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I will be arriving in Sacramento on the Zephyr in the afternoon and leaving late that night (or in the wee hours of the early morning) on the Coast Starlight for Portland. I can of course check my suitcase onthe train for the trip, but I want to have an overnight bag with me, not in the baggage car. Yet it will be heavy enough for me not to want to carry it around when I go to the Sacramento train museum (which I should have time to do if the Zephyr isn't too late), have dinner, or otherwise walk around in Sacramento. Is there a place at the Sacramento train station where one can check an overnight bag or the like for pickup on coming back to catch my train? Also, where do you recommend I have dinner? Also, is it safe to wait in the Sacramento train station for the Coast Starlight in the middle of the night, if I get there and then find out it's three or four hours late? Will other people be getting there early too, ang hanging around? Is there a better place for me to hang around??? Thanks for your advice.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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I would check with the agent at Sacramento when you arrive. They may be able to store your carry-on bag in the baggage room for a couple of bucks. (I did that in Los Angeles in late June).
I've been in and out of the Sacramento station three or four times in the last four years and think that it would be pretty deserted (except for waiting passengers of course) at the time the northbound 'Starlight' arrives. I don't think it would be an unsafe place to wait for a train. Be prepared though for walking across a parking lot to reach the station from the platform.........as rail passenger service retrenched only the through tracks furthest from the building were left in place.
It probably won't be a particularly comfortable wait (traditional wooden benches) and chances are you could there for hours longer than the timetable suggests. The northbound 'Starlight' I was on departed Sacramento at 5:30am July 1st. I really, really enjoyed the daylight ride through northern California but was also pretty darn tired by the time we arrived in Portland around 11:30pm.
Besides dinner possibilities in Old Sacramento, there is a shopping mall with 'trendy' eating establishments (a brewpub among others) about five or six blocks from the station. I don't know street names but it's pretty much a matter of exit the front of the station, turn left, walk two or three blocks, turn right and walk two or three more blocks. Can't miss it. The side of this downtown mall farthest from the train station is also where you can catch the Sacramento light rail. I've made this walk a number of times and have never felt threatened during daylight hours......but then I am 6'4" and just plain big. I would think twice before trying it after dark though.
I hope you have a successful connection and are in Sacramento early enough to enjoy some of what that city has to offer. I've considered making the connection you are. I believe that I would opt to come off the 'Zephyr', spend the night in Sacramento at the Vagabond Inn across the street, and then catch a Capitol Corridor train down to Oakland or San Jose the following afternoon and catch the northbound 'Starlight' there. That would insure that I would have a chance to enjoy Sacramento, perhaps catch dinner at Jack London Square, and reduce my chances of not boarding the Starlight until the wee hours.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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The Sacramento Amtrak station is within easy walking distance of the California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento, and the Downtown Mall. It does have baggage service, but I'm not sure if they will hold your overnight bag for a few hours while you explore the sights. You might try calling Amtrak about this.
There are several places to eat near the station. A list of eateries in Old Sac can be found at www.oldsacramento.com.
The railroad museum is open 10-5 daily. The Zephyr's OT records such as it is, you might not be able to catch it. But an evening walk around Old Sac is not a bad alternative. If you're into baseball, consider catching a Rivercats game (Oakland A's Triple A team). Schedule can found at www.rivercats.com.
I've caught the NB Starlight many times in Sac without any safety concerns. You will be hanging out with many others doing the same. However, I wouldn't recommend wandering out and about the immediate area in the wee hours.
Hope this is of some help. Have a great trip.
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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Thanks. I wish I had known about the idea of staying at the Vagabond Inn and going to Jack London Sq next day, I'd have considered that. But all anyone here mentioned when I asked before was just staying in the Vagabond Inn overnight and leaving from Sacramento to Portland, and the temperatures in Sac are in the high 90s lately!!!--so I didn't see much point in staying overnight with the long Sac layover anyway, since the place I'm really going to is Portland (and Colorado before that)--and with the Starlight running so light, I'll have less time in Portland as it is. So anyway, it's too late to change plans this time.
I am female and not 6'4" so I sure hope I don't have any trouble waiting for the Starlight at night. Zephyr, if the train is super late getting into Sacramento, will there still be a lot of others waiting at the station from the time it is actually due, 11:59PM, until the time it arrives? Do you recommend I go over to the Vagabond Inn and wait there instead of the station--do you think they would let someone do that, even if they didn't stay there? I know in Cleveland when I left in the middle of the night the hotels were very accommodating; many others were doing the same thing. Maybe I can buy some coffee at the Vagabond Inn or give them business in some way?thing???
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by sojourner: Thanks. I wish I had known about the idea of staying at the Vagabond Inn and going to Jack London Sq next day........Do you recommend I go over to the Vagabond Inn and wait there instead of the station--do you think they would let someone do that, even if they didn't stay there? I know in Cleveland when I left in the middle of the night the hotels were very accommodating; many others were doing the same thing. Maybe I can buy some coffee at the Vagabond Inn or give them business in some way?thing???
Sorry about that! The idea of doing it the way I spelled out this morning only occurred to me AFTER you posted looking for suggestions for this trip.
The lobby of the Vagabond is pretty small but you can likely find coffee 24/7 in the Denny's restaurant just beyond the hotel entrance. The hotel itself blocks your view of Denny's from the train station but it really is just a matter of 50 feet or so from the hotel. Watch out for traffic! The street you must cross to get to the Vagabond turns into an on ramp for I-5 and traffic is already starting to speed up.
One thought.....the last time I stayed at the Vagabond I was coming off a Capitol Corridor train from Oakland. Amtrak's cafe attendant from my train was also making her way across the street to spend the night at the hotel. IF by 10pm the northbound 'Starlight' is already so hopelessly late that they can tell you it won't be in before 5am or so you might even want to look into the possibility of a room with an early wake-up call. There might even be some Amtrak crew member for the same train waiting out a layover at the Vagabond who would let you know if the ETA changed dramatically.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Soujourner, if Numero 14 (NB Starlight) is "super late", you ain't gonna be comfy hanging out on the wooden benches at SAC. I checked 14's OT performance the past few days, and it arrived at 7:30am on 8/4. If I was ticketed on that train, I think I would have taken David Pressley's advice and waited it out with a room at the Vagabond.
I guess I've been lucky catching 14 out of SAC since the latest was 2 hours late. There were many others waiting for that train, and the station remained staffed until 14's arrival. But I haven't experienced the mega-delays out of SAC that have been common of late.
I usually catch 14 out of Chico. I've had many "super late" experiences there. On my last trip on July 1, it was about 8 hours late into Portland. On the return on July 18, it was about 4 hours late. OT performance of the Coast Starlight has been, to be kind, very poor of late. I recommend following Mr. Pressley's advice. Check the train status when you arrive in Sacramento. If it's apparent 14 will be "super late", get a bed.
If 14 is "mildly late", hang out at the station rather than over-dosing on coffee at Denny's. It will be staffed and full of other blurry-eyed travelers. If it's "mildly late."
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by zephyr: I usually catch 14 out of Chico. I've had many "super late" experiences there. On my last trip on July 1, it was about 8 hours late into Portland.
Yeah. That's the number 14 I was on. We didn't even get out of LAX until 12:50pm since the consist had been hours late coming off number 11.....not arriving until 6:00am or so.
The crew told us right after we left that if we had people picking us up to get on the cell phone and tell them that we were late and that we were only going to get later.......something that I could see proving to be true when I woke up the next morning and looked out to see the Sacramento station at 5:30am.
I really enjoyed the trip but would have liked to have made it into Portland around 9pm instead of 11:30ish.
Just out of curiousity, do you know why the passenger was kicked off the train in Salem, OR?
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Ah, the guy that was bounced in Salem. Well, the story I got was he was doing some loco weed in the john. When confronted, he claimed it was medical marijuana. It was a great story, and I guess OB personnel thought the Salem PD might enjoy hearing it also.
Dave, were you in Portland for the NRHS convention?
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by zephyr: Ah, the guy that was bounced in Salem. Well, the story I got was he was doing some loco weed in the john.
Dave, were you in Portland for the NRHS convention?
No.......I was not in Portland for the convention although seeing the photos of the doubleheaded steam excursion I wish I had planned to be there.
Instead I was cashing in some guest reward points and doing an 'independent study' in rail history. From Portland I caught a cheap Southwest flight to Salt Lake City, rented a car, and visited both the Golden Spike site at Promontory Summit, and the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely. The latter was an itch I had wanted to scratch since seeing a Ted Benson photo essay on Nevada in Trains Magazine some 25-30 years ago. I caught the 'Zephyr' eastward once the 4th of July guest rewards blackout ended.
Oh and the fellow in Salem. I couldn't figure out why a train already seven and a half hours late just sat and sat for 20 minutes until the police cars pulled in with lights flashing. Upon arrival in Portland I happened to be standing near the 'party' awaiting arrival of the missing passenger when a cell phone rang with the call from the Salem jail! I had imagined the on-train scenario was about what you described!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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