Chicago to Emeryville Zephyr Car 532, room 3 Roomette

[athandalai]

I'm traveling in Feb. Is this a good car/room to enjoy the scenic route from the roomette? I understand I could also go to the sightseer lounge car but I hear it is crowded sometimes. So trying to figure out if the roomette assigned to me is a good spot to be in? Also, I couldn't tell if it is upper or lower from the reservation. Please help.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Roomette #3 will be on the upper level of the car. However, you won't know which direction the car will be facing until you actually board. The cars can be set in line facing either direction. This means you won't know in advance whether your roomette faces generally north or generally south for your route. Both sides of train provide nice views during your trip. Based upon what I've read here, the side that faces generally north will have a slightly better view going through the Rocky Mountains. My roomette faced south. I still enjoyed the view. However, I did go up to the observation car for a little bit on my trip. However, that was crowded and there weren't always seats available. I also stood and looked out the windows in the stairway of my car for a while to see the northern side.

 

[zephyr17]

3 is upstairs, 2nd door down from the stairs.

2, 3, and 4 are my favorite roomettes, close to the middle of the car for a good ride.

As @PaunchyPirate noted, Superliners can and do run either end forward so it is impossible to predict which side of train you'll be on in advance.

The Sightseer Lounge can get filled up, especially on the CZ through the Rockies and Sierra. Some conductors enforce a time limit in there, some do not. It's Amtrak, YMMV.

Since you say you are in 532, that means you are westbound. Finish your breakfast prior to Denver and grab a seat in the Sightseer Lounge before or during the Denver stop for the run up the Front Range.

The 32 car is NOT the "base" sleeper for the CZ, the 31 car is. Given the situation over the past year with them yanking the non-base sleepers resulting in involuntary downgrades to coach or even cancellations, I'd watch my reservation carefully and review it on a regular basis. Amtrak hasn't been proactively notifying people as soon as they cancel the sleeper, but has been waiting to notify them just a few weeks prior to travel. You want to watch your reservation so if it happens, you catch it as soon as possible to maximize your chance to grab any open space in the remaining car. Look your reservation on the app. If the QR code disappears, that probably means you lost your room. If that happens, call Amtrak immediately and try to get rebooked into another room.