Ticketing anomaly makes for $166 saving?

[ButFli]

Hello fellow Amtrakers,

I am considering visiting your great country at the end of this year and as usual I would enjoy a few trips on Amtrak! One trip that I would like to do is LA to Chicago on the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle. I would definitely be paying for sleeping accomodation. Right now I am using November 30 as my date. If I book the whole thing as one ticket on train 422 it will cost me $785 in a roomette. However, if I choose train 422 as far as St Louis and train 322 from there, I only pay $619. I know that 322 would only be coach, but because it is all in daylight all I would be missing out on is lunch and possibly breakfast. I could buy a lot of food in the dining car for $166.

I know that train 422, 322 and 22 are the same train. 422 is a through-sleeper from the Sunset Limited onto the Texas Eagle and 322 is a coach added to the Texas Eagle in St Louis. If everyone plays exactly by the rules I would have to get off the sleeper car, walk into the station at St Louis, line up with the passengers for 322 and get back on in coach. I guess one question I would have is whether/how much the rules might be bent for me. Even if it as small as being allowed to change from sleeper to coach by walking through the train or as generous as being allowed to inhabit the roomette all the way to Chicago.

Can anyone see any problems with my plan? $166 seems like a big saving just for vacating a roomette for half a day.

 

[Ryan]

I wouldn't say that it's a ticketing anomaly, you're saving money by taking coach for a leg on your trip. Even on trains that don't have the added coach/train number deal, you can save lots of money by moving to coach prior to the endpoints.

Take for example the Cardinal from Washington to Chicago - to go all the way in a bedroom would cost you $712. However, if you book the room to Dyer (last stop 30 miles short of CHI), it'll only cost you $540 (plus an $11 coach ticket from DYE-CHI).

It's likely that you'll be able to just walk through the train to your coach seat - I wouldn't expect that you'll be able to stay in your room, and even if you are you'll have to pay for any meals that you eat in the diner.

 

[abcnews]

Just a note - the windows are larger in the Roomette (nice). Also - better bathrooms, perhaps better, since fewer share those same bathrooms in the sleeper area. Plus a shower - but other than that - and of course, with a roomette meals being included. Not a bad deal in your case. JUst shower up before leaving your roomette.

Also, we spend every daylight moment in the upper deck of the all glass sightseer Lounge - which is open to all riders So, if I were you - I would just head to the Sightseer Lounge anyway. If you have one of the best seats in the SSL - who cares if your ticket is Roomette, BR or coach. Riding in the SSL is what I most look forward to on a rail trip in the US.

*BTW - Some trains lack the Sightseer Lounge, and that is when a Roomette is of more value. Best example is the Cardinal - which travels through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Eight continuous hours of outstanding scenery - going past affluent horse farms, rolling through remote Augusta County Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Greenbriar River, The Eastern Divide and the remote New River gorge - the only access to the gorge is by whitewater raft or foot - or by rail... On a train like that - with no sightseer lounge, a large Roomette window is really nice. Plus on that train you have another window above the large, picture window - you actually have 2 windows (single level "Viewliner" Roomette). So that would be the exception. The Cardinal or the Lake Shore Limited. Both lack the scenic lounge.

 

[Bob Dylan]

:hi: Welcome to the forum and I think your plan is excellent! The Texas Eagle usually spends between 30 minutes and an hour in St. Louis since that is a Crew Change and Service Stop. Chances are fairly good if you talk to the Conductor and your Sleeping Car Attendant you could just move to a Coach without having to go into the station and wait in line! When you talk with your SCA and the Conductor(the SCA may do this for you? Be sure and mention it BEFORE you get to St. Louis!))they will take your ticket and let you know if you can stay in your room, it's happened for lots of us! Since it's around Thanksgiving the Train may be full but you will be assured a seat!

As others have said, you MAY even be able to stay in your Roomette if no-one has booked it from STL-CHI?? If so. as was said you could pay for any meals (lunch is served after the Springfield ,Ill stop and has a limited menu and short serving hours, you may want to just eat when you get to CHI! Depending on the time into St. Louis, Breakfast may be served BEFORE you get to St. Louis thus it would be included in your fare!

The #322 Coach is just the last C oach on the Train between St. Louis and CHI, as was said Id consider stashing your luggage in the downstairs rack of the Coach, put your seat check on the overhead rack and go to the Sightseer Lounge for the ride to CHI! (It's mostly Cornfields and factory towns once you cross trhe Mississippi River leaving St. Louis!) Be sure and wave as you come through Austin! ^_^

 

[AlanB]

Here's the one big problem that I see with this plan, the ongoing track work between St. Louis & Chicago. While there is no way to predict that the date you've picked will be a construction period, but if it is, then your plan runs into a very big potential problem.

If indeed the date you pick is a date where track work is being performed, then the Eagle takes a detour routing. That routing is longer than the normal route. So to save time, the 322 car is eliminated so that they don't have to perform the switching in St. Louis. If that car is cut, then you have no seat.

Now I've seen mixed reports where in some cases Amtrak placed people on train #21/#22, but other reports where things were already full, so passengers were offered a bus ride instead.

Bottom line is that you need to know that you are taking a potentially bigger gamble right now if you opt for this plan.

 

[Trogdor]

If the 322 car gets cut, they will protect him on the regular Eagle coaches. No big deal.

 

[AlanB]

If the 322 car gets cut, they will protect him on the regular Eagle coaches. No big deal.

Which is what I had believe would always happen until just recently when a member of this forum booked on 321 was not protected in the regular #21 Eagle coaches.