My husband and I are getting ready to take our first cross country train trip from Gainsville, TX to Maricopa, AZ. The closer it gets, the more nervous I get. While in Europe, we did a lot of train travel, but this will be our first experience in the US. We are departing from Gainsville, TX on the Heartland Flyer to Ft Worth, where we pick up the Texas Eagle (421) to San Antonio. We reserved a roomette, and I understand that we don't have to change in San Antonio, as the sleeper car will be connected to the Sunset Limited there. I have been reading about the bad on time schedules and now I'm concerned that the Heartland Flyer out of Gainsville might not get to Ft Worth in time for our connection although it is scheduled to arrive 1hr 40 min before the Texas Eagle is scheduled to depart. I also asked Amtrak about our baggage and she said that we have to carry it on at Gainsville, but if we get to Ft Worth in time, we can check it through to Maricopa. But, it looks to me that Maricopa does not have baggage service, so I'm confused. Our roomette # is 13, and after reading posts on this site, I have discovered its on the bottom level. Some say that's not a good location, mostly because of poor service and not as good a view as above. I thought this would be a fun way to get to Arizona for Thanksgiving, but I'm starting to have "buyers remorse"........is there any encouraging info out there? Thanks in advance for any information anyone can provide.
This was a duplicate of my post that got hung up at the server level.
This was a duplicate of my posting that got hung up at the server level.
Fear not! I have taken the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited between Dallas and LA, Tucson or El Paso numerous times. Both ways! The scenery from Del Rio to El Paso makes the trip worthwhile. And the new friends that you are likely to make on the train will double your pleasure.
The schedule performance for the Heartland Flyer at Fort Worth this year has been pretty good. The train has been late by an average of 20 minutes with a median of 10 minutes. Thus, the probability that you will miss your connection with the Texas Eagle is very low. And you should have plenty of time to check you bag at the Amtrak Ticket Office in the Fort Worth Intermodal Transit Center.
The Eagle is a different story, although it is getting better. It has been late, on average, by 95 minutes, with a median of 77 minutes, since the beginning of the year arriving at Fort Worth. But from November 1st through November 17th it has been on time 14 out of the 17 days posted.
The schedule performance for the westbound Sunset Limited in Texas has improved significantly this year. It has been late, on average, by 35 minutes at San Antonio and by 37 minutes at El Paso. Interestingly, the medians are 0 and 10 minutes, which means the train is on time as often as it is late at San Antonio and less than 10 minutes late half the time for its El Paso arrival.
You don't have to worry about the San Antonio connection. The Eagle is scheduled to arrive in San Antonio at 10:25 p.m. The Sunset Limited does not leave until 5:40 a.m. Your through car will be coupled to the Sunset Limited while hopefully you sleeping. If you are like me, a glass of wine or two in the dinner before retiring will help ensue a sound sleep. As a first class passenger, your meals on the train are included in the price of your ticket. But you must pay for wine, beer, etc.
I only record the schedule performance data for the Heartland Flyer, Texas Eagle, and Sunset Limited at key points in Texas. Therefore, I don't have detailed information about schedule performance at Maricopa. However, according to one source, the westbound Sunset has been late, on average, at Maricopa by 8 minutes over the last two weeks. It appears that you have a good chance of arriving in Maricopa on time or nearly on time. I presume that you realize your scheduled arrival time at Maricopa is 2:22 a.m., which means that you will be getting off the train in the wee hours of the morning.
The service for the lower level roomettes is just as good as the service for the upper level rooms. However, the ride is a little nosier. And because you are a little closer to the lavatories, as well as the stairs leading down from the upper level, the passenger movement noise level can be a little higher, but if you keep your door shut, you will probably not notice it.
Traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday means that the train will be more crowded than usual. However, there is a chance that a passenger who has booked space on one of the upper level rooms will cancel his or her reservation at the last minute. Accordingly, I recommend that you call Amtrak every couple of days between now and your travel date to see if there has been a cancellation so you can request an upper level room. If you don't strike pay dirt before train time, don't hesitate to ask the conductor in Fort Worth, before boarding the train, if any of the upper level roomettes are available. It's worked for me on several occasions.
The Eagle and Sunset Limited have Sightseer Lounge cars, which are great platforms to watch the scenery roll by. I recommend you find seats in the Sunset lounge car to observe the scenery between Sanderson and Marfa. This is the most scenic part of the journey in Texas.
You can find additional information, including sample menu items, at http://www.amtrak.com/. Click on Traveling with Amtrak for a menu of helpful hints on what to expect for your trip. For example, if you click Onboard, Sleeping Accommodations, you will get a description of the types of accommodations offered on Amtrak's sleeping car. Better yet, if you click on the icon of a sleeping car, you will get a tour of your car. Ok, it won't be your car, but it will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
I'd maybe swing over to the Amtrak website and check the schedules of the two trains. In a case where there's a connection - especially where it involves moving a sleeper from one train to the other - it's not unusual for it to be what I think they call a "confirmed connection", i.e. the other train has to wait for your train to arrive and the car to be put on it, even if your first train is late.
Not trying to be personal, but how much do you and your husband weigh?
Amtrak roomettes are quite small. It is difficult or impossible for a large person to get into the upper berth. You might want to just have the lower berth made into a bed. I rarely sleep well the first night in ANY new situation (tent, hotel room, or train), so the issue of actually sleeping is often moot. Check if an upgrade is available -- the deluxe rooms are quite nice, and my favorite is the family room (also downstairs, but it has windows on both sides). Once, I upgraded on-board and the train was so undersold that the prices had dropped and I actually got a $5 refund for taking a deluxe room. In any case, it is a real treat to have a private room on a train! Sleeping car passengers are allowed to drink their own alcoholic beverages in their room, and your porter will supply you with ice.
One advantage of being downstairs is that you are closer to two (or three?) restrooms and the shower. The facilities are at the other end of the car from your room, so traffic is not a source of noise. All the roomettes upstairs share one toilet, so there can be a wait to use it and it gets dirty. Also, downstairs you are closer to the Dutch door, which you should NEVER open and look out...
There is ample baggage storage in your car, so unless you are really taking a lot of stuff I would just store it in your car. But there is not much extra space in your room, so take small overnight bags with what you will need. During the trip, you have access to the luggage stored in your car, but you do not have access to checked baggage.
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Daniel Burnham
Thank you so much for your input. Hopefully this trip will be as fun as I have envisioned. I'm still a little concerned about checking my baggage. The Amtrak agent said I could, but the Maricopa station does not offer baggage service according to the Amtrak station guide. So, who takes the baggage off the train? Yes, we realize that we arrive in Maricopa at 0 dark 30. Actually my daughter lives within 2 miles of the station, so that won't be a problem. We lived in Arizona for many years, my husband ran Nissan's proving ground there in Maricopa. There wasn't much there then except cattle yards, the Ak Chin Indian Village and Nissan. Today, it's a wildly growing city with beautiful new home developments and shopping centers. Thanks again for your help.
Ms Katy--
Please see my post above about baggage. It might not be necessary to check your luggage onto the baggage car.
Also, it is a really good idea to have your daughter call 1-800-USA-RAIL before she heads for the station, to see if your train is on time.
mskaty Thank you so much for your input. Hopefully this trip will be as fun as I have envisioned. I'm still a little concerned about checking my baggage. The Amtrak agent said I could, but the Maricopa station does not offer baggage service according to the Amtrak station guide. So, who takes the baggage off the train? Yes, we realize that we arrive in Maricopa at 0 dark 30. Actually my daughter lives within 2 miles of the station, so that won't be a problem. We lived in Arizona for many years, my husband ran Nissan's proving ground there in Maricopa. There wasn't much there then except cattle yards, the Ak Chin Indian Village and Nissan. Today, it's a wildly growing city with beautiful new home developments and shopping centers. Thanks again for your help.
According the the Amtrak Timetable for the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle, which is the same train west of San Antonio, the Maricopa Station is staffed. It accepts checked baggage, which means that if you check a bag through from Fort Worth it will be taken off the train at Maricopa.
If you check a bag, you will not have access to it during the trip. Accordingly, you should take your personal and toilet items with you to your room.
As a rule there is ample room in the lower level of the car to store a bag or two. However, as I mentioned, if the sleeper is sold out, which is a possibility over Thanksgiving, finding space in the baggage area may be difficult. You can take one or two relatively small bags into your roomette, but it takes a bit of juggling to make them fit.
One responder said that a bedroom is more comodious than a roomette. This is true, but the price is considerably higher. For example, to book a roomette today from Fort Worth to Maricopa would cost $191 whereas the bedroom would set you back $452. These are the accommodation charges; the railfare would be in addition and probably close to what you booked.
Your daughter can call Amtrak to determine whether the train is on time. Or she can logon to www.amtrak.com and use the dialog box near the bottom of the home page to get the arrival status of your train. The data is the same that would be used by the telephone status line.
Ms Katy;
Everything Sam1 says is right on the mark.
The lower level does get a little more noise, less sway and a little more bounce, but I have ridden there many many times and have never had a bad trip. Sleeping on a train takes some adjustment, naturally, since you are moving, but the whole experience should be a good one.
What day are you departing? That will tell me if I will be your Engineer between Austin and San Antonio. Once at San Antonio, I may be able to give you a few tips in person relative to the rest of your journey.
We try to keep the Eagle right on the money, and we are frequently arriving well in advance of the 10:25PM schedule in San Antonio.
Enjoy your trip and try not to worry. The best part of train travel over air travel is that if one of my engines quits, its not at 30,000 feet! Enjoy the ride, the scenery and the new friends you will make, and leave the fussing to us.
My comments about space for baggage and availability of upgrades did not take into account your travel dates -- the train will likely be quite full. And if you decide not to have the upper berth made up, you can use the upper mattress as an additional pad to fill the gap between the lower bed and the seat back.
Also, just to prepare you, you will be seated with other passengers at the four-seat tables in the dining car. You can ask to have a meal in your room, but this is extra work and your porter may be too busy. He or she may be able to do this for you at a certain time only.
Please dig deep into your wallet for gratuities! Stock up on cash! For some reason, restaurant waiters in this country expect and and usually receive 18%; yet many other service providers get much less although they work just as hard if not harder.
Generally Amtrak trains that use Superliner cars (which I think your train will use?) don't use separate baggage cars. Superliners are two level cars and most (all?) have space on the lower level for baggage to be stored. So if your car is moved from one train to another, most likely your baggage will just stay in the same car.
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