posted
Here is what some folks residing in Japan (nationality not disclosed) plan to do and when. They provided this detailed itinerary:
quote:Would appreciate any advice on this. I just bought 15 day passes for my wife and myself.
We live in Japan so I have to reserve seats by emailing my requests to Amtrak. This is what I am trying to reserve.
This would all be in coach (we'll survive).
We won't be able to see much in the places we stop, but this is more about covering all this ground and the views from the train. At the end we have one week to explore San Francisco and Los Angeles. This plan uses all 8 segments and finishes on the last day that is allowed on the 15 day pass.
My main concern is whether any train could be so delayed that we couldn't make the connections.
Also I emailed my requests only 2 days ago.I know it's the weekend over there and the busy Thanksgiving holiday is coming up, but how long should I wait for a reply before I either email again or call them. Thanks to anyone who replies to this.
Wed Dec. 14,2011 Los Angeles-Union Station(LAX) to Portland OR(PDX) 10.20am 14 Coast Starlight Arrives 3.40pm Dec 15 (if on time) ,so 24 hours until connection. Stay in a hotel in Portland
Fri Dec. 16 Portland OR(PDX) to Chicago-Union Station IL(CHI) 4.45pm 28 Empire Builder Arrives 3.55pm Dec 18 ,so 29 hours until connection. Stay in a hotel in Chicago.
Mon Dec. 19 Chicago-Union Station IL(CHI) to New York-Penn Station NY(NYP) 9.30pm 48 Lake Shore Limited Arrives 6.25pm Dec 20th ,so 20 hours until connection. Stay in a hotel in New York.
Wed Dec. 21 New York-Penn Station NY(NYP) to New Orleans LA(NOL) 2.15pm 19 Crescent Arrives 7.32pm Dec 22nd ,so 16 hours until connection. Stay in a hotel in New Orleans.
Fri Dec. 23 New Orleans LA(NOL) to San Antonio TX(SAS) 11.55am 1 Sunset Limited Arrives 3am Dec 24th .so only 3 hours until connection.
Sat Dec. 24 San Antonio TX(SAS) to Chicago-Union Station IL(CHI) 7am 22 Texas Eagle Arrives 1.52pm Dec 25th .so 24 hours until connection. Stay in a hotel in Chicago.
Mon Dec. 26 Chicago-Union Station IL(CHI) to Emeryville CA(EMY) 2pm 5 California Zephyr Bus connection to San Francisco.
Wed Dec. 28 Emeryville CA(EMY) to San Francisco-Ferry Building 4.25pm 5005 Bus
I think anyone who reviews my material around here knows what I think of this one. In short; "All aboard The Masochist Express"
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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If I had the money, I'd do it, and leave my hair shirt at home.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Good luck finding even coach seats for the two of them over the holiday period..........
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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I did my overseas "Marathons" back in my day, but nothing to equal what is under discussion.
I had a (later) May 1971 European marathon. 14 days and about 3,000 miles; however all nights were in hotels (some you wouldn't catch me near nowadays) or First Class Sleepers.
On three trips to the UK; 1976, 1979, and 1986, rail travel was simply incidental to visits with my Sister. There was also the 1960 "family trip", where rail was pretty much just a steam powered Southhampton London "Boat Train". Otherwise it was auto.
I also had a May 1990 unintentional Marathon. This trip was to visit friends in both Berlin and Sevilla with 2-3 days on the ground at each city. It involved essentially a "circle trip' from EDDF. The three overnight segments were again intended to be First Class Sleeper (Wagon Lit), but the Madrid-Sevilla reservation simply "wasn't'; that ended up Couchette.
All told "too much', I should have just flown "internal' (that's what US carriers call "domestic") as well. Wonder why I haven't been overseas since that trip?
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I agree with Rich---they might be out of luck by waiting this long to contact Amtrak. It sounds like they are aware of what coach will be like (and how long they'll be stuck in a chair); that definitely is not a trip for me! Maybe they will do a sleeper upgrade once on-board (if they know about that option).
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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May the gods of bustitution and Service Disruptions grant them safe passage. I think it sounds like a wonderful trip and they have planned it well. If only it were at a time of year with more daylight. I hope these folks are young and have good immune systems. Advise them to bring some germicides.
It is too bad they could not work in the Southwest Chief. The low sun can enhance the high desert scenery in winter and the days are longer in the south. New Mexico and AZ have a higher probability of sunny days and the Chief is the most likely not to be delayed. They have to keep the Transcon open for Santa.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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If my assumption that they are Japanese is correct, I would expect them to commit harakiri sometime before the winter solstice.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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This sounds like a trip that I myself might have planned and executed...
25 years ago.
In fact, I actually did pull off that Sunset to Texas Eagle connection in the middle of the night in San Antonio riding coach back in May 1984.
Which was, in fact, more than 25 years ago.
Might be fun to hear if they get the space they have requested and then track the progress of how their trains perform on this itinerary. There is some wisdom evident in that they allow overnight layovers on every connection except the one noted in San Antonio.
-------------------- 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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Who says Amtrak doesn't provide a necessary transportation service - with passengers like these.
And, GBN, what's not to like about Wagon-Lit trips? Good service and equipment and often great scenery. Sampled it in '68, '89, and '92 and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Perhaps I'm biased though - story goes that the L&N President made a European trip in 1947 and enjoyed his trips on Wagon-Lit (Europe's version of the Pullman Co.)and was quite impressed with their paint scheme. When he returned all L&N passenger cars were repainted from the standard dark (Pullman) green to their snappy blue with the yellow script lettering, similar to Wagon-Lit.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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Next time I'm in the neighborhood, I'm stopping by that small museum at the old L&N station in Bowling Green, KY.
I don't believe I've been in Bowling Green since mustering out of the Army at Ft. Campbell in 1992...
Take that back - had a stop in Bowling Green for about 12 hours on drum corps tour in July 2000. Long enough to sleep, eat, do the show, and keep moving.
-------------------- 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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My stepdaughter was considering going to Chicago for a week before Christmas -- I checked the AMTRAK web site, and going up was no problem, but the WAS-Florida Silver Service trains coming back were sold out for the week BEFORE Christmas -- and that was even in coach!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Taking a second look at the Japanese visitor's proposed itinerary, it appears they could have cut more out of their marathon, as 14-PDX-28 is a guaranteed connection; so for that matter is 28-CHI-48. As noted earlier, they have obviously thought this out and recognized that they do need 'breaks" and have factored two of such into the itinerary.
After all, they could have landed on a, say, RJAA-KLAX flight one morning and be aboard #4, Chief, at LAX same evening.
But even if proposed by people who have planned, as distinct from an impulsive "lark", I still think this is discretionary travel (can't imagine it being any other) and I could well envision their Westward return originating at KJFK rather than NYP.
Otherwise Happy Thanx; all. I'll be in Indianapolis area (Fishers)tonight; Lex Noir has a scheduled running time to a hotel there of 3'30'. Hoosier State, care to match that (turn the clock back sixty years and the James Whitcomb Riley did)?
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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The best train rides near Fishers, IN are operated by the Indiana Transportation Museum using a set of those 60-plus year-old Budd stainless steel coaches.
-------------------- 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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I do not see when their flight is arriving. Taht is wehre I would allow a day, for two reasons:
1. It would be really nice to have a breather between trans-Pacific flight and doing anything else. this I say from having done more than a couple of trans-Pacific trips, many with no breather.
2. Trans-Pacific flights can have their own issues, and usually when they do it is as likely to be a day as it is to be an hour.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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