Texas Eagle 22(31), 3 car train on 3/31/22

[Amtrakfflyer]

Anyone on the route confirm the train left SA with a coach and sleeper only? Already Issues with new schedule? That’s the talk of the day on other site..

 

[TinCan782]

We'll have to watch the "Big Sandy" VRF camera later today and see what shows up. There are two cameras there.
Big Sandy is between Minneola and Longview, TX.
The Transitdocs estimate as I write this is 5:15 PM CT (Minneola) and 6:15 PM CT (Longview).

 

[fillyjonk]

Anyone on the route confirm the train left SA with a coach and sleeper only? Already Issues with new schedule? That’s the talk of the day on other site..

wait, so they're just not going to have food on the train? just a coach and sleeper? or do you mean one coach and one sleeper with a CCC?

I would hope they'd warn people "hey this overnight train you're taking, there's no food service on it" so we can at least bring snacks.....

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

It’s one CCC, one sleeper and one coach. That’s it. 3 cars total from people who’ve seen it so far….

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The last time I was passing by SAS there were no protect cars on the staging track.


Is this the worst the Eagle has ever looked?

 

[TinCan782]

 

[joelkfla]

Is the order of cars SSL, Coach/baggage, & Sleeper?

 

[CCC1007]

View attachment 27790

Is the order of cars SSL, Coach/baggage, & Sleeper?

@neroden Is this an ADA violation? no lower level coach space available on this train.

 

[TinCan782]

View attachment 27790

Is the order of cars SSL, Coach/baggage, & Sleeper?

Not an SSL...CCC perhaps.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

I wouldn‘t be surprised if this is the new normal on non Sunset days. How bad can things get before there’s change.

 

[rtabern]

Well, the LSA in the Cross Country Cafe at least must be loving the three car Texas Eagle today

Think about it --- NO SLEEPER AT ALL means he (or she) does not have to prepare any dining car meals

We rode in a sleeper last week from Bloomington-Normal to Chicago just for a train ride, and upgraded so we would get a meal and not have to wear masks (in our roomette). The poor LSA was grumpy --- and almost rightfully so --- having no help and trying to heat up sleeper meals downstairs, run them up, bus the tables, all while his coach line for the snack bar was growing 15 to 20 people deep on the other side of the car.

Just a complete cluster.

Will not ride the Texas Eagle longer than a couple of hours really

The Capitol Limited might be okay given the schedule if on time --- I would just do a late lunch in DC, skip dinner, go to bed, and skip breakfast on the train and just get a hearty breakfast after we arrive in Chicago

 

[John Bredin]

Well, the LSA in the Cross Country Cafe at least must be loving the three car Texas Eagle today

Think about it --- NO SLEEPER AT ALL means he (or she) does not have to prepare any dining car meals

Where are you getting NO SLEEPER from?

 

[daybeers]

oh jeez this is bad. very bad.

 

[Maglev]

Where are you getting NO SLEEPER from?

That last car looks like a coach to me. I don't see the window for the H room.

 

[Bob Dylan]

That last car looks like a coach to me. I don't see the window for the H room.

View attachment 27792

I agree! It looks like a Coach to me also!

 

[CCC1007]

I agree! It looks like a Coach to me also!

Wait, is this the set that had to leave its sleeper in Washington over the weekend?

 

[joelkfla]

I agree! It looks like a Coach to me also!

Darn Superliners all look alike! Give me the Viewliners & Amfleets, where it's obvious what it is.

 

[Siegmund]

Darn Superliners all look alike! Give me the Viewliners & Amfleets, where it's obvious what it is.

Remind me again how to tell Amcafe, Amlounge, Amdinette, and Amclub apart...

 

[neroden]

@neroden Is this an ADA violation? no lower level coach space available on this train.

Yes, completely illegal if there is no lower level coach space

 

[JP1822]

Superliner Cross Country Cafe Car, Superliner Coach, Superliner Coach. In the changeover to make this a DAILY through train with the Capitol Limited, Amtrak needed to have a spare sleeper and coach in San Antonio for Thursday's departure north. They forgot to position this. Henceforth, it operated without a sleeper and one less coach! So much for planning a smooth transition!

 

[fillyjonk]

Ugh, well, the comments in this thread are letting me know to way lower my expectations for the trip I have planned in May on the TE (to go visit my mom).

If they cancel the sleeper for the day I'm traveling, I'll either just change my times, or cancel the trip altogether and demand a refund. I'm too old to be jerked around like that, and too old to deal with trying to sleep in a coach seat.

It just feels like.....so many things in this world have gotten so much worse in the past few years. I really, really dislike flying (and it would be hard to get to an airport where I live) and it's too far to drive for me alone. So I guess I just figure the Eagle is "Greyhound on the Rails" (just like flying now is often "Greyhound in the Air")

 

[jis]

MODERATOR'S NOTES: A number of posts about RPA and what is expected of it that is not met at this time, have been moved to a new thread in the Rail Advocacy Forum. Please post the expectations that you have from RPA that remain unmet in that thread and at some point we could package it up and send to RPA. Meanwhile please post about the operational and travel experiences/issues on Texas Eagle and by extension the Capitol Limited in this thread. I would be happy to excerpt cogent posts regarding problems to RPA too. But let us keep the train operations/experience separate from complaints about the RPA. This way we can give feedback in a more organized fashion.

Anyhow, the new thread is:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/rpa-unmet-expectations.81647/
Thank you for your understanding, cooperation and participation.

 

[jis]

Remind me again how to tell Amcafe, Amlounge, Amdinette, and Amclub apart...

Currently there are only three types of Amfood cars. They are:

1. Club-Dinette (Amfleet I)
2. Table Car (Amfleet I)
3. Lounge (Amfleet II)

All three have windows blanked out in the middle of the car. Amfleet I and II are easy to differentiate. The Club-Dinettes has one door marked for the accommodation and the other denoting food service. I forget exactly what is marked on the doors.

But this is also getting a bit off topic in this thread

 

[JVB]

I’m currently seated in a coach car on the Texas Eagle (#21) southbound toward San Antonio. The credit card machine at the snack bar displays “The Capitol Limited” across the window: this seemingly confirms the new arrangement whereby the CL presses through Chicago as the Texas Eagle!

As we left Chicago, we had two sleepers and 3 coach cars. When I asked “why the 2 sleepers?,” an OBS staff member said that a northbound 22 train would need that sleeper. They dropped it off in St. Louis.

Interestingly, this train boasts 3 coach cars—and not the usual two—. I had expected the 3rd coach to be dropped off in St. Louis. But we are now in Marshall,Texas, and we still have the 3rd coach. When I asked a conductor about it, he said this will be the new configuration.

 

[jis]

So all in all we had a one day glitch then? Oh well

But with these things you have to wait until the proverbial fat lady hits the high note. So let us see what happens over the next couple of days at least.