# NEC 66 or 166



## Guest (Oct 15, 2018)

Planning a trip from Florida to Boston and will transfer in either NY or DC. Which NEC train is preferred? 66 or 166? And is it worth it to go with business class?


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## CCC1007 (Oct 15, 2018)

In this case, I would suggest train 66 in business class, as 166 arrives into Boston at 1:18 AM. I suggest business class as there is a better chance of getting a single seat (no person in the seat next to you) in that car for the overnight trip.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2018)

CCC1007 said:


> In this case, I would suggest train 66 in business class, as 166 arrives into Boston at 1:18 AM. I suggest business class as there is a better chance of getting a single seat in that car for the overnight trip.



Thank you. There will be 2 people traveling. Will business class make a difference in getting a seat by ourselves?


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## CCC1007 (Oct 15, 2018)

Guest said:


> CCC1007 said:
> 
> 
> > In this case, I would suggest train 66 in business class, as 166 arrives into Boston at 1:18 AM. I suggest business class as there is a better chance of getting a single seat in that car for the overnight trip.
> ...


Since two people will be traveling, there isn’t really any worry as to getting seated together, as far as I know. Other members of this forum may have more information than I would at this time.
Have a great trip no matter which train you choose.


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## Palmetto (Oct 15, 2018)

CCC1007 said:


> In this case, I would suggest train 66 in business class, as 166 arrives into Boston at 1:18 AM. I suggest business class as there is a better chance of getting a single seat (no person in the seat next to you) in that car for the overnight trip.


Not necessarily. I've been in business class more than once, and it was jammed. 66 might be an exception, given its hours of operation.


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## Acela150 (Oct 15, 2018)

Palmetto said:


> CCC1007 said:
> 
> 
> > In this case, I would suggest train 66 in business class, as 166 arrives into Boston at 1:18 AM. I suggest business class as there is a better chance of getting a single seat (no person in the seat next to you) in that car for the overnight trip.
> ...


BC on 66 is a toss up.. Either full or empty. But it usually empties out at NYP. I've done 166 from WAS-RTE. I'll never do it again unless I'm coming from PHL. It's a really long ride from DC to RTE even in BC. The only other time I rode from RTE-WAS I was on 2165. Which made it more bearable. But it was still a long ride.


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## bratkinson (Oct 15, 2018)

Given that 166 is the 'last call' on Sundays for those wishing to get home at a reasonable time, 166 is the train of choice with reasonable times at PHL and NYP. Unless you have some means of being in downtown Boston at 1:30 AM, I'd avoid 166 due to crowds and personal safety issues in the wee hours of the morning.

But then, if you need to be back at work on Monday morning, you really don't have a choice other than 166, or go directly from #66 to work 'looking rough around the edges'.

I've never taken 166. But I have ridden #66 perhaps 6-8 times in the past 10 years. My preference is business class as there's more space between rows of seats to recline more comfortably. Not as much as Amfleet II coaches have for legroom, but it's still better than the 12" of legroom in Amfleet I NEC coaches. Interestingly, however, the business class of #66 seems to vary from using half a cafe/BC car with 18 leather seats in 2 and 1 configuration or a full corridor business class car with 15.5 rows of 2-2 seating. I've never been able to figure out when it switches from one to the other ahead of time. If it's a full 62/64 seat BC car, you'll most likely have a seat to yourself with 20" of legroom and lots of empty seats. In the split cafe/BC car, the 18 seats will be packed or nearly so from WAS to NYP, with 3-5 empty seats departing NYP. On the downside, however, is only 18" of legroom (and maybe a legrest from under the seat) and the '1' side seats are mysteriously 1" WIDER than the seats on the '2' side! (20" on the '1' side, 19" on the '2' side, there's also a rigid armrest between seats on the '2' side).

Whatever works best for you, have a good trip!


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## cpotisch (Oct 15, 2018)

bratkinson said:


> My preference is business class as there's more space between rows of seats to recline more comfortably. Not as much as Amfleet II coaches have for legroom, but it's still better than the 12" of legroom in Amfleet I NEC coaches.


A full Amfleet I BC cars actually offers the exact same amount of legroom as an Amfleet II coach.


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## Acela150 (Oct 15, 2018)

bratkinson said:


> Given that 166 is the 'last call' on Sundays for those wishing to get home at a reasonable time, 166 is the train of choice with reasonable times at PHL and NYP. Unless you have some means of being in downtown Boston at 1:30 AM, I'd avoid 166 due to crowds and personal safety issues in the wee hours of the morning.
> 
> But then, if you need to be back at work on Monday morning, you really don't have a choice other than 166, or go directly from #66 to work 'looking rough around the edges'.
> 
> ...


I don't really understand why you think that you'd have safety issues in downtown Boston at 130am. Also a little tidbit, Amfleet I BC cars are either in 60 seats or 62 seats. Not 62 and 64.


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## cpotisch (Oct 15, 2018)

Acela150 said:


> Also a little tidbit, Amfleet I BC cars are either in 60 seats or 62 seats. Not 62 and 64.


So I guess there's a _tiny_ bit more legroom one an AM-II coach car than an AM-I business car?


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## Acela150 (Oct 15, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> Acela150 said:
> 
> 
> > Also a little tidbit, Amfleet I BC cars are either in 60 seats or 62 seats. Not 62 and 64.
> ...


Yes.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2018)

I am the original guest. Thank you all.

We will start in Florida on Saturday and arrive on Monday morning which is a holiday Monday. Does it make any difference?

Another question, how do I find out about the low bucket price I am reading about?

Thank you all again.


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## bratkinson (Oct 15, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> Acela150 said:
> 
> 
> > Also a little tidbit, Amfleet I BC cars are either in 60 seats or 62 seats. Not 62 and 64.
> ...


According to measurements that I personally have taken, front of seat cushion to back of seat ahead in AM II (LD) coach = 22". Same measurement in AM I BC = 20". In AM I (NEC mostly) coach = 12"


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## Acela150 (Oct 15, 2018)

Guest said:


> I am the original guest. Thank you all.
> 
> We will start in Florida on Saturday and arrive on Monday morning which is a holiday Monday. Does it make any difference?
> 
> ...


Which holiday are you referring to?

As far as the low bucket. It’s listed as the “saver fare”. If no saver fare is available it’s sold out.


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## cpotisch (Oct 15, 2018)

Guest said:


> We will start in Florida on Saturday and arrive on Monday morning which is a holiday Monday. Does it make any difference?


Sorry, are you asking about if there are any changes to Amtrak service on holidays? If that's what you're asking, the answer is no - everything runs normally.



Guest said:


> Another question, how do I find out about the low bucket price I am reading about?


There is no guaranteed way of determining what the low bucket price. Price buckets are not actually listed anywhere, so the only way of getting a good sense of the possible prices is to look at fares over a wide range of dates and find the cheapest ones. But this doesn't guarantee that you've actually found the cheapest possible price - it's highly possible that the true low bucket fare just isn't available at all on the dates you're looking at, and what you think is the cheapest possible price is actually the second cheapest, or third cheapest, and so on. The more dates you look at, though, the more accurately you can determine the possible prices.


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