Pacific Surfliner

[amtkstn]

On the Pacific Surfliner what end of the train is Business class located? I will be riding on a Sunday northbound and would like to ride the cab car.

 

[GG-1]

On the Pacific Surfliner what end of the train is Business class located? I will be riding on a Sunday northbound and would like to ride the cab car.

Aloha

I moved this here as I suspect you will get better responses here.

As best I can recall going north to LA the engines push so the Cab car will lead out of San Diego. But I also seem to remember that the cab car was closed to passengers. This may have been as the trains I was on were not very full. I do not remember where the business car was.

 

[Bob Dylan]

:hi: Every time Ive ridden a Surfliner the Business Class car or cars, were on the rear of the train! To get a Snak Pak and a warm soda isnt worth the extra fare in most cases IMO, except when theres a special event such as Del Mar racing, a Charger Football Game, long Holiday weekends etc. Another consideration is when the Dome car is on the consist between San Diego and wherever going North or South, then it's first come ,first served in the Dome which is considered a non-reserved Coach!

 

[the_traveler]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

 

[TransitGeek]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

LAX is all stub-end tracks, so if it "pushes" SAN-LAX it probably "pulls" LAX-SLO (or Goleta), and then "pushes" SLO-LAX. I can't imagine they'd waste time wye-ing a train with a cab car.

 

[Trogdor]

A better way of describing it would be, generally, push to LAX, pull from LAX.

Then again, I was on a Surfliner a couple of weeks ago where they added the protect engine to the train in SAN, and so there was an engine on either end.

 

[chuljin]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

LAX is all stub-end tracks, so if it "pushes" SAN-LAX it probably "pulls" LAX-SLO (or Goleta), and then "pushes" SLO-LAX. I can't imagine they'd waste time wye-ing a train with a cab car.

*nod*

Trainsets that serve SAN (there's a single one that doesn't, but that's outside the scope of this thread) are pulled away from LAX and pushed toward LAX. So northbound, the cab car is at the front before LAX, and at the back after.

*away from LAX*-engine-business-cafe-coach(-coach)-coach/cab/baggage-*towards LAX*.

In my experience, a single engine can pull or push only 6 cars, the typical maximum (it's usually 5). If there are 7 or more cars, there will actually be an engine on each end.

If there are few enough riders that they can be compressed into 3 coach+1 business, they will sometimes close off the entire coach/cab/baggage car, but it doesn't happen *too* often. When it *is* used, the cab end of the car is still, obviously, roped off to about 3-4 rows of seats behind the driver (when in push mode). Even so, the view out the window is sometimes obscured, either by a shade, or an open cab door.

If you're heading towards LA, by all means go and see what you can see. I particularly enjoy the navigation through the maze of switches on the way into LAX.

 

[LA Resident]

On the Pacific Surfliner what end of the train is Business class located? I will be riding on a Sunday northbound and would like to ride the cab car.

Yes, it is "push to LA, pull from LA." So the San Diego-Goleta Surfliners have the engine in the back from San Diego to LA, and engine in front from LA to Goleta. The opposite is true in the southbound direction. On holiday weekends when extra cars are added, there is an engine on each end to assist in keeping speeds.

Business class is always next to the engine.

But never buy Surfliner business class, IMHO. First, the seating is barely better than the regular coach and the amenities aren't worth half of the extra $15 or so to ride.

PLUS, much of the time, a Superliner coach is part of the Superliner consist because of a shortage of cars. So for the regular coach fare, you can sit in Superliner comfort and watch the Pacific Ocean go by. I can only imagine what business class purchasers think when they see this! The funny thing is that many passengers walk through the Superliner car to the regular Surfliner coaches because they think the Superliner is the business class car!

As to the cab car, about half the time, especially on A.M. runs, it is shut off by conductors who try to shepherd everyone into the other coaches. Sometimes they have to open it midway because the train has become too crowded.

On PM runs in both directions, the car is almost always opened to seating, tho with the proviso--mentioned in a previous thread--that the first four rows of seats behind the cabs are closed. It is difficult to see much out of the front cab window because there are shades drawn. Nevertheless, it is worth a gander but if there is a Superliner coach, sit there!!

 

[sportbiker]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

The easiest way to remember is that the locomotive always faces away from LAX. This is true regardless of whether the run is north or south of the station.

 

[colobok]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

The easiest way to remember is that the locomotive always faces away from LAX. This is true regardless of whether the run is north or south of the station.

What is the cab car?

And how do engineers look in front of the train when locomotive pushed it?

 

[chuljin]

The business class car is always next to the engine. So it's the 1st car leaded south and the last car headed north (on the opposite end of the train from the cab car).

The locomotive "pulls" from LAX to SAN and "pushes" from SAN to LAX. (I'm not certain about north of LAX.)

The easiest way to remember is that the locomotive always faces away from LAX. This is true regardless of whether the run is north or south of the station.

What is the cab car?

And how do engineers look in front of the train when locomotive pushed it?

The cab car is a special car set aside for passengers arriving at stations by taxi ('cab')...there are often lots of them.

The engineers look in front of the train by putting their heads out the side windows of the locomotive. This obviously works best when the train curves towards that side.

OK, now that the joke is out of the way: :giggle:

Same answer to both questions: the cab car is otherwise like one of the other passenger cars, except that in the front right corner, there is a small enclosed room with duplicate engine controls. Signals from these controls pass electronically through the train (IIRC, wired, through cables between and through all the intervening cars) to the locomotive. The engineers look in front of the train easily, because they are thus sitting in front of the train.

 

[amtkstn]

Thanks for everone's input into this topic. I want to ride business class to expericene it for one time. On all my other trips I have done over the last six years on Amtrak Business class has always been sold out.

 

[colobok]

I have one more question.

I noticed there are seats with tables in the Business Class (at least on the upper deck).

It's very convenient for families of 4.

Are there same seats with tables in the regular coaches on Surfliner trains?

 

[chuljin]

I have one more question.

I noticed there are seats with tables in the Business Class (at least on the upper deck).

It's very convenient for families of 4.

Are there same seats with tables in the regular coaches on Surfliner trains?

There are. 3 in each car.

 

[colobok]

I have one more question.

I noticed there are seats with tables in the Business Class (at least on the upper deck).

It's very convenient for families of 4.

Are there same seats with tables in the regular coaches on Surfliner trains?

There are. 3 in each car.

Are they located upstairs of downstairs in coach cars?

By the way - is Ok to take kids (2yrs old) into Business Class car?

 

[Nickrapak]

By the way - is Ok to take kids (2yrs old) into Business Class car?

As long as they have a BC ticket, it is fine. There is no age restriction.