SWC #3 to Lamy/Santa Fe - Time for a Beer in Lamy?

[dcnbuchholz]

For only the second time in my life (though I have ridden the SWC dozens of times) I will detrain in Lamy and take the shuttle into Santa Fe. Now that there is a Chili Line Brewing Tap Room inside the Lamy Station, and assuming my train will be reasonably on-time, is there enough time to have a pint before the shuttle leaves the station for Santa Fe?

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

How fast do you drink?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

For only the second time in my life (though I have ridden the SWC dozens of times) I will detrain in Lamy and take the shuttle into Santa Fe. Now that there is a Chili Line Brewing Tap Room inside the Lamy Station, and assuming my train will be reasonably on-time, is there enough time to have a pint before the shuttle leaves the station for Santa Fe?

I don't think the shuttle sticks around much longer than necessary to get everyone checked and boarded. I suppose if you were among the fist to exit the train and drank fast you could do it. Or maybe slip the driver some quick cash to keep things idling for a moment. Although it's unfortunate to lose Amtrak staffing it's nice to see the station maintained and functional with other business.

 

[Manny T]

Is there any downside to taking the shuttle from Lamy to Sante Fe? If the train is late, are they coordinated time-wise? Is the shuttle run by Amtrak or another operator?

Is the shuttle a van or a full size bus?

I've seen someone suggest riding to ABQ and taking the Railrunner from ABQ to Sante Fe. Does anyone prefer this to the shuttle?

Thanks. I'm planning a trip to Sante Fe and just exploring the options.

 

[Rasputin]

You may want to check out this thread which should answer some of your questions.

https://discuss.amtraktrains.com/threads/new-member-info-requested-re-santa-fe-nm.75430/#post-807065

In our experience, the shuttle leaves soon after the train arrives so I don't think there would be much time to have a beer. On the other hand if you are leaving from Lamy, the shuttle, in our experience, arrives well before the train arrives so there would be ample time to have a beer if you are leaving from Lamy.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Is there any downside to taking the shuttle from Lamy to Sante Fe?

It's kind of expensive for a shared ride?

If the train is late, are they coordinated time-wise?

Yes.

Is the shuttle run by Amtrak or another operator?

Another operator.

Is the shuttle a van or a full size bus?

In my experience it's a shuttle, although I'd imagine the actual vehicle in use depends on the number of people connecting on that particular day.

I've seen someone suggest riding to ABQ and taking the Railrunner from ABQ to Sante Fe. Does anyone prefer this to the shuttle?

The Rail Runner isn't coordinated to work with Amtrak and isn't held if Amtrak is running late. But, it's also the only current way to reach Santa Fe by rail. There is another track from Lamy to Santa Fe, which was featured in S5E5 of Breaking Bad, but that route is neary abandoned at this point.

 

[Rasputin]

For questions about the Lamy shuttle, I would suggest that you call the Road Runner Shuttle directly at 505-424-3367.

As I recall the shuttle is slightly less expensive (save about $5 I believe) if you purchase an Amtrak ticket to or from Santa Fe which includes the Shuttle than if you purchase a Lamy - Santa Fe ride directly from the Shuttle.

As I recall from our past trips if you are booking an Amtrak trip with guest rewards points you can only book to Lamy and cannot book the shuttle with points. In that case, you have to make arrangements with the Shuttle directly and pay separately for the shuttle.

 

[Palmland]

We were on the SWC a couple months ago. Our train was on time (may have been a couple minutes early) into Lamy. Here is the van that was off loading passengers as we arrived. In the photo they are starting to load. So your time in Lamy will be brief, at least if the train was OT as ours was.

 

[chakk]

We were on the SWC a couple months ago. Our train was on time (may have been a couple minutes early) into Lamy. Here is the van that was off loading passengers as we arrived. In the photo they are starting to load. So your time in Lamy will be brief, at least if the train was OT as ours was.

View attachment 16422

Wearing a cowboy hat or turquoise jewelry is optional, but encouraged.

 

[Barb Stout]

It's kind of expensive for a shared ride?


The Rail Runner isn't coordinated to work with Amtrak and isn't held if Amtrak is running late. But, it's also the only current way to reach Santa Fe by rail. There is another track from Lamy to Santa Fe, which was featured in S5E5 of Breaking Bad, but that route is neary abandoned at this point.

Although the Rail Runner from ABQ to Santa Fe isn't coordinated with Amtrak, you don't have to wait very long as there are several Rail Runner trains in the hours after the SWC arrives in ABQ (4:26, 5:34, and 6:48 pm weekdays). Assuming you're traveling from the east, the SWC arrives in ABQ at 3:29 pm, so that works decently. The cost is $9 (or lower if you are eligible for a discount) which I believe is significantly lower than the shuttle from Lamy, but of course you then have to find a way to get from whichever train station you get off at in Santa Fe to your hotel. You can purchase Rail Runner tickets on-line or on the train.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

The railrunner to Santa Fe is a really nice route... I rode the whole system last year when I had an off day in Albuquerque for work. Friendly crews as well.

 

[Bonser]

The railrunner to Santa Fe is a really nice route... I rode the whole system last year when I had an off day in Albuquerque for work. Friendly crews as well.

I'll third that. RailRunner is super.I've taken it twice. Plenty of room, great scenery, clean restrooms, and great staff. As cz and Barb said, the price is right and what's easier than buying your tix on train with no penalty? The Santa Fe station is walking distance to the Square and many hotels - a flat 15 minute walk - or you can call a cab if one isn't already there. Some hotels have drop off/ pick up services. A definite thumbs up for the RailRunner.

 

[Railroad Bill]

I will also recommend the RailRunner. Very nice, clean train. Big discount for seniors riding. Great scenery and departs at the station in Santa Fe downtown or three are some other suburban stops, but not sure about transportation from those. Again, check with your Santa Fe hotel to see if they will pick you up at the Santa Fe stops.

 

[Rasputin]

Link to an item in the Santa Fe New Mexican about the depot at Lamy. Nice to see that after the Amtrak agent was removed the station is booming:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/l...cle_1b90442c-30b3-11ea-b922-33347c5635ce.html

Link to Station website:

https://lamyjunction.com/index.html

 

[Manny T]

Encouraging to see things like this, where entrepreneurs and the general public work hard to keep the railroading experience alive for another generation, while Amtrak lets it die slowly with one miserable cut after another.

 

[Rasputin]

Encouraging to see things like this, where entrepreneurs and the general public work hard to keep the railroading experience alive for another generation, while Amtrak lets it die slowly with one miserable cut after another.

The small and attractive (and historic) station at Lamy has always been a pleasant place to wait for the train but now it appears that there is so much going on there, you just might not want to leave.

 

[MARC Rider]

One thing about the shuttle we used in 2015: They will drop you off anywhere you want within the city of Santa Fe. However, we needed to go to the airport to pick up our rental car. The Santa Fe Airport is outside the city limits. Thus, we had to pay the shuttle driver an extra $10 for the service. The alternative would have been to take us to our hotel and pay $10 or more for a cab to the airport. I'm not sure whether pick ups are as restricted.

If I ever go to Santa Fe again, I think I'd get of in Albuquerque and pick up my rental car at the airport there, which isn't that far from the train station. It's a pretty short drive up I-25 to Santa Fe.

 

[Rasputin]

On our first visit to Santa Fe about three years ago, we found that we didn't need a car at all. We walked around and also used the free shuttles which went to the museums outside of the downtown area.

On our next visit in 2018, we got our car from Enterprise in Santa Fe. They came to our hotel, drove us to their office and we rented a car there. When we returned the car to their office, they drove us back to the hotel. We were very pleased with this service and would rent from them again.

I believe in 2018 the major taxi company in Santa Fe went out of business. Not sure what is left there besides Uber and Lyft but someone can probably give us an update.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I can’t speak for Santa Fe because I walked everywhere there, but Uber was very easy to use in the Albuquerque area. I even called my Uber from the railrunner when we were about 4 minutes out and he pulled into the parking lot exactly as we arrived on the platform. I felt pretty good about that!

 

[Rasputin]

The station at Lamy now has its own song:

 

[Rasputin]

The Santa Fe Southern, which owns the station in Lamy and the line from Lamy to Santa Fe has been sold to a group which includes George R.R. Martin:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1456291/...-train-service-between-santa-fe-and-lamy.html

 

[Barb Stout]

From the article "Today, Lamy is still the local stop that the Amtrak Southwest Chief makes on its way between Chicago and Los Angeles. However, passenger service on the Santa Fe Southern has been sporadic for the past few years, with the exception of private excursions." I did not know that there had been passenger service since I have lived here in Albuquerque since 2003. I am already planning a loop consisting of The Rail Runner, Santa Fe Southern, and Amtrak with plenty of time in both Santa Fe and Lamy before heading back to ABQ. I'm kacited!