Texas Eagle vs Southwest Chief

[Willbridge]

I actually haven’t seen any evidence lately of Amtrak playing that game. Early this past summer their spokesman directly mentioned when asked in articles about the return to daily service they are essentially expecting lower ridership due to having to reduce capacity for staffing and equipment shortages. Stating and acknowledging that to me is a positive - it means they are being up front and you wouldn’t be able to then turn around and argue no one’s riding - time to cut the train. While there certainly are ongoing issues and room for improvement in many areas I really don’t see evidence of the “big conspiracy” at present.

I should have made clear that there is a whole industry of consultants and lobbyists willing to use statistics without considering what the figures represent.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

Just spotted the southbound TE going past my office window (approx. 20 miles NE of the station stop at Pontiac, IL) at about 3:10PM this afternoon, with a much longer consist than it's had for the past several months. Whereas it had been just 1 engine plus 5 cars, today's consist had 2 engines + 10 cars, one of which I'm pretty sure was a Sightseer Lounge. (At least it certainly had the windows for a Sightseer Lounge!) Fingers crossed, things are looking up for our poor little Eaglette!

 

[zephyr17]

Just spotted the southbound TE going past my office window (approx. 20 miles NE of the station stop at Pontiac, IL) at about 3:10PM this afternoon, with a much longer consist than it's had for the past several months. Whereas it had been just 1 engine plus 5 cars, today's consist had 2 engines + 10 cars, one of which I'm pretty sure was a Sightseer Lounge. (At least it certainly had the windows for a Sightseer Lounge!) Fingers crossed, things are looking up for our poor little Eaglette!

10 cars on the Eagle sounds like some cars were getting dead headed. Did you by chance note the order?

Still some good news, maybe it is positioning an SSL in SAS for resumption. Of course it could also be moving cars to LA to make up for when they apparently swiped at least part of Sunset consist to make up for a SW Chief that left Chicago without an SSL but returned with one. They can manage around that for awhile by doing same day turns of parts or all if the Sunset consist at LA instead of the normal 2 day layover before a consist heads back east. In the long run, though, they need to get back to the normal equipment rotation since LA is the maintenance base for the Sunset and Starlight and they need to be able to pull cars out of those consists for inspections, etc.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

10 cars on the Eagle sounds like some cars were getting dead headed. Do you by chance note the order?

Still some good news, maybe it is positioning an SSL in SAS for resumption. Of course it could also be moving cars to LA to make up for when they apparently swiped at least part of Sunset consist to make up for a SW Chief that left Chicago without an SSL but returned with one. They can manage around that for awhile by doing same day turns of parts or all if the Sunset consist at LA instead of the normal 2 day layover before a consist heads back east. In the long run, though, they need to get back to the normal equipment rotation since LA is the maintenance base for the Sunset and Starlight and they need to be able to pull cars out of those consists fo inspections, etc.

The Sightseer Lounge was in the middle of the consist. I couldn't tell exactly which types of cars were the other ones, as the TE doesn't stop in my town (Dwight, IL), so it's going through at a pretty fast clip.

 

[zephyr17]

The Sightseer Lounge was in the middle of the consist. I couldn't tell exactly which types of cars were the other ones, as the TE doesn't stop in my town (Dwight, IL), so it's going through at a pretty fast clip.

Well middle would tend to indicate it being in the "live" consist. Although in a 10 car consist of a normally 5 car train, it could be the first or last car in a 5 car deadheading string.

 

[joelkfla]

The Sightseer Lounge was in the middle of the consist. I couldn't tell exactly which types of cars were the other ones, as the TE doesn't stop in my town (Dwight, IL), so it's going through at a pretty fast clip.

I caught it on the Big Sandy railcam today. Here's the lineup:

Coach​

Coach/Bag​

Coach​

Coach​

SSL​

Sleeper​

Food Service​

Coach/Bag​

Coach​

The last 4 cars are the normal consist these days. Considering that the front 4 coaches were separated from the 2 at the back, I'm voting for the front coaches & the SSL being deadheads.

Also, I couldn't see any heads in the SSL. That's not definitive, but I could see through to the some of the windows on the other side of the car, so I think it was empty.

 

[zephyr17]

I'm voting for the front coaches & the SSL being deadheads.

Thanks for the report. I'm voting for deadheads, too.

Now the question is where they're deadheading to? Ordinarily I'd say LA, but 21(3) wasn't a 421 day. Maybe they really are heading for SAS and are are going to be used for a train expansion? Or maybe they are heading to LA and they just want an extra day to stage them for switching into the Sunset? If they were heading for LA, why not send them on the SW Chief? Maybe some stay in SAS and some go on to LA?

It's an intriguing mystery. Maybe someone with a Virtual Railfan subscription might want to take a look at the Tucson webcam on Thursday and see what the Sunset looks like when it shows up there.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Thanks for the report. I'm voting for deadheads, too.

Now the question is where they're deadheading to? Ordinarily I'd say LA, but 21(3) wasn't a 421 day. Maybe they really are heading for SAS and are are going to be used for a train expansion? Or maybe they are heading to LA and they just want an extra day to stage them for switching into the Sunset? If they were heading for LA, why not send them on the SW Chief? Maybe some stay in SAS and some go on to LA?

It's an intriguing mystery. Maybe someone with a Virtual Railfan subscription might want to take a look at the Tucson webcam on Thursday and see what the Sunset looks like when it shows up there.

There were no extra cars on 21(3) as it went by the Fort Worth RailCamera. The dhd cars must have been dropped off en-route.

 

[Widfara]

I'm getting on the Eagle this morning. I'll report the consist.

 

[Widfara]

I'm getting on the Eagle this morning. I'll report the consist.

1 sleeper - cafe - 2 coaches. Apparently we will be able to eat in the cafe car.

 

[Bob Dylan]

1 sleeper - cafe - 2 coaches. Apparently we will be able to eat in the cafe car.

Still No Sightseer Lounge or Crew Car and Flex Meals slung in the CCC by a LSA doing 4 Peoples Job @ Ultra High Buckets on mostly Sold Out Trains!

Friday is the Big Game Trains ( #21/22 and #821/#822 for the Texas/OU Game in Dallas , and all are SOLD OUT @ Highest Buckets due to the Shorty Consists!( they'll be OUT of Alcohol before Ft Worth and Dallas!)

Look what they've done to my Train Ma!

 

[Rasputin]

Look what they've done to my Train Ma!

Think of all the money that we are saving by not paying these high bucket fares for mediocre service. Ma would be proud of us!

 

[zephyr17]

Think of all the money that we are saving by not paying these high bucket fares for mediocre service. Ma would be proud of us!

Yeah, I am not contributing to the demand side of the yield management equation for that sorry excuse for a train.

Maybe we should call it the Gardner Flyer.

 

[Widfara]

Yeah, I am not contributing to the demand side of the yield management equation for that sorry excuse for a train.

Maybe we should call it the Gardner Flyer.

How about The Anderson - Gardner Stubby.? A lot of this started during the reign of the Emperor Richard.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Both Excellent Names, I prefer the Eaglette for my Home StubTrain!( my First Dome Car experience as a Kid was on the Mopac Texas Eagle from San Antonio to St Louis)

 

[Eric in East County]

The Southwest Chief is our favorite train because it follows essentially the same route as the Santa Fe Chief and the Super Chief. Back when commercial air travel as we know it today was still in the unimaged future, these two trains, in combination with the Twentieth Century Limited, were the fastest means of traveling between New York City and Los Angeles. In an era when how you traveled was who you were, the passenger lists for the Chief and the Super Chief included A-list movie stars & entertainers, captains of industry, prominent sports figures, world famous musicians, visiting royalty, scientists, educators, politicians, and other "leading personalities." When we travel on the SWC, we are essentially seeing the same scenery and sharing many of the same experiences as these celebrities from yesteryear.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

Just saw another longer-than-usual consist for the southbound Texas Eagle at about 3:15PM this afternoon as it sped past my office window in Dwight, IL (not a station stop for the TE). 8 cars after the engine, most of them the usual Superliner cars; however, there were 2 single-level cars right behind the engine. The first one looked similar to an older single-level car (such as we used to have on the regional trains in IL before the Venture coaches were introduced, or maybe even a bit older). The 2nd one had a domed upper "observation level" just in the middle, but access to the car from other cars would have to have been from the lower level. Perhaps these were special cars? As single-level cars, I don't expect them to be included on Western long-distance trains on a regular basis.

 

[TinCan782]

Just saw another longer-than-usual consist for the southbound Texas Eagle at about 3:15PM this afternoon as it sped past my office window in Dwight, IL (not a station stop for the TE). 8 cars after the engine, most of them the usual Superliner cars; however, there were 2 single-level cars right behind the engine. The first one looked similar to an older single-level car (such as we used to have on the regional trains in IL before the Venture coaches were introduced, or maybe even a bit older). The 2nd one had a domed upper "observation level" just in the middle, but access to the car from other cars would have to have been from the lower level. Perhaps these were special cars? As single-level cars, I don't expect them to be included on Western long-distance trains on a regular basis.

Sounds like a couple of private cars.

 

[Widfara]

Just saw another longer-than-usual consist for the southbound Texas Eagle at about 3:15PM this afternoon as it sped past my office window in Dwight, IL (not a station stop for the TE). 8 cars after the engine, most of them the usual Superliner cars; however, there were 2 single-level cars right behind the engine. The first one looked similar to an older single-level car (such as we used to have on the regional trains in IL before the Venture coaches were introduced, or maybe even a bit older). The 2nd one had a domed upper "observation level" just in the middle, but access to the car from other cars would have to have been from the lower level. Perhaps these were special cars? As single-level cars, I don't expect them to be included on Western long-distance trains on a regular basis.

They were at the end of the eastbound California Zephyr I boarded in Sacramento on October 14th. I took a video from the platform in Naperville, IL.