Southwest Chief discussion Q4 2023 - 2024

[Eric in East County]

It is our understanding that if a SWC train is terminated in mid-passage and returns to its point of origin, those passengers who wish to return to the point of origin may do so, while keeping the same accommodations they had when they departed. They will also receive a full refund since they weren’t delivered to their final destination. (Rather than accepting the refund, we’d opt to have Amtrak Customer Relations reschedule our trip to some future date.)

 

[Cal]

In the past, Amtrak trains have been rerouted via Amarillo when Raton Pass was closed by snow.

When was the last time this happend?

 

[railiner]

When was the last time this happend?

In the past, Amtrak trains have been rerouted via Amarillo when Raton Pass was closed by snow.

That is one detour or route I have never done. If I had enough notice to get there in time, I'd grab the next flight to KCY or ABQ to ride it...

 

[Shanson]

I'm now scheduled to be on westbound 3 train through the affected area on Sunday the 10th (delayed 2 days). From what the more experienced people here know, should I expect this to be fine and cleared by then or would it be better to reschedule out another day or two? I don't want to have to do a last minute change again if possible.
Thanks for any advice

We are scheduled from ABQ to LV NM on Sunday the 10th, and from LV NM to KC beginning the 11th. Crossing my fingers. Sitting in Santa Fe at 30°. Slushy.

 

[Rasputin]

Supposedly two locomotives have been dispatched from La Junta to run west to clear snow from the line. Whether these are Amtrak locomotives, BNSF locomotives, or Lionel locomotives is unclear.

 

[Willbridge]

That is one detour or route I have never done. If I had enough notice to get there in time, I'd grab the next flight to KCY or ABQ to ride it...

The occasion that I experienced was at the end of 2011. I missed the opportunity to ride that rare mileage because Amtrak put me up in an Albuquerque hotel for what turned out to be three nights waiting for highways to Denver to open up. As it turned out, it would have been cheaper and faster for them to have sent me home via Amarillo and Galesburg.

Only the first trains in each direction ran the detour. I'm not sure what happened to trains on the following days.

It was especially memorable because I had to call my New Year's Eve date in Denver and ask her to cancel our reservations. I've posted here before about spending the holiday in ice-bound Albuquerque.

 

[TinCan782]

Supposedly two locomotives have been dispatched from La Junta to run west to clear snow from the line. Whether these are Amtrak locomotives, BNSF locomotives, or Lionel locomotives is unclear.

Saw that on Trainorders.

 

[Willbridge]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Supposedly two locomotives have been dispatched from La Junta to run west to clear snow from the line. Whether these are Amtrak locomotives, BNSF locomotives, or Lionel locomotives is unclear.

I'd surmise BNSF locomotives with an Amtrak pilot.

 

[Bob Dylan]

That is one detour or route I have never done. If I had enough notice to get there in time, I'd grab the next flight to KCY or ABQ to ride it...

It is rare mileage for sure, but there is absolutely Nothing to see but "Miles and Miles of Miles" as the saying goes!

Eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma are sort of like the North Dakota to Eastern Montana part of the Empire Builder route, but even more so!

 

[railiner]

It is rare mileage for sure, but there is absolutely Nothing to see but "Miles and Miles of Miles" as the saying goes!

Eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma are sort of like the North Dakota to Eastern Montana part of the Empire Builder route, but even more so!

Doesn’t matter, it’s several hundred miles of rare mainline mileage!

During my epic attempt in 1970-1971 to ride as many routes that were slated to become freight only with the advent of Amtrak, the San Francisco Chief was one of several that I missed.

 

[Cal]

During my epic attempt in 1970-1971 to ride as many routes that were slated to become freight only with the advent of Amtrak, the San Francisco Chief was one of several that I missed.

Now THAT must've been one heck of a journey!

 

[railiner]

Now THAT must've been one heck of a journey!

Not really…I didn’t do it all at once…it was a series of trips over many weekends and vacations over a year or so…

 

[Rasputin]

I see that No. 4 was eight hours late into Chicago yesterday (Nov. 17) and arrived at 10:57 p.m. As I understand from posts on another list, one of the locomotives failed east of Lamy, and the train reversed to Lamy, where the locomotive could be set out, resulting in a six-hour delay. Then, there was another delay at Raton, waiting for the arrival of the new crew. Corrections and additional information would be welcome.

 

[fredmcain]

I have a couple of friends who recently boarded the eastbound SWC at LA in order to return to Indiana. Just an hour or two west of Albuquerque, there was an onboard announcement that the line ahead "was blocked" due to a "snowstorm". (But I'm not sure if it was actually a "snowstorm" or something else).

The passengers on board were told that the train would terminate at Albuquerque and return to Los Angeles. Passengers were evidently given the choice of either detraining at Albuquerque and finding alternative transportation ON THEIR OWN or return to Los Angeles. Why in the world would they do that?

To say that there were some extremely upset passengers onboard would be an understatement.
Does anybody on our group know anything about this or have any additional information on this?

 

[alanh]

It's force majeure. If its the incident I remember, I-25 was also closed so bustitution wasn't possible.

 

[west point]

With I-25 closed Amtrak must not take chance of the train getting stranded as what happened on the Donner to SP! What I do not understand is why not detour on the Amarillo route?

 

[Shanson]

I was on board that train. The snow storm began Wednesday night Nov 6. The Chief was already enroute, so yes, the announcement was a surprise. Lucky for us, our destination was Albuquerque, but others were not so fortunate.
The west bound #3 had to terminate in La Junta., which (even if I-25 were open) had no buses to effect a train swap. The route was cleared by Saturday, but there was a lot of snow on the ground.

 

[Rasputin]

I understand that 3(22) was almost 16 hours late at Lamy due to an accident with a vehicle and a delay waiting for a fresh crew. Not sure where the accident was or the delay waiting for a crew.

No. 3(23) is 7 hours late, I believe, due to a delay waiting for a rested crew at Dodge City.

No. 4 arriving in Chicago today is 8 hours late. I think that 4(23) is about on time. Corrections and additional information would be welcome.

 

[Rasputin]

It appears that 4 arrived in Chicago 7 hours and 16 min. late yesterday, Nov. 24, at 9:58 p.m.

48 left on time at 9:30 p.m. and was evidently not held for connecting passengers from 4.

 

[fredmcain]

With I-25 closed Amtrak must not take chance of the train getting stranded as what happened on the Donner to SP! What I do not understand is why not detour on the Amarillo route?

Thanks for clearing this up. I think I can see what happened now. Back in the old days of the AT&SF Railway, this would probably not have happened. They would’ve kept the line running albeit with delays. Raton and Glorietta passes can get heavy snow but nothing like Donner, so Donner Pass is not really the best analogy there.

The real problem today is that the Lamy-Trinidad section of this line has become somewhat of an “orphan”. I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to be getting very little maintenance. If the line should drift closed in a snowbank, I’m not sure there’s any big snow removal equipment on hand to keep the line open. So, that’s a problem.

Your suggestion of detouring through Amarillo would be by far the most sensible solution. Unfortunately, there are probably no Amtrak train & engine crews familiar with that territory. It would have been really swell if BNSF had stepped forward and offered to give Amtrak “pilots” but I’m not sure they were willing or even able to do so.

Something really needs to be worked out here to secure the future of this line. But I’m at a loss to see how to accomplish that.

It was the route of the world-famous Santa Fe Super Chief – the “Train of the Stars”. I have posted on other forums encouraging people to ride this line while you still can because in a few years it could very well be gone. That’s no prediction. I hope that assessment is wrong but that could very well come to pass. How sad.

 

[moosejunky99]

Hello,

I am taking the Chef to California from Chicago in the January. First time trying a train in winter time. How is the southwest chef in the winter time? Does the heat work on the sleepers? Is it best to take an extra blanket on your carry on.

Thanks
Moosejunky99

 

[zephyr17]

Hello,

I am taking the Chef to California from Chicago in the January. First time trying a train in winter time. How is the southwest chef in the winter time? Does the heat work on the sleepers? Is it best to take an extra blanket on your carry on.

Thanks
Moosejunky99

Heat will work. Possibly too enthusiastically. Layers...

 

[Bob Dylan]

Hello,

I am taking the Chef to California from Chicago in the January. First time trying a train in winter time. How is the southwest chef in the winter time? Does the heat work on the sleepers? Is it best to take an extra blanket on your carry on.

Thanks
Moosejunky99

You don't really need a Second Blanket in the Sleepers, the Heat usually works fine on Superliners.

But your SCA will give you an extra Blanket if you ask.

 

[John Bredin]

Judging from the polls I’ve been reading, the American people are generally optimistic about what the next four years will bring. If DOGE ever gets around to looking at Amtrak, it’s quite possible that we might get some answers as to how the money has been and is being spent and what steps need to be taken to make it operate in a more cost effective, passenger friendly manner. I, for one, refuse to join the chorus of Cassandras who say that long-distance Amtrak trains in general and the Southwest Chief in particular will soon cease to exist.

DOGE, a falsely (departments are created by Congress) and childishly (Dogecoin, Musk's cryptocurrency with a meme dog as its logo) named creature of Elon Musk?

The same Elon Musk who:

1) fired most of Twitter's workforce immediately upon buying it, on the ASSumption they were redundant,

2) expected the harried remainder to work insane hours out of sheer loyalty to him,

These two alone give me no confidence Musk and his lapDOGE can tell the difference between cutting fat, muscle, or bone! That is, actual inefficiency, vs. things that are there for a reason he personally can't discern or doesn't agree with, but can recover from his cuts, vs. things there for a reason (etc.) that will be so drained they won't recover!

But Musk's hits don't end there, he:

3) made Twitter's blue-check confirmation of public figures useless by allowing anyone to buy a blue check and impersonate any celebrity, business leader, or official they wished,

4) admitted he promoted the Hyperloop gadgetbahn to steal attention and support from California High Speed Rail.

5) promotes his Boring Company tunnels as an alternative to transit (little pods or your own car on a sled, not trains) but ends up with one operating project: the people-mover at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which uses chauffeured Teslas (can't trust his own autopilot in sealed tunnels!).

6) has already announced his first DOGE targets: $500 billion from various agencies including NASA, Veterans Affairs, the State Department, and NOAA, on the sole basis that Congress hasn't renewed their authorizations, not any actual evaluation of their efficiency. Even though Congress has clearly voted for years to keep them running with annual appropriations. Cite. Another cite.

7) has said from his position as a billionaire that Americans will have to suffer "some temporary hardship" to "ensure long term prosperity". How much hardship, how temporary, and for whose prosperity?

Musk and DOGE aren't there to seek actual efficiency but to implement his personal greed-fueled belief of what efficiently makes money for him, and his personal political beliefs of what "should" exist. Why target NASA? To make way for SpaceX!

Musk has made it clear over the years that he doesn't like passenger rail. With all due respect, he's as likely to "get some answers as to how the money has been and is being spent" as Dr. No was to make James Bond talk, and about as much interest in "what steps need to be taken to make [Amtrak] operate in a more cost effective, passenger friendly manner" as a Thanksgiving diner has in a turkey's welfare.

While I agree that Amtrak isn't necessarily doomed, it will be not be saved by DOGE but wholly in spite of DOGE. If it's saved, it will be by passenger rail supporters in Congress on both sides of the aisle.

 

[PaTrainFan]

DOGE, a falsely (departments are created by Congress) and childishly (Dogecoin, Musk's cryptocurrency with a meme dog as its logo) named creature of Elon Musk?

The same Elon Musk who:

1) fired most of Twitter's workforce immediately upon buying it, on the ASSumption they were redundant,

2) expected the harried remainder to work insane hours out of sheer loyalty to him,

These two alone give me no confidence Musk and his lapDOGE can tell the difference between cutting fat, muscle, or bone! That is, actual inefficiency, vs. things that are there for a reason he personally can't discern or doesn't agree with, but can recover from his cuts, vs. things there for a reason (etc.) that will be so drained they won't recover!

But Musk's hits don't end there, he:

3) made Twitter's blue-check confirmation of public figures useless by allowing anyone to buy a blue check and impersonate any celebrity, business leader, or official they wished,

4) admitted he promoted the Hyperloop gadgetbahn to steal attention and support from California High Speed Rail.

5) promotes his Boring Company tunnels as an alternative to transit (little pods or your own car on a sled, not trains) but ends up with one operating project: the people-mover at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which uses chauffeured Teslas (can't trust his own autopilot in sealed tunnels!).

6) has already announced his first DOGE targets: $500 billion from various agencies including NASA, Veterans Affairs, the State Department, and NOAA, on the sole basis that Congress hasn't renewed their authorizations, not any actual evaluation of their efficiency. Even though Congress has clearly voted for years to keep them running with annual appropriations. Cite. Another cite.

7) has said from his position as a billionaire that Americans will have to suffer "some temporary hardship" to "ensure long term prosperity". How much hardship, how temporary, and for whose prosperity?

Musk and DOGE aren't there to seek actual efficiency but to implement his personal greed-fueled belief of what efficiently makes money for him, and his personal political beliefs of what "should" exist. Why target NASA? To make way for SpaceX!

Musk has made it clear over the years that he doesn't like passenger rail. With all due respect, he's as likely to "get some answers as to how the money has been and is being spent" as Dr. No was to make James Bond talk, and about as much interest in "what steps need to be taken to make [Amtrak] operate in a more cost effective, passenger friendly manner" as a Thanksgiving diner has in a turkey's welfare.

While I agree that Amtrak isn't necessarily doomed, it will be not be saved by DOGE but wholly in spite of DOGE. If it's saved, it will be by passenger rail supporters in Congress on both sides of the aisle.

He'll create a lot chaos (It's what he and his "chief sponsor" do), but in the end government is a political creation and politicians will get their hands in the clay and protect their own interests. It's what they do. There will be a lot of drama and gnashing of teeth but in the final analysis I expect mostly smoke and mirrors to claim victory and little in the way of substance.

Government cannot, and should not be "run like a business." Can effciencies be created? Yes. But they just aren't the same animals.