IIRC itineraries that are fully contained in the common segment is allocated to the primary train, Sunset in this case, except in cases where the booking is specifically on the other train. At least that is how it is done on the Lake Shore Limited.
On my recent trip on the Cap, there were 2 sleepers and 2 coaches. Two sleepers was the normal consist before Covid. I think in the past 3 coaches were typical. The main thing missing on the Cap is the sightseer lounge.
Interesting, good to know! Thanks for the info. Down one coach isn't too bad. I've seen many references to the Cap being "a shadow of its former self" and so on; seems like that's a little bit of hyperbole, but I'm sure the loss of the sightseer lounge stings for many. (And less coach capacity is never helpful)
Wasn’t your trip around Thanksgiving? I think they increased capacity for that week.
The macro reason is the amount of serviceable equipment. As to why the Cap wasn’t prioritized as compared to other routes you’d have to ask management. One reason may be that there are other east coast - Chicago services like the lake shore limited and Cardinal. As for the sightseers it’s simply the logical choice to cut them from if you don’t have enough. While I’d like to see them return to the eagle and cap when they can, they have chosen the correct trains to prioritize them on (the east west two night trains and Starlight.)
The Cap in spite of connecting some unique city pairs, has somehow always been one of the weaker trains. It does serve the purpose of being a safety valve for the LSL, playing essentially the role of a degraded Broadway Limited with connection through Washington DC or Pittsburgh. Consequently when ridership crashed, the Cap was adversely affected not only due to loss of riders on its own route, but also the loss of overflow from the LSL, and now that the LSL is getting overwhelmed again the Cap is bound to rebound. Or at least one can hope so, and hope that equipment will be added to it to accommodate such.
True! I feel like the "redundancy" is viewed in a macro sense, focused on end-to-end travel from the East Coast/mid-Atlantic to Chicago. So in that sense, as Jis said, it's a safety valve for the LSL and the Cardinal also exists (and, we hope, may become a daily train sometime). That said, I do empathize for the smaller communities and the cities who are only served by the Cap. When the Builder when to 3x during the early pandemic period, I know people were furious, and some EB supporters get just as up-in-arms about a lack of equipment/the seasonal changes in number of cars. Of course, with the EB being a 'premier' western LD train with no current alternative, I know it would never be as starved for equipment as the Cap, but if it were to be, there'd be many unhappy campers.
The Cap's been two sleepers & two coaches (and a baggage car & food service car) since Thanksgiving week came and went. Just checked 30 now on Elkhart railcam, and still so.
