I know of one new train rider who loved riding the TE (from SAS, I think) and the CL. Not all newbies are going to be as disappointed as those who have ridden them for years.
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Texas Eagle discussion
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Old saying: " What you don't know can't hurt you!"( Untrue actually, but there's No Frame of Reference for Before and After Comparisons of the Eaglette,Cap and Crescent for Newbies!)
And excellent Crews,( in most Cases)
especially the Veteran Chefs on the Texas Eagle that could really turn out good food!
The Eagle takes the cake. A 32 hour ride from Chicago to San Antonio with No sightseer and flex. The Capitol Limited is almost half the length.
Yep, I won't ride it. Even though it is the only LD I have not ridden.
Luckily, I don't have to.
fillyjonk
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YES. I remember the "old days" on the Eagle, the crews were (usually) good, the food was good. Now the dining car often has one overworked person (and maybe someone downstairs to run the microwave). It's a disservice to the travelers using this train - I doubt the fares are any cheaper than on a comparable LD train with a nicer consist and better dining.
it's my "home train" so I continue to take it, but it makes me sad.
Its my "Home Train" also, but I only take Day trips in Coach now for the above reasons.
MikeM
OBS Chief
I used to take this train at least once a year, and really loved it. The diner was excellent, good crews, and well run. Was considering it for a trip in a few weeks, and RT would have been $1400 FTW - CHI. No lounge, microwave dinners, ick. Hopefully something will change, but not holding out much hope.
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It is interesting to see some trains (Texas Eagle, Capitol Limited) get only table scraps from Amtrak while others seem to do a little better. My working theory is that trains with engaged constituents and elected leaders do OK while routes with apathetic constituents & politicians wallow.
The SW Chief is a prime example. First BNSF wanted to downgrade part of the line and then later Anderson tried to kill it outright. But, governmental bodies and supporters got enough grant money to avoid BNSF's downgrade and Congressional delegations got actively involved to thwart Anderson's attempt to put a bus-bridge in the middle of the route. The result is that the SWC is no longer on the chopping block and Amtrak management has turned Sauron's eye on other less-loved trains.
Experience has proven that Amtrak will respond to political pressure if it is applied. The challenge, it seems, is to get enough advocates to apply that pressure. It really is shocking how few voices it actually takes to get an elected official's attention. Fifty phone calls on a topic such as transportation would be an avalanche of support in the eyes of most congressional members.
The SW Chief is a prime example. First BNSF wanted to downgrade part of the line and then later Anderson tried to kill it outright. But, governmental bodies and supporters got enough grant money to avoid BNSF's downgrade and Congressional delegations got actively involved to thwart Anderson's attempt to put a bus-bridge in the middle of the route. The result is that the SWC is no longer on the chopping block and Amtrak management has turned Sauron's eye on other less-loved trains.
Experience has proven that Amtrak will respond to political pressure if it is applied. The challenge, it seems, is to get enough advocates to apply that pressure. It really is shocking how few voices it actually takes to get an elected official's attention. Fifty phone calls on a topic such as transportation would be an avalanche of support in the eyes of most congressional members.
We live in Austin TX, so...
Your prayers for us are appreciated.
Hi, you asked this question in the Texas Eagle forum, but you didn't get an answer since ATN (Anniston AL) is on the Crescent route. I don't know, either.
I can't envision Amtrak offering any discounts based on scheduled trackwork. I don't believe they think like that.
The Eagle has been saved once by an advocacy group. It was almost axed in the late 1990s but a group formed and badgered officials to keep it running. That organization may be TEMPO, but don't quote me on that.
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Well, it was the group and then Senator Kaye Bailey Hutchinson. Not only did they keep it running, but they also managed to make it become daily from three times a week South of St. Louis.
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The mind of Amtrak is like the Peace of God. It surpasses all understanding.
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Capitol Limited has not had traditional dining since 2018 when it received the precursor to what is now flexible dining. At that time it lost its dining car crew and went to what they called “fresh contemporary” dining choices at the time - the menu of cold box meals. The lake shore (which was serving a simplified diner lite menu out of an Amfleet lounge) also received it. Only the Capitol lost jobs as a result as the lake shore’s previous dining was prepared with a similar crew as what the train has today serving flex meals.
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They aren’t microwave dinners. (Or at least aren’t supposed to be.) they are pre prepared meals meant for preparation in a convection oven - basically like airline food.
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I think that probably plays a roll in some like the chief but also Ridership trends and city pairs likely play a roll in such prioritization - RPA used to have a nice ridership statistics site where one could see popular city pairs and number of passengers riding various distances. The trains that have a larger amount of sleeper passengers traveling long distances are going to see amenities like dedicated dining cars. The largest part of the Eagle’s ridership is CHI - STL. True that the current consist isn’t encouraging overnight growth but when equipment resources are limited the more traditionally performing routes with a traditionally higher amount of long distance patrons going overnight are going to get the amenities. If there is indeed not enough sightseers the eagle and capitol were the logical ones to cut. I think the eagle is just viewed as the lowest performer so it’s priority last. I think the capitol suffers merely due to the shortage of superliners and the fact that there are two other east to Chicago train options and the train in general is less strong than the lake shore performance wise so it’s not going to be as high a priority. When they are still having to occasionally short change trains like the zephyr I wouldn’t expect much improvement on the eagle. It will probably be the very last train to get attention.
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At this point should we assume the Eagle wont improve in the next few years?
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There maybe a glimmer of hope for the Texas Eagle. Amtrak ran a Inspection Train from Fort Worth to El Paso over the former Texas and Pacific with the possibility of rerouting the Texas Eagle and combining it with the Sunset Limited in El Paso. Part of the reasoning is they want a faster Dallas to Los Angeles Train. And a possible east connection over the Meridian Speedway. You would be looking at 2 nights from Chicago to Los Angeles instead of 3.The article didn’t mention anything about maintaining the San Antonio Section but I think they would. On the down side the article said this was not high on their priority list.
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