WiFi access on TE/SL from Tucson

[micmac99]

Again I will be making the trip TUS-AUS on the Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited. This trip will take place in mid-August. I was able to get a good WiFi connection in El Paso when the train made its scheduled morning inbound stop. Anyone have any other good experiences? I am running an iBook, dual USB G3 with AirPort card. I will also get a new battery before the trip as the original one long ago died, and it's frustrating trying to find available outlets on the 1980's era Superliner cars.

 

[Guest]

Are you asking about G3 cellular service, or really WiFi ??

 

[Long Train Runnin']

True Wi-Fi wise its touch and go stations are your best bet and the mac is the good choice since it connects to networks faster then a PC. I wouldn't count on having any wi-fi honestly

 

[micmac99]

I was asking about true WiFi but I also noticed the last time I was on that trip, this past March, that cell phone service was nonexistent through much of Southwest Texas except near the stations.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I was asking about true WiFi but I also noticed the last time I was on that trip, this past March, that cell phone service was nonexistent through much of Southwest Texas except near the stations.

As a West Texas native and frequent visitor in all honesty the cell phone and wifi reception is hit and

miss, mostly miss!You probably will go into roaming quiet often or even lose service frequently!

Hope you get a rebuilt car with lots of outlets, as you know some of the scenery on these trains is

not the CZ/CS?EB but the ride is the thin g eh? :lol:

 

[micmac99]

I was asking about true WiFi but I also noticed the last time I was on that trip, this past March, that cell phone service was nonexistent through much of Southwest Texas except near the stations.

As a West Texas native and frequent visitor in all honesty the cell phone and wifi reception is hit and

miss, mostly miss!You probably will go into roaming quiet often or even lose service frequently!

Hope you get a rebuilt car with lots of outlets, as you know some of the scenery on these trains is

not the CZ/CS?EB but the ride is the thin g eh? :lol:

I think this will be my third trip on the TE in two years and it is fun. I live in Phoenix which got its station snatched out from under it about 10 years ago, otherwise I might at least go to Southern California more often.

The rebuilt cars are sweet! I do hope I get a rebuilt car but I'm getting a new battery nonetheless and maybe a couple of DVD's. People were all over the train watching DVD's on their notebooks.

 

[gregoryla]

This is off your question, but I'm wondering what the Tucson station is like at 1 am or whenever the train arrives from LA. I've been tempted to take the train from LA to TUC, but that late night / early morning time has put me off. Is it safe? Are taxis avaliable at that hour?

 

[the_traveler]

Are you going coach or sleeper? :huh: If sleeper, you are guaranteed an outlet in your room. If coach, you will (almost be sure to) find an at-seat outlet!

On my trip in March (on too many trains - including the SL), I was in a roomette but did walk thru the cars - and I think I only found 2 or 3 that did not have at-seat power! (One train I went coach was the SL from NOL to SAS - and I did have at-seat power!)

 

[micmac99]

This is off your question, but I'm wondering what the Tucson station is like at 1 am or whenever the train arrives from LA. I've been tempted to take the train from LA to TUC, but that late night / early morning time has put me off. Is it safe? Are taxis avaliable at that hour?

Good question. The immediate area around the Tucson station is fairly safe, as downtown Tucson is pretty much a ghost town at night with the exception of the Congress Hotel, a hip, trendy bar/nightclub/historic hotel that draws a slightly affluent, "sophisticated" and "yuppie" crowd. About 2/3 of the original waiting room of the station, which had earlier been declared a historic landmark of some sort since it was an original Southern Pacific depot, was taken over sometime in late 2008 by an expansion of Maynard's, an upscale bistro which also caters to yuppies, whose free WiFi I easily used while waiting. I arrived about 10pm from my Greyhound bus that left from Phoenix (about a 10-15 minute walk from the Amtrak depot) and a few people were already quietly waiting for the train. Taxis are indeed available immediately outside the station for arrivals and departures. There is a uniformed security guard on the premises at all times.

 

[micmac99]

Here's an interesting link I found to an article on the Arizona Republic website about John Dillinger and his capture at the Hotel Congress (across the street from the Amtrak station in Tucson) and the new Johnny Depp movie in which he plays Dillinger.

http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/movies...tucson0630.html