Is it worth it?

[bucrepus]

I have to travel from Montgomery, AL to Santa Ana, CA. I HAVE to be there 9/5/2007 and was planing to leave Lafayette, LA on the Sunset Limited on 9/3. I don't fly (and really dont want to drive that far..). I have read so many reviews about the SL being on time and not on time with delays of more than the Amtrak 'stated' 2-6 hours. The SL leaves on the 9/3 and arrives around noon 9/5 in Los Angeles, then train transfer to Santa Ana. How reliable is this train? How long are the delays really.. I read Union Pacific purposely delays Amtrak many hours.. Will I even get there on the 9/5? I would love to take this train, but am worried..can't be many hours or a day late.. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

bucrepus

 

[user 1215]

Two days ago, it was 4 1/2 hours late. Tomorrow, it is scheduled to be 2 1/2 hours late.

Rule of thumb - if you don't HAVE to be there on time, don't take the train. If you can allow for an unmitigated risk, then go for it. Otherwise, take the train three days earlier and enjoy the city!

 

[Guest]

The schedule is currently leave Lafayette 3:35pm on Monday, Sep 3 and arriving Los Angeles at 10:10 am on Wednesday, Sep 5. Now we all know how close reality isn't a match to the printed schedule, so the question is how late can you stand it to be?

Consider going to Kansas City and taking the Southwest Chief.

I believe that you can do that from either Jackson MS or Memphis TN on the City of New Orleans to Carbondale IL, they bus connection to St. Louis, then train from St. Louis to Kansas City. The Southwest Chief is far more reliable. You might be able to make a reasonable bus connection to Jackson MS right out of Montgomery. I believe that in Jackson the bus and Amtrak are together or close, and the time will be around 5:00 pm. In Memphis, the stations are not close, and the time would be about 10:00 pm, and I would strongly recommend a taxi between them, even though it is walkable (about one mile), but unless you are big and tough looking you might not complete the trek.

For this schedule to work, you would be leaving Montgomery on September 2, and catching the City of N. O. on the evening of the second, and the Southwest Chief on the evening of Sept 3. Since the Southwest Chief is scheduled into Los Angeles about 8:15 am, this schedule makes arrival on the 5th a sure thing baring major catastrophe.

The main downside of this would be getting off the City of N O at a little after 3:00 am to get on the connecting bus to St. Louis. The upside is that from Jackson (or Memphis) onward, this is a through Amtrak journey, so they are responsible for your connections. You could also go all the way to Chicago and make a train to train change - CNO-->SWC - there at a reasonable hour. Whether this is more expensive or not, I do not know.

If I am thinking right, Montgomery to Lafayette LA is about 8 hours on the road, so you would be leaving Monty on the morning of the third. If you go the other way around, you would be leaving on the second if you catch the train at either Jackson MS or Memphis. If you chose to drive to KC, that is what? about 16 hour driving from Montgomery. The 3rd is Labor Day Monday, so everybody and his brother will be on the road making long drives. Do you want to be part of that?

George

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

I have to travel from Montgomery, AL to Santa Ana, CA. I HAVE to be there 9/5/2007 and was planing to leave Lafayette, LA on the Sunset Limited on 9/3. I don't fly (and really dont want to drive that far..). I have read so many reviews about the SL being on time and not on time with delays of more than the Amtrak 'stated' 2-6 hours. The SL leaves on the 9/3 and arrives around noon 9/5 in Los Angeles, then train transfer to Santa Ana. How reliable is this train? How long are the delays really.. I read Union Pacific purposely delays Amtrak many hours.. Will I even get there on the 9/5? I would love to take this train, but am worried..can't be many hours or a day late.. Any ideas or suggestions?Thanks

bucrepus

If it is of utmost importance that you must be there ontime on that day (09/05) for any kind of function, then you need to leave on the 08/31 and arrive there on the the 09/02. It appears you are already arriving on 09/05 if you go with your current plan. That is not much leverage if something were to go awry. If you stick with your current plan, and can't be flexible with the time, then you will need create a backup plan to fall on if you get messed up. That ranges in emergancy rental car, flight, bus ticket, hotel, etc. Good luck.... I would go with the "leaving earlier" option on the "Sunset" or use the plan previously posted by George. I am assuming it may be "George Harris" who might have forotten to sign in when making that guest posting. Is that you, sir or another "George?"

OBS gone freight.....

 

[had8ley]

I have to travel from Montgomery, AL to Santa Ana, CA. I HAVE to be there 9/5/2007 and was planing to leave Lafayette, LA on the Sunset Limited on 9/3. I don't fly (and really dont want to drive that far..). I have read so many reviews about the SL being on time and not on time with delays of more than the Amtrak 'stated' 2-6 hours. The SL leaves on the 9/3 and arrives around noon 9/5 in Los Angeles, then train transfer to Santa Ana. How reliable is this train? How long are the delays really.. I read Union Pacific purposely delays Amtrak many hours.. Will I even get there on the 9/5? I would love to take this train, but am worried..can't be many hours or a day late.. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

bucrepus

If it is of utmost importance that you must be there ontime on that day (09/05) for any kind of function, then you need to leave on the 08/31 and arrive there on the the 09/02. It appears you are already arriving on 09/05 if you go with your current plan. That is not much leverage if something were to go awry. If you stick with your current plan, and can't be flexible with the time, then you will need create a backup plan to fall on if you get messed up. That ranges in emergancy rental car, flight, bus ticket, hotel, etc. Good luck.... I would go with the "leaving earlier" option on the "Sunset" or use the plan previously posted by George. I am assuming it may be "George Harris" who might have forotten to sign in when making that guest posting. Is that you, sir or another "George?"

OBS gone freight.....

Bear in mind the rule of thumb for the Sunset~ if there is a siding on the UP #1 and #2 will be holed up there for a while and sometimes passed by trains going in the same direction !!!.) 12 to 16 hour delays on #2 are NOT uncommon so plan accordingly; #1 is a little less tardy but on time arrivals are a very rare occurrence. I seriously doubt that Las Vegas bookies would wager on on time arrivals.

 

[bucrepus]

Thanks for the advice all...

 

[gswager]

Other option is to fly west (either LAX or Burbank which has good transportation to LA Union station) and ride train back home.