Winter Trip West (Can't wait!)

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alang

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
90
Location
Nebraska
Going on a holiday trip on the CZ from Nebraska to the Bay Area over the holidays and can't wait! I know a lot of these questions have already been asked but,

1. What is the best Roomette on the CZ West? East?

2. What are the menu changes on the CZ?

3. How much snow before we are delayed?

Thank you as I always learn a lot from the membership.
 
A general consensus among our group is that the roomettes on the top level # 3-7 provide the best ride situated toward the middle of the car. But others like the lower floor, (closer to restrooms and shower, etc) Since it is impossible to know which numbers will be on a given side of the train, it really does not matter which ones you might get or select.

Main advice is to secure a seat in the Lounge Car when you reach Denver for the best views of the approach to the Rockies and the great ride along the Colorado River throughout that day.

It would have to snow a lot or an avalanche or track blockage occur for the train to not run. But delays should be expected in the winter months on this route so plan accordingly with your connections in California.

As far as new menus, you can check the Amtrak website for specifics and our members have recently weighed in on the new choices as well. When in doubt, stick with the steak. Chicken and pastas are usually good as well. Rule of thumb.. if its a special, take that with a grain of salt. :p
 
CZ Dining car menu

For me Roomettes 2 thru 8 work fine.

Another reason many like downstairs Roomettes (11 - 14) is being lower, they sway less.

A sleeper car can be added to the consist using either end, so until you get on the train you won't know what side your Roomette will be on.

The last time I went west on the CZ my Roomette was on the 'wrong' side for the nice views back towards Denver as the CZ climbed the Front Range.

There was an vacant Roomette on the 'right' side of the train so I sat in that Roomette for that part of the trip.

There are nice sights out both sides of the train, so it really doesn't matter which side of the train your Roomette is on.

So +1 on securing a seat in the SSL car if you want a 'vista view' experience.
 
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We prefer upstairs in the middle as mentioned above, although if we are going end to end we often upgrade to a bedroom,,,, I have no compunction whatsoever of putting my Sony cam on the railfan window - you can see them at youtube.com/user/EMAN45640. I have been over Donner Pass with 18' of snow,,, I think the Zeph has been only stopped once by snow (1953?) so I wouldn't worry ,,,,
 
andersone said:
We prefer upstairs in the middle as mentioned above, although if we are going end to end we often upgrade to a bedroom,,,, I have no compunction whatsoever of putting my Sony cam on the railfan window - you can see them at youtube.com/user/EMAN45640. I have been over Donner Pass with 18' of snow,,, I think the Zeph has been only stopped once by snow (1953?) so I wouldn't worry ,,,,
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You are talking about the stranding of the City of San Francisco. The California Zephyr was not affected by that, since it did not operate over Donner Pass, being a WP train and not an SP train.

With that said, UP is pretty good at keeping "The Hill" open despite the massive snowfall that Donner can get.
 
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When I arrived in San Francisco on the Coast Starlight in late December 2003 or early January 2004, I heard the California Zephyr had recently been stuck in the mountains. Can anyone confirm?
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_San_Francisco_(train)

https://youtu.be/tG59X7bMDpA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Zephyr

. . . In 1983 the D&RGW elected to join Amtrak, citing increasing losses in passenger operations. Amtrak re-routed the San Francisco Zephyr over the D&RGW's main line between Denver andSalt Lake City, Utah, its original preference from 1971. The change was scheduled for April 25, but a mudslide at Thistle, Utah closed the line and delayed the change until July 16. With the change of route, Amtrak reinstated the California Zephyr name. . .
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We prefer to get the smaller rooms (my device spellchecker won't let me type what they are really called without wrongly correcting it to something else, the ones rooms that end with ette. ) That way we can be on both sides of the train across from one another and no one gets stuck with the top bunk (put your luggage up there). Being 6'8" I find the in room toilette and shower useless (far too small) and prefer the downstairs facilities,
 
I forgot to mention that the total cost of 2 room ette s is about 2/3 the cost of one full room.
 
KmH said:
CZ Dining car menu
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I just took the Zephyr, and I'd like to point out that the menus changed in early November, but they still seem to have to old menu posted. There's a whole thread about the new menus (happy reading!), and it does include a link to the "Food Facts" page where they actually have it posted.

For what it's worth, I like the middle rooms (#3-6) on the upstairs floor. Roomette #2 is too close to the noisy bathroom door (slams all night) and right across from the attendant. Roomettes #7-10 are too close to the sliding door between cars. I sleep better in the middle, LOL.
 
Actually, my first Train ride in the modern era, all they had left when we boarded was the handicapped bedroom - toilette right in the room. And the room one lower level has windows on both sides of the train. Second trip they put us in the Family bedroom, also both sides of the train but no toilette. That was on the Coast Starlight so we got free wine the whole trip. See why I love AMTRAK?
 
Actually, my first Train ride in the modern era, all they had left when we boarded was the handicapped bedroom - toilette right in the room. And the room one lower level has windows on both sides of the train. Second trip they put us in the Family bedroom, also both sides of the train but no toilette. That was on the Coast Starlight so we got free wine the whole trip. See why I love AMTRAK?

Kauai John- as you are 6'8" and had a family room at one time, is it possible for two adults, one 6'4" the other 5'11" sleep on the lower bunks?
 
Amtrak says the two lower bunks are 3'4" x 6'3" and 2'3" x 4'9". It sounds like neither adult could stretch out fully, but the two lower berths abut and form an L. If the head of the long bed is next to the short bed, then the tall person could presumably stretch out. The person in the short berth will likely be somewhat scrunched.
 
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The bunks on the window side are designed for children, a bit short for sleeping.
 
alang said:
3. How much snow before we are delayed?
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I'm a frequent all season CZ patron. The only snow problem I've encountered was when snow drifts in central Nebraska in approximately 2010 caused cancellations for a day or two.

Then there was the SW Chief and two Illinois trains that got lost in the snow in Jan 2014 around Galesburg.
 
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