# Lake Shore Limited #48 Schedule Change?



## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

It seems the LSL #48 is changing its schedule to leave CUS at 9:00 now. I tried the date in June that we will be traveling and it lists it as 9:00 departure, arriving in NYP at 625pm.

It now leaves Albany at 3:30.


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

It also lists 49 leaving NYP at 3:55, 10 minutes later but arriving CUS at the same time, 9:45am.


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## Mike S. (Mar 11, 2009)

This is being done as part of a reorganization of Albany trains south...at the dinner time hour. Right now, 48 makes all the stops on its way to NYP. While 49 is basically an express to ALB.

BTW: 49 routinely makes it to ALB from NYP in 2H15M. That is WITH the stop Croton and the slow order at the GW bridge. Right now its allowed 2H30M so leaving 10m later is really just getting more in line with reality.


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

Mike S. said:


> This is being done as part of a reorganization of Albany trains south...at the dinner time hour. Right now, 48 makes all the stops on its way to NYP. While 49 is basically an express to ALB.
> BTW: 49 routinely makes it to ALB from NYP in 2H15M. That is WITH the stop Croton and the slow order at the GW bridge. Right now its allowed 2H30M so leaving 10m later is really just getting more in line with reality.


So, 48 will not longer be making the Hudson, Rhinecliff and Poughkeepsie stops, correct? I tried Chicago to those stops and it found no trains available.


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## RRrich (Mar 11, 2009)

Will there still be wine & cheese for the sleeper pax leaving CHI?


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

RRrich said:


> Will there still be wine & cheese for the sleeper pax leaving CHI?


I cannot imagine why they would stop that. I certainly hope they keep doing it.

When do the new timetables come out?


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## BuzzKillington (Mar 11, 2009)

This is a good change for this train.... not great but good. 6+ hours in between the Western trains arrival and this trains departure was WAY too much. I'd prefer it to leave around 6:30 or 7:00 with the CL but I guess thats asking too much and there will be another schedule change before I take it again.

There was really no reason for:

1. This train to leave CHI so late

2. This train to sit in Albany 1 hour after it changes engines

3. This train to stop at local stations along the Hudson

1.5 hours earlier into Croton is pretty good though.


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

BuzzKillington said:


> This is a good change for this train.... not great but good. 6+ hours in between the Western trains arrival and this trains departure was WAY too much. I'd prefer it to leave around 6:30 or 7:00 with the CL but I guess thats asking too much and there will be another schedule change before I take it again.
> There was really no reason for:
> 
> 1. This train to leave CHI so late
> ...


I chose this train because it left so late from Chicago. I prefer to have as much time as possible between arrival from a western train and departure east. Now they are taking away one hour, which I can live with, but I liked having it.


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## Rafi (Mar 11, 2009)

BuzzKillington said:


> There was really no reason for:1. This train to leave CHI so late


It's no secret that the move to a late departure from Chicago was not only to give Amtrak an east coast connection for seriously delayed connecting trains, but my understand is that it was also to soften the blow of moving to a Diner-Lounge model on that train (the late departure affords Amtrak one less full dinner they have to serve heading eastbound).

-Rafi


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

Rafi said:


> BuzzKillington said:
> 
> 
> > There was really no reason for:1. This train to leave CHI so late
> ...


Actually (and this might be what you meant), they don't serve any dinners on the eastbound train. Only breakfast and lunch.


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## BuzzKillington (Mar 11, 2009)

This is why they need a Broadway Limited/Three Rivers train back on the schedule. It could be:

BL: 5:30 Departure

CL: 7:00 Departure

LSL: 9:00 Departure

People travelling home to NY from the west coast could get home late morning/early afternoon instead of wasting the whole day on the train.


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## printman2000 (Mar 11, 2009)

So we are booked on the LSL in June and our reservation says 10:00 departure. When and how will Amtrak contact me to let me know of the change? Or will they?


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 11, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> So we are booked on the LSL in June and our reservation says 10:00 departure. When and how will Amtrak contact me to let me know of the change? Or will they?


Last year when the CZ schedule changed they called _and_ emailed me a new itinerary. I'll be on the LSL out of CHI in August, so I expect to get some notice. We'll see.


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## BuzzKillington (Mar 11, 2009)

If the LSL is no longer making stops and may only discharge from Albany East, there is no reason to wait in Albany for the entire hour. It could go when its ready.


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 11, 2009)

if it leaves 1 hour early will train 448 get to boston at 8:45Pm instead of 9:45.


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## sky12065 (Mar 11, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> It seems the LSL #48 is changing its schedule to leave CUS at 9:00 now. I tried the date in June that we will be traveling and it lists it as 9:00 departure, arriving in NYP at 625pm.
> It now leaves Albany at 3:30.


I found that the change from 10 to 9 is effective April 4th through the online reservation form, but I can't find any other information on changes. Even the pdf timetable hasn't changed yet!


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 11, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> if it leaves 1 hour early will train 448 get to boston at 8:45Pm instead of 9:45.


Just test booked, says BOS arrival at 8:45pm.


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## frj1983 (Mar 12, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> So we are booked on the LSL in June and our reservation says 10:00 departure. When and how will Amtrak contact me to let me know of the change? Or will they?


Printman,

I booked 2 tickets for my Wife and Myself in late May and when I went back and looked at my reservations online, the change was highlighted and noted. Did you book online? if so, your reservation should note the change


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## printman2000 (Mar 12, 2009)

frj1983 said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > So we are booked on the LSL in June and our reservation says 10:00 departure. When and how will Amtrak contact me to let me know of the change? Or will they?
> ...


Yeah, that was the first thing I looked at. Mine has not changed and still says 10:00 departure.

Actually, looking at it closer, it is now listing #48 twice, one with the 10:00 and one with the 9:00 departure. Interesting.


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## Everydaymatters (Mar 12, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> frj1983 said:
> 
> 
> > printman2000 said:
> ...


My on-line reservation for the AU Gathering in October also shows two listings - one at 10 and one at 9.


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## MrFSS (Mar 12, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> Actually, looking at it closer, it is now listing #48 twice, one with the 10:00 and one with the 9:00 departure. Interesting.


Maybe they will let you go twice!


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## RRrich (Mar 12, 2009)

Here is my itinerary with the LSL

When I made the rezzie it was about an hour and a half between trains, now its like half an hour - enough to worry me. When I made the rezzie I was guaranteed, now ????

Should I make a new rezzie or just let Amtrak worry about it?


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## printman2000 (Mar 12, 2009)

RRrich said:


> Here is my itinerary with the LSLWhen I made the rezzie it was about an hour and a half between trains, now its like half an hour - enough to worry me. When I made the rezzie I was guaranteed, now ????
> 
> Should I make a new rezzie or just let Amtrak worry about it?


If you can get an earlier train into Chicago, you might want to. I would assume they would still guarantee your current connection, but I would sure hate to miss the LSL.


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## MrFSS (Mar 12, 2009)

RRrich said:


> Here is my itinerary with the LSLWhen I made the rezzie it was about an hour and a half between trains, now its like half an hour - enough to worry me. When I made the rezzie I was guaranteed, now ????
> 
> Should I make a new rezzie or just let Amtrak worry about it?


I think it would be a worth a call to Amtrak to see what they say about it being guaranteed now that the time has changed. They may tell you to keep it guaranteed you need to leave STL earlier.


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## jis (Mar 12, 2009)

This change was mentioned at the ESPA meeting ion Schenectady last week. Its primary driver is to open up a slot after 5pm out of Albany for 244, so that people who get out of office have a more reliable service to New York, than hoping to have LSL appear into Albany on time. 244 will leave Albany now sometime after 5pm, while LSL leaves earlier by about an hour or a bit more.

At the Schenectady meeting they said that it was still under discussion since they needed to get approval from Chicago, Albany and New York. Apparently they got the necessary approvals.


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## AlanB (Mar 12, 2009)

MrFSS said:


> RRrich said:
> 
> 
> > Here is my itinerary with the LSLWhen I made the rezzie it was about an hour and a half between trains, now its like half an hour - enough to worry me. When I made the rezzie I was guaranteed, now ????
> ...


I'm pretty sure that it would still be a guaranteed reservation, as the normal rule of thumb is 1 hour between connecting trains.

However you may feel more comfortable with a bigger window Rich and may wish to change things anyhow. There is a difference between being on your train going where you expected to go and spending an unplanned night in Chicago and possibly loosing out on your bedroom, even if Amtrak compensates you and pays for that overnight.


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## RRrich (Mar 12, 2009)

I called and they booked me on an earlier train (Texas Eagle, probably #322) arriving CHI about 3PM. Charged me a lot less than the current bucket.

Now we have time for Pizza!!


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## heavesrock (Mar 12, 2009)

Just hope it's not 5 hours late into St. Louis.


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## sky12065 (Mar 12, 2009)

heavesrock said:


> Just hope it's not 5 hours late into St. Louis.


I was thinking the same thing about the EB this July since I'll be connecting and there is just about 5 hours difference between the scheduled arrival of the EB and the departure of the LSL. This change should raise the NRI a little.

By the way, NRI stands for Nervous Ratio Index! :lol:


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## printman2000 (Mar 12, 2009)

Yeah, the TE can sometimes be real late. Course, a lot of trains can be. A more local train might be a better choice if available.


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## frj1983 (Mar 13, 2009)

But the new schedule is highlighted in gray right?

And at the top of the page it says that the reservation was changed right?

So I think it's showing you what you booked and then higlighting the new schedule...at least that's how I interpret it!


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## printman2000 (Mar 13, 2009)

frj1983 said:


> But the new schedule is highlighted in gray right?
> And at the top of the page it says that the reservation was changed right?
> 
> So I think it's showing you what you booked and then higlighting the new schedule...at least that's how I interpret it!


I do not think it is actually "highlighting" the change. I believe their tables just alternate colors.


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## sky12065 (Mar 13, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> frj1983 said:
> 
> 
> > But the new schedule is highlighted in gray right?
> ...


I didn't book my 5 leg trip online so I couldn't verify it, but I do agree with you. The highlighting of rows in a table is common practice used to visually help distinguish one item (leg in this case) from the next!


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## Trogdor (Mar 14, 2009)

I've booked trains in the past where the schedule was changed between when I placed the reservation and when the trip occurred. At that time, as well, there was a brief period where the same train showed up twice in the reservation system. I couldn't tell you all the technical details of why it happens, but I'm sure it's due to how they have to change your reservation from the old schedule to the new one. The duplicate entries will go away soon enough.


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## PaulM (Mar 14, 2009)

Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) I made a reservation on the LSL from CHI to BUF for August.

Today I called to check why I had not received a confirming email (they had wrong email address). The agent mentioned that there was a schedule change; it would now depart at 10:00PM instead of 9:00PM. I asked him if it wasn't the other way around. He said, "No, apparently they changed their mind about the earlier departure".

Hope he was wrong; but I didn't call back to get a second opinion.


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 14, 2009)

PaulM said:


> Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) I made a reservation on the LSL from CHI to BUF for August.
> Today I called to check why I had not received a confirming email (they had wrong email address). The agent mentioned that there was a schedule change; it would now depart at 10:00PM instead of 9:00PM. I asked him if it wasn't the other way around. He said, "No, apparently they changed their mind about the earlier departure".
> 
> Hope he was wrong; but I didn't call back to get a second opinion.


!!! Better not have, I rebooked because I could make an easier connection with the new schedule! :angry:

Fortunately I haven't deleted my original booking, I don't trust these guys.


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 14, 2009)

there all screwed up. the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. right now making a test revvy for oct 28th train 448 departs at 10PM HOWEVER train 48 departs at 9PM :huh: same train. see what happens when the spring time table comes out.


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## RRrich (Mar 14, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> there all screwed up. the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. right now making a test revvy for oct 28th *train 448 departs at 10PM* HOWEVER *train 48 departs at 9PM* :huh: same train. see what happens when the spring time table comes out.


I think I might just make a trip to CUS to see that!!


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 14, 2009)

Cripes, I can't get thru on the phone, Amtrak is too popular!

Or too many people saw that their reservations are screwed up.


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## RRrich (Mar 14, 2009)

PetalumaLoco said:


> Cripes, I can't get thru on the phone, Amtrak is too popular!Or too many people saw that their reservations are screwed up.


When you get thru to them mention that you _speak _COBOL and offer to take a look at ARROW - for a small fee (10% finder's fee to me)


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 14, 2009)

RRrich said:


> PetalumaLoco said:
> 
> 
> > Cripes, I can't get thru on the phone, Amtrak is too popular!Or too many people saw that their reservations are screwed up.
> ...


Will do!


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## printman2000 (Mar 14, 2009)

I just looked at my reservation for June. Sure enough, it is again listing two departure times whereas it was not doing that yesterday. That would be crazy for them to switch it back that soon!


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 14, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> I just looked at my reservation for June. Sure enough, it is again listing two departure times whereas it was not doing that yesterday. That would be crazy for them to switch it back that soon!


I changed a booking last nite so that I could get from BUF to NHV w/o going thru NYP on the earlier LSL schedule. If they make the LSL later again then I'll have a less than 10 min connection to make in SPG. Matter of fact my on line res shows double booking now, one with that impossible to guarantee connection. It's not like I can wait for a later train, that connection from SPG to NHV is the last one of the day!


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 14, 2009)

PetalumaLoco said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > I just looked at my reservation for June. Sure enough, it is again listing two departure times whereas it was not doing that yesterday. That would be crazy for them to switch it back that soon!
> ...


What a pain.

Spent some time on the phone with a great Amtrak agent just now

#48 IS NOT LEAVING EARLIER. Amtrak has kept the original CHI departure time of 10:00pm, just as PaulM said earlier. The agent was good enough to make my NYP-NHV link an earlier train so that we wouldn't have such a long layover in NYP, and she held the price down to the same fare as the later train.

Also, on my return trip booking, I tried to get on 449 in SPG to a roomette instead of coach as originally booked, but the buckets have gone up and that would run me about $200 more, not worth it for the ride from SPG to ALB. So we'll be coach from SPG-ALB, and roomette from ALB-CHI.

Dang I hope I did this all correctly, I don't recommend anyone else try it on muscle relaxants (nursing a bad back).


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 14, 2009)

i told you amtrak's management is f-ed up big time. first they decide they will change it to 9PM now there saying its back to 10PM why the hell say its going to be 9PM start screwing up peoples revvys and then screw everything up again by changing back to what it was. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AMTRAK.


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## GG-1 (Mar 14, 2009)

RRrich said:


> KISS_ALIVE said:
> 
> 
> > there all screwed up. the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. right now making a test revvy for oct 28th *train 448 departs at 10PM* HOWEVER *train 48 departs at 9PM* :huh: same train. see what happens when the spring time table comes out.
> ...


Aloha

That must be one heck of a long train taking a hour to depart. Hmnn do I want to see if the Same happens to the TE on March 31.


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## sky12065 (Mar 14, 2009)

PetalumaLoco said:


> PaulM said:
> 
> 
> > Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) I made a reservation on the LSL from CHI to BUF for August.
> ...


It appears unfortunately that they have changed it again. I called there a little after midnight this morning eastern time and got an updated iteniary for the 9 PM departure and car changes for both the 48 & 49. After reading this thread I ran an online reservation and sure enough it's back to 10PM. Me thinkith the intial changes got derailed somehow! :unsure:


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## RRrich (Mar 15, 2009)

My original rezzie had me arriving CHI at 8:40 PM - a little close for a 10:00PM departure? Maybe, but it was absolutely impossibe for a 9:00PM departure. So I changed to to about 2:30PM.

Now the LSL is again leaving at 10PM. I think I will stick with the mid-afternoon arrival in CHI and let those _folks_ play their games!


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 18, 2009)

doing a dummy revvy for oct 28th it shows the LSL leaving at 9PM both 48 and 448 leaving at the same time.


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 18, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> doing a dummy revvy for oct 28th it shows the LSL leaving at 9PM both 48 and 448 leaving at the same time.


Yeah you're right, just checked my res and 48 is listed twice, leaving CHI at 9:00 and 10:00.

I'm going to keep it that way and not complain, wait a while then cancel one of them for a full refund. That'll teach 'em. :angry:


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## sky12065 (Mar 18, 2009)

PetalumaLoco said:


> KISS_ALIVE said:
> 
> 
> > doing a dummy revvy for oct 28th it shows the LSL leaving at 9PM both 48 and 448 leaving at the same time.
> ...


YES! The LSL change is changed again (Change #3) and is back to the 9PM departure from CHI effective 4/4/09. Stay tuned... change #4 coming soon to an Amtrak Website near you. :huh:

BTW, if you apply for that refund you mentioned, you could be charged and convicted for fraud! *DON'T DO IT* unless the penalty for conviction is a mandatory 90 confined to a train of your choice! :lol:


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 18, 2009)

checked my revvy for oct 28th and 448 shows up 3 TIMES 2 depart at 9PM one leaves at 10PM. :huh: so does that mean amtraks gots so many pax they need 3 trains


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## printman2000 (Mar 18, 2009)

CRAZY STUFF! I cannot believe they have gone back to 9:00 again. It is almost humorous.


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## sky12065 (Mar 18, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> CRAZY STUFF! I cannot believe they have gone back to 9:00 again. It is almost humorous.


THEORY I: Amtrak developed a problem with their system after the intital change to 9PM, had to reload a backup with the 10PM time and then fix whatever the problems were and re-enter the 9PM changes. I recall that Amtrak's computer was down for a period of time a few days ago, and although it's a plausable event that supports the theory, we cannot be entirely sure that it actually ties into the theory.

THEORY II: Amtraks computer prematurely celebrated St. Patricks Day and consumed a wee but too many electrodes.

Do you remember Miss Clairol Hair Dressing's promotional expression "Does She or Doesn't She? Only her hairdresser knows for sure"?

I guess in this case the following expression might possibly be used... "Did Amtrak or Didn't Amtrak? Only its programmers know for sure"!


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## PetalumaLoco (Mar 18, 2009)

sky12065 said:


> Do you remember Miss Clairol Hair Dressing's promotional expression "Does She or Doesn't She? Only her hairdresser knows for sure"?


You mean they were talking about hair? :blink:


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## RRrich (Mar 18, 2009)

PetalumaLoco said:


> sky12065 said:
> 
> 
> > Do you remember Miss Clairol Hair Dressing's promotional expression "Does She or Doesn't She? Only her hairdresser knows for sure"?
> ...


*THEY *were, we weren't


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## printman2000 (Mar 19, 2009)

sky12065 said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > CRAZY STUFF! I cannot believe they have gone back to 9:00 again. It is almost humorous.
> ...


I doubt this happened. They made the time change first. Then they made the Boston sleeper change (which changed my car and room number). When the times started shifting again, my car/room numbers did not go back to original.

My theory is, they made the change, found some problem(s) that made it not work, then found solutions to the problem(s).

The problems were reported on another board as...



> CSX had not fully agreed to the change...
> Penn Station adamantly did NOT want #48 showing up at ~6:00pm and taking up scarce platform/track space during rush hour.


If those were truly the problems, I guess they found solutions.


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## sky12065 (Mar 19, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> sky12065 said:
> 
> 
> > printman2000 said:
> ...


I like your theory better. I too had my car changed but not the room because it was the H room. What seemed strange with the car change was that it was changed from 4810 to 4812. They even changed my earlier west bound car from 4910 to 4911.

Any ideas as to why the cars were changed since neither involved the Boston cars?

Anyway, I hope that they did fix the problem and there won't be any more surprises!


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## printman2000 (Mar 19, 2009)

sky12065 said:


> Any ideas as to why the cars were changed since neither involved the Boston cars?


I asked the same thing since I booked the very first room and was already in a NY sleeper. Alanb's response was...



> Because when Amtrak starts adjusting reservations because of dropping a sleeper, they start with the oldest reservation and just rebook everyone until they run out of rooms. If you were a late booker, you could be out of luck and actually loose your sleeper and be issued a refund.
> When the Silver Star last summer lost its third sleeper for some reason, Bill (Prr60) IIRC, got moved from one car to the next, even though he wasn't in the dropped sleeper. Kevin (Superliner Diner) was in the dropped car and also got moved.


Perhaps they have dropped the 4810 sleeper.


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## AlanB (Mar 19, 2009)

sky12065 said:


> I like your theory better. I too had my car changed but not the room because it was the H room. What seemed strange with the car change was that it was changed from 4810 to 4812. They even changed my earlier west bound car from 4910 to 4911.
> Any ideas as to why the cars were changed since neither involved the Boston cars?


As I mentioned in another topic regarding the LSL through sleeper to Boston, when Amtrak makes a change like dropping a sleeping car or rerouting one to a different terminal, they pull the current passenger manifest up by booking date. Then they simply start reassigning rooms until they run out of rooms. Those with the most recent booking could find themselves being downgraded if Amtrak runs out of rooms.

Now in the case of the LSL, I'm sure what Amtrak did was to first try and identify people who had sleepers and where going to Boston. Then they started filling the new Boston sleeper with the oldest rezies first, until the car filled up. At that point they then returnd to the NY sleepers and proceeded to fill them up with those headed to either NY or Boston, again based upon booking date.

Your room changed because Amtrak doesn't care about what room you had before, they only care that your reservation was made on X date and you were ahead or behind X number of other reservations for that type of accomodation.


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## printman2000 (Mar 19, 2009)

AlanB said:


> sky12065 said:
> 
> 
> > I like your theory better. I too had my car changed but not the room because it was the H room. What seemed strange with the car change was that it was changed from 4810 to 4812. They even changed my earlier west bound car from 4910 to 4911.
> ...


But why, if 4810 still exists and is going to NY, would they pull people out of that car that are going to NY? Seem they would leave 4810 alone except pulling out the Boston passengers.


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## AlanB (Mar 19, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > sky12065 said:
> ...


I'm not sure how to make things any clearer, but I'll try. Again when something changes, Amtrak honors the oldest reservations first. However, when selling rooms Amtrak sells the cheapest rooms first without regard to which car they are in. Therefore the opposite is also true, they sell the most expensive rooms last, and again without regard to what car they are in.

Therefore there are people in the 10 car who may have only made a reservation say a day before Amtrak got the go ahead to start running the through sleeper. Those people could be out of luck totally and could find themselves bumped to coach, offered a total refund, or rebooked on a different day.

So to make things easier and as fair as possible, everyone is dumped out of their sleepers into a pile of rezzies, and then Amtrak starts the process of rebooking everyone based upon booking date. If they didn't do that, then those who were in the 12 car and had reserved 9 months ago to NYP, with the 12 car now going to Boston, they'd get kicked out of their room at ALB, while someone who booked a week ago got to remain in their room in the 10 car.


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## printman2000 (Mar 19, 2009)

Okay, but in my case, I am pretty sure I made the first reservation for my train (the first day it became available) and was in roomette #2 in 4810. I then quickly made an AGR purchase and got roomette #1 in 4810.

Now, I know the 4810 car was always booked first. So if I was the first reservation, or even second, how come they changed me to 4811 car rooms #3 & #4?

Now, I guess they could have gone purely on date and not time, and perhaps they had a bunch of other reservations on the same date, but I seriously doubt it. I doubt they sold enough rooms on the very first day of an opening to start putting people in the 4811 car.

I realize there may be other things at play here and really don't expect you to have all the answers. But I am really wondering if there is even a 4810 car anymore.

Thanks for trying to make it clear!


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## sky12065 (Mar 19, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> Okay, but in my case, I am pretty sure I made the first reservation for my train (the first day it became available) and was in roomette #2 in 4810. I then quickly made an AGR purchase and got roomette #1 in 4810.
> Now, I know the 4810 car was always booked first. So if I was the first reservation, or even second, how come they changed me to 4811 car rooms #3 & #4?
> 
> Now, I guess they could have gone purely on date and not time, and perhaps they had a bunch of other reservations on the same date, but I seriously doubt it. I doubt they sold enough rooms on the very first day of an opening to start putting people in the 4811 car.
> ...


I hate to say this, but I still don't think it's clear.

If I was originally booked in the H room on 4810, I would then presume that I was the first person to make an H room reservation for my particular date of travel. It would then make sense that I should have been re-booked to the 4810 again if in fact they do start with 4810 when booking or re-booking.

The logic of this would then dictate that having actually been re-booked into 4812 and the first person to be re-booked into an H room, that the new 4810 & 4811 cars would be sleepers being separated and taken to Boston. Otherwise, there would be no logical reason for me to be booked into any other car than 4810.

Are we all confused yet? :unsure:

Now if you can't explain this, that's OK! The only thing that's really important is that we are properly boarded and safely reach our destination when we are supposed to arrive there, and that we get there belly's full and happy! 

EDIT: Mean't to address this to Alan primarily!


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## printman2000 (Mar 19, 2009)

The more I think about it, the more it seems the 4810 number has been dropped. We know from posts here that there are only three sleepers. The Boston sleeper is 4820. Other people have reported now being in 4811 & 4812.

So I believe, at least for trains that were open before the change, there is no more 4810 car.


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## sky12065 (Mar 19, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> The more I think about it, the more it seems the 4810 number has been dropped. We know from posts here that there are only three sleepers. The Boston sleeper is 4820. Other people have reported now being in 4811 & 4812.
> So I believe, at least for trains that were open before the change, there is no more 4810 car.


You don't need to respond to this because it's not really important, but following the my previous logic this would mean that I should have been booked into 4811 and not 4812 unless.... (light bulb goes on) they rescheduled putting people going past Albany into 4811 and those terminating before or at Albany into 4812 first.

So between you and I we may have just solved the problem of Amtrak, which of course is similar or parallel to saying we've solved the meaning of life! :lol:  :blink:  :lol: :unsure: B) <_<  :wacko:


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## PaulM (Mar 20, 2009)

All the confusion must have scared away a lot of people with reservations.

I had booked a roomette for CHI-BUF back in February at $289; but was just able to book a bedroom in 448 for $256.

Also as of a few minutes ago (12:00PM Friday) for CHI-BUF, a roomette was $165 in 48 and $248 and in 448.

Sometimes chaos pays.


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 29, 2009)

now its not supposed to arrive in BOS till 9:10 pm 38 minutes earlyer. what happened to arriving at 8:48PM instead of 9:48PM. it leaves chi at 9:00PM.


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## AlanB (Mar 29, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> now its not supposed to arrive in BOS till 9:10 pm 38 minutes earlyer. what happened to arriving at 8:48PM instead of 9:48PM. it leaves chi at 9:00PM.


Guess that they decided to add a bit of padding.


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 29, 2009)

AlanB said:


> KISS_ALIVE said:
> 
> 
> > now its not supposed to arrive in BOS till 9:10 pm 38 minutes earlyer. what happened to arriving at 8:48PM instead of 9:48PM. it leaves chi at 9:00PM.
> ...


but when it left chi at 10 it arrived at 9:48PM so if padding was the same it should arrive at 8:48PM sense its leaving 1 hour earlier. I bet CSX is behind this.


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## AlanB (Mar 29, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > KISS_ALIVE said:
> ...


But the point is that the padding isn't the same, Amtrak added some. And I wouldn't blame CSX that quickly. It could be that Amtrak just realized that they didn't allow enough time before, or perhaps they put in less padding before so as to make the arrival time more attractive. Now that they've got an extra hour to play with, they put back a bit more padding to be more realistic.


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## jis (Mar 30, 2009)

PaulM said:


> All the confusion must have scared away a lot of people with reservations.


Only those that obsess over their reservations day in and day out would even know that all this was going on


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## ThayerATM (Apr 5, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> It seems the LSL #48 is changing its schedule to leave CUS at 9:00 now. I tried the date in June that we will be traveling and it lists it as 9:00 departure, arriving in NYP at 625pm.
> It now leaves Albany at 3:30.


I've been tracking the LSL train #48 since December. Their departure time from CHI has always shown *10:00 PM*.

*Tonight, 4/5/09 *I checked the departure time for *4/4/09*, and Amtrak simply told me that # 48 does not service CHI on *4/4/09*. That piqued by curiousity, so I checked the schedule section. The October schedule still shows # 48 departing CHI at 10:00 PM.

Finding this situation odd, I checked the departure time for # 48 for *4/6/09,* and sure enough it said that the departure time is

*9:00 PM*.

Look for the whole schedule for # 48 to be posted as changed shortly.


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## printman2000 (Apr 5, 2009)

Yeah, the schedule changes has been discusses on a few other topics here.


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## ThayerATM (Apr 5, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> Yeah, the schedule changes has been discusses on a few other topics here.


Yup. It's been discussed for many days. But tonight is the first time I've seen anything *official* from Amtrak. The "Train Status" area was the first place that turned up anything different, strange as it was. The "Schedule" area hadn't changed.

I took the time to call Julie. After speaking with "Tiffany", Julie's agent, who also had to put me on hold in order to check with someone else (presumably her supervisor), I was told that there was a service disruption and a bus substitution, and the train 48 was listed on the Internet as train 1448, which did depart CHI at 9:00 PM. Interestingly, train 48, which was schedulede to arrive at ROC this morning hasn't arrived yet. Figure out all that double talk.

Since this situation doesn't impact my travel plans (until September) I'm simply left with the impression that when posting schedules and making reservations on the Internet, Amtrak's left hand doesn't know what its right hand is doing.

There IS just one other thing. Isn't Amtrak supposed to inform me of a change in schedule when I already have tickets in hand for the train involved?

I'm willing to bet that Amtrak does NOT inform me of this schedule change. I'll let you know if they get around to it before September.


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## amtrakwolverine (Apr 5, 2009)

ThayerATM said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah, the schedule changes has been discusses on a few other topics here.
> ...


same here i have tickets for this train in OCT and have not gotten a call or email.


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## AlanB (Apr 5, 2009)

ThayerATM said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah, the schedule changes has been discusses on a few other topics here.
> ...


Amtrak issued a press release on this a little over a week ago. And I believe that someone posted that press release in one of the topics here too.


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## ThayerATM (Apr 5, 2009)

AlanB said:


> ThayerATM said:
> 
> 
> > printman2000 said:
> ...


Should I consider that "*press release*" to be my official notification by Amtrak for a change in my *ticketed* schedule?

I think that something more up-close and personal would be more appropriate.


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## AlanB (Apr 5, 2009)

ThayerATM said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > ThayerATM said:
> ...


No, you shouldn't consider that to be your official notification and wasn't suggesting that either.

You stated that you hadn't seen anything "official" period, you never personalized it. So I pointed out something official. 

I'm sure that Amtrak will contact you to warn you about the change, they are actually pretty good at that. But they have to start with those who are riding in this month first and work their way through the list.


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## printman2000 (Apr 5, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> ThayerATM said:
> 
> 
> > There IS just one other thing. Isn't Amtrak supposed to inform me of a change in schedule when I already have tickets in hand for the train involved?
> ...


I am on 48 at the end of June and received the call last week to inform me. They called me first about my AGR tickets for my wife and son, then the exact same lady called about a minute later to tell me about my other son and my purchased tickets. She offered and I accepted to e-mail me the updated itineraries.

So Thayer, you would probably lose that bet.


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## amtrakwolverine (Apr 5, 2009)

printman2000 said:


> KISS_ALIVE said:
> 
> 
> > ThayerATM said:
> ...


she couldn't tell both of you at the same time.


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## printman2000 (Apr 5, 2009)

KISS_ALIVE said:


> printman2000 said:
> 
> 
> > KISS_ALIVE said:
> ...


Since they were two reservations, she was just going down the list. She realized I was the same person after I answered.


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## ThayerATM (Apr 5, 2009)

AlanB said:


> ThayerATM said:
> 
> 
> > AlanB said:
> ...


I'm aware that Amtrak has to prioritize the order of contact. Being quite "down the list" (September) I don't excpect Amtrak to contact me "yesterday." 

What strikes me as interesting is the fact that in the three instances where there has been a change in my ticketed itinerary, *I've found out about it ON THIS FORUM.* That leaves me particularly impressed with this forum.

In this instance I'm going to set the time clock running and see how long it does take Amtrak to contact me about this change. They have three phone numbers, and one email address on file. As I've said before, this particular time change is really insignificant to me. It gives me one hour less to hang out at the Metropolitan Lounge in CHI.

Another post to follow...


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## ThayerATM (Apr 5, 2009)

AlanB said:


> ThayerATM said:
> 
> 
> > printman2000 said:
> ...


I read somewhere, some time ago, that the LSL (#48) used to depart CHI at 9:00 PM, but Amtrak changed the CHI departure time to 10:00 PM because there were too many times people arriving on The Zephyr (#6) were missing the connection with # 48.

I have no clue how long ago that was, and I certainly don't know when #6 was scheduled into CHI back in the day.

The CZ (#6) is currently (keep "currently" in mind  ) scheduled into CHI at 3:50 PM. Is there any chance of a habitual

mis-connect happening again? The current arrival times for the CZ (#6) certainly indicate that there is enough time to connect with a 9:00 PM departure time for 48.


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## saxman (Apr 5, 2009)

ThayerATM said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > ThayerATM said:
> ...


Well as of late, the CZ has been doing well with on time performance. Not sure with moving the LSL back had much to do with but maybe some. I think it had more to do with getting to CLE at more decent time of 6 am instead of 3 am. Before I believe the LSL left about 7ish from Chicago.


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## AlanB (Apr 5, 2009)

saxman66 said:


> ThayerATM said:
> 
> 
> > I read somewhere, some time ago, that the LSL (#48) used to depart CHI at 9:00 PM, but Amtrak changed the CHI departure time to 10:00 PM because there were too many times people arriving on The Zephyr (#6) were missing the connection with # 48.
> ...


Over the years the LSL used to leave at 7:00, 7:30, and even 7:45 IIRC, but I don't think that it ever left later than 7:45 PM, until the change a few years ago that moved it to 10:00 PM. I've been told that the change to 10 was two-fold, the first was because of the horrible lateness of the CZ a few years ago and all the resulting misconnects. The second was because of the down grading of the diner to a Diner-Lite car.


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## Railroad Bill (Apr 6, 2009)

FYI----Just booked a trip on LSL for Sept 9 NYP-CLE. Got room #2 on 4812. 

Railroad Bill


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