CA zephyr thru Wyoming?

[Guest_Jim_*]

My family and I have been scheduled for quite a few months now on the zephyr June 30-July 1 thru to Emeryville. I just read on another post that the trip will now go through Wyoming. Is this true? Instead of Colorado? I've had my heart set on the Colorado portion of this trip for months, so if this is true it would be very bad news indeed. Possibly trip cancellation bad. If we went through Wyoming, specifically where would the train be going and when would it meet back up with the original route. Can I find this new route on the Amtrak website? I just looked and they still have it going through Denver, Glenwood Springs, Salt Lake City, etc. Please...I need some insight on the matter. Thanks.

 

[Dakguy201]

From Denver the detour goes north to Cheyenne, then west on the original Overland Route. I'm not sure if the effective dates have been announced, and likewise I seem to believe the detour was only going to be made on some days of the week.

 

[AMTK6]

Correct. The detour will be Mon-Thurs. Fri-Sun the "normal" route will be used. As far as dates go, we have not heard except for the first part of June. Expect some delays as traffic is heavier on this route and addition to the slow orders west of Salt Lake City into California.

 

[wkaemena]

Correct. The detour will be Mon-Thurs. Fri-Sun the "normal" route will be used. As far as dates go, we have not heard except for the first part of June. Expect some delays as traffic is heavier on this route and addition to the slow orders west of Salt Lake City into California.

As I am due to cross the rockies on June 13 (DEN-EMY) seems to be that my chances to go via the most scenic part are nil....

how interesting is the detour landscape wise??

visit europes newest and largest train station ..... (DSL and Quicktime required....)

 

[Guest_Jim_*]

Thanks for the replies. I too would like to know if anyone knows about the scenery on the wyoming detour.

 

[AmtrakCrescent20]

Thanks for the replies. I too would like to know if anyone knows about the scenery on the wyoming detour.

See here. From what I've hearde it's nothing like the route through the Rockies-mostly plains.

 

[Trogdor]

The scenery through Wyoming is, in a word, repetitive. Not bad, just repetitive.

It's the same thing for basically the whole day.

 

[RailFanLNK]

Reading the post that it was going to be the regular route Fri-Sun had me do a check on my trip. Leaving LNK on Sunday July 15th shows us taking a "thruway bus" from DEN to GSC. This is not only gonna muck up stuff bad...but real bad. I have learned not to pick up my tickets from this forum but to book this trip I needed to use a travel voucher that was issued to me since my roomettes (to GSC) were not available and they put me in a family room instead. (that was last summer's debacle) So...I have booked the trip and had to do it at the station which means my tickets are printed and in hand. So...what can I do? I noticed there's no bus the day before on Saturday July 14th and the roomette prices are still the same as what I paid for them a month ago. Can I re-book the first part? Do I take the chance and see if the rail work changes again? Do I cancel the whole trip via Amtrak and drive and if I do that, what will be the penalty? I don't want this to be my girlfriend and her two kids "first taste of Amtrak" as we pay for 1st Class Accomodations and then don't eat on the train or have our roomettes past DEN and ride a bus on the best part of the trip. :angry: sigh.

Al

 

[Trogdor]

I'd call Amtrak and change your reservation. If the day that the train is running, the sleeper is the same fare, then you have nothing to lose.

But be sure to call Amtrak right away and at least get the other room reserved, so that way nobody else can take it (and possibly make the fare go up).

This detour has been pretty routine the last two or three years, so I doubt the days of the week would change.

 

[AlanB]

I noticed there's no bus the day before on Saturday July 14th and the roomette prices are still the same as what I paid for them a month ago. Can I re-book the first part? Do I take the chance and see if the rail work changes again? Do I cancel the whole trip via Amtrak and drive and if I do that, what will be the penalty? I don't want this to be my girlfriend and her two kids "first taste of Amtrak" as we pay for 1st Class Accomodations and then don't eat on the train or have our roomettes past DEN and ride a bus on the best part of the trip. :angry: sigh.
Al

Al,

While there is no bus the day before your current reservation, please note that you would still be bussed for the return from GSC. So that is something that you must factor into the equation. Going early of course also means that you would miss being part of the fest, not that that should be your primary concern.

I would also suspect that under normal circumstances, because Amtrak is changing things from the norm, that you could get a refund without penalty. The only problem might be that since you used a voucher to help pay for the trip, that might mean you'd have to get a voucher again. But under normal circumstances, I believe that Amtrak would allow for a full refund without penalty.

And at the very least if you go ahead with the trip, you should get some money back thanks to the loss of the sleeper for much of the ride.

 

[RailFanLNK]

Shared all this info with my girlfriend tonight. Herself and her kids are really "jacked up" for the Amtrak trip. I told her about moving our trip up one day to avoid a possible bus ride and she remarked, "you'll miss the OTOL guys". Am I correct here Alan, you guys will proceed on the CZ northward to Wyoming and we will proceed to the "dawg" (Greyhound or whatever bus company) for our trip to GSC? There would be little time then for meeting all the members from OTOL. (if I'm correct) Not that I don't want to, its just we board at 12:30am, go to bed, then wake up and ride a bus. :angry: I also said, "maybe we can join the 79mph club and the 55mph club all on the same weekend!" Remember Planes, Trains and Automobiles? "Take a picture, it will last longer!" :lol:

Al

 

[AlanB]

Shared all this info with my girlfriend tonight. Herself and her kids are really "jacked up" for the Amtrak trip. I told her about moving our trip up one day to avoid a possible bus ride and she remarked, "you'll miss the OTOL guys". Am I correct here Alan, you guys will proceed on the CZ northward to Wyoming and we will proceed to the "dawg" (Greyhound or whatever bus company) for our trip to GSC? There would be little time then for meeting all the members from OTOL. (if I'm correct) Not that I don't want to, its just we board at 12:30am, go to bed, then wake up and ride a bus. :angry:

You are correct, we will go through on the CZ even if we don't go via the more scenic route through the Rockies. If you do go ahead with the trip as planned, there would be almost no time to meet, unless the train was running late. So unless UP changes its mind again, I would tend to think that you should evaluate things without the meet being part of the consideration.

What is interesting here is that UP usually does the track work Monday thru Thursday, with things running normal on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Which would have meant that we'd have gone through on the normal route. So I'm wondering if UP changed the rules or if someone at Amtrak screwed up the dates. And since there is no formal announcement on Amtrak's site, we can't really tell what's going on yet.

 

[Guest - Joan]

My family and I have been scheduled for quite a few months now on the zephyr June 30-July 1 thru to Emeryville. I just read on another post that the trip will now go through Wyoming. Is this true? Instead of Colorado? I've had my heart set on the Colorado portion of this trip for months, so if this is true it would be very bad news indeed. Possibly trip cancellation bad. If we went through Wyoming, specifically where would the train be going and when would it meet back up with the original route. Can I find this new route on the Amtrak website? I just looked and they still have it going through Denver, Glenwood Springs, Salt Lake City, etc. Please...I need some insight on the matter. Thanks.

We are scheduled on the zephyr for May 31 - June 2. I called Amtrak today and asked about the re-routing. The person I talked to said the work is scheduled to begin on June 14, so I guess that means there will be no detours until then. ???

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

We are scheduled on the zephyr for May 31 - June 2. I called Amtrak today and asked about the re-routing. The person I talked to said the work is scheduled to begin on June 14, so I guess that means there will be no detours until then. ???

I have heard so many different dates on this. June 14th makes no sense if the track work dates are MON-THUR, since the 14th is a Thursday, so why would they just detour one day? I have heard dates as late as June 25th too. ahh, nobody knows!

 

[AlanB]

We are scheduled on the zephyr for May 31 - June 2. I called Amtrak today and asked about the re-routing. The person I talked to said the work is scheduled to begin on June 14, so I guess that means there will be no detours until then. ???

I have heard so many different dates on this. June 14th makes no sense if the track work dates are MON-THUR, since the 14th is a Thursday, so why would they just detour one day? I have heard dates as late as June 25th too. ahh, nobody knows!

Well sadly, it appears as though that the track work isn't going to be taking place only Monday thru Thursday, as our OTOL trip appears as though it will be diverted to the detour route and we'll be riding over the weekend. Unless someone at Amtrak entered the wrong dates into Arrow, it appears that this is going to be more of a blitz that will run 7 days a week, unfortunately.

 

[TRSTACIE]

We are scheduled on the zephyr for May 31 - June 2. I called Amtrak today and asked about the re-routing. The person I talked to said the work is scheduled to begin on June 14, so I guess that means there will be no detours until then. ???

I have heard so many different dates on this. June 14th makes no sense if the track work dates are MON-THUR, since the 14th is a Thursday, so why would they just detour one day? I have heard dates as late as June 25th too. ahh, nobody knows!

Well sadly, it appears as though that the track work isn't going to be taking place only Monday thru Thursday, as our OTOL trip appears as though it will be diverted to the detour route and we'll be riding over the weekend. Unless someone at Amtrak entered the wrong dates into Arrow, it appears that this is going to be more of a blitz that will run 7 days a week, unfortunately.

This OTOL trip that you mention, is it for members only are just a meet up of a lot of train enthusiasts? I live in Denver and only have access to the CZ route and wouldn't mind meeting people with similar interests. When is this trip scheduled? Other details?

Thanks.

 

[AlanB]

This OTOL trip that you mention, is it for members only are just a meet up of a lot of train enthusiasts? I live in Denver and only have access to the CZ route and wouldn't mind meeting people with similar interests. When is this trip scheduled? Other details?

The OTOL fest is both a trans-continental trip for some, as well as an opportunity for anyone to ride the many rail transportation systems in Northern California. Anyone is welcome to join us, even if they are not members of On Track On Line (OTOL). In fact there are several people from here who plan to join us for at least part of the fest.

You are more than welcome to join us for any part, or all of the fest if you like. Please consider this a formal invitation. You can find all the details at Kevin Korell's (fest organizer extrodinaire) website, located here. If you would like to join us, either drop me a PM here on this board if you're registered here, or you can send me a PM on Flyertalk where I know that you're a member and I can get you added to the official list if you would like to join us. I use the same handle over there, that I do here, AlanB.

 

[Superliner Diner]

You are more than welcome to join us for any part, or all of the fest if you like. Please consider this a formal invitation.

Double the formal invitation from the Fest Organizer Extraordinaire himself. And that goes for anyone else from here as well. The more the merrier. But you need to act fast if the CZ is involved as by nature of our large group it is booking up quickly. We'll be on that train, no matter what route it ultimately follows or what time of day or night it reaches its final destination of Emeryville.

 

[Dakguy201]

Crossing Wyoming, Utah and Nevada will give you a sense of just how big the this country really is, especially if you are from the East Coast.

As for the scenery, those states have always seemed to me to be sort of an acquired taste. I spent my summers as a child on the Montana/Wyoming border, so I suppose I have it; but a whole lot of people don't.

At least, you will have the Sierras to look forward to.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

We are scheduled on the zephyr for May 31 - June 2. I called Amtrak today and asked about the re-routing. The person I talked to said the work is scheduled to begin on June 14, so I guess that means there will be no detours until then. ???

I have heard so many different dates on this. June 14th makes no sense if the track work dates are MON-THUR, since the 14th is a Thursday, so why would they just detour one day? I have heard dates as late as June 25th too. ahh, nobody knows!

Well sadly, it appears as though that the track work isn't going to be taking place only Monday thru Thursday, as our OTOL trip appears as though it will be diverted to the detour route and we'll be riding over the weekend. Unless someone at Amtrak entered the wrong dates into Arrow, it appears that this is going to be more of a blitz that will run 7 days a week, unfortunately.

Well if this is true it is not in the system yet. If you plug in a a departure of June 14th from Chicago, the reservation still shows a direct trip to Glenwood Springs, CO for instance. Plug in the following weekend and same story. However, plug in the original proposed start date (June 25th) of the last weekend in June, and you get a bus. So it would appear that either the system is messed up or the track work doesn't start until the last week of June...hmmm?

 

[AlanB]

Well if this is true it is not in the system yet. If you plug in a a departure of June 14th from Chicago, the reservation still shows a direct trip to Glenwood Springs, CO for instance. Plug in the following weekend and same story. However, plug in the original proposed start date (June 25th) of the last weekend in June, and you get a bus. So it would appear that either the system is messed up or the track work doesn't start until the last week of June...hmmm?

Actually this track work was originally supposed to start in May and be done by June. Now it appears that they aren't starting until late June, and will detour Amtrak during the peak summer months on one of its most scenic routes.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

Well atleast it appears the start date for the trackwork has been determined as the end of June. I agree its disappointing about the detour, but at least it appears a start date of the last week in June has been reached

 

[wkaemena]

Well atleast it appears the start date for the trackwork has been determined as the end of June. I agree its disappointing about the detour, but at least it appears a start date of the last week in June has been reached

Lets cross the fingers and hope that it will be like this.....

My first ever LD trip in the US will be on June 12th from CHI to EMY

anybody else on board that date??

 

[NativeSon5859]

Well atleast it appears the start date for the trackwork has been determined as the end of June. I agree its disappointing about the detour, but at least it appears a start date of the last week in June has been reached

Lets cross the fingers and hope that it will be like this.....

My first ever LD trip in the US will be on June 12th from CHI to EMY

anybody else on board that date??

Nope, about two weeks before you though. NYP-CHI-EMY on the Lake Shore and the Zephyr.

 

[AmtrakFan]

Reading the post that it was going to be the regular route Fri-Sun had me do a check on my trip. Leaving LNK on Sunday July 15th shows us taking a "thruway bus" from DEN to GSC. This is not only gonna muck up stuff bad...but real bad. I have learned not to pick up my tickets from this forum but to book this trip I needed to use a travel voucher that was issued to me since my roomettes (to GSC) were not available and they put me in a family room instead. (that was last summer's debacle) So...I have booked the trip and had to do it at the station which means my tickets are printed and in hand. So...what can I do? I noticed there's no bus the day before on Saturday July 14th and the roomette prices are still the same as what I paid for them a month ago. Can I re-book the first part? Do I take the chance and see if the rail work changes again? Do I cancel the whole trip via Amtrak and drive and if I do that, what will be the penalty? I don't want this to be my girlfriend and her two kids "first taste of Amtrak" as we pay for 1st Class Accomodations and then don't eat on the train or have our roomettes past DEN and ride a bus on the best part of the trip. :angry: sigh.
Al

Al,

I fooled around with the Amtrak.com today and apperntly the July 15th is a Train. This detour dates is making me confused. I haven't got any definant dates for the detour.