More on the FC trip.

[lionkingcmsl]

Tickets have been acquired, so barring any last minutes changes the itinerary is set. Though some times may change with the Fall/Winter 2008 Amtrak Schedules.

FC’09 Trip

City Pair	Train #	Depart. time	Arriv. time	Layover hrs:mins
Westbound		LV 1/17/09	AR 1/20/09
Hammonton - Phila(#)	4612	10:56a	11:57a	0:34
Phila - Wash	195	12:31p	2:25p	1:40
Wash - Chic	29	4:05p	8:40a	6:35
Chic - LA	3	3:15p	8:15a	2:00
LA - SJ	14	10:15a	8:27p	FC
Eastbound		LV 1/26/09	AR 1/29/09
SJ - Emeryville(*)	524	6:40a	7:53a	0:27
Emeryville - Chic	6	8:10a	3:50p	3:15
Chic - Wash	30	7:05p	1:30p	2:35 (1:32)
Wash - Phila	178 (148)	4:05p (3:02p)	5:52p (4:55p)	1:22 (0:53) or Home
Phila - Hammonton(#)	4623 (4621)	7:14p (5:48p)	8:17p (6:45p)	Home

# = Just because to make it an all train trip from start to end, though I might just drive to Philly.
* = If required. May drive to Emeryville.

Train numbers and names:
4612, 4621 & 4623 NJT AC Service
195, 148 & 178 Northeast Regional (I will probably try to catch the earlier one if the Capitol Ltd. is on time to Washington.)
29 & 30 Capitol Limited
3 Southwest Chief
14 Coast Starlight
524 Capitol Corridor Service
6 California Zephyr

Comments

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

That's one good thing about Amtrak: you've got a bit of flexibility when you want to take transcontinental runs. We've got a Toronto-Vancouver train, a Montreal-Halifax train, and a bunch of Montreal-Toronto trains, with no through cars tying them together. Avoids duplication, but it doesn't make it easy to have a bit of variety.

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

No through cars on Amtrak either.

Also the duplication is not there. The Southwestern Chief goes from Chicago to Los Angeles, The California Zephyr goes from Chicago to San Francisco Bay Area, and the Empire Builder goes from Chicago to Seattle and Portland.

San Francisco is about midway, or so, between LA and Portland, so the routes are evenly divided on the west coast.

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

Still pretty close--a hop on the Coast Starlight and you're there. Canada has two transcontinental lines between Montreal and Vancouver, and only one of them gets a skeleton service. Calgary is the fifth-largest city in Canada, but hasn't had passenger service since 1990.

[kamiten.livejournal.com]

I haven't really looked at the schedules, but wouldn't it have been faster to have taken the texas route?

But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

Maybe, but the Sunset only runs every other day from its terminal cities. Plus, depending on which train I took, there could be up to a 23 hour layover (from the Crescent to the Sunset in New Orleans).

Also the Southwestern Chief is the old Super Chief and parallels Rte. 66 for part of its journey. I also wanted to take the CZ back to see some different scenery and go through the Rockies. :=3

Re: But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[kamiten.livejournal.com]

Very cool. I was just going off the top of my head anyway. :)

Re: But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

BTW, you going to AC'08?

If so check out the "Rails-n-Tails" panel.

Re: But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[kamiten.livejournal.com]

I am not. I didn't qualify to get any time off this year, so I'm saving my missing-money-from-my-paycheck days for Furfright (local) and Midwest Fur Fest (highest quantity of people I rarely see but love hanging out with).

Re: But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[kamiten.livejournal.com]

BTW, someone from your shop, I don't think management but close to, was up here in Boston a week or two ago. He knew who you were; I didn't say anything about furries, just that we both had a general interest in trains and ran into you in a forum.

Possible people who might've been in your neck of the woods.

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

Let's see: Joe Mac aka "Woody", Joe Glass, both management, though both are pretty cool as they worked their way up from being radio techs, Pete Lach, local comm supervisor, Chris Forrest, also management, but just recently promoted out of the radio shop (he handles VOIP stuff), Bill Macalary, radio tech, but more into VOIP. Bill knows of my furry leaning and has seen my hi-tech lion head. :=3

I personally would lean towards either Joe Mac or Chris, though Bill Stroud, higher management than either of the two Joes (and more interested in sailing), would've been up there.

The person who invaded your space was ...

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

Bill Stroud - Manager, Radio Engineering. :=3

I got this info from our radio tech in Boston, Ivan. :=3

The managers in the radio field don't seem like managers because they are still involved in the craft and will still pick up a tool, even though they aren't supposed to. :=3

Re: The person who invaded your space was ...

[kamiten.livejournal.com]

Ah yeah, that's who it was. :)

Re: But these trains are what amtrak.com suggested. :=3

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

I will be at both FF and MFF. :=3