Trip planning Olympia, WA circle trip

[willieweed]

I'm planning a trip from Olympia, Wa. to Sacramento, then to Galesburg, Illinois, then to LAX and home to Olympia. The intent is to avoid any overnight stays. Looking at schedules it appears there should be no problems. Departure Dec. 31 +\-.
Comments please.

 

[caravanman]

I'm planning a trip from Olympia, Wa. to Sacramento, then to Galesburg, Illinois, then to LAX and home to Olympia. The intent is to avoid any overnight stays. Looking at schedules it appears there should be no problems. Departure Dec. 31 +\-.
Comments please.

Is your intent to just change from one train onto the next as one "continual" journey? If so, then please be aware that Amtrak long distance trains can experience eye- watering delays! While it should be an interesting thing to attempt, the published schedules cannot be relied on too heavily. I don't know which of your trains are reliable or otherwise, but delays of many hours are more to be expected, than on time performance, in my experience.

 

[Peter_Travels]

I'm planning a trip from Olympia, Wa. to Sacramento, then to Galesburg, Illinois, then to LAX and home to Olympia. The intent is to avoid any overnight stays. Looking at schedules it appears there should be no problems. Departure Dec. 31 +\-.
Comments please.

Sounds like fun! All of those are beautiful train routes (especially this time of year) and you should have a great time!

What was said about trains being late is true, there can be delays of several hours, but all of your connections (except for the last one, in LA, which might be tight) are easily doable.

That said, if you are on a train that is very late, you will typically be accommodated by Amtrak, either by being put up in a hotel or put on another train (or sometimes bus).

I would highly recommend it. Have fun!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm planning a trip from Olympia, Wa. to Sacramento, then to Galesburg, Illinois, then to LAX and home to Olympia. The intent is to avoid any overnight stays. Looking at schedules it appears there should be no problems. Departure Dec. 31 +\-.
Comments please.

Looks like you'll be spending some time in Sacramemto, Galesburg and LA between connections.

Depending on the time keeping of your Trains ( I'm assuming your riding the Starlight,Zephyr,Southwest Chief and Starlight again)you MAY be spending the night in any of these Cities, since delays can occur @ any time that makes you miss your connections.

You didn't indicate if you're riding in Coach or a Sleeper, but even with guaranteed connections, there's a chance you won't be occupying a room if you miss your connection and have to take the next days train!

What is your Plan B if delays occur????

 

[Asher]

Never know about snow around Tahoe In the Sierra’s

 

[Peter_Travels]

Looking at both current and historical data combined @ juckins. com.

The chance of missing your connection in Sacramento is between 0% and 3.3%.

The chance of missing your connection in Galesburg is between 1.6% and 6.7%.

The chance of missing your connection in Los Angeles is between 20% and 34%.

The chance you are going to miss your connection in Sacramento or Galesburg is small, but possible.

The chance you will miss your connection in Los Angeles is higher, but the most manageable - If you miss your connection, they will probably put you on a bus to Bakersfield, and then a San Joaquins train to Martinez, where you will meet the Coast Starlight that you missed in LA.

Just keep the possibility in your head that you MIGHT have to spend a night in a city you are connecting in. Amtrak runs the train every day on the routes you plan to take and they will almost certainly compensate you for your tardiness if you miss your connection.

Delays happen and they can be large, so you should keep it in your mind on the backbunner, but it isn’t something to actively think about. I’ve had trains cancelled, connections missed. Things usually have a way of working out.

 

[willieweed]

Plan B is go with the flow and hope for the best. I will be in a Roomette on the Starlight both directions, Roomette on the Zephyr and Bedroom on the Chief, assuming those choices will be available. Making reservations today.

 

[danasgoodstuff]

And for Amtrak to take care of you for missed connections, it needs to be booked as one continuous trip - I think they should call and make sure on this one, right?

 

[zephyr17]

And for Amtrak to take care of you for missed connections, it needs to be booked as one continuous trip - I think they should call and make sure on this one, right?

Yep, guarantee only applies to connections on the same reservation number.

 

[willieweed]

Depart 01/01/2025.
Train 11; Train 6 ; Train 3 ; Train 14. Had this trip reserved in Sept. 2022 to see the land of NOWHERE and had to cancel on short notice for medical reasons. 2022 trip had the same cars.
Thanks to all for the input.

 

[Cal]

The chance of missing your connection in Galesburg is between 1.6% and 6.7%.

I'm extremely surprised it's so low, considering what #6 has to go through before getting to Galesburg.

 

[Peter_Travels]

I'm extremely surprised it's so low, considering what #6 has to go through before getting to Galesburg.

Yeah, it’s been pretty good.

They started a slightly different schedule in April 2024 and it is working pretty well at keeping them on time (not the same story for the Chief, however). Average delay to Galesburg is only 35 minutes.

 

[BCL]

Yep, guarantee only applies to connections on the same reservation number.

Not necessarily that I would think, since it’s possible to use multi-city to force connections that aren't guaranteed.

I don’t think there’s any way to do a loop like this on one reservation with all guaranteed connections. Maybe a round trip would be guaranteed, but this kind of oddball route isn’t likely to fit into the choices that Amtrak would give.

The loop to LA also creates issues creating a booking with guaranteed connections. Just riding the rails without an overnight stay is going to mean taking a risk if there are delays. But it should be possible to cancel and rebook, or maybe just put oneself at the mercy of station agents to help out.

And granted the penalties for cancellation are pretty bad now, but certainly better than just eating the whole fare for a no-show.