CA Zephyr detours this summer?

[Rafi]

Alan's correct. We can all take the dates right now with a grain of salt until we get within a week or two of the target dates. Here's the current info Amtrak has in Arrow right now:

THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD WILL BE CARRYING OUT EXTENSIVE TRACKWORK THIS SUMMER AND FALL EAST OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS.

.

TRAINS 5 AND 6, THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR, ORIGINATING AT CHICAGO

AND EMERYVILLE ON THESE DATES - 30JUN-08JUL, 15-23JUL, 31JUL-

08AUG, 15-23AUG, 31AUG-08SEP, AND 15-23SEP - WILL DETOUR BETWEEN

DENVER AND SALT LAKE CITY THROUGH WYOMING ONE DAY LATER.

.

BUSES WILL OPERATE ONLY BETWEEN DENVER, GLENWOOD SPRINGS AND

GRAND JUNCTION, CONNECTING FROM TRAIN 5 (BUS 3505) AT DENVER,

AND TO TRAIN 6 (BUS 3506) AT DENVER. EACH BUS HAS 48 SEATS

(T) AND TWO WHEELCHAIR SPACES (TW). NO ALTERNATE

TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO OR FROM WINTER PARK,

GRANBY, GREEN RIVER, HELPER, OR PROVO, AND THERE IS NO

CONNECTION TO OR FROM THE TRAIN AT SALT LAKE CITY.

.

BUS TIMES: 3505 DP DEN 745A, AR GSC 1100A, AR GJT 1245P.

3506 DP GJT 130P, DP GSC 325P, AR DEN 625P. ..P41

*

PLEASE NOTE ALSO -

- PASSENGERS TRAVELING BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND WEST, ON

THE ONE HAND, AND DENVER AND EAST, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE

NOT AFFECTED AS FAR AS STOPS ARE CONCERNED. THEY WILL

BOARD THE TRAIN EQUIPMENT AT THEIR PLANNED ORIGIN POINTS

AND REMAIN ON BOARD THIS EQUIPMENT UNTIL THEIR DESTINATIONS.

HOWEVER, THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW DEN-SLC WILL BE DIFFERENT.

- PASSENGERS BOARDING OR DETRAINING AT PROVO THROUGH GRANBY

ARE THE ONES AFFECTED BY THIS DISRUPTION.

- THE TRAIN WILL MAKE NO PASSENGER STOPS IN WYOMING.

- THE ROUTE THROUGH WYOMING IS THROUGH HIGH DESERT COUNTRY.

WHILE INTERESTING IN ITS OWN RIGHT (WIDE OPEN VISTAS,

WILDLIFE, PLATEAUS, ETC.), IT IS NOT THE SAME MOUNTAIN/

CANYON/RIVER SCENERY ON THE NORMAL ROUTE THROUGH COLORADO.

 

[sunchaser]

Alan's correct. We can all take the dates right now with a grain of salt until we get within a week or two of the target dates. Here's the current info Amtrak has in Arrow right now:

THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD WILL BE CARRYING OUT EXTENSIVE TRACKWORK THIS SUMMER AND FALL EAST OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS.

.

TRAINS 5 AND 6, THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR, ORIGINATING AT CHICAGO

AND EMERYVILLE ON THESE DATES - 30JUN-08JUL, 15-23JUL, 31JUL-

08AUG, 15-23AUG, 31AUG-08SEP, AND 15-23SEP - WILL DETOUR BETWEEN

DENVER AND SALT LAKE CITY THROUGH WYOMING ONE DAY LATER.

.

BUSES WILL OPERATE ONLY BETWEEN DENVER, GLENWOOD SPRINGS AND

GRAND JUNCTION, CONNECTING FROM TRAIN 5 (BUS 3505) AT DENVER,

AND TO TRAIN 6 (BUS 3506) AT DENVER. EACH BUS HAS 48 SEATS

(T) AND TWO WHEELCHAIR SPACES (TW). NO ALTERNATE

TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO OR FROM WINTER PARK,

GRANBY, GREEN RIVER, HELPER, OR PROVO, AND THERE IS NO

CONNECTION TO OR FROM THE TRAIN AT SALT LAKE CITY.

.

BUS TIMES: 3505 DP DEN 745A, AR GSC 1100A, AR GJT 1245P.

3506 DP GJT 130P, DP GSC 325P, AR DEN 625P. ..P41

*

PLEASE NOTE ALSO -

- PASSENGERS TRAVELING BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND WEST, ON

THE ONE HAND, AND DENVER AND EAST, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE

NOT AFFECTED AS FAR AS STOPS ARE CONCERNED. THEY WILL

BOARD THE TRAIN EQUIPMENT AT THEIR PLANNED ORIGIN POINTS

AND REMAIN ON BOARD THIS EQUIPMENT UNTIL THEIR DESTINATIONS.

HOWEVER, THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW DEN-SLC WILL BE DIFFERENT.

- PASSENGERS BOARDING OR DETRAINING AT PROVO THROUGH GRANBY

ARE THE ONES AFFECTED BY THIS DISRUPTION.

- THE TRAIN WILL MAKE NO PASSENGER STOPS IN WYOMING.

- THE ROUTE THROUGH WYOMING IS THROUGH HIGH DESERT COUNTRY.

WHILE INTERESTING IN ITS OWN RIGHT (WIDE OPEN VISTAS,

WILDLIFE, PLATEAUS, ETC.), IT IS NOT THE SAME MOUNTAIN/

CANYON/RIVER SCENERY ON THE NORMAL ROUTE THROUGH COLORADO.

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

 

[Trainmans daughter]

If there is a detour thru Wyoming, how will that affect the arrival time for eastbound trains from Sacramento into Chicago. We have a connection from there on the CL. Theoretically, we have a layover more than 4 hours, so that should be OK, right? What can we expect of Amtrak if we miss that connection?

 

[Sam31452]

This is our first CZ trip so I don't know what I will miss by going the detour but I will enjoy what there is to see regardless.

You'll miss a lot, but on the other hand you're lucky (as I am sort of).

We wanted to travel Sacramento-Glenwood Springs-Chicago. Now we will cut Glenwood Springs and go elsewhere.

I'd love to hear your suggestions for a stop in another town here:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?...c=27486&hl=

 

[Trainmans daughter]

Some of the best things in my life have been experienced while on an unexpected detour or while being lost. My boys learned to call them "Mom's adventures". I plan on sitting back and enjoying every minute of this trip, no matter what the view is outside my window. America is beautiful no matter where you are. (Sometimes you've just got to look harder, though!)

 

[AlanB]

If there is a detour thru Wyoming, how will that affect the arrival time for eastbound trains from Sacramento into Chicago. We have a connection from there on the CL. Theoretically, we have a layover more than 4 hours, so that should be OK, right? What can we expect of Amtrak if we miss that connection?

It should have no impact on your making your connection in Chicago. The detour route is actually faster, it's longer in distance, but the track speeds are much faster than the normal route. Therefore on days that the train detours, it is traditionally several hours early into Salt Lake City going westbound and Denver going eastbound. Since the trains can't leave either of those cities until the regularly scheduled time, you'll generally find that train sits in those stations for a couple of hours waiting for the appointed time.

We I did the detour route a two years ago, we were some 3+ hours early into SLC going west IIRC. Coming east I believe we were at least 2 hours early.

 

[Larry H.]

Is this detour following the original UP "Cities" streamliners old route? I rode that way back and it was pleasant but nothing compares to climbing the mountain out of denver and the glories of the canyons on the Zephyr route. Still its a chance to be on a train and that is still fun and frankly, after riding the Zephyr Chicago to San Francisco last year I was glad to be getting out of Mountains eventually. I was surprised at how much the train follows though large mountains even after Reno.

 

[PRR 60]

Is this detour following the original UP "Cities" streamliners old route? I rode that way back and it was pleasant but nothing compares to climbing the mountain out of denver and the glories of the canyons on the Zephyr route. Still its a chance to be on a train and that is still fun and frankly, after riding the Zephyr Chicago to San Francisco last year I was glad to be getting out of Mountains eventually. I was surprised at how much the train follows though large mountains even after Reno.

Yes, it does, for the most part.

- The route from Denver to Borie is the old "Streamliner" route for the trains that called at Denver

- From Borie west to Ogden it is the exact route of the City of San Francisco and the City of Los Angeles.

- The trek from Ogden down to Salt Lake City follows the City of Los Angeles route.

- West out of Salt Lake until Wells NV (just east of Elko) is the former Western Pacific route of the original CZ.

- From Wells west to Winnemucca, the old WP (Zephyr) and SP (City of SF) tracks run more or less side-by-side, so the UP can route you on either. I think the westbound is normally on the old SP track.

- From Winnemucca west to Emeryville you are back on the route of the City of SF.

In a very real sense, when the CZ is being detoured through Wyoming, the trip from Denver west is much more the City of San Francisco than the California Zephyr.

 

[catblue]

Some of the best things in my life have been experienced while on an unexpected detour or while being lost. My boys learned to call them "Mom's adventures". I plan on sitting back and enjoying every minute of this trip, no matter what the view is outside my window. America is beautiful no matter where you are. (Sometimes you've just got to look harder, though!)

Totally agree that all of America is beautiful. I too have had some great adventures while being lost. I choose to enjoy the whole trip no matter what. Delays, detours or even bad steak will not spoil my trip. B)

 

[GG-1]

America is beautiful no matter where you are. (Sometimes you've just got to look harder, though!)

Aloha

I Must say as you understand this you are one heck of a Woman. Enjoy your trip.

 

[RTOlson]

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

As Rafi explained in his original post, the information was from ARROW, Amtrak's reservation system.

I don't know every group that has access to ARROW, but I imagine the groups include Amtrak agents and some personnel, travel agencies, Julie and Rafi.

 

[sunchaser]

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

As Rafi explained in his original post, the information was from ARROW, Amtrak's reservation system.

I don't know every group that has access to ARROW, but I imagine the groups include Amtrak agents and some personnel, travel agencies, Julie and Rafi.

I tried the rezzie system using one of the dates & nothing came up. That's why I asked!

 

[RTOlson]

Did you access Arrow or were you using Amtrak.com to look up the information? They don't seem to be exactly the same beast.

Although Amtrak's Web reservation system draws on Arrow's resources, I think there are differences between the two.

Because Arrow is geared for restricted use (by Amtrak or travel personnel), it would appear to display more information than would be immediately available to the general public (such as that detailed notification). Other examples would be the ability to check the seating and room inventory (and pricing) for any current and upcoming train.

For reservations on Amtrak.com, we tinker around and guess what the buckets are for each leg of a trip. Arrow breaks it down and says how many seats/rooms are left in specific buckets.

 

[AlanB]

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

As Rafi explained in his original post, the information was from ARROW, Amtrak's reservation system.

I don't know every group that has access to ARROW, but I imagine the groups include Amtrak agents and some personnel, travel agencies, Julie and Rafi.

I tried the rezzie system using one of the dates & nothing came up. That's why I asked!

It's not uncommon to find things from ARROW posted on the net via various sources, including travel agents and even on occasion employees. You can always tell when something came direct from ARROW because it's all in caps. Arrow doesn't know about lower case letters.

 

[Rafi]

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

As Rafi explained in his original post, the information was from ARROW, Amtrak's reservation system.

I don't know every group that has access to ARROW, but I imagine the groups include Amtrak agents and some personnel, travel agencies, Julie and Rafi.

Hah! I'm flattered. I've got my sources. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :lol:

Rafi

 

[sunchaser]

Thanks for the info Rafi! How did you find that info? I tried to find it on the website but no luck....

As Rafi explained in his original post, the information was from ARROW, Amtrak's reservation system.

I don't know every group that has access to ARROW, but I imagine the groups include Amtrak agents and some personnel, travel agencies, Julie and Rafi.

Hah! I'm flattered. I've got my sources. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :lol:

Rafi

I'm glad you found that info. It clears up the mystery. I've been playing with the rezzie system daily for about six months now, but I'm certainly not an expert on it yet.

It would be a great stretch of track to run, except I really want to check out Glenwood Springs next, because it's fairly close to us. I want to take hubby there in oct for a few days..... soak up some hot water, check out the cave. :lol:

 

[gregoryla]

If there is a detour thru Wyoming, how will that affect the arrival time for eastbound trains from Sacramento into Chicago. We have a connection from there on the CL. Theoretically, we have a layover more than 4 hours, so that should be OK, right? What can we expect of Amtrak if we miss that connection?

It should have no impact on your making your connection in Chicago. The detour route is actually faster, it's longer in distance, but the track speeds are much faster than the normal route. Therefore on days that the train detours, it is traditionally several hours early into Salt Lake City going westbound and Denver going eastbound. Since the trains can't leave either of those cities until the regularly scheduled time, you'll generally find that train sits in those stations for a couple of hours waiting for the appointed time.

We I did the detour route a two years ago, we were some 3+ hours early into SLC going west IIRC. Coming east I believe we were at least 2 hours early.

We are taking the CZ 5 from Reno to Emeryville during the detour period, so it sounds from the above that we should not expect the detour to cause any delays for our leg of the trip. Agreed?

 

[PRR 60]

We are taking the CZ 5 from Reno to Emeryville during the detour period, so it sounds from the above that we should not expect the detour to cause any delays for our leg of the trip. Agreed?

The detour through Wyoming is faster than the regular route through Colorado and usually results in the Zephyr arriving in Salt lake City early. So, you are correct. The detour will not cause delays for your trip from Reno to Emeryville.

 

[Columbus]

Sorry to cover old ground. But I have a reservation on the 20th August out of Emeryville on the Eastbound CZ-

To check:

-I get on the same train at the same time?

-I get into CHI at the same time (in a perfect world where the entire route goes to plan) on the 22nd August?

Like I said, I'm sorry to ask the same questions as others but I'm actually flying in from the UK on the 18th and getting on after visiting a friend in SF and I have a hotel reservation in chicago before flying on to NY on the afternoon of the 23rd (First trip to US outside of Florida so thought it would be a great way to see the country). Most importantly, I'm a big NFL fan and am looking to get a ticket to see the Bears play the Giants at soldier field that evening (only one chance to see NFL live in the UK a year!)

Any answers appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[gswager]

Sorry to cover old ground. But I have a reservation on the 20th August out of Emeryville on the Eastbound CZ-
To check:

-I get on the same train at the same time?

-I get into CHI at the same time (in a perfect world where the entire route goes to plan) on the 22nd August?

Like I said, I'm sorry to ask the same questions as others but I'm actually flying in from the UK on the 18th and getting on after visiting a friend in SF and I have a hotel reservation in chicago before flying on to NY on the afternoon of the 23rd (First trip to US outside of Florida so thought it would be a great way to see the country). Most importantly, I'm a big NFL fan and am looking to get a ticket to see the Bears play the Giants at soldier field that evening (only one chance to see NFL live in the UK a year!)

Any answers appreciated.

Thanks.

Yes, you will be on the same train from Emeryville to Chicago, even on a detour through Wyoming.

As for timing if it's on a perfect planning, you will arrive into Chicago early due to padding on schedule, as long as the symbol "D" (departure only) on few stations before Chicago. Station(s) with "D" on it will be leaving early , regardless of what the departure time on timetable.

 

[Columbus]

Thanks gswager! In another note, how full can I expect the train to be in these months?