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This morning, as an exercise in curiosity, I decided to see if coach seats were still available on No. 5 from Chicago to Denver for the next nine days, including today.
Six of those days are sold out.
That's heartening. Back in the 1990s, when I was doing research for "Zephyr," I was always able to get a seat on a moment's notice, and the train was never ever full except for a few of the winter holidays.
Maybe others could do the same for the next nine days for their favorite trains, counting the sold out days.
Vicki Member # 3410
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I just checked No. 59 from Chicago to New Orleans. The train is sold out for today but there are seats available every day from the 7th through the 14th.
train lady Member # 3920
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I checkd 29 (the Capitol) and the price kept changing from a high of &155 to a low of $97. there were coach seats available but no other options available. If I check back I wouldn't be surprised to find both price and options have changed.
Liberty Limited Member # 4300
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I peeked at Train #30 for my upcoming 6/21 departure from CHI to WAS. Sleepers are sold out, and there are but 6 coach seats left on the train.
One train I noticed an amazing amount of sell outs on last summer was 19/20, the Crescent. I'm sure this summer will provide some interesting sales results as well.
notelvis Member # 3071
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The Crescent route is traditionally very strong ridership-wise dating back to the last decade of Southern Railway operation. O course the train would regularly leave DC with 7-8 full coaches and 4-5 sleepers. The further south it went the more folks would leave the train and not be replaced BUT it would still be more full than the current Crescent's capacity when it reached Atlanta.
As late as July 1978 I was on a Southern Crescent that departed Washington in two sections as far as Greensboro. The coaches and a lounge car were one 10 car section, the sleepers and diner were another 10 car section. Four of the sleepers were dropped in Greensboro and the remaining 16 cars were switched back into a single train from Greensboro southward.
HillsideStation Member # 6386
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The June 15th version of the EB hasn't seat one available for sale CHI/SEA. Not coach not sleeper not anything. Don't know if it's the whole long way or just some intermediate segments. Either way we'll opt for the early diner seating for best choice. Best regards, Rodger
CHI_Amtrak_Fan Member # 4004
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While booking a trip from Chicago to Portland I noticed lots of sold out trains. The Empire Builder was sold out (Seattle and Portland sections) on my preferred days plus or minus 2 days. Having taken the Empire Builder more than enough I'm pleased to take other routes. Here's what I found when I booked my trip last week:
Chicago to Los Angeles to Portland (June 29-July 2):
Train 3(29) - Southwest Chief: Only 4 roomettes available, all in the transition sleeper
Train 14(1) - Coast Starlight: Only one! roomette available, in the transition sleeper
Portland to Sacramento to Chicago (July 7-10)
Train 11(7) - Coast Starlight: Only one! roomette available, in the transition sleeper
Train 6(8) - California Zephyr: Only 4 roomettes available, all in the transition sleeper
Summary: Very low roomette availability, direct route sold out. I'm pleased to take some routes I haven't taken in awhile, but bummed that all my rooms are in the transition sleepers..... where the cost is high and the service low.
Cheers, David Z
UncleBuck44 Member # 2049
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Might the increase in sellouts have something to do with shorter trains? The last three or four times I've seen the Texas Eagle come through St. Louis it had just 6 cars. When I took it to San Antonio back in 2001, it had 9 cars.
Can the same be said for the Zephyr?
sbalax Member # 2801
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David--
How do you figure out the number of sleeper accommodations available and the car they are in? Are you using Amtrak.com or do you have access to another systerm?
Frank in sunny SBA
CHI_Amtrak_Fan Member # 4004
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quote:Originally posted by sbalax: David--
How do you figure out the number of sleeper accommodations available and the car they are in? Are you using Amtrak.com or do you have access to another systerm?
Frank in sunny SBA
Frank-
I use amtrak.com. To determine the remaining rooms I pretend to book 8 people for the same train I'm interested in, click "View Upgrade Options." Look at the Quantity column and click on the quantity pull down menu for the type of accommodation you're interested in. The list will contain any where from a single "1" if one room is available to a list from "1" to "8" if eight or more rooms are available. The largest number in the pull down menu indicates the number of remaining rooms of that particular accommodation type. I hope my explanation is clear.
Cheers, David
sbalax Member # 2801
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David--
Very clever! Does it also give you the car and location within the car? You had mentioned you knew that some of the available roomettes were in the Transition Dorm.
Frank in cloudy SBA
CHI_Amtrak_Fan Member # 4004
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Frank -
After determining that there was only a single room left on the train I wanted to travel I acted quickly to book space. I booked the space and received the room assignment and found out, much to my disappointment, that the only remaining room was in the transition sleeper. Any roomette in the 15-24 range is automatically in the Transition Dorm. The only trick I know to find out remaining room numbers prior to booking on a particular train is to call the reservation center and ask. Some agents seem more helpful at this task than others.
David
sbalax Member # 2801
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David--
I know what you mean. I called wanting to change a room assignment and was told it wasn't possible. I waited ten minutes and called back. Different agent and no problem. I had my choice of several.
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