I want to try and ride the Talgos once before they retire and when planning the trip I noticed that the cascades use a mix of Horizon and Talgo cars. Is there a way I can tell which trip would use a Talgo or horizon before I book? I asked Amtrak and they said there's no guarantee but my best bet is to ride 505. Could I also assume that 500 is also a safe bet? I'm not sure what train becomes what here. Is there anyone who regularly rides the cascade that could have a good idea of how I can get on a Talgo set? Most likely if I go it will be in or after March if that helps.
Talgos left on the Cascades.
- Thread starter IAlam
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Right now, the 500/505 pair has a Talgo 8. In August it was on the 503/508 pair.
You can kind of infer which trains have the Talgo 8 by cheaper Business Class. The Horizon BC inventory tends to just stay in high bucket because of the very limited inventory. So if the difference between coach and BC is just the BC surcharge, it's likely a Talgo.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
If both Talgo 8s are running they will typically run on trains 505/500 daily. (this is what they have been doing for the past few months).
If one set it out for prolonged maintenance, they will usually run one set on 503/508.
If one set it out for prolonged maintenance, they will usually run one set on 503/508.
A couple of photos of Talgo's being scrapped in Seattle last December can be seen here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/193060716@N02/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/193060716@N02/
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Yes and no... Basically the Talgos are on a different rotation right now because of some trackwork going on in Oregon.
During effected dates, 503 turns to become 500 the next day, and 505 turns to become 508 out of Portland the same day.
If your curious, the Chehalis VRfan people keep a pretty well-maintained spreadsheet. This is a pretty good way to determine what train has a Talgo on a given day.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
On trackwork days, it is very hit or miss. But if they do decide to run a talgo on those days, it will run on either/or the 503/500 rotation and the 505/508 rotation.
On non-track work days, it is pretty consistently on 505/500.
Hmm I might shift it down to May that way I'm not dealing with track workdays. Ideally, I'd hope both the 505 and next day 508 have talgos.
I hope I get lucky thanks for the help!
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
In case you didn't know, the track work is only on a limited set of days. I will post the dates below.
February 7 - 14, 22 - 28, March 7 - 12
I noticed on trackwork days it looks like they are just running one bus. It sells out pretty fast compared to a train.
