Passenger Trains > Southwest Chief

Little  victories.  Hear  another  coach  added  th  trains  3  and  4. Confirmation?

I saw the Chief a couple days ago in Illinois and noticed 3 coaches. Not sure if the 3rd coach (last car) was deadheading or not?

Posted from iPhone

Three coaches the last few nights on the Flagstaffs railcam. Busy station!

Train #4 with just two coaches had been sold out for weeks from Kansas City to Chicago!
Amazingly, with the start of #4 coming through Kansas City with the now 3 coaches, it again was immediately sold out days in advance!
That should tell you something!

I believe it has a regular bagagge too - possibly just for summer (they usually add it for the Boy Scouts)

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> . . .  Hear  another  coach added  th  trains  3  and  4. Confirmation?

Heard that too, from a very reliable source. With the attrition of the Superliner fleet over the years, it's impossible for Amtrak to run full consists everywhere. The tiny 29/30 exemplifies this. 3/4 got the added coach; 7/8 (Seattle section) did not.

Posted from Android

Looking at the train this morning through the VRF Flagstaff cam, #4 had 3 Metrolink cars (headed to Talgo in Milwaukee for rebuild) followed by a bag, 2 sleepers, diner, SSL and 3 coaches. The Operation Life Saver unit was on the point.

Tom Coughlin
Stow, MA

Posted from iPhone

Looking at the train this morning through the VRF Flagstaff cam, #4 had 3 Metrolink cars (headed to Talgo in Milwaukee for rebuild) followed by a bag, 2 sleepers, diner, SSL and 3 coaches. The Operation Life Saver unit was on the point.

Tom Coughlin
Stow, MA

Posted from iPhone

lordsigma Wrote:
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> I believe it has a regular bagagge too - possibly
> just for summer (they usually add it for the Boy
> Scouts)

So, if the Superliner Trans-Dorm car ever gets added back on - then we got a pre-COVID Southwest Chief.....

In summer months in mid-2000's when Amtrak was short Superliner coaches, they ran one or two extra Horizon cars AHEAD of the Superliner Trans-Dorm Car so as to add capacity on the corridor portions of the City of New Orleans and Southwest Chief (e.g. KC to Chicago, Carbondale to Chicago). It was quite unique to see, but the goal was to add capacity and serve passengers. What a concept. This was also the same time that Gunn insisted they get the refurbished Suplerliner I sleepers back on the road for the summer so as to capture the capacity demands, and run a Superliner Coach behind the Portland Sleeper between Twin Cities and Chicago. Didn't last long as they then fired Gunn by the following year.....

Thanks  for  all the  feedback. You  can  fill a  coach  every  day  to/from Kansas  City!!  NOT to  mention  Boy Scouts  to Raton.  Leaving  open the  question of  all those Superliner  coaches  Chicago to Carbondale!!

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> Thanks  for  all the  feedback. You  can
>  fill a  coach  every  day  to/from Kansas
>  City!!  NOT to  mention  Boy Scouts  to
> Raton.  Leaving  open the  question of  all
> those Superliner  coaches  Chicago to
> Carbondale!!

What question about the sold out coaches between Chicago and Carbondale? It’s only been covered dozens of times on this forum.

Posted from iPhone

Would be nice to see a 3rd coach added to the Coast Starlight and Ca Zephyr as well

Oregonpaul Wrote:
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> Would be nice to see a 3rd coach added to the
> Coast Starlight and Ca Zephyr as well

I saw 3 coaches on #6 today on the Mount Pleasant.Iowa cam

lordsigma Wrote:
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> I believe it has a regular bagagge too - possibly
> just for summer (they usually add it for the Boy
> Scouts)

If a Scout has to use the baggage car for their Philmont gear, they have overpacked… just sayin’

Posted from iPhone

restricted_speed Wrote:
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> Oregonpaul Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Would be nice to see a 3rd coach added to the
> > Coast Starlight and Ca Zephyr as well
>
> I saw 3 coaches on #6 today on the Mount
> Pleasant.Iowa cam

Today's #5 had 2 coaches.

Amtrak continues to publish lies about all their Superliner equipment problems - problems Amtrak created.  

Here are my suggestions:
 - Get the Beech Grove shop operating at FULL capacity.  Maybe they need to train and hire 200 or 400 more employees??
 - Repair all cars in the BG backlot.  No stupid excuses that they are short manpower or that the cars are needed for legal battles or any similar avoiding of the truth.
 - Have BG repair even the heavily damaged cars; the cost of repairs is expensive, but the cost of new equipment is five times more.  
 - Get all Superliners off of any use on local Chicago trains
 - Hire sufficient staff in every yard so that cars needing repair and e-cleaning and inspection are done promptly. 
 - Then you can operate larger consists and have spares ready for use.  

They've BEEN hiring for months, but are still far short of manpower. The labor market is extremely tight, and they are having a hard time keeping up with attrition. EVERY railroad is having the same problem.

Posted from Android

It's crap since Amtrak's picky on who they hire too, be nice to see the dorm car back on The Chief!

Posted from Android

What's the attrition rate on new hires for Amtrak?

kevink Wrote:
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> lordsigma Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I believe it has a regular bagagge too -
> possibly
> > just for summer (they usually add it for the
> Boy
> > Scouts)
>
> If a Scout has to use the baggage car for their
> Philmont gear, they have overpacked… just
> sayin’
>
> Posted from iPhone

When you multiply the number of properly packed backpacks by the number of scouts on board, it adds up to a lot of bags that don't fit in the bag coach.  Watching the loading and unloading of those backpacks at Fullerton, CA. is quite the show.