Passenger Trains > Coast Starlight - roomette positioning - even vs odd going south

1.  Are the sleepers on the Starlight currently running on the front or rear of the train?

2.  Going south, will the odd or even roomettes have the "ocean view" between SLO and LA?

Thanks.

-- wzd

Sleepers are on normally on the front behind the Dorm car.

It is really the luck of the draw as all of the 3 peak season sleepers are normally not placed in the same position.  Meaning the first car might give you a Ocean View where the 2 and 3 car may not.

If you can catch one of the Starlights on the Dunsmuir web-cam you can see what I mean.

When we have traveled on the Starlight it's been about 50/50 for the Ocean View so on the Coast part of the trip we try to be in the PPC or Diner during some of the beach running time if our room is not Ocean facing.

Northridge Switcher

There are a few regular videographers who cover the Coast Starlight on a weekly basis. You can search youtube for "Coast Starlight" and sort the results by date. No guarantees, but you can frequently see your trainset out on the road and get a sneak preview of the consist. Just figure out which train the one you will be boarding has been -- 14(X), 11(X) -- and look for that one in your results. 

Needless to say, but things could change overnight in the yard; however, chances are pretty good that the consist will hold. 

Originally the Superliner sleepers were supposed to run with the big rooms at the front--which would mean odd numbers for ocean view going south, even numbers north.  That, however, did not last very long, and now, as the others said, it's luck of the draw whether the big rooms are at the front or the rear.  As a result, you can't tell in advance from your room number if you'll get the ocean view.  I've found, however, that when I'm on the wrong side there's usually an empty roomette on the other side and the car attendant is fine with my using it, so long as I keep things neat so there's no extra work for him/her.  That might also work for someone in a big room who's on the wrong side--though in that situation my wife (I only have a big room when my wife is along--she demands it) prefers simply to keep the door open and look out the window on the other side of the hall.

Thanks for the info.  At Seattle and Los Angeles, do the consists normally head out the following morning after they arrive?

wzd Wrote:
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> Thanks for the info.  At Seattle and Los Angeles,
> do the consists normally head out the following
> morning after they arrive?
 
Correct.

Just hope you have a Pacific Parlour in your consist.  They're a significantly better place to sightsee than your sleeper room.  More comfortable seating and 360 degree view.  You can't beat it.

WETSU Wrote:
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> Just hope you have a Pacific Parlour in your
> consist.  They're a significantly better place to
> sightsee than your sleeper room.  More
> comfortable seating and 360 degree view.  You
> can't beat it.

I like the parlor cars too, but to say they offer a 360 degree view is simply not the case, as there is no view forward or to the rear.   Best one could say about the view from the parlors is "panoramic view" or some such thing.  It takes a true dome car to offer that wonderful 360 degree view, and the short domes do the best job by far of that.  AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

agentatascadero Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WETSU Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Just hope you have a Pacific Parlour in your
> > consist.  They're a significantly better place
> to
> > sightsee than your sleeper room.  More
> > comfortable seating and 360 degree view.  You
> > can't beat it.
>
> I like the parlor cars too, but to say they offer
> a 360 degree view is simply not the case, as there
> is no view forward or to the rear.   Best one
> could say about the view from the parlors is
> "panoramic view" or some such thing.  It takes a
> true dome car to offer that wonderful 360 degree
> view, and the short domes do the best job by far
> of that.  AA


If Amtrak were more innovative, it would figure out the best way to position these sleepers, and charge more for rooms with ocean views.