Improving the Sunset

[NativeSon5859]

This is a work of fiction obviously, but it was fun to make. I decided it was time to vastly improve the Sunset's viability. Also, the connection with the Eagle in SAS is no more...no more long layovers overnight. The Eagle will run with its own equipment 3x weekly CHI-SAS-LAX. This Sunset I am proposing is a 4x weekly service.

A few things stand out here. First off, I have greatly improved the timing of the train into several key markets: Maricopa, Tucson, San Antonio, Houston, Gulfport/Biloxi (which I consolidated into one station), Mobile, and Pensacola. The new departure and arrival times at the endpoint cities (and in NOL) are reasonable. This new schedule also provides overnight service (which I think would be a big hit) between Houston and New Orleans. The importance of the better timings for Houston cannot be understated. In addition, connections with the Crescent in NOL (via a slightly modified schedule that even the folks in ATL could live with) and with the Silver Star in Orlando for points south will be possible. Overall, I think the beneifts of this schedule outweigh the disadvantages. I decided to leave possible same day connections from CHI via 58/59 out of this...it was either connect with the Crescent and the Silver Star, or connect with the City of New Orleans....I couldn't make all three connections work without royally messing up 58/59's schedule, which would in turn mess up the chance for connections out of CHI. Enjoy.

Train #1

Dp. Orlando 1010p

Winter Park 1028p

Sanford 1053p

DeLand 1116p

Palatka 1202a

Ar. Jacksonville 140a

Dp. Jacksonville 200a

Lake City 307a

Madison 412a

Tallahassee 538a

Chipley 650a

Crestview 815a

Ar. Pensacola 932a

Dp. Pensacola 947a

Atmore 1120a

Mobile 1227p

Pascagoula 109p

Ar. Gulfport/Biloxi 148p

Dp. Gulfport/Biloxi 200p

Bay St. Louis 227p

Ar. New Orleans 610p

Dp. New Orleans 855p

Scriever 1020p

New Iberia 1146p

Lafayette 1214a

Lake Charles 147a

Beaumont 340a

Ar. Houston 630a

Lv. Houston 707a

Ar. San Antonio 1212p

Lv. San Antonio 1232p

Del Rio 337p

Sanderson 612p

Alpine 826p

Ar. El Paso 1212a

Lv. El Paso 1257a

Deming 228a

Lordsburg 323a

Benson 428a

Ar. Tucson 622a

Lv. Tucson 701a

Ar. Maricopa 824a

Lv. Maricopa 834a

Yuma 1121a

Palm Springs 139p

Ontario 307p

Pomona 317p

Ar. Los Angeles 510p

Train #2

Lv. Los Angeles 655a

Pomona 736a

Ontario 749a

Palm Springs 931a

Yuma 1149a

Ar. Maricopa 232p

Dp. Maricopa 242p

Ar. Tucson 500p

Dp. Tucson 545p

Benson 645p

Lordsburg 945p

Deming 1040p

Ar. El Paso 1241a

Dp. El Paso 125a

Alpine 645a

Sanderson 836a

Del Rio 1102a

Ar. San Antonio 250p

Dp. San Antonio 315p

Ar. Houston 800p

Dp. Houston 830p

Beaumont 1025p

Lake Charles 1149p

Lafayette 135a

New Iberia 201a

Schreiver 323a

Ar. New Orleans 615a

Dp. New Orleans 900a

Bay St. Louis 1030a

Ar. Gulfport/Biloxi 1103a

Dp. Gulfport/Biloxi 1115a

Pascagoula 1155a

Mobile 1254p

Atmore 200p

Ar. Pensacola 439p

Dp. Pensacola 454p

Crestview 604p

Chipley 734p

Tallahassee 1056p

Madison 1223a

Lake City 124a

Ar. Jacksonville 304a

Dp. Jacksonville 324a

Palatka 446a

DeLand 533a

Sanford 558a

Winter Park 627a

Ar. Orlando 710a

Dp.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

This is a work of fiction obviously, but it was fun to make. I decided it was time to vastly improve the Sunset's viability. Also, the connection with the Eagle in SAS is no more...no more long layovers overnight. The Eagle will run with its own equipment 3x weekly CHI-SAS-LAX. This Sunset I am proposing is a 4x weekly service.
A few things stand out here. First off, I have greatly improved the timing of the train into several key markets: Maricopa, Tucson, San Antonio, Houston, Gulfport/Biloxi (which I consolidated into one station), Mobile, and Pensacola. The new departure and arrival times at the endpoint cities (and in NOL) are reasonable. This new schedule also provides overnight service (which I think would be a big hit) between Houston and New Orleans. The importance of the better timings for Houston cannot be understated. In addition, connections with the Crescent in NOL (via a slightly modified schedule that even the folks in ATL could live with) and with the Silver Star in Orlando for points south will be possible. Overall, I think the beneifts of this schedule outweigh the disadvantages. I decided to leave possible same day connections from CHI via 58/59 out of this...it was either connect with the Crescent and the Silver Star, or connect with the City of New Orleans....I couldn't make all three connections work without royally messing up 58/59's schedule, which would in turn mess up the chance for connections out of CHI. Enjoy.

Very interesting. just one thing. Would be nice to go ahead on to Miami if possible. But you are dealing wth specific sets of equipment, etc so guess that is not workable. Still, a good thought. Those NOL times are tight for 19-20 but then you could adjust 19/20 a bit , also!!

A good read.

 

[NativeSon5859]

Hi Bill, thanks!

What I was thinking was having #20 dp. NOL at 7:55am, and have #19 run about 15-20 min. earlier.

It shouldn't mess up ATL too bad. #20 would arrive at 8:38pm and leave at 9:06pm....#19 wouldn't even remotely be an issue.

 

[guest]

I like this better

Train #1

Dp. Orlando 1010p 710a

Winter Park 1028p

Sanford 1053p

DeLand 1116p

Palatka 1202a

Ar. Jacksonville 140a 1040a

Dp. Jacksonville 200a

Lake City 307a

Madison 412a

Tallahassee 538a

Chipley 650a

Crestview 815a

Ar. Pensacola 932a 632p

Dp. Pensacola 947a

Atmore 1120a

Mobile 1227p

Pascagoula 109p

Ar. Gulfport/Biloxi 148p 1048p

Dp. Gulfport/Biloxi 200p

Bay St. Louis 227p

Ar. New Orleans 610p 310a

Dp. New Orleans 855p 555a

Scriever 1020p

New Iberia 1146p

Lafayette 1214a

Lake Charles 147a

Beaumont 340a

Ar. Houston 630a 330pm

Lv. Houston 707a

Ar. San Antonio 1212p 912p

Lv. San Antonio 1232p

Del Rio 337p

Sanderson 612p

Alpine 826p

Ar. El Paso 1212a 912a

Lv. El Paso 1257a

Deming 228a

Lordsburg 323a

Benson 428a

Ar. Tucson 622a 322p

Lv. Tucson 701a

Ar. Maricopa 824a 524p

Lv. Maricopa 834a

Yuma 1121a

Palm Springs 139p

Ontario 307p

Pomona 317p

Ar. Los Angeles 510p 210a

Train #2

Lv. Los Angeles 655a 1055p

Pomona 736a

Ontario 749a

Palm Springs 931a

Yuma 1149a 349a

Ar. Maricopa 232p 632a

Dp. Maricopa 242p

Ar. Tucson 500p 900a

Dp. Tucson 545p

Benson 645p

Lordsburg 945p

Deming 1040p

Ar. El Paso 1241a 441p

Dp. El Paso 125a

Alpine 645a

Sanderson 836a

Del Rio 1102a

Ar. San Antonio 250p 650a

Dp. San Antonio 315p

Ar. Houston 800p 1000a

Dp. Houston 830p

Beaumont 1025p

Lake Charles 1149p

Lafayette 135a

New Iberia 201a

Schreiver 323a

Ar. New Orleans 615a 1015p

Dp. New Orleans 900a

Bay St. Louis 1030a

Ar. Gulfport/Biloxi 1103a 303a

Dp. Gulfport/Biloxi 1115a

Pascagoula 1155a

Mobile 1254p 454a

Atmore 200p

Ar. Pensacola 439p 839a

Dp. Pensacola 454p

Crestview 604p

Chipley 734p

Tallahassee 1056p

Madison 1223a

Lake City 124a

Ar. Jacksonville 304a 704pm

Dp. Jacksonville 324a

Palatka 446a

DeLand 533a

Sanford 558a

Winter Park 627a

Ar. Orlando 710a 1110pm

Dp

 

[Rail Freak]

This is a work of fiction obviously, but it was fun to make. I decided it was time to vastly improve the Sunset's viability. Also, the connection with the Eagle in SAS is no more...no more long layovers overnight. The Eagle will run with its own equipment 3x weekly CHI-SAS-LAX. This Sunset I am proposing is a 4x weekly service.
A few things stand out here. First off, I have greatly improved the timing of the train into several key markets: Maricopa, Tucson, San Antonio, Houston, Gulfport/Biloxi (which I consolidated into one station), Mobile, and Pensacola. The new departure and arrival times at the endpoint cities (and in NOL) are reasonable. This new schedule also provides overnight service (which I think would be a big hit) between Houston and New Orleans. The importance of the better timings for Houston cannot be understated. In addition, connections with the Crescent in NOL (via a slightly modified schedule that even the folks in ATL could live with) and with the Silver Star in Orlando for points south will be possible. Overall, I think the beneifts of this schedule outweigh the disadvantages. I decided to leave possible same day connections from CHI via 58/59 out of this...it was either connect with the Crescent and the Silver Star, or connect with the City of New Orleans....I couldn't make all three connections work without royally messing up 58/59's schedule, which would in turn mess up the chance for connections out of CHI. Enjoy.

ARE WE THERE YET?

I'm new, but being from TPA, I do know it seems to be a pain in the wallet to get from TPA to NOL, I'd like to ride the City!!!

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Two points. One, SFD (Sanford regular depot, NOT Auto-Train) no longer exists. The station deteriorated to where it was condemned, and 91/92/97/98 is no longer a station stop. No stops between Winter Park and Deland any more. There will be a new station on the (eventual) Orlando Corridor Commuter System, but it will not stop at the old Sanford Depot. The Sanford stop will be a new non-Amtrak station, and not at the same physical location as the old SFD, which was right next to the SFA Auto-Train facility. It will be between a half mile and a mile further west of the old SFD, I think. In any event, no Sanford Amtrak Station stop for Sunset or Silver Service anymore, although ironically they do stop there sometimes for the repair and maintenance wizards at the Auto-Train facility to do a quick en-route repair on something like a non-functioning airconditioning system on Silver-Service trains between Miami-New York.

The Orlando corridor commuter rail system will use the Amtrak Deland, Winter Park, and Orlando stations, I believe, as station stops, along with a lot of new ones. Amtrak will not add any new stops, however, as I understand it. This would be analogous to the Amtrak and Tri-Rail systems in South Florida. I suspect it will also mean that travel will no longer be allowed between the Orlando, Winter Park, and Deland stations on Amtrak, in other words you won't be able to book a ticket between WPK-ORL, etc, since travel between those stations would be considered commuting. Which, from our standpoint, is really too bad since it's a quick two hundred AGR points, even without point doubling, to take 91 WPK-ORL and 98 ORL-WPK back. And that will probably go away when the commuter system starts. :_(

Second, for Rail-Freak, If you have a Florida Resident Annual Railpass, Tampa to Pensacola will be handled on the Railpass, so the only ticket you would need to purchase to get to NOL and back is Pensacola-NOL-Pensacola. Depending on operating schedules, you may have to take the thruway bus TPA-ORL to catch the same-day Sunset, as 92 might not get there in time if Sunset was on it's original mid-afternoon departure schedule.

We did just that (WPK-PNS on Railpass, PNS-NOL-PNS on weekly sale prices, then PNS-WPK on the Pass) the year we took it, and it was great.

 

[had8ley]

This is one subject; Sunset service east of New Orleans, that I think we can safely say will get a jazz funeral sooner than later...

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Unless something truly extraordinary happens, the Sunset east of NOL probably IS dead. Whether we end up with JAX-NOL service, perhaps daily, is another subject, and at least slightly more likely, depending on the amount of political pressure that can be brought after the current administration is "history". With the current administration, as I read things, Amtrak can get away with holding that part of the route hostage to extort a ransom from the affected States. Whether they would be able to continue that hostage-taking after a new administration, and what probably will be an even more democratic-leaning Congress arrives, is a new question.

That NOL-JAX service, if it does manage to get established, would at least restore the southern transcontinental route, and provide Chicago-Florida service as well, again, which would be especially useful (and would garner a LOT more passenger traffic) if it would be daily. The only possible reason Amtrak continues to say "suspended" rather than cancelled on the NOL-ORL section of Sunset is that if they cancel it they lose the right to use that rail path in the future. So saying it is suspended is pure hogwash, truth be told, but it's what they have to say if they still want the option to use that rail path for a NOL-JAX service in the future.

Functionally, of course, if we do end up with a JAX-NOL service, the JAX-PNS section would be included on the Florida Railpass, so my earlier discussion along those lines would be valid, as it was when Sunset continued to ORL.

 

[p&sr]

In any event, no Sanford Amtrak Station stop for Sunset or Silver Service anymore, although ironically they do stop there sometimes for the repair and maintenance wizards at the Auto-Train facility to do a quick en-route repair on something like a non-functioning airconditioning system on Silver-Service trains between Miami-New York.

Yes, I saw that two years ago on the Silver Meteor northbound. Maybe an hour's delay (for some kind of maintenance issue) while we walked around the premises of a totally decrepit abandoned former Depot at Sanford. Really begging to be torn down... It felt like being stuck in a Time-Warp ("the Twilight Zone").

 

[rtabern]

One flaw with that schedule is that Sunset would no longer connect with the Texas Eagle in SAS.

 

[Walt]

Maybe this is what others have meant, but would it not be better if the eastern most point for the Sunset, be at Jacksonville? From there, one could catch one of the Silvers?

 

[AlanB]

Maybe this is what others have meant, but would it not be better if the eastern most point for the Sunset, be at Jacksonville? From there, one could catch one of the Silvers?

The reason that the Sunset goes, or at least went to Orlando, is two fold. One, the huge tourist market of Orlando. Jax doesn't draw people like Disney does. Second, Orlando is much closer to Sanford, where facilities are in place to service/repair the train. No such facilities exist in Jacksonville, and running the train from JAX to Sanford is far more wasteful.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

I enjoyed the thought process you guys put into the Idea of the Sunset route. Too bad Congress does not encourage such incite into Amtrak Management.

Maybe some time the Sunset will have a Sunrise