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Jester

Jester

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
15
Location
Lexington, KY
Taking the Texas Eagle to Benson, AZ next month and have been thinking of the multi-hour layover in San Antonio while our cars wait for the New Orleans to LA Sunset Limited. Knowing there is such an extended layover why is the Chicago departure set at 1:45 PM? I have been wondering if there is a need to get out of the Chicago area, perhaps due to rail traffic or if there is some other reason that makes sense once known.

While in SA my brother and I, a couple of seniors, hope to explore so we don't mind the 7 - 9 1/2 hour layover but we are curious why the two trains are not coordinated better? Maybe this is the best but I'd like to hear some thoughts on this scheduling.

Thanks,

Jester
 
Jester said:
Taking the Texas Eagle to Benson, AZ next month and have been thinking of the multi-hour layover in San Antonio while our cars wait for the New Orleans to LA Sunset Limited. Knowing there is such an extended layover why is the Chicago departure set at 1:45 PM? I have been wondering if there is a need to get out of the Chicago area, perhaps due to rail traffic or if there is some other reason that makes sense once known.

While in SA my brother and I, a couple of seniors, hope to explore so we don't mind the 7 - 9 1/2 hour layover but we are curious why the two trains are not coordinated better? Maybe this is the best but I'd like to hear some thoughts on this scheduling.

Thanks,

Jester
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A lot of it from the huge pad that UP and Amtrak put into the Sunset's schedule a few years ago to correct the timekeeping problem that UP had with the Sunset and the Sunset was routinely 16 hours and more late. The pre-padding schedule had a much tighter connection in San Antonio (like 2/3 hours, IIRC).

So the short answer is that Amtrak can't really trust UP to keep a tighter connection.
 
Another reaason why the departure from CHI is at 1:45 PM is because the Texas Eagle operates daily between CHI and San Antonio (SAS). Thus, if it left CHI at say 6 PM, you would have very late times at St Louis, Dallas, Ft Worth, and an arrival time in SAS like at 2 AM everyday. This would be true even on the 4 days a week it doesn't connect to the Sunset Limited!
 
The primary reason is to have a late evening arrival early morning departure for the TE, and a late evening southbound departure, early morning nrothbound arrival at St. Louis.

It would be interesting to know the proportion of the passenger loading that goes through at San Antonio. I would suspect that it would not be high enough to give away the timing points just mentioned.

The section into and out of San Antonio is very slow as the ex Southern Pacific station used by the TE and Sunset is not adjacent to either of the tracks to Austin.
 
The other issues are:

*If you had the train get into San Antonio too much later (or leave too much earlier heading northbound) you might not be able to turn the equipment in time.

*A train on a significantly different schedule in either direction will break the connection to/from the Heartland Flyer at least one way. Right now, the Heartland Flyer connects to and from both directions of the Texas Eagle. Change the schedule too much, and the connecting traffic goes away, and the Flyer dies.

*The route between Chicago and St. Louis is mostly single-track, so trains have to be slotted specifically to avoid causing too much delay in the other direction. The next best slot (ignoring all of the above) would be 5:15 pm, but that belongs to train 305 (a state-supported train). The State of Illinois really really likes having that slot for "their" train, and you'd have to pry it from their cold, dead hands.

Of course, this all may change in a few years if HSR gets developed further, double-tracking the whole route with more frequencies. But that still wouldn't change the situation in San Antonio. That will still be the case until (and assuming) the restructuring takes place that makes the whole Sunset route daily.
 
Excellent answers, pretty much covers the reasons for the schedule on this route! Still wouldnt hurt to run the Sunset out of SAS earlier (it leaves at 5:45AM, three days a week,) since it arrives into SAS early, usually like 2AM and sits with the Attendants standing by the doors for several hours after the Switching that involves hooking up the Sleeper and Coach that are dropped by the Eagle and hooked to the Sunset for LAX. Leaving at 4AM would give a little extra Padding in case UP decides to put #1 into the hole everytime a UP Mile long freight comes streaming thru out in the West Texas Wildlands! This ensures an even earlier arrival into LAX to help make the guranteed connection with the CS a surer thing!
 
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How much extra padding do you want?
huh.gif
They already added 8 hours of extra padding years ago, departing LAX at 2:30 PM instead of 10:30 PM!
ohmy.gif
They are now trying to reduce the padding instead of adding to it. (In fact the departure was just pushed back from LAX so the Thruway from BFD could connect with the SL. The Thruway arrives at 2:30 PM and the SL departed at 2:30 PM! Now I believe that connection can be made.)
 
LOL, my question is why are you going to Benson, AZ? There is nothing there. The 'station' is basically a poor excuse for a bus shelter. The only thing Benson has going for it is there are lots and lots of trains going through there. And since Benson is in a valley with grades on each side the trains literally just scream through town with their horns blowing all the way. I stayed there one night on my way back from LA and loved it. We went east of town that night and watched the trains grinding up the grade toward Dragoon. The descent into Benson westbound can be spectacular in the summer with the sunset.
 
henryj said:
LOL, my question is why are you going to Benson, AZ? There is nothing there. The 'station' is basically a poor excuse for a bus shelter. The only thing Benson has going for it is there are lots and lots of trains going through there. And since Benson is in a valley with grades on each side the trains literally just scream through town with their horns blowing all the way. I stayed there one night on my way back from LA and loved it. We went east of town that night and watched the trains grinding up the grade toward Dragoon. The descent into Benson westbound can be spectacular in the summer with the sunset.
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My question pertained only to my curiousity as to why the scheduling which creates the layover in San Antonio.

Since my trip's purpose and destination did not contribute to my question I did not include such information. I have family in Sierra Vista and Benson is the closest station stop. Your observation that there is nothing there could have been extended to Amtrak staff since there is no one there.

Jester
 
Grandpa D said:
Jester said:
Your observation that there is nothing there could have been extended to Amtrak staff since there is no one there.
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And it's only a flag stop. Make sure they know you want to get off there. :huh:
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Flagstaff? No, we're not going to.....

By Benson they'll probably pay us to get off. Two brothers who are also seniors, each supposedly making sure the other takes his meds? Walter Mathaw and Jack Lemmon move over.

Jester
 
Do most people wait on the train and sleep, or do they get together and take a cab somewhere like the Riverwalk? And is the neighborhood around the station safe enough to allow hoofing it to attractions within walking distance?
 
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If you can manage to access the Public Address System for a moment and inquire:

"Hey, who wants to get together and take a cab somewhere like the Riverwalk? We are meeting by the stairs in the Sightseer Lounge in 10 minutes."

You're sure to get some kind of response.
 
lthanlon said:
Is the neighborhood around the station safe enough to allow hoofing it to attractions within walking distance?
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So long as you remain west of the tracks and north of the Alamo Dome and walk with purpose you'll be fine. You'll have to travel under a freeway bridge to reach downtown but it's well lit so no worries there. A cab should be relatively cheap for such a short ride also.
 
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