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I took Number 22 to Dallas on Wednesday and returned on Number 21 yesterday.  I was able to catch-up with one of the conductors,  who I have known for years.  He is based in San Antonio, and he gave me an update on how the cars are transferred.   The through coach from Chicago to LAX cannot be a coach/baggage car.  Amtrak is obligated to provide lower level seating on the through coach, as well as the through sleeper.  Apparently Amtrak's obligation is driven by ADA.  The normal operation is to put the through coach and sleeper on the back of Number 1 or pull them off the back of Number 2.  It is possible for the through coach to be spotted in front of the last coach, but it would be rare.   The car transfers are done by an Amtrak yard crew. Apparently it is a good job if one likes working in the middle of the night. It uses Number 21's power. Through checked baggage is taken off Number 21's coach/baggage car and transferred to the real baggage car on Number 1. Most nights Number 21 arrives into San Antonio on Track 2.  The vintage steam locomotive is on Track 1 and the track on the other side of the platform is Track 3.  Some time after 11:00 p.m., assuming that Number 21 has arrived, the yard crew moves the train forward to a point where the through coach is near the vintage steam engine, uncouples it , secures it, and then crosses Commerce Street to a point where it can cross over to Track 3.  It backs the Eagle onto Track 3, where it leaves the dinning car, lounge car, and regular coaches. Then it pulls the transition sleeper and the through sleeper back across Commerce Street to a point where it can switch back to Track 2.  It pushes the through sleeper across Commerce Street once again, couples it to the through coach, and secures it.  This is where the through cars sit until Number 1 arrives from Houston.  After coupling the through sleeper to the through coach, the yard crew reassembles Number 21, pulls across Commerce Street to a point where it can switch back to Track 2 and clear Track 3 for Number 1. This is where the story gets a tad fuzzy.  I believe that he told me Number 1, after discharging its passengers, runs to a point where it can switch over to Track 2, backs down and couples onto the through cars.  This makes sense because the through sleeper, as a rule, is on the back of Number 1.   Once night a week, when making up Number 22, the protect cars that are sitting on the other side of Commerce Street, replace the San Antonio to Chicago sleeper and one of the coaches.  My conductor acquaintance said that they do this to help balance out the mileage. Moving the cars from Number 2 to Number 22 is the reverse of the aforementioned procedure. Had the proposal to make the Texas Eagle a Chicago to LAX through train, with a connecting train from New Orleans, it would have eliminated the switching and the need for the protect cars. I am not sure why Amtrak could not have made the Texas Eagle a through train, even if it ran only as a three day a week train west of San Antonio. The current procedure does not sound like a very efficient way to run a railroad.
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