Passenger Trains > What's up with 10 cars on #5 to night?

Tonight I watched #5 come into Burlington and it had 10 cars plus the bag.  When did they add the 9th car and why tonight was there 10.  There were 4 sleepers and 4 coaches.  Any ideas?  I thought Amtrak did not have any extra cars. 

They have been running a lot of Zephyr consists in this configuration for several weeks now. The Southwest Chief also has “extra” cars (what was the normal length pre-Covid). I suspect some of the refurbished/refreshed cars coming out of Beech Grove are finally making their way out into the system.

looks more like their old self

maybe someone in antrak might be reading the posts...............

Seems like the Coast Starlight is now shorter than the Zephyr. Was that usual pre-Covid or maybe not?
 

The Zephyr has been running with 10 cars since mid-June. The SWC has been a 9 car train for sometime also. The losers have been the Coast Starlight at an 8 car train that used to be 10 or 11 for summer, the Sunset gained a transition sleeper but quickly lost a promised coach (only 1 coach SAS-NOL), the SEA Builder never got its second coach, and then there's the shell of a CONO. 

I can remember when the Starlight had up to 18 cars at one time.
In recent memory. When it had the Parlour Cars. It had 15 years during the heavier traffic peaks



G600DRVR Wrote:
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> The Zephyr has been running with 10 cars since
> mid-June. The SWC has been a 9 car train for
> sometime also. The losers have been the Coast
> Starlight at an 8 car train that used to be 10 or
> 11 for summer, the Sunset gained a transition
> sleeper but quickly lost a promised coach (only 1
> coach SAS-NOL), the SEA Builder never got its
> second coach, and then there's the shell of a
> CONO. 

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

GP25 Wrote:
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> I can remember when the Starlight had up to 18
> cars at one time.
> In recent memory. When it had the Parlour Cars. It
> had 15 years during the heavier traffic peaks
>
>
>

Of course that was when it was still using steam heated, single level cars.

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GP25 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I can remember when the Starlight had up to 18
> > cars at one time.
> > In recent memory. When it had the Parlour Cars.
> It
> > had 15 years during the heavier traffic peaks
> >
> >
> >
>
> Of course that was when it was still using steam
> heated, single level cars.

Summer PEAK Coast Starlight train set in early 2000's to late 2000's was typically:

- Baggage x1
- Superliner Trans/Dorm Sleeper x1
- Superliner Sleeper x4
- ex-AT&SF Parlour Car x1
- Superliner Diner x1
- Superliner Sightseer Lounge x1
- Superliner Coach x5

Total - 14

I am sure an extra coach could have been added from time to time to bring it to 15. But I was onboard when they had 4 regular Superliner Sleepers and it was right after the "re-launch" of the Coast Starlight - the second time that is (just after the "Enhanced" service came out on the Empire Builder). That's when the drum heads were debuted again. Amtrak had Coast Starlight branded banners that would be on the station platform at LA and Seattle. They had a banner on the platform made for the fourth sleeper. I was surprised because typically it would be three sleepers year-round, but a fourth sleeper would show up in prime/peak summer months. 1411, 1412, 1413, 1414, 1432 (Trans/Dorm Sleeper)

jp1822 Wrote:
-------
>
> I am sure an extra coach could have been added
> from time to time to bring it to 15. 

Thanks jp for those recollections; brings back memories as those years were my working era with Amtk. 
Regarding the Extra Coach, quite often it was a LAX-OAK "turn" coach. Used to help with the Bay Area 
to LA passenger loads. In fact that was the only occasion when I had a car separation (knuckle released) 
while we had just got underway from OAK on a busy summer Starlight #11. 

I was upstairs in the old Budd HiLevel (full with new psgrs) when I heard the Air release under the Car.
 
Looking at the main train, I saw it slowly moving AWAY from our Coach, as we sat stopped on the Rail. 
I went up to the End Door to protect, and waited to see what would happen. Fortunately we had an SP 
trainman/brakeman down on the lower level. He got on the pac set and within a short time, the main train
reversed and came back to pick us up. Pretty interesting Move. Reason for the separation; the OAK 
switch crew did not do a "double stretch" on the coupling. The knuckle pin had not completely dropped.
But no harm or foul came of it; other than some head probably rolled for not making sure the Coupling was 
solid and secure. Mid 1980s.