Trip planning questions (Capitol Limited and Cardinal)?

[alex.m]

I plan on taking another Amtrak trip this winter. I'm traveling from RNK to SCD then make a return trip later. The overnight portion of the trip will be on the Capitol Limited in a roomette. I prefer roomettes on the lower floor for overnight trips. I've done both lower and upper floor trips and sleep better on the first floor. I'm flexible with my dates and am willing to book ahead.

On the way there, I will probably take:
Capital Limited from WAS to CHI

On the way back, I may take:
Cardinal from CHI to CVS

1. From what I remember, the Cardinal has only a single-level sleeper car. Is that still the case?

2. Also, for the Capital Limited are the roomettes in the lower level of the sleeper car still numbered are 11-14?

I was going to call in to the Amtrak number and make a reservation that way.

3. Final question, when I take a return trip, they never book me CHI to WAS on the Capital Limited, then WAS to RNK to Northwest Regional. They always go from CHI to CVS on the Cardinal, then on the Northwest Regional from CVS to RNK. Is there any reason for that? The train from SCD to CHI is always late and I'm running to get on the Cardinal. I think the Capital Limited leaves a little later and would prefer that trip.

 

[zephyr17]

I plan on taking another Amtrak trip this winter. I'm traveling from RNK to SCD then make a return trip later. The overnight portion of the trip will be on the Capitol Limited in a roomette. I prefer roomettes on the lower floor for overnight trips. I've done both lower and upper floor trips and sleep better on the first floor. I'm flexible with my dates and am willing to book ahead.

On the way there, I will probably take:
Capital Limited from WAS to CHI

On the way back, I may take:
Cardinal from CHI to CVS

1. From what I remember, the Cardinal has only a single-level sleeper car. Is that still the case?

2. Also, for the Capital Limited are the roomettes in the lower level of the sleeper car still numbered are 11-14?

I was going to call in to the Amtrak number and make a reservation that way.

3. Final question, when I take a return trip, they never book me CHI to WAS on the Capital Limited, then WAS to RNK to Northwest Regional. They always go from CHI to CVS on the Cardinal, then on the Northwest Regional from CVS to RNK. Is there any reason for that? The train from SCD to CHI is always late and I'm running to get on the Cardinal. I think the Capital Limited leaves a little later and would prefer that trip.

The Cardinal is running single level Viewliner sleepers and is expected to continue to.

The Capitol is currently running Superliners and 11-14 are downstairs on all Superliners. However, it is highly likely the Capitol Limited will be switched from Superliners to Viewliners effective with the November 10th departures from both Washington and Chicago. That is based on the sleeper inventory available on the train, on and after 11/10 the Bedroom inventory drops from 10 to 4 and the Family Room disappears entirely, indicating a change from two Superliners to two Viewliners. Note that roomettes 11 and 12 on a Viewliner are out over the truck and less desirable than lower numbered roomettes. There are no 13 and 14 on Viewliners.

Finally, connection between the Builder and the Cardinal is not guaranteed at this time. You would have to book it using separate reservations or using Multi-City. An agent will not book it, they will not book connections that are not guaranteed. In either case, in the event of a (likely) miss, you would be on your own in Chicago, without a hotel or rebooking. The only guaranteed connection is on the Capitol as of now.

In fact, there are no connections showing at all between SCD and RNK. Do not panic, though, this is a system artifact that is almost certainly a result of the fact that connections in ARROW must be entered individually city pair by city pair. Connections involving smaller cities, particularly if both are, are often missed. However, it actually is guaranteed using the right trains. There are guaranteed connections SCD-WAS via 8/28-30 and CHI-RNK via 30-171. You can book using Multi-City using those trains and the connections will still be guaranteed. An agent should know this and book. If using Multi-City, I'd use SCD-WAS and WAS-RNK as my segments.

 

[Cal]

Finally, connection between the Builder and the Cardinal is not guaranteed at this time. You would have to book it using separate reservations or using Multi-City. An agent will not book it, they will not book connections that are not guaranteed. In either case, in the event of a (likely) miss, you would be on your own in Chicago, without a hotel or rebooking. The only guaranteed connection is on the Capitol as of now.

For September 18th I can book a Cardinal-Builder connection on the website. Doesn't that make it guaranteed?

 

[zephyr17]

For September 18th I can book a Cardinal-Builder connection on the website. Doesn't that make it guaranteed?

Card-Builder is guaranteed, Builder-Card is not. It is not unusual for a connection to be guaranteed in one direction but not the other.

Connections that come up as a response to the city pair entered are guaranteed. However, as noted in my previous post, not all city pairs have been entered, due to the kludgy way connections have to be maintained in ARROW. If a connection that you think ought to be guaranteed doesn't come up, check between larger cities that use the same connection. If it shows for that, the connection between those trains is guaranteed, and you can book using Multi-City with confidence.