RAILforum: Southwest Chief Info.

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Posted by canoe86 (Member # 3099) on :

I will be taken this train at the end of January and was curious about how close it manages to stay on schedule. Also, any other info. that you could share about this train would be appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

It would appear from postings here, the Train Status feature at the website, and my own observations, 3-4 are about "as good as it gets' with LD's.

In a word, at end points the Chief is "more or less' OT.

Posted by Charles Reuben (Member # 2263) on :

I take the SW Chief to LA and Chicago quite a bit and seldom have problems arriving on time.

Very often I will arrive an hour ahead of schedule, especially on the westbound train. The Chief can make up for lost time in the frigid, snowy midwestern regions after it passes through Albuquerque and heads into the hot and dry Southwest.

If memory serves me correct, the Chief arrives in LA at around 9 a.m., so even if you're a few hours late, it's not the end of the world.

There have been a couple times when the train got me to my destination quite a few hours late and this has occurred on the eastbound train.

Now, I do believe that the eastbound train gets into Chicago's Union station at about 4:30 p.m. At this hour and at this time of the year the sun will be starting to set and the temperature will swiftly begin to drop.

Carefully consider your options if you happen to arrive at Union Station in Chicago at Midnight and you find yourself in front of those stately Roman columns as the homeless people begin to gather.

If you visit my webpage at www.freewebs.com/chucksville , you can read a little bit more about the Southwest Chief.

Have a great trip,

Chuck Reuben

Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :

The SWC is good, but can and is late. End to end times are really good for the most part. Not so great for in between stops (although ABQ is usually on time or ahead of time)

The SWC is the only Amtrak Superliner train permitted to travel at 90mph. If you are traveling on the Chief in Arizona, the part in between the city of Williams and Seligman has some of the best 90mph running, although you travel through here at night and the smooth ride usually puts me to sleep.

The consist is fairly typical and goes like this:

3 P42's (used to be four but without mail and express the extra unit is not needed, and really only two are needed)
1 Heritage Baggage Car
1 Superliner Transition Dorm
2 Superliner Sleepers
1 Superliner Diner
1 Superliner Lounge
3 Superliner Coaches (usually a coach smoking next to the lounge, although smoking is no longer permitted)
Then it may have some reefers on the rear. The SWC used to haul the most mail + express of any Amtrak train but since Amtrak has dropped this, the only remaining service is perishables. So there could be a reefer or two or more on the rear of the train.

Lets see what else....
The SWC follows the route of the famous Santa Fe railway, which hosted such passenger trains as the Super Chief, El Capitan, San Francisco Chief, Grand Canyon, California Limited and many many more.

The food is always fantastic, although this seems to be on all Amtrak Superliner trains now, which is a good thing.

The service can sometimes be amazing and at other times be almost nonexistent.

The SWC runs on the present day BNSF, and the dispatchers usually try their hardest to keep the Chief on time, however if it gets really late then it doesn't get priority.

I think that is about it. Well I could mention a lot more about my favorite train, but I think you have enough info to enjoy your trip. Have fun.

[This message has been edited by Southwest Chief (edited 12-09-2004).]

Posted by canoe86 (Member # 3099) on :

Thanks for the great info. so far. West bound is the one that I really don't want to run late. I'm getting off in Flagstaff, not riding all the way to LA.

Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :

Well the Chief was a minute early into Flaggstaff tonight. You may want to check the Chief's status on Amtrak's website for the next couple of weeks. This way you will see the average time for the Chief into Flagstaff.

On the website go to the box that says train status, under arrives put Flagstaff, and for train No. put #3, then put the date you want. Then you'll see how the train did for on time performance.

Here is the link: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :

There were some on-time performance figures for November on another forum. The SWC was by far the best of the LD's at 83.3% on time. With all the padding in the schedule at ABQ, you can be an hour behind in the AM and still be in Flag on time.

Having taken the SWC many times in February to Flag, my experience is that is seldom late. It is also an uncrowded time to travel and the scenery is beautiful that time of year.

[This message has been edited by TwinStarRocket (edited 12-14-2004).]