Passenger Trains > On-Board Upgrade For Sold Out Starlight?

If the final hurrah for the Coast Starlight is indeed this summer, I would at least want to make a trip from LA to Oakland. Does anyone think it could be possible to purchase a coach ticket, and upgrade on board if the sleepers are already sold out? I'd just be upgrading for the Parlour Car anyway, and would be willing to cut a deal for the conductor. Any thoughts, experiences, or observations?

By the way, P42DC #118, which I witnessed incinerating near Albany, OR in January, is finally back in service, heading up 14(9) today. It still has Phase III paint (it looks weird with freshly applied Phase III stripes; that sight takes me back a few years).

JohnThomas wrote:
>
> If the final hurrah for the Coast Starlight is indeed this
> summer,

Don't worry about rumors. If any Amtrak train were to be discontinued, it wouldn't be the StarLate. Even the way Amtrak operates 11 and 14, it is a popular train.

no way hose-hay. ~ I checked with several conductors. The rules specifically forbid selling a first class upgrade unless there is a vacant room, so there is no way to get to the parlor (legally) unless you also have a bedroom. One conductor said he had even suggested just what you had asked, and got no results.

Read my earlier post ("Oliver Stone and the 'demise' of 11/14"). This is one train that isn't going away any time soon.

Per upgrades, when heading south there are usually at least a few bedrooms that come open after Oakland. I've booked in to them both onboard or just in advance of boarding a fair number of times, precisely for the reason you're interested in doing so (i.e., getting access to the Parlor Car). The north-bound run seems trickier to get an upgrade on, so advance reservations have more typically been necessary in my experience. But again, the official word from Amtrak (both West Coast and Washington) is that 11/14 will NOT be discontinued, so planning a fall trip seems practicable ...