Was pre Katrina Sunset Limited the only train to go cross country?

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Didnt that car go all the way from LAX to NYP?IIRC, Amtrak brought the Southern Crescent on to NYP, although Southern added or dropped several cars at WAS...
SOU was much more reasonable as it did drop several cars both coach and sleepers at Washington. If Amtrak followed the same operation it could free up both AM-2 coaches and a sleeper that could same day turn in WASH. During high travel times more cars would operate between WASH - NYP and SOU would run an extra or advance section(s) ATL <> WASH.
 
Wasn't there a car that ran through from the West Coast to Chicago, dropped down to WAS and was added to one of the Florida trains? I know the car was designated 830 from CHI-MIA.
Any idea on the year ThirdRail. I know just the historian to ask.
I believe this was early to mid 90s.

I'm trying to track down that through car. Did the car switch trains at WAS or was it on the South Wind/Floridian the whole way CHI-MIA?
I know it switched at WAS and I believe CHI.
Would a Chicago-West Coast train have had single-level coaches in the early 1990s?

The Capitol Limited (and Florida trains) were single-level at that time, but I thought all west coast trains were Superliner/Hi-Level.

In any event, here is the page showing through service on the Chief and Capitol: http://timetables.org/browse/?group=19970511n&item=0024
 
It clearly says "Chicago to Miami". Ergo....

I believe in 1992 all western LDs were Superliner/HiLevel already, while the Cap was still single level.

By 1997 the Cap had become Superliner allowing consist sharing with the Southwest Chief and the short lived run through at Chicago.
I wasn't sure if he was referring to the West Coast through car brought up by TR7. Timetable was to pixelated to read.
 
There was a thru-sleeper from NYC to LAX on the old National Limited, connecting at KC with the Southwest Chief.

There was a thru-sleeper from NYC to LAX on the Crescent, connecting at NOL with the Sunset Limited. The sleeper stayed at NOL Union Station overnight so you could use it as your hotel. It was added to the connecting train before early AM departure.
 
There was a thru-sleeper from NYC to LAX on the old National Limited, connecting at KC with the Southwest Chief.

There was a thru-sleeper from NYC to LAX on the Crescent, connecting at NOL with the Sunset Limited. The sleeper stayed at NOL Union Station overnight so you could use it as your hotel. It was added to the connecting train before early AM departure.
Yes, the good old days. They even advertised it as such. From Timetables.org, May 1977: http://timetables.org/full.php?group=19770501&item=0036

I assumed if you were a coach passenger you had to get off though.

I can see the SL-Crescent timing in NOL was really not much better than it is today. The only thing better is the train got into LAX after 6am as opposed to today. The train still serves San Antonio during the graveyard shift in both directions. But at least back then it served Phoenix.

At least back then you had the National Limited and Lone Star. The connection in KCY between 31 and 15 (11:05pm and 12:35am) would have been tight if going from the NEC and Texas, you'd probably still rather use CHI although maybe in the winter you might consider the southern route. You wouldn't try it returning 16 to 30 though (2:10am to 7:00am!)
 
Airlines groundings ? Has happened due to volcanic ash. Biggest problem will be RRs needing many replacement air filters. Mt. St Helens did require almost daily loco air filter changes in the ash area.
 
And the SL ran from east to west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean — the Panama Railway does the opposite.

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What? Are you serious?
Yes, the Atlantic Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway is WEST of the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway. One of those quirks of geography that my junior high school geography teacher 55 years ago would mention in all of his classes at the start of the school year.

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Yes, the Atlantic Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway is WEST of the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway. One of those quirks of geography that my junior high school geography teacher 55 years ago would mention in all of his classes at the start of the school year.
There's apparently a mountain top in Panama where you can look west and see the Atlantic (Caribbean) and look east to see the Pacific (Gulf of Panama).
 
And the SL ran from east to west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean — the Panama Railway does the opposite.

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What? Are you serious?
Yes, the Atlantic Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway is WEST of the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal passageway. One of those quirks of geography that my junior high school geography teacher 55 years ago would mention in all of his classes at the start of the school year.

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Yeah, once I spent enough time deciphering your enigmatically phrased ambiguous statement I realized what you were trying to say.
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Pre-Amtrak, I thought most NYC-California pas train traffic was routed through Chicago and not the Southern route.
 
Pre-Amtrak, I thought most NYC-California pas train traffic was routed through Chicago and not the Southern route.
Pre Amtrak there were a handful of gateways to the west. Chicago being the main one between the eastern trunk roads and the grangers. It should be noted only two of the Chicago roads actually reached the pacific namely the Santa Fe and Milwaukee Road.

The secondary gateway was St. Louis which used to service the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore&Ohio, Southern Railway, Wabash, Nickel Plate Road, Illinois Central, Louisville&Nashville, Gulf Mobile & Ohio, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, Frisco, Saint Louis and San Francisco (cotton belt), Chicago and Eastern Illinois, Missouri Kansas Texas, and probably some I've forgotten. At its peak St Louis Union Station was over forty tracks and the busiest train station in the world.

Then you have New Orleans as a gateway back then which had the Louisville and Nashville, Kansas City Southern, Southern Railway, Southern Pacific, Gulf Mobile and Ohio, Illinois Central, and a few others.

The other western gateway was Minneapolis Saint Paul between the western roads and the grangers. At one time services by the Milwaukee Road, Chicago and Northwestern, Chicago and Great Western, Soo Line, Rock Island, Burlington, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and I think that's it.

And the smallest of the gateways was Memphis of whom I forget every railroad that served it. But I know Southern Railway, Rock Island, Illinois Central, Gulf Mobile and Ohio, Louisville and Nashville, and maybe a handful of others. But like I said a very small hub.

A more eastern Midwest gateway was Cincinnati.
 
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