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Does anyone have a "clue" as to whether or not the Capitol Limited will have a schedule change with the new timetable ?
I keep hoping (beyond hope ?) that it will. I would love to see the Capitol departing East-bound later than it does presently.
As I have mentioned on the forum before , it certainly would make for better connections from the Western trains. Also, excuse my selfishness , it would make for a later morning arrival into Pittsburgh. Presently it is at about 4:00 Am----YIKES !!
jp1822 Member # 2596
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Nope - no change for the Capitol Limited. New timetables are out. Very little change. Of the East Coast trains - Lake Shore is departing westbound 1/2 hour earlier. I'd like to see the Lake hore depart westbound later.
Capitol Limited's 5:35 p.m. eastbound departure is needed to facilitate connection with the Pennsylvanian in Pittsburgh.
What is needed is either (a) split of Capitol Limited at Pittsburgh with one section to Philly and other to Washington DC (yes, I know Superliner east of Harrisburg would be an issue) or (b) resurrection of the Three Rivers or Broadway Limited eastbound where it departs at 9 or 10 p.m. as a safety net for late arriving connections (from the West).
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Ah yes, I too saw the new schedules. For our western AMTRAK trip this summer, we will attempt to connect from #4 to #30 in Chicago -- #4, the SWC, arrives CUS at 3:20 PM, and #30, the eastbound Cap Ltd, departs at 5:35 -- kind of a close connection!!!!!!!! I hope the SWC continues to run fairly close to schedule, as it has been.......
If we miss that connection, the Cardinal will not work, since it will be the wrong day out of CHI, and if we were to take the Late For Sure Ltd to NYP, we would then miss all the Florida connections in NYP.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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From my on-line vantage point as noted in this posting, I think that 4-CHI-30 can be considered 'safe'.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Thanks, Gilbert -- yeah, I kinda thought that myself also.
--Rich K
TALKrr Member # 683
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I , for one , simply never attempt a same day connection anymore frpm the Western trains to the Eastbound Capitol. I really do not consider any of them "safe." I realize they ARE "guaranteed." However, I simply do not like to chance any scheduling inconvenience.
On all my trips back to Pittsburgh now , from Chicago , I opt to fly. I HATE to do this , believe me. But I see no other option in that there is no longer an Eastbound train from Chicago (to Pittsburgh) with a late enough departure to make me feel comfortable.
Not only am I not fond of flying--I have added expense from the overnite in Chicago that I did not have in earlier days. Oh well !
DeeCT Member # 3241
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Talkrr -- If it is a guaranteed connection then the overnite is Amtrak's expense. One the one time that I arrived late on the SWC and missed my connection to the LSL (as did several for the Capitol) we were put up overnite at a very nice hotel in Chicago, given a voucher for food, and booked out next day with same accomodations. Sure beats flying !!
TALKrr Member # 683
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DeeCT:
A few years back, I WAS able to take advantage of Amtrak's offer and overnite in Chicago.
But, the next day , a sleeper space was not available on the Capitol. This totally caught me off -guard ! Amtrak offered to send me EAST on either the Lake Shore or the Cardinal. However I was on a very tight schedule and simply did not have the time to literally go hundreds of miles out of my way. I needed to return to Pittsburgh without much delay.
So really, that is the only "problem" I see with Amtrak's guaranteed connection---at least for me. Perhaps if I were guaranteed SLEEPER space on the next day's Capitol , I would be more interested. But that is not the case , at least from what I was told. Of course, I could have gone by COACH the next day (and file for a small voucher) but I simply do not do overnite in coach anymore.
To be honest, another "glitch" in taking the Capitol back to Pittsburgh from Chicago is the early arrival time there---4:00 AM. YIKES ! Thanks but no thanks.
So that is the reason I now have to opt for over-niting at my own expense and flying back to Pittsburgh---even though I hate to.
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