If they ticket the connection under the same reservation, it is guaranteed. And that particular connection is absolutely protected. Be it train, or bus, Amtrak will get you there.
If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
Thanks for all the help. The tickets are under the same reservation number, so I will set my mind at ease. I won't fret much about being late, as long as I know that I'll get there. Thanks again.
Here is some more history on CS 11 into LAX (the last 4 weeks):
Status for train 11 arriving into LAX
2009-12-03: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:56 pm Delay: -4 minutes
2009-12-02: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:21 pm Delay: 81 minutes
2009-12-01: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 9:56 pm Delay: 56 minutes
2009-11-30: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:39 pm Delay: -21 minutes
2009-11-29: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 2:28 am Delay: 328 minutes
2009-11-28: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:25 pm Delay: -35 minutes
2009-11-27: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:45 pm Delay: -15 minutes
2009-11-26: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:25 pm Delay: -35 minutes
2009-11-25: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:19 pm Delay: 79 minutes
2009-11-24: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 9:23 pm Delay: 23 minutes
2009-11-23: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:52 pm Delay: -8 minutes
2009-11-22: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:36 pm Delay: -24 minutes
2009-11-21: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:26 pm Delay: -34 minutes
2009-11-20: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:37 pm Delay: -23 minutes
2009-11-19: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:43 pm Delay: -17 minutes
2009-11-18: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:43 pm Delay: -17 minutes
2009-11-17: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:33 pm Delay: -27 minutes
2009-11-16: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:44 pm Delay: -16 minutes
2009-11-15: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:21 pm Delay: -39 minutes
2009-11-14: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:29 pm Delay: -31 minutes
2009-11-13: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:19 pm Delay: 79 minutes
2009-11-12: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:44 pm Delay: -16 minutes
2009-11-11: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:58 pm Delay: -2 minutes
2009-11-10: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:42 pm Delay: -18 minutes
2009-11-09: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:41 pm Delay: -19 minutes
2009-11-08: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:30 pm Delay: -30 minutes
2009-11-07: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:26 pm Delay: -34 minutes
Average delay is 7 minutes