SLC checked luggage, eastbound to CHI

[mikewrite]

Hi, anybody have any experience with checking luggage at the SLC station for the 3:30 a.m. scheduled departure of the California Zephyr to Chicago? We'll be boarding the 6 train there in the coming weeks. I had seen someone say that Amtrak requires checked luggage be done at any station at least 45 minutes prior to departure. That puts us at SLC no later than 2:45 a.m. However, checking ASMAD, it seems recent history has that train frequently departing hours late, in some cases past the official closing time of the station.

Do we actually need to be at the station before 2:45 a.m. to check baggage if ASMAD shows the train won't get there for hours? What happens if we check our luggage and then the station personnel go home at 5:00 a.m. and the train hasn't arrived - do we then just drag the bags out to the train ourselves?

 

[OBS]

Hi, anybody have any experience with checking luggage at the SLC station for the 3:30 a.m. scheduled departure of the California Zephyr to Chicago? We'll be boarding the 6 train there in the coming weeks. I had seen someone say that Amtrak requires checked luggage be done at any station at least 45 minutes prior to departure. That puts us at SLC no later than 2:45 a.m. However, checking ASMAD, it seems recent history has that train frequently departing hours late, in some cases past the official closing time of the station.

Do we actually need to be at the station before 2:45 a.m. to check baggage if ASMAD shows the train won't get there for hours? What happens if we check our luggage and then the station personnel go home at 5:00 a.m. and the train hasn't arrived - do we then just drag the bags out to the train ourselves?

At SLC, the station personnel will not "go home" til after the train has departed.

 

[niemi24s]

Do we actually need to be at the station before 2:45 a.m. to check baggage if ASMAD shows the train won't get there for hours?

Yes, mainly because I've witnessed a situation where the baggage window closed promptly 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure yet the train was about three hours late. Two people who tried to check bags after that 45 minute deadline were forced to haul their bags aboard.

But, show up whenever you want and take your chances. This is, after all, the land of the free and the home of the brave!

 

[n3rdg1rl]

It so depends on the station. I know here at CLE, they will stay as long as they need. I've been 6 hours late coming in and there were still attendants.

 

[niemi24s]

At SLC, the station personnel will not "go home" til after the train has departed.

While they may not "go home", will they still accept checked bags after the published 45 minute deadline?

In the single case I observed, station personnel were still there at the station but the baggage check-in / ticket sale window got closed up 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure and remained closed for several hours after scheduled departure

 

[Rasputin]

This is Amtrak after all so the local personnel will do
what they wish without any fear of management oversight.

With Amtra,k always err on the side of caution. If it says to check bags 45 minutes before departure, be sure to be there to check bags at least an hour before departure.