then head back up before 6 for the Red Cap service. We have to take an early Metro in because our area has limited departure times in the afternoon, so will have a few hours at Union Station before the TE departure.
 
Between Chicago and San Antonio you'll be in either the 421 Coach ( Rear of the Train) or the Single Revenue Sleeper ,( No Transdorm or Sightseer Lounge on the Eaglette) which will be switched to the rear of #1 the Sunset Ltd when it arrives into San Antonio from Houston, generally around 11pm to Midnight.

You will have a different Train Crew from San Antonio Weat since the OBS and Conductors on the Eaglette layover in SAS and go back North the next morning on #22.

Note that the Texas Eaglette only serves Flex Meals to Sleeper Passengers in the Cross Country Cafe between Chicago and Austin ( Combo Diner/Cafe)but the Sunset Lts.has Traditionsl Dinning in the Diner and the Cafe is located in the Lower Level of the Sightseer Lounge.
When I go west, I book from Austin in the sleeper (train 421). I have the option of a flex meal right after getting on, but I have usually repaid my transport-to-station friend with a meal enroute from Bastrop County to the Austin station. So, I forego the flex, fiddle around until bedtime, and wake up to real breakfast in a real diner, somewhere in west Texas.
I can't remember that I've even been awakened by the switching of the cars, I sleep so well on trains.

The main problem for me with the layover from 21 to the Sunset Limited EB is the stale cigarette smoke still embedded in the paint in the waiting room at San Antonio (or, possibly, also embedded in the clothing of the waiting patrons). I would, regardless of the cold, be outside.

The last couple of times I did that trip east, my transport-to-train friend has just taken me to San Antonio in time to get on the train. (We use my truck, and he gets a kick out of driving at 85 mph from I10 to Mustang Ridge.)
 

How is the overnight accommodation in the San Antonio station? I'm coming from New Orleans on the Sunset, and then out on the Eaglet Tuesday AM. Guess I can stash my bags in the station and hang out at Denny's? Or are you locked out of the station until shortly before train time?
I Googled station information on the San Antonio station, since the hubby and I plan to take the TE from central IL down to San Antonio, and return the following day. Apparently, the station opens shortly before the southbound Eaglet arrives, stays open overnight, and closes shortly after the northbound Eaglet departs at 7AM. We plan to hang out inside the station overnight.
From your question, it sounds like you plan to head northbound on the TE after arriving in San Antonio, rather than continuing westbound on the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. If you were continuing westbound from San Antonio, you'd probably be able to stay on the train (especially if you were in the sleeping car). Or an alternate route from New Orleans to Chicago would be on the City of New Orleans.
 
How is the overnight accommodation in the San Antonio station?
SAS looks, sounds, and smells like a bus station and most businesses in the immediate vicinity are closed during calling times. I've never seen the toilets in a clean state and that includes being the first customer to enter the building as soon as they unlocked the door.

Guess I can stash my bags in the station and hang out at Denny's?
I don't think SAS hold non-checked bags anymore but maybe you can charm them into it or get lucky with new clerk or a recent transfer from another location. As for Denny's I'd suggest reading reviews before ordering.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dennys-san-antonio-13

Or are you locked out of the station until shortly before train time?
SAS opens before the first train arrives and closes after the last train leaves (assuming everything is on-time).
 
The station is small, and in my opinion, needs a serious coat of paint. I may be hypersensitive about this but either the walls or the patrons reeked of secondhand smoke. It is possible just to sit outside, unless too chilly, but I'd be careful about taking a walk too far from the station.
I remember one May leaving my hotel on the Riverwalk and walking to the station in San Antonio about 5:30 or 6 a.m. to board the northbound Texas Eagle. It was much more pleasant to wait outside. I don't know what the seating capacity is in the station but it looks cramped and is certainly not spacious.
 
Sarcasm on........................So glad Amtrak left Sunset Station, it was a step up moving to a bus station in the shadow of the Alamo Dome (that we visitors are still paying for through hotel taxes but that is another story)..............................Sarcasm off.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...Entertainment_District-San_Antonio_Texas.html

In San Antonio
Amtrak's old home

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.421...e0!5s20220401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Amtrak's present home

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.419...Y2whZeyUA1mJSMdw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
 
Curious. Roughly how many people would have to deboard and several hours later reboard during evening into night?
If they are continuing on the same train, they wouldn't have to disembark and re-embark, especially not in the sleeping cars. (Although there might not be any electricity or running water during the time when the Eaglet is coupled to the Sunset Limited westbound or decoupled from the SSL eastbound, so best if you can just sleep through it.) In my & the hubby's planned trip on the Texas Eagle this fall, we plan to disembark from the south & west-bound TE at San Antonio, and board the east & north-bound TE the next morning, but those are 2 different trains, and we don't plan to travel any further than San Antonio.
 
Thanks. I am curious due to the comments above about the crowded waiting area at the station and that there is time enough to wander the city before reboarding.
The only problem with wandering the city is that the time when the TE/SSL is stopped in San Antonio may be quite late in the evening, with very few businesses open. (I have no idea if personal safety late at night in that part of San Antonio might also be an issue, but some travelers might be uncomfortable wandering around on foot anywhere that late.)
 
The only problem with wandering the city is that the time when the TE/SSL is stopped in San Antonio may be quite late in the evening, with very few businesses open. (I have no idea if personal safety late at night in that part of San Antonio might also be an issue, but some travelers might be uncomfortable wandering around on foot anywhere that late.)

You make some good points about walking around at night, but we all have different levels of risk taking so that would be a personal decision I guess.
What caught my eye was imagining large numbers of people who have to leave the TE while car changes are made having to wait somewhere that wasn't too well set up to handle that many people from descriptions above.
 
You make some good points about walking around at night, but we all have different levels of risk taking so that would be a personal decision I guess.
What caught my eye was imagining large numbers of people who have to leave the TE while car changes are made having to wait somewhere that wasn't too well set up to handle that many people from descriptions above.
I think that, from what I've read elsewhere on these forums (and on the Amtrak website), passengers on the TE/SSL continuing beyond San Antonio in either direction MAY disembark, but are not required to. (On days when the Eaglet ends its run at San Antonio, everyone has to disembark, as the next morning's train back to Chicago counts as a separate train, even if it's using the same cars.)
 
You can get off or not when you’re in the through cars. I’ve both slept through it and explored depending on my energy level. It’s not the best time to sightsee, but it can be interesting. There used to be a 24 hour Denny’s nearby, but that might be gone. I did that a couple of times.
 
In my experience, under various schedules over the years whenever the Texas Eagle through service or the Sunset has had a late evening arrival in San Antonio often a group of thru coach or sleeper passengers would leave the train and go to the Riverwalk, Alamo or Dennys which as I recall are about a 10-15 minute walk (corrections would be welcome) and then return to the train before it departs. An Uber would be another option. I assume the bars on the Riverwalk are open until 1 a.m. at least.

As I recall, in 2012 or before the eastbound Sunset would arrive in San Antonio late in the evening which would allow this. Under the present schedule I think it is feasible only from the westbound Eagle.
 
You can get off or not when you’re in the through cars. I’ve both slept through it and explored depending on my energy level. It’s not the best time to sightsee, but it can be interesting. There used to be a 24 hour Denny’s nearby, but that might be gone. I did that a couple of times.

Very good thanks.

Some through passengers will get off, some stay onboard so those numbers can vary from train to train. From what you write I'm assuming that if you get off you can only reboard once all the car changes are made and the trains ready to go? That would be a reason for people having to stay in the station or in the town for a longer period

Curiosity satisfied.
 
You can get off or not when you’re in the through cars. I’ve both slept through it and explored depending on my energy level. It’s not the best time to sightsee, but it can be interesting. There used to be a 24 hour Denny’s nearby, but that might be gone. I did that a couple of times.
It's still Open, let's just say some of the street characters you see in Dennys make New Orleans night people seem normal!😄
 
If they are continuing on the same train, they wouldn't have to disembark and re-embark, especially not in the sleeping cars. (Although there might not be any electricity or running water during the time when the Eaglet is coupled to the Sunset Limited westbound or decoupled from the SSL eastbound, so best if you can just sleep through it.) In my & the hubby's planned trip on the Texas Eagle this fall, we plan to disembark from the south & west-bound TE at San Antonio, and board the east & north-bound TE the next morning, but those are 2 different trains, and we don't plan to travel any further than San Antonio.
For your consideration:

Instead of riding to San Antonio, book your trip to Austin since the Eaglete will arrive anywhere from the Scheduled time around 630pm to 10pm if running late( very probable thanks to UP Freight Trains).

You will have had Dinner between Temple and Austin, can book a Hotel in Austin, get in a good night's sleep, board the Eaglete around 930AM the next morning ( if on time Austin is Last Call for Breakfast for Boarding Sleeper Passengers, but with Flex Food I recommend having it somewhere in Austin, if not @ your Hotel)

There are many good Hotels and Motels close to the Station, and good cafes close by, and Whole Foods is 2 Blocks away across the Tracks

Hopefully the Eaglete will have its Sightseer Lounge back by then ( currently it's a sad 4 Car Consist with CCC ( Diner),2 Coaches and 1 Sleeper on the back)

Trust me, this is much better than spending the night in the much less than nice Amtrak "Station" in SA (or getting up @ O- Dark- Thirty if you stayed in one of the Motels around St Paul Square close to the Station) to catch the 700AM departure of the North Bound Eaglete!
 
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For your consideration:

Instead of riding to San Antonio, book your trip to Austin since the Eaglete will arrive anywhere from the Scheduled time around 630pm to 10pm if running late( very probable thanks to UP Freight Trains).

You will have had Dinner between Temple and Austin, can book a Hotel in Austin, get in a good night's sleep, board the Eaglete around 930AM the next morning ( if on time Austin is Last Call for Breakfast for Boarding Sleeper Passengers, but with Flex Food I recommend having it somewhere in Austin, if not @ your Hotel)

There are many good Hotels and Motels close to the Station, and good cafes close by, and Whole Foods is 2 Blocks away across the Tracks

Hopefully the Eaglete will have its Sightseer Lounge back by then ( currently it's a sad 4 Car Consist with CCC ( Diner),2 Coaches and 1 Sleeper on the back)

Trust me, this is much better than spending the night in the much less than nice Amtrak "Station" in SA (or getting up @ O- Dark- Thirty if you stayed in one of the Motels around St Paul Square close to the Station) to catch the 700AM departure of the North Bound Eaglete!
Since I haven't yet booked the trip, I will have to look into getting off at Austin instead of San Antonio. Sounds like it might be an improvement over spending the night in the San Antonio station, then perhaps hiking 1/2 mile each way to the 24/7 Denny's for "first breakfast" before "second breakfast" on the train!
 
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