Passenger Trains > Lots of PV activity being posted......

Have seen a lot of PV posts recently.  Is it just the vaccine and general waning of covid, or is amtrak secretly being more cooperative  with PV's, but not making it public?

colors changing and aarprco has a get together coming up, some pent up demand, all following amtrak  restrictive rules

Despite all the restrictions and cost increases from Mr. Delta Airlines, 2020 was looking like it would have been a pretty busy year for PV's, until the virus hysteria hit.  So yes, some pent-up demand is being seen, plus some of the relatively few well-heeled PV owners have been taking non-public trips.  And as Dan noted, the AAPRCO convention is coming up so some positioning moves are being seen.  Since it's the same trip as last year per the new Amtrak special train rules, fewer PV's are participating. 

No changes; it's mostly 10+ cars going to the AAPRCO Convention and Patrick Henry running his cars.  Our car, REDWOOD EMPIRE, will be out for 2 trips in October and November - first time in two years - but it will also likely be sold soon. The rates and restrictions are still onerous.

WP-M2051 Wrote:
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> No changes; it's mostly 10+ cars going to the
> AAPRCO Convention and Patrick Henry running his
> cars.  Our car, REDWOOD EMPIRE, will be out for 2
> trips in October and November - first time in two
> years - but it will also likely be sold soon. The
> rates and restrictions are still onerous.

The cost chased away some previous LA Rail passengers so the Pacific Sands is staying back in LA. However, the Tioga Pass will be there as Norm is returning from his Canadian business trip. Though pricey, events before March 2018 were affordable if enough people signed up and the LA Rail stable included cars restored by individual middle-class families as some would restore a second home. Now all are gone except for the Sands and Tioga Pass and the former hasn't run for well over a year. The Tioga Pass gets out relatively frequently with special charters and such, but if it wasn't for those it too would be sidelined. What's left are some corporate cars or those with well-to-do owners who take along a few passengers for a price. For my part, I'm glad to have had almost a decade of riding with those folks and others for an affordable price.

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WP-M2051 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > No changes; it's mostly 10+ cars going to the
> > AAPRCO Convention and Patrick Henry running his
> > cars.  Our car, REDWOOD EMPIRE, will be out for
> 2
> > trips in October and November - first time in
> two
> > years - but it will also likely be sold soon.
> The
> > rates and restrictions are still onerous.
>
> The cost chased away some previous LA Rail
> passengers so the Pacific Sands is staying back in
> LA. However, the Tioga Pass will be there as Norm
> is returning from his Canadian business trip.
> Though pricey, events before March 2018 were
> affordable if enough people signed up and the LA
> Rail stable included cars restored by individual
> middle-class families as some would restore a
> second home. Now all are gone except for the Sands
> and Tioga Pass and the former hasn't run for well
> over a year. The Tioga Pass gets out relatively
> frequently with special charters and such, but if
> it wasn't for those it too would be sidelined.
> What's left are some corporate cars or those with
> well-to-do owners who take along a few passengers
> for a price. For my part, I'm glad to have had
> almost a decade of riding with those folks and
> others for an affordable price.

Well said, Dave.  I'm another of those middle class types who had been able to find and ride budget minded trips.  That Amtrak's pig headed PV policies, and COVID happened at pretty much the same time....well, it could not have been worse luck for the PV industry.  I have my hopes (slim) for the future, when travel becomes more viable.

AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

Our travel agency(tourgroupplanners.com)has always did group PV trips that are for middle class folks - so we strive to keep the costs down and still give a 1st class performance. We always include touring and guides which no one else out there does. We've done this over 10 years now and only missed once- last year due to covid.
Joe