Offering luxury accomodations on 7 car consists coupled to regularly scheduled Amtrak trains including the Silver Star and others...
http://www.americanorientexpress.com/html/tours/GrandLuxeLimitedWash.html
LC
The article I read said the reservation agents would make very plain that on-time performance was poor, but that it might actually be a benefit to the travellers since there would be that much more time for them to enjoy the luxury.
I know that when I rode the Denver Zephyr last Spring that I didn't mind being "stuck" on the train an extra couple hours at all.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Limitedclear wrote: Offering luxury accomodations on 7 car consists coupled to regularly scheduled Amtrak trains including the Silver Star and others...http://www.americanorientexpress.com/html/tours/GrandLuxeLimitedWash.htmlLC
I remember when AOE started out tacking cars onto the end of the Broadway several days a week. That didn't work out very well. I guess that being primarily an overnight route didn't help it much. I wonder if the Silver Star will have the same trouble or if the market has grown in the last 20 years.
They originally billed themselves as American European Express and ran a five-car consist tri-weekly between Chicago and Washington attached to the Capitol Ltd. A bi-weekly service between Chicago and New York was behind the Broadway. After a while, they leased a pair of GP40's and started running separately between Chicago and Washington by way of the Greenbriar. The service collapsed after a derailment left them with insufficient equipment to keep the service going.
oltmannd wrote: The article I read said the reservation agents would make very plain that on-time performance was poor, but that it might actually be a benefit to the travellers since there would be that much more time for them to enjoy the luxury. I know that when I rode the Denver Zephyr last Spring that I didn't mind being "stuck" on the train an extra couple hours at all.
Exactly the attitude my mother has always had. A few years back she rode with us from Chicago to DC for my stepdaughter's wedding. Sticking brakes on an express car resulted in a four hour delay as we creeped along to get to an industry siding to set out the car. Mom regaled us with a "you think this is bad?" story. One of her several trips on the Builder from Wisconsin to Oregon was during the major flooding of the Red River. The bus picking up the Wisconsin passengers for the truncated train at Minneapolis but missed the departure so it was 24 hours in Minneapolis on Amtrak's nickel. The Builder of the next night only lost another 8 hours getting around the flooding.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
conrailman wrote:I hope them people are ready for very late trains.
The regular AOE (GrandLuxe) special trains were never much for on time performance either. But when you book this type of trip, speed is not of the essence.
Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, COClick Here for my model train photo website
jeaton wrote:Just checked out Amtrak vs Grande Lux Chicago to Emeryville. Amtrak one senior and one NARP fare plus Bedroom goes for about $1650. Same for Grande Lux in a standard "Pullman" about $3200. Worth the price? No question for me. Round end lounge, dome car, gourmet meals/complimentary wine. Who even needs the destination to make it a great ride.
J -
Wish I could afford the time to go.
Big new ad for this service in this month's TRAINS.
I was on the American European Express when it derailed at spped on CSX (ex Monon) tracks south of Monon, Indiana. The locomotives rode up and over a low-boy farm trailer left on the tracks. The locomotives and the first half of the train derailed in the typical zig-zag fashion. I have slides somewhere. If I can find them, I'll scan and post them. At that time the train had its own F-units painted in Blue and Cream colors to match the consist. My wife and I had ridden the train from Chicago to Washington, DC the year before. I was doing a solo trip New York to Chicago via the cardinal route on one of the first trips with the observation car, New York, which was originally used on the 1948 20th Century Limited. Both trips were woth the price. Have reservations for December 27th Washington to Miami to celebrate our wedding Anniversary, Can't afford it but that's what credit cards are for!!!
Mel Hazen
Jacksonville, FL
Mel Hazen; Jax, FL Ride Amtrak. It's the only way to fly!!!
When Amtrak first took over service from the private railroads, the conbined Silver Meteor-Champion would sometimes run to 26 cars. If you look at some of the station platforms along the SCL, the platforms are way longer than the 10 or 11 car consists Amtrak is running today. I'm sure the bean counters considered running their train separately, but I expect there is more to it than a couple of engines and crews. With tracks at capacity, where would the train find a slot to run? GrandLuxe dickers with Amtrak and Amtrak handles all the paper work with the private railroads.
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
liability insurance may be one reason for teaming with Amtrak. IIRC Amtrak is self-insured but a non-Amtrak operator has to meet siginificant and costly insurance requirements.
dd
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